Oh, glorious moon! I strolled
Around the pond all night long.
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694) was the most famous poet of the Edo period and a haiku master.
Moon-Viewing At My Hut
Beads Of Dew
Beads of dew, play about
From one grass leaf to another.
Hattori Ransetsu
Hattori Ransetsu (1654 – 1707) was a samurai, a haiku poet, and a follower of Matsuo Basho. He was very dedicated to Basho, and after the master’s death, he took the tonsure and became a monk.
Reading Lately: Three Books on Art, Artists, and Life
Writing the post on Marina Abramovic got me thinking about artist biographies or memoirs, which I always love reading.
I’m thinking about posting a list of my favorites. But how could one ever compare and rank books (all art forms, for that matter)? It is an almost impossible task. And unfair. We’ll see.
Hayden Herrera, Frida: The Biography of Frida Kahlo
Another artist who lived her art. Her life, her house, her clothes – art, pure art, all of it. Hayden Herrera is an art historian, and it greatly benefits the book. A great read. Bonus: watch the life and art of Frida Kahlo in a four minutes video from TED Education. The animation is exquisite. Lesson by Iseult Gillespie. Animation by Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson.
Keith Richards (yes, he of the Rolling Stones) – Life. I didn’t have any expectations; I didn’t know what to expect, and I loved it. He lived the rock and roll life, and now he’s telling us about it in a very personal, funny, and honest way. Absolutely fascinating.
And last but not least, Patti Smith’s Just Kids. One of my favorite books in which she remembers her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the late sixties and seventies in her unique, lyrical style.
I met Patti Smith in 2011 when she came to Stockholm to receive the Swedish Polar Music Prize.
I met her as in ”I queued for several hours in the rain so she can sign my book.” I was so star-struck that I couldn’t say a word when my turn came; I just looked at her in awe; she understood and smiled.
The line outside NK, the department store where the signing took place. It rained, of course.
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The Bleak Wind
The raging bleak wind died away,
Till it remained as the sound of the sea.
Ikenishi Gonsui (1649 – 1722)
Through Shadows To The Edge Of Night
Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We’ll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
J.R.R. Tolkien, A Walking Song from The Fellowship of the Ring
Walk Through Walls
I’ve just finished reading Marina Abramovic’s memoir, Walking Through Walls, and I was blown away, even though I’m not a fan of performance art. The book is ghostwritten, but you can clearly hear her voice throughout the whole book – well done indeed. It’s fascinating reading; her whole life is a performance. She truly lives the art. She says somewhere in the book that art shouldn’t be seen as something isolated, holly, and separated from life; art should be a natural part of life. And she lives by that.
After attending Susan Sontag’s funeral in Paris (which very few people attended), she made detailed plans for her own funeral because she wanted that funeral to be her last piece of art. The last performance. I hope not to see it any time soon (she’s 74 years old). All in all, very inspirational. Read it!
Bonus: watch her TED Talk about performance art An Art Made of Trust, Vulnerability and Connection (15 minutes) plus 6 Famous Marina Abramović Performances.
Enjoy! I’m off to the garden to plant about 25 kg of spring bulbs. Toil now, enjoy later.
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At Yamei’s House
How cool are these Saga bamboos!
A picture of refreshing air!
by Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694)
Cicadas’ Voices
What stillness! The cicadas’ voices
Penetrates the rocks.
by Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694)
About Art and Artists
A few weeks ago, I stumbled over an interesting article about art and artists, How to Be an Artist, by Jerry Saltz, the New York Magazine art critic. The whole article lists thirty-three points and is worth reading in full. I have inserted below a few points that resonated with me. Especially the last one. LOL.
- Tell your own story, and you will be interesting.
- Your skill will be whatever it is you’re doing differently.
- Writers need editors.* No exceptions.
- Life is your syllabus: gather from everywhere.
- The best definition of success is time – the time to do your work.
- Be delusional: I have one solution to turn away these demons: After beating yourself up for half an hour or so, stop and say out loud, ”Yeah, but I’m a fucking genius.”
* My comment: definitely; it’s sufficient to compare Andy Weir’s The Martian (self-published) to Artemis (published by Ballantine Books). QED. I love Science-Fiction, and I did read the whole Martian. But I wished all the time for an editor. I almost grabbed a pen and started editing it myself.
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Tonight’s Moon
Some villages have no sea-breams, no flowers;
But tonight’s moon is seen in all villages.
by Ihara Saikaku (1642 – 1693)
