Verweile doch, du bist so schön! - Aspects of Love

When I first encountered this painting "Anna's Light" by Barnett Newman, I was absolutely enraptured by it. Though there was a barrier in the museum preventing me to get too close, my feet had to rest there but my upper body was without me noticing bending forward to reach this light. Oh, blessed Barny to have known such love, no need to tell me who Anna was...

The painting "Prometheus Bound", whose scan is below, was the first of Barnett Newman's I've ever encountered. It was screaming on the wall, I was overwhelmed. Barnett named after Baruch Spinoza, who believed that there is no seperation between spirit and matter, had truly enclosed part of his spirit inside the matter of his painting. For why would people, me and a woman, who guarded the retrospective of Newman's works at Düsseldorf, lie in each others' arms, wheeping, sharing our deepest feelings?! This was also the painting I was standing in front, when another guard at the same exhibition, probably getting nervous at me standing for almost a quarter of an hour in front of it, got behind me and suddenly screamed out: "Come, come, there is something! I've seen it!" The exhibition had been on for several weeks ...

Angenehm enttäuscht - pleasently disappointed

Oh, Maxine, Maxine, a year ago I was so disappointed, enraged, out of my mind, whatever happened to the drawing above I will never know. Was it you or just the Royal Mail, who did not deliver, anyway, it was hard parting  from it from the start, as it was hanging, right here at the desk. For some strange urgent reason it had to go, I had to pass it on - and Mike in his own wonderful, spontaneous rage being my comforting stranger, my wonderful  gardener from Oxfordshire!!! - and now this scan is all I've got left. Yet I got in return more than I've ever expected, a most dear and pleasent glimpse at somebody's heart and it was - almost certainly- worth the loss ;-). Loved it, as it was priceless and definitely unguarded. I'm sorry!!!

The reprise below was and never could be as good, but it gave hope

 

and this accompanied me as the soundtrack

just like this one is doing now

Michael Pennington on Russian productions of Chekhov

For the next seven days available on BBC iPlayer, a discussion with Paul Allain and Michael Pennington on Russian productions of Chekhov and the differences between Russian and British theatre: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xnbjt

Added January 31st: This is the final day it will be on the BBC iPlayer!!! Just 13 hours left!!

Contrapposto-the Gift of the Gorgon

 

Unlike today's clothing, in the 18th century costumes were spacious and thereby giving opportunity to make extravagant movements. Giving way to the most delightful miniatures, the way of the world.

The contrapposto most lively cause every muscle is in movement, yet like facing the gorgon it is frozen eternally.

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? - Turning the page

Interestingly some reviewers Of Love Is My Sin believe that the Sonnets are just read, but this is not the case, in fact it is quite obvious that both actors have learned the lines by heart. Nevertheless the Sonnets are also present in writing, but the turning of the pages is but an element of the play and for all I've noticed nobody actually reads anything.

The Swan, the moon and Holy Trinity

April Fool 2010

Me, translating at my brother-in-law's wedding for his beautiful Mexican bride, though wishing to be a thousand miles away, this very moment. It's quite cold, though sunny and I love to get pissed on the sparkling wine. On our way to a restaurant for lunch and to have a small celebration, hearing and vocally accompanying Mumford&Son's The Cave on the radio, feeling absolutely hilarious. Having some conversation and some more red wine at the restaurant, inbetween by chance meeting a former schoolmate who is now living several hundred kilometres away, when suddenly Shakespeare's Sonnets get mentioned by my newly wed sister-in-law, which blows my mind completely. After the return home, still slightly pissed, getting on my bike to the chemist's, there reciting "To be or not to be", getting back into our garden and still feeling absolutely hilarious and not caring a f**k, sending some quite daring email :-).

My lovely Karfunkel - Mea Culpa

Which like a jewel hung in ghastly night
Makes black night beauteous ...

Having now read for the felt 100th time that Michael Pennington is an "intellectual" actor, I feel like sternly denying it. At this moment I'm also grateful that not too many people actually read this, so my sense of embarrassment and shame of what I'm about to publicise here, makes me not quit, though I feel a great urge to. I also sincerely hope that Mary has already passed this, or something that comes down to this effect, on to the person originally concerned. Michael Pennington is an actor with a great intellect, which means that at any time he conveys the sense that he perfectly understands every facet of the text he is reciting/ enacting. Like a wonderful jewel, a Karfunkel, in his hands. Yet the content of what is enacted is not a solely  intellectual one at all, but something deeply felt and enlightened/ enlightening.

I'm so infinitely sorry, aber das mußte einmal gesagt werden.

Swan spotting

Remeniscent of the swan, the tower of Holy Trinity church and the moon last week, spotted a pair of swans in a flooded meadow with some willow trees this afternoon.

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? - the soundtrack

Franck Krawczyk accompanied Love is My Sin by playing music by Louis Couperin on the accordion (he (ab)used also to make some background noises :-)) and on the keyboard. My choice of the absolute most erotic song (and my husband agrees apparently ;-)) is this one

Another one coming to my mind, because Franck Krawczyk also sang once, but although he displayed a melodious voice, it regretfully did not carry very far. Yet as far as I could catch it, it must have been a German song, the only word intelligible being "Schlaf" / "Sleep". Here there is a Dutch song entitled "Slaap lekker"/"Sleep tight", there is also an accordion in it and the beginning of the video should be familiar ;-)

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? - Dürer was right

As Peter Brook pointed out, there was an air of sadness, I'd rather say melancholy, prevailing in Love is My Sin, thus Dürer is right in calling melancholy the humour of the artist. And yet there is a deeper meaning to this melancholy and both Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida hint at it. Is it any wonder btw that Peter Brook was also talking of deconstruction?! I would very much recommend reading the wonderful essay "Memoirs of the Blind: The Self-Portrait and other Ruins"/"Memoires d'Aveugle.L'Autoportrait et autres Ruines" by Derrida, in fact it is contained in a catalogue of an exhibition curated by Derrida and apart from the text, this book also offers reproductions of great works of art. Oddly this essay seems to be reflected in these lines from Sonnet 27:

And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,

Looking on darkness which the blind do see:

Save that my soul's imaginary sight

Presents their shadow to my sightless view,

which was part of the selection performed...

The next lines of the poem means, though unknown before, a lot to me and for that reason almost blew my mind ;-)

Which like a jewel hung in ghastly night

Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? - To disprove Jaques - although the correct French spelling would be Jacques!

More yet of Love is My Sin - something to come to terms with that will truly keep me busy for the next weeks. It struck me that the two performers were ageless, though I knew their "real" age being 67 and 80. Jaques' notion of the seven ages of man were completely turned upside down. Natasha Parry was and is a very attractive woman, also physically, what a beautiful face, what  a wonderfully shaped body. And Michael Pennington not only defied Jaques with his appearance but also the flyer of his own one-man show Sweet William, he is hardly heading for second childishness again, oh no, I've seen him there in all three times at once, the past (of which I regretfully know but little, but here virtually all his efforts yet shown), the present and the hopeful future (one might guess what I'm hoping for)!!

BTW there was some scholar bashing going on at the aftershow talk and though I might agree  a lot with it, yet there are some scholars that are rather unusual and deserve a lot of high esteem and hugs for their efforts. To me this is Professor Brian Gibbons, whose seminar and lectures I had the pleasure to attend in Münster!!! Not somebody who gave answers, but somebody who made us think about the possible and impossible, and I loved the way he recited poems, especially one by Beckett. Believe me though there was seemingly little content, a whole frightening, terrible landscape opened up before my eyes, the lecture series was entitled "Landscape and Introspection" !!!

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein? - To dance the Flamenco or the Tango

The first thing that came to my mind when the performance Love is My Sin began, was that both the garments worn by Michael Pennington and Natasha Parry and the way they moved were suggesting that this would be a highly ritualized, stylized, yet completely passionate dance we would be witnessing, like a Flamenco or a Tango, something that comes quite close to the actual act, simply because the surface is so slight. Probably Condillac's veils shining through again. And the hell it was...

 

The other thing that had been worrying me the day before, which seems pointless here, yet was resolved. I actually was worried if I could combine black stockings and a dark blue dress, and was astonished that Michael Pennington was wearing the same combination ;-)

Added on January 18th, maybe it is a salsa after all as suggested by Triggerfinger in Studio Brussel's new Hot Shot for this week, "Love Lost In Love"!

A messenger from god or the gods

                                                             

Being unable to find any real rest on Friday night after the performance of Love is My Sin, maybe for lack of company, I asked god for a sign. And funnily on Saturday morning he sent one, for when I was waiting for my train at Stratford station, there entered Paul Allen , whom I first encountered  as the person who moderated the talk with Peter Brook the evening before, who on this ocassion referred to himself as Mercury, allegedly (at least to him) as suggested by Peter Brook. So Mercury accompanied me on the train to Birmingham Moor Street and getting off at the same station he still went the same way I had to take to Birmingham New Street. Oddly though the appearance was quite to the contrary he moved very fast, like he actually had wings on his heels. Probably Paul Allen will always be Mercury to me, the messenger from the gods, the god of thieves and merchants.

To Be Or Not To Be,

 Or: to discuss "cap-a-p(i)e"

Last autumn I had the most urging dispute on oddly enough youtube. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcPGi1DQkag. If you bother to read it, I'm Equinox1969. It quite unnerved me and I almost quit, but it was not me at stake but some other person I admire with all my life. And the full blow I issued at the end of it, left a terrible taste, poor Capt777harris!!, I'm really sorry to have been that brutal, it was nothing personal, but I had to deal it after he had been giving me the opportunity. If there is one thing I despise it is ignorance and elitist cultural chauvinism. My sincere regards also to Harold Pinter for enabling me to give even more power to whatever I did in my final comment!!!

Kann denn Liebe Sünde sein?

Love is My Sin starring Natasha Parry and Michael Pennington, accompanied by Franck Krawczyk, directed by Peter Brook, enacted at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, January 7th 2011...review soon to be added, so far only: It's been overwhelming!!!

Es war furchtbar schön mit vielem Dank an Caravaggio !