ABCWednesday, Z for Zadkine

Thanks to mrs. Nesbitt for this interesting meme that we started 10 years ago.I am very grateful for being able to participate in ABC on Wednesday. I learned a lot by reading your posts. We have now arrived at Z, which I dedicate at the sculptor Zadkine. And I best do that by what Wikipedia me teaches.

The Rotterdammers tend to give nicknames to sculptures.This statue is named "John Gap

".

Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967)

Russian sculptor, painter and graphic artist, Zadkine settled in Paris in 1910 and became an avant garde artist and a major figure in the Ecole de Paris. Although his sculpture was influenced by both Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) as well as Cubism and its sister movement of modern art, Futurism, his main concern was with dramatically expressive shapes and forms: notably his characteristic use of concave contours and hollows.

His best-known work is his public monument The Destroyed City (1953, Rotterdam city centre), an expressionist statue widely regarded as one of the masterpieces of modern semi-abstract sculpture. Zadkine created this statue in honour of the citizens of Rotterdam, who had seen their city bombed in the first days of May 1940. We see it as a scream to Heaven

ABC Wednesday, D, of Dreamtime

The Milbi Wall

Deamtime stories

Australia - Aboriginal Dreamtime: " All peoples of our world have a concept of how the world was formed. The Aboriginals believe that, in the beginning, the earth was featureless, flat and grey.

 There were no mountain ranges, no rivers, no billabongs, no birds or animals - in fact not one living thing.

 Then long, long ago came the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime was a time when giant creatures rose up out of the grey plains where they had been slumbering for countless ages.

These mythical Beings looked like animals or plants or insects, but they behaved just like humans. They wandered across the vast grey wastes, digging for water and searching for food and as they searched, because of their giant size, they made huge ravines and rivers in the land. Thus the world took on the shape it has today."

In Cooktown there is a great example of Aboriginal art. It's called the Milbi Wall. This is created by the inhabitants of Cooktown and the Aboriginal compound of Hopevale, under the direction of the Hopevale artist Roy McIvor, who is an uncle of my daughter's ex- husband.Milbi is the Guugu Yimithirr (local Aboriginal language) word for story. The wall is meant to be part of the reconciliation project and a memorial to show history from an Aboriginal point of view.

The wall concists of three parts. The first part tells about the Dreamtime, the second part about the first contact with Europeans and later Asians, these contacts were disastrous for the Aborigines, then the third part shows us the present time which hopefully promises reconciliation of differences.The stories are told in beautiful ceramic tiles.The Wall is built right at the spot where, in 1770, Captain James Cook and his crew first set foot.

On top of the wall lies the Rainbow Serpent, one of the creator spirits of the indigenous people of Australia.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with D.

ABC Wednesday, N for National Archaeological Museum.

We didn't want to miss the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Although this was not a place where Paul was present, but it showed us what articles were used at his time.

The National Archaeological Museum  in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity worldwide.

 

 

Wikipedia:Gorgons were  popular images in Greek mythology, appearing in the earliest of written records of Ancient Greek religious beliefs such as those of Homer, which may date to as early as 1194–1184 BC. Because of their legendary and powerful gaze that could turn one to stone, images of the Gorgons were put upon objects and buildings for protection. An image of a Gorgon holds the primary location at the pediment of the temple at Corfu, which is the oldest stone pediment in Greece, and is dated to c. 600 BC.

 

Gorgon

  Mycenaean civilization originated and evolved from the society and culture of the Early and Middle Helladic periods in mainland Greece. It emerged in circa 1600 BC when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete.

Here some examples of Mycenaean Art.

 

 Other artefacts such as jewellery.

 

 Ostracism. An interesting voting system!!

 

 

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt,  who created ABC, and Roger, who took over from her. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with N

Happy Easter

Happy and blessed Easter!

To all blogging friends!

Good Friday

I 've just listened to the St.Matthew Passion by Bach. A ritual I observe every year. This year the Passion was sung in Dutch, which is strange for I always heard it in German, but the translation was reasonably good.

Paintings by Rien Poortvliet

"Oh God..."

ABC Wednesday, Greece, I for Icons.

o

Saint Paul created by Father "Pefkis".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Our journey in Greece was an attempt to follow the way Paul took to spread the gospel. This was probably the second journey of Paul. On our way  we visited an icon workshop, where a priest and his students were busy  painting icons. We watched them respectfully in silence.

 

 

 

 

This is the icon I bought in the workshop where icons are painted with patience and care. We could watch the monks who were busy. We were asked to be as silent as possible.

At the back of this icon there is a seal to guarantee that the icon is genuine.

 

 

Wikipedia: "An icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting Jesus, Mary, saints and angels, which is venerated among Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and in certain Eastern Catholic Churches.

Icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Icons are often illuminated with a candle or jar of oil with a wick. (Beeswax for candles and olive oil for oil lamps are preferred because they burn very cleanly, although other materials are sometimes used.) The illumination of religious images with lamps or candles is an ancient practice pre-dating Christianity."

ABC on Wednesday has arrived at the letter I . Thank you Denise Nesbitt and ABCW Team.

ABC Wednesday, E for Edith an Edwardian Lady

Small uprightStJohn's Wort  Stinging Nettle, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Sweet

Branched Bur Reed, Common Flowering Rush  
  Spotted Palmate Orchis,  Rosebay Willow Herb

 

Giant Campanula and Common Agrimony

All my friends and relatives know that  I collect English books. During the time I was studying English I got many beautiful books. And one day I got "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" by Edith Blackwell Holden, in English and not long after this also the Dutch translation of this book.
The book consists of a collection of poetry and drawings of plants, insects and birds.


Wikipedia says:

"Edith Blackwell Holden (1871–1920) was a British artist and part-time art teacher, known in her time as an illustrator of children's books.. Much influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, she specialized in painting animals and plants. Holden was made famous by the posthumous publication, in 1977, of her Nature Notes for 1906 under the title The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. She was living in Gowan Bank, Kineton Green Road, Olton, Solihull in 1905-6 when she recorded the notes. The collection of seasonal observations, poetry, and pictures of birds, plants, and insects —which was never even considered for publication when it was composed—had the nostalgic charm of a vanished world seven decades later. It became a world-wide best seller."

 

 

Hazel Nuts and Acorns

ABC is created by Denise Nesbitt. It has been an enormous success. We arrived at the sixteenth round and the letter E. See more lovely and interesting words starting with E.Click on the logo in the sidebar.

                          Meadow Buttercup, Common Bugle, Yellow Heartsease,          
                                                 Large Flowered Bitter Cress,  Yellow Weasel Snout

ABC Wednesday, Z for Zoomorphism

Zoomorphism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Zoomorph" redirects here. For the toy line, see Zoomorphs.

Zoomorphic decoration from the Book of Kells

Zoomorphism is the shaping of something in animal form or terms. Examples include:

• Art that imagines humans as non-human animals^.
• Art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal
• Art that creates patterns using animal imagery, or animal style
• Deities depicted in animal form, such as exist in ancient Egyptian religion^.

The word derives from the Greek ζωον (zōon), meaning animal, and μορφη (morphē), meaning shape or form.
 Long before the common era, people tried to communicate by means of drawing images of animals. First these paintings were important for hunters to know where animals were available. Lateron the paintings got a religious meaning. Cave paintings were found all over the world in mountainous regions with caves

Emoe, Australia

Dingo, Australia

Bats, Australia

Rock paintings by Aborigines in Australia

Egyptian Religion

Thot with the head of an ibis

Horus  Zoomorphic representation in religion in Egypt.

Israel

Zoomorphic representation in religion

Some tribes of Israel are

 represented by animal symbols.

Read Gen.49

 

The stained glass windows by Marc Chagall  Israel

 

 

The Milbi Wall in Cooktown Australia represents a wall of stories told by the Aborigenes .

Each story is represented by an animal.

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  Tribal animals depicted by the Indigenous people of Australia
  
  
• Tribal animals depicted by the Indigenous people of Australia
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• We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words   beginning with Z.

  Norway

  

  The Vikings used a dragon as their symbol.

  

  Norwegian legends often used animals.

  
  

  

  The dog Garm guards the entrance of the other world

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Odin on his eight-footed horse Sleipnir

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
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