Inner Whisperings

Weighed down by
The weight of books
My walls speak
To me of all
Knowledge of man;
Laboriously
Gleaning through
The vast empires
Of his mind,
I find avenues of
Grandest imaginings;
My soul has lived,
I know, in these
Ages past
In multitudinous
Moulds till, at last,
I am in the
Present foaled –
A man of
Questioning kind,
I debate with
Inner whisperings.

Ronnie Patel, "My Walls Speak to Me," 2001

"Mirá que te voy a dar una piña..."

La naturaleza presenta diversidad.

Si alguien pregunta qué es una piña, una respuesta posible es "el fruto del pino."

Otra respuesta es la definición de un diccionario, "Fruto del pino y otros árboles. Es de forma aovada, más o menos aguda, de un tamaño que varía, según las especies, desde 2 hasta 20 cm de largo y aproximadamente la mitad de grueso, y se compone de varias piezas leñosas, triangulares, delgadas en la parte inferior, por donde están asidas, y recias por la superior, colocadas en forma de escama a lo largo de un eje común, y cada una con dos piñones y rara vez uno" - DRAE. O, según Wikipedia, "una estructura basada en un eje [...] alrededor del cual se despliegan hojas reproductivas con una disposición generalmente helicoidal."

Sin embargo, cuando alguien pregunta "¿qué es una piña?," la respuesta habitual es "el fruto del pino," porque la gente en general dispone de poco tiempo.

Si se trata de un niño, "fruto del pino" posiblemente sea suficiente.

Pero a medida que el niño crezca, si tiene curiosidad, la idea de que una piña es "el fruto del pino" será tarde o temprano contradicha por otras tantas piñas que él descubrirá al observar la naturaleza.

Indudablemente un ananá constituye un gran problema para todos aquellos que creen que una "piña" es—y no puede ser otra cosa que—"el fruto del pino."

A dichos sujetos les molestará que el ananá coexista con las piñas.
Dirán las cosas más terribles acerca del ananás, reales o imaginarias.
Informarán acerca de "La Gran Conspiración Ananás para Subyugar al Mundo."
Confiscarán toda obra de arte que presente un ananá.
Harán imágenes que ponen en evidencia la "monstruosa" naturaleza del ananá.
Subrayarán que los pinos se debilitan a causa de la existencia del ananá.
Organizarán una gran exposición titulada "El Orgullo de las Piñas."
Compondrán melodías entusiastas, tales como la "Oda a la Savia Pinocha."
Promulgarán leyes que determinen con precisión quirúrgica qué fruto es o no es ananá.
Obligarán a los vendedores de fruta a colocar una marca bien visible sobre cada ananá.
Exigirán que no se mezcle el ananá con ninguna otra fruta.
Denunciarán a cualquiera que deje un ananá en un frutero conteniendo manzanas, uvas, peras, naranjas, bananas, etc.
Proscribirán a Carmen Miranda, "ostentosa" Dama del Tutti Fruti.
Suprimirán definitivamente la Danza de las Horas, versión Walt Disney, dado que la primera bailarina alimenta a sus compañeras con los frutos de una cornucopia que contiene un ananá, y al que otra bailarina, con "inaceptable" apetito, engulle por completo.
Castigarán severamente la inclusión de ananás en fruteros que contengan piñas.
Prohibirán todo plato, ensalada o postre que contenga ananás.
Boicotearán fruterías y supermercados que vendan ananás.
Colocarán carteles que digan "aquí no comemos ananás."
Quemarán los libros que definan al ananá, lo describan o lo mencionen.
Pondrán particular empeño en destruir todo texto que hable de las propiedades nutritivas del ananá o de sus beneficios digestivos.
Prepararán nuevos libros, "didácticos," con ilustraciones que contrasten la "admirable pureza de la piña" frente a la "desagradable inferioridad del ananá."
Romperán los vidrios de las fruterías.
Harán pagar a los fruteros por los vidrios rotos.
Declararán la guerra a los países que cultivan ananás.
Prenderán fuego a todas las fruterías.
Arrestarán a los fruteros.
Transportarán todo ananá que encuentren a otros países.
Enlatarán los que no puedan ser transportados.
Harán con ellos puré de ananás.
Exportarán el producto.
Se quedarán con la ganancia.
Asesinarán a los fruteros, sus familias, sus clientes, sus amigos, sus conocidos y cualquiera que haya pasado alguna vez delante de una frutería.
Fijarán carteles con la inscripción "Nosotros estamos libres de ananás."
No hablarán más del asunto.
Negarán todo lo ocurrido.
Dirán "mis mejores amigos son todos ananás."

Pero comerán piñas, sólo piñas y nada más que piñas.

Ayuda-memoria. A los amnésicos se les recuerda que una de las acepciones de “piña” es ananá. El término proviene del portugués ananás y éste a su vez del guaraní naná. El ananás o ananá, Ananas comosus, es una planta exótica y vivaz, que pertenece a la familia de las Bromeliáceas y crece hasta los 120 cm de altura, presentando hojas glaucas, ensiformes, rígidas, de bordes espinosos y rematados en punta muy aguda; flores de color rosa o morado y fruto grande en forma de piña, carnoso, amarillento, muy fragante, suculento yterminadoporunpenacho de hojas. Al fruto de esa planta se lo llama "ANANÁ." Rico en fibra,contiene vitaminas C, B1, B6, B9 (ácido fólico) y E; potasio, magnesio, yodo, cobre y maganeso; ácido cítrico, ácido málico, ácido oxálico y enzima bromelina. Propiedades medicinales: ayuda a metabolizar los alimentos, diurético, antiséptico, desintoxicante, antiácido y vermífugo. Auxiliar en el tratamiento de la artritis reumatoide, la ciática, el control de la obesidad y el alivio de infecciones laríngeas, faríngeas, etc.

Originalmente Sudamericano. Corona Natural. Vivaz, Fragante, Irresistible... Ciento por Ciento ANANÁS.

Idea, Investigación y Diseño: Mariano Akerman, 12.4.2008

Linnaeus-Manila Program

The Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art, Manila 2007
Embassy of Sweden in The Philippines



In the Spirit of Linnaeus

The Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art
by Mariano Akerman, Researcher and Lecturer

Manila, The Philippines, 11 January – 22 February 2007

Abstract

The year 2007 marks the tercentenary of the birth of the renowned Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). In Manila special events take place, to enhance his unique contribution in terms of systematic research. Indeed, Linnaeus was an enthusiastic man, a researcher who believed that curiosity was the only firm basis for scientific thought. Interested in mapping, studying, cataloguing and classifying the living species, Linnaeus wanted to understand the organizational principles underlying God’s Creation. The Linnaean approach involves a systematic giving of names to the natural species or binary nomenclature, which is an attempt to clarify and simplify the scientific dialog, raising it to a universal level. Exploration, medicine, geology, anthropology, ecology and philosophy were among the many interests of Linnaeus. Considering the scientific and artistic developments of the Age of Reason, Linnaeus’ deductive approach and his systematic classification of life can be put in context. Searching for species to be discovered, collected, examined, described, named and classified, Linnaeus traveled across Scandinavia. He also played a key role in leading seventeen of his students to important scientific journeys all around the world. Conceived as an interdisciplinary forum, the Manila Series of Lectures on Linnaeus gather together the Sciences and the Arts, to focus on Linnaeus’ extraordinary contribution which was to lead us to a better understanding of the world that surrounds us.



Program Topics
1. A tribute to Linnaeus: the presence of flora and fauna in the visual arts throughout the ages
2. An exemplary Swede: Linnaeus’ place among his other famous compatriots
3. Linnaeus: his life and work
4. Linnaeus in the 18th Century context: scientific and artistic developments in the Age of Reason
5. Linnaeus as researcher: a multifaceted man and his methodology
6. The scientific journeys across Sweden and abroad
7. Scandinavian botanical and animal species
8. Realistic ways of recording a botanical specimen: herbarium, sketches, drawings and paintings, printed illustrations and photographs
9. Following God’s steps: Linnaeus names and orders Nature
10. Linnaeus’ two-word naming of the living species: Taxonomy, then an achievement and today a complication?
11. The process of classification: its peculiarities, difficulties and advantages, risks and importance
12. Classification and its types (accumulation, aggregation, group, collection, set, association, family, system; class, order, genera, species, variety)
13. Linnaeus’ rule-books: description, importance and projections
14. Attempting to map, name and classify the realm of fantasia
15. Surrealistic ways of recording reality: sculpture, painting, engraving and photography
16. Challenging the concept of category: the hybrid, its shape and symbolism

Program Target
In the Spirit of Linnaeus is intended for students at the higher levels of education

Program Aims
As a special program, In the Spirit of Linnaeus promotes learning and research education. Its main goals are:
1. To increase the interest for science among the students, focusing on the notions of research and the ordering of knowledge (in the past and today)
2. To present a multi-faceted image of Carl Linnaeus for the public, showing him in the context of the Age of Reason and underlining his sense of curiosity, systematic proceedings and creativity
3. To draw attention to the importance of systematic research as an invaluable tool relating to both comprehension and subsequent development
4. To show Linnaeus’ work as an exemplary starting point for new research projects
5. To stimulate an interdisciplinary approach in which the natural sciences are a component of a wider context that includes the visual arts, history, philosophy, literature, computer sciences, etc.
6. To inspire and prize investigative works



Lecture Schedule

1. British School Manila
Carl Linnaeus: Exploration, Creativity and System
Thursday, January 11, 2007, 2:30 – 5 pm
Music Room, 36th St University Park, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Manila
Info: 840-1570, website: www.britishschoolmanila.org

2. University of Santo Tomas
The Art of Linnaeus: From Curiosity to Apotheosis
Monday, January 15, 2007, 2 – 4 pm
Beato Angelico Audiovisual Room, College of Fine Arts & Design
España Avenue, Manila
Info: 406-1611 loc. 8390, website: www.ust.edu.ph

3. European International School
Carl Linnaeus: A Creative Person in the Age of Reason
Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 1:40 - 3:20 pm
Auditorium, 75 Swaziland St, Better Living, Subdivision Parañaque
Info: 776-1000 loc. 251, website: www.eis-manila.org

4. International School Manila
Linnaeus: Nature Exploration and Knowledge Systematization
Monday, January 22, 2007, 9 – 11 am
Fine Arts Theatre, University Park, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Manila
Info: 840-8400 loc. 251, website: www.ismanila.com

5. Ateneo de Manila University
Linnaeus and the Rara avis Phenomenon
Wednesday, January 24, 2007, 4:30 – 6:30 pm
Ateneo Art Gallery, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City
Info: 426-6488, website: www.ateneo.edu

6. Lyceum of the Philippines University
The Art of Classification: Linnaeus’ Passion and System
Friday, January 26, 2007, 1:30 – 3:30 pm
JPL Hall of Freedom, Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila
Info: 527-2303, website: www.lyceumphil.edu.ph

7. Mahatma Gandhi International School
Classification: A Fundamental Tool involving Surprises, Advantages and Risks?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
Auditorium, 3270 Armstrong Ave., Merville Access Road, Pasay City
Info: 776-1165, website: www.mgis.com.ph

8. De La Salle University
Nature and Art: Species Exploration in the Spirit of Linnaeus
Wednesday, January 31, 2007, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
Waldo Perfecto Seminar Hall, SPS Building, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila
Info: 524-4611 loc. 521 or 522, website: www.dlsu.edu.ph

9. Feati University
Linnaeus and Order: Nature and Its Architectural Projections
Friday, February 2, 2007, 2 – 4 pm
Audiovisual Room, Administration Bldg., Helios Street, Santa Cruz, Manila
Info: 733-8321, website: www.featiu.edu.ph

10. Star of Hope School
Linnaeus’ Systematic Approach to Nature and Its Implications
Friday, February 7, 2007, 10:30 – 13 pm
Main Room, Taytay



2007 heralds the 60 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Philippines and Sweden and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus

To highlight these two momentous events, the Embassy of Sweden in Manila together with Mr. Mariano Akerman, Researcher and Lecturer, will organize a series of lectures with different universities and educational institutions entitled In the Spirit of Linnaeus, a Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art from 11 January to 22 February 2007 that will enhance Linnaeus' consistent contribution in the field of systematic research. We hope that these will contribute to a better understanding of the world that surrounds us as a result of Linnaeus' curiosity and inventiveness.

The qualities for which Carl Linnaeus, Sweden’s most famous and outstanding scientist of all time, is still remembered – innovation, creativity, progressiveness – are qualities which people around the world associate with Sweden. Perhaps, some people look at him primarily as a traveller and explorer of his own country while to others he is the father of the modern classification of flora and fauna. But he was also an inspiring teacher who sent his students on voyages of scientific discovery all over the world.

He lived at a time of enormous discovery when science was seeking to explain the world around us. His untiring and resolute endeavours in the description of the living world laid the groundwork for the modern international scientific systems of classification and naming of animals and plants. He lived at a time, possibly the very last time, when one person could accomplish this single-handedly provided he was willing to pay the price. The price was a heavy one - for much of his life, he was financially insecure and his health suffered due to overwork.

We would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to participate in the Linnaeus Lecture series. Your unwavering support to promote inter-disciplinary involvement and the exchange of ideas in the Linnaeus Forum will indeed increase the interest of our young people in science and research.

Source: Embassy of Sweden Website, Manila, 2 January 2007


19.11.2006

Online resources
• Brochure
• In the Spirit of Linnaeus
• Linneo
• What a century!
• Rara avis
• Kingdom and Ecology
• The Same Order
• El mismo orden
• Education

Manila acclaims Linnaeus

The Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art, Manila 2007



Dedicated to Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), father of modern biology and his systematic approach based on observation.

It comprises information and insights concerning The Linnaeus Tercentenary Lectures and Contest on Science and Art, Manila 2007.

“Carl Linnaeus’ binomial terminology and classifications of the living things fascinate the public in Philippines. Thanks to a series of lectures that bridge the gap between science and art, more than 1,500 students learn about Linnaeus’s pioneering work, the difficulties researchers face in attempting to classify the extraordinary, and the urgent need of improving the world that surrounds us” (The Manila Report, January 2007).



Latest news from Manila: “After important art exhibits at Oakwood, Alliance Française and The National Museum, Filipino and foreign audiences rediscover the imagery of Mariano Akerman in ten educational institutions across the city. Experts detect in such imagery a thought-provoking ingredient—one that checkmates systematic classification” (Pineapple Times, 31 January 2007).

Educational institutions in which The Tercentenary Lectures on Science and Art take place: British School Manila, University of Santo Tomas, European International School, International School Manila, Ateneo de Manila University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Mahatma Gandhi International School, De La Salle University, Feati University, Star of Hope School in Taytay

"In The Spirit of Linnaeus" is a series of lectures on science and art. All lectures are given by Mariano Akerman.


Ovula ovum L. 1758
Hibiscus sp. L.
Cypraea tigris L. 1758
Conus marmoreus. L. 1758
29.1.2007

Comments
1. Bravo! Admirable tu trabajo sobre Linnaeus: marca una nueva etapa en tu trayectoria creativa. Estoy segura que abriste una ventana más a los que estuvieron presentes [en las conferencias], en la conjunción del tema de la naturaleza y el arte, a través de Linnaeus. Madre Natura y Arte, se dan la mano, se complementan y se nutren. Un beso. Gina
2. Congratulations! Ayes
3. Wow..! Amazing, great, nice, wise are some of the words that describe them. Many thanks, Mariano.. gab
4. Felicitaciones Mariano! es realmente un gran trabajo, la presentacion está increible, tu trabajo completo es un placer, una sensibilidad exquista y tus pinturas, la composicion, los colores. Lisset
5. I am always amazed and entertained when I visit your blog. Your efforts are certainly appreciated. BS.
6. Very nice presentation, Mariano. I like very much the three slideshows, the way you also 'classified' them (all related to Linnaeus, then nature, and your paintings). I like a lot your use of the color. gab
7. Mariano: Ví tu blog y me maravilla tu versatilidad y tu capacidad
para desarrollar [todo tipo de] temas […]. Ese talento para poder adentrarse en tópicos [diversos …] y profundizarlos como […] un experto no cualquiera lo logra. Me sorprende hasta qué punto y con qué creatividad y humor has hecho el abordaje sobre Linnaeus. Un beso, Mamá.
8. "Opunita ficus-indica," visualized by Akermariano as GENETRIX. Opunita ficus-indica: isn't this the scientific name of the Nopal Cactus?

Three Maxims by Linnaeus
1. "All excess is harmful."
2. "Nature always compensates for a disadvantage by an advantage elsewhere…"
3. "Nothing is more precious than life."

Online resources
• In the Spirit of Linnaeus
• Linneo
• What a century!
• Rara avis
• Kingdom and Ecology
• The Same Order
• El mismo orden
• Education

Wall of Thorns

As published for the first time, this digital collage was accompanied by a caption introducing it as Much in common (reminder).[1] Curiously enough, such words don’t constitute the title of this artwork, which is actually A Lot in Common.

Not all my works receive a title as soon as they have been finished: sometimes they have the title put before the work is initiated, other times they receive it in the making, and in other opportunities they have it put once the work has been finished. This last case is valid to A Lot in Common, a composition also recalling Kandinsky’s words on the artwork as having an autonomous life.[2]

In A Lot in Common, the motifs and their interplay may possibly appear enigmatic. The crown of thorns, for example, has its referent in the Gospel, but its use in this composition has to do with the creation of new meanings. After all, not every single crown of thorns is necessarily that of Jesus.

Different layers of meaning are suggested in A Lot in Common via the use of a hybrid motif—a figure “7” that can also be read as the letter “J.” Because of its double nature, this hybrid symbol doesn’t simply refer to, for instance, the seven days of the Creation or God’s name (Jehovah, Jesus, etc.). Notably, it refers to both of these notions at once, rejecting the exclusive idea of “either this or that,” to embrace a rather inclusive one—“both this and that.”

Thus, the central symbol of A Lot in Common has to do with the seven days of Creation” and God’s name simultaneously (both-and phenomenon in the visual arts). Apart from its biblical symbolism, the figure “7” suggests human creativeness and a seven-day routine. Surrounded by thorns, the “7-J” motif evokes Jerusalem, the holy city, with a wall of thorns, which in theory is supposed to protect her, but as a matter of fact hurts her: the wall of thorns stands for segregation, ghetto, divorce, isolation, suffering, sacrifice, impotence.

All the pain connected to monotheism inhabits A Lot in Common, embracing that of Jehovah, Jesus, Jamal.

As today pain prevails in that city, sometimes seen as the legendary center of the world,[3], pain becomes quite general and reverberates in each of us. Jazmín, Jonathan, Juliana, James, Jessica, Justine, Jacques, José, Judith, Jürgen, Japheth, Juanito... Jerusalem longs for Justice.
That is why Jerusalem and us have “A Lot in Common.”

References
Digital collage text. "Metaphasia. An inability to perceive metaphor" (Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, 1991).
[1] See Counterpoint, 11 November 2006
[2] See The Wisdom of Kandinsky, 15 November 2006
[3] On Jerusalem as the center of the world, see Impromptu, 7 July 2007

Mariano Akerman , “Metaphasia” (digital composition) and “The Wall of Thorns” (text) © 31 Aug 2007 Akermariano. All rights reserved.

Comments

La metáfora, como simbología artística y psíquica, admite multiplicidad de interpretaciones, todas ellas válidas para la realidad mental que se las plantea... Comprendo el desarrollo que exponés, y considero que la percepción es, precisamente, tan amplia, tan ambigua y llena de significados, como cantidad de seres sean capaces de conectar imagen y sensación. Esencia de la metáfora artística, esencia de lo Inconsciente: mostrar y ocultar a la vez... Cada uno integra la manifestación del arte de manera diferente según el ordenamiento de su realidad interior...Por eso, justifico...por qué no “ f “? Fe y Fuerza. Es lo que a mí me sugirió. Una Fuerza sutil como la efe lánguida, y agresiva en las espinas. Una Fe aguda y tenue al mismo tiempo, avalada y protegida por la corona espiculada. Más y lo mismo. Sincronicidad. Reflejo del esfuerzo que supone sustentar la Fe. Saluditos! Adriana [HUH]

Estamos totalmente de acuerdo: cada uno de nosotros integra la obra de arte a su manera y según el entendimiento de su propia realidad interior. Me gustan tus palabras porque ellas abren nuevas puertas. No olvido que la tarea del artista es la de mostrar y ocultar a la vez.

x_morawit. Siempre leo tus artículos, que me sorprenden cada vez más. Mi favorito es "Wall of Thorns", vos sabes que me pierden la simbología y la metáfora. Una maravilla. Te quiero siempre, Adriana.

Counterpoint

{Ornament und Verbrechen}

Flying Being, digital image, 2006. After Samuel Bak, Fugue, oil, 1972.

Counterpoint. n [Fr. contrepoint, L. contrapunctus]. a. complementing or contrasting item : opposite. b. use of contrast or interplay of elements in a work of art (as a drama).

Contrepoint. n.m. (1398). Fig. Motif secondaire qui se superpose à quelque chose, en ayant une réalité propre. En contrepoint. Loc.adv. Simultanément et indépendamment, mais comme une sorte d’accompagnement.

1 Those were the Days, My Friend

2 Ornament and Crime?

Ornament und Verbrechen, 1907: "Not only ornament is produced by criminals but also a crime is committed trough the fact that ornament inflicts serious injury on people’s health, on the national budget and hence on cultural evolution.”

When writing these lines, its author had architecture in mind. He is said to have paved the way to simplification.

Similarities and differences were established by the Creator. Indeed, the Creation has to do with infinite diversity rather than some sort of restricted uniformity. Think of Nature, and include all human beings, with their ethnicities, ages, sexes, genders, identities.

3 The latest laws (automatic conformism)

Classifying is a double-edged sword: one human being classifies to understand, another does so to discriminate.

Looking like the Creator or not, most human beings are incapable to understand the principle of diversity that characterizes the Creation. More often than not human beings make their best efforts to spoil it. E.g., Mies van der Rohe: “Less is more.”

Notably, his words are not just paradoxical, but somehow problematic too. Such an idea is more or less valid to architecture. Yet, think of the consequences of Rohe’s favorite maxim if applied to human beings...

To neutralize this slogan glamorizing exclusion, Robert Venturi has aptly noted that “Less is a bore.” Once again, let’s think of people, not buildings.

4 The fox’s secret: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

5 Imagine you were not to see your mom anymore.

6 A painted bird

Consider also catching a bird and keeping it away from its covey. Add someone hurrying up to paint the bird, covering its feathers entirely, with loud artificial colors. Only then the painted bird is set free, of course, it flies to join the covey, aiming to regain its place, amid the other, still flying, members of the group. But none of the unpainted birds recognizes the painted one. The presence of this “alien” creature turns all the unpainted ones hostile. But the painted bird doesn’t understand much about what has happened to it. And the closer it gets to the unpainted birds, the rougher their response. Suddenly, the unpainted birds attack the painted one. They wound it. All locals find great delight in watching the painted bird falling from the sky.

7 Exhausted (cannot come back home)

8 No exit

9 It’s a question of time

10 The little ones

11 In a single night

12 Transmigrant

13 The last string

14 Inaudible

15 I say blood; they say color

16 Too late

17 Alive (under the skin, soul scarce)

18 Somewhere, but not over the rainbow

19 Temporarily protected (thoughts)

20 Much in common (reminder)

All 21 pictures have been branded as “Ornament und Verbrechen,” the German words for ornament and crime. The pictures exhibit sequential, tattoo-like numbers. As a symbol, the figure 7 refers to the Creation, which is recalled three times here (7 x 3 = 21). The central inscription in "I say blood; they keep on talking about color" {fig. 15} and "Much in common (reminder)" {fig. 20} express the figure "7" and a letter "J" simultaneously. Orchestrated with the text as a single work,all images connect the present to the past, my present to our common future.

“Nothing is more precious than life.” (Carl Linnaeus)

REFERENCES. 1 William Blake, The Ancient Days, 1794. 2 Adolf Loos, Ornament and Crime, 1908. 3 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1923), borrowing from Robert Browning, Men and Women, 1855; Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, 1966. 4 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince, 1943: « Voici mon secret. Il est très simple : on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. » 5 Harry F.Harlow’s experiment: a baby monkey clinging to a cloth-covered “mother,” with no milk to offer (instead of the wire “mother,” with a milk bottle in it), 1959. 6 Max Ernst, Blue and Pink Doves, 1926. I paraphrase the words of Jerzy Kosinski in The Painted Bird (1965), which I’ve read some twenty-five years ago. 10 Frans Lanting, The March of the Penguins, www.lanting.com - 13 George Frederic Watts, Hope, 1886. 18 Heinrich Bünting, Map of the World, 1581. 19 Walt Disney, Bambi, 1942. 21 Ibid., Dumbo, 1941. The words of the Swedish biologist (Homo universalis), as cited by Wilfrid Blunt (Linnaeus: TheCompleat Naturalist, 2004).

COUNTERPOINT {Ornament und Verbrechen} Conceived, designed and composed by Mariano Akerman, 10 november 2006. Akermariano. All rights reserved.

Comments

1. Great! Varied emotions... very strong visual imagery. Sreediva
2. Buenísimos los sites que tenes! Veo que sos multifacetico, un verdadero creativo, un buscador incansable. Un amante de la vida... Es muy lindo lo que escribiste sobre el arte y el artista. Un fuerte abrazo a nuestro amigo Linneaus cuando lo veas, y otro grande para vos, gab.
3. William Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938: "The life force is vigorous. The delight that accompanies it counter-balances all the pains and hardships that confront men. It makes life worth living."
4. Sos un artistazo, y estás intensamente ocupado.
5. Well presented. K.O.
6. There is much to think about and much to feel. My first reactions are countrapunctual. Sweetlife
7. Well done Mariano! Keep well and stay happy. B.S.
8. Bravo! Mon Ami. Ayes
9. Not one on here I didn't like... Quite a few of 'em are thought provoking [THUMBUP] Extremely well done. H.T.
10. So little in common.... and yet so much!! I think it's amazing. I like it! P.C.N.
11. Bravo, I loved it. [THUMBUP] Sam Warrall
Mariano estás muy activo y eso es muy lindo. La diversidad es lo bueno de este mundo. Ay si fuera todo uniforme, qué horror. Lo principal es que tu creatividad continúa dando frutos. Que sigas así. Con afecto. Gina
12. Estimado Mariano: Muy bueno el contrapunto. Afectos. Jorge
13. Tu obra TEMPORARILY PROTECTED me encanta. I love it. Un abrazo al artista amigo. Neli
14. Hola Mariano! me fascina como encontrás un estímulo que dispara tu prodigiosa imaginación! Me gusta la presentación, salvo la 6....sacála, please! no quiero aceptar que sos capaz de imaginar semejante maldad...sólo los humanos la pueden imaginar para torturar de la peor manera, a quien no puede defenderse, y no me refiero sólo a lo literal! Ornament und Verbrechen cannot be fragmented. You are hiding its real meaning. I´ll give you a gift: Mess is lore. A Mies le hubiera gustado. Todo mi amor, Liber
> R: Gracias maestra. Acepto que vea ud. las cosas de otra forma. Lo imaginado en texto 6 lo ha sido no por mi, sino por el autor de "El pájaro pintado" al que yo parafraseo. Por favor, lea las notas a pie de página (digital). Pienso que bueno sería que ud. leyese tal libro en su totalidad: la "humanidad"—le recuerdo—no ha superado en lo absoluto la crueldad que la caracteriza desde siempre. Nada que yo presento en “Counterpoint” llega a uds. con la totalidad de su contexto, es por ello que me he tomado la ‘molestia’ de dejar establecidos los referentes que inspiran mi quehacer. Verá ud., es lo mío LIBERtad de expresión. I am hiding nothing, yet suggesting a number of things. ART has nothing to do with definition. On the contrary, it should open the valves of sensation and feeling, as Francis Bacon (the Post-WWII one) used to say. We may add reflexion too. I find amusing your gift ("Mess is Lore"). Le quiere mucho—con o sin ornamentos"—su hijo arquitectónico en la distancia, que hoy ve en Loos exactamente aquello que aportó a nuestra civilización. Esto y mucho más ud. bien le enseñó a su alumno hace ya veinte años y mismo así sigue hoy iluminándole (incluso si el susodicho desde siempre pertenece a la Luz). Guárdole a ud. en lugar muy especial, entre mis Constelaciones Interiores Favoritas. akermariano
15. Me ENCANTAN. Tienen una expresividad, y me tocan muy profundamnete.. Acabo de leer que a tu profesora no le gusto el pajaro.. Yo en cambio lei tu comentario, y si bien es desgarrador, expresa una realidad sobre la soledad y la discriminación very accurate.. y me hizo "quererlo" más. Gracias por compartir tu arte y tus visiones con nosotros, gab.
16. So..., it's "back-to -the-egg" time, it seems. Very interesting and intense.
Cheers! Martin Yaya
17. No sé si no puedo asociar o no quiero. Al fin y al cabo hay que defenderse en este mundo. Aquí lo mismo que siempre: un mundo de locos, pasan cosas horribles, espantosas, es un atolladero político infernal. Creo que somos centro y conjunción de odios fatales. Quizàs en 100 años se resuelva. Te lo cuento para que entiendas mi trayectoria de afectos, pasiones, alegrías y lágrimas… No me arrepiento de nada. Un beso. Gina
18. Gracias, discípulo querido! Amigo también, y no hay muchos....!
En realidad debí decir soslayar en vez de hiding, y contigo puedo tener estas aclaraciones ya que nos comunicamos en la misma longitud de onda...o ahora debo decir ancho de banda? / Loos era "un hombre muy capaz", no es una novedad para ti; yo descubrí el alcance de su manifiesto allá por los '86/87 cuando estuvieron unos académicos vieneses que me esclarecieron de lo que no puedo trascender por no entender el idioma alemán....y ya sabemos lo que son las traducciones, aún cuando son buenas. / Quién es el autor de El pájaro pintado? Aunque no se si leería un texto que me angustiara tanto como ese cuento del pájaro azul que estaba en El Tesoro de la Juventud. Cuando lo leí tenía 5 o 6 años. Ahora me pegaría como un directo a la mandíbula. / Voy a re-leer las notas, quizas las comprendí diferente. / En cuanto a Mies, habría que decir que "less is less is less is less...and so on", y no te cuento si viviera la tecnología de ahora! / Muchas gracias por mi sitio en el akermariano. Espero honrarlo como corresponde. Muchos besos, Liber
19. Me conmueve. Sé que el arte es tu via de llegar a los demás y la forma de darle cauce a tus emociones interiores. Yo tengo otras formas de expresiòn y guardo mi mundo dobladito cuidadosamente en mí. Gina
20. Lograré mi intento, nadie se caliente, todo en su momento y armoniosamente.
Tradition reminds us where we come from and where are we going to. It also preserves identity. Some modernization here and there is always necessary. Otherwise, one becomes some kind of robot. (And there have been so many along the history, including the cybernetic ones we have today...).
Counterpoint has to do with inventiveness, solitude, beauty, humor, communication, friendship, light, obstacles, pain, joy, faith, roots, identity integration and hope. In other words, Counterpoint has to do with Life.