Sunday At The Homestead

Usually Sundays begin with either baked molasses French toast, courtesy of the master of the house, or whole grain nutty and fruity pancakes, courtesy of the mistress.  Three loads of laundry follow, and there is often some morning music (none today). It is too windy and bone-chillingly cold for a walk, so I went right to the piano after breakfast (pancakes), and Deb returned to her animation project.

Nearly every week, and sometimes twice, Deb wins a major animation award.  Her 2nd award of the week came in today, as her web series "22 Bones" won best web series at a major Australian festival.  My piano playing seldom wins awards, though it has happened in the past.  However, in order to win, one must enter competitions, and I haven't done that since my student days.  Anyway, my program is marching along.  I have increased my weekly practice time, and have begun narrowing my focus on the more difficult passages I need to master.  I am hoping for a January recital date, barring illness or injury.

I finished an excellent book by Hal Clement today (Still River), and we played a game of Middle Earth: The Wizards, which I lost by one point.  We also watched a movie.  Deb's film choice this weekend was called Gold Diggers of 1933, a Busby Berkley extravaganza starring Dick Powell, Joan Blondell (in one of her best roles), and gawky and awkward Ruby Keeler.  Comparable to 42nd Street, this one feels more like a play than that other great film, though many of the numbers are as spectacular.  The closing number is dedicated to the returning soldiers of WW1, who were scorned and forgotten by government, and often left on their own.  Definitely a film highlight, and worth watching.

Despite the cold weather coming in, and frequent minor snow squalls, it appears that we will have another white Solstice next weekend.  The longer that snow can be postponed, the better.  Our long delayed trip to Detroit is currently scheduled for Tuesday, after Deb's morning infusion.  A visit to two superb beer destinations is planned,and likely some other highlights as well.

The next painting to be featured from the DIA is, like the last one, by Oskar Kokoschka.  This one is an amazing masterpiece cityscape, and has long been a favourite of mine.  This is a large canvas, and very striking.  One is drawn directly to it when entering the gallery.  Last year we saw the magnificent painting of the same subject by Frederic Church, which normally resides in the art museum in Kansas City.  It would be amazing to see these paintings side by side.

 View of Jerusalem, Oskar Kokoschka, 1929-30.  Oil on Canvas.

31.5" x 50.5".  Detroit Institute of Arts.

 Detail of above.  The energy radiating from this painting is immense. 

Sunday evening, like all recent evenings, will conclude with some listening to recorded music.  Last night we heard the 2nd piano concerto of Brahms, a powerful work that grabs and holds the listener for a full 50 minutes.  Tonight we will be hearing Monteverdi's Magnificat For 6 Voices.  Can't wait!!

Hope your weekend was a great one, too!

Mapman Mike

Approaching Solstice

Our sunsets are just about as far south as they go, with only a further 2 minutes to be shaved off sunset time.  By solstice we are getting about 9 hours of daylight, as opposed to the 15 we get at summer solstice.  And we've seen a few good ones from the south-facing window here at the homestead.

 Sunset showing the furthest southerly one.  The sun will continue to set at about this location for the next few weeks, before it begins its gradual return north.  View is from our south-facing window, overlooking the Native American cemetery across the road, and the Detroit River and Michigan.

 We've seen some beauties lately. 

For the 2nd half of my film choice for this week, we watched an oddball silent film by Chantal Akerman.  Hotel Monterey is the 2nd film by her we have seen.  It's an interesting experiment that requires some patience and calmness to get through, but it does ultimately offer rewards.  The camera is mostly still, showing different scenes from a NYC hotel in the 1970s.  Most of the imagery is like viewing a photo for a long period of time, sometimes several minutes.  The action sequences include riding up and down an elevator, picking up and dropping off people, and, near the conclusion of the one hour film, having the camera roll forwards and backwards as it captures various interior and exterior views.  Probably not a film people with claustrophobia would enjoy.  Many of the static compositions are highly artistic, and occasionally one thinks of Hopper's paintings.

The next two paintings I will illustrate from the DIA are by Oskar Kokoschka, an Austrian expressionist painter who died in 1980.  Detroit has one of the largest collections in the world of German and Austrian expressionist art, including four paintings by Kokoschka.  The artist lived in Dresden from 1917 to 1923.  Eventually all of expressionist art was rejected by the Nazis.  Detroit had a German museum director in the early 1930s, and it was he (Valentiner) that procured many of the unwanted paintings.  The director was also responsible for the incredible coup of landing Bruegel's Wedding Dance in Detroit. 

 The Elbe Near Dresden, Oskar Kokoschka, ca. 1921.  23" x 31", oil on canvas.  Detroit Institute of Arts.  

The bright colours and the blockish buildings remind me of a child's painting.  Unlike the Rousseau painting seen previously, there are no figures present here.  The river seems to be as turbulent as the sky, and the reflections add an eye-catching accent to this strange little work.  The detail below shows the broad brushstrokes, similar to those of the late Van Gogh.

 Detail of the central area, above. 

We are just a few days from having to return our VW Tiguan, as the lease expires on the 10th of this month.  We will be down to one vehicle, the Golf wagon, which will have to take on astronomy duty from now on, as well as any upcoming cross-country drives.  We will wait and see how that works out.

M.