“The real things are under the surface.” When video artist Bill Viola was 6 years old he fell into a lake, all the way to the bottom, to a place which seemed like paradise. “There’s more than just the surface of life,” Viola explains. American Bill Viola (born 1951) is a pioneer in video art.…
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His Simplicity Part IV by Gary G. Amsterdam, November 16th 2021– He’s genuine and he tells stories, names names, and minces no words when it comes to telling you what he thinks, be it positive or negative. When he praises a piece, it carries immense weight. When he criticizes one, there is no doubt about what…
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Perpetuation Part III by Gary G. Amsterdam, November 16th 2021– This includes an important sub-element: inspiration. Kari Voutilainen’s recent biography states that Kari was inspired to start up his own independent atelier after a conversation with Dufour. Behind the scenes, Philippe encourages and counsels other independents, including Romain Gauthier (whose Logical One knocked my socks…
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The Grand Master of the universe Part II “I have no secrets as past watchmakers had. There are graveyards full of secrets and that’s enough.” –Philippe Dufour, 2014 by GaryG Amsterdam, November 16th, 2021—Chances are, if you have been collecting watches for any significant period of time, his name is well known to you. But…
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Hand made watchmaking Part I by David Chokron Amsterdam, November 16th 2021– A meeting with Philippe Dufour, a watchmaker from the Swiss Jura, is a mesmerizing experience. One that makes you forget to breathe, triggers the eyes and is food for the mind. Philippe Dufour is relaunching the production of his benchmark model, the Simplicity.…
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Frühling, September, Beim Schlafengehen, Im Abendrot Strauss’ Four Last Songs. For the profundity that is achieved not by complexity but by clarity and simplicity. For the purity of the sentiment about death and parting and loss. For the long melodic line spinning out and the female voice soaring and soaring. For the repose and composure…
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Full documentary In Siberia, Edik lives among the Nenetses, a nomad clan in the north of Siberia. He’s still a child but he now has like every Nenetse before him to face wolves on his own to protect the 4 000 reindeers of his clan. This is the difficult passage he has to overcome to…
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The Nenet reindeer herders need to move their tent every few days throughout most of the year. Every time they migrate they must pack the whole tent away, drag it across the tundra on sledges, and erect it again in a fresh place, sometimes in temperatures of minus thirty degrees. Survival depends on working together…
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NMNM – Villa Paloma February 19 – October 3, 2021 The exhibition “The 165-metre Mermaid and Other Stories” stems from a mediaeval Japanese legend and unfurls in the manner of an epic poem. It tells of the artist’s adventures and encounters as he goes with the flow, roving between his native Japan and Monaco via…
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Interestingly, the parable about the exponentially increasing grains of rice Stephen mentions is also there in Bengali Literature (major Eastern Indian language). It was written by one of our greatest writers, Sukumar Ray, in the form of a children’s story called “Daaner Hisheb” (literally- the calculations/records kept of charity). An extremely miserly king is tricked…
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