jellyfish girl 2

illustration by Kat Menschik for Haruki Murakami's short story "Sleep".

PRIVATE issue 50

PRIVATE International Review of Photographs has released its 50th issue, titled: "China, True or Real?" I have already received a copy and have to say that it is now one of my favourite photobooks. It features the likes of Muge, Zhang Xiao and my favourite, Yanming.

"In contemporary China, uncertainty about what is “true” and what is “false”, “reality” and “appearance”, extends from the realm of photography to that of existence itself. We often feel that we are confronted with such an illusory, ambiguous, unexpected “reality” as to lead us to doubt not just our perceptions, but our very capacity for interpretation.

[...] Perhaps the act of capturing and confining – if by means of a fictitious, illusory medium such as photography – some aspect of their surrounding environment constitutes a starting point from which Chinese photographers may consider it afresh, in more subjective, less commonplace terms, thus inventing it anew."

absolute nobody

Last Wednesday J.D.Salinger (91) passed away and I decided to finally give The Catcherthe re-read I was planning to. I have also rediscovered this wonderful quote from "Franny and Zooey":

"I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody."

Most people are afraid to live with themselves as absolute nobodies. That is why they try so hard to belong somewhere, to be recognized, appreciated, approved, accepted etc. That is why they end up "conditioned to accept everybody else's values" and giving themselves away.

And I say that I have rediscovered it, because at the time when I actually read "Franny and Zooey" I must have been too young to understand and hence must have overseen it. Or I must have thought it was just some pretentious talk coming from a pretentious character of a pretentious book.

But now I see things in a different light. And it is through the power of books that I understood that being an absolute nobody need not have negative connotations. Books like The Catcher, that have absolute nobodies as protagonists - characters that we all eventually come to love and admire despite (or maybe because of?) their inability or unwillingness to adapt. Being an absolute nobody actually means being authentic. And it does take a lot of courage to not be anybody (else).

P.S.: And I believe it's the word "absolute" that makes the whole concept so intriguing: You see, being an "absolute" (not "relative"!) nobody, means by definition that a person's condition cannot be judged by or measured against common standards.

100 to watch

100 to watch - Directory of Contemporary Romanian Artists

"The creative scene in Romania is one of the most vibrant and exciting in Europe. This directory was put together to illustrate what makes it so special. A listing of 100 of the most talented artists in Romania today, from conceptual art to contemporary dance, literature and theatre to music and fashion, it’s a snapshot of an entire generation – the Romanian New Wave. Every single artist between these pages is part of the reason why Romania is such an exciting place to be right now. It’s indicative of just how much talent there is in the Romanian New Wave." via please hide

a good book

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it." (Holden Caulfield - "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger)

aurora liiceanu

Auora Liiceanu (68 years old) has a PhD in psychology, is an expert in anthropology and social psychology and has recently published a book "Prin Perdea" ("Through the Curtain"), where she describes some of the most delicate and unknown episodes of her life. Even though she says that she regrets a little bit having written and published it now, I cannot wait to go back home and buy and read her autobiographical book! It's not about wanting to hear wild confessions or someone serve their inner self on a plate. This is actually what she avoided doing with her book. In fact, I believe, it may be a very good way of educating younger generations by means of illustration and commentary.

Prominent figure of Romanian intellecualism, ex-wife of Gabriel Liiceanu (she divorced him right before giving birth to their child), Aurora Liiceanu lost her position as a researcher at the psychology institute, after the "transcedental meditation"-scandal during communist times in 1982. She became a cleaning lady at the "Suveica" factory and has sewn dresses, in order to be able to buy her son (Stefan, he now lives in Japan) a computer. She always had a "plan B" and has never victimized herself.

After reading Gabriel Liiceanu's book "Scrisori Catre Fiul Meu" ("Letters to My Son"), Aurora's Liiceanu's book will probably give a different perspective on raising her son and I find it quite interesting, how this person (even though he pursued a totally different career than his parents and moved to Japan) is represented in contemporary Romanian essays and writings, as he is portrayed and mentioned by his parents.

I have recently read two interviews on her that I highly recommend (in Romanian): Evenimentul Zilei & Capital; picture source

"We are all looking for mental balance, because after all, everything that matters is whether one is comfortable with oneself, whether one recognizes oneself in who one is or believes to be."

books

The Saturday Morning Cartoon Index is a wonderful collection of animated short movies. Since it is saturday morning ;) I am going to share some of my favourites with you and I will try to do so each saturday!

Today's theme is books and how they can enrich and enchant our worlds. Enjoy:

"Herzog and the Monsters" by Lesley Barnes: Little Herzog almost gets lost in a forest full of monsters, or are they letters? A graphic fairytale in digital cut-out animation full of books and letters, about the wealth of language and the worlds we create with it....(music: Al Paxton's Metronomes)

"The Girl Who Hated Books" by Jo Meuris is a story about a little girl who discoveres the magic of books by accident.

mircea cartarescu

Mircea Cărtărescu is a Romanian poet, prose writer, publicist, fantasy novelist and postmodernism theoretician. He is considered by the critics the most important poet of the 1980's post-modern generation. I remember when we first read one of his poems in class: "Poema chiuvetei" ("The Poem of the Sink"): It felt so different, it was (to an adolescent's mind) unusually comical and, well... different, to be taken seriously. It was about the impossible love between an object of household use (the sink) and one of the cosmic plane (a star). If you understand Romanian, you can read the "Poem of the Sink" and a Romanian interpretation here.

But then, our wonderful teacher taught us how to read postmodern poetry (interestingly enough, she had graduated from the same class as the writer; I think that, because she used to be one of our first and greatest mentors, our class carries the postmodern signature, as it was conveyed through her words, chosen topics, writings, and discussions.):

The avant-garde of the 80s generation brings for the first time a change of cultural paradigm to Romanian literature, by adopting the Anglo-Saxon model and breaking the long tradition of French and German literary influences. Postmodern literature is characterized by its play with already existing forms, themes and motifs. It is a "combinatory art", a collage of literary references, a parody of models, a play with contexts and irony and a dialogue between forms of different epochs and styles. The postmodern writer is conscious that everything has been already written, that the only thing left for him/her is the play with cultural fragments, which he/she re-semantisizes (source). Thus, the first poem that we had read by Cărtărescu, was an intelligent play with the original poem "Luceafarul" by Romania's genius and possibly most prominent poet, Mihai Eminescu (read here some translated versions of Eminescu's works).

The translation of his 1989 novel "Nostalgia", writes Andrei Codrescu, "introduces to English a writer who has always had a place reserved for him in a constellation that includes the Brothers Grimm, Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges, Bruno Schulz, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, Milan Kundera, and Milorad Pavic, to mention just a few." Readers opening the pages of "Nostalgia" should brace themselves for a verbal tidal wave of the imagination that will wash away previous ideas of what a novel is or ought to be. Although each of its five chapters is separate and stands alone, a thematic, even mesmeric harmony finds itself in children's games, the music of the spheres, humankind's primordial myth-making, the origins of the universe, and in the dilapidated tenement blocks of an apocalyptic Bucharest during the years of communist dictatorship (source).

picture source

Read one of my favourite stories ("Roulette") from one of my favourite books ("Nostalgia") in English here.

yukio mishima

Here is a wondeful segment of a rare English interview given by the great writer Yukio Mishima. He talks about the spirit of the samurai (the video includes some iaidō and kendō footage), about aesthetics and the relevance of femininity in Japanese culture, as well as about the unique entanglement of brutality and elegance in Japanese culture and literature.

coin locker babies

I came across Ryu Murakami's book "Coin Locker Babies" while I was searching for the next Haruki Murakami novel to read. The storyline itself (somewhat a cyper-punk "Bildungsroman" ) appealed to me, as I am very interested in surreal plots, coming of age stories, (Japanese) youth culture and pop art.

Ryu Murakami is one of Japan's contemporary writers, who, I believe, employs the "ero guro" and "angura" styles (two similar influences in Japanese art). These styles find their roots somewhere in the 60s and represent an original counter-culture movement, aiming to challenge the authenticity of "traditional" genres as well as the westernization that had swept across Japan since the industrial age. Murakamis tales of horror, sexual corruption, decadence and exotic violence merge with grotesque themes and features which leave the reader wondering whether or not to be offended (Caution: some scenes are quite explicit, though!). Sometimes seen as a chronicler of Japan's disaffected young Murakami has been recommended to readers with a taste for the bizarre.

Here is a review that describes this book quite well: The coin locker babies of the title are two abandoned infants rescued from train station lockers, and the novel follows their adventures through boyhood into manhood. They wander through the sort of hellish, surreal landscape usually associated with dismal of visions of the future, but in this book the hell is contemporary Japan. The journeys of the two are relentlessly dark and disturbing: matricide, violent sex, mutilation, vengeance, insanity, perversion, and mass destruction are all explored, usually graphically and with relish. The work of Murakami - who is also a filmmaker - begs comparison with film. Here you can find some other very good reviews!

I agree, that the book was written in a very fast-paced and graphical way, in the sense, that the reader might even have the impression of watching a movie. But I think, this is one of its major appeals (at least to me). I also didn't find it as violent and distressing as his first book ("Almost Transparent Blue"), and I think that in this case the dark features manage to cross the fine line from disturbing to intriguing. Moreover, the book's worth has to be seen in the context of Japanese history and culture. So, if you are acquainted with Japanese art or if you like bizarre or futuristic storylines and do not fear unconventionality, then this book might be the right thing for you.

Note: The movie is in preparation, possibly starring Val Kilmer, Asia Argento and Tadanobu Asano. But I fear, a movie might end up ruining the book's charm for everyone who hasn't read it yet...And they should at least have had the chance to get to know it, before watching Sean Lennon's ostensibly pretentious adaptation. And if there needs to be a movie, I would have loved to see Takashi Miike's project succeed (since he also adapted Murakami's "Audition").

alice in wonderland

Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" has been a wonderful source of inspiration for many artists, musicians and movie makers ever since it has appeared.

Watch an interesting compilation of Alice movies and animations here and here (unfortunatelly without sound)

picture source: illustration from 1890 by Peter Newell

The First: Watch "Alice In Wonderland" from 1903 here

The Next: Watch the trailer for Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" (2010) here

And here are some maybe less known Alice variations that I love (some appear in the compilations above):

The Story Behind: Watch the trailer for "Dreamchild" (1985) here

The creepy Alice: Watch the trailer for "Neco z Alenky" (1988) here (you can also find the movie on youtube)

The stop motion musical: Watch a clip from Lou Bunin's "Alice in Wonderland" (1949) here

The Russian animation: Watch the Russian animation "Alice in Wonderland" here (without subs, unfortunatelly)

Post inspired by the Alice in My Head-blog