Everything/Anything and…Chess…"Despite the documented evidence by chess historian HJR Murray, I've always thought that chess was invented by a goddess"–George Koltanowski: from the foreword to:"Women in chess, players of the Modern Age"
Die 8ste Januarie het ons met aanlyn skool begin en vandag – 3 Maart – was die laaste dag – en ek dink ek het ‘n drankie nodig – soos die gedig hierbo se! Dit was harde werk, al die beplanning moes oorgedoen word sodat ons deur Zoom dit kon onderrig en die kinders dit tuis kon doen met die hulp van ouers – na die Onderwyser se aandeel afgehandel is. Dit was ‘n heeltemal ander manier van ‘doen’ en aanpassings moes gemaak word – waarmee Onderwysers baie goed is. Baie keer – byna daagliks, moet jy aanpassings maak, want sommer uit die bloute kan heelwat dinge in die skool gebeur en jy moet op jou tone kan dink en gereed wees vir daardie aanpassings. Dus, jy moet buigbaar wees en dit kan hanteer as jy vinnig dinge moet verander, vir welke rede ookal.
Die vertaling van die gedeelte van die gedig in plein Engels: I wish I had some vintage wine that has been stored for years deep in the belly of the earth, wine that tastes of flowers and the countryside, of dancing, folk singing, and happy sunshine!
Ek is nie ‘n wyndrinker nie – daarmee bedoel ek dat dit nie deel is van my daaglikse lewe nie, maar ek is eerder ‘n een-keer-‘n-jaar-glasie-persoon. Rooiwyn is my gunsteling – ek kry hoofpyn van witwyn of sjampanje.
Die Karlienblom is my groot gunsteling blom! Ek het so bietjie rondgespeel met die waterverf – iets wat ek nog nooit regtig aangepak het nie – eerder iets wat ek die kinders leer en dis iets wat hulle moet doen – hierdie keer het ek self probeer. Ek het net rondgespeel om die verf en papier te toets, veral die kwaliteit van die verf en wat dit op die tipe papier doen om te weet of ek ander verf moes koop – en ook dalk ander tipe waterverf papier. Ek het dit nogal geniet en dink dat verf met waterverf nogal ‘n lekker tydverdryf kan wees en baie makliker as olieverf is. Ek hou daarvan dat jy ‘n fout ken ‘fix’ met die waterverf. Ek het eenkeer olieverf op ‘n klein doek probeer, dit het nogal uitgekom soos die video wat ek gevolg het, maar dit was uiters moeilik om met die olieverf te werk – veral as jy dit nie voorheen gebruik het nie. Ek dink nie ek sal dit weer probeer nie, terwyl die waterverf iets is wat ek beslis weer wil probeer. Ek hoop jy het my pampoen raakgesien!
Watter leser is jy? Die ingedagte-leser – jy lees, maar jou gedagtes is ver weg.
Jy lees en jy is verdiep in wat jy lees. Niks en niemand om jou kan jou pla nie.
Jy het ‘n opdrag en jy moet die boek lees. Jy sou iets anders wou lees, maar daar’s nie nou tyd nie.
Jy lees hier-en-daar in die koerant – slegs dit wat regtig jou aandag vasvang en jou aandag behou. Al die ander artikels is ‘ou nuus’.
Jy lees en deel dit wat jy lees graag met ander.
Jy lees en jy absoluut geniet wat jy lees. Jy kan nie wag om die opvolg van die boek te lees nie. Dis spanningsvol, dramaties en jy voel een met die karakter.
Jy is in jou gunsteling plek! Jy wil net meer en meer lees. Jy voel dat tyd stil gaan staan het. Jy hoop nie iemand kry jou hier nie.
Jy is ontspanne, jy geniet dit om te lees, maar jy geniet nie elke bladsy van die boek nie. Hier en daar slaan jy ‘n bladsy oor, want jy wil graag ‘n meer interessante boek lees.
Jy geniet die boek terdeȅ, maar jy is oppad na ‘n afspraak. Jy wil nie graag gaan nie en sou hierdie boek eerder wou klaar lees!
Jy het nou ‘n tydjie vir daardie spesiale koppie tee – en jou gunsteling skrywer se nuutste boek! Jy probeer jou tee-breuk rek – so lank jy kan met verskonings dat die tee baie warm vandag is, net so lank jy nog een bladsy van die boek kan lees!
Daar was ‘n tyd toe daar gedink is dat vroue nie veronderstel is om ‘meer’ te weet nie. Gelukkig is daardie tyd verby en leef ons in ‘n moderne tyd! Al die kunswerke hierbo is deur die kunstenares: Sylvie Vanlerberghe. Sy het heelwat kunswerke van mense wat lees – nie slegs vroue nie – mans en kinders ook.
The pianist in this youtube video is brilliant. Enjoy one of my favourite pieces of music: Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no 1. The Chess art is by:
redbubble.com/people/plunder/
Chess is an art. Chess is a science. Chess is music. Chess is a game. Chess is cool. Chess is fun. Chess is Chess! There are always people ‘arguing’ about what Chess actually is and I really find these ‘conversations’ [if you can call it a conversation] really boring. I think it’s mainly bored people on chess sites just wasting time around topics like these. The same with ‘men are better than women’ – also one of the most boring topics. Can Chess players not have more intelligent conversations in the Chess forums than these boring topics? – or is it just me in a ‘mood’.[haha]
Here’s some musical fun! Click on this link for the FUN and enjoy! The link will open in a new window and you need to use your mouse to click the rain drops and you create your own melody too.
From a document found on the US Chess_trust site, I’ve copied a few paragraphs, but once again, this is just another ‘confirmation’ of what I’ve said in many entries on my blog before. So much evidence is available – research done by many people in the past and you will find plenty of documents on my blog to support it – to prove the benefits of chess for children and their learning. These quoted paragraphs are just a tiny drop in the bucket of all the evidence available. Whilst it’s Easter Holiday, I feel to take time out to enjoy a ‘trip’ to some fine ‘art galleries’ and fine ‘music theatres’ of the ‘world’ and would like to share with you Irma Stern’s art. I’ve found you some info about Irma Stern on Wikipedia and her house [now an art gallery-museum]-link can be found near the bottom of this entry too. The three music files are some of my favourite music and it’s by Waldo de los Rios [and his orchestra] and you can read about the Toy Symphony on my blog on the link at the bottom of the entry. [copy/paste the link in your browser]. These files are not complete files – as you will notice. I hope you can hear the clock – at the start of the first file. Haydn’s ‘Clock’. [Turn the volume up if you don’t hear the clock] Lastly, I had to add a file from Mantovani and his orchestra: Elizabeth Serenade
She was born in Schweitzer-Renecke, a small town in the Transvaal, of German-Jewish parents. Her father was interned in a concentration camp by the British during the South African War because of his pro-Boer leanings.[1] Irma and her younger brother, Rudi, were thus taken to Cape Town by their mother. After the war, the family returned to Germany and constant travel. This travel would influence Irma’s work.
In 1913 Stern studied art in Germany at the Weimar Academy, in 1914 at the Levin-Funcke Studio and notably from 1917 with Max Pechstein, a founder of the Novembergruppe. Stern was associated with the German Expressionist painters of this period. She held her first exhibition in Berlin in 1919. In 1920 Stern returned to Cape Town with her family where she was first derided and dismissed as an artist before becoming an established artist by the 1940s.
In 1926 she married Dr Johannes Prinz her former tutor, who subsequently became professor of German at the University of Cape Town. They were divorced in 1934.
Irma Stern travelled extensively in Europe and explored Southern Africa, Zanzibar and the Congo region. These trips provided a wide range of subject matter for her paintings and gave her opportunities to acquire and assemble an eclectic collection of artifacts for her home. Stern was to travel extensively in her lifetime: in 1930 to Madeira, in 1937 and 1938 to Dakar, Senegal, 1939 Zanzibar, 1942 Congo, 1945 Zanzibar, 1946 Central Africa, 1952 Madeira, 1955 Congo, 1960 Spain and 1963 France. Stern travelled extensively in South Africa, for example in 1926 to Swaziland and Pondoland, in 1933 to Namaqaland, in 1936 generally, and in 1941 to the Eastern Cape. In 1931 she visited Madeira and Dakar, Senegal, in 1937 and 1938. Irma Stern refused to either travel or exhibit in Germany during the period 1933 – 1945. Instead, she undertook several exotic journeys into Africa; going to Zanzibar twice in 1939 and 1945 and then planned three trips to the Congo region in 1942, 1946 and 1955. These expeditions resulted in a wealth of artistic creativity and energy as well as the publication of two illustrated journals; Congo published in 1943 and Zanzibar in 1948.
Almost one hundred solo exhibitions were held during her lifetime both in South Africa and Europe: including Germany, France, Italy and England. Although accepted in Europe, her work was unappreciated at first in South Africa where critics derided her early exhibitionsin the 1920s with reviews titled “Art of Miss Irma Stern – Ugliness as a cult”.
The Irma Stern Museum was established in 1971 and is the house the artist lived in for almost four decades. She moved into The Firs in Rondebosch in 1927 and lived there until her death. Several of the rooms are furnished as she arranged them while upstairs there is a commercial gallery used by contemporary South African artists.
On the 8th of May 2000, one of her works sold at Sotheby’s South Africa in Johannesburg for an all time record of R1.7 million.[2] This record was soon broken, however, and in March 2007 Stern’s work was sold for R6.6 million.[3] Stern’s Gladioli was sold for an all-time high of R13.3 million in October 2010[4], but was then followed by the sale of Bahora Girl for R26.7 million later that month[5] – both were also records for sales of South African art at the time.
Quote from the Chess document, you can find it at the end of the entry. It is a PDF document and will open in a new window.
Chess clearly is a problem-solving tool, an “ideal way to study decision-making and problemsolving because it is a closed system with clearly defined rules” (Horgan, 1988). When faced with a problem, the first step is to “analyze [it] in a preliminary and impressionistic way: sizing up the problem” (Horgan, 1988, p. 3), possibly looking for patterns or similarity to previous experiences. “Similarity judgements may involve high levels of abstract reasoning” (Horgan, 1988, p. 3)
When faced with a problem, the first step is to “analyze [it] in a preliminary and impressionistic way: sizing up the problem” (Horgan, 1988, p. 3), possibly looking for patterns or similarity to previous experiences. “Similarity judgements may involve high levels of abstract reasoning” (Horgan, 1988, p. 3). As in mathematics, which might be defined as the study of patterns, pattern recognition in chess is of prime importance in problem solving. After recognizing similarity and pattern, a global strategy can be developed to solve the problem. This involves generating alternatives, a creative process. A good chess player, like a good problem solver, has “acquired a vast number of interrelated schemata” (Horgan, 1988, p. 3), allowing for good alternatives to quickly and easily come to mind. These alternatives must then be evaluated, using a process of calculation known as decision tree analysis, where the chess player/problem solver is calculating the desirability of future events based on the alternative being analyzed. Horgan (1988) found that “the calculation may go several to eight or ten moves ahead. This stage requires serious concentration and memory abilities…[or]…visual imagery” (p.4).
The mathematics curriculum in New Brunswick, Canada, is a text series called “Challenging Mathematics” which uses chess to teach logic from grades 2 to 7. Using this curriculum, the average problem-solving score of pupils in the province increased from 62% to 81%.
Click on the following link Why Chessto read more to convince yourself why Chess is so important for children to develop their thinking/reasoning skills at a young age.
South African sunsets [African sunsets in general] are the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. This next song’s title is Suncatcher – translated as it is an Afrikaans song – Sonvanger. –one of the most beautiful Afrikaans songs. I translated the song in 2008 – see lyrics at the bottom of this post – and Laurika Rauch [female singer in the video – also a household name in SA] was quite impressed with my translation, therefore I’m happy to post it here for you –
Suncatcher
See if you could catch me the sun There’s a room in the house where it can be hung It’s dark by the window in the middle of the day Do you remember how brightly the room could laugh?
See if you could bring me the sun There’s a song in the corridors the sun can sing Coz it’s quiet in the corners, this cold season Can you see what the wind and rain do to me?
Chorus S-u-ncatcher! I ask you, please, let it shine for me again S-u-ncatcher! Let me understand How a summer disappear like that in the nothingness And let it shine
See if you could get me the sun There’s a home in my heart where the sun can live See if you could steal me the sun There’s a place in the garden where the sun can play
Chorus S-u-ncatcher! I ask you please, let it shine for me again S-u-ncatcher! Let me understand How a summer could disappear like that in the nothingness And let it shine
Bring some light for the meanders on my road And a handful of rays for the darkness in my heart
~~~ Nikita…2008
This piece of art is called Die Sonvanger by Edward Baird – the picasaweb-link is at the bottom of the image – click for a larger view.
Ansie-Ans from devianart says her dad took this pic of her in Cape Town. A very beautiful picture!
I’m not much of a drinker, but when it comes to red wine and liqueur, I will never say no, but now I have another problem. The English is much more into drinking than we are used to and every thank you,congratulations, good luck, Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, etc. ends up with bottle of wine! Being part of a family where I’m the only one that drinks…one or two glasses in about 6 months! [to give you an idea of how much I drink, but will drink a beer shandy in the Pub now and then] – this is quite a problem. I was wondering if there are more people with this problem. I don’t mind a bottle of wine, but hey, if I’m the only person to finish it, it can be quite a bit of a waste…do people always assume everyone drinks…on the other hand, I have now a growing cellar – for friends! [haha] In South Africa people will make sure you’re not a teetotaler before a bottle is given as a pressie, but nobody has asked any of us …just a thought to ponder about… I won’t mind if it is Elderflower! This liqueur is really nice, but if you really want to spoil me, I would appreciate our very own Cape Velvet [from SA shops only] or Amarula – which you can buy from Tesco’sand if all fails, I will say thank you to Baileys too. The bottle of red South African Shiraz is still waiting for me…tomorrow of course!…only a certain number of bottles of Luddite’s wine get exported each year. My bottle number is 2 923 of the 25 400 for 2005. According to my blogger-friend – and sommelier -[Gerrie] is Luddite an outstanding and classy wine.
Painting of a young drinker by GERRIT VAN HONTHORST
Happy New Year to all reading here…and don’t drink till you drop!Enjoy the Drinking song from the Student Prince.
French crushed by South African wines at sales slump for our Gallic friends
Read the article hereon the site of the Daily Mail.
British drinkers are buying more South African wine than French for the first time, according to industry figures.
It is a staggering transformation for a country which only started exporting wine on a major scale in 1994.
For the French it means that having once been the most dominant name on British shelves, it is now fifth, behind Australia, California, Italy and South Africa in volume sales.
In the past year, sales of South African labels such as Thandi Fairtrade Chardonnay to the UK have grown by 20 per cent to 12.27million cases. France has seen sales fall by 12 per cent to 12.266million.
That difference is as small as it is possible to record – only four cases of 12 bottles each – said industry analysts Nielsen.
The sales growth has been helped by the pound’s strength against the rand and by other currency movements. South African wines have become cheaper not just against European makes but also Australian and U.S. labels.
The average bottle of South African wine in the UK retails for £3.86 against an overall average of £4.32.
France still sells more in the UK by value but this too is on the decline, down 5 per cent to £726million in the 12 months to the end of January, while sales of South African wine were up 21 per cent to £568million.
Although wine has been made in South Africa for 350 years, it only started large-scale exports in 1994 after the end of apartheid led to free trade with the rest of the world.
Like my previous entry of yesterday, I was again playing around with [Adobe]Fireworks and used quite a few images from the web to put this one together, that’s why I call it Patches. You will see again I’ve used Samuel Bak’s art in this creation, but also another classic piece of art [in this post at the bottom]. Also, I’ve found Mark Twain’s letters online and if you are ready with your magnifying glass, you can even see a tiny piece from one of his letters in this image. In the next image, I’ve put together bits and pieces from a few of his letters. You can download his lettes in PDF.
I’ve been playing around with [adobe]Fireworks and edited/created this top image…I deleted the woman’s corset in the image, replaced it with these chess pieces from the chess art of Samuel Bak – [see more of his art on my Chess Humour-page] and I added the sort-of-border. Original image here …the link will open in a new window.
If you have ADHD – you will find it hard to look at this image, but it might be a good exercise for you to find all the hidden images in this image! If you look at my old blogger-blog you will see some of the hidden images are from the banner-image….click on this image for a larger view and to appreciate what is in the image…original image: courtenaysfineart….and if you go to FaceBook…search for Someone’s Daughter – and read all about it!!
Read all about it! Read all about it…Magnus Carlsen… Norwegian 19-year-old crowned world chess champ
Click on this link and it will open in a new window Magnus Carlsen
Cornelis de Man of Delft, The Chess Players, c. 1670, Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest – Source:mentalblog
We all know by looking at evidence like art, poems, photos etc. we can tell what happened in the past. Do I have to say more… See this video if you want me to explain more… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WLGMC9B6zw
An old school – An undiscovered gem: Gawie Cronje, South African landscape artist who lived in the Eastern Cape
I’m a big art lover and have blogged before some of our very best artists like Pierneef and Walter Battis, the creator of Fook Island, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard and Tretchikoff to name only a few. I must admit that until now, Gawie Cronje was really unknown to me. I found today babobski’s blog and was quite surprised to discover this piece of brilliant art.
The Brett Kebble art collection went on auction last week and raised R 54 million. Some artists’ paintings received record prices, which is quite amazing in this economic climate.
Yet, art experts have been saying for at least five years now that South African art is a good investment and should form part of a diversified portfolio.
Many people, when hearing about art and oil paintings tend to think about Van Gogh and Van Rijn. However, there are secondary art markets around the world and South Africa has a flourishing art market as well.
Kebble’s collection included the big names in South African art. J.H. Pierneef, Alexis Preller, Irma Stern, Nita Spilhaus, Maud Sumner, Vladimir G. Tretchikoff, Jan Volschenk and Pieter Wenning were just some of the names Kebble had collected.
One of the Irma Stern painting sold for R 5 013 000 at the auction, held in Johannesburg.
His Pierneef sold for R 267 000 and a Jan Volschenk achieved a world record price of R 668 000.
Not all of us have the resources of a Brett Kebble so how does one go about collecting art?
What could you buy with R 1 000 000?
A good JH Pierneef or an Irma Stern if you lucky.
What could I buy with R 100 000?
Keep your eyes open for an Adriaan Boshoff or an Errol Boyley. Boshoff is regarded as the finest South Afirican impressionist artist and a small Boshoff painting will cost around R 30 000 – R 35 000 at least.
Errol Boyely died in 2007 and his paintings are in demand. The prices of his paintings seem to have settled down but will pick up again once the economy turns.
What could I buy for R 10 000?
Click on the link for more reading and beautiful art on babobski’s blog.
Die wind in die baai het gaan lê en rondom
het dit oor Houtbaai, oor Kampsbaai
en by Seepunt wit koppe bly waai.
Maar, in die baai het die wind gaan lê:
alles wil toegesluit lyk – byna veilig -;
en ‘n seun het in ‘n blikskuitjie uit,
sakdoek vir seil
– sonder fletter -, plankies vir roeiers,
dit uit-gewaag
– want die wind oor die baai het gaan lê.
En ons bid na die berg, die wind, die planeet toe
om alles wat wind-berg-planeet se aard is
af te lê, en ‘n oomblik (‘n oomblik!)
net te broei, broei oor die vrees vir die vrees
en die ongewete roei van die seun
in hierdie kort stilte binne die baai.
NP van Wyk-Louw
Wind from the sea – by Andrew Wyeth – an American Artist
I’m in a mood for art and poetry. I have two Afrikaans poems and art from an American artist. “Wind” is my topic in the above poem and art. Next I have the opening lines from a poem by William Blake, one of my favourite poets.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour. –William Blake: Auguries of Innocence
Rosa Rosarum
Kom na my tuin waar die donkerrooi rose
Duist’re geheime vertrou aan die nag;
Sonnestraal-kusse en suidewind-kose.
Drome en liefde die lang somerdag.
Kom in die soel someraande en luister
-Wanneer die nagwind hul drome verklaar-
Na die veelvuldige blommegefluister,
Bloesem en bloeisel en blad altegaar!
Kom waar die lelie – die blanke, die reine –
Skugter haar bloesem ontbloot aan die maan,
Blou miosotis – die slanke, die kleine –
Met haar vergeet-my-nie-ogies betraan.
Kom as die maanblom – wit sy en satyne –
As ‘n vorstinne verskyn in haar prag
Onder die wierook van roos en jasmyne –
Skoonste juweel op die bors van die nag!
Daar in die vywer, bestraal deur Arjana,
Open die lotus haar heilige kelk,
Dan eers bereik sy die hoogste – Nirvana –
As sy in glorie van songloed verwelk.
Bok-bokmakieries sing bly twee gesange
Wanneer die oggend ontwaak in my tuin;
Saans koer die tortel sy lied van verlange
Bo-uit die troost’lose treurwilg se kruin.
Kom in die aand en geniet van haar geure;
Foelie, jasmyn, angelier, minjonet;
Kom in die môre en kies van haar kleure:
Rooi, wit en goud, groen en blou, violet!
Kom as die skitter van dou-diamante,
Rosa Rosarum, in my Paradys,
Dat ek my blomme, my bome, my plante,
Roos van my hart, hulle weerga kan wys! –A.G. Visser (ca. 1878 – 1929)
bokmakierie: groengele vogel met opmerkelijke kreet
minjonet: welriekende tuinplant, reseda
This song’s title is…Kentucky Blues by Lauren Copley – a South African artist
Cd-cover of one of the 2 cd’s The songs to follow are all by the choir of Prinshof School – School for the blind and visually impaired students in Pretoria. The first two are Afrikaans songs and the last is where a girl– at the time of the recording of the music she was about 12– played her penny whistle. She was very musical/talented and played 12 instruments! Do treat yourself to her. The first two songs, of the next 3, are ‘wind’ related songs.
Have a bit of fun by using the Graffiti Generator and create your own graffiti! I’ve chosen chess-words. On the 2nd and 3rd images I’ve written “skaak” which is the Afrikaans for “chess”. You will find all sorts of tools to enhance your own, you can even move the letters around – as you can see on the last two images, or you can lock some of the letters to enhance only others, like in my first image. Can you spot the letters I “locked”? I used this site for my primary kids to explore graffiti as part of an art project while studying Banksy’s art. I hope you find it fun playing around with!
ClickHERE to create your own graffiti. Once you’re on the graffiti-site, you need to load a font- which is on the left bar- and then you start with your text. On this link you will find a newspaper article about the Berlin-wall-graffiti and graffiti-images from the wall that went on display in South Africa in 1990. The article is in Afrikaans, but you can view the images! If you click on the article, you get taken to a list of images from the Berlin Wall. All links in this post will open in a new window.
Some of the Berlin-wall-graffiti-art which you will find on the above link.
Hier in London kry jy dele wat baie meer graffiti as ander dele het. Indien jy ‘n area wil beoordeel aan hoe “gegoed/swak” die area is, moet jy baie beslis kyk na die hoeveelheid graffiti wat in die area voorkom. Areas waar daar meer graffiti as in ander areas is, is baie beslis minder-“gegoede” areas om te bly. Dus… kies jou area reg en jy sit nie met die “gemors” nie.
About Banksy…
He is one of the art world’s most famous names – whose graffiti works sell for hundreds of thousands to fans including Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
But for years the true identity of the artist Banksy has been a closely guarded secret, known to just a handful of friends.
Now a Mail on Sunday investigation has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting that the artist is former public schoolboy Robin Gunningham.
The notion that Banksy is Gunningham, 34, who was educated at the £9,240-a-year Bristol Cathedral School, will shock the artist’s fans, fond of their hero’s ‘anti-establishment’ stance.
Banksy has become renowned for his use of stencils to spray illegal images on public walls. Some councils and businesses have begun to protect his creations and his works have been sold to celebrities, including Jolie and Pitt.
Rumours have persisted that the artist is called Robin Banks, that he is from Bristol, and that his parents think he is a painter and decorator.
The only concrete clue until now has been a photograph taken in Jamaica four years ago of a man with a bag of spray cans by his feet.
Gunningham’s former school pal Scott Nurse said: ‘He was one of three people in my year who were extremely talented at art. I am not at all surprised if he is Banksy.’
Read the article here and see more art of Banksy too.
Of course there is graffiti AND graffiti and on this image you can see what “AND graffiti” looks like. Councils in England have a huge problem with graffiti like this. Councils recognise graffiti has a negative impact on the environment, is illegal and is the most common type of property vandalism contributing to people’s fear of crime. View this image HERE.
This early drawing has a surreal quality created by the larger-than-life chess pieces and study of a face, surrounding the young man playing chess. In his later work Warhol would continue to play with scale, enlarging objects and people to increase their iconic status. The colour in this image was possibly completed at one of Warhol’s colouring parties, hosted at the fashionable Serendipity 3 café after it opened in 1954. He would encourage his friends – some of whom would have helped him create the original illustrations – to colour the works with an inventiveness that adds to their whimsical nature. This process looks forward to the production methods of Warhol’s legendary studio, the Factory, in the 1960s.
Art of Warhol here. The link will open in a new window.
David Howell
ENG
2613
The 8th Player in this tournament is David Howell
Cream of world chess to play in new London tournament.
London Chess Centre is proud to announce a world-class chess tournament to be held in London in December, 2009. The event will be an elite eight-player all-play-all in the most prestigious tournament in the capital since former world champion Anatoly Karpov won the Phillips and Drew Masters in 1984.
Since then, despite London hosting three world title contests, there has not been a tournament in which England’s leading players could lock horns with the world’s best on home soil. The December 09 tournament will be the first in a series of events designed to reinvigorate UK chess and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities.
The tournament will be FIDE Category 19 with an average FIDE rating of 2700 and a minimum prize fund of €100,000. The eight players will comprise of three English and five world-class Grandmasters from abroad. Included in the prize fund will be a €10,000 Brilliant Game award along with separate prizes for each victory with the White and Black pieces. Matches will be covered live online where fans will be able to vote for Game of the Day.
The tournament has applied for membership of the prestigious annual Grand Slam of Chess which culminates in Bilbao and boasts a €400,000 prize fund.
The games will be under Classical Chess time control; 40 moves in two hours, 20 in the subsequent hour then an additional 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds a move until the end of the game. The tournament will further benefit from the use of Sofia Rules which disallow early draws. Players will receive three points for a win and one for a draw.
Click on the image for a larger view for the Olympia Conference Centre at spot marked as A.
Contact Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre:
Chess Centre: 020 7388 2404 (London)
New London tournament to be in the Olympia Conference Centre.
I am delighted to announce that the London Chess Classic 2009 will be staged at one of London’s most prestigious venues; the Olympia Conference Centre. Olympia will provide excellent facilities including a 400 seat soundproof auditorium, two commentary rooms and multimedia presentation. There will be ample space for Open, weekend and Speed Chess tournaments plus junior training which will run alongside the main event from December 8th-15th inclusive.
The London Chess Classic 2009 will be the highest level tournament in London for 25 years and will be the first in a series of events designed to increase enthusiasm for chess in the UK and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities. It is also our objective to bring the world championship to London in the Olympic year 2012.
England’s four leading Grandmasters; Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell will be pitched against a world class field that includes a former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and 18 year old Magnus Carlsen ranked world number three and widely seen a future holder of the world crown. One of China’s finest players; Ni Hua and the US Champion Hikaru Nakamura, complete the field.
Spectators will be treated to live commentary on the games from Grandmasters and will be able to play tournament or informal games all day. Ticket information will be available in September. For those who cannot attend there be will live coverage and commentary on the games on the internet.
Contact Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre:
Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a chance to meet some of the Grandmasters in London – if I’m lucky! Meanwhile, the Scots want their Chessmen back! THE BRITISH Museum has put a set of elaborately carved chess figures at the heart of a new gallery despite demands that they be returned to Scotland.
The 82 Lewis Chessmen, which are between 800 and 900 years old and made from walrus and whale ivory, were seen in a Harry Potter film and inspired the children’s TV series Noggin The Nog.
Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, wants them repatriated to Edinburgh to be reunited with the rest of the set discovered on the Outer Hebrides in the early 19th century.
Just as the Greek government wants the Elgin Marbles in London to be returned to Athens, Mr Salmond claims it is “unacceptable” for the British Museum to have 82 of the figures while the other 11 are in the National Museum of Scotland.
Moon
mysterious secretive
sliding rotating floating
Lonely in the night-sky
Satellite! [c]N 15/6/2009
Maan
misterieus geheimsinnig
glimmend sluipend kruipend
Alleen, verdwaald in die Sterre-hemel
Satelliet! [c]N15/6/2009
My eerste cinquain en dis baie maklik as jy die reëls volg om jou eie te skryf. Eerste reël: ‘n naamwoord/onderwerp, reël 2: twee byvoeglike naamwoorde wat die naamwoord beskryf, reël 3: drie werkwoorde relatief tot die naamwoord in reël 1, reël 4: vier woorde (gevoelens) of ‘n kort sinnetjie oor jou naamwoord/onderwerp, reël 5: een woord of ‘n sinoniem wat die naamwoord opsom. Skryf en geniet jou eie!
I’m not a big fan of Walter Battiss, but do like some of his art. He got his inspiration from Picasso – some of his art appeals to me and other…well…appeals to other people…The art in this post is what appeals to me. What I really like about him, is his imagination! He created the fook characters and fook island, a fookian passport, fookian banknotes! His fookian drivers license was accepted in the USA , his colourful fookian passport has stamps from Australia, Britain and Germany and he exchanged a fookian banknote at the airport at Rome…hehe..I think it’s so funny. In these credit crunch days, why not trying your luck! You might just be lucky and your fookian banknotes will be accepted too..good luck!! This second piece of art is a self portrait by Battiss and I quite like the “fook gallooper” – done by another artist. He also created a fookian language, I wish I could see what that is like! Read what Wikipedia says about him in this post. Links in this post will open in a new window.
Somerset East is named after Lord Charles Somerset.[ image]
Read here about Somerset East and things to do and see.
Walter Wahl Battiss (January 6, 1906 – August 20, 1982) was a South African artist, generally considered the foremost South African abstract painter and known as the creator of the quirky “Fook Island” concept.
Born into English Methodist family in the Karoo town of Somerset East, [South Africa], Battiss first became interested in archaeology and primitive art as a young boy after moving to Koffiefontein in 1917. In 1919 the Battiss family settled in Fauresmith where he completed his education, matriculating in 1923. In 1924 he became a clerk in the Magistrates Court in Rustenburg. His formal art studies started in 1929 at the Witwatersrand Technical College (drawing and painting), followed by the Johannesburg Training College (a Teacher’s Diploma) and etching lessons. Battiss continued his studies while working as a magistrate’s clerk, and finally obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at University of South Africa at the age of 35.
Battiss was a founding member of the New Group and was unique in that he had not studied overseas. In 1938 he visited Europe for the first time, and in 1939 he published his first book, “The Amazing Bushman”. His interest in primitive rock art had a very profound impact on his ideas and he regarded San painting as an important art form. He was also influenced by Ndebele beadwork, pre-Islamic cultures and calligraphy.
In a 1949 trip to Europe he befriended Picasso who would have an influence on his already quirky style.
He visited Greece in 1966-1968 and the Seychelles in 1972, which inspired his make-believe Fook Island.
Battiss published nine books, wrote many articles and founded the periodical “De Arte”. He taught Pretoria Boys High School students for 30 years at the Pretoria Art Centre, of which was the principal from 1953-58. He also taught at UNISA where he became Professor of Fine Art in 1964 and retired in 1971. In 1973 he was awarded a D. Litt et Phil (honoris causa) from UNISA.[University of South Africa]
In 1981 he donated all his work to the newly opened “Walter Battiss Museum” in his birthplace of Somerset East.
Walter Battiss died in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal of a heart attack on 20 August 1982.
Walter Battiss’ long career as an artist has been devoted to the study of man in his environment; first in the context of Africa and rock art, then, later, in the interpretation of this concept in its broadest sense. His versatility and influence as in innovator, and the incentive he has provided for many aspiring artists, have secured him a very special place among leading South African artists.
Walter Battiss was a legendary figure – to such an extent that Professor Neville Dubow of the Michaelis School of Art, University of Cape Town, once remarked that had Battiss not existed, we would have had to invent him!
Battiss’s weird and wonderful appearance, his colourful and eccentric persona, his insatiable curiosity about life, and his remarkable work ethic, continue to challenge intellectual exploration of his work and capture the imagination of art lovers both at home and abroad.
Fook Island This “island of the imagination” was a materialisation of Battiss’ philosophy for which he created a map, imaginary people, plants, animals, a history as well as a stamps, currency, passports and driver’s licences. He created a Fookian language with a full alphabet as well. This utopian ‘island’ was a composite of the many islands he visited – which included Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, the Greek Isles and the Comores – blended together in his customary imaginative fashion. In Battiss’s words, “It is something that does not exist. I thought that I would take an island – the island that is inside all of us. I would turn this island into a real thing … I would give it a name”.
Fook was a result of his fertile imagination as well as his opposition to the Conceptualist Art movement of the 1960s and 70’s, in Europe and America. The movement espoused that the construction of art was confined to the ‘moment’ in which it was created. He believed on the contrary that all art exists in the now and this he argued to represent with Fook Island, which was always in the now and always an essential part of reality.
South Africans such as actress Janet Suzman, artist (and Battiss protegé) Norman Catherine, writer Esmé Berman and many others embraced the philosophy of Fook Island. The journalist Jani Allan interviewed Battiss in 1982 and also agreed to his request of becoming a ‘resident’ of the imaginary island.[1]
Battiss’ Fookian Driver’s License was accepted in America and the colourful pages of his Fookian Passport has official stamps from Australia, Britain and Germany. A Fookian banknote was also exchanged at a Rome airport for $10!
Source: Wikipedia
All links in this post will open in a new window. I’ve found at last what I was looking for! Tree interpretations!
The House-Tree-Person (H-T-P) projective technique developed by John Buck was originally an outgrowth of the Goodenough scale utilized to assess intellectual functioning. Buck felt artistic creativity represented a stream of personality characteristics that flowed onto graphic art. He believed that through drawings, subjects objectified unconscious difficulties by sketching the inner image of primary process….read on the link more…
Tree interpretations: The trunk is seen to represent the ego. sense of self, and the intactness of the personality. Thus heavy lines or shadings to represent bark indicate anxiety about one’s self, small trunks are limited ego strength, large trunks are more strength… (think about the saying that a tree that bends lasts through the wind, but one that doesn’t snaps, like the ego that is flexible and healthy lasts through the world, but the inflexible and neurotic ego ends up broken). A tree split down the middle, as if hit by lightening, can indicate a fragmented personality and serious mental illness, or a sign of organicity.
Limbs are the efforts our ego makes to “reach out” to the world and support “things that feed us” what we need. Thus, limbs detached are difficulties reaching out, or efforts to reach out that we can’t control. Small branches are limited skills to reach out, while big branches may be too much reaching out to meet needs. Club shaped branches or very pointy ones represent aggressiveness. Gnarled branches are “twisted” and represent being “twisted” in some efforts to reach out. Dead branches mean emptiness and hopelessness.
Leaves are signs that efforts to reach out are successful, since leaves growing mean the tree is reaching out to the sun and getting food and water. Thus, no leaves could mean feeling barren, while leaves detached from the branches mean the nurturing we get is not very predictable. Pointy leaves could be aggression, obsessive attention to detail on the leaves could be Obsessive Compulsive tendencies.
Roots are what “ground” the tree and people, and typically relate to reality testing and orientation. No roots can mean insecurity and no feeling of being grounded, overemphasized roots can be excessive concern with reality testing, while dead roots can mean feelings of disconnection from reality, emptiness, and despair.
Other details: Christmas trees after the season is over can mean regressive fantasies (thinking about holidays and family and good times to make yourself feel better). Knots or twists in the wood, like gnarled limbs, indicate some part of the ego is twisted around some issue. Knotholes are an absence of trunk, and thus an absence of ego control. Sometimes they are seen as indicating a trauma, and the height up the tree represents the age of the trauma (so, halfway up for a 10 year old is at age 5). Squirrels and small animals are an Id intrusion into an area free from ego control. Research does show that weeping willow trees are more common in depressed people. People with high needs for nurturance draw apples.
I’ve written about Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia. During my studies of this two year degree, we had to read widely too and I was very much interested in children’s art and how you can tell from their drawings what kind of emotional problems they experience in their lives. During my training as a Primary Teacher in South Africa, I had art as a specialist subject too and one task was to look at Pre-Primary children’s art and that triggered my interest. One little 5 year old boy didn’t draw something when I asked the class to draw anything. He took the purple wax crayon, put it down flat on his sheet, pressed very hard on it and press-pulled it from the top of his sheet to the bottom.
His teacher informed me about his circumstances at home, which was not very positive at the time. What I found in this one book, had me even more interested in the emotional difficulties-aspect. Some child psychologists might tell children to draw various things when they do their diagnostic tests in their first session with a child. Some might start with: “Draw me a human”, as they want to see who’s the dominant parent in the house or the parent the child relates best to or some other reasons. Some might also want to ask the child to draw a tree. Yes, a tree can tell you many things. A tree can tell you if the child experiences love or friendship at home, grieve, loneliness and many more!
These winter-tree photos were taken in our street where we lived in West London. They don’t look really beautiful as it’s winter now of course, but they look at least a bit “healthy”.
I’ve found two google-book-links for you to look at about the tree-drawing at the bottom of this post. I was also looking for more links about the tree-drawing activity and I came across a very interesting site with info about colour personalities. I think I’m a Group3-person here, some sort of an “expert” has told me that I’m an “autumn”-person and reading the Group3 -information, I think I sort of agree, but there is some of Summer to which I feel I relate to too. Take some time and enjoy reading it, the link is at the bottom of the post too…see the “Source”-link.
Colour Psychology — Personality Types There are just four personality types and each has its own distinctive characteristics and typical responses to a variety of situations. Each individual personality will be best supported and expressed with a specific palette of colours. Working in California, USA, in the early 1980s, Angela Wright realised the links between patterns of colour and patterns of human behaviour, when she put the four personality types together with the four colour families that Johannes Itten (an artist at the Bauhaus, earlier in the twentieth century) had noticed. This began to explain why individuals have such different responses to the same colour.
People say it is impossible to classify all the millions of people in the world into just four types. Yet the grand designer only divided humanity into two. The basic patterns are absolute, just as the basic male/female patterns, but equally, there are probably as many variations as there are people. Each of us contains elements of one or more of the other three, but understanding the archetype is the key to understanding ourselves and others.
These classifications indicate where humanity fits into the natural world. Human colour patterns are a reflection of nature’s patterns, and the constant play of light shows us wonderful colours and harmonies that change consistently. We rely on the colour signals in our environment to orient ourselves, so for example, in many parts of the world, when the leaves change colour and go through golds, reds, purples and browns before they fall off the trees, we know that the natural cycle is drawing to a close. We prepare for nature to shut down and hibernate, as regeneration begins under the earth. We ourselves instinctively draw in. As long as this happens in October and November, we are quite comfortable; but can you imagine how deeply disturbed we would be if it happened in June? We depend on the natural order more than we realise.
These patterns are fundamental to nature and are demonstrated in a variety of ways: for example, the play of light in any one day gives us four distinct moods – at sunrise, noon, sunset and night. The most spectacular and readily identifiable manifestation is in the four seasons of the year, in many parts of the world. Although this does not occur in the same way everywhere, the yearly cycle is recognisable everywhere and we react in similar ways.
It is important to understand that all four personality types can be found all over the world; however, Group 3 predominates, worldwide, in the indigenous populations of Australia, New Zealand, the Americas and Africa – as well as most of Europe. Group 4 personalities predominate in the Orient and parts of the Middle East. Group 1 people are particularly to be found in Scandinavia, but they are everywhere. Group 2 personalities are rare, but they can be found everywhere – oddly, they predominate in Norway. (It is interesting that, at the time of writing, Norway has been making tremendous diplomatic efforts for some years to bring peace to the Middle East).
The archetypal Group 1 personality reflects the patterns of springtime.
If you go out and look at nature in spring, it has a very specific colour scheme and an unmistakable personality. Everything is coming back to life after the long dark winter months and it is very lively. Birds make a lot of noise and the whole animal kingdom is busy; bright warm colours burst forth and spirits lift. The melting snow and ice fill the earth with water and create a sparkling awareness of the fresh and the new.
The personality that reflects all this is externally motivated and eternally young. They can be blonde, brunette or redhead, but they will never be very dark or heavy – even when they put on too much weight, they are light on their feet, love to dance and have an indefinable quality of lightness to their being. Their features tend to be rounded and delicate. They need plenty of light in their lives and are particularly prone to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). They have great charm and the kind of career that this type should ideally pursue will be working with many people – nursing, caring, communications and media, sales, entertainment (particularly musical comedy). They have a natural affinity with the young and they love the outdoors, so they make wonderful PE and sports teachers. They are often very clever, but not interested in heavy, deep academic debate. They like to get on with things; they have a strong practical streak and inexhaustible energy. They do not respond well, for example, to the beauty of linen, as it never looks properly ironed (unless their subordinate influence is autumnal). They like, and suit, crisp fresh fabrics and small patterns, such as polka dots.
The challenge for this type is single-mindedness; they have the gift of attending to many things simultaneously, but might be accused of being superficial and frivolous. Their emotions can be very fragile.
Examples of famous people who appear to reflect this pattern are: Tony Blair, the late Princess Diana and Bill Clinton.
The colours that reflect and express these characteristics are warm and clear; they can be bright, but not necessarily. Just as everyone does, the spring personality needs ease as well as stimulus, so their ideal palette of colours will include soft peach, cream or turquoise, alongside the brighter scarlets, cobalt or sky blues, warm emerald greens and pure yellows that express their varying moods. Neutral colours to support them are light camel, French navy and light warm greys.
The archetypal Group 2 personality is linked to the natural patterns of the summertime in many parts of the world.
As the year progresses and the earth begins to dry out, a softening process sets in. The vivid green leaves tone down to a cooler, darker green that perfectly enhances the soft colours of roses, sweet peas and wisteria. Our instinct is to break off and relax after so much energy has been expended. When the sun beats down, the colours are bleached out; the concept of coolness becomes very attractive and the colours of summer flowers echo that feeling. Imagine a quiet summer afternoon sitting under a tree, contemplating the peaceful countryside and the heat haze in the distance.
The archetypal Group 2 personality is cool, calm and collected. This person is internally motivated, but equally very sensitive to what others are feeling. Their features are gently curved and their eyes have a misty quality to them – they are most often blue, with no flecks or lacy patterns in them, but they can be grey, cool green or brown. Group 2 eyes do not dance, as Group 1 eyes so often do – they are still and serene. Their hair is unlikely to be predominantly red, although there could be warm lights in it; it will probably be cool brown or blond. Summer related people abhor vulgarity and their humour is subtle and often dry; they can be very witty. Ideal careers for this type are any that involve creating order out of chaos, and keeping the peace – diplomats, administrators, human resources – and, since they have an acute sense of touch, particularly in their fingertips, they are often gifted artists or musicians. Their gentle nature and keen analytical skills also make them good general practitioners (medical). They need order. They are very uncomfortable with poor-quality fabrics and love pure silk jersey (with its slight sheen and the flowing lines it creates), chiffon and cashmere.
The challenge for the summer personality is in appearing aloof and unfriendly – and the need to resist the efforts of their livelier friends to jazz them up!
The Group 2 personality does not seek the limelight, but some famous people who appear to demonstrate these characteristics are HM The Queen and Prince Charles (who had it thrust upon them), the late Princess Grace of Monaco and Nelson Mandela.
The colours of the Group 2 palette are cool and subtle; they can be dark, but never heavy. Some typical Group 2 colours are maroon, raspberry, oyster, rose pink, grapefruit, powder blue, lavender, viridian and sage green. Good neutrals to support them are mushroom, taupe, dove grey and cool navy.
Archetypal Group 3 personalities are linked to the autumnal pattern.
Go back again to the countryside and see how things have changed since the first warmth of spring. The temperature might be the same, but nature’s mood is quite different and so is her apparel. The bright, perky spring flowers, in warm blue, lilac, orange, and yellow, have been replaced by rich golds, fiery reds, purples, burnt orange and brown – and not in flowers, but in the leaves. Autumn is abundant, as we harvest all the fruits of the year’s cycle; it is mature and ripe, with great drama in the landscape.
The Group 3 personality is, like Group 1, externally motivated. However, there are great differences – autumnal people are intense and strong. They are all fiery, to a greater or lesser degree (depending on their subordinate influences); if they have a strong summer influence, this might not be apparent, but it is there; they can also be flamboyant. They could be blond, brunette or redhead and their eyes could be blue, brown or green and almost invariably have flecks of gold or tan in them. However, the Group 3 eyes are more often brown or green; hazel eyes do not occur in any other type. The textures that appeal to the Group 3 personality are those where the interest is inherent, rather than printed on a smooth finish – raw silk, linen, and tweed. Group 3 personalities have a strong sense of justice and are constantly fascinated with academic questions and how things work. They are very aware of environmental issues. Good careers for them are anything requiring detection and digging beneath the surface – police officers, psychiatrists and archaeologists and lawyers. They are attracted to the armed forces. They are often good writers, particularly in investigative journalism. Physical comfort and solid substance are important to them and they abhor anything flimsy, whether ideas or physical objects (such as furniture).
The challenge for Group 3 personalities is to keep their wish to save the world in proportion. They might be perceived as bossy and tedious.
Famous personalities who appear to be linked to Group 3 abound: they include Sir David Frost, Germaine Greer and Bob Geldof.
The autumnal palette is offbeat – there are no pure primary colours. Examples are vermilion, tomato, burnt orange, olive green, moss green, golden yellow, terracotta, petrel blue, and aubergine. Good neutrals to support these colours are most shades of brown.
Archetypal Group 4 personalities are an expression of the natural pattern of winter.
The winter landscape is hushed and when snow falls heavily, it is virtually achromatic – everything disappears under a blanket of pure white. But under the surface there is powerful energy as the regeneration process develops. Without leaves on the trees, outlines are stark and minimal, with strong contrasts. Imagine a snowy field, where you see an expanse of white and the apparently black shape of a leafless tree, its bare branches etched against an icy blue, or cold grey, sky. We treat the winter with respect, and when a storm breaks out, we run for cover. We view dramatic snow-covered mountain peaks or a majestic icy terrain with awe.
Similarly, Group 4 personalities automatically command respect. Physically, their features are usually well defined and their eyes compelling, whether they are blond or brunette; redheads rarely occur in this type. They are internally motivated and have a gift for seeing the broader picture and for delegation. They set their sights on the objective and they are not easily diverted. They are often very efficient, and precise in everything they do. They can’t stand clutter, or cluttered minds and they do not suffer fools. Their response to foolishness will often be sarcastic and, unlike Group 3 – who will stop and explain, fifty ways if necessary – they will simply move on. In difficult times they are very stoical. They do care, but they are unsentimental and do not get bogged down with emotional issues. They are self-assured and ideal careers for them are usually at the top – they are very effective in government and finance. They also shine in the theatre and films, as well as PR, and in fashion (they do not follow fashion – they are usually arbiters of it), they are perfectly suited to the catwalk. If they choose to pursue a medical career, they will be wonderful surgeons. If they decide to pursue a legal career, they make brilliant barristers. The textures that echo this pattern are shiny – glass and chrome in interiors, pure silk and satin for themselves. They never need to create a drama, as they are innately dramatic – but it is the drama of a frozen snowflake, or a flawless diamond on a black velvet cushion.
The challenge for Group 4 personalities is to pay attention to other people’s feelings. They can be perceived as elitist, cold and uncaring. Famous personalities who appear to embody the winter pattern are Sean Connery, Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher and Diana Ross.
The colours of winter in the natural world are few – and a winter personality instinctively recognises this. They often favour simply wearing black all winter and white all summer. They are the only type who look good, and are supported by, unrelieved black or white. Other colours in the tonal family are crimson, lemon yellow, Persian orange, jade green, cold emerald, magenta, royal purple, midnight blue and flag blue. These colours work particularly well in strong contrasts and the best neutrals for this palette are black, white and clerical grey.
Pierneef is a South African artist and I like his style, have a look at his trees in these paintings. You can read more about him on the Wiki-link at the bottom of this entry.
Pierneef received numerous honours and awards during his lifetime, including:
1935 – The Medal for Visual Arts for his Johannesburg Station Panels as well as for his panels in South Africa House in London. 1951 – Honorary Doctorate, University of Natal. 1957 – Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy, University of Pretoria. 1957 – Honorary Membership of the South African Academy for Science and Art.
Please click onthis link to read about exceptional trees of South Africa. The link will open in a new window.
The day we arrived in South Africa for our holiday (2007), we were quite shocked to see on the news that the plantations in the Eastern part of the country…The Lowveld… were all under fire! Especially for me it was very sad to watch the news as that part of the country is where I grew up and used to travel a lot. If you’ve travelled the country, you will know that the Kruger National Park is also in the Lowveld-area. Also, it was in that part of the country where we were headed for a week’s holiday too. I took photos of the plantations, but I really don’t want to look at it. If you click on the page that says..”movies”, you can watch the “Swadini”-movie and see one or two photos from the plantations… As far as I know, it was the first time ever that there was a fire, to this extend, in the plantations. Recently, I came across the site where I found these images of the fire and if you visit the website, you will be able to see enlarged images of the fire. I was also lucky to find an artist’s works of the “Lowveld fires”. I don’t want to say “enjoy” as any fire like this is really not to “enjoy”, I only want to share the images with you. I also have great respect for every dedicated fireman in the world, doing their important job!! Enjoy the poem/prayer and the beautiful music to “cool you down” after viewing these fire images!:) The music is the beautiful “Blue Danube” of Strauss.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
The Fireman’s Prayer
When I am called to duty, God
Where ever flames may rage,
Give me the strength to save some life
Whatever be its age,
Help me embrace a little child
Before it is to late,
Or save an older person from
The horror of that fate,
Enable me to be alert
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out
I want to fill my calling and,
To give the best in me
To guard my every neighbor and protect his property,
And if according to your will
I have to give my life,
Please bless with your protecting hand
My children and my wife.
Image: dreams.co.uk How do you feel about sleep? Sometimes I can go a whole night without sleep, but I will surely feel knackered two days later! I love being in bed at night when the rain is tapping on the roof. Weekends I like to lie in…and then get a nice breakfast in bed! …now to the music! I’ve these wonderful music, two tracks from a chess friend and he also sent me the third track by Hennie Bekker and suddenly! I found myself busy with an entry on sleep!! I even found you an interesting link about the stages of sleep and one about sleep deprivation…that’s for me, actually…lol! It was truly not my intention to blog about sleep when I uploaded these snippets of music, but at the end, after searching for some images, I came across these interesting info and sites and thought to share it with you as it was interesting to me. I blog about stuff which I enjoy/find interesting…apart from chess…my blog is sort of a “gathering space” for info I want to refer back to, but also in the hope that other people will find it useful too or will enjoy it at least. In the same process, I also found music for children with Aspergers! I’ve worked with children with Aspergers syndrome, Down Syndrome and also Autistic children and they are all a pleasure to work with!
I’ve come across music for ASD– the link will open in a new window – which you will find in this post. You can read more about ASD on the link and there’s another link in this post for you to follow up too, if you are more interested in Autistic children. Seven hours sleep a night helps reduce heart problems. Read the article…the link will open in a new window.
Firstly, enjoy “Sea of Dreams”…this track is about 5 min, but you get to listen to only a taster of it, as well as the other tracks. Tranquil Realms is about 11 min but the taster only about 2 min. For Afrikaans speaking people, I wonder if you can remember the Afrikaans poem about sleep! Please find it at the bottom of my post, a wonderful poem by DF Malherbe! In this poem he asks God to shut his eyes one day like the little girl’s when she falls asleep… On my blog on this link you can read about dreams…the link will open in a new window.
Sea of Dreams..by Angelle
Sleepy Time…by Angelle
Hennie Bekker…Tranquil Realms
Read on this link about sleep cycles. The link will open in a new window. Read on this pdf-link on wiki about dreaming.
The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behavior
Sarah Ledoux
Sleep deprivation is a commonplace occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended period of time. While some people may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false . Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. After periods of extended wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person’s behavior. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not sleeping so long as they are resting. This could involve lying awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Even though cognitive functions might not seem necessary in this scenario the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is not able to rest but rather remains semi-alert in a state of “quiet readiness” . Certain stages of sleep are needed for the regeneration of neurons within the cerebral cortex while other stages of sleep seem to be used for forming new memories and generating new synaptic connections. The effects of sleep deprivation on behavior have been tested with relation to the presence of activity in different sections of the cerebral cortex.
The temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is associated with the processing of language. During verbal learning tests on subjects who are fully rested functional magnetic resonance imaging scans show that this area of the brain is very active. However, in sleep deprived subjects there is no activity within this region. The effects of this inactivity can be observed by the slurred speech in subjects who have gone for prolonged periods with no sleep .
Please click HERE more about sleep deprivation and brain behaviour…the link will open in a new window.
The music in ‘Sleep’ has been designed to be physically relaxing – the program features no distracting surprises and feels like slow, steady breathing, to help transport the listener away from the stresses of the day towards restful sleep.
This CD, with music composed by Hennie Bekker, incorporates scientific principles of sonic response, and is designed to nudge your mind toward deep and refreshing sleep.
On this link you can listen to more snippets of his music. The link will open in a new window.
Hennie Bekker
African Roots Bekker was raised in Mufulira, a Zambian copper mining town 10 miles south of the Congo border. In those early years, he was captivated by the symphonic sounds of the African wilderness, the haunting harmonies of tribal chanting and the rhythmic dialogue of drummers communicating between camps at sundown. He is a self-taught pianist who had his professional debut at age 15, spending the next decade performing with various bands throughout Zambia, Zaire, Zimbabwe and Kenya. His success as a fusion-jazz musician and band leader elevated him to become the musical director for one of South Africa’s largest record companies. Here, he added scores of film, television, radio and commercial music to his list of career accomplishments.
Read more about Hennie Bekker here, the link will open in a new window. If you click on “home”, you will find youtube-videos of him to watch.
On the “music” link you will find more albums, even some Africa-music and snippets to listen to.
Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition that was initially described by Dr. Hans Asperger’s 1944 doctoral thesis. It was not until 37 years later, in 1981, however, that Dr. Lorna Wing used the term “Asperger’s Syndrome” in a paper that helped to introduce this condition to the English-speaking world.
As described by Dr. Wing, the primary clinical features of Asperger’s Syndrome include:
naïve, inappropriate, one-sided social interactions
limited ability to establish relationships
poor non-verbal communication
a lack of emotional empathy
pedantic, repetitive speech
intense absorption in certain subjects
clumsy, un-coordinated movements
odd postures
Currently, the prevailing view is that Asperger’s Syndrome is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder which falls at the high end of the Autism Spectrum continuum.
BEHAVIORAL DEFINITION
The autism spectrum extends from “classic autism” — which lies at the lower end of the spectrum– through ASPERGER’S SYNDROME, which is characterized as being at the mildest and highest functioning end of the spectrum –or Pervasive Developmental Disorder–Continuum
The major source of stress in life for the person with Asperger’s Syndrome is social contact, and increased stress generally leads to anxiety disorders and depression Attwood, T. Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, 1998, p. 148.
AS represents a neurologically-based disorder of development
AS reflects deviations or abnormalities in four aspects of development:
(1) Social relatedness and social skills
(2) The use of language for purposes of communication
(3) Certain behavioral and stylistic characteristics such as repetitive or persevering features
(4) Limited, but intense, range of interests
These dysfunctional features can range from mild to severe
“The Epidemiology of Asperger Syndrome: A Total Population Study” by Ehlers and Gillberg (retrieve citation) 2001), it is estimated that the prevalence of Asperger is 2.6 per 1,000 individuals. With the population of the U.S. currently estimated at 275 million (July 2000), this would mean an estimated 715,000 people are affected by Asperger’s syndrome in the U.S. alone”
Stewart, K. (2002). Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome, p. 148
AS is characterized by:
high cognitive abilities — or, at least, “normal” IQ level
extending into the very superior range of cognitive ability
normal language function when compared to other autistic disorders
difficulties with pragmatic, or social language
a better prognosis than other Autism spectrum disorders Please read on THIS LINK more…the link will open in a new window. Click on “products” and it will take you to the music page.
Image: babyzone.com
DF Malherbe (1881-1969)
Slaap
Wat is die slaap ‘n wondersoete ding!
Sag op haar bloue oë daal die vaak
soos maneskyn diep waterkuile raak
om daar te droom in silwer skemering.
Vir laas beef oor haar lippe ‘n fluistering:
“Nag, Pappie.” Ek merk hoe langsaam hy genaak,
wat drome soet tot werklikhede maak:
in vaderarms rus my lieweling.
Sluit so my oë, God, wanneer vir my
u Engel wenk ter laaste, lange rus
en ek van wilde woeling hier moet skei;
dat my dan stille drome huis toe sus
en sterke Hand deur duisternisse lei.
Sluit so my oë, God, as ek gaan rus.
To Sleep by John Keats.
O soft embalmer of the still midnight!
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine;
O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close,
In midst of this thine hymn, my willing eyes.
Or wait the Amen, ere thy poppy throws
Around my bed its lulling charities;
Then save me, or the passed day will shine
Upon my pillow, breeding many woes;
Save me from curious conscience, that still hoards
Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;
Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed casket of my soul.
Sea of Dreams…Kelly King …I’ve found this book on google-books whilst searching for images and thought it might be on my list to read when I have more time…I’ve read a couple of books about wars…and for some reason I like to read about it…all part of history.
Sea of dreams by Martin Sramek
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
winds come winding, breathing bliss
of summer’s heat and springtime mists
ring out the bells
ring out the bells
ring out the bells and sing for joy
—shadowscapes See more Angels on this link which will open in a new window.
MY SONG You are every moment of the day
The land and the shore
A celestial reflection
Of my island-universe
That weaves these lines
The round caress
Between the sky and sea
A quick kiss you seem
A buried memory
Of my lost dream . . .
See Patrizia in video here.The link will open in a new window. This post is nr 999! One more to go! Patrizia Gattaceca is a Corsican poet and a singer. She began singing in public when she was a 13-year-old secondary school pupil and set her first poem to music. She is co-founder of the Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses, a female trio singing traditional Corsican songs.
Read more about Patrizia here on the link which will open in a new link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unluckypuppy/482675237/in/set-72157594195589241/ I know Wipneus is going to freak out about these images from “unluckypuppy” on flickr. She’s a “stargazer!” and loves anything about space. This lily-flower’s name is also Stargazer! I think it’s beautiful! When I came across these images, I had to post it with some poems and I’ve found these lovely poems, enjoy them with the song by Don McLean–Starry, Starry Night! I like Van Gogh’s art too, so thought you would enjoy his “Starry Night” at the same time, also, I’ve Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for you to enjoy too! and the link where you can download it.
Image:pickupflowers.com
A Sonnet of the Moon
Look how the pale queen of the silent night
Doth cause the ocean to attend upon her,
And he, as long as she is in his sight,
With her full tide is ready her to honor.
But when the silver waggon of the moon
Is mounted up so high he cannot follow,
The sea calls home his crystal waves to moan,
And with low ebb doth manifest his sorrow.
So you that are the sovereign of my heart
Have all my joys attending on your will;
My joys low-ebbing when you do depart,
When you return their tide my heart doth fill.
So as you come and as you do depart,
Joys ebb and flow within my tender heart.
I saw thee once — once only — years ago:
I must not say how many — but not many.
It was a July midnight; and from out
A full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring,
Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven,
There fell a silvery-silken veil of light,
With quietude, and sultriness, and slumber,
Upon the upturn’d faces of a thousand
Roses that grew in an enchanted garden,
Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe —
Fell on the upturn’d faces of these roses
That gave out, in return for the love-light,
Their odorous souls in an ecstatic death —
Fell on the upturn’d faces of these roses
That smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted
By thee, and by the poetry of thy presence.
Clad all in white, upon a violet bank
I saw thee half reclining; while the moon
Fell on the upturn’d faces of the roses,
And on thine own, upturn’d — alas, in sorrow!
Was it not Fate, that, on this July midnight —
Was it not Fate, (whose name is also Sorrow,)
That bade me pause before that garden-gate,
To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?
No footstep stirred: the hated world all slept,
Save only thee and me. (Oh, Heaven! — oh, God!
How my heart beats in coupling those two words!)
Save only thee and me. I paused — I looked —
And in an instant all things disappeared.
(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!)
The pearly lustre of the moon went out:
The mossy banks and the meandering paths,
The happy flowers and the repining trees,
Were seen no more: the very roses’ odors
Died in the arms of the adoring airs.
All — all expired save thee — save less than thou:
Save only the divine light in thine eyes —
Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.
I saw but them — they were the world to me.
I saw but them — saw only them for hours —
Saw only them until the moon went down.
What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwritten
Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres!
How dark a wo!, yet how sublime a hope!
How silently serene a sea of pride!
How daring an ambition! yet how deep —
How fathomless a capacity for love!
But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight,
Into a western couch of thunder-cloud;
And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing trees
Didst glide way [[away]]. Only thine eyes remained.
They would not go — they never yet have gone.
Lighting my lonely pathway home that night,
They have not left me (as my hopes have) since.
They follow me — they lead me through the years.
They are my ministers — yet I their slave.
Their office is to illumine and enkindle —
My duty, to be saved by their bright light,
And purified in their electric fire,
And sanctified in their elysian fire.
They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope,)
And are far up in Heaven — the stars I kneel to
In the sad, silent watches of my night;
While even in the meridian glare of day
I see them still — two sweetly scintillant
Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!
On this link, you can find all Poe’s works and his biography too.
Image: flickr…unluckypuppy..follow the link at the first image
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer’s day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent’s eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can’t forget.
Like the strangers that you’ve met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they’re not listening still.
Perhaps they never will…
Alida Bothma’s biographical detail Born and bred in Pretoria, and now a Greyton resident, Alida obtained a diploma in Graphic Design, with distinction, at the Cape Town Technikon in 1973 and then worked as an illustrator with an advertising agency.
At the age of 26 she had her first international recognition when her work was included in a watercolour exhibition in Western Germany. The early 1980’s saw the beginning of her involvement in the illustration of children’s books and to date they number over 150.
Her paintings are often inspired by the written word or thoughts, prose, poetry and Scripture. Alida works in a variety of techniques and usually uses a mixture of different media.
She is the recipient of many national awards, among others, the Katrine Harries Medal in 1985; the MER Medal in 1988 and the ATKV Awards in 1993, 1997 and 2000. Her work has extensively been seen abroad in Japan, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Slovak Republic, Iran and India.
In 1994 she received a merit award and in 2005 a bronze medal from the NOMA Concours (Unesco), Tokyo, Japan. Her work is represented in South Africa and internationally and she has held numerous solo exhibitions. She and her husband relocated from Port Elizabeth to Greyton in 2014, where she now has her studio.
I came across Alida Bothma’s art when searching for a topic and then remembered how beautifully she used to illustrate South African children’s books. In 2004 she was a runner-up in the Noma Concours Picture Book illustrations-award.
The Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations has been organised biennially by Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) supported by Noma International Book Development Fund. This Concours is to discover up-and-coming illustrators, graphic designers and artists in Asia (except Japan), the Pacific, Africa, Arab States, and Latin America & the Caribbean, to provide an opportunity at which they can present their works to offer incentives for their creative activities.
Goue Lint My Storie Begint..(A book of verse for little children also Illustrated by Alida)
The Katrine Harries Award, originally the only and most prestigious award in South Africa for children’s book illustrations, but which had been dormant for the past nine years, will soon be awarded again.
Protea Boekhuis has kindly agreed to sponsor the Award on a continuous basis. The award that was made for the first time in the early 1960’s by the SA Library Association and later the South African Institute for Library and Information Science (SAILIS) has been awarded to South Africa’ s most well-known illustrators: Katrine Harries personally received the award twice before it was named after her. Thereafter illustrators such as Niki Daly, Joan Rankin, Alida Bothma, Cora Coetzee, Jeremy Grimsdell, amongst others, have received it, with Jude Daly finally receiving it in 1997 for Gift of the Sun. Resource: http://scbwigauteng.blogspot.com/2007/09/katrine-harries-award-for-childrens.html
These two images immediately captured my attention! Deeply Morbid by Stevie Smith
Deeply morbid deeply morbid was the girl who typed the letters Always out of office hours running with her social betters But when daylight and the darkness of the office closed about her Not for this ah not for this her office colleagues came to doubt her It was that look within her eye Why did it always seem to say goodbye?
Joan her name was and at lunchtime Solitary solitary She would go and watch the pictures In the National Gallery All alone all alone This time with no friend beside her She would go and watch the pictures All alone.
INTERNATIONAL: 1. Merit award: NOMA Concours (UNESCO), Tokyo, Japan 1994 – illustration in “Die Wit Vlinder by Corlia Fourie. 2. Bronze Medal and Runner-up award: NOMA Concours (UNESCO), Tokyo, Japan 2005 for a volume of poetry, Woordreise. NATIONAL: 1. Katrine Harries Medal for illustration in 1985 for two books: All Everest’s Birds (Rona Rupert) and The Earth must be free (Pieter W. Grobbelaar). 2. M.E.R. Medal in 1988 for illustrations in the book Goue Fluit my storie is uit (compiled by Linda Roode). 3. ATKV Award for illustrators in 1993, 1997 and 2000 for the books Caty Collie Wobbles (Elsabe Steenberg), Stippe Stappe Stories, and Steweltjies na Wonderland (Hester Heese).
All art below: see her Facebook page: Alida Bothma Art.
St Mary’s Church…near us…in the style of Hockney! Enjoy another Waldo de los Rios piece of music while reading here..but it’s only the first 75 seconds of the track, copied three times…enjoy!
In the style ofDavid Hockney…find on the link more of his art. I used the hockneyizer on this link to create my picture! http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/hockney.php In school we’ve tried the style of Hockney by taking profile pictures from two different angles. The pictures get cut and you arrange the strips/bits in a way you like it…it’s quite cool! Of course this hockneyizer makes it so much easier!
Image of Hockney’s mother
Image: calistarphotography.com
Let’s take the road! …I said on Friday…and we did! Literally! We had such a brilliant outing… we travelled on the highway south to Southampton and then took a turn-off to a bird sanctuary. We then decided to go on the small country roads and that’s where we got stuck…at this church! On the roadmap we saw that Jane Austen’s museum wasn’t too far from there and I suggested we go there! We travelled on really small roads, some farm roads too! we even made a u-turn on one farm! hehe… Enjoy some of the pics here…and my next post is about Jane Austen…
I could make out some of the writing here…Emily Plummer and she was the wife of the Rev.
Little did we know about this name…Hartley Mauditt House…I only read the history when I found the info and had we known that before I could have looked for mrs Mauditt’s grave at the church! We wanted to push on to Jane’s house and therefore didn’t go to the Hartley Mauditt House.
About the church:
Two miles north of Oakhanger lies St Leonard’s Church, Hartley Mauditt, which having lost its village stands isolated beside the village pond.
This was essentially a manor church, built between 1100 and 1125 by one of William the Conqueror’s knights, William de Mauditt, in a clearing in the forest. He would also have built the manor house and cleared the land for growing crops and grazing his animals, and his family and servants would have worshipped in the church.
The building is a simple nave and chancel, although originally it probably would have had an apsidal east end. The porch protects a beautifully decorated Early English doorway. Inside is the 15th century font, and in the south wall is a Norman window. The chancel arch is an early Norman horseshoe arch, and the east chancel window is Early English, the same period as the present east end which replaced the apse.
Beneath the chancel is a crypt, probably the Stuart family vault, which is entered by a doorway (now bricked up) which lies behind the pulpit.
After the de Mauditt’s, the manor passed by various families to John of Gaunt and remained Crown property until 1603. The Stuart family bought the manor in 1614 and held it for many years. Their monuments, several with colourful heraldry, are in the chancel.
In 1798 the owner preferred to live in London, but his wife wished to remain in Hartley Mauditt, so he demolished the manor house, thus forcing her to follow him. She is buried in the churchyard, so her heart at least did in the end return.
The destruction of the manor meant loss of employment, and the village was abandoned. The church was restored in 1854 and 1904, the last when the bell turret was renewed. Today the church is well preserved and beautifully maintained. Source: http://www.johnowensmith.co.uk/churches/hmaudi.htm
Hartley Mauditt: St Leonard
And does the phantom coach and horses drive through Hartley Mauditt pond?
— my silent stones won’t tell.
And where have workers’ hamlet houses gathered round about me gone?
— in troubled times they fell.
So now I stand alone to stay
where lord and manor once held sway,
— a core without a shell.
A few years ago I was fortunate to be chosen to attend a day “course” on creativity and the whole brain. I really enjoyed the course and Dr Kobus Neethling (read about him at the bottom of my post) was expected to be there, but he was held up and we had only his videos to watch however, we were fortunate too to have brilliant speakers to lead the day. We had to do all sorts of activities and one “test” results pointed out that I was a “whole-brain”-person. They say that you should strive to use your whole brain. I’m not always sure if I really use my “whole brain”…e.g. today, I’m really in a lazy mood and I think I don’t want to use my brain at all! Picasso was also a “whole brain”-thinker! I’ve found this fun website where you can create your own “Picasso”! THIS LINK to create your own Picasso!
If you’re a chess player, you will find this PDF-document-link interesting…or if you’re interested in the brain. Please click on chess and thinking to read the pdf document about chess and content- orientated psychology thinking – the link will open in a new window.
Whole Brain Thinking What is WHOLE BRAIN THINKING? Whole Brain thinking is when the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain unify to create a “whole brain thinking” pattern. Using whole brain thinking enhances living, logic, intuition, analytical skills, mechanical reasoning and artistic ability. Whole brain thinking, essentially enriches brain functioning to a superior level of heightened awareness. To better understand the effects of whole brain thinking, read on:
Left Brain thinkers are often engineers and scientists; Right brain thinkers are most often artists and poets. In overview, left brain thinkers use structured analysis in their thought patterns; right brain thinkers use patterned recognition in their thought patterns. When both are combined, intuition is the ultimate achievement of the two. Clarification of whole brain thinking is that persons who use whole brain thinking have the ability not only to be creative in the arts, but could possibly fix a diesel truck engine as well. By using whole brain thinking, the impossible becomes possible.
Some of the world’s greatest pioneers, inventors and leaders use whole brain thinking. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a fine artist but a great scientist as well. Frederic Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty, utilized whole brain thinking — not only did he create the Statue of Liberty, he also engineered the scientific dimensions of his creation.
Source: http://www.holisticjunction.com/categories/HPD/whole-brain-thinking.html
The four thinking styles in the Whole Brain Model are:
1. Logician: Analytical, Mathematical, Technical and Problem Solving.
2. Organiser: Controlled, Conservative, Planned, Organised and Administrative in nature.
3. Communicator: Interpersonal, Emotional, Musical, Spiritual and the “talker” modes.
4. Visionary: Imaginative, Synthesizing, Artistic, Holistic and Conceptual modes.
Dr Kobus Neethling is the President of the South African Creativity Foundation. In 1998 he received “The Distinguished Leader Award” from the International Creative Problem Solving Institute and the Creative Education Foundation: The most prestigious creativity award in the world.
He is also the founder and Director of the South African Creativity Foundation and the Kobus Neethling Group. He holds 6 University degrees (Cape Town, Potchefstroom and Georgia USA), including two Master’s Degrees, a Doctorate and a Post Doctorate (Cum Laude).
Update 2011: Sadly, the link about Dr Kobus Neethling doesn’t work anymore.
“Genius is the ability to avoid work by doing it right the first time.”
— old saying
“The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do.”
— B.F. Skinner
“Improvement makes straight roads;
but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of genius.”
— William Blake [1757–1827]
“If the brain were so simple we could understand it,
[then] we would be so simple [that] we couldn’t.”
— Lyall Watson
“Most people would sooner die than think. In fact, they do.”
— Bertrand Russell [1872-1970]
“Geniuses are like thunderstorms. They go against the wind,
terrify people, cleanse the air.”
— Søren Kierkegaard [1813-55]
“When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this
sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”
— Jonathan Swift [1667–1745]
“The first and last thing required of genius is the love of truth.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [1749-1832]
“Some superior minds are unrecognized because there is no standard
by which to weigh them.”
— Joseph Joubert
“A genius is one who can do anything except make a living.”
— Joey Adams
“There’s nothing as stupid as an educated man,
if you get him off the thing that he is educated in.”
— Will Rogers [1879-1935]
“Talent, lying in the understanding, is often inherited;
genius, being the action of reason or imagination, rarely or never.”
— Samuel T. Coleridge [1772-1834]
Source: http://www.genordell.com/stores/maison/thinking.htm
Paintings from Picasso’s Blue and Rose Period are my favourites and I’ve uploaded some of my favourites here..
Picasso…Leaning Harlequin–1901
Picasso…Wounded bird and cat — 1938
Picasso…Le Gourmet from the Blue Period — 1901
This next article is about the brain…from the new scientist. The link will open in a new window.
The Human Brain – With one hundred billion nerve cells, the complexity is mind-boggling. Learn more in our cutting edge special report. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience of the world. This jelly-like mass of tissue, weighing in at around 1.4 kilograms, contains a staggering one hundred billion nerve cells, or neurons.
The complexity of the connectivity between these cells is mind-boggling. Each neuron can make contact with thousands or even tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses. Our brains form a million new connections for every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike. It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activity, and losing others.
Grey matter While people often speak of their “grey matter”, the brain also contains white matter. The grey matter is the cell bodies of the neurons, while the white matter is the branching network of thread-like tendrils – called dendrites and axons – that spread out from the cell bodies to connect to other neurons.
But the brain also has another, even more numerous type of cell, called glial cells. These outnumber neurons ten times over. Once thought to be support cells, they are now known to amplify neural signals and to be as important as neurons in mental calculations. There are many different types of neuron, only one of which is unique to humans and the other great apes, the so called spindle cells.
Brain structure is shaped partly by genes, but largely by experience. Only relatively recently it was discovered that new brain cells are being born throughout our lives – a process called neurogenesis. The brain has bursts of growth and then periods of consolidation, when excess connections are pruned. The most notable bursts are in the first two or three years of life, during puberty, and also a final burst in young adulthood.
How a brain ages also depends on genes and lifestyle too. Exercising the brain and giving it the right diet can be just as important as it is for the rest of the body.
Chemical messengers
The neurons in our brains communicate in a variety of ways. Signals pass between them by the release and capture of neurotransmitter and neuromodulator chemicals, such as glutamate, dopamine, acetylcholine, noradrenalin, serotonin and endorphins.
Some neurochemicals work in the synapse, passing specific messages from release sites to collection sites, called receptors. Others also spread their influence more widely, like a radio signal, making whole brain regions more or less sensitive.
These neurochemicals are so important that deficiencies in them are linked to certain diseases. For example, a loss of dopamine in the basal ganglia, which control movements, leads to Parkinson’s disease. It can also increase susceptibility to addiction because it mediates our sensations of reward and pleasure.
Similarly, a deficiency in serotonin, used by regions involved in emotion, can be linked to depression or mood disorders, and the loss of acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
Brain scanning
Within individual neurons, signals are formed by electrochemical pulses. Collectively, this electrical activity can be detected outside the scalp by an electroencephalogram (EEG).
These signals have wave-like patterns, which scientists classify from alpha (common while we are relaxing or sleeping), through to gamma (active thought). When this activity goes awry, it is called a seizure. Some researchers think that synchronising the activity in different brain regions is important in perception.
Other ways of imaging brain activity are indirect. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) monitor blood flow. MRI scans, computed tomography (CT) scans and diffusion tensor images (DTI) use the magnetic signatures of different tissues, X-ray absorption, or the movement of water molecules in those tissues, to image the brain.
These scanning techniques have revealed which parts of the brain are associated with which functions. Examples include activity related to sensations, movement, libido, choices, regrets, motivations and even racism. However, some experts argue that we put too much trust in these results and that they raise privacy issues.
Before scanning techniques were common, researchers relied on patients with brain damage caused by strokes, head injuries or illnesses, to determine which brain areas are required for certain functions. This approach exposed the regions connected to emotions, dreams, memory, language and perception and to even more enigmatic events, such as religious or “paranormal” experiences.
One famous example was the case of Phineas Gage, a 19th century railroad worker who lost part of the front of his brain when a 1-metre-long iron pole was blasted through his head during an explosion. He recovered physically, but was left with permanent changes to his personality, showing for the first time that specific brain regions are linked to different processes.
Structure in mind
The most obvious anatomical feature of our brains is the undulating surfac of the cerebrum – the deep clefts are known as sulci and its folds are gyri. The cerebrum is the largest part of our brain and is largely made up of the two cerebral hemispheres. It is the most evolutionarily recent brain structure, dealing with more complex cognitive brain activities.
It is often said that the right hemisphere is more creative and emotional and the left deals with logic, but the reality is more complex. Nonetheless, the sides do have some specialisations, with the left dealing with speech and language, the right with spatial and body awareness.
Further anatomical divisions of the cerebral hemispheres are the occipital lobe at the back, devoted to vision, and the parietal lobe above that, dealing with movement, position, orientation and calculation.
Behind the ears and temples lie the temporal lobes, dealing with sound and speech comprehension and some aspects of memory. And to the fore are the frontal and prefrontal lobes, often considered the most highly developed and most “human” of regions, dealing with the most complex thought, decision making, planning, conceptualising, attention control and working memory. They also deal with complex social emotions such as regret, morality and empathy.
Another way to classify the regions is as sensory cortex and motor cortex, controlling incoming information, and outgoing behaviour respectively.
Below the cerebral hemispheres, but still referred to as part of the forebrain, is the cingulate cortex, which deals with directing behaviour and pain. And beneath this lies the corpus callosum, which connects the two sides of the brain. Other important areas of the forebrain are the basal ganglia, responsible for movement, motivation and reward.
Urges and appetites
Beneath the forebrain lie more primitive brain regions. The limbic system, common to all mammals, deals with urges and appetites. Emotions are most closely linked with structures called the amygdala, caudate nucleus and putamen. Also in the limbic brain are the hippocampus – vital for forming new memories; the thalamus – a kind of sensory relay station; and the hypothalamus, which regulates bodily functions via hormone release from the pituitary gland.
The back of the brain has a highly convoluted and folded swelling called the cerebellum, which stores patterns of movement, habits and repeated tasks – things we can do without thinking about them.
The most primitive parts, the midbrain and brain stem, control the bodily functions we have no conscious control of, such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep patterns, and so on. They also control signals that pass between the brain and the rest of the body, through the spinal cord.
Though we have discovered an enormous amount about the brain, huge and crucial mysteries remain. One of the most important is how does the brain produces our conscious experiences?
The vast majority of the brain’s activity is subconscious. But our conscious thoughts, sensations and perceptions – what define us as humans – cannot yet be explained in terms of brain activity.
After a discussion about study methods on one of the Afrikaans blogs, I’ve decided to add this info here as it relates to your brain too. This is a study method I taught 12 year old children. This is only one method of many others. A popular method is mind-maps too. All depends on the individual and the style he prefers.
P Q R S T
(I originally found this method in Atkinson, R. L., Atkinson, R. C., Smith, E. E., & Bem, D. J. (1993). Introduction to Psychology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, although that may not be the original source.) PREVIEW
Skim the headings of the entire chapter. Your most important goal is to find out how the chapter is organized.
If the major terms in the headings are unfamiliar – look them up
The same material could be organized more than one way. If the way it is organized helps you to remember the main topics, then use that organization. If you notice some other way it could have been organized that makes more sense to you, then use that method. QUESTION Turn the subheadings under the major headings into questions that you expect to be answered in that part of the text. READ
Try to see if the questions you anticipated are answered. Reflect on what you read; put it in your own words. Try to connect what you are reading to things you already know. Don’t mark or highlight words or passages as you come to them the first time. Wait until you have reached the end of a small section, maybe a paragraph or two and look back to decide if there is anything there that you probably wouldn’t remember without highlighting it. Try to learn through trial and error how much marking is the minimum you need to do to remember all the material. SELF-RECITATION
This is the most critical part.
After reading a small section, perhaps a page or two CLOSE THE BOOK and try to write down the main ideas and as many details as you can, and then check yourself.
Put the main ideas and details in your own words; don’t just memorize the exact words in the text.
When you check, look for important things you omitted or got wrong.
Do it again. Do it as many times as you need to until you can close the book and reproduce the material accurately, but meaningfully, not just by rote.
Once you can do that immediately after closing the book, then start trying to do it after being away from the book for a while. First short gaps, like an hour, then longer gaps, like a day or two.
This is hard work. You might start by first trying to be able to make just a skeletal outline and build up the ability to fill in details.
Develop your own mnemonics for memorizing major points, or any details that you find confusing. TEST After some time has passed, try to reproduce the material as you did above. The key here is that you must give yourself enough time to forget some of the material so that you are forced to really re-generate the material. Re-generate means that you use your mnemonics and connections from the easier-to-remember main ideas to pull up the details.
Research has shown that reflection, spacing your study, and organizing all improve learning significantly.
Painting celebrating African and European influences –2008
Danie de Wet
The Way (2005)
Oil on board
Roelof Rossouw
Blaauwklippen Estate from Jamestown
The Red Boat, Hout Bay
Roelof Rossouw
Walter Koch
“untitled”
His inspirations come from African Rock and Graffiti
Francois Krige…Blue Cranes (they are South Africa’s national bird)
I was sent this link earlier this week by a relative of mine. Her hubby is an artist and a very talented person when it comes to art and music and I’ve thought to blog a few artists from this site as I think that we have wonderful artists in South Africa and apart from that, we have such a beautiful country and I personally think that SA is a paradise for any artist. I’d wished many times that I was a natural artist. I want to sit down and start a drawing and after five minutes I want a master piece! But, unfortunately, I was at the end of the line when God handed out that gift! By looking at all these masterpieces then I’m really rubbish when it comes to art! although I’ve done some fabric painting, but that’s easy peasy…it’s like colouring a picture with paint! and I’ve done some Chinese painting….that’s painting on plates…even easier than fabric painting! ….nothing really difficult about that and you don’t even have to be an artist to do that! In my school in SA I used to do that with my gr3’s…and they did some wonderful paintings on small plates as a Mothers’ day-gift. One of my gr3’s even taught her mum how to do it and they started a club at home painting plates as Christmas presents…so, you see, you don’t have to be an artist and I want to be one!! lol! The first two piece of art is from her hubby and the others are just some of the beautiful art which I like…the first one in particular reminded me about chess…if you know what I mean…the bottom half….and I do love any beautiful painting with boats…and it’s even better with a South African mountain on the background!! ….I know I will find more pieces of art which I will like by spending more time on the site…so, here’s the link for you to play around! Please click HEREfor more South African artists and their art work.
Enjoy this piece of painted fabric… I might scan one more later…if you have your image transferred on your fabric…it’s….dead easy…almost like “colour-by-the-numbers”…. On THIS SITE you can view a gallery of art from many well-known artists of South African e.g. Maggie Laubscher, Walter Battis, W H Coetzer, etc. Francois Krige’s “Blue Cranes” is from this gallery…do enjoy!
My blog is this month…ONE year old!! The actual “birthday” is the 9th….I’ve decided to link this “celebration” to some “memories”…after a year, you always think back/reflect on things that happened throughout the year..and you try to improve the next year…so: I’ve decided to “reflect” a bit…not really…hehehe…it’s just a blog! but to “refresh” some minds…I’ve decided to blog about the things I like/love…well, by just looking at that Springbok rugby player…I don’t have to say more!! Go to Sept/Oct 2007 and you’ll find about 10 entries on the World Cup Rugby…mostly about the Springboks ( of course!!) and their games..but there is at least the one of England against France too! I love rugby…and that’s due to my very first boyfriend…he played rugby for about 3 clubs…the same time!.. and I used to spend my days at Loftus!! ….all those days chewing biltong (jerky for the Americans!) and droëwors! with the other girls…the links to entries on my blog is self explainable…according to the stats since Nov 2007. Most popular Chess link …Bobby Fischer.. was and is…the most popular POETRYlink….and the most popular ARTlink…all of these links have had 1000+ hits till now…and this link is the MOST popular link on my site…with 1500+ hits since I’ve moved my blog to WordPress in November.
Image: bestbiltong.com
I’m sure thatTESSA wouldn’t mind me blogging one of her fantastic pictures again..this is South Africa! and follow the link to see some more beautiful images!
I couldn’t help myself blogging this video! It has taken me back a couple of years…I took piano lessons from age 11…and when I was in secondary…. I was desperate to play this piece of music!! I practised it myself…it’s from a book which I didn’t use with my teacher….I could play it about half way at the end…but hey!! this piece of music is so tricky!! I really admire anybody that plays it like this lady does in the video! I still wish I could play it like that…<sigh>…sweet memories…ENJOY! Here is an audio file to listen to… from THIS SITE …
If the above link doesn’t work, try this NEW link here.
Percy Montgomery!…my favourite Springbok rugby player.
This is chess game 26! In this game I played black. This was really a tough game….one of those challenging games. If you play through the game you will see why. Luckily…as always… I had a Knight-to-the-rescue. I will even sacrifice a Rook just to have my Knight! Exactly like in real life… that’s why Knights are there! hehehe… look at move 80! Fork! and from there one…it was really easy. If you play through the game, you will see why my opponent named this game after this nursery rhyme! See if you can work out why I couldn’t really move away from that advanced Pawn of my opponent…He resigned this game at the end. Enjoy playing through it by clicking on the link.
Ring a-ring o’ roses,
A pocketful of posies.
a-tishoo!, a-tishoo!.
We all fall down.
This nursery rhyme is about the black death…also called “The Plague”. The symptoms of the plague included a raised red rash on the skin (Ring a ring o’ rosies) and violent sneezing (Atishoo, Atishoo) A pouch of sweet smelling herbs or posies were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The death rate was over 60% and the plage was only halted by the Great Fire of London in September 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which had been transmitting it to water sources. Read about Samuel Pepys and his connection with the Fire of London. Read on this link about the black death which was also called “The Plague” and on THIS LINK to read more about Ring-a-ring-a-rosie.
On ChessWorld, in the chess forum, we had a discussion about male/female players. The question was… are men
better at chess….? and some wondered why men are/were better… Some people think chess is a male game. I didn’t play chess when I was at school, although I could play, as there were always only boys playing…as I said before on my blog… I felt intimidated by those boys giving me the look of…”hey… you’re a girl…and you play chess!”… as if it’s actually a boy’s game…I think nowadays boys/men have accepted that chess is also a girls/female game and that we can actually also play the game, and sometimes even a bit better…also, I think it’s just a matter of statistics. For some men on the site, it’s even hard to lose a game to a woman! I experience it every now and then and quite recently had again such an experience of a male player that couldn’t handle the fact that a female was beating him.
We have also two tournaments going…where there are equally male/female players in both… I’m in the one tournament…and in this tournament the outcome looks positive for both sexes…in the other tourney it seems to be the females that will walk away as the winners…How do you feel? Are men better…is it a male game…what’s your opinion?
On THIS LINK you can follow the discussion about male/female chess on CW. This forum link will open in a new window.
In the following chess game, I played white. My opponent – this game was played more than six months ago, before this entry – was about 400+ ahead of me although he’s actually a 2000+ player, which means he would then be 800 ahead of me. He resigned at the end. You can click on the link and it will open in a new window to play through the game. I think it was also a bit of luck on my side. He wasn’t really impressed with the fact that I was beating him. Then, best of all, the game got more attention in the chess forum as an annotated game with a title: “Underdog wins”…Here is the game link ….Nikita1 vs. No6
This chess art is a brilliant piece of art by Roger Morin
I came across a site with very useful information… a very extensive site where you can read more about the research/study that was done about the female/male chess player! Read here an extract and you can follow the link to read the entire article! There is more to read than just this extract… you will not regret reading more!
After examining the data the researchers made four statements summarized below:
They found that men and women differed in chess ability in all age groups even after differences like frequency of play (read: level of training) or age were taken into account. The disparity between men and women in ability exists at the beginning and persists across all age groups. At least ostensibly this would lend credence to the ability distribution hypothesis in the sense that it suggests the mean ability between men and women are innately different. The last piece of data looks at whether that is true.
They found no greater variance in men than women. It had been suggested that since science selects for individuals at the upper tail of the distribution, a higher variance in men than women might explain their greater representation. However, the researchers found that — with respect to chess — if anything in most age groups women had a higher variance then men. Upper tail effects do not explain the differences in the numbers of grandmasters.
They found that women and men do not drop out more or less frequently when ability and age are factored out. For example, if you are not very good at chess you are more likely to stop playing tournaments, but girls and boys that are equally good are equally likely to stop playing. This strikes a blow at the differential dropout hypothesis.
Finally, here is the interesting part. If you look at the participation rate of women and relate that to performance, you find that in cases where the participation rate of women and men is equal the disparity in ability vanishes. Basically, this means that in zip codes where there are equal numbers of men and women players there is no great disparity between male and female ability — and certainly not a disparity in ability large enough to explain the difference in the numbers of grandmasters…read moreHEREabout the research/study.
Update: 26Dec 2008: You can read on THIS LINK new info on a new “gentle“ research that was done by a chess player from the Oxford University to prove that it’s only statistics when it comes to male/female GM’s…the link will open in a new window.
On this pdf-link you can read more about male/female chess players and the personality of chess players.
Click on hereto find out if you have a male/female brain. The link will open in a new window.
I had this chess game in this post annotated, here is the annotation if you’re interested.
1.e4 e5 2.d4 d5!? Playable, but not the best. Black can’t afford to mimic White’s moves, especially when it comes to centre Pawns. The obvious (2…exd4) is best.
3.f3 Weakening the King’s position. Best is simply (3.dxe5 dxe4 4.Qxd8+) and Black loses the castling priviledge, although with the Queens off the board this isn’t too critical.
3. … Bb4+ Wastes time, as White will simply interpose the c-pawn and the Bishop will have to retreat. Best is (3…exd4).
4.c3 Bd6 5.exd5 exd4 6.Qxd4 Nf6 7.Bg5 O-O Since the shaky first three moves, both sides have played quite well, but here (7…Nbd7) is better, as White will now be able to shatter Black’s King’s position.
8.Bxf6 gxf6 [8…Qxf6 may be safer, if not better, for if 9.Qxf6 gxf6], Black has the same Pawn formation as in the game, but White’s main attacking piece (the Queen) is gone.
9.Bd3 Qe7+ Since White can cover the check with a developing move, it may have been better to start chipping away at the White centre with (9…c6). Also worth considering is (9…Be5).
10.Ne2 b6 11.Be4 An unnecessary moving of the same piece twice in the opening. White should complete her development with (11.Nd2), followed by castling (Queenside being safer in this case, because of the semi-open g-file).
11. … Bb7 Logical, given his previous move, but (11…f5) would’ve forced White to retract her last move.
12.c4 Another unnecessary move, as the d-pawn was amply protected. White should once again have played (12.Nd2).
12. … Nd7 It’s hard to knock a move that develops a new piece, but (12…Be5) was stronger here.
13.Nd2 White finally makes this move, but as long as the c-pawn is no longer preempting c3, this Knight would be better placed there.
c5?? Once again, (13…Be5) would have been an uncomfortable move for White to face. The text is a blunder which should lose a piece.
14.dxc6 Be5? Wrong time for this move now, as it just compounds his previous error. Better is (14…f5 15.cxb7 Rab8 16.Bd3) etc.
15.Qd3?! Good enough to maintain the advantage, but (15.Qxd7 Qxd7 16.cxd7 Bxe4 17.Nxe4 Bxb2 18.Rb1 Be5 19.f4) is much stronger.
15. … Bxb2? Here Black had a chance to avoid the worst with (15…Nc5 16.Qc2 Bc8 17.Bxh7+ Kg7).
16.Rb1 Good, but better is (16.cxb7 Rae8 17.Rb1 Nc5 18.Qe3) etc.
16. … Ne5 (16…Bxc6) is probably better, although Black would still be losing.
17.Qc2 Ba3 Again, (17…Bxc6) is better, but perhaps Black was trying to confuse the issue.
18.cxb7 White now has an overwhelming advantage, and should win with reasonably careful play.
Rab8 19.O-O Prudent, but White should have played (19.Bxh7+) while the opportunity presented itself.
19. … Bc5+ 20.Kh1 Qd7 Here Black might have tried getting rid of the thorn in his side with (20…f5 21.Bxf5 Rxb7).
21.a4 There’s still no reason why White can’t play (21.Bxh7+).
21. … Nc6 Seals off White’s b-pawn, but (21…Ng6) would have saved Black’s h-pawn …
22.Bxc6 … except that White doesn’t seem to want Black’s h-pawn for some reason.
Qxc6 23.a5 Worth considering is (23.Qe4).
23. … Rxb7 Black finally eliminates White’s advanced Pawn, but is not yet out of the woods. For one thing, he’s still a piece down.
24.a6 More of an annoyance move than anything else. (24.Ne4), with the idea of exchanging off Black’s Bishop, is better.
24. … Re7 25.Nf4 (25.Ne4) is still probably the better move, but the text isn’t bad, either.
25. … Be3 Flashy, but inconsequential.
26.g3!? A bit dangerous. With (26.Nd5) White would be assured of eliminating Black’s Bishop.
26. … Bxd2?! Obliging White by exchanging the Bishop himself, thinking only of winning the c-pawn. Something like –26…Rd8– is probably better.
27.Qxd2 Qxc4 Black regains a Pawn, but the real threat was White moving her Knight to h5, followed by Qh6 threatening mate in two. Therefore, (27…Re5) is safer.
28.Ra1 Fortunately for Black, the above-mentioned threat doesn’t occur to White.
Qc6 29.Kg2 Once again, [29.Nh5 would force 29…Re5, then 30.Qh6 threatens mate in two, so Black would have to play 30…Rxh5], losing the exchange.
29. … Rd7 30.Qc1 Offering the exchange of Queens, which isn’t a bad idea, as White is a piece ahead.
Qxc1 Black should have avoided the exchange of Queens by, say, (30…Qb5).
31.Raxc1 Rd2+ Black gets more mileage out of this move than he should.
32.Kh3 Better would be (32.Rf2), when Black would either have to exchange Rooks or retreat.
32. … Ra2 33.Nh5 White trades her a-pawn for Black’s doubled f6-pawn, not a good deal as Black will now have two connected passed Pawns. Better is (33.Ra1).
33. … f5 Of course, Black doesn’t have to let the forward f-pawn go easy, but it would have been better to take the a-pawn.
34.Nf6+ Once again, better is (34.Ra1).
34. … Kg7 35.Nd7 Rd8 36.Ne5 Here White might have tried [36.Rc7, and if 36…Rxa6, THEN 37.Ne5].
36. … Rdd2 Black doubles Rooks on the second rank, normally a very strong manoeuvre. However, it’s stronger when White’s King is still on the first rank.
37.g4!? Much safer would be protecting the h-pawn with (37.Rh1).
37. … Rxh2+ 38.Kg3 Rag2+ It was at this point that Nikita asked me to look at this game. My comment at the time (not giving her any actual advice as to which move to make, of course) was, “If you can avoid checkmate in the next few moves, you may have a chance at winning.” Prophetic, as it turned out.
39.Kf4 Ra2?! Back to attacking the a-pawn, but he should have first played (39…fxg4).
40.gxf5 The natural move to make, but (40.Rc7) is much stronger.
40. … f6? Gives White the game. (40…Ra4+) would have made a fight of it.
41.Rc7+ Kg8 42.Rg1+ Rag2 Forced, as —42…Kf8 43.Rf7+ Ke8 44.Rg8– is mate.
43.Rxg2+ Rxg2 44.Nd7 Rg7 It makes little difference what Black plays now.
45.Rxa7 b5 46.Ra8+ A bit of a slip. (46.Nxf6+) would have won quicker.
46. … Kf7 47.Nc5 And now (47.Rf8+) is stronger, but White is wrapping up the point.
47. … Rg8 48.Ra7+ And here exchanging Rooks was quicker, but it would be hard for White to lose this game almost regardless of what she plays.
Kf8 49.Rxh7 Even better would be [49.Ne6+), but the text is still good enough to win, as Black can’t stop White from queening the a-pawn. Black rightly resigned at this point. 49. …
Aleta Michaletos a South African artist and the South African Women’s Closed Chess Championship’s trophy is also her artwork!! I wanted to say more about her..but… WOW!!, there is far too much to say and you have to read here to see why I say WOW!! again!! I hope you enjoy her art like I enjoyed it! You can clearly see from her art that she has travelled the world and there are private and selected art collections of her in different countries. You will find on the link very interesting and extensive reading about her and her art if you click on the CV-link in the left corner of the link-page!
Read this newspaper clip below – where an Englishman described how kind the Boers were and that everything that was said in England about the Boers, was not true.
From the Boer War Facebook page
From the Boer War Facebook page
Artist: Ron Wilson….
LW: This post gets updated every now and then – more then than now – when I find more resources and information…new information and links will be added at the bottom of this post. Most links will open in a new window. When you see this link icon – you will know there’s a link to follow up. I hope this helps. I apologise and know it must be very confusing. Please check the bottom of this page for most of the links – without this icon. This post was written 12 years ago! I hope that all links will still be active.
Boer War Diary
The following extracts from a diary, of the authenticity of which we have obtained sufficient assurance, illustrate one aspect of the process of “clearing” tracts of the country occupied by the enemy.
Amsterdam, New Scotland, February 14 1901. This morning, about eight o’clock, the cavalry of the enemy entered the town, the infantry following.
Every garden and tree was stripped of everything. All the livestock was taken. General Campbell arrived; he was very abrupt. He said they, the English, had come to give us food and protection.
Mother replied that we were quite satisfied with the food and protection our own people afforded us. Then he said we were to be ready to leave the following day at 10 a.m.
Feb. 15. Worse than ever. The Provost Marshal, Capt. Daniels entered the house and began searching. They took what they wanted – soap, candles, mealies & c. even to white sewing cotton. When mother came in, Capt. Daniels turned to her and said, ‘Those devils of Boers have been sniping at us again, and your two sons among them, I suppose. If I catch them, they will hang.’
Feb. 17. At dawn Capt. Ballantyne said we would be allowed a quarter of an hour to load, and only to take the most necessary things. Beds, clothing, mattresses, chairs, chests & c., odds and ends of all kinds were burnt. Foodstuffs were also taken. At 9 p.m. we out-spanned in a hard rain. It was pitiful to hear the children crying all night in the wet wagons for water and food.
March 5. Annie very sick. Must be the food, as we have only meat, and mealies (corn) when we can pick them.
March 6. Annie very ill all day. A driving misty rain. Oxen with lung sickness are made to pull until they fall down in the yoke to die.
April 19 [in captivity at Volksrust]. Message that Major Watt, Assistant District Commissioner, wanted to see [Mother] at once. Mother, Annie and Polly Coltzer went with the policeman. Major Watt was in a dreadful rage.
‘You are Mrs. Cameron?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You are a most dangerous woman, you have been speaking against the British Government. You are an English woman.’ ‘All my sympathies are with the Boers.’ ‘Make a note of that. All the concessions we intended making you will be withdrawn. You will not be allowed to receive any parcels.’
April 25. We received the following: ‘I beg to inform you that you are to proceed to Maritzburg tomorrow by the 11p.m. train. A wagon shall convey your luggage to the station.’
B. R. Cameron, Prisoner of War, May 31 1901. Green Point, Pietermaritzburg, Natal.
“When is a war not a war?” — “When it is carried on by methods of barbarism in South Africa,” referring to those same camps and the policies that created them.
–see my link in this post: “Churchill makes me smile”– for more on this…see bottom of the page for the link.
Image: anglo-boer.co.za
Image: Tararualibrary…Wording on back:
“Boer war 1900 Troops parading prior to their departure.
Site: Cnr Millers Rd and Stanley St Paynes house on the right still there HBF garage on left hand corner”
Above image: HERE on the site of Tararualibrary. The link will open in a new window.
The British controlled government implemented Pass Laws in 1923 paved the way for further restrictions on non-Whites social and political freedoms when Afrikaner-led political parties gained control of the government in 1948 (the birth of Apartheid). This segregation along racial lines has further widened the gap between the White Afrikaans speakers and Coloured Afrikaans speakers…
Source:Diversity South Africa
Since the people were of white European descent, nobody was seriously punished for their part in the war….so…if they were black??
The Boer War shaped the destiny of South Africa and, as Rudyard Kipling remarked, taught the mighty British Empire ‘no end of a lesson’.
It was said to be the last of the ‘gentleman’s wars’, a ‘white man’s war’ and it would be over by Christmas. It was none of these things. The Boer War was brutal, racially explosive and it took the greatest empire in the world nearly three years to beat a Boer army smaller than the population of Brighton.
The Boer War capitulated the world into the 20th Century, prefiguring the worst excesses of modern conflicts: the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, scorched earth, rape, concentration camps. It was a civil war dividing families, communities and races.
It was a bitter conflict between two small Boer nations fighting for their life and freedom and a great empire asserting what it saw as it’s legitimate authority.
I often get people who got directed here – via google – with the search engine term: Boer – well, I would like to suggest you go back to google, put in a search the following: ‘South African farmer[s]‘ – you might like what you’ll see. Good Luck.
THE BOER NATIONS (“boer” is the Dutch word for “farmer”)
Take a community of Dutchmen of the type of those who defended
themselves for fifty years against all the power of Spain at a time
when Spain was the greatest power in the world. Intermix with them a
strain of those inflexible French Huguenots who gave up home and
fortune and left their country for ever at the time of the revocation
of the Edict of Nantes. The product must obviously be one of the most
rugged, virile, unconquerable races ever seen upon earth. Take this
formidable people and train them for seven generations in constant
warfare against savage men and ferocious beasts, in circumstances
under which no weakling could survive, place them so that they acquire
exceptional skill with weapons and in horsemanship, give them a
country which is eminently suited to the tactics of the huntsman, the
marksman, and the rider. Then, finally, put a finer temper upon their
military qualities by a dour fatalistic Old Testament religion and an
ardent and consuming patriotism. Combine all these qualities and all
these impulses in one individual, and you have the modern Boer — the
most formidable antagonist who ever crossed the path of Imperial
Britain. Our military history has largely consisted in our conflicts
with France, but Napoleon and all his veterans have never treated us
so roughly as these hard-bitten farmers with their ancient theology
and their inconveniently modern rifles. See link at the bottom of this page to continue reading… Concentration Camps
In early March 1901 Lord Kitchener decided to break the stalemate that the extremely costly war had settled into. It was costing the British taxpayer 2,5 million pounds a month. He decided to sweep the country bare of everything that can give sustenance to the Boers i.e. cattle, sheep, horses, women and children. This scorched earth policy led to the destruction of about 30000 Boer farmhouses and the partial and complete destruction of more than forty towns.. Thousands of women and children were removed from their homes by force.They had little or no time to remove valuables before the house was burnt down. They were then taken by ox-wagon or in open cattle trucks to the nearest camp.
Conditions in the camps were less than ideal. Tents were overcrowded. Reduced-scale army rations were provided. In fact there were two scales. Meat was not included in the rations issued to women and children whose menfolk were still fighting. There were little or no vegetables, no fresh milk for the babies and children, 3/4 lb of either mealie meal, rice or potatoes, 1 lb of meat twice weekly, I oz of coffee daily, sugar 2 oz daily, and salt 0,5 oz daily (this was for adults and children who had family members on commando).
In the camps – image – photosearch
hmmm….not very nice of them burning down people’s houses, hey… we all know war is war…but…to take away from women and children! That’s really not very humane!
On this next link, you can read extracts from the Parliamentary debates that were going on during the War in the British Parliament…you will see the death numbers too – not sure if that is correct, you know what politics are like…they will of course hide the exact figures as we all know – anyway..children’s deaths are about 10 times more than adults and women were held as prisioners as they were not allowed to leave the camps if they wished too. I’m sure more of the deaths could be prevented if people were not held in the camps. To say they were “fed” is just an excuse! They knew it was the only way to force the Boers to surrender, as the Boers couldn’t let these women and children dying in the camps like sheep on their way to a butcher!
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/hansxcv1.html
Concentration Camps
In early March 1901 Lord Kitchener decided to break the stalemate that the extremely costly war had settled into. It was costing the British taxpayer 2,5 million pounds a month. He decided to sweep the country bare of everything that can give sustenance to the Boers i.e. cattle, sheep, horses, women and children. Read more on the link I’ve given you. — What a shame for the Britain! Putting women and children in concentration camps to starve… that’s just as cruel as Hitler’s gass chambers! Killing people in this way when you know you can’t defeat them….And what’s more… Britain has already got more experience in fighting and wars than the South Africans, a small upcoming nation…..Hierdie Engelse sal ook nooit “jammer” se oor wat hulle weet hulle gedoen het nie. Hierdie konsentrasiekampe was vir my net so erg soos die Duitsers met hulle gaskamers! Ek het ‘n boek gekoop by ‘n museum op Lady Smith and daarin lees ook toe die naam raak van ‘n niggie van my ouma wat in ‘n kamp was! As jy die link “great grandad” volg, sal jy verstaan waarom ek so ‘n passie vir die oorlog-geskiedenis het en gedurig weer terugkeer na iets wat daarmee te doen het. Ek sal graag meer kuns en gedigte wil kry om hierdie week te plaas, veral kuns en ek was nogal verbaas om hierdie een van Coetzer te kry. Ek het afgekom op ‘n baie oulike webbladsy van ‘n ou in die USA en ek gaan die link hier plaas, daar is verskillende
Sources: Enslin Vosloo painting…
Ladysmith Town hall image: tokencoins.com/book/boer.htm#zar04
“Duty called the Cordons to South Africa and the plains of the Transvaal to fight the Boers. The Boers were regarded as an easy enemy and naturally would be overcome quickly. Boers were self reliant farmers dressed in civilian khaki suitable for the vast veldt. Most of British Army still favoured red jackets, white pith helmets and Crimean War tactics. Whereas the Boers formed commando groups to move across country swiftly and stealthily living off the land. They were extremely good shots armed with the accurate Mauser rifle and a common cry was Victory through God and the Mauser.”…from the same site as the site where the image comes from…
On THIS LINK you can read more about the War…read these poems too….see more pictures…some very upsetting…the link will open in a new window. C Louis Leipoldt (excerpt)
A poem written by Leipoldt in Afrikaans and it was translated…
You, who are the hope of our people;
You, who our people can barely spare;
You, who should grow up to become a man;
You, who must perform your duty, if you can;
You, who have no part in the war;
You, who should sing and jump for joy –
You must perish in a children’s camp
You must be eliminated for peace:
Fold your hands tight together,
Close your eyes and say amen!
Whooping-cough and consumption, without milk:
bitter for you is the fate of life!
There is your place, at the children’s graves –
Two in one coffin, a wedding couple!
Al you gain is that we will remember:
Our freedom more precious than woman or child!
~~~~~ also the next one…by Leipoldt
In the Concentration Camp
(Aliwal North, 1901) C Louis Leipoldt (excerpt)
You are cringing away from the gusts of the wind
The chill seeping through the hail-torn tent –
Your scanty shield against torturing torrents;
The June chill bursts over the banks of the Vaal –
And all you can hear are the coughs from your child, and the
ceaseless patter of rain on the canvas.
A candle stub, just an inch before death
faintly flickering in a bottle
(a sty offers more comfort and rest)
But here, at night every thought is
a round of torture and tears.
Here, the early-born child flounders
Here, the aged fades away
Here, all you can hear is wailing and sighs
Here, every second is a lifetime of dread;
Every minute leaves scars on your soul, sacrifice without end.
Forgive? Forget? Is it possible to forgive?
The sorrow, the despair demanded so much!
The branding iron painfully left its scar
on our nation, for ages to see, and the wound is too raw –
Too close to our heart and to deep in our souls –
“Patience, o patience, how much can you bear?”
~~~
Leipoldt also wrote heart-breaking verses on a soap box to the memory of children who could at least be buried in this luxury:
Image: http://appiusforum.net/hellkamp.html – where I refer to hellkamp at an image, it refers to this site (update 2019 – site link is dead – don’t bother to visit!) They made you in England, little soap box
To serve as coffin for our children
They found little corpses for you, soap box
And I have witnessed you as coffin
Equally unforgettable is AG Visser’s description of an orphan in the concentration camp in his poem,
The Youngest Burgher:
The camp of women is ruled by silence and darkness
The misery kindly concealed by the night
Here and there a minute light is flickering
Where the Angel of Death is lingering.
In this place of woe and of broken hearts
A young boy’s muffled whimpers quiver through the night
Who can count all the tears, who can measure the grief
of an orphan alone in the world
Later on in the poem De Wet describes the struggle to the escaped child who wishes to join the commando:
Freedom demands from our ranks
Men of courage who taunt mortal danger.
But also in the camp, the mother, the nurturer
And the innocent child on her breast.
And the reward? Perhaps on the plains
A lonesome grave doused by no tears.
Sometime, perhaps, posterity might honour our heroes…
Boy, do you feel up to it? General, I do!
This Afrikaans poem is about a solder that was beheaded…by a bomb.
Die ruiter van Skimmelperdpan
Op die pad wat verdwyn in die Skimmelperdpan,
By ‘n draai in die mond van die kloof,
Het ‘n bom in die oorlog ‘n vlugtende man
Op ‘n perd soos ‘n swaardslag onthoof.
Aan die saalboom krampagtig die hande verstyf,
Met ‘n laaste stuiptrekkende krag,
En die bene geklem soos ‘n skroef om sy lyf,
Op die perd sit die grusame vrag.
Met sy neusgate wyd en die ore op sy nek,
Soos die wind yl verbysterd die dier,
Met die skuim in wit vlokke wat waai uit sy bek,
En gespan soos ‘n draad elke spier;
By die huisie verby waar ‘n vrou staan en kyk …
In die afkopding ken sy haar man …
Met ‘n onaardse geil val sy bleek soos ‘n lyk …
Perd en ruiter verdwyn in die Pan!
Wee die reisiger wat daar onwetend kom skuil
Waar bouvallig die huisie nog staan,
En vreesagtig by wyle ‘n nagdiertjie huil
By die newelige lig van die maan!
Want by middernag waai daar ‘n wind deur die kloof,
Waai en huil soos ‘n kindjie wat kerm,
En dan jaag daar ‘n perd met ‘n man sonder hoof …
Wie dit sien, roep verskrik: “Heer, ontferm!”
Want die vuurvonke spat waar die hoefslae dreun,
En dit vlam uit sy neus en sy oog;
Styf en stram sit die ruiter na vore geleun,
En die bloed uit sy nek spuit ‘n boog;
En dan eensklaps van uit die vervalle gebou
Kom ‘n vreeslike skrikbeeld gevaar,
Al die hare orent – ‘n waansinnige vrou
Met ‘n hande-wringend gebaar:
“Waarom rus jy nie, rus jy nie, Jan van der Meer?
Waarom jaag jy my elke nag op?
Sal daar nimmer ‘n einde kom … altyd maar weer
Die galop … die galop … die galop?!”
Die afgryslike klank – nog gehuil nog gelag –
En die perd met die romp van ‘n man …!
Dis geen plek vir ‘n Christenmens daar in die nag
Langs die pad na die Skimmelperdpan!
A.G. Visser
Uit: Die Purper Iris.
Slagveld – Majuba
So sing die jonges vol van vreugde,
maar ag, oom Gert se hart is seer
as hy straks diep en dieper peinsend
gaan langs die slagveld van weleer.
Dáár lê Majuba, donker kleurig,
sy sye een en al terras;
dis of die berg van alle eeue
vir wonderdaad geskape was.
Daar lê Laingsnek; dis of Gods hande
dit vir ‘n skanswerk uit wou bou.
En daar’s Ingogo’s kronkelbedding—
net om die vyand op te hou.
Daar’s nog die wonderlike hoeke,
net om die vyand vas te keer;
maar ag, oom Gert voel nou so anders,
sy hart is onverklaarbaar seer.
Hy sien nou oral groot kanonne,
hy weet nie of die ding sal gaan.
Die treine voer nou alle soorte
van wapens uit die hoofstad aan.
Daar is hom ook so baie mense,
en baie goed word aangevoer;
voorheen was daar so min maar nodig:
‘n ryperd, biltong en ‘n roer.
Dis nodig, ja, die tyd die vorder,
en daarom swyg hy maar en kyk.
Maar heel die Amajuba-wêreld,
alles wil hom so anders lyk.
Tog leef hy weer, die troue krygsman,
al trek hy nou maar same net:
‘n oorlogsperd die stamp en runnik
wanneer hy hoor die krygstrompet!
Uit Goue Gode…XV : Verse van Totius
C. Louis Leipoldt: DIE KOPERKAPEL Die koperkapel kom uit sy gat
En sluip die randjie rond:
“Dit het gereën; die veld is nat,
En nat is die rooi-geel grond.”
Die meerkat kom, en sy ogies blink,
En hy staan orent en wag.
En die stokou ystervark sê: “Ek dink
Die reën kom weer vannag.”
Maar die geitjie piep: “Dis glad nie reën!
Dis kollerig, swart en rooi:
Kom jy sulke reën in jou lewe teen –
So glad, so styf, so mooi?”
En die wyse steenuil waag sy woord:
“Dis bloed, dis mensebloed!
Dis die lewensbloed wat hierdie oord
Se bossie-wortels voed!”
Wittekind in die Konsentrasiekamp
(Aliwal Noord, 1901) O, pazienza, pazienza che tanto sostieni! Dante. Jou oê is nat met die trane van gister; Jou siel is gemartel, deur smarte gepla; Van vrede en pret was jy vroër ‘n verkwister; En nou, wat bly oor van jou rykdomme? Ja, ‘n Spreekwoord tot steun–daar’s geen trooswoord beslister: “Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan dra! Hier sit jy te koes teen die wind, wat daar suie Yskoud deur die tentseil, geskeur deur die hael– Jou enigste skuil in die nag teen die buie; Die Junielug stort oor die stroom van die Vaal– Jy hoor net die hoes van jou kind, en die luie Gedrup van die reendruppeltjies oor die paal. ‘n Kers, nog maar anderhalf duim, voor hy sterwe, Brand dof in ‘n bottel hier vlak naas jou bed. (‘n Kafhuis gee makliker rus: op die gerwe Daar lê ‘n mens sag, en sy slaap is gered!) En hier in die nag laat jou drome jou swerwe ‘n Aaklige rondte met trane besmet. Hier struikel die kind, wat te vroeg was gebore; Hier sterwe die oumens, te swak vir die stryd; Hier kom ‘n gekerm en gekreun in jou ore; Hier tel jy met angs elke tik van die tyd; Want elke sekond van die smart laat sy spore Gedruk op jou hart, deur ‘n offer gewyd. En deur elke skeur in die seil kan jy duister Die wolke bespeur oor die hemel verbrei; Geen ster skyn as gids; na geen stem kan jy luister– (Eentonig die hoes van jou kind aan jou sy!) Wat sag deur die wind in jou ore kom fluister: “Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan ly! Vergewe? Vergeet? Is dit maklik vergewe? Die smarte, die angs, het so baie gepla! Die yster het gloeiend ‘n merk vir die eeue Gebrand op ons volk, en die wond is te na, Te na aan ons hart en te diep in ons lewe– “Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan dra!” Uit: Oom Gert Vertel en Ander Gedigte, C. Louis Leipoldt, Uitg. Mij. v/h. J. Dusseau & Co, Kaapstad 1921
Images..:south-africa-tours-and-travel.com
Read on THIS LINK about Jan Smuts. The link will open in a new window.
The title of a painting,” said Marcel Duchamp, “is another colour on the artist’s palette.” He also talked of treating the title “like an invisible colour”. Duchamp’s remarks were part of his ongoing argument with the art of painting…………………………….
The painting shows – well, what it obviously doesn’t show is the Boer War, or any individual episode from Britain’s Imperial war in South Africa, which had ended the year before this picture was painted. But the likely link between words and image isn’t hard to find. A lone woman stands by a stream at the bottom of a field or garden. She was the fiance or wife or sister of a man killed in the war. She’s lately heard the news, and gone off on her own. Or she’s been in mourning some time, but the place – this is where they used to walk, and never will again – calls out a sudden pang of memory and grief.
The Boer War is her back story, then, her motivation, the reason for her state of mind. It is the content of her invisible thought bubble. It is, in a sense, a perfectly straight descriptive title for this picture. For how do you show the Boer War except by depicting scenes from the war? And why shouldn’t those scenes include, not only battlefields and sieges, but also the scenes of bereavement and desolation that were the immediate consequence back home?
Read the complete article… HERE …. This next poem was written by Totius and it’s about the Afrikaner nation/Afrikaans that was stepped upon/damaged by the English and his message in this poem for the Afrikaner nation/Afrikaans is: “you’re strong, you will get up again, you will be a strong nation again and you should forgive what was done to you. The scars will be there, but you should grow to be strong again.”… a very deep poem… Vergewe en vergeet
Daar het ‘n doringboompie
vlak by die pad gestaan,
waar lange ossespanne
met sware vragte gaan.
En eendag kom daarlanges
‘n ossewa verby,
wat met sy sware wiele
dwars-oor die boompie ry.
“Jy het mos, doringstruikie,
my ander dag gekrap;
en daarom het my wiele
jou kroontjie platgetrap.”
Die ossewa verdwyn weer
agter ‘n heuweltop,
en langsaam buig die boompie
sy stammetjie weer op.
Sy skoonheid was geskonde;
sy bassies was geskeur;
op een plek was die stammetjie
so amper middeldeur.
Maar tog het daardie boompie
weer stadig reggekom,
want oor sy wonde druppel
die salf van eie gom.
Ook het die loop van jare
die wonde weggewis –
net een plek byl ‘n teken
wat onuitwisbaar is. Die wonde word gesond weer
as jare kom en gaan,
maar daardie merk word groter
en groei maar aldeur aan.
Totius The Concentration Camps
1. Introduction The concentration camps in which Britain killed 27,000 Boer women and children (24,000) during the Second War of Independence (1899 – 1902) today still have far-reaching effects on the existence of the Boerevolk. This holocaust once more enjoyed close scrutiny during the visit of the queen of England to South Africa, when ten organizations promoting the independence of the Boer Republics, presented her with a message, demanding that England redress the wrongs committed against the Boerevolk.
Women and children in the camps – image:hellkamp
2. Background The Second War of Independence was fought from 1899 to 1902 when England laid her hands on the mineral riches of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Transvaal) under the false pretence of protecting the rights of the foreigners who swarmed to the Transvaal gold fields. On the battlefield England failed to get the better of the Boers, and decided to stoop to a full-scale war against the Boer women and children, employing a holocaust to force the burghers to surrender. 3. Course of the holocaust 3.1. The war against women and children begins Under the command of Kitchener, Milner and Roberts, more than homesteads and farms belonging to Boer people were plundered and burned down. Animals belonging to the Boers were killed in the cruellest ways possible while the women, whose men were on the battlefield, had to watch helplessly.
Leaving sheep to rotten – image: hellkamp
The motive behind this action was the destruction of the farms in order to prevent the fighting burghers from obtaining food, and to demoralize the Boers by leaving their women and children homeless on the open veld.
Before the blast – images:hellkamp
The Blast
After the blast
Destroyed for king and country
However, England misjudged the steel of the Boer people. Despite their desperate circumstances, the women and children managed to survive fairly well in the open and their men continued their fight against the invader.
Women and children on the run…away from the English
More severe measures had to be taken. The English hoarded the Boer women and children into open cattle trucks or drove them on foot to concentration camps.
3.2. False pretences
To the world England pretended to act very humanely by caring for the fighting Boers’ women and children in “refugee camps”. An English school textbook published in 1914 in Johannesburg, but printed in England, Historical Geography: South Africa, by JR Fisher, makes the following claim:
“During the later stages of the war, the relations, women and
children, of those Boers still in the field, were fed and cared
for at the expense of Great Britain, a method of procedure which,
though humane, postponed the end of the war, at the expense of
many valuable lives and much money.”
This statement is contradicted by various sources. The Cape Argus of 21 June 1900 clearly states that the destitution of these women and children was the result of the English’s plundering of farms: “Within 10 miles we (the English) burned not less than six farm homesteads. Between 30 and 40 homesteads were burned and totally destroyed between Bloemfontein and Boshoff. Many others were also burned down. With their houses destroyed, the women and children were left in the bitter South African winter in the open.” The British history text book says nothing about this.
Awfully generous of the English to care for those whose houses they destroyed!
Breytenbach writes in Danie Theron: “The destruction was undertaken in a diabolic way and even Mrs Prinsloo, a 22 year old lady who gave birth to a baby only 24 hours ago in the house of Van Niekerk, was not spared. A group of rude tommies (British soldiers), amongst whom a so-called English doctor, forced their way into her room, and after making a pretence of examining her, they drove her out of the house. With the aid of her sister, she managed to don a few articles of clothing and left the house. Her mother brought a blanket to protect her against the cold. The soldiers robustly jerked the blanket out of her mother’s hands and after having looted whatever they wanted to, put the house to fire. Afterwards the old man was driven on foot to Kroonstad by mounted kakies (British soldiers), while his wife and daughter (Mrs Prinsloo) were left destitute on the scorched farm.”
England’s claim of caring for the Boer women reminds one of somebody who boasts to have saved the life of someone he himself has pushed into the water. However, there is one vital difference: The holocaust on the Boer women and children began in all earnest once they had been forced into the concentration camps under the “care” of the British!
Family at the beginning – newly arrived with tea and bread (Nasty English Propaganda)
Despite the English claims that the concentration camps were “voluntary refugee camps” the following questions must be asked:
– From whom did the refugees flee? Certainly not from their own husbands and sons!
– How can the fact that the “voluntary” women and children had to be dragged to the concentration camps by force be explained?
– Why should the “voluntary refugee camps” be enclosed by barbed wire fences and the inmates be overseen by armed wardens? Kimberley camp had a five meter high barbed wire fence and some camps even had two or three fences!
– Why would one of the camp commanders make the following statement quoted by Emily Hobhouse: “The wardens were under orders not to interfere with the inmates, unless they should try to escape.”? What kind of “voluntary refugee” would want to escape?
Perhaps the words of the Welsh William Redmond are closer to the truth: “The way in which these wretched, unfortunate and poor women and children are treated in South Africa is barbarous, outrageous, scandalous and disgraceful.”
3.3. Planning for death
The English claim of decent actions towards the Boer women and children are further contradicted by the location of the concentration camps. The military authorities, who often had to plan and erect camps for their soldiers, would certainly have been well aware of the essential requirements for such camps. Yet the concentration camps were established in the most unsuitable locations possible.
Boer-family in the camps
At Standerton the camp was erected on both banks of the Vaal River. It was on the Highveld, which ensured that it was extremely cold in winter and infested with mosquitoes in summer. The fact that Standerton had turf soil and a high rainfall, ensured that the camp was one big mud bath in summer, even inside the tents.
The same circumstances were experienced in camps such as Brandfort, Springfontein and Orange River. At Pretoria, the Irene Camp was located at the chilly southern side of the town, while the northern side had a much more favourable climate. Balmoral, Middelburg and other camps were also located on the south-eastern hangs of the hills to ensure that the inhabitants were exposed to the icy south easterly winds.
Merebank camp was located in a swamp where there was an abundance of various kinds of insects. Water oozed out of the ground, ensuring that everything was constantly wet and slimy.
By October 1900 there were already 58 883 people in concentration camps in Transvaal and 45 306 in the Free State.
The amenities in the camps were clearly planned to kill as many of the women and children as possible. They were accommodated in tattered reject tents which offered no protection against the elements.
Emily Hobhouse, the Cornish lady who campaigned for better conditions for the Boer women, wrote: “Throughout the night there was a downpour. Puddles of water were everywhere. They tried to get themselves and their possessions dry on the soaked ground.”
(Hobhouse: Brunt of the War, page 169.)
Dr Kendal Franks reports on the Irene Camp: “In one of the tents there were three families; parents and children, a total of 14 people and all were suffering from measles.”
In Springfontein camp, 19 to 20 people where crammed into one tent.
There were neither beds nor mattresses and nearly the whole camp population had to sleep on the bare ground, which was damp most of the time.
One person wrote the following plea for aid to the New York Herald: “In the name of small children who have to sleep in open tents without fire, with barely any clothes, I plea for help.”
According to a British journalist, WT Stead, the concentration camps were nothing more than a cruel torture machine. He writes: “Every one of these children who died as a result of the halving of their rations, thereby exerting pressure onto their family still on the battle-field, was purposefully murdered. The system of half rations stands exposed and stark and unshamefully as a cold-blooded deed of state policy employed with the purpose of ensuring the surrender of people whom we were not able to defeat on the battlefield.”
3.4. Let them die of hunger
The detainees received no fruit or vegetables; not even milk for the babies.
The meat and flour issued were crawling with maggots. Emily Hobhouse writes: “I have in my possession coffee and sugar which were described as follows by a London analyst: In the case of the first, 66% imitation, and in the case of the second, sweepings from a warehouse.”
In her book, Met die Boere in die Veld (With the Boers in the field), Sara Raal states that “there were poisonous sulphate of copper, grounded glass, fishhooks, and razor blades in the rations.” The evidence given on this fact is so overwhelming that it must be regarded as a historical fact.
3.5. No hygiene
The outbreak of disease and epidemics in the camps were further promoted by, inter alia, the lack of sanitary conveniences. Bloemfontein camp had only 13 toilets for more than 3 500 people. Aliwal North camp had one toilet for every 170 people.
A British physician, Dr Henry Becker, writes: “First, they chose an ill-suited site for the camp. Then they supplied so little water that the people could neither wash themselves nor their clothes. Furthermore, they made no provision for sufficient waste removal. And lastly, they did not provide enough toilets for the overpopulation they had crammed into the camps.”
A report on a Ladies’ Committee’s visit to Bloemfontein camp stated: “They saw how the women tried to wash clothes in small puddles of water and sometimes had to use the water more than once.”
3.6. Hospitals of homicide
Ill and healthy people were crammed together into unventilated areas conducive to the spreading of disease and epidemics. At first there were no medical amenities whatsoever in the camps.
Foodline
Later doctors were appointed, but too few. In Johannesburg there was one doctor for every 4 000 afflicted patients.
A report on the Irene camp states that, out of a population of 1325 detainees, 154 were ill and 20 had died during the previous week. Still this camp had only one doctor and no hospital.
In some camps matters were even worse. The large Bloemfontein camp did not have a single doctor; only one nurse who could not possibly cope with the conditions. During a visit to Norvalspont camp Emily Hobhouse could not even find a trained nurse.
The later appointment of medical personnel did not improve the conditions. They were appointed for their loyalty towards the British invasion; not for their medical capability. They maltreated the Boere.
Emily Hobhouse tells the story of the young Lizzie van Zyl who died in the Bloemfontein concentration camp: “She was a frail, weak little child in desperate need of good care. Yet, because her mother was one of the ‘undesirables’ due to the fact that her father neither surrendered nor betrayed his people, Lizzie was placed on the lowest rations and so perished with hunger that, after a month in the camp, she was transferred to the new small hospital. Here she was treated harshly. The English disposed doctor and his nurses did not understand her language and, as she could not speak English, labeled her an idiot although she was mentally fit and normal. One day she dejectedly started calling: Mother! Mother! I want to go to my mother! One Mrs Botha walked over to her to console her. She was just telling the child that she would soon see her mother again, when she was brusquely interrupted by one of the nurses who told her not to interfere with the child as she was a nuisance.” Shortly afterwards, Lizzie van Zyl died.
Treu, a medical assistant in the Johannesburg concentration camp, stated that patients were bullied and even lashed with a strap.
Ill people who were taken to the camp hospitals were as good as dead. One woman declared: “We fear the hospitals more than death.”
The following two reports should give an idea of the inefficiency of the camp hospitals: “Often people suffering from a minor ailment were violently removed from the tents of protesting mothers or family members to be taken to hospital. After a few days they were more often than not carried to the grave.”
“Should a child leave the hospital alive, it was simply a miracle.”
(Both quotations from Stemme uit die Verlede – a collection of sworn statements by women who were detained in the concentration camps during the Second War of Independence.)
3.7. The highest sacrifice
In total 27 000 women and children made the highest sacrifice in the British hell camps during the struggle for the freedom of the Boerevolk.
Mrs Helen Harris, who paid a visit to the Potchefstroom concentration camp, stated: “Imagine a one year old baby who receives no milk; who has to drink water or coffee – there is no doubt that this is the cause of the poor health of the children.”
Should one take note of the fact that it were the English who killed the Boers’ cattle with bayonets, thereby depriving the children of their food sources, then the high fatality rate does not seem to be incidental.
Despite shocking fatality figures in the concentration camps, the English did nothing to improve the situation, and the English public remained deaf to the lamentations in the concentration camps as thousands of people, especially children, were carried to their graves.
The Welshman, Lloyd George, stated: “The fatality rate of our soldiers on the battlefields, who were exposed to all the risks of war, was 52 per thousand per year, while the fatalities of women and children in the camps were 450 per thousand per year. We have no right to put women and children into such a position.”
An Irishman, Dillon, said: “I can produce and endless succession of confirmations that the conditions in most of the camps are appalling and brutal. To my opinion the fatality rate is nothing less than cold-blooded murder.”
One European had the following comment on England’s conduct with the concentration camps: “Great Britain cannot win her battles without resorting to the despicable cowardice of the most loathsome cure on earth – the act of striking at a brave man’s heart through his wife’s honor and his child’s life.”
The barbarisms of the English is strongly evidenced by the way in which they unceremoniously threw the corpses of children in heaps on mule carts to be transported to the cemeteries. The mourning mothers had to follow on foot. Due to illness or fatigue many of them could not follow fast enough and had to miss the funerals of their children.
According to PF Bruwer, author of Vir Volk en Vryheid, all the facts point out that the concentration camps, also known as the hell camps, were a calculated and deliberate effort by England to commit a holocaust on the Boerevolk
4. Consequences
4.1. “Peace”
As a direct result of the concentration camps, the “Peace Treaty” of Vereeniging was signed, according to which the Boer Republics came under British rule.
4.2. Called up by the enemy
It is a bitter irony that during World War I England laid claim to the same boys who survived the concentration camps to fight against Germany, which was well-disposed towards the Boerevolk.
Thereby they had to lay their lives upon the line for the second time to the benefit of England.
Kroniek van die Kampkinders (Chronicle of the camp children) by HS van Blerk describes how, after World War I, this generation were, in addition, kept out of the labor force and how they were impoverished – all simply because they were Boers.
4.3. Immortalised in our literature
In this modern world it seems as if few people realize the hardships our forefathers had to endure in order to lose our freedom only without forfeiting the honor of our people.
Therefore, it is proper to look at the reflection of the concentration camps in our literature, where the nobility of our forefathers is immortalized.
4.4. We may not forget
In total there were 31 concentration camps. In most cases, the adjoining cemeteries are in still in existence and are visited as often as possible by Boer people to mentally condition themselves to continue their struggle towards freedom.
There were concentration camps at: Irene, Barberton, Volksrust, Belfast, Klerksdorp, Pietersburg, Potchefstroom, Vereeniging, Turffontein, Balmoral, Nylstroom, Standerton, Heilbron, Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Middelburg, Kroonstad, Heidelberg, Krugersdorp, Vryburg, Vredefort, Brandfort, Springfontein, Bethulie, Norvalspont, Port Elizabeth, Aliwal North, Merebank, Pinetown, Howick and Pietermaritzburg.
4.5. Pillars of support
Amidst all the misery brought upon our people by the English, there were pillars of support: firstly the certainty that our cause was just and fair and based upon faith. However, there also were people who made major sacrifices in an effort to ease the burden of Boer women and children.
No study of the concentration camps could possibly be complete without mention of the name of Emily Hobhouse. This Cornish lady was a symbol of light and decency for Boer women and children.
Emily Hobhouse did everything within her power to assist the women and children. As a result of her efforts to persuade the invaders towards an attitude of humanity and reason, she was banned from South Africa by the British authorities.
However, the Boerevolk remains grateful towards Emily Hobhouse for her efforts and her remains are resting in a place of honor under the Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein.
Other people who spoke out against the barbaric methods of England were: J Ellis (Irish), Lloyd George (Welsh), CP Scott (Scottish), William Redmond (Welsh) and Ramsey McDonald (Scottish).
5. Effects
Today, the numbers of the Boerevolk are at least 3 million less that it would have been, had the English not committed genocide on the Boerevolk. This robs our people of our right to self-determination in the new so-called democratic system. (In truth, democracy means government by the people and not government by the rabble as is presently the case in South Africa.”)
The holocaust, together with treason committed by Afrikaners (take note: not Boere) such as Jan Smuts and Louis Botha, forced the Boerevolk to sign the peace accord of Vereeniging which deprived our volk of its freedom.
The alien and inferior British culture was forced onto our people.
The various indigenous peoples of South Africa were insensitively bundled into one Union without giving a thought to their respective identities and right to self-determination.
As in the case of the Boerevolk, the local black nations were effectively robbed of their freedom, which gave rise to the establishment of the ANC in 1912 (two years after the foundation of the Union) to struggle for black nationalism.
The British system of apartheid, which they applied all over the world (for instance also in India, Australia and New-Zealand), had to be imported to control the mixed population. The first manifestation of this were signs reading “Europeans” and “Non-Europeans”. No Boer ever regarded himself as a “European”. Apartheid invoked racial friction and even racial hatred which has in no means abated to this very day, and the bitter irony is that the Boerevolk, who had not been in power since 1902 and who also suffered severely under apartheid in the sense that apartheid robbed them of their land and their work-ethics, are being blamed for apartheid today.
England’s pretence for the invasion was the rights of the foreign miners. Yet after the war, these very same miners were treated so badly by their English and Jewish bosses that they had to resort to general strikes in 1913 and 1922 (3 and 12 years after the establishment of the British ruled Union), during which many mine-workers were shot dead in the streets of Johannesburg by the British disposed Union government. So much for the rights of the foreign miners under English rule.
The efficient and equitable republican system of government of the Boer Republics was replaced with the unworkable Westminster system of government, which led to endless misery and conflict. 6. Summation
The concentration camps were a calculated and intentional holocaust committed on the Boerevolk by England with the aim of annihilating the Boerevolk and reeling in the Boer Republics.
Comparing the killing of Jews during World War 2, proportionately fewer Jews were killed than Boer women and children during the Second War of Independence.
Yet, after World War 2, England mercilessly insisted on a frantic retribution campaign against the whole German nation for the purported Jewish holocaust. To this day, Germany is being forced to pay annual compensation to the Jews, which means that Germans who were not even born at the time of World War 2, still have to suffer today for alleged atrocities committed by the Germans. Should England subject herself to the same principles applied to Germany, then England must do everything within her power to reinstitute the Boer republics and to pay annual compensation to the Boerevolk for the atrocities committed against the Boerevolk.
“Their only crime was that they stood between England and the gold of Transvaal.”
Sources
http://www.boer.co.za/boerwar/hellkamp.htm
Message of Vryheidsaksie Boererepublieke to the queen of England.
Mediadienste. –1995–P 1 – 7.
Suid-Afrikaanse en Algemene Geskiedenis vir Senior Matriek, (Tweede Uitgawe) by BG Lindeque. Juta —1948– Pp 235, 239, 240, 249 – 258, 268 – 272.
Juta se Nuwe Geskiedenisleesboeke vir primêre Skole, Standerd IV by Alice Jenner. Juta. (Date of publication unknown) Pp 41, 42, 49 – 54.
Russia and the Anglo-Boer War 1899 – 1902 by Elisaveta Kandyba- Foxcroft. CUM Roodepoort. –1981– P 254.
Vir Volk en Vryheid by PF Bruwer. Oranjewerkers Promosies. –1988– Pp 346, 348, 407, 411 – 413, 416 – 455.
Die Laaste Veldslag by Franz Conradie. Daan Retief Publishers. —1981—Pp 62, 77, 78, 83, 123 – 126, 129 – 132.
Historical Geography of South Africa. Special edition for Standard III of South African Schools edited by F Handel Thompson. Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press, Hodder & Stoughton, Warwick Square EC. –1914– Pp 160, 165, 167 – 168.
Gewapende Protes by PG Hendriks. Oranjewerkers Promosies. –1988–Pp 8, 11, 12, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 46, 53 – 62, 94, 95.
Kroniek van die Kampkinders by HS van Blerk. Oranjewerkers Promosies. –1989– Pp 35 – 38, 49, 65 – 67, 70, 74, 75, 152.
From Van Riebeeck to Vorster 1652 – 1974. An Introduction to the History of the Republic of South Africa by FA van Jaarsveld.Perskor.—1975—Pp 197, 199, 202 – 205, 209, 217 – 220, 253.
Vyftig Gedigte van C Louis Leipoldt, ‘n keur deur WEG Louw. Tafelberg Publishers. (First edition 1946–Pp 19 – 23.
Gedigte by AG Visser (third print). JL van Schaik. –1928– Pp 57 -61.
Family narrations as recounted since the Second War of Independence from generation to generation. (Author’s great-great-grandmother was detained and tortured in the concentration camp at Heilbron.) Source …….. http://appiusforum.net/hellkamp.html[if the link doesn’t open on this link, type “hellkamp.html” in after the main url and you will find the actual link of the Source]
Recently a kind lady from Louisiana mailed me a copy of the “History of the Boers in South Africa,” written in 1887 by a Canadian missionary with no political axe to grind: namely George McCall Theal.
It contains a map showing the territories which were being farmed by the Boers: from the Olifants/Limpopo rivers in the north to below the Orange River in the South (Colesburg).
It shows the names of the towns they had started wihich carried names such as Lydenburg, ( Place of Suffering) Vryheid, ( Place of Freedom) Pietermaritzburg, (named after the famous Voortrekker leader) Pilippolis and Bethulie, (named after their beloved Bible) and Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Winburg and Bloemfontein… as they Trekked, the Boers named the map of South Africa, and many of its vegetation and wildlife as well.
All these Boer names are now being wiped off the map of South Africa in one fell swoop by the ANC-regime — even though the Boers’ official history had ended in 1902, long before the elitist-Afrikaners who ran the secret Afrikaner Broederbond cabal had started apartheid in 1948.
Yet this is not the first time that the Boers are facing such an ethnic cleansing campaign by a nation which is hell-bent to remove their very rights to exist in South Africa – this is actually already the third time in Boer history.
The first time the British tried to eradicate them from the map of South Africa with their vicious war and their even more vicious concentration camps where many tens of thousands of Boer women, children and elderly starved to death within just a few months.
After this first genocide to target the Boer nation, their descendants still managed to cling to their identity for at least another generation – until …..
Drummer Hodge ~Thomas Hardy
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined – just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew –
Fresh from his Wessex home –
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.
Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge forever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellation reign
His stars eternally.
Boer War and the movies…
Sean Mathias is directing Colossus, based on Ann Harries’ Manly Pursuits, a novel about the Boer War. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s scored a pretty impressive cast, considering that its budget is a relatively small $15 million: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen and Susan Sarandon are all on-board. Though it’s not yet been announced which roles the stars will play, the movie “tells of ailing arch-colonist Cecil Rhodes’ [probably McKellen] belief that he can only recover his health if he can hear the sound of English song birds outside his window in Cape Town.” Get this: Someone is sent from England with 500 freaking songbirds. When he gets there, he falls in love and decides he needs to stop the Boer War from happening. Ah, if only all men in love would immediately resolve to end wars — what a lovely world this would be.
Source:
Please click HERE for the Gutenberg-files about the Boer Women during the War and then click on this file-number: files/20194/ Click HERE for a list of Africana books about the war, there’s a list of about 177…English as well as Afrikaans.
Available below is a 1901 recording of the Boer War sentimental favourite Goodbye Dolly Gray. An extract of the song’s lyrics are also provided.
The song was written by Will D. Cobb (lyrics) and Paul Barnes (music). Although it gained widespread fame during the Boer War it had earlier been sung in the U.S. during the U.S.-Spanish War of 1898. The song saw renewed airings with the onset of the First World War in 1914.
Listen to the song here:
Goodbye Dolly Gray
I have come to say goodbye, Dolly Gray,
It’s no use to ask me why, Dolly Gray,
There’s a murmur in the air, you can hear it everywhere,
It’s the time to do and dare, Dolly Gray.
So if you hear the sound of feet, Dolly Gray,
Sounding through the village street, Dolly Gray,
It’s the tramp of soldiers’ true in their uniforms so blue,
I must say goodbye to you, Dolly Gray.
Goodbye Dolly I must leave you, though it breaks my heart to go,
Something tells me I am needed at the front to fight the foe,
See – the boys in blue are marching and I can no longer stay,
Hark – I hear the bugle calling, goodbye Dolly Gray.
Image and caption: nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/boer-soldiers-posing
General Joubert’s unit of Boer soldiers and their African servant stop for lunch at Newcastle, Natal, less than a week after war was declared in 1899. Several of the soldiers are leaning against Dr Visser’s travelling medical wagon. Photographed by Robert Gell, 17 October 1899.
British tactics during the South African War included the burning of farmhouses and destruction of livestock so that they would not fall into the hands of Boer commandos. Here members of New Zealand’s Seventh Contingent pose with the carcasses of chickens and sheep.
Fashion could be important, even out on the veldt, as the garments of these Boer women suggest. Photographed by Rough Rider John McGrath
Drummer Hodge…poetry of the Anglo-Boer War.
Drummer Hodge: Poetry of the Boer War—van Wyk Smith, M.
Clarendon Press, Oxford 1978
ISBN: 0198120826 Source: elizabethsbookshop.com.au
These people were as near akin to us as any race which is not
our own. They were of the same Frisian stock which peopled our own
shores. In habit of mind, in religion, in respect for law, they
were as ourselves. Brave, too, they were, and hospitable, with
those sporting instincts which are dear to the Anglo-Celtic race.
There was no people in the world who had more qualities which we
might admire, and not the least of them was that love of
independence which it is our proudest boast that we have encouraged
in others as well as exercised ourselves.Source:
The title of a painting,” said Marcel Duchamp, “is another colour on the artist’s palette.” He also talked of treating the title “like an invisible colour”. Duchamp’s remarks were part of his ongoing argument with the art of painting. His point was that painting should not be understood as a purely visual or optical or (to use his favourite jibe), “retinal” art. That was the state to which Impressionism had reduced it. But painting should mobilise all its resources of meaning, among them the title. This verbal component shouldn’t be neutrally descriptive, nor be seen as something extraneous. It could be an integral effect, like another colour.
Comparing titles to colours was, of course, provocative, because colour is often considered the least verbal, the most inarticulate and untranslatable factor in a painting. But Duchamp’s phrase is more than a tease. It suggests that the title should be liberated. It should be used, not as a caption that presides over the whole picture, but as one more ingredient in the mixture, an active element in the picture’s drama.
Titles were to be given free play. Duchamp’s own were often spectacularly lateral, puzzles and mini-poems in their own right. There was Tum’. There was The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even. And other 20thcentury artists, Dadaist, surreal, abstract, conceptual, took up the challenge, putting the oblique title through all its possible paces.
But the device itself was not the invention of modern art. In the 19th century, while Impressionism flourished in France, another kind of painting had sprung up in England, which would later be criticised, not as “retinal”, but on the contrary as “anecdotal”. In the works of the pre-Raphaelites and their contemporaries, the title of the picture was often made to do crucial extra business.
The Last of England, The First Cloud, The Awakening Conscience, Our English Coasts – these titles are vital ingredients. They introduce story, symbolism, state of mind and always something more or something other than what the picture shows. They make the viewer’s mind jump from the image to an idea behind or beyond the image. And sometimes the jump itself, the sense of distance between the title and the rest of the picture, is where the work’s real power lies.
John Byam Shaw’s The Boer War is far from being a great work. But it’s a work that understands the rich possibilities of the oblique title. The ways that its title performs in the viewer’s mind, both connecting and disconnecting to the image, makes it a kind of masterpiece.
The painting shows – well, what it obviously doesn’t show is the Boer War, or any individual episode from Britain’s Imperial war in South Africa, which had ended the year before this picture was painted. But the likely link between words and image isn’t hard to find. A lone woman stands by a stream at the bottom of a field or garden. She was the fiancée or wife or sister of a man killed in the war. She’s lately heard the news, and gone off on her own. Or she’s been in mourning some time, but the place – this is where they used to walk, and never will again – calls out a sudden pang of memory and grief.
The Boer War is her back story, then, her motivation, the reason for her state of mind. It is the content of her invisible thought bubble. It is, in a sense, a perfectly straight descriptive title for this picture. For how do you show the Boer War except by depicting scenes from the war? And why shouldn’t those scenes include, not only battlefields and sieges, but also the scenes of bereavement and desolation that were the immediate consequence back home?
So the title fits. But at the same time, clearly, we’re to feel a great rupture and estrangement between those words, The Boer War, and the scene before us. And this distance can stand for and stress the various other distances – geographic, experiential – that the work evokes.
There is the distance between peace and war. There is the distance between the green English countryside and the dusty South African veldt. There is the distance between the woman and the man who was absent far away and is now absolutely dead and gone. There is the distance between the woman, with her mind fixed on loss and death, and the burgeoning natural world around her – further emphasised by the way her figure slightly sticks out against the landscape like a piece of collage.
The classic pre-Raphaelite manner of Byam Shaw’s painting, with its manic eye for the proliferating detail of nature, contributes to this effect. You can see it as how the woman herself sees her surroundings. Shock and grief can cause the mind to become blankly transfixed by the minutiae of the physical world, seeking something clear and particular to hold on to – as the narrator in Tennyson’s poem “Maud” focuses on a tiny sea shell after his world has fallen in.
Or again: the way the title, The Boer War, fails to “mean” the picture is like the way those words might become a malignantly empty phrase in the woman’s mind, words she must continually reiterate to herself and to others – the Boer War, the Boer War, he was killed in the Boer War – but which call up nothing and have no purchase on her loss.
Reading things into it? Yes, exactly. That’s what this kind of picture, this word image-juxtaposition, invites you to do. Reading things in, letting scene and title interact in the mind, is the way it works. In more than one way, Byam Shaw’s painting about a remote Imperial war has a rather contemporary feeling.
THE ARTIST
John Byam Shaw (1872-1919) was the second wind and last gasp of true pre- Raphaelitism. By the end of the 19th century, the movement had moved away from the Ruskin-Millais ideals of intense observational realism and moral commitment. It had drifted towards an airy-fairy religiose symbolism. Byam Shaw recovered some of the old ground – just at the point when this kind of art was about to go completely out of fashion, even in Britain. His name is now too small to get into all but the very biggest artdictionaries. But it is preserved in the north London art school that he founded, The Byam Shaw, which exists to this day.
Source:
(Interviews with Errol Lincoln Uys,1970)Johanna, or Joey as she was later called, was born in July 1892. Her mother was killed in a train crash in 1896, and Joey and her sister went to live with an uncle and aunt in Bethulie, Orange Free State, Magiel and Lettie Roux. When the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out in October 1899, Magiel joined the Bethulie Commando.
In September 1900, as British troops rolled over the veld, Magiel and thirty commandos attempted to flee the Orange Free State for the Transvaal. Joey and her cousins, the child Magiel and Johann, were in the convoy when it was attacked and captured by the British “Tommies” near Springfontein in the Free State.
We trekked with fourteen wagons, seventy women and children, escorted by thirty Boer commandos. Three days after leaving Bethulie, the Tommies found us.
“O, God, ons is nou gevang!” – (“O, God, now we’re caught!”)
It was daylight. I hid under a wagon. Magiel and Johann lay on the wagon floor. They couldn’t understand what was happening. There was confusion. People screaming. Shouts. “Rooinek vark!” – (“Redneck pig!”)
Women were shooting and killing Tommies. Tant (aunt) Lettie was a crack-shot. She kept firing till she’d no more bullets.
Several Boers were killed. Then we ran out of ammunition. We surrendered with a white flag on a stick.
I still see the red faces of the Tommies. They wore khaki, brass buttons, and leggings. Their heavy boots thudded as they walked.
They gathered our men together and took their guns and horses.
Before they were led away, our commandant warned us to obey the Tommies or be shot.
My uncle said goodbye. We were all crying.
Magiel looked at me. “Never desert her,” he said to my aunt. “If you’ve one crust of bread, break it in half and give it to her.”
As Joey recounted the attack on the wagons to me, she sang a line of an old Boer War song: “Zij geniet die blouwe bergen op die skepe na Ceylon.” — “They enjoy the blue mountains on the ships to Ceylon.”
Magiel went as POW to Sri Lanka where five thousand Boer guerillas were interned during the war. The British shipped four times that number to other camps in India, St. Helena and Bermuda.
At the wagons, the Tommies searched the women and went through their belongings.
The soldiers weren’t cruel. They hadn’t tasted real war yet.
While they searched our stuff, my aunt sat on a trommeltjie filled with bottles of Lennon’s home remedies. The Tommy’s never looked inside the medicine chest.
Tant Lettie had hidden gold sovereigns under the bottles.
After they took our men away, they made us get back into the wagons. We trekked across the veld to a station. We stayed there all night, some lying down, others sitting up in the wagons. In the morning, they pushed us into boxcars.
I couldn’t see anything. There were vents on top and one of these slammed onto my aunt’s head. When the train moved off, the boxcar shook so much we fell against each other.
My mother’s reference to a boxcar is unusual. Most women and children were herded into fetid cattle trucks to be shunted across the Free State under a boiling sun or through frigid nights.
We realized we were going to Bloemfontein.
“You’ll get food, everything you need in the camp,” the Tommies said.
At Bloemfontein, we were placed in carts. We were taken three miles outside town and dumped down on the veld.
They put up bell-tents for us, one next to the other. Hundreds of round tents, far as the eye could see. We met one of Tant (aunt) Lettie’s sisters and stayed together for a while.
A woman in the tent next to us went into labor. Her baby was born that night. The child contracted some disease and died soon after.
We slept on the bare ground. No bedding, no pillows, only some blankets from the wagon. It rained heavily. In the beginning, we didn’t know we had to loosen the tent ropes and let the water run off. We got sopping wet. Tant Lettie and I went outside in the rain. We released the ropes and knocked in the pegs again. It was a quagmire. Exhausted, we lay down in the mud to sleep.
We lit a paraffin lamp in the tent at night. At nine o’clock, all lights had to be out. Women were kicked and beaten if they disobeyed the orders of the Tommies. We obeyed.
We were issued ration cards and stood in line for food. We got meat, sugar, mealie meal, condensed milk. The meat was chilled. Even after cooking, it had chunks of ice in it. We used a paraffin tin outside the tent for a stove, same as a ‘kaffir-koggel ,’ with holes in the sides and irons to hold pots. We collected firewood on a kopje next to the camp. Water was brought from a river by cart. Every morning we stood in line to fill our buckets. We were always short of water.
Tant Lettie, the two boys and Johanna were designated “Undesirables,” a term applied to Boers who don’t go voluntarily into captivity or had family members on commando. “Refugees” described displaced Boers who surrender, the “hands-uppers” and their dependants. The latter are rewarded with a few extra spoonfuls of sugar, condensed milk and the luxury of the occasional potato. In either case, rations are insufficient to stave off starvation and disease.
If we had grievances, we were taken in front of the camp commandant. Usually, we kept quiet. We didn’t want trouble with the Tommies.
During the day, the women visited each other. We walked around the camp. The sun burnt us black. Our shoes wore out. Our clothes were unironed and filthy. Afterwards we got blue soap to wash our things. The toilet was horrible. A big hole with plank seats and sacking around it, you climbed up on top of the planks. No newspaper, no rags.
The camp was lice-infested. I watched Tommies take their leggings off, unwinding them like strips of bandages. They used broken glass to scrape the lice from their legs. My aunt had to cut all my hair off.
There was a church but I don’t remember going to it or to a school begun in the camp. Tant Lettie read to us from the Bible.
Theft was rife. There were fights between women.
Prostitutes carried on with Tommies and Boers in the camp. Most of the men were elderly. One old man called De Wet was a bastard. He wanted to interfere with my aunt. She chased him out of the tent. Tommies also interfered with the women.
I remember a short man with a gray beard. I hated him.
My aunt became friendly with one of the Tommies. She stole someone else’s skirt and walked with him.
Thousands of newcomers arrived at Bloemfontein camp. Thousands became sick. The marquee hospital tents were always full. The doctors worked day and night.
We found pieces of blue stone vitriol in the sugar. Lots of people were poisoned.
People died like rats. Carts came down the rows of tents to pick up the dead. There were funerals every day.
In the eighteen months Johanna and her family were in Bloemfontein concentration camp, the population soared to six thousand three hundred and twenty two. Of this number, one thousand six hundred and ninety-five perished from want and sickness.
British propagandists alleged that Boer mothers were killing their children through their own stupidity and carelessness. When seven-year-old Lizzie van Zyl died of hunger at Bloemfontein, a report said her mother starved her.
Emily Hobhouse, an English activist, spent six months in South Africa from January to June 1901 visiting Bloemfontein and six other camps. She saw Lizzie van Zyl die on an airless April day.
“I used to see her in her bare tent lying on a tiny mattress which had been given her, trying to get air from the raised flap, gasping her life out in the heated tent. Her mother tended her. I got some friends in town to make a little muslin cap to keep the flies from her bare head. I was arranging to get a cart made to draw her into the air in the cooler hours but before wood could be procured, the cold nights came on and she died. I found nothing to show neglect on the mother’s part.”
Emily returned to England to campaign against “a gigantic and grievous blunder caused not by uncaring women but crass male ignorance, helplessness and muddling.” Her militancy brought the scorn of the British people who called her a rebel, a liar, an enemy of the nation, hysterical and worse.
No one hated Emily more than Lord Kitchener, whose troops burnt down 30,000 farm houses, torched a score of towns and interned 116,572 Boers, a quarter of the population.
“It is for their protection against the Kaffirs,” said the British War Secretary, oblivious to the fact thatAfricans were being armed and encouraged by the English to attack a mutual enemy. Also ignoring the fact that 115,000 “black Boers” were sent to their own concentration camps, loyal servants who saw twelve thousand of their number die.
Miss Hobhouse was banned from visiting the most terrible of all camps that had been established just outside Bethulie, a place name meaning “Chosen by God.” My mother considered it a blessing of the Almighty that they weren’t interned at Bethulie where twelve hundred died in one six-month period from pneumonia and measles and from hunger.
The concentration camps claimed the lives of 27,972 Boers. Of these, 22,074 were children like Lizzie van Zyl.
We guarded the gold sovereigns day and night. After lights out, we slept next to the box where Tant Lettie had hidden the coins.
Women could apply to the camp commandant for a pass to go into Bloemfontein. Tant Lettie went to buy extra food. This was all that kept us alive.
I think of the thousands who died in the camps. I thank God that we survived.
In summer 1902, as Kitchener’s cordon strangled Boer resistance, Tant Lettie got notice that she and the children were going to another camp.
My mother was too young at the time to know why they were moved, whether Tant Lettie’s Tommy friend pulled strings or what other reason was behind the transfer. They went from Bloemfontein to a camp at Kubusie River near Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape, nestled in the green hills of the Amatola Range, a world away from the horrors of the dumping ground at Bloemfontein.
This time, Johanna recalled making the two-hundred-and-fifty mile journey in a cattle truck. According to one report, some of the refugees were supplied with tents, which they ingeniously erected on the beds of railroad cars. Others were covered with tarpaulins like so much baggage.
“The former arrived more contented and less sullen. All were provided with hot water and cocoa en route.”
We were vaccinated on arrival at Kubusie. Our arms swelled up. Magiel and Johann became sick but after a while we were all OK.
We lived in a one-roomed house. A big room with a plank table, plank chairs and three plank beds with straw mattresses.
Our days at Kubusie were happier. Farmers in the district helped the Boers. The camp was small, nothing like Bloemfontein. I don’t recall anyone dying at Kubusie.
A Miss O’Brien taught school in the camp. I learnt English from her. After school, she invited me to her room. My dress was in rags. Miss O’Brien cut up her own clothes to make dresses for me. She taught me how to knit and gave me a ball of wool for a pair of socks.
Who was Miss O’Brien? Was she English or Irish as her name might suggest? Was she one of Emily Hobhouse’s angels of mercy? It matters not, just that she was there, sitting with a child pretty as a flower, teaching her to knit a pair of socks.
Today, the site of Kubusie Concentration Camp has been turned into a car park and the surface area graveled and curbed.
“The socks were yellow,” Johanna said a lifetime later. She never forgot Miss O’Brien’s kindness.
Update: October 2008…this poem is an Afrikaans poem about the concentration camps…very sad poem, maybe I should try and translate it sometime for English readers…
C. Louis Leipoldt (1880-1947)
In die konsentrasiekamp
Aliwal-Noord, 1901
O, pazienza, pazienza che tanto sostieni! – Dante
Jou oë is nat met die trane van gister;
Jou siel is gemartel, deur smarte gepla;
Van vrede en pret was jy vroeër ’n verkwister;
En nou, wat bly oor van jou rykdomme? Ja,
’n Spreekwoord tot steun – daar’s geen trooswoord beslister:
“Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan dra!”
Hier sit jy en koes teen die wind wat daar suie
Yskoud deur die tentseil, geskeur deur die hael –
Jou enigste skuil in die nag teen die buie;
Die Junie-lug stort oor die stroom van die Vaal –
Jy hoor net die hoes van jou kind, en die luie
Gedrup van die reëndruppeltjies oor die paal.
’n Kers, nog maar anderhalf duim voor hy sterwe,
Brand dof in ’n bottel hier vlak naas jou bed.
(’n Kafhuis gee makliker rus: op die gerwe
Daar lê ’n mens sag, en sy slaap is gered!) –
En hier in die nag laat jou drome jou swerwe
’n Aaklige rondte met trane besmet.
Hier struikel die kind wat te vroeg was gebore;
Hier sterwe die oumens te swak vir die stryd;
Hier kom ’n gekerm en gekreun in jou ore;
Hier tel jy met angs elke tik van die tyd;
Want elke sekond’ van die smart laat sy spore
Gedruk op jou hart, deur ’n offer gewyd.
En deur elke skeur in die seil kan jy duister
Die wolke bespeur oor die hemel verbrei;
Geen ster skyn as gids; na geen stem kan jy luister
(Eentonig die hoes van jou kind aan jou sy!)
Wat sag deur die wind in jou ore kom fluister:
“Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan ly!”
Vergewe? Vergeet? Is dit maklik vergewe?
Die smarte, die angs het so baie gepla!
Die yster het gloeiend ’n merk vir die eeue
Gebrand op ons volk; en dié wond is te ná –
Te ná aan ons hart, en te diep in ons lewe –
“Geduld, o geduld, wat so baie kan dra!”
–uit: Groot Verseboek, 2000
Die Oorwinnaars By die kindergrafte uit die Konsentrasiekamp van Nylstroom
Oorwinnaars vir ons volk,
bly u vir al wat beste in ons is ‘n ewig’ tolk;
nooit weer sal vyandsvoet u stof so diep vertrap en smoor
dat ons u langer nie kan sien – en hoor.
Nie onse Helde, wat die magtig’ leër
op glansryk’ velde kon weerstaan en keer;
nie onse Seuns, wat aan die galg en teen die muur
die diepe liefde vir hul eie moes verduur;
nie onse Moeders, wat met bloeiend hart en seer,
in swart Getsemane die ware smart moes leer;
nie onse Generaals, vereer met krans en riddersnoer;
– was waardig vir ons volk die hoë stryd te voer
en te oorwin.
Nie ons, met vuile hand en hart ontrou was waardig
om die vaandel hoog te hou.
Maar u, o bleke spokies, in U kermend’, klagend’ wee,
staan voor ons ewiglik beskermend – uit die lang verlee.
Eugene Marais
Boer internees were separately held from black Africans. There were a total of 45 tented camps built for Boer internees and 64 for black Africans. Of the 28,000 Boer men captured as prisoners of war, 25,630 were sent overseas. The vast majority of Boers remaining in the local camps were women and children, but the camps established for black Africans held large numbers of men as well. A number of the black African internees were used as a paid labour force as they were not considered by the British to be hostile, although they had been forcibly removed from Boer areas. The majority of the black African internees however languished in the camps and suffered a high mortality rate.—so, “apartheid” by the British during the Boer/British war!
Danie Theron: The man picked for the job was Danie Theron, who was a lawyer from Krugersdorp. Even before the outbreak of the war he had formed a bicycle corps of Scouts believing that the effectiveness of horse mounted men was being undermined because modern bicycle technology was not being utilized properly.
He made a submission to Transvaal President Paul Kruger and General Joubert requesting the formation of a bicycle corps by pointing out that a horse needs rest and food, whereas a bicycle needs only a pump and oil.
To support his belief in the superiority of the bicycle he had planned a race between a bicycle and a horse from Pretoria to the Crocodile River a distance of 75 km.
The man he picked to ride the bicycle against the horse was cycling champion JP Koos Jooste.
The Cape Argus of 21 June 1900 clearly states that the destitution of these women and children was the result of the English’s plundering of farms: “Within 10 miles we (the English) burned not less than six farm homesteads. Between 30 and 40 homesteads were burned and totally destroyed between Bloemfontein and Boshoff. Many others were also burned down. With their houses destroyed, the women and children were left in the bitter South African winter in the open.” The British history text book says nothing about this.
An old man sits in front of his house with a few saved belongings. On this next link you can order some books and I’ve found these three images on this link too. The link will open in a new window. The books are in English, but the site in Afrikaans, you can give me a big shout if you need any help with the site! If you click on the link “kontak ons”, on this site where you can order the books, – it means “contact us” – you will find an email address and contact details.
Lord Alfred Milner – Rothschild front man, executor of the “Scorched Earth Policy” and concentration camps for Boer women and children in 1899-1902; and spokesman for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, which branched into such organizations as the CFR and the Trilateral. His spirit and his legacy lives on in the present genocide of the Boers.
Apartheid is properly the legacy of Britain –- which has been under the control of the Rothschilds and his London Elite for centuries, and which refused to give independence to the Black nations currently within present-day SA, as it did to the cannibal Basuto tribe (Lesotho), and to the Swazis (Swaziland), before forming the Union of South Africa in 1910 out of the two former Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State; and her two SA colonies viz: …read more on this link, but be warned, a very upsetting image…on this link. On the following link: Deirdre Fields – reports on the heroic Boer struggle for survival and self determination.
The Boer Republics had no organised force. In the event of war against natives or against some foreign Power, the burghers were called up from their farms, the husbands, fathers, sons of the nation, to fight for home and fatherland. This left the women and children unprotected on the farms, but not unprovided for, for it is an historical fact that the Boer women in time of war carried on their farming operations with greater vigour than during times of peace. Fruit trees were tended, fields were ploughed, and harvests brought in with redoubled energy, with the result that crops increased and live-stock multiplied.
Read on the Gutenberg-link more from the book written by Johanna Brandt.
The following update: 26/9/09 – from an Afrikaans blogger and her grandma who survived the Irene Concentration camp and she blogged today about things her grandma told her when she was little. I will translate for you in short.
Trisia says the following: Her grandad was put in jail and they were given food with worms in it. After the war he worked for a sjieling per day to reconstruct/rebuild the burnt-down farms. Her grandma told her some gruesome stories and one is where the English took her little cat, swung it on its tail and smashed it against the wall. [POOR KITTY!] Also, they took her grandma’s dolls and burnt it with all their other stuff. [I can imagine their grusame smiles on their faces while doing it] Please find “Maankind”-s link (Trisia) if you want to read the entry on her blog – of course it is in Afrikaans only.
Oupa het graag vertel hoe hy as seun saam geveg het, en van sy hoed met die koeëlgaatjie in waar hy rakelings aan die dood ontkom het. Sy baadjie se moue het te kort geword gedurende die oorlog, en ek sien steeds die prentjie van die rankerige boerseun met die baadjie met driekwart moue in my kop. Hy het ook grusame verhale vertel van sy verblyf in die tronk as rebel, en van die wurms in die sop. Dan ook hoe hulle later na die oorlog op die paaie gewerk het teen ‘n “sieling” ‘n dag om hulle plase weer te kon opbou.
Ouma se stories was meer hartseer. Sy het die oorlog as dogtertjie beleef, wat gehuil het oor haar poppie, wat die Engelsman gegryp het en in die vuur geslinger het, en hoe hulle moes staan en kyk hoe hulle huis met alles daarin, in vlamme opgaan.
Wanneer ouma se oë sonder uitsondering vol trane geraak het, en haar stem gebewe het, is elke keer as sy vertel hoe die “Ingelsman haar katjie gegryp het en aan sy agterpootjies geswaai het, en sy koppie teen die muur papgeslaan het.
South of the Line, inland from far Durban,
A mouldering soldier lies—your countryman.
Awry and doubled up are his gray bones,
And on the breeze his puzzled phantom moans
Nightly to clear Canopus: “I would know
By whom and when the All-Earth-gladdening Law
Of Peace, brought in by that Man Crucified,
Was ruled to be inept, and set aside?
And what of logic or of truth appears
In tacking ‘Anno Domini’ to the years?
Near twenty-hundred liveried thus have hied,
But tarries yet the Cause for which He died.”
Christmas-eve 1899. – Source:
Follow this link to read about the “stalemated” Boer/British War and you will find a link to the Canadian War museum. The link will open in a new window.
On my blog HEREyou can read about the Boer/British-War and Melrose House . The link will open in a new window. On this link you can also read about the role my great grandad played during the war.
A very good site about the Boer-war HERE …the link will open in a new window.
Please click HEREto read the complete online book of Arthur Conan Doyle about the Boer War…the link will open in a new window.
Leone and Pieter live in Aberystwyth and we met them here in London. Leone is a fantastic artist and some of her work can be seen in Embassies in some countries. I took two pictures – bear in mind that I’m not a professional photographer- but I think it is still good enough to admire and to share. The first two pictures are the two which I photographed and I found the others by a search on Yahoo….Links in this post will open in a new window.
We visited them in Wales and you can follow this link (and go down with the slider) to look at the pictures in Aber and read more about our visit there.
Paul Klee said..”A line is a dot that went for a walk”…and this was just me being silly!
Paul Klee Art Enjoy the art of Y5/6 children in the style of Paul Klee. We looked at different pieces of Art completed by Paul Klee and discussed it, then tried our own ideas in the style of Klee.
Place of birth: Münchenbuchsee (near Bern), Switzerland
Date of death: June 29, 1940
Place of death: Muralto, Switzerland
Paul Klee is ranked as one of the most original masters of contemporary art. He was born in Bern, Switzerland and lived for many years in Germany. He was one of the instructors at the Bauhaus. In 1931 he began teaching at Dusseldorf Academy, but he was dismissed by the Nazis, who termed his work “degenerate.”In 1933, Klee went back to his native Switzerland. He died on June 29, 1940.
Tretchikoff is a South African artist, born in Russia, spent some of his childhood years in China and lived in Cape Town. He died in August 2006 in Cape Town. I can remember, I was 11 years old and we were told by our teacher to prepare a speech about any artist. The first and best artist’s information I found – was in a household magazine, called Huisgenoot , was about Tretchikoff! I can remember I said a lot about him and there were pictures of women he painted…naked! … and a couple of flowery-ones in the magazine. Of course I didn’t show all those pictures in class to the children, but the teacher did look at it.
Report from the BBC:
It’s one of the most popular prints ever made and yet many art critics dismiss it as rubbish. The death of its creator Vladimir Tretchikoff has again cast the spotlight on the mysterious Green Lady. She looks unsmiling down and to her left. She has luxuriant black hair. Dressed in an exotic gold-collared robe, her hands are folded out of sight. So far, so unremarkable, except for her skin, a strange blue-green.In the 1960s and 70s, Chinese Girl – to give the 1950 portrait its proper title – graced many a living room wall across the globe.The Russian-born South African artist Tretchikoff toured the world on the back of his painting’s popularity. He generated controversy in interviews, exhibited his work in department stores and became one of the first artists to target the “ordinary” public as the true audience for his work. BBC report:
Read the entire report HEREon the BBC’s news site….
On THIS LINK you can read the South African Broadcasting Company’s report about his death…there’s also a video report which you can watch with his granddaughter too speaking. Vladimir Tretchikoff dies aged 92
August 26, 2006, 13:15
Vladimir Tretchikoff (92), a world renowned artist, has died at a frail care centre in Cape Town. Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist. He and his family fled the Russian Revolution in 1917, moving to Manchuria, Shanghai and Singapore, before eventually settling in South Africa in 1941. He is viewed by many as one of South Africa’s greatest artists. His most famous piece was the portrait titled Chinese Girl. Tretchikoff painted ultra-realistic portraits – many of women. His other subject matter included animals and flowers. He worked with oil and water paints, as well as in charcoal and other media
“Miss Wong”
Read HERE more about Tretchikoff on Wikipedia.
Weeping Rose “Horse race” by Tretchikoff
I love mosaic! Check out this site to create your own..nice to play around! Children love this site to build their own Roman mosaics! The link will open in a new window.
On Thursday November 8th His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh opened the 2007 Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in a simple and moving ceremony.
The sea of scarlet poppies on Remembrance Crosses then remained standing as a touching symbol throughout the period of Remembrance. They pay a poignant tribute to the memory of ex-Service men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country.
To see the Field awash with thousands of scarlet poppies on Remembrance Crosses, each bearing a personal dedication, is always a deeply moving experience. Each cross stands as a proud tribute in memory of a life lost too soon.
In late September each year, the opportunity to order Remembrance Tributes to be placed in the the Field of Remembrance, is made available from this website.
For information on obtaining wreaths, little remembrance crosses or poppies at other times of the year, contact The Poppy Appeal on +44 (0)1622 717172 or write to:
The Poppy Appeal
RBL Village
Aylesford
Kent ME20 7NX
The first donations for artificial poppies were given in Britain on 11th November 1921, inspired by John McCrae’s 1915 poem ‘In Flanders’ Fields’. Every year the Legion mobilises a countrywide network of Poppy Appeal collectors to meet the enormous public demand for poppies – the nation’s symbol of Remembrance. The act of observing a Two Minute Silence began in 1919 following the Armistice at 11am on the 11th November 1918 at the end of the First World War.
Paul Klee (December 18, 1879 – June 29, 1940) was a Swiss painter of German nationality. He was influenced by many different art styles in his work, including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was a student of orientalism. He and his friend, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, were also famous for teaching at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture.
Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee (near Bern), Switzerland, into a musical family—his father, Hans Klee, was a German music teacher at the Hofwil Teacher Seminar near Bern. Klee started young at both art and music. At age seven, he started playing the violin, and at age eight, he was given a box of chalk by his grandmother and was encouraged to draw frequently with it.[citation needed] Klee could have done either art or music as an adult; in his early years, he had wanted to be a musician, but he later decided on the visual arts during his teen years. He studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich with Heinrich Knirr and Franz von Stuck. After traveling to Italy and then back to Bern, he settled in Munich, where he met Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and other avant-garde figures and became associated with Der Blaue Reiter. Here he met Bavarian pianist Lily Stumpf, whom he married; they had one son named Felix Paul.
In 1914, he visited Tunisia with August Macke and Louis Moilliet and was impressed by the quality of the light there, writing, “Colour has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever… Colour and I are one. I am a painter.” Klee also visited Italy (1901), and Egypt -1928- both of which greatly influenced his art. Klee was one of Die Blaue Vier (The Blue Four), with Kandinsky, Feininger, and Jawlensky; formed in 1923, they lectured and exhibited together in the USA in 1924. Klee influenced the work of other noted artists of the early 20th century including Belgian printmaker Rene Carcan.
Klee worked with many different types of media—oil paint, watercolor, ink, and more. He often combined them into one work. He has been variously associated with expressionism, cubism and surrealism, but his pictures are difficult to classify. They often have a fragile child-like quality to them and are usually on a small scale. They frequently allude to poetry, music and dreams and sometimes include words or musical notation. The later works are distinguished by spidery hieroglyph-like symbols which he famously described with, “A line is a dot going for a walk”. His better-known works include Southern (Tunisian) Gardens (1919), Ad Parnassum (1932), and Embrace (1939).
Following World War I, in which he painted camouflage on airplanes for the imperial German army, Klee taught at the Bauhaus, and from 1931 at the Düsseldorf Academy, before being denounced by the Nazi Party for producing “degenerate art” in 1933. The degenerate art exhibit catalogues had even called Klee’s work “the work of a sick mind.” Read more on this link…
Africa is a continent – not a country. The true size of Africa.
Edit August 2019 – many of the previous links to different cultures are now dead links and I had to spruce up this entry of more than 10 years ago!
On this next link, you will find the following ethnic groups: Ndebele, Pedi, San, Shangaan, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. This link is a great link as there are pictures and a substantial amount of information. Use the drop-down menu to the left of the page.
The Zulu are the largest ethnic group in South Africa. They are well known for their beautiful brightly coloured beads and baskets as well as other small carvings.
The Zulu believe that they are descendants from a chief from the Congo area, and in the 16th century migrated south picking up many of the traditions and customs of the San who also inhabited this South African area. During the 17th and 18th centuries many of the most powerful chiefs made treaties and gave control of the Zulu villages to the British. This caused much conflict because the Zulu had strong patriarchal village government systems so they fought against the British but couldn’t win because of the small strength they possessed. Finally, after much of the Zulu area had been given to the British the Zulu people decided as a whole that they didn’t want to be under British rule and in 1879 war erupted between the British and the Zulu. Though the Zulu succeeded at first they were in 6 months conquered by the British who exiled the Zulu Kings and divided up the Zulu kingdom. In 1906 another Zulu uprising was lead and the Zulu continue to try to gain back what they consider to be their ancient kingdom.
The Zulu believe in a creator god known as Nkulunkulu, but this god does not interact with humans and has no interest in everyday life. Therefore, most Zulus interact on a day to day level with the spirits. In order to interact with the spirits the Zulu must use divination to interact with the ancestors. All misfortune is a result of a evil sorcery or offended spirits, nothing just happens because of natural causes.
The Zulu are practically divided in half with about 50% living in cities and engaging in domestic work and another 50% working on farms.
On this link HEREyou can read about African tribes/groups and their culture and festivals/art/language/wildlife/etc. The link will open in a new window.
DIE Khoisan het aan moederskant (mDNS) die oudste oorlewende takke van die menslike stamboom in hul genetiese samestelling behou.
Dit blyk ook dat die Khoisan tussen 90 000 en 150 000 jaar gelede van die res van die wêreld se bevolking geskei en oor ’n tydperk van duisende jare na Suidelike Afrika gemigreer het – in ’n enkele lang reis. Hulle het tot 40 000 jaar gelede hier in genetiese isolasie geleef.
Dié internasionale, omvattendste opname tot nou toe rakende Afrika se mitochondriese DNS (mDNS word net van ’n ma na al haar kinders oorgedra) is gisteraand deur die Genografiese Projek bekend gemaak.
Die span navorsers het oor die wêreld heen gereis om die mDNS van 624 mense van inheemse bevolkings te versamel om insig te kry oor die vroeë demografiese geskiedenis van die eerste moderne mense. Daar is gevind dié vroeë groepe van Homo sapiens was klein en geïsoleerd van mekaar.
Ndebele women…image: Kruger2Canyon
Ndebele woman…image: Kruger2Canyon
A traditional Nama Hut..Image: stripedmouse.com/site1_4_1.htm
I like the style of Piet Mondrian. It looks great and it is different. You can play with the cubus-style and colours the way you want and I’ve discovered that primary school children love this style!
‘Mondrian’
Dress
Yves Saint Laurent
1965
Paris, France
Museum no. T.369-1974
Given by Yves Saint Laurent
This cocktail dress is from the Mondrian collection, inspired by the 1920s abstract paintings by the Dutch artist of the same name. It was featured on the front of French Vogue in September 1965 and many cheaper copies were produced for the mass market.
"The Americans fight for a free world, the English mostly for honour, glory and medals, the French and Canadians decide too late that they have to participate. The Italians are too scared to fight, the Russians have no choice. The Germans for their Fatherland. The Boers? Those sons of Bitches fight for the hell of it." American General, George 'Guts and Glory' Patton.
Aleta Michaletos a South African artist and the South African Women’s Closed Chess Championship’s trophy is also her artwork!! I wanted to say more about her..but… WOW!!, there is far too much to say and you have to 
Chessalee 
