Art to die for

Pippa Bacca in Istanbul a few days before she was killed.  Image by Sirio Magnabosco. Source: The New York Times. 

Two performance artists, Pippa Bacca and Silvia Moro, conceived the idea for the “Brides on Tour” project for peace about a year ago.  Wearing white wedding dresses, they would hitchhike from Italy to the Balkans to the Middle East to send a message of peace and “marriage between different peoples and nations.”  Hitchhiking in a wedding dress, Pippa Bacca was murdered in Turkey.

According to The New York Times, the message delivered by “Brides on Tour” has been muted by tragedy:  

“After just three weeks on the road, one of the two Italian artists, Pippa Bacca, 33, was killed by a driver who offered her a ride.  Her naked body was found on April 11 in some bushes near a Turkish village after a suspect led investigators to the site.  Although an official cause of death has not been given, local Turkish authorities said Ms. Bacca had been raped and strangled.  The killing has stirred broad public anger and grief in Turkey and Italy.  Still, what Ms. Bacca would have wanted, her family and friends said, was her message of peace to live on.  “She thought that in the world there were more positive than negative people, and that it was right to be trusting,” said Rosalia Pasqualino, a sister of Ms. Bacca, whose real name was Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo.  “Trust is a very human factor, and she believed that to understand people, you had to get to know them.  The performance piece, a trip through nearly a dozen countries in the Balkans and the Middle East, many of them ravaged by war recently, was meant to underscore that “by overcoming differences and lowering the level of conflict,” individuals and cultures could come together, Ms. Moro said in a telephone interview.  “Meeting people was the key.”  Ms. Bacca’s trip was cut short near the village of Gebze, about 40 miles southeast of Istanbul.  An unemployed man, Murat Karatas, 38, has confessed to killing her shortly after picking her up on March 31, the authorities have said.” 

Accepting rides with strangers was crucial to the art performance’s success, Ms. Moro said.  The artists’ statement at their Web site, bridesontour.fotoup.net, says, “Hitchhiking is choosing to have faith in other human beings, and man, like a small god, rewards those who have faith in him.”

Pippa Bacca (left) and Silvia Moro hitchhiking through the Balkans as Brides on Tour (bridesontour.fotoup.net).

Art performs many functions for humankind.  Art challenges us, inspires us, enriches us, gratifies us aesthetically, and encourages us to think.  The story of Pippa Bacca’s murder causes me to think of the writer Henry James.  James once proposed three questions you could productively put to an artist’s work:

What was the artist trying to achieve?  Did the artist succeed?  and finally, Was it worth doing? 

The purpose of “Brides on Tour” has been defined by Bacca and Moro; the viewing public understands the intent of the artists.  The success of their performance piece is yet to be determined.  To succeed, Bacca and Moro’s message of peace must be communicated through the print-based and electronic media to as wide an audience as possible.  Ironically, this purpose may be enhanced by the untimely death of one of the artists.

The difficult question is:  Was it worth doing?   My gut-reaction as the father of two children:  No art work is worth the life of its creator.  I admire the idealism and courage exhibited by both Bacca and Moro.  Performance artists hope to change the world.  But the risks inherent in this performance piece far outweigh any potential benefits to society.  My prayers go to Pippa Bacca, Bacca’s family, and Silvia Moro. 

~TAB 

Close Cover Before Striking

These adorable matchbooks with tiny printed match heads are from Japan via ReubenMiller.  Seeing them reminded me of my family’s habit of collecting matchbooks.  We had examples from all over the United States and Europe.  A highly incendiary collection!

“A matchbook is a small cardboard container (matchcover) that holds a quantity of matches inside and has a coarse striking surface on the exterior.  A flap on the front is lifted to access the matches, which are attached to the interior base in a comb-like pattern and must be torn away before use.”

Phillumeny is “the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc.”

Virtual Museum Match World.  The Japan Match Manufacturers Association and Japan Match Lateral Corporation operate this Match Museum.  The biggest feature of this museum is superior match labels, which are specially selected from Rankei Library’s gigantic match label collection of twenty or thirty thousands pieces owned by the Japan Match Manufacturers Association.  Visit the museum to learn about the history and science of matches.

Contemporary Japanese matchbook from Virtual Museum Match World.

The Virtual Matchbox Labels Museum is “dedicated to the images on the matchbox labels - the small artworks that most of us do not pay much attention to.  But they reflect our history, our likes and dislikes and sometimes they are real artworks in themselves.”

 

 Best Match.  Made in Japan.  From The Virtual Matchbox Labels Museum.

Surprisingly, matches are a relatively new invention, dating back to 1827 when English druggist John Walker marketed a sulfur tipped splint called a “Congreves.”  The first matches were explosive in nature and unpredictably dangerous to handle.  Matchcovers didn’t receive much recognition as a collectible until the 1930s.  During the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were over 1 million matchcover collectors in United States and Canada.

When a match is rubbed against a rough surface, friction supplies the match head with sufficient heat energy to enable the chemicals to react, and because the rate of heat production by the reaction is greater than the rate of heat loss to the environment, they burn with a flame. 

       

Judo.  Holds and sweeps.  Madi in Japan.  From The Virtual Matchbox Labels Museum.

Related links:

Matchbook Museum  from Lileks.com
Matchcover Collecting  from Hobbymaster
American Matchcover Collecting Club

~MadSilence

Arte y Pico Award

MadSilence has been awarded the Arte y Pico Award by JafaBrit.  Thanks for the nomination, Corrine.  The Arte y Pico Award recognizes a blogger for:

Creativity, Design, Interesting Material, and Contributions to the blogging community.

MadSilence is ranked among an impressive array of fellow award recipients.  Creative types, including artists and crafters.  The other five recipients include: Casey Klahn,  jean yates,  laketrees,  margot potter and pollocksthebollocks.  Each is worthy of a visit.  I especially enjoyed the art of Casey Klahn.  But don’t worry, Corinne: the art of the  JafaGirls  is still a MadSilence favorite.

Congratulations to all!

Feel the need for further inspiration?  Then visit  The Daffodil Principle.  A delightful story.   

~MadSilence

Devil’s Food Dictionary: on Chopsticks

Food is a serious subject for me - reading about sensuous food odysseys and gourmet experiments (as well as occasionally dabbling myself) is all well and good, but I have to admit sometimes gourmands take things a liiiiiiittle too seriously ~_^ ::coughGOURMETcough:: I mean, who the hell really goes out and buys some of the ingredients they ask for in recipes (ever read their article on the proper medieval verbs for carving a peacock? ya know, just in case you have one at your next BBQ)? But anyway, sometimes you just want an irreverent look at all that gourmand gobbledegook - like at The Devil’s Food Dictionary. This is my fav entry of the week (Barry updates twice weekly):

“chopsticks
A pair of sticks, usually tapered, that
serve as eating utensils for people in
East and Southeast Asia. Chopsticks
are most often made of wood or plastic;
Koreans use steel chopsticks, but perhaps
that is just the way Koreans are. Authentic
chopsticks are always hollow, like a straw,
to aid in drinking soup.
One of the most efficient means of
learning chopstick use is by trying to pick
up jellybeans. But after diligent practice,
many Westerners are disappointed on
arrival in China or Japan, to learn that
jellybeans are nearly nonexistent in
those countries.

chopsticks, rubbing together of
Formerly aimed at removing
splinters and jagged edges, chopstick
rubbing now helps discharge static electricity
that accumulates on a restaurant customer’s
walk from the entrance to his table. The
proliferation of fully carpeted, upscale
eateries in China has made sudden static
discharges dangerously common, injuring
thousands of nouveau riche Chinese
each year.

dipsticks
A type of chopsticks designed for
use with particularly oily foods.”

~CAB

10+1 Best Links Ever for Valentine’s Day

On Valentine’s Day, Americans celebrate love and friendship by exchanging cards, flowers, and candy.  As a gift to our many readers, here’s a list of Valentine’s Day links, personally reviewed & certified by MadSilence.  Enjoy!  

Today in History: February 14.  A collection of resources for Valentine’s Day, including brief history of the holiday and valentine cards, images, historic love songs, and other material from the collections of the Library of Congress.  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb14.html

A Thousand Kisses: Love Letters from the Archives of American Art
“This selection of affectionate communiqués to and from American artists gives us insight into the lives of painters, sculptors, illustrators, and others—their relationships, perceptions, and creative energies—from the mid-19th century to the late 20th. They also allow us to empathize with artists through the most universal of human emotions: love in all its permutations.  The letters presented here cover a range of intensity, from sexual passion to the devotion of a parent, and from the durable bonds of friendship to the enthusiasm of fans.”
http://www.aaa.si.edu/exhibits/index.cfm/fuseaction/projects.viewproject/projectid/135

Let Out Your Creative Juices
“Create your own Kleenex® Oval tissue box and bring your personal style and vision to life.  Celebrate a special occasion, feature a silly moment or simply show anything that makes you smile.  Only $4.99 USD + shipping.  Pick a background image, add photos, frames, clip art & text, even your own art, pick a lid color, and you’re all set!”
http://www.mykleenextissue.com/

Send That Special Someone…A Virtual Hug
http://www.onlinehugs.com/

U.S. Census Bureau: Valentine’s Day 2008: Feb. 14
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010968.html

Valentine’s Day from the History Channel   
Extensive background on the History of Valentine’s Day, a Survival Guide, History’s Romantics, Games, and much more. 
http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine/

CNN.com/IN-DEPTH: Valentine’s Day   
This special feature from 2002 addresses different aspects of Valentine’s Day and romance.  Includes articles about the history of Valentine’s Day, romantic gifts, online matchmaker services, and joint finances and marriage. 
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/valentines/

For Saint Valentine’s Day, a collection of Victorian Comic and Lace-Paper Valentines
http://www.scrapalbum.com/svcomic/svc_p1.htm
http://www.scrapalbum.com/stvalent.htm

Making Valentines: A Tradition in America
This online exhibit “is designed to show the evolution of the Valentine’s Day card.”  It features annotated images of early Valentine cards from before 1850, background about Esther Allen Howland (an innovator in Valentine card design and production, who began making and selling Valentines in the 1850s), the George C. Whitney Valentine manufacturing company, which was in business from 1866 to 1942, and Victorian cards.  From the American Antiquarian Society.
http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/

Valentine’s Day: Love and Romance Through the Ages   
This exhibit on the history of Valentine’s Day features images of early greeting cards (with 3D interactive views), symbols associated with the holiday (such as Cupid and flowers), Valentine’s Day in history and literature, religious and spiritual traditions, and more.  In English and French.  From the Virtual Museum of Canada.
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Valentin/English/index.php3

And finally, from our friend Steve Levenstein at Japanorama, here are nine fun Valentine’s Day advertisements from around the world.
http://inventorspot.com/articles/who_loves_marketing_10_valentine_9968 

~MadSilence

Winter’s Bounty - Cocky Kaki (and other shellfish)

A dozen fresh oysters for Y1000 (about $10)!

Who says festivals are only for summer?! Anamizu’s Kaki Matsuri (Oyster Festival) might not feature scantily-clad, drunken men dragging giant shrines around but it features the next best thing: enough food to put an elephant into a coma!

The festival was set up in a parking lot near the town bay. In the center under a large pavilion were the grills - 10 rows of long, charcoal grills tended by officials wearing happi (festival coats) with faces red from the heat. The town kindly provided tables stocked with waribashi (disposable chopsticks), Styrofoam plates and oyster opening equipment. We claimed out own gaijin-corner and slapped our oysters on the barbie - which turned out to be much more dangerous then any of us expected! Oysters were exploding left and right! Bits of shelly shrapnel blasted through the air!

Luckily for the non-seafood lovers in our party the outer perimeter of the parking lot was crowded with food vendors. Freshly made soba, various meats on a stick, fresh local veg , grilling mochi, and genuine Czech beer (made by a local Czech ex-pat) were available for the tasting. We especially liked basting the oysters in the beer.

The leftovers from the festival filled up several trucks like this one. These guys sure seem happy to be shoveling away at all those oyster shells!

~CAB

Demons out! Luck in! 鬼は外! 福は内!

Setsubun (February 3rd) is the day before the first day of spring according to the old Japanese calendar. On the day of Setsubun, the custom is to throw roasted soybeans while chanting “Demons out! Luck in! 鬼は外! 福は内!” This drives demons or ogres, oni in Japanese, from your house, prevents them from entering for the rest of the year, and ensures good fortune will come to your home. On this day, special events are held at shrines all over Japan. According to Japanese tradition, if you eat the same number of beans as your age, you will enjoy a year of good health.

Oni masks for children to wear and piles of roasted soybeans to toss at my local grocery store!

What’s so special about roasted soybeans? Well, there is an old story that goes along with this celebration. In it, a demon disguises itself as a human and goes to a widow’s house. He uses a magic mallet to create a beautiful kimono and the woman decides to try and trick him. She gets him drunk and tries to take both the kimono and the mallet. But the demon sees through this and reveals his true self to her. She is so frightened, she starts throwing soybeans at him and he runs away, taking his mallet and the kimono with him.

Setsubun also means eating ehoumaki. They’re long rolls of uncut sushi that are filled with seven lucky ingredients. This is really a Kanto (southern) Japan tradition, but recent commercialism by grocery stores around the country have spread the practice. There’s a great explanation of proper ehoumaki-eating etiquette at Just Hungry. Maki’s site also has a wonderful collection of Japanese food recipes and a bento site called Just Bento.

Piles of ehoumaki at my local grocery store. Sorry for the bad quality, I had to take pics with my cellphone camera - it’s rather embarrassing to take photos on a busy Sunday afternoon!

Some other related links:
Setsubun from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival) from the Japan National Tourist Organization

Related MadSilence post: Get ready for it…

~A collaboration by Madsilence the Elder and Younger

Urban camouflage, Japanese-style

Though street crime is relatively low in Japan, quirky camouflage designs like this vending-machine dress are being offered to an increasingly anxious public to hide from would-be assailants. –Torin Boyd/Polaris, for The New York Times

A report in The New York Times of 10/20/07 (Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Placeby Martin Fackler) concerns the Instantaneous Vending-Machine Skirt, a work from Japanese artist Aya Tsukioka.

This story was reported on Popgadget in September 2005.

Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, has created a variety of clothing that provides urban camouflage. There’s a skirt that converts into a vending machine, a pocket book that can convert into a manhole cover look-alike, and a child’s backpack that transforms into a Japanese-style fire hydrant.

 

The idea is simple: when danger manifests, the wearer deploys the vending machine skirt or fire hydrant backpack, disguising their identity and camouflaging their appearance so that they fade into the urban jungle.  

The concept of clothing designed to camouflage to protect the wearer traveling through the urban jungle is a peculiarly Japanese one. According to Fackler, these responses to urban anxiety “reflect a peculiarly Japanese sensibility.”

Many Japanese favor camouflage and deception, reflecting a culture that abhors self-assertion, even in self-defense. “It is just easier for Japanese to hide,” Ms. Tsukioka said. “Making a scene would be too embarrassing.” She said her vending machine disguise was inspired by a trick used by the ancient ninja, who cloaked themselves in black blankets at night.

Fackler further states that these creations “underscore another, less appreciated facet of Japanese society: its fondness for oddball ideas and inventions.”  Quoting Ms. Tsukioka:

She said that while her ideas might be fanciful, Japan’s willingness to indulge the imagination was one of its cultural strengths. “These ideas might strike foreigners as far-fetched,” she added, “but in Japan, they can become reality.”

Related MadSilence links:
The art of camo
The art of camo, or Can you still see me?

Also:
Urban Camouflage Slide Show from The New York Times

~TAB