Cover for the Connections Winter issue 2008
First
published in the Connections magazine #18
Winter 2008
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
The Wonderful World of Chocolate
Bad day at
the office, life’s a peach, or just because you feel like it, just reach for
chocolate and your world takes on a new chocolaty dimension. OK maybe I’m a bit
too over enthusiastic, but one thing is sure this stuff really hits the spot!
In this issue chocolate prevails due to Valentine’s Day, Leap Year and of
course Easter.
Women seem
to be the main lovers of this heavenly stuff, but I have met on occasion the
odd man who won’t share his bar for love or money or those who will fight you
for the last M&M (the latter, I might add being under the age of 10, and is
therefore excused). I won’t make the presumption and say that I don’t think
that there is anyone who doesn’t like chocolate but, I have yet to meet someone
who has never tasted chocolate - please correct me if I am wrong.
Whether you
are a guzzler, a comfort eater (on those long dark nights), or a refined one
piece after dinner eater there are still differing opinions as to what is
considered ‘real’, chocolate. Dark chocolate is of course, in its purity, the
real McCoy, but milk chocolate is a serious contender, as it tends to melt more
slowly and lasts longer in the mouth of the chocolate lover. White chocolate,
however, due to its minimal cocoa levels is considered an impostor, but does
have its following.
Used
as early as the sixth century BC by the Mayas the word chocolate comes from
their word Xocoatl, which means ‘bitter water’. A symbol of life
and fertility its image was to be found in many of their temples and palaces
and was referred to as ‘food of the Gods’. The Aztecs believed that their god
Quetzalcoatl brought them the cocoa tree, which he in turn had stolen from
paradise. Both the Mayas and the Aztecs used Cocoa as the basis for a thick,
cold, unsweetened drink called Xocoatl often flavoured with spices,
hot chillies and corn meal. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma drank thick chocolate
dyed red. Owing to the fact that the drink was thought to give the drinker
wisdom and power as well as being nourishing and having an aphrodisiac quality.
It was served in golden goblets that were thrown away after only one use.
Although it
was Columbus who brought back the first beans to Spain there was little
interest taken in them until Hernando Cortez re-introduced them in 1528 and
suggested mixing the bitter drink made from them with sugar. This resulted in a
mix with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. It became the
drink of the Spanish nobility and remained a secret from the rest of the world
for almost 100 years!
The court of
seventeenth century France embraced chocolate to the full mainly because of its
aphrodisiac qualities. It is said that the Marquis de Sade, often used it to
disguise poisons whereas Casanova was reputed for using chocolate with
champagne to seduce the ladies.
After this
there was no stopping chocolate becoming popular the world over. In 1830, the
drink was made into a confection, in the form of a solid product by JS Fry and
Sons (a British chocolate maker). Industrialization in the manufacturing
process of chocolate led to increased production, and that coupled with more
cocoa plantations, made chocolate just for the elite a thing of the past.
Even as far
as ones health it has been found to have some very positive qualities. A pure
piece of chocolate (of roughly 10 grams), eaten daily can reduce the chance of
heart and blood vessel problems by 50%. The presence of bioflavonoids protects
against free radicals, as well as the amino acid Tryptophan, which stimulates
the mood enhancing serotonin, resulting it the euphoric feeling that is felt whilst
eating chocolate. It is also said to be good for the body and figure and is
found in many of today’s beauty products. The effect here is stimulatory and
drains water retention, breaks down fat and strengthens the skin.
These days
chocolate is everywhere in one form or another just about everywhere; in books,
shops, at tastings, societies, cocktails, on postage stamps and even featured
in the designs at Parisian fashion shows.
One thing is
sure; if you introduce a little chocolate into your life the world becomes
a happier place.
Leap Year
What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a calendar?
… A leap year!
… A leap year!
But seriously, for those of you planning on taking
advantage of this year’s leap year, and of course this is directed at you
ladies, this is your once in every four years chance to pop the all important
question. Of course you should make sure that your ‘man to be’, has given you
with ample amounts of chocolate on Valentines Day to get you in the mood. Sorry
chaps you do still have a look in with the remaining 365 days this year.
So, just how did a leap year become
part of our calendar and the emancipated bending of the female knee?
A leap year came about astronomically
because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat a set number of days each
year, so if our calendar remained the same each year, eventually it wouldn’t
correspond to the seasons or seasonal events at all any more. The Gregorian calendar includes an
extra day once every four years, in February, which keeps the matter in check.
Historically in fifth century Ireland
According
to English law, 29 February as a day was considered to have no legal status,
existing purely to fix a problem in the calendar. Therefore any prevailing
custom shouldn’t either that only allowed men propose marriage.
These
days there is a Greek superstition that getting
married on a leap year is bad luck so generally couples will avoid planning
their weddings on a leap year.
So, if the worst-case scenario
becomes a reality and your loved one is not ‘ready’, for the plunge there’s
always the possibility of trying again in another four year’s. If this is not a
very consolatory thought, just remember that Easter is around the corner.
Failing that there are some rather fun chocolate fondue fountains on the market
these days, to while away the time.
Artwork
Wonder Woman: Terry Dodson
Source: Wikipedia
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Valentine's Day
These days
Valentine’s Day, on the 14 February, is unfortunately viewed as a
commercial occurrence, where we are expected to make someone feel good/proclaim
our love by sending an anonymous card, poem, flowers or large consignment of
chocolates. This results in the fact that people in the western world often
ignore Valentine’s Day because of its commercialism or due to a lack of
motivation or perhaps even embarrassment to showing our true feelings.
There are differing stories as to how
the day actually came about, but some say the day came about because of St.
Valentine, a Roman, who was martyred because he refused to give up
Christianity. It is said that during his time in jail he miraculously restored
the sight of the jailor’s daughter. On the day of his execution he left a
farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, signing it
‘from your Valentine’.
Another story says it stems from the
action of the bishop, Valentine who married young soldiers and their ladies in
secret. This was something that had been banned by the Roman Emperor Claudius
II, who had forbidden marriage between potential soldiers and their lovers as
he felt that the young men didn’t make good soldiers once they had married.
Because of his actions Valentine was captured, refused to convert to the way of
the Roman Gods, and was executed. Valentine became the patron saint of an
annual festival, where young Romans offered women they admired, and wished
to court, handwritten greetings of affection each year on February 14. The
cards took on the name of ‘Valentine’s cards’.
One of the earliest Valentine’s cards
sent on record was in 1415, by Charles Duke of Orleans, to his wife whilst he
was a prisoner in the Tower of London. This card can be seen in the British
Museum
So go on, having learnt a little history of the romance behind Valentine’s Day, be a devil: send a card or splash out on one of those enormous heart-shaped chintzy boxes of chocolates and make someone happy. After all what have you got to loose? This is the one time in the year where if you get it wrong you can remain anonymous!
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Connections Magazine - Autumn #17 2007
Cover of Connections Autumn 2007
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Bollywood
My own experience of a Bollywood film
came as a result of a trip to India and a visit to the local cinema in Jaipur,
one evening. Treated to a fantastical spectacle in a cinema decorated with
incredible opulence, I enjoyed a film, which was totally contradictory to the
harsh realities of life in India.
Named after a combination of the name
of the city Bombay (now known as Mumbai) and Hollywood, this is the Hindi film
industry. Featuring a cast of thousands these musical glitz and glamour
productions, often with a ‘boy meets girl’, storyline are perfect in their use
of opulence and total escapism.
Starting with the first screening in
1899, Bollywood as an industry has grown to such an extent that it makes up to
800 films per year, with 14 million Indian people visiting the cinema every day
in India alone. The same popular actors are featured in most of the films,
which results in an actor/actress often being busy filming for more than one
film at a time.
Seemingly, Bollywood’s appeal is on
the increase as this has led to big US film companies, such as Warner Bros and
Twentieth Century Fox setting up offices in India with obviously an idea for
future collaboration.
With an Oscar nomination for ‘Lagaan’,
in 2002 Bollywood films have been gathering momentum and have managed to cross
over to the extent that they are now not just viewed by Indian families alone,
but are also being shown in cinemas throughout the United Kingdom. Here, in
Groningen at the Noorderzon Festival, a performing arts festival (and shortly
to be seen at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival), the ‘Bollywood Mysterie’ was to
be seen. A musical and visual feast of Indian music and film as portrayed by
Gerry Arling with support from The Mondriaan Quartet, traditional Indian
musicians and the spiritual music of the Californian composer, Terry Riley.
It is also possible that if you like the
idea, you can sign up for Bollywood dancing lessons.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Connections Magazine - Summer #16 2007
Etiquette – Food for Thought
My interest on the subject of etiquette, or social
do’s and don’ts came about during a discussion at the end of a meal. Having
finished I duly placed my knife and fork down together on the plate,
positioning the handles pointing in the direction of the number six on a clock
face. Logical, I had done this as long as I could remember. My Dutch
counterpart, however, placed his with the handles both pointing towards the
four. The ensuing conversation as to who was right and who not became quite
heated. It was apparent that some basic elements of etiquette, that I had taken
for granted, were not the same the world over. Being British, I assumed that
the precedent of good manners must have been pioneered by us, that the
discrepancy was due to them, and the Dutch-British divide (ie. The Channel).
Further research showed that our American cousins also finished a meal by
placing their cutlery in the same way upon the plate.
The cutlery saga continues along with the variety of ways to hold, cut
and generally wield the implements during a meal. However, it seems
there is no ‘right’ way. One point we all agree on is that leaving soiled
cutlery sprawled across the newly starched linen table cloth is a no no.
What is etiquette? Reaching for the Concise Oxford dictionary, the
definition of etiquette is: the customary
code of polite behaviour in a society. Originating from French etiquette,
in the eighteenth century, it was seen as a ‘list of ceremonial observances of
a court’, also a ‘label, or ‘etiquette’.
Etiquette not only governs ones eating habits, but general behaviour and
presentation of oneself in polite society. The Victorians had an austere set of
rules as long as your arm that had to be observed, unless you wanted to become
a total social outcast. Take the raising of the small finger whilst drinking
for example, supposedly the height of refinement in its heyday, nowadays a cliché.
Amusingly, it can still be spotted in use now and then.
But it wasn’t always like this, etiquette seems to have arisen from a
combination of an abundance of food and boredom, bred in the royal courts. Not
so for our ancient ancestors, who were far too busy with survival on a daily
basis and the hunt, kill, cook and eat aspect of life. Imagine them worrying
about the placement of the cutlery, gravy running into their bear skins and who
it was who had emitted that rather obnoxious burping noise, two rocks further
down the cave. Although having said that, in some parts of the world burping is
often expected, to show the host that you are enjoying the meal.
So, next time you're making a gravy-and-potato volcano, just take a
minute and ask yourself if you have put your cutlery in the right place!
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Suzanne Postel – Murals, Frescos & Portraits - Artist interview
My meeting
with Suzanne Postel came out of my curiosity to find out who the artist was of
a rather imposing mural covering the entire side of a building contractor’s
office, along the Korreweg in Groningen
I met
Suzanne at her studio along the Eendrachtskade, which is spacious enough to
serve as both work and exhibition space. The studio is filled with marvelous
paintings at every turn and the area in the back, where we sat and drank
coffee, has a wall that is a collage of small paintings, images, and photos of
friends and family. I asked her how it came about that one of her murals was on
the side of a building contractor’s office. She told me that living nearby
meant that everyday she had looked out upon the building and a set of filled in
windows that had been painted a rather unimaginative white. This made her
fingers itch to do something about it, so much so that she approached them and
offered to paint the offending building with a mural. The result is a set of
very impressive classically robed women, each standing in a niche bearing a
tool or implement relevant to the building trade.
Although
always an artist at heart, after her student days and completion of her studies
at the art school Minerva in Groningen ,
she decided to leave Holland for France Groningen Groningen
Before
starting a piece of work, she does a lot of sketching, takes photographs (in
the case of a commissioned portrait) and adds to a scrapbook. A book full of
ideas this scrapbook is filled with images, material samples, and text, often
poignant lines from poems. A particular favourite is the poet Jean Pierre
Rawie. From this process arises a series of puzzle pieces that when put
together become the basis design for a mural or portrait. Then turning to
canvas or masomite (a specially treated art board) the initial idea is laid
down very quickly as an acrylic base. After that she will work further on the
idea in oils until its logical conclusion is reached and she is happy with it.
Other strong
influences in her work can be seen to come from paintings from the Renaissance
and Impressionist movements and from the world of dreams. According to the
Chinese one should live out ones dreams in order to move on. One particular
dream that she has turned into a painting is a self-portrait of herself, angry
and with a dripping paintbrush in her mouth. What it means she is not sure, but
it needed to be painted.
With regular
commissions and exhibitions, as well as doing all her own public relations, and
giving painting lessons to students with an age range of twenty to sixty.
Suzanne is not only able to follow her passion but has been able to make it
into a successful business.
The opening
of her current exhibition entitled ‘De Hoge Lucht’ (The Light from Above), took
place on 24 June 2007. The event was opened by Jacque D’Ancona (a renown Dutch
journalist, amongst other things).
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Dutch Water Towers
From 1856
onwards about 260 water towers were built throughout The Netherlands. Of the
175 still remaining few (with the exception of towers in Amsterdam and Utrecht
Each tower
is unique in its design; influenced by a different architectural period. This
diversity is not often seen anywhere else in the world. Contrasting with the
Dutch landscape they are the visiting card of each city.
The first
water tower in The Netherlands was commissioned by Willem III in 1680 in order
to create sufficient water pressure for the fountain in the grounds of the
palace Soestdijk (The former palace of Queen
Juliana
The height
of the water towers varies from 35-60 metres. The water reservoir held enough
water to keep a constant pressure on the waters mains and acted as a buffer
supply on demand.
As the
numbers of water towers in use declines, these characteristic landmarks become
protected monuments often with other functions. The oldest water tower in The
Netherlands can be found in Rotterdam
An equally impressive water
tower and monument can be found in
the Schildersbuurt (painters’ neighbourhood), Groningen in the Netherlands. Situated on the corner of Dr. C.
Hofstede de Grootkade and the Herman Colleniusstraat.
Sources:
Watertorens
Watertorens
View all issues of Connections HERE (editor, designer, illustrator: 2006-2013)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)