Fernisering, Foredrag og Underholdning nu på torsdag 28. aug i Filmby Aarhus!

Category Art, Exhibitions, The Triangle Theory

FERNISERING: SKÆVE EKSISTENSER PÅ OLIE

– 19 PORTRÆTTER FRA CHRISTIANIA. FERNISERING OG FOREDRAG I FILMBY AARHUS TORSDAG 28. AUGUST.
compiled photo

Leah Robb, Filmby Aarhus og Mediedokken inviterer til fernisering og foredrag i Filmbyen 23. Torsdag 28. august Foredrag kl. 15.30 Fernisering kl. 16.00 Underholdning: Ocean van Vleck, der selv er gammel Christianit

Leah Merete Robb er halvt skotte, 37 år, uddannet kunstmaler på Duncan of Jordanstone. For år tilbage satte hun sig for at portrættere menneskene, der lever på Christiania. Mødet med Christiania ændrede Leah Robb for altid. For at komme tæt på, var hun nødt til at leve sig ind i staden og være sammen med de portrætterede i deres dagligdag.

Projekt Christianiaportrætter er resultatet. En samling meget overbevisende oliemalerier af mennesker, der ellers aldrig ville stå model på den måde. Der er Syre Kim, der døde fem måneder senere, der er gymnasieeleven Theo, den grønlandske fisker Rink, og Christianias egen skæve præst, tømreren John Andersen. Men der er også folk som Bifrost-sangeren Ida Klemann, Grev Lyhne, der spillede trommer i punkbandet Parkering Forbudt og stadens ældste mand, den norske maler Laurie Grundt.

I alt 19 meget forskellige portrætter af christianitter, der er fremstillet på hver sin måde, i den kunstneriske stil, som nu passer til dem.

For Leah Robb har der været både en malerisk og filosofisk udvikling. Samtidigt skrev hun bogen ”The Triangle Theory – Objective Criticism of Art”, der tilbyder en metode til at vurdere et værks kunstneriske værdi – uanset om det er et kunstværk, et håndværk eller et nedlagt elværk som Filmbyen.

Foredraget handler om Leahs kritik af kunstkritikken. Andre har beskrevet Leahs bog som “en bombe, der springer kunstkritikernes urørlige borg i luften,” og “modigt har som mål, at finde fast grund i den subjektive sump af meningsløse kunstkritik … dog uden at udelukke det skøre eller chokerende”. Foredraget, som også er blevet holdt på kunstkonferencer i USA, giver stof til diskussion og eftertanke for enhver kreativ kollega, uanset om man er grafiker, journalist, fotograf, filminstruktør – eller overhoved enig.

Multi-kunstneren Ocean van Vleck, der laver musik, teater, humor og film, kommer forbi og giver et nummer – sammen med Leah på perkussion. Ocean, der i dag bor og arbejder i Aarhus, er selv gammel Christianit.

Kontakt Leah Robb på 5023 3126 eller klik på titlen og sende mig en besked.

Christiania Portraits to hang in Århus Filmbyen (Film Town)

Category Uncategorized

This painting and 17 other portraits of people from Christiania will soon hang on the walls of Århus’ film town. Watch this wall space!

 

 

The Art of Collaboration

The Art of Collaboration

 

 

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Category Uncategorized

The Demonstration

Category Political Art

Yesterday I fell upon another demonstration for ‘Peace in Gaza’. First I just listened. Then a thank you rang out to all the artists who had agreed to take part and I thought, “what am I doing? Get to work!” Below you can see my artist’s impression.

 

There was more than one politician or speaker who dared bring a more balanced view on the situation, which I was glad of. Nothing causes more hate than a one-sided campaign. But yes, Israel needs their Western support cut. To think the descendants of the holocaust survivors are just inflicting a similar oppression to what their forefathers suffered, onto another people group. It’s crazy.

 

Anyway, as mentioned before, there were artists to thank – all musicians I believe. I happen to get the opportunity to personally thank the lead singer of the band that was, for me, the highlight of the musical repertoire, Savage Rose! I couldn’t believe that singer’s voice! The fact that she is in her mid sixties has only added to the uniqueness of it! I am a new fan! Check them out!

 

Demonstration for Peace

Demonstration for Peace

 

Storkespringvandet

Category Art

I went out in the baking heat to paint the ‘stork fountain’ known as Storkespringvandet, in the center of Copenhagen. I started by smearing leftover paint from my previous painting onto the 38x46cm canvas and then pulling the paint off with a cloth where the highlights were to be. Paint on, paint off, paint on, paint off. That sort of thing. Anyway, this is the dramatic end result.   Jeg tog ud i den bagende varme for at male Storkepringvandets storker. Jeg synes de er flotte. Baggrunden er godt nok opdigtet eftersom jeg startede bare med at rense min palette for maling ved at tværre det ud over lærredet. Derefter tog jeg en klud og tørrede malingen af igen, der hvor der skulle være lyst. Maling på, maling af osv. Resultatet blev ret dramatisk!

 

Ps. Anyone notice a little extra creature in the painting?

 

Storkespringvandet

Storkespringvandet

 

 

Sketching Wrecks

Category Art

I went out to paint a couple of days ago and made a conscious decision to paint something because i found it interesting, not because there would be a market for it. I came across a capsized boat next to Refshalevej near Christiania. I thought, there’s a good motif with difficult angles, curves and foreshortening. I’ll paint that. People started to come and have a look, including the man in a neighbouring float. He told me that the rich people on the other side of the moat are up in arms about this ‘ugly’ sight and want it removed and yet, here I am painting it, deeming it somehow aesthetic. To think I unknowingly documented a case that is current for Christiania and its neighbourhood. And to think I have a buyer!

 

Bingo!

 

 

The Capsized Boat

The Capsized Boat

 

 

Making Faces

Category Art

I was visiting my friend and colleague, Otto Frello. I had a lump of clay with me and made a couple of clay faces while chatting to him. They were a bit of fun and I feel like making a few more expressive nonsense faces 🙂 Watch this space:

 

 

Sculpted Face 2

Sculpted Face 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seaside sketching

Category Art

Today was a strange day. I was at the beach in Amager – Copenhagen and had my sketchbook with me. First I went for at swim and it was lovely! Then I had the bright idea of trying to take a little canvas into the waves with me and draw them from within the water! I started the daunting task of painting the ever moving unsettled sea that would grip at my arm and tug at it. Is was an enjoyable challenge though, and the canvas was splashed many times underway. 

Wave Height

Wave Height

 

As I went to shore too cold to do anymore, an unclear message was made through a megaphone apparently urging everyone out of the water because a bather seemed to have gone missing. Fire engines, divers, police and ambulance folk all got to work. Eventually the missing person was presumed to have made it out of the water unnoticed and things stepped down. I had been sketching all the happenings hoping that this was a false alarm and impressed at how serious the Danish emergency service took this possible case of drowning. At the time I was talking to someone about how slightly over the top it all looked if she had just sneaked out of the water without the lifeguards seeing her surface. Last I heard was, that it was probably a false alarm. I hope so, but this sketch really shows to what extent the Danish rescue service went, to save someone. Quite special to watch actually.

 

Rescue Mission, Amager

Rescue Mission, Amager

 

Sommer Solhverv som maleri

Category Art

Jeg blev bedt om at male et billede, der handlede om sommersolhverv. Jeg huskede, at der blev takket for ild, jord, luft og vand, så det var de elementer jeg representerede i mit maleri. Jeg brugte faktisk rigtig jord i malingen, og kul fra bålet. Jeg brændte selvfølgelig fingrene på det! Her er maleriet, som er noget mere abstrakt end det jeg plejer at lave:

 

Sommer solhverv 2014

Sommer solhverv 2014

DSC_4460 DSC_4459 copy

My Friend Joan Mitchell

Category Personal News

Kathleen Joan Mitchell detail

Some of you will know that I struck up a strong friendship with one of the very elderly ladies at the care home I’ve been working at for nearly 2 years. I always saw this job as a form of social art. I wanted to value a group of people who have in effect been shut away. In a way it’s nobody’s fault, but the truth is still, there are magical stories behind the doors of these homes that would blow your mind. Joan Mitchell did not just have one of these stories, she was also still a vibrant, humour-filled character when I met her at a sprightly 102 years of age. That fact alone – that she was soooo old and still zimmering along without much need of assistance alone made her my hero.

 

Then came her humour. She made me laugh so much. I plugged into her to give me energy for the day. She was interested in other people’s stories and open about her own – her old flames, marrying her older cousin, her enjoyment of the high-life in Sumatra, Indonesia – until the missionaries told her that it was not right to have servants, until the 2nd world war broke out and she was incarcerated under the cruel Japanese. To think I was sitting in front of a woman with so much history and experience. A woman who could wake up after a nightmare of being stripped and beaten that just had to be connected to the prison camp she was in 70+ years ago. To know that this woman devised a way of sending a message to her husband by hiding the message on the elastic of a pair of trouser she was given permission to send him. The nearly severed elastic would go and he would need to repair it and find the message – which he did. This is who I was sitting in front of. A highly intelligent  woman who would have liked to have become a doctor. In stead she had to settle for becoming a pharmacist under her father’s training. This knowledge would come in handy during her 3 years in prison as she was able to make medicine from the herbs growing wild. There were so many things that made Joan special, but what I really fell for was her humour. After a bout of illness that knocked her out for a few days I walked her down the long corridor from the dining room to her living quarters. On the way she remarks “This corridor is just long enough, that by the time I get back to my room…” (I was expecting something about her being worn out, but I had to laugh when I heard the end of the sentence),” …by the time I get back to my room, my breeks are, just about to, you know, slip off! And at my tender age of 103…!” To hear words like this from a prim London lady like this is what made Joan exciting to be around. She was never too civilised! In fact, I did lead her down a corridor another day, when I heard her say from behind me in a posh London accent “Disaster!”.  I swivelled round to find her green knitted skirt lying around her ankles! Thankfully the petticoat kept things decent.

 

Joan Mitchell. Rest in peace my dear friend. I hope I’ll meet you again some day.

 

PS. I and a local school boy are planning to make a documentary film about Joan in the near future.

Leah Robb