Gathering for Hopkins

I delivered my paper on “The Hopkins Influence on SouthEast Asian Poetry” on Monday, July 22 at the Newbridge College theater where the 26th International Festival of the Gerald Manley Hopkins Society was conducted for the most part.

Preceding me for the morning presentations was Professor William Adamson of the University of Ulm in Germany, whose paper was simply titled “To R.B.” — in reference to Robert Bridges, the friend and mentor to whom Hopkins had sent his early verse, and who, as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, became instrumental in publishing Hopkins posthumously.

Now, for the uninitiated but would-be Googler, Wikipedia will tell you that “Gerald Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame established him among the leading Victorian poets. His experimental explorations in prosody (especially sprung rhythm) and his use of imagery established him as a daring innovator in a period of largely traditional verse.”

He pioneered in escaping the constraints of what he called “running rhythm” — or what was the fashionably strict metric verse of the time, which relied on a regular sing-song quality as provided by, say, iambic pentameter (ta-RAN ta-RAN ta-RAN ta-RAN  ta-RAN). An example would be Shakespeare’s popular “Shall-I / com-PARE / thee-TO / a-SUM / mer’s DAY?”

Hopkins varied the prosody or rhythmic patterns of stress and intonation, as in his poem “Pied Beauty”:



“Glory be to God for dappled things—/ For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;/ For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;/ Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;/ Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;/ And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim…”


Here the first line is all dactyls (the opposite of iambs), followed by a couple of lines in iambic hexameter. And then the next lines turn varied in their use of metrical feet.

If you think all those are much like dental terms, hover closer like the wind to the idea of syncopation in terms of musical beat. Aw, heck, suffice it to say, as some of us keepers of the lyrical faith like to say, that poetry aspires to music.

In Hopkins’ case, he struck away from what may pejoratively be branded as nursery rhymes and rhythms, and forged something that would be comparable these days to Astor Piazzolla’s jaggedly cadenced versions of the tango.

Sprung rhythm! Ha-ha! Hopkins also spiced his poetry with neologisms and portmanteaus, meaning freshly invented words and compound words, respectively. The latter sometimes he didn’t hyphenate; other times he did, as with the phrase “dapple-dawn-drawn falcon…” You’ll note the alliteration, of which he was almost Agnew-fond. Other poetry/dental terms f/or tricks of the trade, such as assonance, onomotopoeia, internal besides end rhymes, also became common features of his poetry.

And oftentimes I like to think he simply played (around) — with words, stresses, diction, inflection, so that the whole caboodle could sometimes sound like a hip-hopping, sputtering locomotive, e.g. (from “Pied Beauty”) “As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;/ As tumbled over rim in roundy wells/ Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s/
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;…”

Ha-ha. Methinks now that if and when I return to Newbridge next year for a repeat participation in the wonderful Hopkins fest, my next paper would be on “Hopkins and Hip-hop Cum Rap.”

Anyway, on that Monday exactly a fortnight ago, for the allotted presentation time of half an hour, I cited several confreres in the furtive business of Philippine poetry in English, plus a poet-friend from Singapore — as examples of what could be or likely was the Hopkins influence.

I began my paper with a recollectoon of how last May in Dumaguete, the Siliman University National Writers Workshop had a midweek excursion to Bais City and its bay for lechon lunch on a sandbar, and primarily for watching dolphins at play in the sea. And how it had occasioned a Hopkins experience.

The older folks that were us panelists were on one pumpboat, while the young fellows were on another. Surely they had their fun while gliding across Tañon Strait. So did we, especially when the incorrigible trio of Jimmy Abad, Marj Evasvo and balik-fellow Ceres Abanil started reciting poems from memory. To the wind! And to our delight! Why, Dokirok Jim even sprung a surprise by doing Hopkins “God’s Grandeur!?” Or was it the Kingfisher poem?

Anyway, I recounted all that as a backgrounder on our familiarity with the Newbridge conference subject. Then I said the following:

“… I can vouch for an ear for music that has been the birthright of every single Filipino.

 “When I teach poetry to college students, I make sure that they learn the fundamentals, only after which they may break the early rules, as I say, inclusive of the use of iambs, trochees, anapest and dactyl. And to keep them entertained, I point out the Beatles’ lyrics for When I’m 64 as a sample of the anapestic line: “What / would you do / if I sang /out of tune?”

“… We still train our eyes and ears towards happenstance occurrences among the lines in poems — until we manage to rationalize that certain parts were augmented or enhanced in terms of musicality by the presence of generally iambic meter, or as happens most frequently, a line that may start out with two iambs, move on to an anapest, and even end in a dactyl  — ta-RAN / ta-RAN / ta-ta-RAN / RAN-tan … Or, say, anapests bookending a couple of iambs, even only accidentally, so that what you get, metrically, musically, would be somethng like

“And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.” Hopkins.

“Incidentally, as I started to write this paper, what should I find suddenly appearing on my News Feed in Facebook but a poem written by a Filipina who now heads the creative writing deartment in Old Dominion University in Florida? Her name is Luisa Igloria, she is very prolific, has won many literary prizes, has had maybe 8 or 9 poetry collections published, writes a poem a day and all that…

“… The poem of hers that she posted was titled ‘99 LINES’ and was dedicated to her mother, or so says the postscript In memoriam, at the end of her poem. But what do you know? She also uses an epigram. Appearing below the poem title is the line:

“’…áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.’ ~ ‘Pied Beauty,’ Gerard Manley Hopkins

“Let me read some of her lines, even if not exactly fashioned à la Hopkins, yet revealing certain touches…

“For doors unbarred and locks unlatched at first light/ For gentle rumbling within rooms as bodies pulled out of the station of sleep/ For the shuffling of slippered feet on creaking floors
… // For the woman who squeezed milk from her breasts/ into the child’s eye because she had conjunctivitis …// For the night you cried I think you cried/ what was it for you cried sitting by yourself/ on the porch in your kamiseta/ For the dream that visits as if to say this time/ is that time and some things do not change …”


I started with the lady, Luisa, then followed that up with brief excerpts from several Filipino poets in English (our limited space here behooves me to excerpt those excerpts:

Gémino H. Abad’s “How Our Towns Drown”: “How in the downpour our towns drown,/ downstream of doom to sea we are returned,/ houses and pigs in ceaseless procession/ as skies boom and fall thundering spears/ to beat down all curses and tears to tide —/ among seaweed and driftwood and water hyacinths, prayer-wreaths for the dead and the drowned,// downstream of doom to sea we are returned./ Tottering over manholes, shivering in the blast/ of a blind monsoon, its hollow howl/ the rolling dreariness of our emptied hills,/ our feet doubt their ground where streets/ vanish in the gorge and swill of slime —/to flood at last we are flotsam and scum,// … how in the downpour our towns drown.”


Cirilo F. Bautista’s excerpt from Telex moon  (Part Three)

“The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus”: “In the begininng God was pain in the void,/ a cosmic wound pulsing with brilliant blood/ like a poem, like the bullets floating in/ my flesh after the smoke, the existent// who is non-existent. To say that of man/ or of any categoric being,/ is only to philosophize, …// The sea crawls as it ought to crawl,…// To say/ of this City that it is the City/ of God favored by the cross-sticks and cross-lights/ Aramaic, is to dress violence// in pied puppetry...”

“’Pied puppetry’ indeed. I also read Cirilo’s poem ‘The Fountains at Villa D’Este, Tivoli’ — because I love to read it, starting with the brilliant first line: ‘As if he owned the ocean./…’”

Ricardo de Ungria’s “Platonic”: “… Most everything’s stove-dry to touch,/ odorless, warm, unkempt with husks// Unknown to all but their fever-shy/ surfaces, fuck-stuck or just clinging on// To keep up all appearances of norm and virtue./ From wingspan to widgets, cool wind// Is but a dream, like mangosteen and rain./ Sheen is its own sweat, seeds drone in air,// And shadows cast still other shadows./ Spit dries before it hits the ground.// Greater forces must be settling/ differences. So will I, drunk// Only with the furnace of day, go out,// pick on gods or punk and start a fight.”

Of course I’ll cite my best buddies in poetry. But they do offer exemplary examples. And I had fun reading this paper. But I’ve run out of space here, so I will reserve the excerpts from three other poets — Jose Garcia Villa, Jolico Cuadra, and Alvin Pang of Singapore — for next week.

Oh, but the Hopkins conference/fest was indeed much fun. We also read our own poems, and in a special pub night, were asked to read our favorite Hopkins poems, one each. Co-Pinoy delegate Ditas Antenor did “Spring and Fall: To A Young Child.” I did “Windhover.” This was at O’Rourke’s Bar. Our fellow pub crawlers said we were both quite courageous to read two of the most popular, therefore heavily read, Hopkins poems. But that not only did we acquit ourselves well (with help from Guinness stout and Aberlour single malt whisky), but that our versions were both superb. No kidding! You know the Irish. They’re always serious. Especially with poetry.

Slainte!

source: philstar.com

Good penmanship begins with the right tools

MANILA, Philippines - Selecting pencils that a beginner can easily grip and work with is more important than most parents think, according to Cristina Caraig, marketing manger of Amalgamated Specialties Corporation (Amspec), exclusive makers of T-Pencil and Crayola in the Philippines.

For many beginners, the T-Pencil with large-sized hexagonal barrels are ideal. Others find the Jumbo model with round barrel in black — the standard pencil for kinder students in the ’50s up to the ’60s — easier to work with. Still other pupils are more comfortable with the T-Pencil with triangular barrel. The same model works well for left-handed youngsters.

Each child has his own preference, point out studies by Amspec, which has been making pencils for 50 years. It used to manufacture other pencil brands until it decided to develop its own label.  “The key is to help a child experiment — beginning perhaps with the hexagonal models with larger barrels,” says Caraig.

She notes that the best time to prepare a child to write is as young as 18 months or old enough to grip a crayon. The best precursor to a good pencil is a good crayon — one that is easy for little hands to grasp and at the same time will not easily snap. More important, a crayon should be non-toxic to avoid harming youngsters who tend to put things in their mouth.

Crayola’s My First Crayons were designed especially for toddlers and meet all of the above requirements. They are also deliberately not labeled so that kids don’t have to struggle peeling them off after long hours of scribbling. Like all Crayola products, they meet the European Union’s consumer safety, health and environmental requirements. They are also registered with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration and have been deemed safe by the USA Arts and Crafts Materials Institute.

“Drawing and writing are complex tasks for growing children to master,” says Caraig. Both activities require grasping an implement, holding the paper so it stays in place, and applying just the required pressure. A crayon that glides easily on paper facilitates mastery of this skill. In lieu of a crayon, markers made intentionally for pudgy hands like Crayola’s stubby Pip-Squeaks help a child hone the skill. With the right coaching, scribbling metamorphoses to writing with a pencil.



Crayons and pencils that are easy for a toddler to use also build his confidence. “A two-or-three-year-old, says Caraig, “automatically attributes the efficiency of his writing implements to his own abilities — and vice versa. When a crayon does not register well on paper or when a pencil’s lead snaps easily, he automatically thinks it is because he has done a bad job.”

source: philstar.com

'Fearless young artists' win 2012 Metrobank art competition

With experimental takes, strong imagery, exquisite technique and unconventional painting styles, the winners of the 2012 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence Awards (MADE) earned their place among the roster of winners of the 28-year art and design competition.

According to a press release from Metrobank Foundation, the winning art pieces in this year's competition are a "display of courageous audacity in breaking conceptual and artistic norms."

This year’s Grand Prize winners are Christopher L. Gomez (Painting, Water Media), Michael G. Villagante (Painting, Oil-based Medium), Ronante S. Maratas (Oil-based Medium), Alexander A. Tee (Sculpture), and Arch. Jonathan Dangue (Architecture).

Gomez's watercolor painting entitled "Asong Tao: Taong Aso" depicts a human face using dry and wet wash techniques, revealing the artist’s freedom and experimental take on the nature of the medium, the press release said.

"With the face looking at the audience, in its massive scale and confrontational air, the artwork faces the issues and various emotions of human existence, struggle and human relationship expressed through the movement of the colored pigment onto the paper," the release said.

Villagante's winning painting “Sagad Hanggang Buto”, meanwhile, depicts two human figures, side by side with a mass of human hands and crab claws reaching from under a veil where the head is supposed to be positioned. This mass of hands and crab claws is attached to the disintegrating skull of the other human figure standing at the side.

"This strong imagery employed with exquisite technique speaks of the artist’s disgust to crab mentality fueled by greed and selfishness. Like Van Gogh, Villagante aims to depict “vigorous emotional reverberations” in order to awaken, shake and challenge some pre-existing social conditions," the release said.

Meanwhile, Maratas' “Undoing Ruin” won the judges' nod for his "obscure images of eyes, unrecognizable figures, figures of a different species, hands, and thick slashes of colors chaotically displayed and rendered in bright colors."

"Maratas’ work speaks the language of neo impressionism colorfully depicting vivid images between reality and imagination. The artist depicts bravery not just by choosing this unconventional painting style but of the deeply personal emotions and memories embedded in the hard strokes and vibrant colors in the artwork. Undoing Ruin is the artist’s allusion to those moments in life where one makes a choice between having the courage to dive into unknown waters or regret that you never had the courage to even try," the release said.

Tee's sculpture entitled "Batak" depicts a right arm with a clenched fist that extends until a part of the shoulder and lower half of the face.

"From a glance, one can see the muscular anatomy of the limb but upon closer look one can notice a line that cuts through the back of fists, near the knuckles, that connects until the side of the face. The artist refers to this as an invisible thread that enables the person to subdue emotions of outrage. Batak symbolizes Filipino’s resiliency, struggling with one’s self and stretching one’s limit. Tee confronts issues concerning mankind’s psyche through visual representations and forms," the release said.

In the architecture category, Dangue won with his "Tahanang Walang Hagdan" design.

“Ang tahanang walang hagdan ay idinesenyo upang hanggang sa pagtanda ng mga magulang na gagamit ng tahanan ay patuloy nilang tamasain ang pag baba at pag akyat upang makita ang mga magagandang tanawin sa lokasyon ng ating proyekto," said Dangue.

Dangue was also the Grand Prize winner in the 2011 MADE Sculpture competition for his bamboo toothpick assemblage “Walang Pinanghahawakang Anuman sa Palad.”

The winners will be awarded with a glass trophy designed by sculptor Noell El Farol and a cash prize of P300,000.00 each.

"This year’s set of winners is a manifestation of the fearless nature of our young artists to go beyond the usual norms, defy the formalist standards, post challenging questions and issues relevant in our present society. We have faith that our rich Filipino culture will continue to flourish through these young artists and designers,” said Metrobank Foundation president Aniceto M. Sobrepeña.

A special selling exhibit by the MADE Network of Winners will be showcased side by side with the top semifinalists’ during the awarding ceremony, the release said. "This special exhibit is a vision of the future of MADE’s new winners, to be future masters in their craft," they said.

A percentage of the proceeds from the MADE NOW exhibit will support the various outreach programs of the alumni organization.

Previous winners of the MADE competition include Bobby Feleo, Elmer Borlongan, Mark Justiniani, Duddley Diaz, Dan Raralio, Noell El Farol, Alfredo Esquillo, Jr., and Gabby Barredo, and established architects and designers such as Architects Noel Tan, Michael Peña, Jericho Adriano, John David O’Yek and Angelo Mañosa. Interior Designers Marybeth Tabaquin, Jasmine O’yek Sy, Wilhelmina Garcia, April Frigillana and Karina Diana Cortez.

The awarding ceremony will be held on September 13. For more information, visit the Metrobank Foundation website. –Carmela G. Lapeña/KG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

The HK International Art Fair

HONG KONG --- As an artist and photographer, it was a great opportunity for me to attend the recently concluded International Art Fair (Art HK12) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The atmosphere at the venue was convivial, as artists, collectors and dealers shared the awe inspiring experience of viewing some of the most beautiful art pieces in this part of the world.

Bringing together the highest caliber of artists, Art HK 12 was decidedly a success, under the stewardship of Fair Director Magnus Renfrew, who gathered the best galleries to participate in the annual event. In more ways than one, Art HK 12 has validated the relevance of the Asian art market, which has increasingly become a showcase of a masterful collection of art pieces.

Viewing paintings by great masters like Pablo Picasso, Antoni Tapies, Damien Hirst, Robert Motherwell, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell, David Hockney, Fernando Botero, Edgar Degas, Gerhard Richter and other arts stalwarts felt like meeting the creators themselves. One can feel their fast and loose brushstrokes, and shadow their minds in the paintings that they created. One is easily engulfed in the beauty of these creations. The art making process of the artists can make one contemplate and be amazed -- from expansive canvases to small works of art that command scrutiny and attention – a confirmation that art has no boundaries. From emerging artists to the great masters, from traditional sculpture and painting to the more avant garde installation works and videos, Art HK 12 was an entirely fulfilling and memorable experience.

Celebrating its fifth year, Art HK 12 proves to have achieved global prominence in the international art scene. The exhibition was participated in by 266 galleries from 38 countries. It has attracted a mixed audience from the East and West, and it has catapulted itself to be a major event in the Asia Pacific region. It boasts of being a firm key player on the global art market. Hong Kong is now a major art fair destination in the region. It has cemented a reputation for itself, as a showcase for exceptionally quality art pieces from well known galleries from Asia and around the world.

Art HK12 has provided an unparalleled opportunity for art enthusiasts to experience something new, fresh and exciting. It has become the leading podium for buying and selling western and Asian art, as well as an important networking opportunity for the international arts community.

On the same occasion, the heavyweight and premier auction house, Sotheby’s, launched its new Hong Kong Gallery space. Occupying the whole 5th floor of One Pacific Place, the facility will allow Sotheby’s to significantly expand its business in Asia. The expansion is undoubtedly a response to the booming growth of the Asian Art market over the past few years and is a testament to Sotheby’s commitment to Asia. The launch of the new gallery demonstrates that Sothebys is the foremost international auction house in Asia, thus, giving its clients a higher level of service and sophisticated experience equal to other major art centres in London and New York.

To celebrate the opening of their new gallery, Sotheby’s showcases two important selling exhibitions to Asia, namely the YAYOI KUSAMA- HongKong Blooms in My Mind and Modern Masters: Corot to Monet-French Landscape Paintings in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.

Kusama’s works in the exhibition cover a wide range of media including works on canvas, sculptures of different sizes and unique works on paper, and many periods of the artist’s growth from the 1950s to present. The artist’s dynamic body of work is a celebration of his importance in Hong Kong and the global contemporary art market. Kusama is a Japanese female artist who had a successful career in New York and captivated both Asian and western audiences for over six decades.

The Corot and Monet exhibition is a collection of important landscape paintings-a popular subject matter in the mid-19th century by a major artist in this genre. Sotheby’s has identified the increased demand for Impressionist paintings which hold a particular appeal with the Asian audience.

Christie’s, in conjunction with Art HK event also unveiled their wide collections of the best contemporary art from China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The variety of works show exquisite and distinct work of art from Asian modernist masters through to avant-garde and cutting–edge contemporary talents, and uncover the unique cultural values and aesthetics from across the region.

Celebrated names spotted during the press tour within the Christies headquarters in Hongkong were Chinese Zhang Xiaogang’s painting “Bloodline: Big Family”, Philippines’ Ronald Ventura’s “The Duo”, Wang Guangyi’s “Format of Christ” and French-Chinese Zao Wou-Ki’s “5.7.62”.

Exceptional works by contemporary Chinese masters such as Liu Ye, Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi, Tang Zhigang, Ai Xuan and Yang Shaobin are also being offered by a known European collector. Works from the collection encapsulate the creative visions and distinct styles of this important generation of artists, as well as highlights the conceptual origins of the historic movement. Through their unique modes of representation and attention to self-portraiture and portraiture, they embody the changes and experiences within themselves and society, representing the underlying mentality of China’s generation.

As a Filipino artist and photographer, I share the country’s pride in the participation of three Manila-based art galleries namely-Silverlens Gallery, Art Informal and The Drawing Room in the prestigious art fair. The creative outputs of our present artists have equaled their counterparts in Asia and patronized by the western collectors. Ronald Ventura, who has elevated himself to be a great master of his art, produced the painting entitled, “Grayground” which sold for HK$ 8,420,000 or R46,995,832.65 at the Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings auction which was held in Hong Kong on April 04, 2011. The artist’s audience has expanded to include the delicate tastes of collectors from the West. The 38-year-old Ronald Ventura is a University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts graduate and is currently the Philippines’ top-selling artist. He has been selling for five to six dollar digits in auction houses abroad.

Art HK12 has not only provided an opportunity for students, museum-goers, gallery owners, curators and collectors to work together, but has also opened doors for networking across the world.

source: mb.com.ph

Young Filipino artist's work in Christie's HK auction

Filipino artist Aleah Angeles is just in her early 20s, but the realist painter is about to get some international attention, as her piece "Lazy Daisy" is included in an upcoming Christie's auction of Asian Contemporary Art in Hong Kong.

Painted in 2010, "Lazy Daisy" is estimated to be worth $4,138 to $7,759, and is featured along with Chinese artists as well as other cross-region contemporary talents.

Her works are described as "lyrical compositions with a warm romantic flair."

"Lazy Daisy portrays Angeles’s alter-ego, falling asleep under a tree with her half read book draped over her face. Trapped in the pages of her fairytale or fantasy novella the heroine in her slumber is sweetly unaware of the looming dream-forest behind her, as though conjured directly from her unfinished tale. With her ruffled skirt, knee-socks slipping down her legs, outflung hand, Lazy Daisy is an archetypal rendition of corrupted girlish innocence," reads the lot notes on Christie's website.

"Inspired by the figures of young girls, which the artist herself relates to and draws from life based on her own photographs; her paintings often show them in recumbent positions, half caught in dreams and fantasy," the notes read.

Angeles is a resident artist of Mendez Big and Small Art Co.

Apart from Angeles, Filipino artists BenCab and Patricia Eustaquio also have works in the auction, which will be held on May 27, 3pm at Christie's Saleroom Convention Hall, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center, Hong Kong.

BenCab's 1984 ink and acrylic on paper "Yellow Confetti" goes for an estimated price of $32,350 to $51,776.

Meanwhile, Eustaquio's oil on canvas diptych Reprise III & IV goes for an estimated price of $15,400 to $23,100.

In last year's Christie's Hong Kong Spring sale, Filipino artists new to the market performed extremely well, according to Asian Arts blog LuxArtAsia. "Contemporary art from the Philippines in particular showed an impressive growth, with 95% of the lots by Filipino artists being sold," wrote Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop.

Artintern also observed that the sale set records for lesser-known Filipino artists like Jose John Santos III and Eustaquio, then a first-time auction participant.

Spot.ph noted that a number of Filipino artists sold their pieces for more than their estimated price in the 2011 auction. Eustaquio's dreamlike "A Bird in Cloud Country" sold for HK$300,000, almost thrice its estimated price. Ronald Ventura, Geraldine Javier, Tatong Rechata Torres, Kiko Escora and Lynard Paras were also successful.

BenCab's "Edo Gesture" and "Anxiety" were sold for a total of HK$ 1,420,000.

Also auctioned off were Vicente Manansala's 1973 painting "Luksong-Tinik" (HK$1,640,000), Fernando Zobel's "La Piedra IV" and works by Ramon Orlina, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Onib Olmedo, and Fernando Amorsolo. — KG/ELR, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Anthropologists discover earliest form of wall art in France

WASHINGTON DC -- Anthropologists working in southern France have determined that a 1.5-metric-ton block of engraved limestone constitutes the earliest evidence of wall art.

The finding was published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the official journal of the US National Academy of Sciences. It shows the piece to be approximately 37,000 years old, and offers rich evidence of the role art played in the daily lives of Early Aurignacian humans.

The research team, comprised of more than a dozen scientists from American and European universities and research institutions, has been excavating at the site of the discovery -- Abri Castanet -- for the past 15 years. Abri Castanet and its sister site Abri Blanchard have long been recognized as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism.

Hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered there, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs.

"Early Aurignacian humans functioned, more or less, like humans today," explained New York University anthropology professor Randall White, one of the study's coauthors. "They had relatively complex social identities communicated through personal ornamentation, and they practiced sculpture and graphic arts."

The Aurignacian culture existed until approximately 28,000 years ago.

In 2007, the team discovered an engraved block of limestone in what had been a rock shelter occupied by a group of Aurignacian reindeer hunters. Subsequent geological analysis revealed the ceiling had been about two meters above the floor on which the Aurignacians lived -- within arms' reach.

Using carbon dating, the researchers determined that both the engraved ceiling, which includes depictions of animals and geometric forms, and the other artifacts found on the living surface below were approximately 37,000 years old.

"This art appears to be slightly older than the famous paintings from the Grotte Chauvet in southeastern France," explained White, referring to the cave paintings discovered in 1994. "But unlike the Chauvet paintings and engravings, which are deep underground and away from living areas, the engravings and paintings at Castanet are directly associated with everyday life, given their proximity to tools, fireplaces, bone and antler tool production, and ornament workshops."

He added that this discovery, combined with others of approximately the same time period in southern Germany, northern Italy and southeastern France, raises new questions about the evolutionary and adaptive significance of art and other forms of graphic representation in the lives of modern human populations.

source: interaksyon.com

A Photo On Canvas Is A Chance To Indulge Your Inner Artist

Since the development of digital photography, this situation has changed dramatically. Now, the technology available means that turning your own images into stunning canvas prints which would once have been available only from art galleries and specialist dealers is easy. What's more, the software developed to allow you to put your photos on canvas has been designed with ease of use at its' center. No experience, talent or know how is necessary, as the web site will guide you, step by step, from the moment you upload your images, to the moment you approve the finished product. There are many different reasons why you might choose to invest in a full sized canvas of your own creation, but amongst them are the following:

Portrait: Many people choose to take their family into a photographer's studio and have an 'official' portrait taken. Whilst there's no doubting the professionalism and technical expertise of the people who take these pictures, the results can often be a little stiff and formal, since people find it hard to relax in a studio setting. Much better results can be obtained by selecting a spontaneous, candid, relaxed picture taken at home and having that turned into a photo on canvas with all of the quality and at least twice the fun.

Artwork: One of the main reasons that people buy art to hang on their walls is to make their home look individual and different. Mass produced art, however, can never truly achieve this effect, because each and every print has been reproduced many times over. Putting your own photos on canvas puts you in charge of the process, allowing you to create artwork which is truly unique and affecting on a personal level.

Gift: If there's a special occasion coming up - a wedding, a special birthday or an anniversary - than photo canvas prints make stunning gifts. Choose an image which you know to be especially meaningful to the person on the receiving end and have it turned into a stunning artwork and you'll be giving a gift which will bring pleasure for years to come.

Showcase: If you're a keen amateur photographer, or even a professional working to a limited budget, then prints of this kind offer an excellent means of showcasing your work without breaking the bank. Using materials and technology which match the best any seasoned pro would use, you'll get results which highlight the skills you possess in the best manner possible.

No matter what your motivation, if you choose to create a canvas, you'll be receiving an item which is built to the highest possible specifications, and designed to last forever. Strong wooden frames and canvas which is wipe clean and impervious to sunlight means it's a product which is built to please, and to last.

As a gift or a work of art for your own home, canvas photo prints are stunning objects which demonstrate, in their own way, just how impressive and versatile the uses of digital imagery have now become.

Preserve your golden memories of life by engraving those precious Photo On Canvas and Photo Books through Albelli

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jenifer_Stevenson