Unwrapping art (and other stuff) with Jonathan Cooper ★ Disvolvi arton (kaj aliaj aferoj) kun Jonathan Cooper
I discovered recently that “Esperanto-English-Esperanto Dictionary”, by John C Wells, is available on Google Play – and it works on my iPad offline! 🙂 A lot more convenient than carting around the physical book.
I have just been re-reading an excellent book by Justin Paton (curator of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of NSW), “How to look at a painting”. Near the end of the book, he gives some very useful advice in ten points, which I would like to share with you. 1. Respect the thing. 2. … Read more
Today, as I was remembering my dear friend, the artist Robin Norling, who died in January this year, I rediscovered the text of a wall panel that he and Jocelyn Maughan had prepared for their gallery a few years ago. I liked it so much I decided to post an edited version of it here. … Read more
I found out about this book several years ago (and even then it was not new), but I first looked at a copy only a month ago. This review was written for those who wonder whether it is worth recommending, and for those who already know it but maybe interested in the opinion of others. … Read more
Partially, and in some ways, the task of making Esperanto widely known is the same as a hundred years ago. But in other ways, it’s very different. Around the world, as never before, English seems to dominate, and there are many new ways to communicate. These provide both challenges and opportunities. Why should we make … Read more
I’ve been re-reading a book, “What Makes Us Tick?” by Hugh Mackay (Hachette, 2010). Here are a few favourite quotes from chapter 4, “The desire to connect”: “The Russian literary critic, Viktor Shklovsky, wrote that ‘art exists that one might recover the sensations of life; it exists to make one feel things, to make the … Read more
My choir, Jubila Singers, sang a beautiful lullaby in Esperanto during a performance on 13 September, although I’m the only member who speaks Esperanto. It’s title is “Sweet Wind”. Play (Switch to the Esperanto version to read the lyrics.) Music by Joseph Barnby. Thanks to Alan Bishop for providing the score. Thanks to Christine Lindsay … Read more
The program for the World Esperanto Congress in Lille has been published but, unfortunately, the “Congress Theme” sessions lack details. So, I want to announce that “Congress Theme 2” (Monday, 11:15–13:45) will include two lectures by Franz-Georg Rössler – about architecture (towers) and music – and a lecture by me. Mine will be “Art-appreciation for … Read more
[This is my translation of an article in Esperanto, 9.600 homoj eklernis Esperanton en du tagoj, from the website Libera Folio. (Unfortunately that article has since been removed.)] Two days after the launch of an Esperanto course at the popular language learning site Duolingo, the course has already gained almost ten thousand participants. The number … Read more
Enjoy art, but not sure how to approach it? Like an artwork but not sure why, or if there’s more to it? Come along to my short introductory course at the Art Gallery of NSW, Unwrapping art: the basics, over 4 Saturdays, 16 May – 6 June 2015. While art from many different times and … Read more