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Micheline's Blog

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Micheline's Blog

Monthly Archives: October 2016

A Democracy: the Right to Vote

30 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Election, United States

≈ Comments Off on A Democracy: the Right to Vote

Tags

democracy, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Narcissitic Personality Disorder, Narcissus, the Donald phenomenon

united-states-new-york-street_1219911388

A Street in New York, on a November Day

Our colleague twoifbycharmwordpress.wordpress.com has written several articles on Mr Trump.

I can sense a personality disorder, but it is difficult for me to give it a name. I am not a psychologist, nor am I a psychiatrist. However, our colleague B. Ashley has studied the “Donald phenomenon” methodically and has sought the help of experts. Therefore, she may be able to provide information that go beyond my “trumpism,” which consists in concealing one’s platform or in not having a platform to begin with. It would seem that what ails Mr Trump is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Wikipedia). There can be no doubt that his behaviour is “characterized by a exaggerated feelings of self-importance,” or grandiosity.

Voter take into account the nominee’s platform. But they also choose the nominee considering the manner in which he or she behaves. Mr Trump has behaved as though he owned the presidency. Mr Trump has avoided presenting a serious and coherent platform, a process I have called “trumpism.” He has also exhibited a sense of entitlement, which is consistent with narcissistic behaviour.

Cancelling the Election? Never!

Mr Trump had stated he would not accept the result of the election unless he were elected. But he has moved a step closer to imposing himself on the American electorate. The moment he heard that more emails had been found that could harm Mrs Clinton, he boldly proposed that the election be cancelled. He was the President of the United States by default, so to speak.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37805525

On the one hand, Mr Trump displayed feelings of grandiosity, and, on the other hand, he forgot a simple and well-known rule, which is that one is innocent until proven guilty. However, particularly egregious is the implication that one can rise to the presidency of the United States dispensing with an election. That would be an assault on democracy. It is the behaviour or dictators.

It could be that Mr Trump is afraid the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will not find information that would disqualify Mrs Clinton and that he felt he should quickly seize this heaven-sent opportunity. Not only would Mr Trump have risen to the presidency having avoided a serious discussion of the many issues at hand, thereby flaunting “exaggerated feelings of self-importance,” but, more importantly, Mr Trump would have circumvented the election to which campaigns lead, which I do not think is possible.

Mrs Clinton has asked, unambiguously, that all information FBI investigators extract from the latest emails they are in possession of be made available to the electorate as soon as possible, if appropriate. This request is reasonable. But it is not reasonable to expect being proclaimed President of the United States by-passing an election. If the FBI finds serious and arguably true improprieties in the emails they are examining, I should think the need for an election would not be eliminated. Americans would still have to choose between nominees.

I do not know what protocol would be used in this worst-case scenario, but I doubt that an election can be avoided. Elections are central to the “rule of the commoners,” the concept that underlies the notion of democracy. (See Democracy, Wikipedia.) A democracy is not a perfect form of government, but it is the best we have. Americans must vote.

Mr Trump has tarnished his image. A nominee to the presidency should know:

  • that sexual assaults are unacceptable;
  • that a defeated nominee must accept defeat because the United States is a democracy;
  • that one does not attack members of one’s party. Colin Powell is a retired General and a former Secretary of State. His support was essential;
  • and that one has to be voted into office. Nominees are not divinely ordained, which would explain why Mr Trump has circumvented a serious discussion of the issues. He is “chosen.”

Let us also remember:

  • that his attitude towards Mexicans and Muslims is unacceptable;
  • and that il n’est pas sortable. He does not have the polite manners that allow one to take him out. He will shame the United States.

Conclusion

To conclude, I will write that if Mr Trump is elected to the presidency of the United States, Americans will have to face with the consequences of their decision, and so will the world. The United States is a democracy.

Narcissus-Caravaggio (1594-96) edited.jpg

Narcissus-Caravaggio (1594-96) edited

Caravaggio (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Narcissus

WordPress has specialists. What a group!  B. Ashley researched “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” I thank her.

In the area of Greek mythology, Aquileana is our expert. Narcissus is an important figure in Greek mythology, so Aquileana has told his story. Please note that Aquileana has not expressed her view on Mr Trump. Her area is Greek mythology and related Roman mythology. The following link leads to her post on Narcissus.

https://aquileana.wordpress.com/tag/narcissus/

But I will attempt to summarize Narcissus'(story, using Wikipedia and Britannica.

Narcissus was the son of the river-god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was a beautiful youth who “disdained those who loved him”  (the nymph Echo loved him and so did Ameinias). Nemesis, “the goddess who enacted retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods),” was able to attract Narcissus, the son of the river-god, to a river and once he saw the reflection of his face, he could not stop looking at it. “Narcissus lost his will to live. He stared at this reflection until he died.”

However, “[t]he Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias, in Description of Greece, Book IX, said it was more likely that Narcissus, to console himself for the death of his beloved twin sister, his exact counterpart, sat gazing into the spring to recall her features.”[1]

The story of Narcissus is told in Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, Book III. The flower named after Narcissus, the narcissus, is best known as the daffodil or jonquil. The jonquil grew where Narcissus died.[2]

The term narcissism has several meanings, which include grandiosity and egocentrism. Narcissists focus on themselves and themselves alone. For instance, Napoleon had himself crowned Emperor. But this practice has no room in a democracy.

Kind regards to everyone. ♥

____________________

[1] “Narcissus”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 30 oct.. 2016
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/Narcissus-Greek-mythology>.

[2] loc. cit.

4ae76faf0a4b8a65b22fb6dc41fed835

© Micheline Walker
30 October 2016
Revised 30 October 2016
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DECODING THE DONALD PHENOMENON – Call it what you want. There is an explanation for his behavior.

28 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Election, The United States

≈ Comments Off on DECODING THE DONALD PHENOMENON – Call it what you want. There is an explanation for his behavior.

This post is truly informative. I am re-blogging it and thanking its author.

https://twoifbycharmwordpress.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/decoding-the-donald-phenomenon-call-it-what-you-want-you-have-been-given-the-behavioral-blueprint/

twoifbycharm

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, we have seen numerous examples of Donald Trump’s behavior fitting neatly into the blueprint presented in this blog.  The “black heart” and “lack of empathy” Mr. Khan so eloquently spoke of falls within the framework of a dangerous personality disorder according to experts.  Some call it Narcissistic Personality Disorder, while other experts describe this behavior as sociopathic, or psychopathic.

The purpose of the original posting below (link to WordPress article dated 07.14.16 is posted here) is to call attention to an apparent mental health issue as it appears to relate to Trump.  It is to provoke thought and incite a broad discussion around Donald Trump’s apparent dangerous personality disorder, and provides a reliable and consistent profile of Trump’s behavior.

Based on Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Martha Stout’s highly-touted book, The Sociopath Next Door, Trump seems to fit the bill of a sociopath, and that…

View original post 376 more words

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November 8, mere days from now

27 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Election, The United States

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Andrew Wyeth, Donald Trump, Gerrald F. Seib, Hillary Clinton, The Social Contract, trumpism

andrew-wyeth-independence-day

Independence Day by Andrew Wyeth (Google images)

A Strange Campaign

The current presidential campaign in the United States differs from previous campaigns, such as the 2008 campaign. In 2008, issues were discussed, which has not been the case in this campaign. Mrs Clinton is a veteran politician, so voters know, to a large extent, what they will be dealing with, if she is elected to the presidency. But Mr Trump is not a politician and is not familiar with the numerous issues. He therefore avoids discussing issues.

I have written about his “trumpisms,” which is a dismissive discourse. My best example of a “trumpism” is the failed discussion on gun control. It ended when Mr Trump said “take her [Mrs Clinton’s] guards away from her and watch,” or something to that effect. Mr Trump managed not to address gun control by straying not only from the general to the particular, which could be relevant, but from the general to the personal, quite a gap. The personal is not irrelevant in choosing a president, but in a debate, it is seldom mentioned.

Well, a day or so ago, Mr Trump was threatening to sue the women who confirmed he was a sexual predator. That is another “trumpism.” While Mr Trump threatens these women loudly, real issues are not being discussed, which tells the story of Mr Trump’s campaign. However, should Mr Trump be elected to the presidency and sue the women he assaulted, their testimonial could damn him. He could be impeached. It would be in Mr Trump’s best interest not to carry this discussion an inch further.

He won’t. But issues are not on his mind. Having threatened to sue the women who confirmed he was a sexual predator, Mr Trump is now attacking his Party, the GOP or Republican Party.

As a result, Mrs Clinton is inviting endorsements from Republicans. The colleagues who nominated Mr Trump are distancing themselves. For example, Colin Powell has said he would vote for Mrs Clinton.

Mrs Clinton is familiar with every dossier the President of the United States will have to deal with, and she can tell right from wrong. Mr Powell “spoke about his [Mr Trump’s] inexperience, he spoke about the messages that he’s sending out every day to his supporters, which really paints our country in a negative light across the globe with all our allies.” (The New York Times)

As I was meditating on this drôle de campagne, this strange campaign, a campaign during which few issues have been addressed, I was reminded of French encyclopédiste Denis Diderot‘s (1713 – 1784) Paradoxe sur le comédien, The Paradox of the Actor. In Le Paradoxe sur le comédien, written between 1773 and 1777, Denis Diderot suggests that a good actor does not feel the emotions he displays. He is in full possession of himself, which allows him to play the same role convincingly day after day. (See The Paradox of the Actor, Wikipedia.)

Nominees do play a role. In fact, we all play roles and even “dress” the part: the office, lunch with a dear friend, an evening at the opera, relaxing, etc. As for nominees to the role of President of the United States, their role is to tell the people—it’s all about the people—what they intend to do for them. They are in fact negotiating a social contract: taxation, employment, education, immigration, the Middle East, gun control, the environment, health care and other social programmes, etc. Good leaders build the future and, as the saying goes, the road to the future is always under construction.

If Mr Trump intends to slash into the Affordable Health Care Act, now is the time, or the campaign was the time, to discuss it. Health care must be affordable.

The polls surprised me. I didn’t think Mr Trump would be able to gather as much support among the United States’ electorate as he did. He was a newcomer to Washington and therefore a mostly unknown quantity whose education had not prepared for the position of President of the United States. But he had supporters. Mr Seid, quoted below (italics), may have the answer “populist… .” Could the medium be the message? (See The Medium is the message, Wikipedia.) Truth be told, if the polls now place Mrs Clinton ahead of Mr Trump, it has not been, until now, because of a sneaky conspiracy or ruinous revelations from the best of hackers. So far, Mr Trump is the one who has built himself and undone himself, and he may not be able to walk back a bad performance.

Trumpism

I should note that the Wall Street Journal‘s Gerald F. Seib also used the term “Trumpism” in an article published on 8 August 2016 entitled “Separating Donald Trump From Trumpism.” No, I did not borrow the term “trumpism” from Mr Seib. I borrowed it from my mother tongue, French. “Se tromper” means to make a mistake, to be mistaken, and “tromper” means to deceive, to be unfaithful to, to fool. Moreover, an elephant has a trompe.

I have given “trumpism” a meaning that is not consistent, or not entirely consistent, with Mr Seib’s who writes that there is Mr Trump and

[t]hen there is Trumpism—the mixture of attitudes and positions that catapulted its namesake to the Republican nomination in the first place. Trumpism is a populist mix of anger at the status quo, skepticism about the virtues of free trade and immigration, doubts about the need for U.S. intervention abroad, fondness for law and order and a dose of nationalism. “Americanization, not globalization, will be our new credo,” Mr. Trump put it in a speech in Detroit on Monday.
“Separating Donald Trump From Trumpism.”

We are days away from the American election. Everything could change. But I doubt it will.

Love to everyone. ♥

024

Big Room by Andrew Wyeth, 1988 (Google images)

Andrew Wyeth “I paint my life”
music:  “Cavatina” by Pat Halling

andrew-wyeth-german-shepherd

German Shepherd by Andrew Wyeth (Google images)

© Micheline Walker
27 October 2016
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Mr Trump & “trumpisms”

22 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Election, United States

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

assault of democracy, Donald Trump, le Carnaval des animaux, Saint-Saëns, se tromper, the elephant, tromper, trumpism

138086512

Donald Trump, Getty Images

http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37706499
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-ae25cd31-fdd8-45f8-a0f6-ae7ac1efb08a

Donald Trump will not commit to accept election result

The photograph above was not taken during the third and final debate of the race to the presidency of the United States. During the third debate Mr Trump stated that he would simply look upon an unfavourable result as part of a great conspiracy. He will accept the result if he wins.

Such an answer suggests somewhat of a flaw in Mr Trump’s truly colourful personality. According to Mr Trump, victories and losses are the result of conspiracies. It follows that if American voters do not elect Mr Trump, they will have been indoctrinated by or fooled by conspirators.

Every four years, when an election takes place, it is “rigged.” If Mr Trump believes that elections are rigged, were Mr Trump to be elected to the presidency, theoretically, he would be yet another president whose election was rigged or pre-arranged. However, he, Mr Trump, is suggesting that he is a “promised” President and the only person to guide the nation. If defeated, he will not accept defeat.

In a democracy, the electorate choses one of two or more candidates on the basis of a clearly defined platform, i.e. a description of a candidate’s program, if elected. The duty of nominees—Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton are nominees—is to make his or her program clear to voters in as civil a manner as possible. Citizens of the United States choose their representatives by voting and every adult has the right to vote. This is what made America great. Its greatness does not lie in a vague past. It lies in a past that forged the country so its citizens could vote and their privacy would be protected. No, a politician cannot play doctor and dictate the quantity of painkillers will be administered to a patient. That would be called an intrusion. The US has its Drug Enforcement Administration.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/05/opioid-production-us-epidemic-drug-enforcement-administration

An Assault on Democracy

1. Mr Trump assaulted women but did not know his actions constituted an assault.

2. Mr Trump also assaulted reason. In the matter of gun-control, he has suggested Mrs Clinton’s bodyguards be taken away from her. That would be called a “trumpism” and se tromper FR means to make a mistake and tromper means to deceive, not to be faithful, to fool. When discussing birth-control, he first stated that women who had undergone an abortion should be jailed. However, he is now saying that women get abortions “days before birth.” Doctors disagree, but do they even count, or common sense for that matter?

Although the child may be still-born, days before birth, one gives birth. A “trumpism” is a twisted way of not discussing the issues. The truth is that if a woman dies during childbirth and the baby is alive, his or her life will be saved. Mr Trump lives on another planet. As I noted above, it is for medical doctors, the experts, to make medical pronouncements.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/10/debate-donald-trump-threatens-to-jail-hillary-clinton

3. And, in the third debate of the election campaign, Mr Trump said he would not commit to accept the election result. This is an assault on democracy which no American political party will allow. Nor the electorate. Mr Trump will have to accept the result of the election.

On 8 November 2016, the citizens of the United States will exercise their right to vote and the result of the election will be respected. Americans will elect the nominee who is most likely to ensure their safety. That is the reason why they pay their taxes.

Conclusion

This has been the strangest political campaign.

Camille Saint-Saëns
Le Carnaval des animaux, “L’Éléphant”

46d412491bcc1b612a5e88cc98fcd05e

© Micheline Walker
22 October 2016
WordPress

image in quilt Pinterest

 

 

 

 

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Venice & Islam at the MMA, NY

20 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, History, Renaissance, The Ottoman Empire, Venice

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alexandria, Art of Venice, Gentile Bellini, Islamic Art, Metropolian Museum of Art, Venetian Art, Venetian Merchants, Venice

h2_trdr_1

Madonna and Child by Stefano Veneziano

Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797

In 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York exhibited works displaying

“the exchange of art objects and interchange of artistic ideas between the great Italian maritime city and her Islamic neighbors in the eastern Mediterranean.” (MMA)

Venice had been a republic until it was conquered by Napoleon in 1797. It the year 828 CE ,

“two Venetian merchants stole St Mark‘s hallowed body from Muslim-controlled Alexandria and brought it to their native city, and 1797, when the city fell  to the French conqueror Napoleon[.]” (MMA)

We could give our story two starting-points. In the last decades of the 13th century, Venetian Marco Polo (1254 – 8/9 January 1324) travelled the silk road/route and reached China where he met Kublai Khan, the Mongol conqueror who would be Emperor of China. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire, on 29 May 1453, by the Ottoman Turks, the silk road was longer used. It had deteriorated during the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire. The last merchants to use it may have died of the plague, the Black Death (1436 – 1453). In order to purchase silk, spices, coffee and other precious goods, merchants would henceforth use a sea route. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), sailed to India following the west coast of Africa to the point, the Cape of Good Hope, where the Atlantic connects with the current Indian Ocean. A sea route had been traced.

Our topic, however, is Venice in the days when it traded with a not-too-distant Orient. So our second starting-point is Gentile Bellini‘s 1479 visit to Istanbul, where he made the portrait of Mehmed II, the Conqueror. Mehmed II was an Ottoman Turk and a Muslim. The people of the Byzantine empire had been Christians who spoke koine Greek. We barely remember there was an Anatolia, which, to a large extent, became modern-day Turkey. After Word War I, Constantinople was occupied. The Ottoman Empire had fallen, but Turkey declared its War of Independence (1919 – 1923) and won. The Ottoman Empire had fallen, but Turkey rose. (See Turkish War of Independence, Wikipedia.)

In 1453, Greek scholars fled to Italy (Venice to begin with), carrying books and they inaugurated the Renaissance, but the defeat of the Byzantine Empire was the fall the Holy See of Orthodox Christianity. It had been the eastern Rome. The fall of Constantinople was, therefore, mostly catastrophic. During the first millennium, the Byzantine Empire had been Arabised and during the second millennium, it would be turkified. Both Arabs and Ottoman Turks were Muslims. Mehmed II conquered the Christian Byzantine Empire in Anatolia and went on to conquer several Christian countries now located in Eastern Europe. Repercussions would be felt for centuries to come.

Venice “mirrored” the East, but the East would also “mirror” the West. In fact, the art the Byzantine Empire resembles Islamic art. Venice lacks minarets and an obélisque, but barely so. It is all lace or arabesques, arched windows and entrances, bas-reliefs, decorative tiles and domes. Venice begins in Alexandria, Egypt.

“Venice is also often referred to as ‘the mirror of the East’ because her architecture and urban plan incorporate typical Islamic features and ornamental flourishes.” (MMA)

gentile_bellini_001

St Mark preaching in Alexandria by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, 1504-7 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

800px-veneza47

Basilica di San Marco, Venice

8e2c56ea994cea09ecf8299e208ab189

Church of the Holy Apostles, Istanbul, Turkey (see Pinterest)

Works Exhibited at the MET

Venetian and Islamic works exhibited at the MMA were “[g]lass, textiles, carpets, arms and armor, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, furniture, paintings, drawings, prints, printed books, book bindings, and manuscripts[.]” (MMA)

h2_vnis_1

Reception of the Venetian Ambassadors in Damascus by Gentile Bellini, 1511, Louvre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
h5_1992_51
A Stallion by Habiballah of Sava, Afghanistan, 1601-6
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1992.51/

hb_55_121_35

Chilins (Chinese Chimerical Creatures) fighting with a Dragon, Istanbul, 16th century

Chinese Chimerical Creatures fighting with a Dragon (Chilins), Istanbul, 16th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.121.35/

hb_55_121_23

A Portuguese, Iran, mid 17th century

A Portuguese, Iran, mid 17th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/55.121.23/

dp240659

Woman Applying Henna, Iran, 17th century

Woman Applying Henna, Iran, 17th century

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451308?sortBy=Relevance&deptids=14&ft=*&offset=140&rpp=20&pos=156

dp234083

The Concourse of Birds by Habiballah of Sava, Iran, c. 1600

The Concourse of Birds by Habiballah of Sava, Iran, c. 1600
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451725

sf45-174-18r

Woman Carrying a Vase, Iran, 17th century

Woman carrying a Vase, Iran, 17th century
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/450600?sortBy=Relevance&deptids=14&ft=*&offset=40&rpp=20&pos=60

dp107186

“The Angel Surush Rescues Khusrau Parviz from a Cul-de-sac”
Bashdan Qara (active c. 1525–35)
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452182

Jean Chardin’s Testimonial

Jean Chardin, a French jeweler who traveled throughout Iran in 1664–70 and again in 1671–77, exclaimed that Isfahan was “the greatest and most beautiful town in the whole Orient.” He described the city’s population as a mix of Christians, Jews, fire-worshippers, Muslims, and merchants from all over the world. He counted 162 mosques, 48 colleges, 802 caravanserais, 273 baths, and 12 cemeteries, indicating ‘Abbas’ extensive architectural work in the city. Among the most scenic quarters was the area behind the Ali Qapu, where a series of gardens extended to the Chahar Bagh, a long boulevard lined with parks, the residences of nobles, and the palaces of the royal family. Tile panels and frescoes from the pavilions of the Chahar Bagh in the Museum’s collection are examples of the lavish decoration of these structures. (MMA)

Comments

Venice and the Islamic world is a very long story. It includes, for instance, the use of a lingua franca, a simplified hybrid language, mostly Italian, that was understood in every port in the Mediterranean Basin.

It also tells the story of the compulsory trip to the Orient young Venetians undertook. I should also stress the notion of exchange. It was not exploitation of the Orient but an exchange. The word “mirror,” used above, is appropriate. For instance, Venetians imitated the glass made in the Orient until Muslims bought Venetian glass for their Mosques. We could even suggest that the love for all things oriental, “turquerie” in our case, preceded 18th-century Europe. Merchants travelling to the Orient brought back souvenirs.

Works displayed in the exhibition depict a mostly joyful and somewhat diverse Orient as do the texts written for visitors to the exhibition. Each text leads to another text. The Orient, Syria for instance, was home to local and old Christian communities: Assyrians, Armenians, and Egypt, home to Coptic Egyptians, etc.

I discovered a Bellini album. It seems Gentile Bellini was the first Orientalist, but of a different breed than 19th-century Orientalists (see Orientalism, Wikipedia). Yet, the conquest of Constantinople was a catastrophe. It divided the population of the various countries of Eastern Europe between Christians and Muslims, and this fragmentation was reflected in the wars that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

I am omitting the works of European artists: Gentile Bellini and his pupils, three of whom are Giovanni di Niccolò Mansueti, Vittore Carpaccio (15th century Venice) and Giorgione (1476 – 1510). They were influenced by the Orient. So was Albrecht Dürer (21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528), who lived shortly after the fall of Constantinople.

dp815373

An Oriental Family by Albrecht Dürer, engraving

Music, the Printing Press and the Vernacular

Venice was also a turning-point in music. The Franco-Flemish lands had been the cultural hub of Europe as polyphony developed, including the madrigal, a song in the mother tongue. The Netherlandish composer Adrian Willaert (c. 1490 – 7 December 1562), of the Franco-Flemish school taught music in Venice and was the kapellmeister of the Basilica di San Marco. He founded the Venetian School, music. Polyphony is a product of the West.

In fact, the Renaissance is the birthplace of a nationhood and nationalism based on the use of a common language. Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1398 – February 3, 1468) invented the movable type printing press (c. 1440) to the delight of Venetians. It all started in Venice. As of the Renaissance, the invention of the printing press allowed the development of literature written in the vernacular, the mother tongue. Greek scholars could have the works of antiquity copied rapidly, but so did authors who wrote in the vernacular, a national language. Associated with the validation of the vernacular are Venetian Cardinal Pietro Bembo (The Petrarchan Movement), Sperone Speroni (Dialogo delle lingue, a defense of vernacular languages instead of Latin, Joachim du Bellay (Défense et illustration de la langue française) and Geoffrey Chaucer.

The relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the West deteriorated, but for a very long time, as the port central to the economy of countries bordering the Mediterranean, Venice was rich and it never fell to the Ottoman Empire.

“Despite all of the wars, Venice remained a privileged partner, thanks to an almost perfect balance between religious spirit, chameleon-like diplomacy, and acute business sense.”  (MMA)

The above quotation will be our conclusion.

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The link Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797 takes one to the Bellini carpets. One then scrolls down to Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797. One clicks on the link. To view each century click on Art, then Collection, and search Islamic Art or Venice and Islamic Art. We are exploring West Asia, various centuries, and the MMA refers to Constantinople as Istanbul, its name since 1928.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cedr/hd_cedr.htm# (trade)

Love to everyone. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

Language

  • Pietro Bembo by Titian, and the Vernacular (27 January 2016)
  • La Pléiade: Joachim du Bellay (30 December 2011)
  • The Petrarchan Movement (6 December 2011)

Orientalism

  • An Older Orient (18 September 2016)
  • Orientalism Good & Bad (14 September 2016)
  • Orientalism Good or Bad (7 September 2016)

Venice

  • Veneţia (Ştefania)

Sources and Resources

  • Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797
  • Wikipedia (most entries)
  • Britannica

—ooo—

“Calligraphic Composition in Shape of Peacock,” Folio from the Bellini Album
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451978?sortBy=Relevance&ft=Islamic+Art&offset=1280&rpp=20&pos=1297

dt4838

© Micheline Walker
20 October 2016
WordPress

map_of_venice_15th_century

The True Moor of Venice (a lecture)
Michael Barry: “The Three Philosophers ”
MMA

giorgione_029b

The Three Philosophers by Giorgione, finished by Titian the MMA)

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Donald Trump as President? It’s still no!

15 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Election, The United States

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Donald Trump's Mistake, Melania Trump, Mexicans, Michelle Obama, Muslims, Presidential Election 2016, Sexual Assault, Social Programmes

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Donald Trump is winning only 72 percent of Republicans, compared to Hillary Clinton, who captures 85 percent of Democrats, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. | AP Photo

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/donald-trump-polling-clinton-229576#ixzz4MoHm0XW2
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook 

The Presidential Election, 2016

  • unsuspected disclosures
  • disrespect for women

I wanted to write a post about the forthcoming United States presidential elections, but somehow, I was too tired. Moreover, I thought it would be a repetition of an earlier post. (See RELATED ARTICLES.) To a certain extent, it is. I still believe that Mr Trump is not qualified to occupy the position he is seeking. However, there have been unexpected disclosures that tend to confirm my reservations. I knew that Mr Trump was not qualified to be elected President of the United States, but I would not have suspected he would grab a woman’s genitalia and force her to kiss him. That is sexual assault and, therefore, a prelude to rape. But let us look at other issues first.

Immigrants: Mexicans and Muslims

It has worried me that Mr Trump seldom addresses issues. His statements are peremptory and he lacks compassion. Where immigration is concerned, he plans to resort to drastic and offensive measures. To prevent Mexicans from moving to the United States, he intends to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. As for Muslims, in Mr Trump’s opinion, all are terrorists or potential terrorists, so, if elected, he will deny them a home in the United States. A blanket rejection of Muslims constitutes an offense to citizens of the Middle East and to citizens of Muslim origin. All Muslims are fellow human beings, and so are the Mexicans who seek refuge in the United States. They do so for compelling reasons. Therefore, that matter should be addressed in a serious and caring manner. Illegal immigrants should not be punished and sent to nowhere.

Women and Mr Trump

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/quiet-tragedy-of-melania-trump

melania-trump-people-magazine

Melania Trump (Chip Somadevilla, Getty Images)

Poor Melania and poor all of us, women. Mr Trump was threatening to throw in jail those who had undergone an abortion. When I first mentioned this issue, I noted that Mr Trump did not view women as responsible citizens. Now that he has stated that he grabbed women by their genitalia and forced them to kiss him, I must conclude that he does not know sexual exchanges have to be consensual. One does not assault women. Most women or couples regulate the number of children they will raise without ever resorting to an abortion. Pregnancies are terminated when there are risks to a woman’s health and to the fetus.

54ab2f12ae859_-_elle-13-michelle-obama-birthday-style-elv

Michelle Obama (Google images)

Michelle Obama is indignant and the women of the United States stand by her. They will not be assaulted. You may wish to watch the following video:

http://bcove.me/ooigigtk

Disrespect for human life

  • torture
  • health care
  • minorities

He may have been joking, but Mr Trump has stated that he would not object to the use of torture to pry the truth out of a prisoner. Under the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, torture is condemned. Does Mr Trump think torturing will yield the truth? That may not be the case. Under torture one will say anything to end the pain and humiliation, particularly if he or she does not have anything to reveal. One may survive torture, but one does not recover. It’s dreadful.

Given the above, one therefore fears for Americans. If Mr Trump is uncaring, he cannot ensure the safety of Americans and provide all with an income. One has reasons to fear for the sick, the poor, the elderly, the unemployed, the disabled, traumatized veterans, the homeless, and little children. In particular, one fears for minorities, such as homosexuals and lesbians. If elected, Mr Trump will probably revoke the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Modern societies have to make health care and medication affordable. Why not contain spiralling costs?

Presidents: there is a protocol

  • manners
  • sexual assault
  • laws

Mr Trump has now revealed convincingly that he is not a gentleman. He dresses properly and he is clean, but he pouts and grimaces, he is rude and has little dignity and finesse. He has lied and now we are learning that he believes he is at liberty to treat women as if they were mere flesh. In short, one can’t take him anywhere and if one cannot take him anywhere, one does not take him to the White House.

For the last eight years, the United States has had a truly remarkable president: well-educated, polite, respectful, caring, a good father and a good husband. Voters cannot foist Mr Trump on the American people and on the world. Mr Trump cannot be the President of the United States. He is unfamiliar with the dossiers and his lack of manners and view of women and other human beings damn him. There is a protocol to be observed by a president of the United States, and there are laws protecting private life.

Commander-in-chief: flawed judgement

The crisis in the Middle East is of immense importance. As President, Mr Trump would be commander-in-chief. I would prefer the United States ended the strikes. But if it does not, can we trust Mr Trump? He rushes to judgement. Remember Orlando. Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIL at the last minute, but he did not act on behalf of terrorist organization. One does not accuse anyone before one has evidence to substantiate one’s accusations. When Mr Trump accused Mr Mateen, the massacre at Orlando had not been investigated. Mr Trump’s statement was therefore prejudicial.

Mr Trump’s judgement seems flawed. Consequently, he may worsen the conflict in the Middle East. As mentioned above, he has been insulting Muslims by stating he would not allow any of them to enter the United States and Mr Mateen’s mere name was used as evidence that he was a terrorist. Ethnicity and faith do not constitute evidence of guilt. One may deplore a massacre, but one cannot assume an entire population is a terrorist organization.

We all know that, as commander-in-chief, the President of the United States can press buttons, including the wrong button(s). Voters must be careful.

Conclusion

Do I consider Donald Trump the very devil? No, I don’t. However, it would be my opinion that he cannot be elected to the presidency of the United States. Not if all Muslims are terrorists. Not if all Mexicans are undesirable immigrants, not if the American people are irrelevant and not if he views women as scatterbrained and mere sexual objects.

It was my opinion that Mr Trump was un grossier personnage, i.e. elegant, but uncouth to the core. Well, he has not given me reason to change my opinion.

I apologize for the long delay in posting. I am not well.

Love to everyone. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Donald Trump as President? No!  (16 June 2016)
  • “Perish if you wish, I’m safe.” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau) (28 September 2012)

Sources and Resources

United States presidential election, 2016, Wikipedia

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/14/politics/melania-trump-donald-trump-allegations-sexual-assault/

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/donald-trump-women-accusations-sexual-assault/504089/

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21708704-republican-nominee-has-violated-his-party-and-america-these-hands?zid=297&ah=3ae0fe266c7447d8a0c7ade5547d62ca

  4ae76faf0a4b8a65b22fb6dc41fed835

Aram Kachaturiam, Sabre Dance
Caroline Adomeit, violin


800px-president_barack_obama

© Micheline Walker
15 October 2016
(Revised on 25 October 2016)
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Making an Oriental Carpet

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Orientalism, The Ottoman Empire

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Armenian carpets, Islam, Kilims, The Bellini Carpets, The Czartoryski Carpet, The Ghazir Orphan Rug, The Gohar Carpet, Venice

ghazir_rug

Armenian Orphan Rug, the “Ghazir,” 1926 (Wikipedia)

The Ghazir Orphan Rug

In every civilization, fabric and carpets have been woven, not to mention baskets. Persian rugs are the nec plus ultra and may cost millions. With the advent of computers, it may be that making a carpet can be programmed. But will it show little animals, flowers, whirling lines, etc.

Persian carpets have ‘pile.’ The pile, wool or silk, or other material, is knotted and it stands upwards. However, the warp is one’s first component. The warp is a vertical thread, often simple cotton, but it must be strong cotton. It holds the knots. Yet, some rugs are made entirely of silk. The weft or woof is the horizontal part of the rug or tapestry. The wool or silk can be inserted manually, with a thick needle, but a shuttle is very practical. The flying shuttle was invented by John Kay (17 June 1704 – c. 1779) in 1733. It goes back and forth mechanically.

Warp and Weft
Warp and Weft
Kilim slit weave
Kilim slit weave
Turkish and Persian knots
Turkish and Persian knots
Flat weave & Pile weave
Flat weave & Pile weave

1-2-3-4 (left to right, both rows)

Rugs with pile

  • woven rugs warp and weft (woof) (illustration, 1)
  • rugs with pile

Kilims are woven rugs. They combine warp and weft and are flat. In carpets with pile, the pile (standing upwards) is knotted around the warp  (see illustration above, 4) and one combs it down evenly. At this point, one can insert silver, gold and precious gems. There may be rows of plain weft separating knotted wefts (see illustration below, 5). That choice depends on the thickness and density one wishes to give the rug.

Turkish Ghiordes knots
Turkish Ghiordes knots
Tying the fringe
Tying the fringe

5-6 (left to right)

The rug’s pattern and its motifs are designed on paper (a carton). One must be very careful. If the wool, silk or other material in kilims is coloured the colours may be introduced separately. It is as if one made slits (see the illustration above, 2). One has to know exactly how many rows of weft and knots will be required to make a flower or a rabbit or a geometrical design. To make sure the surface of the rug is even one cuts the wool or silk in equal lengths. But one may shape the wool or silk after the rug is woven. Chinese rugs are often carved and the effect is stunning.

At the two extremities of the rug one leaves a few rows of cotton, or other material, woven (the weft) horizontally and a fringe (the warp). These few rows do not contain knots and are woven tightly. The fringe (the warp) may be knotted (see illustration above, 6).

Preliminaries

  • carding the wool
  • spinning the wool
  • using a mordant
  • colouring the wool

There are, of course, preliminaries. One must card (comb) the wool. To my knowledge that is done before the wool is washed. There are instructions on the internet according to which one washes the wool before it is carded. Unwashed wool contains a form of glue without which one cannot spin the wool.

Spinning determines the thickness of the wool. A mere hand spindle will produce good wool. In fact, so will a pencil. But there are spinning wheels. The goal is to twist the wool into a form of thread. It is possible to produce carpet bags, or prayer rugs, sitting in one’s living-room. One builds a frame and drives in little nails (finishing nails) at both ends, or extremities. The nails hold the warp (vertical).

To colour the wool, one first uses a mordant (mordre: to bite), such as copper, to fix the dye. The wool is put in the mordant and one lets it soak. Once the wool has absorbed its mordant, it is possible to fix the dyes. They will hold. If one puts the wool in onion skins dipped in water, one produces various golds. One uses cochineal (a crushed insect) to obtain reds and pinks, depending on the mordant one has used. Indigo is popular colour.

Basically, oriental rugs are made as described above, but techniques may vary from country to country. Large carpets require large looms. They are made in more spacious facilities and the process is time-consuming. Haida Amerindians living on the west coast of Canada make waterproof textile and use it to transport water. The Haida people are superb artists.

dp166876

Turkey, Carpet with Triple-arch Design (1575 -90)

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447509?sortBy=Relevance&what=Rugs&ft=Islamic+carpets&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=15

dp217887

The Czartoryski Carpet, 17th century

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/450563?sortBy=Relevance&ft=Islamic+carpets&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=32

The Czartoryski Museum (above)

armenian_rug_gohar-2

Armenian Carpet “Gohar”

with Armenian inscription, 1700, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) (Wikipedia)

bellini-2-carpet

The Bellini Carpets (MMA, NY)

Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797 (click to see the Bellini carpets)

Conclusion

I wish to thank our colleague Bryan Hemming for letting me know about the Gentile Bellini knot. I would have to find a manual to see how the Bellini knot is made. By and large, two kinds of knots are used in weaving carpets, which does not preclude using other knots (see illustration at the top, 3 & 5).

We’ve barely entered Venice. It is the West’s first connection with the Ottoman Orient and it is part of a trade route. Glass was/is also made in Venice or just off Venice, the lovely Murano glass. The “Silk Animal Carpet,” shown below, is housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/446642

A long time ago, I learned how to make carpets and tapestries. I still have a supply of wool I made from ‘a’ to ‘z’. I have repaired damaged carpets.

Love to everyone. ♥

dp229989

Silk Animal Carpet, Iran, 16th century

© Micheline Walker
7 October 2016
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A Short Post

06 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Orientalism, Sharing, The Ottoman Empire

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

art, Bellini Carpets, Gentile Bellini, motifs, nationhood, The Ottoman Empire

Safavid Courtiers Leading Georgian Captives

Safavid Courtiers Leading Georgian Captives

http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451092
mille-fleurs motif
Safavid dynasty

I have erased the beginning of this post. It contained information on an event of extreme cruelty that led to severe losses and still causes episodes of disabling fatigue and life-threatening anxiety. During such episodes, I cannot write or look after myself properly. My blog suffers. It’s a short post.

29f063cf1d33c2eab187990525f3763f

A Seated Scribe by Gentile Bellini, (Isabella Stewart Gardner Collection)

6223

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/browse?filter=artist:3157

However, I have done more investigative work on Muslims, Armenians and the concept of nationhood. Religion is a factor in nationhood, but it is not as significant as the use of a common language. Even in the Islamic world, countries accepted plurality. The millet system is a proof of religious tolerance. For instance, in the case of the genocide of Armenians, the Ottomans feared Armenians would enter into an alliance with Christian Russia.

Nationhood is rooted in several factors, but langage overrides faith. State and speech is a product of the Renaissance and a result of Johannes Gutenberg‘s invention, in 1439, of the movable type printing press. Constantinople was defeated in 1453 and its Greek scholars fled to Italy carrying books. The printing press had just been invented when Byzantine scholars inaugurated the Renaissance. Literacy spread, creating a middle class, and it brought the validation of the vernacular, and the writing of songs in the mother tongue, or madrigals, but polyphonic, mixing voices. This is a subject we have covered, but not in the context of nationhood and nationalism.

A colleague told me about the Bellini knot, so I looked at the Metropolitan’s collection and found four Bellini rugs. I also found a Safavid dynasty tapestry or rug featuring the mille-fleurs motif. Keeping fabrics in good condition is difficult. Flanders may therefore have influenced the East. The Franco-Flemish lands were the cultural hub of ‘Europe’ before the Renaissance, in music especially, but tapestries and rugs were made in Flanders, as well as the illuminations of Books of Hours and other illuminated manuscripts. There were exchanges.

bellini-2-carpet

Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797: Bellini carpets

Particularly interesting is the position of Venice. It was very close to the Ottoman Empire. Trading led to use the of a lingua franca. A simplified Italian was the lingua franca when Bellini travelled to Constantinople. In 2007, the Metropolitan had an exhibition on Venice and the Islamic World, 828 – 1797.

I will close here, but this discussion will be continued.

Love to everyone. ♥

Aram Khachaturian
David Oïstrakh plays Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto, mvt 1

29f063cf1d33c2eab187990525f3763f

© Micheline Walker
5 October 2016
WordPress

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