Art News Articles

Christ and Christianity: ”Christ”, Christ – Blue”, ”San Francesco”, ”Adam and God” inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam on the ceiling of The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome, “Sagrada Familia” by Gaudi etc.
New Hedensted Motifs: Interpretation of the huge metallic sculpture by the motorway (by Asbjorn Lonvig), ”The Mayor’s wife’s golf hat”, ”The TV2 antenna at Kragelund common, ”The windmill at Agersboel Manor House”, ”Agersboel Manor House”, “Hedensted Church” “The Priest’s Tie”, “The Sexton’s Mug”, “Postcard to Arnt Oda”, US Postal stamp with Hedensted Church, “Oester Snede Church”, “Sindbjerg Church”, “Williamsborg Manor House”, “Korning Church”, inspiration from Gl. Sole etc.
Motfs from the surrounding area: Vejle, Haderslev, Aarhus etc…”Vejle Inlet Bridge”, ”Niels Kjeldsen’s Helmet”, ”The Egtved Girl’s Belt”, Boerkop Watermill”, ”Hadeslev Cathedral”, ”Cafe Faust”, ”22 North Street” (Jyske Bank), ”7 North Street” (Kreditforeningen Danmark), ”Aros Aarhus Art Museum”, The City Hall Tower in Aarhus, ”Aarhus Teatre”, ”Thee Mansard House” in The Old Town in Aarhus, ”Marselisborg Palace”, ”Aahus Cathedral”, ”St. Clemens Courtyard”, ”1 Cathedral Place” (Nykredit)
Beautiful houses in the surrounding area: Churches, Palaces, Manor Houses….”Oerumgaard Manor House”, “Rohden Manor House”, “Ussinggaard Manor House”, “Loendal Manor House” etc.
Denmark: “Christiansborg Palace”, “Erich Erichsen’s Mansion” at the Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen (Den Danske Bank), “2 Guardsmen”, “The Ugly Duckling”, Post Denmark’s “Post Box”, “Tranekaer Palace”, “Koldinghus Castle Ruin” etc.
The world: ”Guggenheim?” in New York, Victorian house in San Francisco, Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay Area, Killer Wales in The Pacific Ocean, Grand Canyon seen from a helicopter, Chicago’s Gangster Past in 1920s, Canadian Maple Leaves, “Toronto Skyline”, “Thunderbird” from British Columbia, Mona from Paris, Champs Elysees in Paris, Septumus Severus Arch in Roman Forum, Rome, “Spanish Bull”, Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche in Berlin etc.
The Mysteri of The Orient: Is the theme of ”Hedensted by Night”…motifs from Fujiyama, Tokyo, The Wall of China, Shanghai, Mount Everest, Mediterrania etc.
As a spectator you see these motifs quietly slide across the church tower while the Beatles music is sent out from the tower windows via professional concert loudspeakers from Nordic Rentals A/S. Nordic Rentals has been fair with prices and is kind of sponser of the Art Event as well.

Here you have the Beatles music that is performed:
1) Yesterday
2) All My loving
3) A Hard Day’s Night
4) Norwegian Wood
5) Blackbird
6) Eleanor Rigby
7) Penny Lane
With A Little Help from My Friends
9) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
10) Leaving Home
11) A Day in the Life
12) Lady Madonna
13) All You Need is Love
14) The Fool on the Hill
15) Hey Jude
16) Let it Be
17) Imagine
18) When I’m 64 + Yesterday

There is a 5 minute brake every 40 minutes.
The organist needs some rest.
I’l show my fairy tale character in the brake: Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish, Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab, Frederic The Frog, Elias the Elephant, Farmer Jack etc.

Asbjorn Lonvig and Carsten Thomsen intend to explore the results of synergy between Asbjorn’s art and Carsten’s music in the near future. They plan more Art Events, music based on Asbjorn’s art work, a children’s song book etc.

Samples of art works shownon the church Tower:

A new Michelangelo has been born?
A new Rembrandt?
A new Van Gogh?
A new Picasso?
No.
Larger.

The internet revolutionized computer business.
By accident.
Art has not been revolutionized by the internet.
Yet.
For the last month I have eagerly tested ImageKind.com.
In the Beta test and after the launch some months ago.
I knew ImageKind.com was right for me.
You create your piece, you load it up, you set price, that’s it.
I have created 500 new peaces in 25 Galleries.
People around me are sure I’m in sane.
I was pleased about ImageKind’s ambitions: To build the largest and best platform for buying, creating, and selling art.
Easy to say.
But.
Very, very hard to accomplice.
This morning, however, I knew the Art world would be revolutionized.
The revolution is around the corner.
Talks are going on between ImageKind and Amazon.com.
Amazon.com has what ImageKind doesn’t have.
And what ImageKind probably never will have.
A brand.
The place you go when you want to buy online.
And a dream comes through.
I create my pieces, I load it up, I set the price and a customer looks at it a few moments after.
No Mr. 25 %, no Mr. 10 %, no Mr. 50 %.
No galleries, no curators, no museums.
No intervention.

Just me, the artist and the customer.

Why User Portals?
The short and simple answer is to serve my customers better and to seve customers that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.

I’ll show you a User Portal.
I am building the Aarhus City Portal right now.
Aarhus City is the second largest city in Denmark.
Aarhus City has 225.000 inhabitants.
So, this user portal intends to serve 225.000 users.

The first thing to do is to create motifs that describe Aarhus City.
I went to Aarhus and found buildings and landmarks of Aarhus, that I could use.
The new museum, the city hall tower, the queen’s summer residence, the Theater, a house in the Old Town, the cathedral and finally the old cathedral office in St. Clemen’s Courtyard.

Today I finished these motifs:

I load large files of all the images to print on demand contracting parties in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area. The images are approved at once in Salt Lake City and Seattle. In San Francisco the images might wait for approval.

First of all I use a User Portal logo.

The logo is of course a portal. In a matter of fact it is a very specific portal. It is the Arch of Septimus Severus, which was erected in the Roman Forum in A.D. 203 by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus.
You can’t study Roman history without visiting the Roman Forum once.
You can’t visit the Roman Forum without passing through the Arch of Septimus Severus.
In this logo a BETA will shown in the big arch. That is because the 40 different User Portals, that have been launched so far are being tested.
The Aarhus City Portal is marked with a BETA, too.


See the Aarhus City Portal.
The motifs are presented. Here 7 motifs. You might see an enlargement by clicking on an image.
Then there are 3 sections. 1, 2 and 3.

1. The user must have some free titbit. So I give him the possibility to download three Word documents of each motif. Word documents that can be printed on the user’s own printer.
I have to be aware of different formats in European and American standards. The European standard is A format and the American standard it is Letter format. The Aarhus City Portal probably will only be used by Europeans - therefore the A format is offered.

2. Here I guide the user to order print at print on demand contracting parties. One in Salt Lake City, one in Seattle and one in San Francisco Bay area.
By guiding to 3 print on demand contracting parties the users are offered a variety of sizes, prices, qualities and surfaces.
At the same time I keep track of what happens in this market.

The prices are kept low - the user only pays the base print price and internet costs. The user can order prints in sizes from 3.5 x 5” to 40 x 60” on paper and canvas – and some other funny surfaces like T-shirts, mugs, tote bags etc. etc. The print contracting party handles ordering and payment. The printing of course and the prints are sent directly to the user.

If the user wants to see some of the my other 750 images for print there is a link to the main pages in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area.

3. If the user wants something special. A painting. Limited edition prints. Signed prints. A huge print on canvas larger than 40 x 60″ - no problem, he just has to contact me.

A brochure is available to each User Portal.
The brochure is of course used for initial presentation of the portal.
You can download the brochure Aarhus City Portal from the portal.

Thoughts.
Now what is the most important to succeed with these User Portals.
Is it to do excellent motifs? No!
Is it to simplify the User Portal? No!
Is it to make an extremely eye catching brochure? No!

It is to communicate the User Portal Concept to people that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.
I can not do it myself.
I know too much.
Or!!!!
You might as well say I know much too little.

But.
Journalists know how to present this kind of stuff to their readers.
This week Ny Hedensted Portal and Ny Vejle Portal will have press coverage.
Tomorrow I’ll translate the Aarhus City Portal into Danish and find a jounalist at the Aarhus newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende.

Sculpture on wheels.
The exhibition aims to give the audience an experience of the dynamics and strength latent in the form language of these cars. By regarding racing cars not just as functional items, but also as pure form – as sculpture on wheels – the exhibition creates a symbiosis between two widely differing worlds: between the ultimate motor sport, and art.
The exhibition presents highlights of design history in the Formula One and Le Mans cars from 1932, and through almost three quarters of a century.
The exhibited racing cars are not only unique in their design forms; they have also seen active service on racetracks the world over, with such legendary drivers as Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart.

Total installation.
In a ground-breaking presentation, guests are introduced to a unique universe.
The walls have been painted black.
The floor covered by reflecting steel plates.
The gallery columns have become red, metallic pistons.
The lights have been turned into giant piston rings.
The racing cars are presented on steel podiums in an installation of light, sound and moving images.
On the black walls hang relief showing the contours of the world’s Formula One racetracks, while the big screens in the exhibition rooms show sequences from races, relating the exhibition to the reality for which the cars were created.

Soundtrack.
The many visual impressions are supported by an acoustic soundscape which lends an extra dimension to the exhibition’s varied and intense experiences.

Among the exhibited cars are: Ferrari, McLaren, Tyrell, Lotus, Panoz, Jaguar, Vanhall, Maserati, Jaguar, Audi and Alfa Romeo.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most spectacular cars.
I am little boy.
Like nearly ever other grown up male when it comes to Racing Cars.
I have enjoyed the battle between Fernando Alonso from Spain and renowned German Michael Schumacher this year in the Formula One World Championship.
Fernando Alonso drives a Renault F1 and he has won the recent World Championship.
Schumacher drives, as you might know, a red Ferrari.
On 21 October this year the final race took place at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The race was quite exciting.
The odds were stacked against the Ferrari star from the outset after technical problems in qualifying left him only tenth on the grid.
Michael Schumacher however was flying.
Slamming in fastest sector times and slicing his way past back markers.
Smoke, oh no smoke.
Smoke from the engine of the Ferrari.

I was excited to see Michael Schumacher’s red Ferrari at AROS Denmark on it’s own steel podium.
I touched the Ferrari and knocked on it.
I was a little disappointed that it was all made of fiber.
I pushed it - it moved.
Amazing that anybody dears sit in these fragile light plastic boxes at speeds of up to 350 km per hour, that is 220 miles per hour.
In sane.
However the down force ensures they do not fly.
A curious fact is: At 160 km per hour, aerodynamically generated down force is equal to the weight of the car. In principle these Formula One monsters are capable of driving on the ceiling.

5 times Tom Kristensen from my country - Denmark won Le Mans in this Audi R8. Tom Kristensen has won Le Mans 6 times.
Other great Le Mans winners are Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx.
Le Mans is a 24 hour race once a year.
Danes that are not present at Le Mans in France are watching TV.
24 hours.
Enthusiastically.
This year the male population of Denmark expected a 7th Le Mans victory by Tom Kristensen.
Unfortunately another Audi won.




On the 4 pictures above you can see some of the other cars.
Williams BMW, Jaguar R3, Tyrell 006 and Lotus 72.
Williams was the most successful team of the 1990s, it all ended when their engine partner Renault withdrew from the sport.
The Ford group’s luxury mark Jaguar enjoys the Formula One glory. So far the Americans only have achieved sporadic success.
Tyrell emerged as one of the leading Formula One teams of the late 1960s. Team owner Ken Tyrell created cars more functional than elegant.
Emerson Fittipaldi from Sao Poulo, Brazil is a legend in Formula One Racing. In this black Lotus 72 he won the Formula One Championship.

And.
The cars are beautiful and this beauty inspired me to some racing car motifs


Michael Schumacher’s red Ferrari and Tom Kristensen’s grey Audi R8.



The heart of any engine, the sparking plug - the goal of any race, the checkered flag.

Thoughts.
The little boy inside me is extremely happy. Any racing car enthusiast wants to see and touch the real thing.
The open minded art enthusiast says: How refreshing to see sports cars in an art museum. A welcome provocation. Fascinating presentation of sculptures on wheels!!! Interesting surroundings!!!
However.
My inner old boring and grumpy philosopher says: And so what? Now art museums have totally prostituted themselves and entered the entertainment industry!!! And then he wisely refers to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”!!!

The Fairy Tale Poster lives side by side with the internet version
of the written fairy tale, which can be downloaded in a Word document and
form a tiny children’s book.

Tall Charlie is the name in English of the yellow giraffe.
Céline Maeder, Paris has done the translation into French.
Céline Maeder has made new French names to all my fairy tale characters.
Tall Charlie is called Sophie Moyenne.
Sophie Moyenne is a fairy tale character in “Au zoo avec Sam et Lucca”,
“In the Zoo with Sam and Lucca”.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

The fairy tale “Happy Traffic” is about children’s safety in traffic.
This Fairy Tale Poster is in English.
A baby is the main character.
He is on 12 traffic signs in 12 different languages.
The traffic signs have the text “HI - Drive Carefully”.
The traffic sign in Danish “Hej - Kør Forsigtigt” has been tested
in 3 cities on more than 20 streets.
People have told me that they work according to the intention.
I write the fairy tales in English. My English is checked by Ann Watson, Florida and others.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

This is the Hebrew translation of “Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish and
Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab”.
The Hebrew translation is done by Yochanan Dvir, who lives in the kibitz Lehavot Habashan in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border.
Yochanan Dvir translates the fairy tales and put them on his own site in Hebrew http://www.sefer-li.net/.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

Francesca Fancini from Milan, Italy has translated
“Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish and Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab” into Italian.
The story is called “La Seppia e il Granchio” in Italian.
Green, white and red are the Italian colors.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

The fairy tales are translated into Chinese by Ni Duan, Hangzhou, China.
Hangzhou is the capital of China’s Zhejiang Province 120 miles south west of Shanghai.
A small Chinese city of 7 million people!!!
Ni Duan and Jan Engberg, Shanghai are helping me to find a Chinese publisher.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

I would like to ask your opinion.
Once an art work has been digitized you can print it.
Usually you print on paper.
Or cloth.
Or plastic.
Or….

This tiny close up photo of the print on canvas tells the whole story.
The close up is of a basement window.
And as you can see the texture of the canvas sure is there.

The visual differences between a painting and the print on canvas are:
In the painting you can see the brushstrokes.
You can see the painter’s shaking hand.
From a technical point of view you might prefer the print?
From an artistic point of view you might prefer the painting?
Of course there is a difference in price.
A unique painting is more expensive than a print.

See my efforts.
And - if you like - you might visit my new web site lonvig.biz with vision and prices.

And
I can’t resist this opportunity to show you my work from last week - text posters:

Above are:
Sailing T in Lake Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Keep up the steam, Fredericia Railroad Station, Fredericia, Denmark
Sky of Navona, Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy
A Figment of the Imagination, Horsens Inlet, Horsens, Denmark

Photos by:
Martin Ravn, chief photographer at Danish newspaper Horsens Folkeblad, Horsens
Photographer Stephen Downes, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Asbjorn Lonvig

A few years ago I rushed out of a room in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.
Gesticulating to my family, there are three Rembrandts - hanging side by side inside that room!!
Come, come, come.
“Who is Rembradt?”, one said.
I believe it was in order to joke about my enthusiasm.

At an exhibition at the National Gallery in Denmark - in Danish it’s called Statens Museum for Kunst - there is an exhibition titled “Rembrandt? The Master and his Workshop”.
It takes place 4 February - 14 May 2006.

Study of an Old Man in Profile, c. 1630
approximately 20 x 25 cm - that’s 8″ x 10″
oil on canvas
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69)

The Crusader, c.1659-61
approximately 60 x 80 cm - that’s 23″ x 31″
oil on canvas
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69)

You must click on the painting. I have made a large image available, so that you can enjoy it yourself. In 1911 the Rembrandt connoisseur and then director of The National Gallery, Karl Madsen, found The Crusader in a remote corner of Fredensborg Castle where it had been placed in temporary storage. Despite Karl Madsen’s evident enthusiasm for the painting, its status was soon called into question, and in 1969 it was rejected as a Rembrandt. The most recent studies now tell us that the painting is a sketch for The Knight with the Falcon (Göteborgs Konstmuseum). X-rays support this assumption by demonstrating that the underlying layers of paint are built up in a manner typical of Rembrandt. The piece presumably depicts the Dutch Saint Bavo, and the painting has the convincing oscillation between the precise and the spontaneous that is so typical of Rembrandt. At the same time it exemplifies the pastose manner of painting characteristic of the artist’s late work. There are, however, some signs to suggest that parts of the painting were done by one of Rembrandt’s students, a common practice at the master’s workshop. The studies took place in co-operation with an international panel of experts comprising the head of the Rembrandt Research Project, professor dr. Ernst van de Wetering, research technician with the Rembrandt Research Project Karin Groen, senior conservator David Bomford from the National Gallery in London, and head of conservation at the National Gallery Jørgen Wadum. Based on the latest knowledge about Rembrandt and the artists in the circle around him - and technical studies such as x-rays, infrared reflectography, dendrochronology (the science of dating wood), studies of the canvas thread count, ground, layers of paint, etc. - the National Gallery has obtained much more knowledge about the works in question. For example, the two reattributed works have been placed at either end of Rembrandt’s life’s work. The studies are documented in a comprehensive book published in connection with the exhibition.

The National Gallery - Statens Museum for Kunst.
The Old Building.
A National Gallery with Rembrandts you would probably expect to look like this:

The museum building dates back to 1896 and was designed in ornamental historicism by the architect Wilhelm Dahlerup. This building reflects the exuberant joy - so typical of the period - taken in mixing several historical styles. This is most clearly evident from the richly decorated facade and the imposing entrance, which makes for a solemn transition from the outside world into the museum collections.

And the interior?
You might expect it to look like this.
Wouldn’t you?

The National Gallery - Statens Museum for Kunst.
The New Building.
You would NOT expect the architecture to look like this:

The first highlight was 100 Rembrandts in one place, the second highlight was the two genuine Rembrandt paintings and the third highlight is an exhibition called…HIGHLIGHTS.

HIGHLIGHTS - an exhibition. The most outstanding works in the collections of the National Gallery are presented in a new, challenging way. In connection with an extensive fireproofing of the old building a plentiful selection of 700 years of art - ranging from contemporary artist Baselitz via Jorn, Picasso, Braque, Matisse to Eckersberg, El Greco, Cranach, Mantegna, Lorenzetti - and many others. I must not forget Rubens. The presentation is in some ways like the compact floor-to-ceiling hanging of the past, as experienced by the first guests to the National Gallery when it opened in 1896.

The works are hung from floor to ceiling and arranged chronologically. However, the surroundings are changed, and the old paintings presents themselves quite differently in the white, spacious rooms of the new building, just as the juxtaposition of the works show new analogies.

2004 - 1905 Contemporary and Modern Art I have selected some of the art works from HIGHLIGHTS. They are shown in reverse chronological order:

Georg Baselitz (f. 1938), Crema, 2004, oil on canvas
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973), Naked Woman lying by Window, 1971, pencil, red and blue chalk
Asger Jorn (1914 - 1973), Vision Rouge (Red Visions), 1944, oil on canvas
Amedeo Modigliani (1884 - 1920), Alice, 1918, oil on canvas
Georges Braque (1882 - 1963), Arbres (The Trees at l’Estaque), 1908, oil on canvas
André Derain (1880 - 1954), La danseuse ou la femme en chemise (woman in chemise), 1906, oil on canvas
Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954), Portrait of Madame Matisse. The Green Line, 1905, oil on canvas

1820 - 1337 Older Art. Shown in reverse chronological order:

C.W. Eckersberg (1783 - 1853), Bella and Hanna. The Eldest Daughters of M.L. Nathanson, 1820, oil on canvas
El Greco (1541 - 1614), Portrait of a Man, 1570-1575, oil on canvas Nicolas Poussin (1594 - 1665), The Testament of Eudamidas, 1644-1648, oil on canvas
Jan Gossaert (1478 - 1532), Portrait of a Man, 1493-1532, oil on wood Lucas Cranach d. Æ. (1472 - 1553), Venus with Cupid stealing honey, 1530, oil on wood
Parmigianino (1503 - 1540), Portrait of Lorenza Cybo, 1523, oil on wood
Andrea Mantegna (1430 - 1506), Christ as the suffering Redeemer, 1495-1500, tempera on panel
Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1317 - 1348), St. John the Baptist, 1337-42, tempera on panel

After HIGHLIGHT. The hanging is sure challenging. The art works do not have the space they usually have.
The juxtaposition of the works is challenging.
Old paintings side by side with new.
Styles are mixed.
Old paintings in the new building.
Sure new analogies are exposed.

Last time I had this feeling that a deceased artist lives right now was in Chicago.
In Oak Park I saw several of Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses.
One from 1909 seamed built yesterday.

Two more exhibitions:
Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen: EgoShow, the x-room 18 February - 14 May 2006 and Danish Sculpture 1850-2000 in The Sculpture Street between the old and the new building. It’s not fair to either Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen or Danish sculptures to say anything about these exhibitions.
I saw them.
But my perception tools had been shut down due to mental exhaustion.

Thoughts. Doing something challenging in the art world that forms a synthesis without deriving focus from the art - that’s a branch of art itself.
With the exhibitions “Rembrandt? The Master and his Workshop” and SMK HIGHLIGHTS the Notional Gallery has succeeded in this branch of art.
Once I saw something challenging in the art world that formed a synthesis without deriving focus from the art. It was back in 1993. Koldinghus Castle Ruin in Kolding, Denmark is most delicately restored and renewed by the architects Inger and Johannes Exner 1972-92.
The combination of this extraordinary historical atmosphere, the contemporary architecture and Miró’s sculptures formed a synthesis.
The presence of the name Allis Helleland in both cases, at the National Gallery and at Koldinghus Castle Ruin might be coincidental?
It is not.

Photos: By SMK Foto