Decadent Amsterdam
cypher
I have had the craziest and most amazing couple of days. On the spur of
the moment my girlfriend and I decided to go to Amsterdam for a couple
of days. Maxing out the credit card we had a debauched few days of sex,
drugs, art and strippers. It was my sixth time to Amsterdam and my
girlfriend's second time. We were expecting it to be lovely and hot in
Amsterdam, but it pissed rain every day. Amsterdam is my favorite city
in the world - it has everthing I love - hashish, drugs, porn, art, and
amazing liberty. I could say a lot about what we did at night - but
what happens in Amsterdam stays in Amsterdam. The first thing we did
when we got out of our hotel was get totally stoned. Then we went to
see the Stedelijk Muesum - Amsterdam's modern art gallery.The Stedelijk
museum is undergoing renovations and at the moment and the premant
collection is temporally housed in a post office. I was expecting the
new gallery to be shabby and grooty and in a way it was - but it was
also stylishly renovated. The installation of the art was wonderfully
avant guard. On the whole I thought the standard of contemporary art
was better than in Dublin. However I did still find much of the work
pretentious and silly. There was a great installation of Billy Names
photographs of Andy Warhol and the hangers on and stars of the Factory
- which was the highlight for both me and my girlfriend. Being stoned
off my face is a good way for me to look at contemporary art, I was not
in a critical mood and just enjoyed the triviality silliness of much of
the art of today.
That night we got stoned and haunted the seedy parts of the Red Light
District. The Following day we got up early and went to The Van Gogh
Museum. The myth of Van Gogh - the tormented artist shunned by society,
selling only one painting, cutting off his ear lobe, and killing
himself just as he had begun to make a name for himself, is crude and
known by virtually everyone. But Don't forget he was not just any old
unrecognized artists - he just happened to be one of the ten greatest
artists of all time. A man of education, and sensitivity as well as a
man of uncontrollable tempers, a beautiful writer on art (with
beautiful very small handwriting - not the crude scrawl you might
expect) and an artist who not only married the art of Japan with the
west, but also consolidated and exploitsd all of the inovations of
Impressionism (broken, open, visible brushstrokes of dashes, dots,
lines and curves and juxtaposed complementary colours and cool hues
against warm hues but he also opened the way for The Fauves and
Expressionists who would exploite his emotionally innovative use of
colour. You have to wait until Pollock in the 1940's to find an artist
who compacted so much emotion and observation on canvas. But as well as
being a master of overall design and rhythm on the macro level- on the
micro level their is a sub world of amazing attention to detail -
something his imitators have been utterly unable to duplicate.
I have never seen the van Gogh so crammed. We had to que to get into
the museum and then join a line in order to pass in front of the
paintings. It took a great deal of the pleasure out of looking at the
art. And I was struck that there are very few artists who's work could
survive such a cramped and busy exhibition. But you just feel driven to
put up with it to see Van Goghs paintings which are so utterly
compelling.
I can't count the number of times I have been to the Van Gogh, but it
was as powerfully moving as ever. There is absolutely no comparison
between seeing a work of art in the flesh. Photographs tell you nothing
of the real colour the brushstrokes and the touch of the artist. Van
Gogh has been a huge hero of mine since I was 14, and I still find new
things in his art to admire. My own art has been very influenced by Van
Gogh and German Expressionists, like Schiele, Gerstl, Kokoschka and
Kirchner and Nolde - and Van Gogh was the father of so much of this
kind of art. Inspecting Van Goghs paintings up close one is struck by
the subtlety and variation in Van Goghs brushstrokes. They are thin and
thick, transparent and opaque, dry brushed or fat and oily. The genius
for line that one sees in his drawings is there in the brushstroke on
the canvases. These were fast paintings - but their were also labour
intensive - only Van Gogh could have painted so many masterpieces of
such energy and power but the effort reduced him to a living wreak.
Overwork as much as anything must have contributed to his final
capitulation to suicide. In reproduction the colours of van Gogh seem
very simple and straightforward, but on closer inspection they are
worked towards. Van Gogh was a liner painter but he was also a fucking
genius, who put so much range and depth and emotion and control into
his brushstrokes that this liner approach never seems strident, or
crude. There is much more of the genius and a lot less of the madman in
these paintings.
The Van Gogh museum has become much more than a showcase of Van Gogh,
it is an amazing venue to house exhibitions of artists influenced by
van Gogh, fellow artists, and art of his life time. This time there was
an amazing exhibitions of influences and contemporaries of Van Gogh. It
showcased absolute masterpieces by Manet (a beautiful elegant seascape)
Rodin (One Of His brooding sculptures of a Bergers of Callas) Degas
(one of his beautiful nude sculptures of a woman bathing in a bath
which was full of joy, sexiness and seriousness) and Monet (by a
firestorm of colour of a summer road by the sea).
Downstairs in the new galleries we saw an utterly amazing exhibition of
art wonders from Imperial Japan. The complexity, craftsmanship,
patience and man hours of these art works blew me away. Some of it was
so well made, so elaborate and so large that it seemed almost comically
gaudy - but that was only because so much of this work was beyond
anything one has ever seen or thought possible in pottery, woodcarving,
bronze and general decorative art. Looking around the exhibition I was
struck by the thought that if someone emerged in New York today - they
would be a media sensation and become instant art stars. Many of these
works still looked as fresh and powerful now as when they were made -
sometimes over 400 years ago. These works were a rebuke to any arrogant
young artist who thinks they are a genius - art history lies in weight
a canon of such stupefying brilliance that one cannot often believe
mortal men were responsible for the masterworks of human culture.The
highlight of the exhibition for me were the beautifully multi coloured
vases which were covered the the most abstract beauty and even moments
of surrealism. Before living the Van Gogh museum I bought two great
books on Kirchner's painting and sculptures.
That night we again got off our faces in the coffee shops around the
Red Light District. Amsterdam, is an amazing city, but I don't think I
would ever live there. I think Dublin is as pretty and at least in
Dublin I have to get some work done. If I was living in Amsterdam I
don't think I would ever get anything made. Overall I think the girls
in Dublin are sexier, but when you do see a good looking Dutch girl she
is utterly stunning. The prostitutes in the Red Light District are
amazingly beautiful and sexy. Every time I am struck by this, because
you expect prostitutes to look a bit rough looking. The women are the
stars of their own little world, putting on a show for the men who
circle like sharks. Tour groups of Koreans (men and their wife's), fill
up the seats in the sex theaters. But there were loads of Irish men in
the strip shows. Although it looks seedy and dangerous the Red Light
District is very safe. The Grass is amazing. Just like beer drinkers
prefer certain brands to others - so the stoner is a connoisseur of
diffrent kinds of hash and grass. Coffeshops are a lot quieter than the
pubs. Stonners tend to quietly keep to themselves and chill out. So now
its back to the same old same old shit. Responsibility, credit card
bills and boring normality.
Bill McCarty
"cypher" <cyp...@thepanicartist.com> wrote in message
news:1154716570.0...@s13g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> www.thepanicartist.com
>
>
> I have had the craziest and most amazing couple of days. On the spur of
> the moment my girlfriend and I decided to go to Amsterdam for a couple
> of days. Maxing out the credit card we had a debauched few days of sex,
> drugs, art and strippers.
Sorry to hear that your life is so unbearable that you feel the need to
blot out reality by constantly getting stoned. The problem with drugs is
that the more you itch the more you scratch. And to relieve the itch takes
more and more scratching.
Could it be that you need to blot out reality before Van Gogh starts to look
good to you ? He never looked good to me, but then I don't need drugs to get
through the day.
Regards, B.
fourmations
"Bill McCarty" <bm...@pa.net> wrote in message
news:44d3e039$0$2932$470e...@news.pa.net...
hi all
I am not a huge fan of cyphers work and feel he uses cheap shock tactics,
the imagery is crass and lacks any sort of interpretation,
but many artists always have (and will be) into sexual imagery.
his subject matter is not so shocking to me and his honesty
about his vices is just to do with his age and is pretty acceptable in this
day and age
its not so shocking that he likes sex, porn and weed, lots of people do,
its just that he decides to talk about it, weed is demonised by people who
dont know
anything about it, its no more evil that the booze
one mans fine wine is another mans fine weed,
whether you or I have any interest in his personal vices in up to the
individual,
perhaps his amsterdam report would be better on his site,
I'm sure he expects Bills retorts, as Bill is the only person to ever reply
to him
Its self-promotion that works though,
as everytime I see his threads I will always have a look at Bills response,
in short, ignore cypher if you wish, you know what it will be about!
4
Bill
"fourmations" <niallpisso...@academysigns.com> wrote in message
news:89AGg.12931> >> hi all
>
> I am not a huge fan of cyphers work and feel he uses cheap shock tactics,
> the imagery is crass and lacks any sort of interpretation,
Your disapproval is mild but commendable. I'm surprised, living as we do
in a time when being judgemental is almost the worst sin immaginable.
> but many artists always have (and will be) into sexual imagery.
Being "into' and being obsessed by them as Cyph seems to be are two
different things.
> his subject matter is not so shocking to me and his honesty
> about his vices is just to do with his age and is pretty acceptable in
this
> day and age.
Acceptable to whom ? Followed to it's logical conclusion maybe we should
overlook the actions of an axe murderer because after all, he has simply has
adopted an alternate life style. Should our only response be simply to
avoid his company ?
> its not so shocking that he likes sex, porn and weed, lots of people do,
Lot's of people engage in promiscuous sex, spread disease and die young. Is
that none of our business ? Lots of people drive while stoned or drunk and
kill. Is that none of our business ?
> its just that he decides to talk about it, weed is demonised by people who
> dont know
> anything about it, its no more evil that the booze
> one mans fine wine is another mans fine weed,
You overlook one small point. "Weed" as you call it is illegal in most
areas.. Are you saying that each of us should be free to obey laws we agree
with and disobey the others ? And ignore those who act that way since it's
none of our business ?
> whether you or I have any interest in his personal vices in up to the
> individual,
No. As I pointed out, many of our actions can and do have social,
legal, and criminal consequences. Consequences which go far beyond the
private concerns of private individuals. With all due respect, what I'm
getting at is my basic disapproval of these non- discrimination, non-
judgemental attitudes. A person who does not discriminate between the way he
treats dogs and the way he treats humans, is just one step away from
treating humans like dogs. Discrimination is simply another way of using our
brains. It's the only thing that makes us truly different from pond scum.
I know that discrimination has become almost an epithet but civilization is
the worse because of it. Condemn my discrimination if you wish. I like to
think of it as one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind.
Regards, Bill
Mani Deli
>Lot's of people engage in promiscuous sex, spread disease and die young.
Lots of people engage in sex and don't spread disease because they are
educated in safe sex. Most people in Europe aren't as sexually
ignorant as in the U.S.
> Is that none of our business ?
It's our business to educate people about sex instead of lying to
them.
> Lots of people drive while stoned or drunk and
>kill. Is that none of our business ?
No comparison. Sounds like this guy is also a prude.
>