As promised, i will propose a summary of my north america culture discoveries, particularily about the totem poles, with few drawings, explanations and serious comments.

When i say totem pole, i think that you have in mind this huge sculpted trunk with a sort of animlal stacking, so this is the totem pole and you allready saw one in a BD, book or maybe in real ! But do you have some idea how that works, what that means or how to read it ?

Totems, or "totem poles" can be found in a particular place in the canada west Coast called the « British Columbia » (Near Vancouver, where the 2010 olympic games will take place). The totems are called « chiefs » over there by the tribes members, and if you want to know more about theses after reading this near-to-reality article, you had to go over there? If it's a bit too far for you, i can suggest you the « musée du quai Branly » in Paris (tips if you go there : first sunday of the month, almost all museums are free in paris, except during summer), but if it's still too far i really can't say where you can find one in ireland !!!

A totem's life ?

The totem is made from Cedar (not the lebanese's one, but those wich come from canada, it's bigger and stronger than maple). It's carved with manual tool (not with bare hands) by experts of wood-carving. Once put in the ground and standing proudly in the landscape, no one is permitted to take care of it : no wood stain, neither stell cables for straighten it up.

It's like a man's life : the totem have a birth and death.

Life is about 80 years (clike the turtles), but it can be shorter (60-50 years, like jackO), if the trunk is exposed to rough weather, and 120 years if it's in a protected area, and finally an eternal life if it is put into a museum (Like Vladimir illitch oulianov), but this is not the true place of a totem

Different kind of totems ?

There are different types of totems. The most known are theses big poles of 15 meters high, but here the full list of totem's and their use :

• The Welcome totem pole. (Working like a «Welcome»doormat on the doorstep of your apartment).

• The House totem, wich is used to support the marquee of the tepee, they often goes by couple like for the big top of the circus tent.

• The totem in front of the house, in the garden, used for watching in the distance and see if troubles are on their way to the house. (nowadays, cctv camera are used for this task)

• The totem door : we go through the totem wich is carved in a very large tree. It is used for the main door of the tent.

• Mémorial totem. This is the famous one, wich require something like one year for the preparation. Some recent totems habe been crafted with mechanical process with several trunks stacked, reaching the 50 meters. They are huge but are not genuine totem in a sense that they had to be build with human forces.

• The mortuary totem. (To collect the ashes, working exactly the same way as a funeral urn).

• The commercial pole(commissioned, for the museums.., this one has absloutely no meaning or signification).

• And the last one : the shame pole, used for ridiculized someone, or to denounce slavery or the past that amercian white did to the natives.

The 3 carvings tribes

3 sort of totems have been found in the northern amercia, with different styles due to the tools used. If you see a real pole, you will see the origin of the totem with the name of the tribe written on the little plate beside the pole.

• Haïda, these are really monumental, with a ratio between head and body of ½.

• Tsimshian. Theses are carved 360° and are painted qith colors like red and black. Ratio between head and body is 1/3.

• Tlingit. Ore colorfull with red black, blue and green.

Party totem

Erecting a totem is not something easy to do. This is done when there is a special event to celebrate such as a weeding, death ot birth. One year is required to prepare the totem pole, find the trunk, carve it, but you have also to prepare the big party and get enough food for the « potlatch", wich is a several days party where all the tribe come. Those who want to erect a totem have to be rich as well and they are on a general manner the tribe's chief or thoses who did well with the furs market during the 1800-1860, a golden age of the totems (but no one of this era is still standing)

So, doing a totem is not free and should be connected to a particular event.

Vertical Reading

We comonly start to read a totem from the ground to the top, but it's false : the most important character is a the top, generally represented by his totem animal, the people for whom the totem have been done stand at the top. Most of the times is there mystical bird, an eagle or thunderbird carved at the top, and rarely a frog or a rabbit....

What's the story about ?

So we have seen that there are several stacked animals, mammiferous, fish, insect , plant and natural phenomenom. Well the totem is a compilation of all theses character to tell a story, a real story or tales from the north american culture. I've put a list of the main characters found in a totem

• The Thunderbird.  (wich makes the sound of thunder when it flaps his wings)

• The Kolus (the thunderbird cousin)

• The Hokw-Hokw (Terrific bird who like to eat brains)

• The sea snake (wich can bring good and evil)

• Dzoonokwa (this is a very tall hairy woman living in the forrests of canada. She do "Ooh Ooh" to scare the people, but showing herself is more frightening. She is also called bigfoot" and "sasquatch".

• The watchmen Ctheses little mens have very strong power and are most of the time on the top of the pole.They are the protector of the tribe and can see the danger coming from abroad. We can identify the strength of the chief with measurung the height of their hats.

• 2 birds i've forgot to write the name down. As the crow isn't in the list, i think theses are the crow, with a beak in different position : looking up and down. The crow is largely used in the totem poles

• The eagle. The beak is curved and there are two orifices on it.(we don't find theses orifices on the other birds).

• Falcon /Hawk . Well, ok if it's not obvious to see the difference between eagle and falcon, furthermore is the translation between hawk and falcon not so obvious as well. The classification of birds is slightly different between europe and america, and theses terms don't design a particular bird but a family of birds. Anyway, this one don't have orifices in the beak when carved, so this will help to make the difference.

• The bear we can recognize the bear thnaks to his teeth, the ears and the rounded muzzle wich show flattened nostrils.Don't trust the brown color of the totem. Brown like a bear, that sounds ok, but sometimes is the eagle brown, the fish and the wolf.

• The beaver. Easy ! The beaver has always something to chew in his hands. You can't miss the tow frontal teeth as well (or maybe confuse with the rabbit, but rabbits are not common on the poles and very few indians have « rabbit » for nickname. We can see also the beaver tails wich is ornated with lattice pattern. For the story, the beavers are really dreadfull lumberjack, they can put a 10 meters high tree in pieces in a one day work.

• The wolf. Well i allready mixed up the bear and the wolf. It sounds weird but they look similar on a pole So for finding a wolf, you had to look at the crawling posture. It get many many teeth as well and the ears wich are lying in wait.

• The frog. This is not a very impressive animal on a totem pole and is usually placed in the ears or nostrils of bigger animals.

• The whale killer. Theses mammiferousare quiet a pretty beast. The kind of fish wich is really hard to fish. This totem is usally given to the courageous fishermen who had the guts to fish barehand with the hrpoon on a cockleshell. We recognise the whale killer thnaks to his huge dorsal fin and the two spots near the eyes.The size on totem pole is generally the same as the other charachters even if this one is really bigger.

• The humpback whale. 15 meters long, more than 10 tons, and you don't want to stay close during the humpback (seen in ireland east coast this week !)? This is the kind of fish wich can provide one year of food for the whole tribe. Then you had to have in mind theses indians sailing the sea into fill the fridge up... it worth the totem name. To recognise it, you will see the hole behind the head the big fins and the tail of a big fish...

• The shark. Smaller than the two previous fish, we know it because his numerous appearrance in the hollywood's blockbusters. His pointed head and his teeth, lot of pointed teeth make him recognizable.

Few stories :

So you have seen the few animals describes, stacked on each other heads. Well it usually means something like a strory or a tale like the following wich are well known over there.

• “Nanasquet and the whale”

• “the bear woman.”

• "Why the crow is black ?"

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Why the Raven is black

Long ago when the Earth was very young the Great Spirit was painting the birds along the banks of the river.

He had just finished with Raven's feathers, and Raven was looking at them in the river. But Raven was unpleased and he looked back to the Great Spirit, but he had already gone. He then looked at Eagle, whose feathers he admired very much. Then he noticed that The Great Spirit had left his paints by the river.

Raven asked Eagle to paint him as beautifully as The Great Spirit had painted him, but Eagle refused.

Raven begged Eagle until he finally agreed, Eagle painted Raven and when he was finished he was very pleased.. Raven went to look at his feathers in the river.. He was furious, his feathers where a mess compared to before.. He and Eagle fought, spilling the Great Spirits paints all over Raven, Raven leapt into the river and flapped against the current but the black color would not fade. Seconds later the Great Spirit returned. Raven begged the Great Spirit to paint him again, to fix his ugly feathers, but the Great Spirit refused, and said "Because of your sin of envy you shall learn to value what you have, from this day forward you will remain with Black beak, Black feet, Black breast, and Black eyes.

-o-

So here is my little experience about this culture. You may find 1000 more things on wikipaedia but waht i've told is real lived content. I'll make you a paper about the north indian american culture for the next time, to see how it was before christoph columbus and after

here are few pictures about totem poles and a try to tell what it means...

The beaver at the front

This one is a bit more complicated... So at the top is there a bird i can't recognise, it may be a toucan but i'm not quite sure.... maybe is the main character of this story very talky, Just under this bird, we can find a Kwak-kwak, bird wich like to eat the brains, overhanged by deafs watchmens. Maybe was the character deaf. Just beneath is there a human caring a baby (maybe a woman), wich is overhanged by watchemns. Maybe was she, the wife of the talky deaf guy wich was caring the baby and watching after his husband as well.

The last one : about a fishermen (can't you see the wahles at the bottom ?) So the guy at the top may be the famous fisherman, using a harpoon for fishing, with the help of a raven(on his head), raven is linked to the sun and is a guide for finding the way back. Just under the fisherman is there a huge frog (quiet unusual) then a Owl (or something like that) and then a big whale (well, as you see, reading a totem pole is not so obvious and i really don't know how to explain this frog and this Owl (wich looks like a fox sometimes), maybe with browsing the tales and indian story can we find more about this story...

Petit appercu de la ceremonie de remise des prix de la competition LUAS ART 2009 qui s'est passée mercredi 20 janvier 2009 au Dublin Notianl College dans les docklands.

J'ai revu des anciens participants de l'année dernière ainsi que les membre de la RPA dont Lynda Stewart, Franck Allen etc....

Aprés les petits fours et le café, la remise des prix s'est faite avec une petite description de chaque oeuvre, une phot o et un commentaire personnel. Pour ma part je suis un « Old Friend » de Franck allen et que la RPA me prosecuterais si je recommence un dessin sur un ligne de tram en service...

Et le vainqueur est...

Le premier prix fut une cravatte en forme de tramway, il y eu d'autres oeuvres aussi, photography, collages, peintures, etc.... Il y a eu moins de participants (entre 65 et 100) cette année contrairement aà l'année dernière malgré les publicités et flyers distribués dans Dublin. Recession artistique aussi ? J'ai revu Jean Pollier aussi, qui malheuresement n'a pas vu son dessin apparaitre dans le calendrier, j'espere le voir incessament sous peu.... c'est du Norman Rockwell ce qu'il fait !

Mois d'avril.

Alors ce que j'ai gagné cet année, c'est un goodie bag ainsi qu'un calendrier (voir fin de l'article pour vous le procurer gratuitement), une clef USB en forme de Luas (la classe) ainsi que l'apparition de mon Oeuvre dans le calendrier...

Les photos de cette matinée.

Voici quelques photos prises par moi ce matin, d'autres photos suivront dont celle des journalistes, etc... desolé pour les quelque flous

Eamon Whyte’s "unTIEteld"

Jean Pollier ( finaliste 2008) & Agnieszka Szot

There O'keeffe

 Digital camera having a rest...

Pour toute ceux qui desirent obtenir le calendrier LUAS, envoyez dés à present votre requete à Lynda Stewart de la Railway Procurment Agency ( Lynda.Stewart@rpa.ie ), attention il y a un nombre limité de calendrier alors depechez vous....

D'avantage sur le site RPA- LUAS :

http://www.rpa.ie/en/news/Pages/RPAAnnouncesWinnerofRPA-LuasArtCompetition2009.aspx

Winning Entry & Biographical Information 2009

Click here to view or download

Runners-up Entries and Biographical information 2009

Click here to view or download

Click here to view or download

Click here to view or download
Press Release RPA-Luas Art Competition 2009

Click here to view or download

Here is an littel overview of the third LUAS celabration of the RPA-LUAS art competition 2009, wich took place last wednesday 20 of january at the Dublin National College in the Docklands.

I saw few faces i did recognise from the last year ceremony, and the members of the RPA like Lynda stewart and Franck Allen (CE), and all the public relation crew ...

And the winner is...

The winning entry was a tie with the shape of the Luas on a very serious young hardworker (the meaning of the docklands?), there has been a huge diversity among all the proposed pieces, with photography, paintings, ctrl+C / ctrl+V, and digital media).This competition seems to take an advertisement and illustration side. I've met an old friend there as well, named « Jean pollier »( his drawing) and was a runner' up of the last year competition, but didn't succed in this edition. I've saw his artwork and i really liked it. (here is a link to see what he sent for the competition) I like his style,.. a bit of norman rockwell .

April fool's.

This is my month ! Well my picture is displayed in the calendar at the month of april. I've also won agoodie bag with a teddy bear Luas, a rain jacket (irish are very funny), a Luas Usb key with looks like a luas car (collector) and a small cash prize for buying anything i want anywhere but something not too expensive.

Picture of the event

Some pictures about this morning : they are not really good but 3 journalist where there and did took millions of pictures, so as soon as i get them, i will post them on pagazine.

Eamon Whyte’s "unTIEteld"

Jean Pollier ( finalist 2008) & Agnieszka Szot

There O'keeffe

 Digital camera having a rest...

And for all thoses who wants to get the 2010 calendar edition, you can get it for free with sending an e-mail to Lynda stewart at the rpa : ( Lynda.Stewart@rpa.ie ), Warning, there is a limited amount of calendar available so dont' wait too long !

More about RPA- LUAS :

http://www.rpa.ie/en/news/Pages/RPAAnnouncesWinnerofRPA-LuasArtCompetition2009.aspx

Winning Entry & Biographical Information 2009

Click here to view or download

Runners-up Entries and Biographical information 2009

Click here to view or download

Click here to view or download

Click here to view or download
Press Release RPA-Luas Art Competition 2009

Click here to view or download

Grâce à pierre (pas moi, un autre), j'ai fait la connaissance d'un réseau de galerie en France dont le but est de vendre des toiles d'artistes. Et pour faire partie de ce carré très select, il faut envoyer un dossier contenant 4 toiles carrées (30 x 30cm ; 20 x 20cm ; 15 x 15cm et 10 x 10cm), ainsi que le dossier dument complété.

Ce réseau de galerie propose des œuvres à un format bien spécifique et pratique des prix fixes par format sans se soucier de la renommée de l'artiste. Je pense qu'ils ont en ce moment même mon dossier sous les yeux (et vous aussi car j'en mis 3 peintures de poissons en photo). J'attends donc leur verdict, mais je veux bien le votre avant le leur....

Un poisson poète.

Le poisson aborigène.

La reprise chez les poissons.

J'attends avec impatience la reponse du jury de carré d'art....

Thanks to (not me, another pierre), i've discovered a new gallery network in France called "carré d'art", who are selling original artists works in France (few city in France). If you want to be part of the selection, you had to sell 4 originals paintings, square format (30 x 30cm ; 20 x 20cm ; 15 x 15cm et 10 x 10cm), and a description of you work and CV.

This network provide paintings with the same format and a fixed price, so if the artist is famous or not, it's the same price. I think they got my file at the moment and you as well as i've put the picture of 3 of the proposed fish. So, i'm waiting for their reply. and maybe yours ..

Poet Fish

Aboriginal Fish

Return to work

J'attends avec impatience la reponse du jury de carré d'art....

De retour de Bonnes ou j'ai eu mon exposition pendant le week-end du 12-13 Décembre 2009.  Beaucoup de poissons et quelques paysages, et beaucoup de visiteurs.

C'était une première la-bas pour une exposition de peinture, j'ai essuyé les plâtres et je suis assez satisfait du résultat. Une installation rapide, puis un vernissage le samedi après midi à la Maison pour Tous de Bonnes avec petits chocolats, thé et café. (ca change des vernissages irlandais). On a eu l'occasion de tester les yeux phosphorescents des poissons.

Quelques photos de l'ouverture pour ceux qui n'etaient pas là....

Well, as i said , i would like to thank all thoses who did support me last year with buying me pictures. I've paint some fish during christmas holidays, now is there a special limited fish serie which are now going to meet their new lucky owner. (wait for the mailman...)

Here is the gallery of this special limited edition ; discover the one that you did receive and see what's the name of the painting !

So if you want to be part of the limited edition 2010,  you know what you had to do this year ....

PS : Don't forget that fish's eyes are glowing....  : put the fish in front of a light for few minutes, then switch of all the lights and see what happens....

Oh canada, terre de nos aïeux.. this is the national anthem of this country where i've spent 2 weeks last november. Here are few samples of my sketchbook : drawings and watercolor of Ottawa in Autumn covered by the red maple leaves. Outdoor sketching was a bit difficult with the "close to zero" temperatures. (Restaurant on Preston Street)

Canada is a very different city compared to the european one. Found in the 1800's, ans proclaimed capital of canadain 1857, most of the buldings are still standing : a very quiet capital with very few history compare to thoses on the old continent. (Here is a detail of the parliament building).

Another particularity of the city is the huge concentration of massive 19th centurychateauesque buldings such as the "Laurier chateau". (detail on picture), such bulding we can see in bavaria with the Neuschwanstein castel of Ludwig 2). Like a fairy tale except that thethis one is hauted by his owner who drowned with the titanic few days before the opening of the castle).

A common view when you come in the new world are the emergency stairs in all the buildings, so not only in U.s but in Canada as well... wich is  not part of the USA. Canada is canada ! Even if the streets are North-South and East-West, people inside are really different : nothing happens in this country : no murder, no crime, et.. the most significative crime over there are driving slightly over the speed limits and the bike theft.... so a bitdifferent compare to thier neighboor.

A view of  chinatowon in the afternoon, i did get my favorite lights there : the orange and razing ray of light before thesunset. So chinatown is located in somerset street (on the picture), one of the  fourth street with life. Life in a sense that there are some human presence in the streets (Canada is a very quiet country). Many chinese shops and restaurant there.

The rideau Canal (on the picture), the most famous thing in Ottawa because Ottawa exists thanks to this canal, found by mister By. After few years of military use, then commercial use, then touristic use, the ottawa City Council decided few 30 years ago (or more) to make all what was needeed to tranform it into the biggest ice rink in the World... with some 8 Km of length; this worth a view and a try if you are in Ottawa in  February. (I had to come back to see that then !)

Another interresting thing in Ottawa is the serie of Locks (on the picture) to make the boats climb some 20 meters of  height.A serie of 7 pf them are located just between the laurier chateau and the parliament hill, and boast the oldest building of Ottawa : the house of Mister By, wich originaly call his town by his name : "By town".

And the last thing i've discovered here is the North american Indian culture wich was really huge before Mr Colomb... called the pre-Columbian art. I've discovered that most of the things we know about indian is relatively new and did happens after the invasion of america. So, i did get interrest into this not-yet dead civilisation wich is completely amazing.

Now can i read a totem-pole ! This civilisation is still present but you had to go further to the west and reach the British Columbia to get the most of it... another good reason to come back to Canada...

(my colored version of an ancient indian drawing)

Here are few pictures during the opening exhibition of the " peintres Vertois" in Vert-le-Petit, France. The opening was really great with a first half hour to discover the paintings, then few words from the lord mayor Luc Borg, then few refreshments for the opening night.

I was showing with two other artists :Nathanaelle Tomazzi and Yvon Roux, with two different styles : The afican women and the landscapes from essonne. I was the transition between the two styles with my landscapes from Dublin and Vert le petit and the fishes

The fishes have had a real success with all children (7-77 Year Old). I really enjoyed that people did like my paintings and i get cheers and congratulations from the visitors, i was also happy to have had my first french exhibition in my hometown... and maybe before reaching the galleries of paris (who knows ?)

 The exhibition runs till end of December and the exhibition space is open at the library hours, and from 10 to 5 on wednesday and saturday. Please let me few words on the visitor book if you come !

Pictures with : some fishes, visitors, lord mayor, artist yvon roux & nathanaelle tomazzi and your blogger !

I would like to thanks Evelyne for the preparation, advertisement and her good & precious advices when hanging up the paintings 

Voici quelque photos prisent lors du vernissage de l'exposition des peintres Vertois à Vert-le-Petit. L'ouverture s'est trés bien passé avec une petite demi-heure de bonjour et decouverte des oeuvres, puis le discours de monsieur le maire, Luc Borg, puis le cocktail pour prolonger le vernissage.

  J'étais accompagné de deux autres artistes : Nathanaelle Tomazzi ainsi que Yvon Roux, dans deux styles differents : les femmes africaines et les paysages de la region. J'etais un peu la transition entre ces deux univers avec à la fois mes paysages de dublin et les poissons.

Les poissons qui ont eu un vrai succés au prés de 7-77 ans présents à l'ouverture. J'etais ravi de voir que ici aussi les gens aimaient. J'ai recu de trés vifs encouragments et les felicitations du public. J'etais aussi trés heureux d'avoir pu réaliser ma première exposition francaise à Vert le Petit, en attendant d'être admis dans les galeries parisiennes....

L'exposition dure jusqu'à fin Décembre et la salle est ouverte aux heures de la bibliothèque en semaine l'après midi ainsi que le mercredi et samedi matin / après midi...pensez à laisser un petit mot sur le livre d'Or

En vrac : le Discours du maire.  rencontre avec le public ; explication de l'origine des poissons ; monsieur le maire ;  l'artiste peintre yvon roux et quelques poissons...

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Un grand merci à Evelyne pour avoir organisé l'evenement et pour tout ses bons conseils pendant la préparation et l'accrochage des toiles.