W O J C I E C H P L O C H A R S K I

600 Years After

Bthencourt
2014
From the Notes on a Napkin
Crocodile meat tastes like a combination
of squid and fish, and it has not a lot
in common with chicken.
The meat from the tail is white, quite firm, the consistency
resembles poultry breast. This reptile is muscular,
agile and strong, and the dish
invigorates.
Its good to break the flavor by adding capers ! so that
this e"otic #ourney might free$e
in an aura of almost philosophical discovery.
...
Nuknacker und Mauseknig
A successful evening at the opera
On the stage a work on the canvas of text by Prussian commis-voyageur E.T.A. Hoffmann
musically frame! by Tchaikovsky.
"utch scenography#
conveying the $%thcentury &arsaw 'from the perspective of the tra!ition of (etherlan!s painting)
an! a strong point* the ambitious ballerinas !ancing on the forest lake.
+maginative transfer of action to the interior of the Laterna Magica in the last act
the fulfillment of chil!hoo! !reams.
Easy# catchy music , sometimes conveying the sentimental selfassurance of the authoritarian empire#
at times as sweet as honey.
Perhaps# the literary prototype
was inspire! by a ro!ents feast on holi!ay crumbs of nuts#
perhaps for the war of toys an! mice in &arsaw tenement
excess alcohol is to blame
+n my stu!ent !ays# in the Tenement under Samson - where Hoffmann live!#
+ use! to !rink heate! mea! with cloves ... Hmm#
but nowhere to be seen mice.
MMXIV, Warsaw
!!iance o" W#ite and Ma#ogany
-ellist playing an instrument with a !eep sha!e. .. /aur01s $!%gie
flows like a canto of ol!# noble tree
2ibrating# bass soun! of the southern forest
passes then into
the virtuosic 3aint3a4ns &oncerto in Minor' There#
the soun! climbs from registers of thick trunk
to the small leaves at the top of a sprea!ing crown.
The story is spee!ing# !riven by the orchestra
in the concert hall with a balance!# peaceful !ecor5
the alliance of white an! mahogany with a !eep sha!e
!oesn1t !istract the min!. ...The taste of this narrative
is like an effect of !inner with mussels. 6ou free7e 'briefly)
in solemn concentration.
MMXIV
T#e S#adow o" Idy!!
+ know 8elarus probably as goo! as my own country.
Professionally an! privately + toure! there ma9or cities# important historical sites#
tourist an! natural attractions etc.
Average# la7y 'not to say slothful) 8elarusian town
has always two religious buil!ings in the center
usually both baro:ue# with white faca!es an! green roofs.
Provincial life goes !ormant between Ortho!oxy an! -atholicism.
Also ... in the sha!ow of !espotism. 3arcophagi of the sarmatians in (esvi7h or
the hut of noble boss of the 8olshevik secret police 'in the (aliboki forest) remin! us of this.
;eanwhile# at the railway station 2ia7ynka in the former homestea! of a literary classic
hypnotic i!yll will surprise you# when you1ll lie !own 'biting a bla!e of grass)
on a green mea!ow. +n the north#
calm waves of a large an! a little neglecte! lake (arach will !eepen your i!yll
<<<
+n ;insk + visite! various restaurants. ;ainly#
+ took a liking to 8elarusian# +talian an! =7bek cuisines.
+ was repeate!ly encircling the slothful !espotism on my culinary trail.
MMXIV
(m)eror*s +enovated &!ot#es
At the premiere of the opera !uste! off by the avantgar!e patriarch...
+t1s his youthful work.
He chose there the role of minimalist e,ecutioner of the libretto
musically
illustrative or ornamental function# however# is not enough.
Throughout this work
the lack of even one recogni7able melo!ic theme#
on which to hang the ear.
A little bit of borrowings but un!evelope! from 8ritten#
who was fashionable inter alia in the >?s.
2erbal message ambitious# humanistic memento
vanishes in screaming# arty cacophony...
People took off their hats before this in the >?s#
but one can see
this erstwhile colourful blown egg
to!ay is strongly fa!e!.
MMXIV
-e"ore .o!ong
@amb chops on the bone# roast beef or fillet of sturgeon
are !ishes from a !ecent shelf.
They share the richness of the flesh#
balance! an! noble taste.
Thermal treatment shoul! be mo!erate
not excessive.
The !ish then !issolves in the mouth causing a state of bewil!erment#
revelatory ama7ement#
an! even substitute of nirvana
The subtlety of lamb# beef expressiveness# sensual flavor of the fish
are the beginning of the 9ourney#
e.g. with goo! music from the 8aro:ue mansion#
where can!lelight is the back!rop for the soun! of cutlery
=sually + replenish the state of bliss with a cup of oolong tea#
with a !istant# hint of rice#
which takes me to the /ar Eastern scenery of 9unks
an! woven# conical hats.
MMXIII
T#e Laug#ter Wit#out /ua!ities
;y first Aa!ultB book was T#e Man Wit#out /ua!ities by Cobert ;usil#
borrowe! , as + remember , from the library in elementary school#
unshapely an! s:uat# Prussian buil!ing with thick walls.
&ith kowtowing# pupil1s attention + wa!e! through this ambitious , as + remember
thicket of misanthropic !igressions# melancholic mixture of passivity an! heroism of min!.
T#e &on"usions o" 0oung Tr!ess , another item , was easier#
although not i!entical with the worl!# which + knew. +t was rather a rea!ing about
!istant lan!s with their bi7arre inhabitants ...
Another of my Aa!ultB books became T#e Man W#o Laug#s by 2ictor Hugo , a horror
novel# a little ol!fashione!# but captivating fantasy# rapi!ly written by the writer#
who ha! no ambitions of an existential mentor like ;usil
he1s 9ust !elivering to market shocking stories with a social message.
These stories have initiate! a long list of ambitious rea!ings from the canon of worl! literature
'to which perhaps + will refer yet)
+ was Awa!ingB always through them with kowtowing# pupil1s attention
in or!er to refer afterwar!s to their existential :ualities with mentor1s smile.
MMXIV
Mondrian*s (""ect
The (etherlan!s is a small# bourgeois country# everything is close...
The Ci9ksmuseum from the 2an .ogh ;useum separates only a walk in the park#
short train ri!e connects Amster!am with The Hague or "elft.
However# to reach the Stede!i1k Museum, + ha! to stray first by tram#
an! from the train station , to wan!er through the ma7e of port !ecorations.
The e!ifice was converte! from an in!ustrial buil!ing# collections of mo!ern art
successfully cu!!le! up to a minimalist# raw interior.
-lassic contemporary art hung on the bright walls# remin!ing
about the !are!evils# who aban!one! art un!erstoo! as artistry# for a simpler concept of i!ea
or message.
D"are!evilsD# who claim to be artists in the E$st century# alrea!y rather cultivate
the fiel! base! on effect# trick or shock although to the Stede!i1k Museum
or the 2an .ogh ;useum an! the Ci9ksmuseum is close to!ay from the entire worl!.
<<<
&anting to stan! on the bor!er between artistry an! message#
+ ha! to follow the ma7e of Stede!i1k to Piet ;on!rian ...
His combinations of straight lines an! colours# were hung mo!estly on the bright walls#
remin!ing that sometimes the trick an! art separates a short walk in the park
or a ri!e outsi!e the city.
MMXIV
Meg#a!aya 2ouse
+ watch a partial eclipse of the sun in the capital
at ;eghalaya House# belonging to the state
which came into being as the result of Assam partition.
+ see more on T2 an! in newspapers
than from the patio.
On the balcony over the postcolonial gar!en
+ notice# behin! collapsible table leaning against the wall#
a pigeon incubating several eggs. This pair
resi!es on the balcony...
-eiling fans pro!uce win!# by !int of which
the room# arrange! in the style of the >?s#
is a pleasant shelter# insulate! from the hot sun.
+ see on T2 as the mouth of ravenous gourman!
gnaws it slowly...
<<<
+n !ining room !ownstairs + wolf with appetite
sublime works of home cuisine.
Heate! , like by the sun# + chill my teeth in table water.
New 3e!#i
.de to 0out#
The beginning of the F?s. +1m in high school classroom in a $%thcentury buil!ing#
!esigne! by a light an! a stea!y han!. High# sunny win!ows overlook the school park.
&e stu!y the romantic works by ;ickiewic7 'inventive follower of 8yron an! 3chiller)#
un!er the watchful eye of a very goo! teacher of Polish language.
These lessons are a training of reason an! at the same time# fun a time machine. 3oon
+ become a top stu!ent.
Passe! E? years. +1m in (owogrG!ek Cegion in 8elarus. + report from Haosie#
where ;ickiewic7 was born on the celebrations of the E??th anniversary of his birth.
&oo!en buil!ings have been reconstructe! there# the place has a nostalgic aura ...
+ throw the news to a small news agency# which is# however#
part of international system of connecte! vessels goo! news
can therefore have a multimillion au!ience. + have no competition here#
so + am the first.
<<<
&hen# some time later# + rea! in ;insk the 8elarusian newspaper
stating that Mickiewic4 3ays were organi7e!# i. a.# in Comania
'which has no any relationship with the 3lavic bar!)
+ pay cautious homage to the ambitious e!ucationist from the classroom with high# sunny win!ows
overlooking the school park. + !o this in public
probably as the first.
MMXIV
5ood .!d Turgenev
+ walk the !og a lot# but not so as e.g. Turgenev# because without a shotgun.
+ live in the metropolis# E? min. by car from the city center# but in a place like
that !uring walks we encounter wil! boars 'the boars an! sows with piglets)#
roe !eer# hares# wil! bir!s# even beavers.
One time in the morning on the fence surroun!ing the nearby private park
+ saw a moose hin! legs# which... stuck between the metal bars.
The female moose trying to 9ump the fence at night hung on it in a rather comical pose.
The animal survive! until !awn5 municipal guar!s an! the vet 9ust were preparing
for its release. 3oon# with minor woun!s from the fence#
moose was taken to the clinic.
6 2unter*s Sketc#es# +udin# Nest o" t#e 5entry# .n t#e (ve an! other Turgenev1s works.
A little wistful an! monumental# but always realistic# of fiction# noble#
empathetic towar!s peasant neighbors# affirming nature. To this !ay# + associate them
with the crunch of snow on frosty mornings# snorting of a hunting !og an!
moral romanticism of province.
<<<
8ut# it was 9ust a springlike clangor of fiel!stone bir!s in relation to
what later happene! in the Cussian literature.
+t1s the story of beautiful an! prou! moose on the roa! from wil! thicket
towar!s the English lan!scape park.
MMXIV
3eg!et Nour
Phla +slan!# locate! in the ancient @ake Tritonis#
is not specifically recor!e! as + checke! in public archaeological sources.
Hmm + thought with a smile* you can go to the &#ott e! 31erid
an! !iscover settlement of 3partan colonists
'The colony was establishe!# by the will of the oracle#
on the islan! mentione! by Hero!otus
an! inhabite! by @ace!aemonians.)
However# to!ay# @ake Tritonis no longer exists#
no one is looking for the foun!ations of the settlement burie! in salt.
(earby# local palm trees bear the sweetest !ates in Tunisia
an! large olive trees form vast plantations
+f someone overtakes me# let him remember#
that + am entitle! to $? percent of fin!er1s rewar!.
Hmm although iron was value! more than gol! in @aconia
+ say it solemnly# reaching for the sweetest !ates of the !ish.
MMXIII
t t#e &rad!e o" 7eus
@asithi Plateau in -rete
looks like a peasant table covere! with a patterne! tablecloth.
3lightly above# on a mountain slope# is the entrance to the "ikti cave.
On the eve of Titanomachy#
the cra!le of Heus stoo! there hi!!en from -ronus appetite
Hesio! mentions this.
+ went !own# in the row of tourists# to the bottom of the grotto#
but now only the nymph Echo lives there.
Cesearchers in public sources !o not emphasi7e
the similarities of chil!ish fates of Heus an! +n!ian Irishna.
8oth were in !anger from the !espots# both escape! it5 classes with nymphs
also fille! their youthful years.
+ mention this because in the +n!ian ;athura
+ visite! in the row of pilgrims as a tourist
a place where the cra!le of Irishna stoo!.
Echo between civili7ations
seems to combine both theogonies# !istorting slightly some !etails.
MMXIV
Loge at t#e 8#i!#armonic
Probably few of you reali7es#
that people with Polish roots are responsible
for half of Cussian culture an! science. Tsiolkovsky# ;alevich# 3travinsky# (i9insky ...
these names coul! be solemnly rea! like a catalog or litany.
/inally , 3hostakovich.
+1m sitting in a loge at the Philharmonic an! listen to still mo!ern
Nocturne of the Vio!in &oncerto No' 9 in minor
with an excellent motive of harmoni7ing harps an! 'it seems) celesta#
with :uiet narration of creeping violin as a lea! instrument.
Juite sluggish violinist from the East is playing as if halfhearte!ly
an! starts to strike a spark in the secon! part of the concert.
The Nocturne# however# seems foolproof although
is not so brilliant composition as it was probably in the E?th century .
Once it was a poisone! source in an oasis of !ark intellect that coul!
harm caravans. To!ay
a memorable# relaxing !rink on the roots.
MMXIV
Mao :eng
The house where +bsen live! is vis-;-vis the royal palace in Oslo.
+ts interior is !ecorate! in a bourgeois style although this known playwright
!efie! mi!!le class. This !i! not prevent him# however# eventually to take the place
in the (orwegian pantheon he touche! socially sensitive issues in an electrifying way.

There is also ;unch# whose !eca!ent paintings
express alienation towar!s bourgeois conservatism too.
&alking aroun! the creaky floor of his museum we know*
to!ay the city lubricates this 8ohemian &agon.
2igelan! 3culpture Park# alarming in 3can!inavian style
an! populate! with hun!re!s of statues of nu!e figures#
also !oes not express bourgeois values#
but the municipal authorities took care for its completion5 this human pantheon
is a manifestation of the (orwegian anthropocentrism.
To!ay# when over a rare ;ao /eng tea + think back# inter alia# to Oslo#
+ also try to express everlasting values in an electrifying way.
3ometimes + anoint some figures of bourgeois pantheon as part of maintenance.
MMXIV
<== 0ears "ter -%t#encourt
A9uy is a small fishing village on the black beach#
at the same time stratigraphic rarity for stu!ents of geology.
(eighboring cliff reveals EE million years of history of this place.
+t1s like a movie* on the first layer of volcanic basalt
lies para!ise beach of bright san!#
next# again# volcanic lava#
then fro7en in stone# sleepy !unes forme! by oceanic win!
an! subse:uent se!iments right !own to the present !ay...
The porous layers of fossili7e! san! provi!e history
written by erstwhile waves.
/or efficient imagination
it is the !escription of the coastal atmosphere from before millennia.
The effect of prehistoric visit to the photographer
portrait of nature an! immutable laws.
<<<
(ot far from here#
fifteenthcentury con:uerors of /uerteventura lan!e!.
Then pirates an! successive settlers left their traces
on the black san!.
To!ay on these beaches the fishing boats
lie !own like walruses#
congeale! in the sun# sleepy carapaces
caresse! by oceanic win!.
MMXIII
I, >u!ius
Koan ;irG is not one of my favorite painters#
+1m tire! of this carefree# !apple! an! gau!y naivety5
Cobert .raves also belongs to the peripheral gla!iators#
whom rarely + see from my loge of the art critic.
The same is true of -hopin + happen to yawn at his over7ealous virtuosity#
an! wake up hearing the successful transcription of folklore.
However le! by my 9ournalistic nose an! sense of cognitive !uty
+ visite! the :undaci? 8i!ar i >oan Mir? in -ala ;ayor# ;allorca#
looke! towar! the pictures:ue# subtropical valley from -hopin1s room in 2all!emossa
an! climbe! the mountain cemetery to see the mo!est grave of .raves in "eiL.
... Then + explore! many carefree# narrow bays#
cut !eep in the rocky lan! on the periphery
an! watche! the inventiveness of the people in the ma9or cities.
8efore leaving#
looking once again from the terrace on the top floor of the hotel
towar! the subtropical an! pictures:ue -adia de 8a!ma#
+ lifte!# to say goo!bye# my thumb up.
-hopin# .raves an! ;irG certainly breathe! a sigh of relief#
an! + !uste! off my mi!!le name.
MMXIV
+e!ie" wit# a Wi!d -oar
.Mbekli Tepe seems at first glance an emanation of rural culture#
the center of pilgrimage for the local population#
from before more than $E millennia.
8asreliefs insi!e the complex
'which is consi!ere! the ol!est human temple)
were ma!e in an attractive# lu!ic manner
in or!er to be watche! not 9ust by priests# but mostly visitors.
+mages of often !angerous# wil! animals from the neighborhoo!
ha! to have an impact on the imagination of the inhabitants of prehistoric
stone villages.
They were walking there probably for eschatological purposes#
perhaps it has something to !o with basrelief
with the image of a vulture
an! with the fact that# so far# archaeologists have foun! no graves there.
One thing seems certain* the creators of animal reliefs ma!e them not with fear5
but for aesthetic purposes# so to say# unemotionally# filling someone1s or!er.
Art critic woul! a!! further that the sculptures of wil! boars# foxes# wil! cat
were ma!e with a stea!y han!# realistically#
but with free!om# an a!mixture of abstraction.
<<<
+t was a worl! of !etermine! hunters# who
have alrea!y begun to intro!uce to their environment
the abstract symbolism.
8ut eschewing pathos an! expiation.
MMXIV
5arden
The figure of 3choenberg always appeare! to me# somewhere in my imagination#
as a silhouette of innovative patriarch.
+n 2ienna# first + was passing in!ifferently by rno!d Sc#n@erg &enter
on 3chwar7enbergplat7 N# to... eventually go there for almost solemn#
sentimental visit.
The conviction that he ha! a pioneering influence on the music of the E?th century
was confirme!# when + reali7e! that besi!es me an! my wife
there was only one more visitor insi!e.
&ell# + !o not !espair
when things of goo! :uality are not pauperi7e! by cheap popularity.
3choenberg was eventually the creator of many contemplative compositions
i!eal as an illustration for a chess game or pipe smoking sessions.
His chamber works or these inten!e! for string ensembles
ensure open !iscourse with the listener they are like a conversation
con!ucte! in 2iennese kitchen with a high ceiling# in a clou! of tobacco smoke.
As a painter he was average 'troubles with perspective)# although + kept
one of his paintings in my photographic stamm@uc#.
+t1s about 5arden 'oil on boar!)#
where !espite the awkwar!ly presente! fence with wire mesh
he skilfully conveye! moo! of contemplative observation.
MMXIV
In t#e 2a4e o" 5nawa
Essaouira is a sunny town situate! E?? km north of Aga!ir.
&in!ing streets of its medina
resemble the system of the ;e!iterranean small towns.
Exotic street pe!!lers#
reggae lovers#
hashish smokers# ven!ors
an! &estern tourists circulate here...
&in!surfers !ominate the beaches#
because the local sea bree7e is able to propel win! power stations
successfully.
The atmosphere of chivalric an! pirate history blen!s
with the tempting scent of fish from barbecue...
<<<
However ;arrakech tempts with its ol! shopping !istrict#
where you shoul! !rop by to !*2er@ot#ABue necessarily
an! buy for pennies the effects of Arab me!ical an! herbal thought#
melt into the crow! of pe!lars an! ven!ors#
watch commo!ities from !epth of Africa#
an! visit elaborately !ecorate! shop interiors.
+t1s worth a try 8erber menu in a restaurant at the e!ge
of "9emaa el /na 3:uare an! breathe the air#
hot from history literally# in the "ar ;enebhi Palace.
6ou can also listen to the hypnotic music in a cake shop
a!9acent to a music store...
+t1s a mix of Arab# 8erber# African rhythms
generally in enthusiastic an! en!less tempos.
-a!!ad o" t#e .!d Snows
+n the %?s + was in Iostroma on the 2olga
'approximately O?? km northeast of ;oscow)5
nearly P?? years after the Polish troops#
who twice occupie! the city.
8ut + was there for peaceful purposes
the Cussians trie! to show off in front of foreign 9ournalists
a!vances in !emocracy 'not entirely successfully).
+ !rove there# broo!ing about the area known me from the canvas by 3avrasov
actually the main his work# repro!uce! by school textbooks
CDEFG HDGIJKJIG'
The image captures the moo! of early spring on the back of beyon!#
is also a signal of Cussian painting1s transition from romanticism to realism.
Cealistic lan!scape the tren! among 8eredvi4#niki#
perfectly !evelope! then by @evitan#
less by Polenov or 3hishkin# innovatively by Iuin!7hi ...
Cegistration of the moment or fleeting moo!#
recor! of me!itation
since the image by 3avrasov permanently become commonplace
in the Cussian painting1s narrative.
+n the E?th century# this !irection was brought to perfection
in some custom scenes by Plastov or "eyneka.
<<<
&alking en!lessly across the long bri!ge over the 2olga#
$N?? km from &arsaw#
+ was won!ering*
but# where are the snows of years gone by
from the canvas by 3avrasovQ
MMXIV
!ong t#e West &oast o" >andia
"iving in northeastern Polan!*
scuba !iver is receive! by the fish with interest.
3mall perch an! roach hol!ing together
almost look into my eyes5
unshy flocks cognitively intrigue! escort a new# large ob9ect
in bright green !epths...
The pike motionless among the water wee!s
remains alert as solemn shepher!
on un!erwater mea!ows...
(ight !iving in western Polan!*
colorful# un!erwater life triumphantly comes alive.
;iniature fingerlings look for warmth
in san! 'warme! !uring the !ay)5
in the light of flashlights# a!ult# brin!le perch tigers from !ark green !epths
straighten their !orsal fins as plumes.
Above the bottom# in the scrub#
hang silvery# shimmering plowshares hypnoti7e! by the light
DploughmenD of un!erwater fiel!s
RRR
"iving near the beach in the 8arBue Natura! de &orra!e1o*
social# merry# un!erwater life un!er the oceanic waves5
shoals of small fish
sub9ect to the movement of waters funnily
gra7e on the rocks like silver mirrors with han!les.
@arger# exotic specimens nibble lichens an! look into my eyes
almost with a sociable neutrality. ;y unobtrusive an! !iscreet escort
in bright blue ocean !epths.
Tomorrow
when we go along the west coast of Kan!ia ,
they1ll get the !ay off.
MMXIII
&aucasus and &rimea
A year before the !eath of ;askha!ov + was on a ban! of hills#
a few kilometers north of .ro7ny# near the village of Tolstoyyurt.
Along with members of the mission of the -ouncil of Europe
we looke! at the stan!points of artillery
from the time of the Cussian-hechen conflict.
+ knew before this area# mainly from the !escriptions of @ermontov#
moreover# the Terek river flowe! many times in the pages of Cussian literature#
also in works by Tolstoy. ;ove!#
+ took from there to commemorate the shell casing from antiaircraft gun#
soon it went to the bottom of the han!y luggage an! + forgot it.
&e circle! a bumpy roa! in a military escort
looking at the living con!itions of civilians# inclu!ing in refugee camps.
+n the meantime there were presi!ential elections + met -hechens from their verk#us#ka
an! the or!inary people of the commercial !isposition
3oon# at the airport 3heremetyevo in ;oscow#
+ walke! through the gate control. 3u!!enly# people who xray luggage
fro7e. The shell casing from Tolstoyyurt appeare! on the screen.
They calme! !own
when in the passport they saw the visa for a member of the PA-E !elegation.
<<<
Tolstoy# @ermontov intro!uce! me to the realities of the -aucasus an! -rimea5
Sevasto)o! Sketc#es an! 2ero o" .ur Time are like a soun! of a bor!er control gate
in hea!.
MMXIV
(ntr%e
This principle! lecturer with military experience
reports succinctly on the causes an! circumstances
that le! 3parta an! Athens to the conflict for hegemony in Hellas.
'+n the officer ca!ets school# where# as pontonier#
+ was buil!ing# among others# crossings for tanks on the river#
his lectures woul! intro!uce an intellectual ferment.)
Chetorical performances of envoys of si!es of the conflict# which he :uotes from memory
an! meticulous !ata on the movements an! the number of troops# gain respect.
@ong &alls linking Athens with Piraeus the i!ea of Themistocles
it1s imperishable knowle!ge for future strategists.
+ntervention sortie by Athenians in @ower Egypt against the Persian satrap#
is a warning for the future :uartermasters.
3iege of Prosopitis the islan! in the (ile !elta# where the .reeks got stuck ,
this is# in turn# a challenge for comman!ers of pontoon crossings ...

<<<
After winning the battle of 3alamisin-yprus
'where recently# inci!entally# + was !iving in the clear waters)#
the Athenians force! Asians to make peace en!ing the .recoPersian conflict.
After the battles of 3ybota an! Poti!aea#
3parta an! Athens entere! a new phase of a !ispute for hegemony in Hellas.
Thucy!i!es succinctly tells us of the origins of political realism
an! the balance of power He1s like antepran!ial hummus#
which balance! taste
enchants my palate of principle! gourmet with military experience.
MMXIII
.di!on +edon*s 2eritage
2itebsk is a Cussian 9erkwater town on 8elarusian periphery
such was my general impression of staying in this city.
However# there was a place where the $%thcentury past fro7e unchange!*
fantastic# treeline! avenue somewhere in the center#
as though transferre! from impressionist painting# mounte!
ami! the concrete# rough @au#aus an! numerous s:uares of 2ictory an! Partisans.
3omewhere near# there was a cottage of -hagall with smalltown interior#
in which# if + remember correctly# kitchen !ining room was !ominant.
Then 'an! this was some time ago) + expecte! naturally that ;arc1s favorite animals*
a goat# a horse or a cock will come out on my welcome from the curtilage#
but ... nothing happene!* this# in all# solemn skansen !i!n1t provi!e
for such activities.
A pity.
+1m not especially a fan of -hagall
mainly + mean these !apple! an! trailing levitations from his !reamy !reams# but
+ appreciate there his ability to transfer the moo! of smalltown periphery
the time measure! by we!!ings# siesta an! night1s rest at the imperial shithole
<<<
D8ut O!ilon Ce!on woul! probably be prou! of such a !isciple an! followerD
+ thought then looking from the pictures:ue embankment of the "augava Civer*
spilling its la7y an! heavy waters through the worl!# which#
in the E?th century# was the inspiration to many provincial brushes.
MMXIV
.n t#e Trai! o" t#e Ma1oreros
There are !ifferent versions of the Ma1os* origin#
the precolonial inhabitants of /uerteventura.
The simplest# amateur vision is*
boats or rafts fille! with people# !ogs an! goats#
moore! on the gol!en beaches of the islan! in anti:uity...
Another variant#
also a bit fantastic# but more professional#
says that the first Ma1os were brought there from ;auritania
as slaves harvesting !yes#
pri7e! for centuries.

8ut they remin! me of the ancient tribes of the ;e!iterranean
their monuments on the islan!s
convey this i!ea anyway
Hero!otus mentione! t!antes of northwest Africa#
when he !escribe! the peoples
an! tribes from the southern si!e of the ;e!iterranean.
Ma1os probably come from there# their 8erber origin
was explaine! by linguists.
<<<
+ visite! the DcityD of these warlike aborigines
from before the 8ron7e Age.
8o@!ado de La ta!ayita is a large# tribal settlement
consisting of buil!ings an! walls#
which were lai! with volcanic stones.
+n the past# these oval# (eolithic structures
house! people an! livestock#
also serve! as granaries.
The reservoir of !rinking water was alongsi!e#
an! on top of the volcanic hill
were celebrate! appropriate rituals.
This place is still surroun!e! by original#
but !ynamic aura...
The trail from ;a9os to ;a9oreros , fro7en in stone
is mean!ering there.
MMXIII, 8!aya de! Matorra!
.ver a 5!ass o" &o""ee in &Lmara de Lo@os
+1m going to mention two interesting places associate! with -hurchill.
The first is the la7y town of /ulton in the =.3. state of ;issouri# where
the term Iron &urtain was born.
&inston spoke there on this sub9ect in $%PN at the local &estminster -ollege.
Alrea!y after the en! of the -ol! &ar
+ was !riving past this buil!ing as a 9ournalist. Earlier !uring this stay
+ was listening to the press conference at the &hite House# moreover#
looke! meticulously at political an! social mechanisms of American !emocracy.
+ a!mit that the organi7ers of this stu!y trip se!uce! us
very !iligently an! honestly. /ulton# however# was 9ust a stop on my route
from &ashington# by (orth -arolina# ;issouri an! -alifornia to (ew 6ork.
-hurchill gave there a speech on the geopolitical !ivision of Europe.
He warne! an! calle! for the unity of the EuroAtlantic worl!5 at the same time
calle! for an agreement with Cussia an! praise!
the power of the 8ritish empire. On the other si!e of the +ron -urtain
his speech was presente! in the meantime 'mercilessly) over the years
as t#reatening a dirty "inger...
The secon! place associate! with the English Prime ;inister
is a pictures:ue village of -Smara !e @obos on the islan! of ;a!eira
+ !rank there with my wife a goo! coffee in the vicinity of banana plantations.
/rom that place is also a nice view of the bay an! to another vantage point#
where -hurchill was sprea!ing out his kit to paint the lan!scape.
<<<
People probably prefer when lea!ers t#reaten with fingers '!irty by oil paints)
after finishing painting session. (o one likes when others at this time
!ecorate with tribal colours curtains separating people from the worl!.
MMXIV
L*$ducation sentimenta!e
3urely many of us first learne! the geography of Paris 'an! /rance)
through such sweet talkers like*
8al7ac# "i!erot# "umas# /laubert# /rance# .autier# Hugo# ;aupassant#
Pr0vost# Proust# 3ten!hal# 2oltaire ... or even this nitwit Cestif !e la 8retonne.
3o when + came the first time to Paris like the archetypal .ascon
+ smoothly melte! into the familiar scenery such as*
-onciergerie# @es Halles# @atin Juarter# the @ouvre# (otre"ame#
Kar!in !u @uxembourg# the -hampsTlys0es# the -hamp !e ;ars# Pont (euf#
Place !e la 8astille# Place !e la -oncor!e#
Place 2en!Ume# 3acr0-Vur# the Tuileries# 2incennes et al.
3trolling on this historical backgroun! + recreate! in the imagination
all this /rench tumult from the late eighteenth an! early nineteenth century# an! then
the whole flashy an! creative age of soli!ifying bourgeoisie#
surroun!e! by a perverse contestation of literary garrulousness.
Thanks to this literary mirror each of us# however#
coul! traverse the s:uares# streets an! alleys with Parisian plebs
or with noble provincials# eager for a career in the metropolis.
.oing the alley at the back of the church of st. 3ulpice
'known even from Sentimenta! (ducation)
+ coul! not resist the solemn d%1; vu that +1m !oing it once again.
MMXIV
T#e (m@arkation "or &yt#era
The best painting in the .emWl!egalerie Alte ;eister in "res!en
is the S!ee)ing Venus by .iorgione.
6ou can not accuse it of any !efects in the proportions# what happens
to the works of the best creators in the other rooms of the gallery.
The image of the go!!ess was painte! in the stu!io#
what you see on the lit# !rape! material at the bottom of the composition.
Cight fiel! above the !iagonal was complete! by Titian5
however# somewhat fanciful# rustic an! anti:ue !etails of the open air#
are not in conflict with the elements of the interior below the !iagonal
:uite the opposite they stabili7e
the energy of this communicative# peaceful image.
Titian even cut out 9okingly the tree in the backgroun! of 2enus
to not block the harmonious back!rop5
mo!est trunk# left in the center of the composition#
is a measure to effectively protect it
against possible allegations of bore!om or pathos.
Another painting that +1! take from there to my house willingly#
for example to the front hall#
is the 3runken 2ercu!es by Cubens a presentation of embarrasse! force
engulfe! by reveller1s weakness.
+ woul! a!! also to this the 8!easures o" Love by &atteau*
a female figure in the left corner# style! on a marble monument#
fro7e there in a pose as after the abuse of alcohol#
against the backgroun! of a fairly official circumstances
+n the nearby .alerie (eue ;eister Otto "ix put me in a goo! moo!
his hilarious# expressionist :ami!ien@i!dnis#
where comical game of characters1 looks
finally focuses our attention on the hea! of the family.
8esi!e# a picture of couple strolling on the Elbe
almost raises a volley of !erisive laughter.
;aster of a great many epigones of the late E?th century
<<<
+f + ha! these paintings in the front hall#
my living room woul! be for the guests as the (m@arkation "or &yt#era.
MMXIV 3resden