Art & Culture

Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. The name ‘Christmas’ comes from the ‘Mass of Christ’. It is a Mass service where Christians remember that Jesus died and then came back to life. The ‘Christ-Mass’ service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at midnight. Therefore, ‘Christ-Mass’ has been shortened to ‘Christmas’.

December 25th corresponds to the date of the winter solstice and is exactly nine months after the Annunciation of the birth of Christ to Mary by Archangel Gabriel, and the date of the spring equinox. Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, but a part of the Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate with the older Julian calendar, which means that Christmas is celebrated on January 7.
Each country has its own unique way of celebrating this festive season. Some of the traditions in Greece are very old even though not all are practiced in the cities.

As Greece is a sea-fairing country, it was customary in many households on the islands and on the coast to decorate a wooden ship, which symbolizes the new direction that the birth of Jesus gives to human life. It was gradually replaced by the Christmas tree with the reign of Otto I, the first king of Greece in 1832. Recently, more people and municipalities are bringing back the custom of decorating a ship in place of the Christmas tree.

Carols, which are folk songs of greeting and praise with Byzantine roots, are sung on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Epiphany. Children go from house to house accompanied by the traditional instrument of the triangle singing the carols and today instead of sweets they are given money.

The making of the Christopsomo (The Bread of Christ) on Christmas Eve is another custom. The main feature is the decorating of the bread with the cross and other Christian symbols.

The Christoxylo (Christmas wood) is burned throughout the festivities in the countryside areas of Greece. It burns from Christmas Eve until Epiphany. This is to stop the Goblins from creating havoc as they are only afraid of fire until, with the sprinkling of the Holy Water on Epiphany Day, they are forced to return to the depths of the Earth.

Santa Claus comes on New Year’s Eve instead of Christmas Day. This is the time when the Greek people exchange gifts. It is the feast of Saint Basil where the vasilopita, ‘the cake of Vasilios’ is baked with a coin inside. Saint Basil came from Cappadocia in Asia Minor and would help the poor people in his area. Whoever has the coin in his piece, will have luck throughout the year.

Lastly, on New Year’s morning, when the family returns from church, the man of the house breaks the pomegranate on the threshold and then enters the house with his right foot. This symbolizes health, happiness, and wealth all year round.

Besides the Christmas Kalanta that are sung by groups of children from house to house, many poems with the theme of the birth of Jesus Christ have been written by well-known Greek poets. One such poem is the following written by Kostis Palamas (1859-1943), the Patriarch of Modern Greek poetry and author of the Olympic Anthem. He was a leading figure in the literary world of the 1880s. He explores the post-classical and post-Byzantine Greek world. Palamas’ strong religious and liturgical connotations, unifies spiritual, philosophical, and historic notions of Hellenism. The divine birth is a recurring theme in Palamas’ poetry, a spiritual celebration of redemption and humility. His poem ‘Christmas’ is well-known and much loved.

CHRISTMAS

What light, what colour and beauty sprinkle the stars,
where to the Manger of Christ, the Magi have been brought.
A miracle in which we all long to be a part of,
even if only a straw in the stable,
when Christ opened his eyes towards the sun.
To see his first glance and his smile,
the crown of rays around his forehead.
Let me shine from his glow, just like a diamond,
and from his divine breath to become a flower.
Το smell of fragrances from scents
that were placed at His feet, when worshipped by the Magi.

Oh, oh, Christmas at the family table,
that goes hand in hand with appetite and plays with love.
The glasses tinkle sweetly, the plates sparkle,
around is foolish old age and hard-working youth.
The turkey in the middle is hot and smelling good,
Mother gives advice and scatters happiness … Nativity of Jesus by Botticelli
And look, grandfather begins a tireless speech
about Christmas, a well-known and ancient story…

To be in the stable a piece of straw, a poor piece,
at the time when Christ opens his eyes, to the first rays of the sun.

Despena Dalmaris

Speaking of art, we delve into a special artist, Filippo Papa, according to whom and in his words: “Non è solo corpo ma anima, forza e culture”. Filippo Papa has just performed his last holoperformance “Desnudo” in the III Edition Canal´Art 2022, Ajuntament de Santanyí, in Mallorca (Spain), performed for the first time in October 2022 in the “Estudi Garrit”.

“Desnudo” is the new artistic performance by the artist Filippo Papa after “Regeneration” which he re-presented at the Biennale Amedeo Modigliani in Venezia. This new performance is part of the concepts devised and promoted by Papa: Holoperformance with the dematerialization of the body through holography and the use of the “Skin Collage” technique.

The philosophy of the project is based on a detailed study by Papa of the performing arts, of the artistic nude to focus on a specific work “La Maja Desnuda” one of the best-known paintings by Francisco Goya made around 1800. It is a portrait revolutionary, where for the first time the naked body is represented without any mythological reference that justifies its nudity. Its importance, therefore, is not only due to the pictorial technique but also to the symbolic historical primacy that it holds, since “La Maja Desnuda” is portrayed in a seductive attitude with her hands crossed behind her head, a direct gaze and provocative, who is not afraid of being seen is a self-confident woman.

It is true that defining art is a complex and difficult task. Thus, art must be understood as a skill that seeks an aesthetic result (Hatcher, 1999) through imagination to create environments and aesthetic experiences that can be shared with other people. This ability is used to express and manifest the creativity of the artist, to connect and reach the aesthetic sensibility of others.

Since ancient times, especially in Greece, tekné, a term meaning “art”, has developed, representing various artistic activities not related to the visual arts, but rather to poetry, theatre, music, and science. Later, Kant in 1790, proposed various categories of art, such as the bildenden Künste, as the expression of ideas in the intuition of the senses, including painting, sculpture and architecture; the redenden Künste, like the language arts; and the Schönen Kunst Spiels der Empfindungen, the art of the beautiful play of sensations, such as music and colours. In this way, we can define art as a set of related concepts rather than one single concept. More modernly, in the 1910s and 1920s, Marcel Duchamp will introduce the beginning of conceptual art, which will emerge as a movement during the 1960s, and will influence subsequent art movements, developing a broad conceptual art in the 1990s. in Great Britain, which will be developed to create an impact on the basis that the object is not the work of art. In this way, conceptual art is understood as an artistic movement in which the conceptualization or the idea is more important than the work of art as a physical or material object, where ideas prevail over its formal and sensible aspects, and where artistic is the concept to represent, indifferent to the technique, form, and material. Initially, a conceptual work is based on textual language to convey ideas, although it will evolve and be complemented by other resources from the visual field, including photography and performance, closely adapting it to contemporary art.

Among all these evolutionary processes, we can talk about body art, this is going to be a style framed in conceptual art, using the body as a plastic material. In body art, the body is the support of the artistic work, painting it, decorating it, tattooing it, modifying it, etc. This action, which we can call performance, is generally carried out with a photographic, videographic, holographic, poetic, pictorial accompaniment or other means, all or part of them, used during or after the performance. Body art stands out for the abject aspects of the body, marking strong contrasts, including clothing and the nude. It is here that the body becomes a work to create art, the body itself is the work of art, expressing the acceptance of one’s own individuality and establishing connections with related ideologies and certain social movements. Since the fundamental focus is on the body, it conditions viewers to understand and focus on their own concepts of the physical. Body art will also have a close relationship with questions of gender and personal identity, while delving into themes of the relationship between the body and the psyche, expressed in the body.

Papa’s intention is complex and ambivalent, personifying “il Filippo desnudo” he wants to draw attention to the importance of the artistic nude and uncensored art, a mission that has been going on for years with the “Naxed” project, to reinforce this concept, also Five photographic/performative artistic nudes from the “In the room” project, already presented in Spain, were exhibited. In addition, he wants to launch a message of gender fluidity to educate the vision of the figure of a male artistic nude that is still considered unusual today. Nudity is part of our human being, the male and female nude body is universal, like its beauty.

Thus we come to performance or action art, a term derived from the English performance art, meaning live art, as a form of free expression that emerged to be an alternative artistic manifestation, an avant-garde art developed extensively throughout the 20th century and early 21st century, an art form created through actions performed by the artist, alone or with other participants, live performance, closely documented, following a pre-written script, or spontaneous, presented in an interdisciplinary manner to an audience within an exhibition context. Its first manifestations arise in 1916, welcomed under the conceptual art of the Dadaist movement, responding to artistic purposes and the desire to experiment with new avant-garde trends. The performance needs the presence and execution of the artist himself, involving four basic elements: time, space, the body or the presence of the artist in a medium, and the relationship between the creator and the public. The performances are usually developed in art galleries, museums, cultural centres, and bookstores, although they can take place in any type of setting or space and during any period of time. The themes represented are usually linked to the experiences and ideas of the artist himself, who makes actions emerge through improvisation and a sense of aesthetics with the aim of generating a reaction from the public. Performance is related to Western postmodernism and culture linked to concepts of visual art, being an antithesis of theatre and challenging established art forms, since it is born from an antagonistic and critical position towards the performing arts, since performance differs from the formal narrative idea of other performing arts, linking more to the fine arts, far from any idea of scenic representation as a unique and sublime ephemeral experience. Some artists are closer to the experimental idea, where performance can intertwine many more disciplines, including any type of performing art, such as dance, theatre, poetry or music. In performance, the interpreter is the artist who rarely represents a character as an actor and the content does not follow a traditional plot. The performance will show tiny gestures for a few minutes to many hours, it can be performed once or repeated many times, with or without a prepared script, spontaneously improvised or previously rehearsed. The performance escapes beyond the fact that it is living art made by artists, since it resorts to very diverse disciplines and means of communication, in fact, no other form of artistic expression has such an unlimited manifestation, since each performer makes his or her particular definition in the process and manner of execution.

The artist Papa undresses on a sofa in the same pose as “La Maja Desnuda”, in a pose that emulates showing off behind a screen as on social networks. The nudity of his body will be seen simultaneously both in reality and fragmented, dematerialized through the projection of a holographic video. During the performance Papa will apply the word “NUDE” in 12 languages on the body using the technique that he devised the “Skin Collage” to further emphasize his message by printing it on his skin that will be “dressed” in nudity.

In the mid-1960s, Process art emerged, an artistic movement within the field of study of performance, where the art object is not the main focus of attention, but rather a process of art formation such as the search for and the creation of concepts adherent to the work, as well as the ephemerality of the work itself, concerned with the real «doing»; art as performance. Therefore, art is seen as a creative journey or process, rather than the finished product. On the other hand, in 1982 the joint form of poetry and performance appears, emerged to distinguish vocal interpretations based on the word of artistic interpretations, especially the works of scenic or musical performance artists. Performance poets rely more on the rhetorical and philosophical expression of their poetics than performance artists of the visual arts genres.

The performer Filippo Papa reworks Goya’s “La Maja Desnuda” in a new interpretation, which is still talked about today. In “Desnudo” we find the union between the history of art, the performative act and contemporary technology. Careful work in the unmistakable style that Papa has accustomed us to see.

 

The Greek refugees that came from Asia Minor and settled in Greece often named their new townships after their places of origin. This is the case of Palaia Phocaea, the ancient Greek city on the Aegean coast of today’s Turkey. They left their ancestral homes and sought refuge in Motherland Greece after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, the end of World War I, and the rise of Kemal Atartouk, which led to the genocide of the Christian populations as well as the burning of Smyrna in September 1922. 

Palaia Phocaea takes its name from Phocaea, an ancient Greek city of Ionia known today as Asia Minor. The Ionians (Greek: Ίωνες) who colonized the area were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks were divided into during the ancient period. The other three were the Dorians, the Aeolians and the Achaeans. Phocaea’s harbours allowed it to develop a thriving seafaring economy, which greatly influenced its culture. 

Excavations indicate that the area had been settled from around 9th century BC when the first Phocaeans arrived there from Phocis, an ancient region in the central part of Greece, which included Delphi, the seat of the oracle Pythia. According to Herodotus (Greek: Ηρόδοτος), the ancient Greek historian and geographer, the Phocaeans were the first Greeks to make long sea-voyages. They discovered the coasts of the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea (off the coast of Italy) and travelled as far as Spain. Although they travelled extensively throughout the Mediterranean Sea and up through the Dardanelles, the major colonies they founded were in the west. These included Alalia on the island of Corsica, Emporiae and Rhoda on the Catalonian coast of Spain, and Marseille (Greek: Μασσαλία) on the Mediterranean coast of France around 600 BC. 

The history of Phocaea is a long and turbulent one, from the Greco-Persian conflict in 546 BC through to Roman and Byzantine rule when it was given to Benedetto Zaccaria, the Genoese ambassador to Byzantium as a hereditary lordship in 1275. It remained a Genoese colony until it was taken by the Turks in 1455. Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453. 

Phocaea was the location of the first massacre (Greek: Η Σφαγή της Φώκαιας) in June 1914 as part of the ethnic cleansing policies of the Ottoman Empire, which included exile, massacre, and deportations. It was carried out by irregular Turkish bands called ‘chettes’, who were responsible for the atrocities against Christian Orthodox Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians during the 1910s and 1920s.

The documentation and photographs of the French engineer and archaeologist Felix Sartiaux (1876-1944) have helped to bring these atrocities to light as they describe the sequence of events before and during the massacre. He and his three assistants took measures to help the Greek population by hoisting French flags on their homes and thus provided shelter for the refugees. Around 700-800 people were saved from the attacks and were later evacuated by boats to the island of Lesvos. There was sympathy throughout Europe for the victims of Phocaea, especially in France. The people of Marseille raised a sum of 20,000 French francs to support the refugees. 

The refugees returned to Phocaea in 1919 when it appeared that the Greek Army and their allies were succeeding in reclaiming territories in Asia Minor. However, their return was short-lived because of the defeat of the Greeks in the Battle of Sakarya, just outside Ankara. This led to the second forced expulsion from their ancestral homelands and their permanent return to Greece as the Turks did not want any other nationalities living there although the Greek population was a majority in many areas. 

Many settled in Piraeus and from there made their way to the salt pans of Anavissos in East Attica in search of work. Friction arose when more refugees arrived in the area in the summer of 1924 as the locals were afraid of losing their jobs and their rights to the farming land. Time and hard work were needed to reverse the situation before the relationship between the two communities improved. 

Despite the attempts to be reimbursed by the Turkish government for the properties that had been left behind, this was not possible. The refugees had to put an end to their dreams of ever returning to their homeland and to concentrate on creating a future for their families in Greece. They therefore set about building their church and their school. The first church was founded in 1932 and was dedicated to Saint Irene, as was the church in Palaia (Old) Phocaea of Asia Minor. In June 1947, the official decision was taken by the government for the founding of the independent community of Old Phocaea. 

The photographs, notes and correspondence of Felix Sartiaux were discovered in different archives and were published in 2008 and 2012 by the Greek photo historian Haris Yiakoumis. This information was used for the documentary ‘The Sacking of Phocaea’ by Agnes Sklavos and Stelios Tatakis.  

DESPENA DALMARIS

Anika Gupta is 8 Years old, in 2nd grade. She lives in USA. She is a brilliant student (throughout A+). She loves art, reading, and is very curious to know and learn about new things. She has participated in many countries- Azerbaijan, Brazil, Dominican Republic, India, USA, Iran, Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Ukraine etc. Recently she participated in many international online art events/ exhibitions like Guinness Book of World record event.

Dr. Mahima Gupta, a Guinness World Record Holder, High Range Book of World Records Holder, Kalam’s World Records, Extraordinaire World Record Holder, Marvelous Book of Records Holder, India Records Holder, a freelance artist, curator is originally from India, now based in Florida, USA for almost 2 decades. She has a Ph.D. in Drawing & Painting from the University of Rajasthan. Jaipur, India. Her topic for Dissertation was, “Leisure in the Arts through the Ages: A comparative study of the themes on Leisure in Indian and European Painting with special reference to 16-19th century” (2006). She did her M.A. in Drawing & Painting, where she was the University Topper and Gold Medalist, with First Division & First Position (1997-1999). She also holds a degree in B.F.A. (Painting), from Rajasthan School of Arts, Jaipur, India (1993-1997). Mahima was a proud recipient of the prestigious University Grants Commission of India (UGC) Junior & Senior Fellowship for Doctoral work (2000-2005). She was also awarded the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi Student Scholarship (1998-1999). Mahima was awarded at the 10th Kala Mela organized by the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi, Jaipur, India (2002). Also awarded at the All India Exhibition of Arts, by Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar, India (2001). Mahima is a proud recipient of the Bhoor Singh Shekhawat Memorial Padamshree Kripal Singh Shekhawat Award (1998).
She was also awarded the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s appreciation award (1999). Dr. Mahima’s article, “Mapping Leisure Across Borders Through the Art in Painting”, was published in the book, ‘Mapping Leisure Across Borders, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK (2013). She was invited for the presentation of the paper at the xvii World Congress of Sociology of the International Sociological Association, Gothenburg, Sweden, (July 10-17, 2010). She also participated in the Indian Sociological Society’s xxviii All India Sociological Conference, Main Theme ‘Globalization and the Indian Society’, held at IIT Kanpur, India (Dec 18-20, 2002), and presented her paper entitled, ‘Leisure in the Arts: A Socio Aesthetic Analysis of the themes on Leisure in Painting’. Mahima also participated in the WLRA World Congress on the theme ‘Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Issues for Human Development’ organized by World Leisure and Recreation Association in collaboration with Indian Leisure Studies Association and UNESCO at Jaipur, India (1993). Her fibreglass installation “Azure Delight” was displayed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-USA, for over a year & was sponsored by the PNC bank for the Kite Fest (2006). She recently had a solo virtual art exhibition, Joy Story, ‘Splashes of happiness’, New Delhi, India (2021). Artraaga, India another online solo show, Euphoria. Her paintings have been printed on the covers of several national and international books and magazines, prominent among these are L’Archive des Origins (2008), France and new books catalogue, Transaction Publishers (1962-2003), Rutgers University, NJ, USA, “Human Values & Social Change”, (2000) Rawat publications Jaipur, India. Mahima has participated in many art exhibitions in more than 45 countries, to name some, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iran, Jordan, Kosovo, Korea, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Paris, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Slovakia, Syria, Thailand, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Uruguay, USA & Venezuela. Her private collections are in India, Canada, Egypt France, Jordan, Peru, Mexico, Turkey, USA, and The Netherlands. She has worked in many different art styles/mediums. She has also received many awards from National and International art exhibitions. Her artworks & articles have been published in many art magazines, journals & books.

Mahima is a nature lover and loves travelling, dancing and is fascinated by the Primitive and Folk/Tribal art of India. Mahima’s artworks have been published widely in many international books magazines, to name a few, Arthole- Issue 7 & 8 (UK), Revista Coup (Mexico), Revista Escafandra, Mexico, Revista Rito (3 times) Mexico, Periodico Poetico: Issue 17, South East Asian Artists Magazine Vol 2 Issue No 5 (Phillipines), Contemporanea Un Rosso (Italy), 21 Expressions magazine- Faculty of Fine Art ASWAR (Malaysia), Creativity Unquarantined-By Speaking Art Foundation (India), Revista Doblevoz.

 

Decorating can be one of the most exciting times during your experience as a homeowner. Not only are you creating the essence of your home, you are also adding your very own personal touch and style.

One of the easiest ways to add unique spice to an ordinarily drab room—incorporate exceptional artwork .

“Many of my clients are simply amazed at how effective a colorful painting can be at bringing new life to a room that has become tired,” says Matthew Johnston, an artist known for his vibrant Tall Tulips paintings (talltulips.com).

However, as easy as it sounds, purchasing and hanging a painting on the center of the wall isn’t going to cut it in most cases. Johnston offers his advice to ensure your next painting purchases work with your room rather than against it:

Large High-Traffic Rooms

For family rooms, living rooms and rooms off the kitchen, Johnston recommends figurative diptych paintings to create a story within each area. Diptych paintings consists of two separate panels that hang together and work as one.

“In my figurative diptych paintings, each figure has their own physical space, yet they are a couple,” says Johnston. “Their face is cropped, and viewers can imagine themselves as being in the painting. The viewer has to look to other parts of the painting to imagine a story … each individual person can create a different story for the painting.”

Awkward Wall Spaces

For stairways, long hallways and between windows, Johnston recommends using a tall, narrow painting, like his Tall Tulips.

“They are perfect for hanging up a staircase,” says Johnston. “You can hang the tall tulips at different heights following the risers up the stairs; a great look for a difficult space.”

This style of painting also works well because they are bright and don’t require ideal lighting.

Focal Wall Areas

Spaces like the area over a fireplace will get a lot of attention from passersby. Hanging your prized piece is the perfect step for these spots.

“Many of my clients choose my large floral paintings,” says Johnston. “Oftentimes, they will hang these on a wall which faces the front door … to make an impression when first walking into the home.”

To learn more about Matthew Johnston and his work, visit www.talltulips.com.