Doing Dodo
About drawing (an extinct bird) in blindness:
This method is suitable for all - also people who suffers from "fear of drawing", as it is not about being able to draw in the traditional way.
The separation of hand, eyes and object provides a tiny twist in ones view of the world - and it often results in some quite quirky drawings.
Here I have been drawing the Dodo which in any case must be drawn in blindness as it became extinct in 1681.
More about the Dodo in another natural history.
Natural History no. 132
NATURAL + HISTORY = NATURAL HISTORIES
The word "natural history" has the scent of objective knowledge. It radiates the impression that it is possible to observe and describe and understand nature, if you just pursue your investigations long enough. But the latter part of the word: "history" reveals what is at stake: a history, a story, a tale.
That's why I love the word "natural history" - there is a certain consciousness integrated in the word - an awareness of the impossibility of describing nature objectively. The observer is "a piece of nature" as well.
That's why it is necessary to write in first person - I am inseparable from the observed object: NATURE. And also from the HISTORIES about it.
Natural History no. 42
Are your eyes on stalks, and are your ears wide open when it comes to picking up the numerous natural histories around you?
Otherwise try these ear plugs - made of 100 % moss.
They will make you all EARs.
Cultural Selection
Today I went to the opening of the exhibiton: The Origin of Domesticated Species around Væksthuset (The Growth House) at Copenhagen University. Interesting to see how different plants like cabbage, heartsease and beet-plants have developed via human selection, in part methodically, and in part unconsciously, during the last 10.000 years. The exhibition is situated in a beautiful garden around the university and I will return with updated pictures when the plants have grown a bit more.
Natural History for beginners
The Green Table* is still growing and strange creatures appear - they have all got names but for a while I will let them remain unnamed - just to be enjoyed as they are.
* In Denmark "The Green Table" usually refers to an exam table - that table where you are sitting alone sweating on the one side with 2 examiners opposite you.
Art Zone Therapy
I have just visited Beijings Art zone called 798 but it seemed quite commercial. Today it seems more interesting to visit Songzhuang (further out of town) or East End Art Zone.
Save the trees (from human interference)!
Apparently trees in China are very fragile and need humans to save them from .....ehhh ... being natural (?).
Bioco(s)mical Equation
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Hello everybody.
I am still calculating and trying to figure IT ALL out - and I think I am getting there - sort of.
Mutability
The world is not like it used to be - and it never will be according to the law of mutability.
The title in Danish is: Rede-lighed, which means both " a mess" and "nest" + "equality & similarity".
Hush!
Hush! Don't tell anybody that the Earth is round.
I have just been on a pilgrimage to Darwin's home country to see the exhibition "Darwin's BIG Idea" at London's Natural History Museum.
I am fairly fit, but I almost didn't survive the last part of the journey as trains and tubes were delayed as usual - I had to run for life in order to get there in time for my slot.
The exhibition is extremely popular, and you must pay in advance for an exact time of entrance. However, even though I was late (and terrified by the thought of being let down), and even though I faced the sight of a long, long queue, I was so lucky to be naturally selected by a guard, who saw my crocodile tears and followed me personally all the way through gates and barriers.
Finally, in the great halls of fame, I adapted to the situation of being a sardine in a tin can, while struggling to see the sacred.I was moved by seeing Darwin's scribbles, his studio and evidence of his curiosity into so many very different subject areas: barnacles, cabbage, beetles, orchids, facial expressions in animals and humans etc...
However, what seemed most peculiar to me, a lukewarm protestant from Nothern Europe, was the emphasis on convincing the audience about the truth of evolution. To me it was like trying to convince the audience that the earth is round, not flat.
I shall never be the same after this - I became aware of my own evolution paradigm specs. So, although I like the idea of freedom to read and freedom to think for yourself, I cannot put my money where my mouth is, when it comes to public school politics. To say it simply: I don't want my tax money to be spent on teaching (my daughter and son) creationism as a realistic alternative to evolution in schools.
Yes. Sure. Evolution rocks! But - contrary to Dawkins, Dennett and likeminded (not that I don't love (yo)U(r) (theories) guys :-)) - I still think there is plenty of room for God(s) and spirit and the unexplainable. Science doesn't diminish the miraculousness of Life.
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