Salvador Dali - The Face of War

The Face of War, a surrealistic painting, was made by Salvador Dali in 1940. It is an oil on canvas work, measuring 25.2 by 31.1 inches. This work was painted between the end of the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of the Second World War, during a brief period of Dali living in Calfornia. Dali, born in 1904, was thirty-six years old when he painted The Face of War.

Dali is best known for his bizarre images contributing to the heritage of surrealistic art. I find Dali’s paintings very interesting. I can look at them for hours and try to figure out what he wanted to tell the world by painting such things. Dali was often inspired by the trauma of war. This painting is a good example of that matter.

We can see a disembodied head, floating around in a barren landscape. The landscape symbolizes the destruction and collective feeling of loneliness during a war. The head is decayed, the eyes have been eaten out by time. The facial expression is very moving. It breathes desperation, fear and terror. Inside the mouth and eye sockets of the head are more heads with the same facial expression and also with more heads in their eye sockets and mouth. This process goes on an on, seemingly infinite. Aggressive snakes can be found around the head, trying to bite and hurt it. This symbolizes the constant attacks people suffer during a time of war.

In the lower right corner we see a handprint, left in the oil. Dali kept on insisting that this handprint had been left by his own hand. The painting now resides in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the main art museum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Jessica Van Sintruyen

Memento Mori

Vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas
Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless

One of my favourite kind of paintings are Vanitas-paintings. Vanitas is Latin and means ‘emptiness’ or ‘vanity’. Vanitas are symbolic still life paintings who want to remind us of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure and the certainty of death. In the paintings we often find skulls symbolizing death. Besides skulls we can find other symbolic elements such as rotten fruit and withering flowers which symbolize decay like ageing, bubbles and extinguished candles, smoke, watches, musical instruments and hourglasses which symbolize the brevity of life and suddenness of death. I love these paintings because of their serenity and symbolism. I can look at them for hours, looking at the items that are portrayed and giving meaning to them. They fascinate me.

This theme is not only found in paintings but also in poetry, literature and even music. Memento mori -remember that you are mortal- was a popular theme among Christian artists and writers. They wanted to make sure people were aware of inevitability of death and wanted to advise them strongly to be prepared all times for death. Why? In the 14th century there were recurring famines, the Hundred Years’ War took place in France and, most important of all, the Black Death raged through Europe. Many people lost their lives and death seemed to be just around the corner. People wanted amusement while it was still possible. The ‘danse macabre’ combined both. The earliest examples of such songs, which consisted of short dialogs between Death and each of its victims, can be found in the direct aftermath of the Black Death in Germany where it was known as the ‘Totentanz’ but also in Spain as ‘la Danza de la Muerte’ and in France as ‘la Danse Macabre’. Even today we have modern versions of these kind of songs like “Ad Mortem Festinamus” by Qntal.

Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur,
Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur,
Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur.
Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.

Life is short, and shortly it will end;
Death comes quickly and respects no one,
It destroys everything and takes pity on no one.
To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning.

Ni conversus fueris et sicut puer factus
Et vitam mutaveris in meliores actus,
Intrare non poteris regnum Dei beatus.
Ad mortem festinamus peccare desistamus.

If you don't turn back and become like a child,
And change your life for the better,
You will not be able to enter, blessed, the Kingdom of God.
To death we are hastening, let us refrain from sinning.

Hannelore Glibert

Atlantic Civilization - Andre Fougeron

Three years ago I went to London with my best friend and we visited the museum Tate Modern. As the name already shows, it’s a museum of modern art. Normally I’m not really a fan of modern art, because I find it al little too abstract. But when I saw Atlantic Civilization made by Andre Fougeron, I found it amazing. The painting has something to say and I think the meaning behind a painting defines it as real art. I thought it was a very interesting painting because there were a lot of bad things in the world but the sky was beautiful blue. It intrigued me and I looked up more information about it.

The painting presents the Atlantic civilization, it’s Fougeron’s key work of social criticism. It shows us the increasing Americanisation of Europe and the Cold War. You also see things like guns and even an electric chair. This apparently refers to the execution of the Rosenbergs in June 1953 for spying for the USSR. It is said that Fougeron painted it in such a simplistic way, because he wanted to refers to the comic-strip of America, it’s an attack on the American culture. He makes fun of capitalism too with the business man doffing his hat to the American car. The painting also refers to the French colonial wars in Indo-China and in North Africa.

I know this painting is a little eccentric , but I like it and I hope you do too.

Kathleen De Roey

Jewelry collection to celebrate Freddie Mercury

Jewelry designer Udi Behr has created a new jewelry collection to celebrate rock legend Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 at the age of 45 of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia.
Love - Made In Heaven: The Freddie Mercury Collection was introduced Monday by online jewelry Love & Pride.

The ingredients used to create The Freddie Mercury Collection are 18k gold, silver, leather, diamonds and semi-precious stones. Each piece in this fabulous new high-end jewelry collection of rings, bracelets and necklaces for both men and women, is emblazoned with the word 'Love', the 'O' executed in a stunning, patented double trillion (triangle) with semi-precious stones or diamonds. Moreover alle pieces have the exclusive 'Made in Heaven' signature, a tribute to one of Freddie's most memorable solo tracks which later became the title of Queen's album with Freddie, released in 1995.

Udi Behr says the universal message of love in Freddie's life and work inspired him to create this beautiful ironic jewelry. 'As I searched for inspiration to capture Freddie's spirit in this collection, it became clear to me that love was the core of his life and work. In fact, this collection is both a personal tribute to Freddie and a way for all touched by his talents to continue the love affair'.

A portion of the net proceeds from Love - Made in Heaven will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which is dedicated to raising money and awareness about AIDS in Mercury's memory and which was established by the three remaining Queen members after Freddie's death on November 24, 1991.


By Ruth Knaepkens

Johnny Depp says he is scared of karaoke

The actor Johnny Depp, who sings in new movie musical “Sweeney Todd” by director Tim Burton, said he has never tried karaoke. And he admitted he would need to be seriously drunk before having a go. When he was asked what his favourite karaoke song is, Depp replied: “Honestly, I’ve always been frightened of it. I’ve never tried it. It scares the hell out of me. I’ve never been that drunk. I’ve been drunk, but not that drunk.”

Depp plays the Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the Tim Burton film. But he said he was terrified when he got the part because he had never sung before. Depp added: “I was probably more frightened than anyone. I had never sung before in my life. So I thought it was important that I kept it very low-key.” Initially he did demos in his friend’s garage studio because he didn’t know if he’d be able to hit a note. “I sent the demo to Tim, crossed my fingers and waited for the outcome.” He told a US magazine: “I really went through some angst.”

Hollywood hunk Johnny Depp has warned his fans he won’t be singing again anytime soon. So he said on the red carpet of the London premiere of the new Tim Burton film. Depp who stars as the singing demon barber told screaming fans: “It took me a while to get used to singing but because I had so much of it I had to get used to it. I’ve never done it before and I’ll never do it again!”. Depp also dismissed reports that he would have used a quilted padding to enhance his manhood in the movie.

Hannelore Glibert

Heath Ledger died

On January 22^nd Heath Ledger, mostly known as Sir William Thatcher in ‘A Knight’s Tale’, was found dead in his apartment. When the news got public, people immediately speculated he committed suicide by taking an overdose of drugs. This turned out to be not the case.

Heath Ledger’s dead body was discovered by his housekeeper in his apartment in Manhattan on January 22^nd. He was found naked on the floor. An amount of sleeping pills was found on his night table. The link between his death and suicide can be easily made. Though his close family said it is impossible Heath took his own life. “He was a very lively and high-spirited person who figured as a source of inspiration for everyone,” they say. He died at the age of twenty-eight.

After having analysed the circumstances of his death, the police stated Heath did not commit suicide. His death was an accident. He died, not on purpose, by mixing anti-depressant drugs and the sleeping pills found in his apartment. Combining these two caused an acute poisoning. Both the anti-depressant drugs and the sleeping pills have been prescribed by his doctor.

Police spokesman Paul Brown stressed that the police is not going to try and find out the true cause of Ledger’s death. The ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) is currently investigating his death.

Jessica Van Sintruyen

Julia Roberts is back!!!

Julia Roberts has survived her crisis of being pregnant and frustrated. She fought with the whole world, even with her husband. But luckily also her marriage with Danny Moder survived. And as a proof of her comeback she’s now starring in the film: “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

She defends the fact that she’s not very open in interviews with the argument that the only reason she survived as an actress in Hollywood is because she kept her private life personal. And just because she tries to stay out of the spotlights she stays interesting. But with her new film coming, she is giving more open interviews than ever. Being a mother, she says, has made her more indulgent.

When she became 40 she felt really bad and insecure. And also her pregnancy made her sensitive and vulnerable. She calls it a miracle that her marriage has overcome this period of fighting and is very grateful of her husband’s patience. Not only her husband became a victim of her search for fights, also colleagues like Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie became a prey to Julia’s hostility. Critics blamed it on jealousy. These actresses are making it in Hollywood and she became 40 and was scared of making room for this new talent. Roberts says this is true, everyone says that Hollywood-actresses above 38 will have a hard time in Showbiz. She even admits that she is scared of missing out on big roles. She is sorry and has even sent sweet e-mails to Halle saying she’s looking great and congratulating her with her pregnancy. Julia Roberts missed such messages while she was pregnant.

She almost had a depression, but her new film saved her. She’s very grateful to the producer Mike Nichols that she could participate in such a great film. He gave her al lot of compliments and respected her as an actress. She’s al better now. Julia Roberts is back being a happy woman full of confidence. So if you see someone being sad today, just give them a compliment, ‘cause they can do miracles!

Kathleen De Roey