Art and Love

Exhibition of Salvador Dali masterpieces was amazing! There were no advertisement in mass media... And it was held in a really strange place, something like bad quality business centre... So at first I thought that it was fake. But it was really Dali!!! And the guide was owner of the collection. He made us laugh while telling about people who wanted to touch sculptures. "Agony of Love" is extremely popular among people who like to touch everything :)

After the excursion I bought book about Dali and Gala. He really adored this woman. And when I was coming back home today I was looking through album with her photos. She wasn't beautiful... It's really a mystery. And Lilia Brick who drove Mayakovsky mad wasn't beautiful... And lover of last russian Tsar Nickolay II Matilda Kshesinskaya wasn't beautiful... It's a phenomenon!!!

Day ended with a brilliant lecture about Edvard Munch, famous norwegian painter. He was really crazy, but I do like some of his works: Madonna, Vampire, Ashes. His style reminds me of Van Gogh. And there is a really close connection between this painters. I mean they have common pr-agent ;))

Night at the museum

It was a great night! And I managed to visit a lot of exhibitions. Most funny was Parade of Hares organized by Avangard Museum. It was the craziest museum this night... There was sound installation of Velemir Khlebnikov poem. In XIX century he was a member of Russian Futurist Movement. And the most beautiful museum was St.Isaac's Cathedral (in the photo). I adore it's decoration! I got really tired this morning... But I'm waiting impatiently for the next Museum Night.

Oh! And I have great news! Today our favourite football team ZENITH won the Cup of Russia! It's great and everybody is celebrating today :)

The Widow of the South

I've finished "The Widow of the South" by Robert Hicks. I've read it in English. Anyway I think it's not translated. It's novel about Civil War in USA. About brave man who holding only the colours run trough the battlefield to enemy's side. And his life was spared. Nobody knew why. He was taken prisoner and later was brought to hospital, which had been set up in house not far from famous Tennesee battlefield.And this man fell in love with owner of the house - Carrie McGavock, who had been already married and had children.

Novel is based on true events. Author found documents, letters, photos belonged to Carrie. Here some of them can be viewed. Story is really amazing not just because of true events. It has some episodes when reader can feel acute tension. Most passionate chapter is one when Carrie is beating her beloved up.

Author made a great work and this novel without any doubt is worthwhile.

And I want to add that reading this book can be compared with walking around the cemetery in sunny summer day. There is a small cemetery near my grandparent's house. And sometimes I like to go there and feel calmness...

In love with Tallin

I like Tallin very much. And after today's lection about this wonderful city I realised that I really want to visit it again. I feel comfortable there... It"consists" of all my favourite places: ancient fortress and towers (like in Pskov), dense building (like here in St.Petersburg), streets like in Lappeenranta, small cafes (like in Vyborg or Stockholm) and nordic atmosphere... It сalls up such associations: cold weather, rain, reflection, pensive, loneliness... Everything is amazing in Tallin for me. And I'm almost praying to get my new international passport this week. Want to travel again.

Roerich and Konchalovsky

Wednesday and Thursday were really full of events. Yesterday I had an excursion to Nicholas Roerich exhibition. I were never interested in his paintings or his biography, but when I visited this really big and full exhibition I decided to read about this wonderful artist. He was a traveller also and liked India very much. He also created Roerich Pact or Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments. I hold this artist in high respect for such thing and for his philosophy also! His paintings of mountains impressed me. So last night I was watching his masterpieces in the internet and went to bed very late.

No wonder that today I woke up late and had no time to drink coffee. I was trying to read Virginia Woolf while travelling by subway. But I was too sleepy and couldn't understand a word... I had rather interesting lection on Modern Philosophy and I had a really nice walk to the city center.After a cup of coffee there I felt much better and finally woke up.

After that I went to State Russian Museum and had a very interesting excursion to Petr Konchalovsky exhibition. Our guide Alexey Kurbanovsky is an amazing man. I have heard about him before but today I had a chance to listen to him myself. Excursion was rather long but after it I could made my opinion about Konchalovsky. I mean that I visited this exhibition some weeks ago alone. And then I couldn't understand my feelings about his paintings. After our wonderful guide told us that most of Konchalovsky's works were painted under the strong influence of other famous artists (Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh and others) I realized why I dislike him. It seems to me that he isn't really an artist because almost every picture was painted in someone's manner.

Then I and my friend Mary decided to attend lecture on modern art by Kurbanovsky. I don't like modern art, but I always happy to get new information. And also I got added evidence that lecturer is an amazing narrator. Without any doubt I will attend his next lecture.

I got really tired today. And my foot hurts. I should have a rest tomorrow and stay at home.

More honest

Today was Open Day at Greenpeace Ship "Beluga II". It's very nice eco-friendly river ship built in Germany. With a group of other people I made a tour of it. There we were shown wheelhouse, recycling bins, cabin and kitchen. And when I saw food that crew eat I thought why I can't like Greenpeace much. Of course, they are doing a really great job. But their efforts of saving our Planet seems to me a little bit dissimulative.

A lot of Greenpeace volunteers are not vegan and aren't even vegetarians! Most of them I saw today were in leather boots... They talk about pollution and about waste products, but they don't want to refuse eating meat, eggs, drinking milk. But Meat Factories also produce a lot of waste products! And meat isn't what human really need to eat. And leather isn't what human really need to wear. So it's easy to refuse.

Greenpeace is great organisation, but it can be much better! They should be more honest not with society but with themselves. Only my opinion. And I like you, guys! But maybe try to be animal-friendly?

What I've done

Finally, this week is over. And I've done a lot of interesting things these days. I watched "Thirst" by Park Chan-wook, which I'd really wanted to watch earlier, but could't find time. Well, interesting movie, but maybe too much blood. I don't mind watching bloody thrillers or horrors, but "Thirst" is a psychological love-story (as it seems to me). It should have been less violent.

Also I watched "Kirot" with my favourite Olga Kurylenko. Rather interesting plot, but maybe it's not realistic. I want to say, that it's hard to imagine such story happens in real life. Of course, movie shouln't be realistic! It's only my opinion. "Kirot" is an action thriller and again too much violence...

I attended interesting lections about Soviet movies and about traditional female-gods in slavic mythology. Second one was very very interesting! And I decided to buy some books on this topic, because I have only a little knowledge...

And yesterday I really wanted to have a rest and read a book. But I suddenly got an invitation to the theater and I couldn't refuse! So I went to Alexandrinsky theater and watched french performance "Kazimir and Karolina". It's love story. And I liked it, because it's not too modern and it's clear what is happening on the stage (not like in David Lynche's "Inland Empire" which I rewatched this night).

So this week was full with different events, but left no time for studing and preparing for seminars at the University...