. . . my own lack of tolerance                                                                                        

 admittedly I claim tolerance from everybody but lately I had to realize, that I myself am not very tolerant.

I´m deeply suspicious of female animal-help-activists. Ok, that is grounded on my own experiences with women
that are active in that field, most of the time I found them a bit, humph…lets say…strange… for lack of better words,
when it comes to interacting within their own species.

lately they make my hackles rise though.

the other day I was approached at work by a woman collecting signatures for a petition of a local animal help-group,
presumably to help push the government to make a law against cruelty towards animals. I found that rather strange,
as that law has been passed years ago so I asked for a closer look and read its “contra la deigualidad de los animals”
(against the inequality of animals) and for respecting them. well, I do respect them, I nursed all kinds I found on the street,
I carry bags of dog-food when I’m in the mountains for the strays, my own dog is a rescue.
I´m certainly against cruelty.

but do I want them as my EQUALS?????

have I really evolved that far in the food chain to consider a cow my equal?
am I going to discuss now with fluffy if we swap steak against kibble???

 well, whatever, its nice when people take an interest.

but still…

today I did not go to the benefits-concert with barbeque (tofu-burger????) and raffle to support the pro-animal-respect-people.
in a time where we can’t even show respect to those that die, trying to reach our coastline, where most look away when it comes
to what happens to members of our own species right in our front garden…. wheres the respect for them? could somebody please
find it in his heart to regard a child dying of hunger its equal? how about collecting signatures to make the EC take a stand against
morocco and mauritania to stop killing helpless refugees?

 maybe I´ve got my priorities wrong

 

                        . . . refugees                                                                                                                   

in the mid-eighties my mum was afraid I would turn protest marches into a fulltime profession.
creative energy was mostly put into making banners, sport meant to duck away from water throwers or run from the police.
atomic power, the legal system, inhuman living conditions in other countries, whatever.
I strongly believed, that if enough people voiced their disagreement and talk things would change.

I can’t put my finger on the spot in time when I realized that save from the momentary rush that comes from marching in big numbers,
which made ME feel good, nothing changed for those that suffered.

I gave up.

I remember talks about that if the living conditions and the economic situation in africa would not change drastically, it would catch
up with us one day.

and catch up it did !
in a big way !!
and very close to my chosen home Gran Canaria !!!

up till a while ago, it was within mainland spain mostly, the mere 14 km of water at the street of gibraltar making it the ideal crossing point
for those that meant to find their (imagined) paradise in europe.

morocco closed its borders off and now I have it on my doorstep: people come in flimsy excuses for a boat over a distance
of 1200 km from mauritania to my very doorstep (hey, I  worked a year on a boat, these folks deserve a medal for boarding those vessels
and if you think its out of boredome and not out of utter desperation do take a second look!)

well, they don’t make it all, its an estimate of 40% that end up at shark food and if you want to do your math’s:
… its just below 1000 who make it on an average weekend.

and now the business suffers….

its just so NOT nice to have black dead and half-dead people washed upon on you pristine white beaches where tourists
try to acquire a dark brown tan.
mind you, they help! they give first aid, they are shocked by what they see, all of a sudden
the news on TV becomes an unasked for reality show.

and they don’t like it.
spain doesn’t like it either.
morocco doesn’t like it either.

spain is left alone by it’s fellow EU countries, promised help that does not get here, which is dearly needed, to feed, clothe
and momentary house the immigrants.
and most of all to close off the boarders.  

I somewhat understand the policy of not letting more in.
It’s just by far too many for one country alone to handle. Way to far.

but that doesn’t mean I have to agree, does it.

how could I??? I am an immigrant myself. I choose to leave my country to come and live here,
cause I was of the firm believe,that  the grass here is somewhat greener
(who knows this island realizes it is a metaphor and not the farmer in me saying so).
and I also don’t have to look to far back into my very own family tree to see that that is something that has been going on for a long while.

you can’t gather enough green stuff, the game has gone scarce around you cave…
pack up and go somewhere where the life might be better.

It’s not what one could call a new concept really.

the great mercy of being born a white european.
ain´t nothing I earned, or did, or deserved...mere luck to have the right nationality and colour.

 difference being that nowadays things are a tad bit more complicated, business, politics all intermingled.

I don’t have a solution
I’m old enough now to realize I don’t have the answer to everything.

but I don’t find it in me to step back and accept that spain signed an agreement with morocco about not only taking
the moroccan immigrants back, but also those from third countries.

not after knowing that morocco in the past put immigrants on lorries and drove them over the border into the algerian desert to die.
not after knowing that morocco doesn’t care to respect human rights in any way, rounding up undesired refugees including kids, pregnant women and force
them at gun point to walk off into the desert

 I’m not going to change that on my own but what I can do I will do.

- collect stuff for the refugee centers
-try to raise money
-voice my disagreement.

and if they organize a protest march…

HELL, I´ll JOIN !!!!

 

 

                          . . . censorship

only since I paint my nudes I have come in direct contact with sexual censorship.
the concept of political censorship is not all that new to me, nor to our society in general.
you can’t just speak your mind about those that have the power. Nothing new...

It seems though, that the concept of sexual censorship is rather recent in human history. looking at works of art through the
human history it seems that for a long time the image and thought of sexuality has been seen as enjoyable, natural and healthy.

does sexual censorship then now make any sense?

why would a politician, religious leader etc. be motivated to censor?
easy enough. our sexuality, our preferences, practices and so on, dominate a big part of our daily life. control is most effectively
put into action by guilt and fear. change the natural need of the individual into something that makes him a sure candidate for
hell and eternal damnation; while at the same time make him a despised outsider within his society and you control not only this
individual but those around him.
In my believe (organized) religion is not about the adoration of a deity and to make the world a better place for everyone, but a means
to seek wealth, influence, power and to make the world a better place for a self-elected few. By placing those, that practice their
freedom for speech, their freedom of believes and the right to their own sexuality into a damnable group suffering from peer-pressure
and sanctions of their society today and hellfire in the future you get real power and control.

you can believe that a white bearded fellow sits upon a cloud above us and that you have to wear a cross around your neck 24/7,
you can believe that there’s green cheese growing on the moon, or that spitting into a frogs mouth at full moon makes you irresistible,
all that is no threat and ok with me.
I just don’t very much warm to the thought of somebody declaring his view of the world as the only valid one and sets out to stone any
none-subscriber to that particular view to death.

I am of the opinion that whatever people decide to do of their own free will is absolutely fine. freedom!
keyword here would be consent. If one of  two is not of an age to give his consent or forced to comply by his partner and by thus robbed
of his freedom to practice his desired form of sexuality for me that’s absolutely NOT ok. It makes you the victim of abuse.

fantasy is fine and one of the roots of creativity, but when the desire to practice it becomes so strong that it is forced upon another party, it
turns into abuse and should be condemned by any freethinking person.

I don't know, but I do know one thing—you don't reach  the light by suppressing the darkness.
everything must eventually be uncovered and revealed for what it is, and therein lies the real danger of censorship.
It stifles our spiritual growth and the exploration of our god-given talents, might they be words art or whatever.

bookburning has been tried in the past and found wanting...

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                            ...pornography

looking around my inbox, I found an old email from Feburary 2005 of  a Mrs. Costello

"Dear Mr. Berg,
Thank you for contacting our office on San Antonio, Texas’ Sister City with the Canary Islands,
featuring cultural and commercial exchange programs.  It does not, however, include exhibitions
on pornography.  Other genres are welcome.  Thank you for your inquiry.
Best wishes,
Elizabeth Costello, director

Elizabeth E. Costello — Director — International Affairs Department — City of San Antonio — 203 S. St. Mary’s Street —
San Antonio, Texas — 78205 — "

I just had my homepage up and running, was proud of it and thought that San Antonio would be a
perfect place to have an exhibition.
I was a bit reluctant to contact them, hey, I´m not a studied artist, completely autodidactic and was
not sure if I was up to standard. I did expect a reply along the line, "hey, lady, go on practising, you just ain´t there yet..." 

                                                                                                   but PORNOGRAPHY???

my paintings are pornographic????I was completely taken aback.

so what is pornography and what is art? you ever saw the watercolours of Auguste Rodin(born 1840)? you have a perfect
view of the private parts of some of his ladies, sitting there with spread legs... that is art

Sociologist Diana Russell defined pornography as "material that combines sex and/or the exposure of genitals with abuse
or degradation in a manner that appears to endorse, condone, or encourage such behavior."

the word, pornography, is drawn from the Greek words porne (female captive, slave or prostitute) and graphos (writing or drawing).
Thus the etymology of the word links graphic portrayal of women with bondage and inequality with men.

the definition of pornograpy varies, depending on the cultural background of those viewing it, in some cultures the exposure
of bared breats is already considered to be pornographic, not to mention the display of genitals (please do not let me ever
get sick there, I have no clue what kind of anatomy books the doctors there used to learn their stuff!!!!)

Jokes apart, there seems to be something missing in that definition and some court (I can´t remember which) came up
with the following: THE INTENT TO CAUSE AROUSAL BY THOSE VIEWING/READING IT

well, miss costello, if you were aroused, I´m sorry, that wasn´t my intent,
I just wanted the possibility to show my paintings in San Antonio...

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  back