Stories from ear to eye
by
Asbjorn
Lonvig,
artist/designer
Link
to me - I'll reciprocate. Contact
me
Site
navigation.
You try to
imagine how it will be to
be together with and work with a group of refugees in an
Red Cross
Center.
This week
there has been 14
art workshops.
Each refugee
has chosen which art
workshop he or she would like to attend.
My art
workshop was defined as
follows:
"In January
2002 I will be a
Visiting Teacher in a project called "Stories, from ear to eye" where I
will inspire refugees to create a huge sculpture and make an
exhibition of this sculpture. Then they are artists, not refugees. At
the same time I will interview these new artists about their lives,
print these stories and put them inside the sculpture. The stories will
be presented in an e-book on my web site and preferably on Red
Cross' web site too.
My idea is
to make a huge
sculpture in simple shapes and bright colors, an optimistic sculpture
and put the refugees' bad memories inside the sculpture. Not to
forget their past, it can not be forgotten, bud to make a emblem in
their minds, which will pop up before or at the same time as the bad
memories. The e-book will be
illustrated by a lot of pictures of the genesis of the sculpture. The
sculpture will be built of water
proof materials in order to be exhibited outdoor later.
I know
these are high ambitions,
but that is what art is for.
A part of
the project is of
course to
communicate this vision to the Danish Society - that is why we make the
exhibition.
Jørgen Chemnitz, Red Cross Denmark and The Chairman of the
Cultural,
Randers Kommune will be asked to open the exhibition."
See my drafts
of the sculpture
Materials:
Wood
plates 244 cm x 122 cm x
1,5 cm x 3 per box x 12 boxes
Wood laths
1,22 m lath x 8 each
box 12 boxes (later altered to 12 lathes per box)
Painting (1,22
m x 1,22 m) x 6
surfaces x 12 boxes (twice)
Glue, screws
etc.
To assure
myself that these boxes
were not a figment of the imagination
I have made
one sample box.
The result
showed that it was
possible to
produce a
durable box as a part of a
huge sculpture.
Some
alterations of the design
however was made, the box became to big in size 122 x 122 x 122
cm and the size was altered to 100 x 100 x 100 cm. Some procedures was
altered too.
The day of
workshop start was 14th
January 2002.
4 young lads
fully fitting the
media's descriptions of young refugees
entered the
peristyle where the
workshop was to take place.
Elvis was the
name of the most
noisy, loud
screaming and with a self promoting attitude.
Abazi was the
name of another young
lad with the sun glasses placed in the neck to look cool.
3 giggling
girls stood in a corner
by themselves.
Then came 9
men. Yes, this was the
place where the sculpture workshop should take place.
They entered
quietly, they had a
wait and
se attitude but without skepticism.
Morten and I
had made drawings of
the construction.
Instruction in constructing the
sculpture
in general
Each box is
made out of 3 wood
plates of
the size 1,5 x 122 x 244 cm.
Use the 2
templets in 3 mm
paperboard, one templet size 99,9 x 99,9 cm to the button, top
and sides, that is 4 parts, and one templet of the size 99,9 x 96,9 cm
for the two ends.
For each box
you must use 8 latches
size 82,5 cm and 4 latches of the size 100 cm.
From the edge
of the wooden plate to
the lath there must be 1,5 cm to make room for the sides.
Translations:
"Bund
og topplade",
button and top plate
"altid
retside
udad", always
the right side on the surface of the box
___________________________________________________________
Assembling of plates and lathes
You must use
16 screws on all sides.
Use the screw machine.
That is 96
screws to each box.
Remember: A
layer of glue Bostik
Super Trälim 730 UTE between plates and lathes.
Translations:
"Bund
og topplade",
button and top plate
"set
fra retsiden",
seen from the right side
"med angivelse
af skruer", number and placement of screws
____________________________________________________
Assembling of sides and ends
As the button
has been assembled and
the glue is dry, you can assemble the sides and the ends.
Use 4 lathes
size 100 cm as posts in
each corner.
Remember that
the right side becomes
the surface of the box.
Translations:
"Endeplade",
end
plate
"Sideplade",
side
plate
Bundplade",
button
plate
"retsiden
udad",
right side out
"retsiden
nedad",
right side down
__________________________________
Filling and painting
You
fill with Åffa Universal filler.
Most important
is to fill where the
plates are assembled.
All edges are
painted one extra time
with painting Hygæa Træ & Facader gloss 10.
All sides of
the box is painted
twice with
the painting Hygæa Træ & Facade gloss 10.
Best regards and
enjoy the work
Morten and
Asbjørn
________________________________________________________________
Monday 14th
January 2002
We had coffee
and the very Danish
crusty rolls with butter.
I introduced
myself and the teacher
Morten. I told about the the project. To built a sculpture, write each
refugee's story, put it into the boxes and make this e-book.
Soon the men
became impatient. No
more talking. Now they had to start to work.
And they
worked.
They slaved.
They talked.
They argued.
They
gesticulated.
They shouted.
I just stood
besides watching.
Listening.
Now and then I
whispered some advice.
But before
long the studio was
working at full blast.
The young lads
worked hard.
The girls were
filling and sanding
the surfaces.
It was the
most beautiful inferno of
loud noises from saw machines, screw machines, gliding machines,
hammers, a
smell of sawdust, a smell
of glue and sweat.
Dust.
A split second
of collective
happiness.
The halogen
lamps with 3 x 300 watt
were lightening in competition with the eagerness in the artist's eyes.
Artist (in
Danish kunstner) was
written on the big badge, that we had given to each of them.
Armin,
kunstner - Elvis, kunstner -
Abazi, kunstner etc.
And they
talked. New methods were
developed......
An involvement
that I had never seen
before. Or heard before.
A Danish Union
would probably have
demanded the folks to slow down a little.
And the
machines worked so hard that
the fuses were blown.
As a souvenir
I have taken the 3
fuses that we blew with me home and placed them in my studio.
Remembering
those moments.
Everybody had
a welcome brake.
The girls were
burned out and did
not return
after the brake.
But the lads
and the men returned as
we had new fuses installed and worked even harder.
The production
of the boxes was now
systematized in a way that would make the conditions
of production
in Detroit's car
factories look like a play schedule in an after school center.
As we had
finished work, we shook
hands.
Good by, se
you tomorrow.
The young
lads, who had amused
themselves with our digital camera,
stayed for a
wile to drink a cup of
coffee and to talk.
I had brought
my Geographica - a
huge atlas
with even the smallest town mentioned.
Elvis became
Elvis Hot from Bijelo
Polje in Montenegro, Abazi became Arif Abazi from Prizen in
Kosovo and Belgrade. And Armin became Armin Pasanovic from Bijeljina.
I look forward
to tomorrow.
I look forward
to know the people
better.
The girls will
make 12 paperboard
models of the sculpture parts
so that we can
simulate placement of
the boxes before the exhibition.
From the
real world the story of
today was that Morten say good by to two of his pupils in 8th grade.
The pupils
cried.
Yes, of
course they cried.
In the
evening their mother and
three other brothers and sisters were informed by the police that they
would be picked up and expelled the next day.... to Kosovo.
Photo of the
day
Arif
"I am
Irresistible - don't you think"
Comes from
Prizen in Kosovo. He has
come to Denmark together with his family, his father Abas Abaziblev,
his mother Fema and his younger brother Alsir.
Arif is 16
years old and attends
10th grade
in the Red Cross Center's school.
He came to
Denmark 25th July 2001.
His father was
a baker (you will
hear more
about him later).
He belongs to
the ethnic minority
Goran.
________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday 15th
January 2002
All men, young
lads and girls were
very enthusiastic this morning.
I made a
paperboard model of a box
together with the girls, just to show them how to do. And I told them
the purpose of this little project.
They
were very proud when they
presented the first box of their own.
They were
however a little bit sad
to have
glue on their fingernails.
And later they
asked me to cut the
paperboard.
It is hard
work to cut in 3 mm
paperboard.
When the
girls have finished
the 12 models they are painted
red, yellow,
green and blue as shown
on my draft.
The first
wooden box was finished
today. It was the men's box.
Shouts of joy,
as at a basket ball
match.
"We are the
champions..............".
The young lads
worked hard too, and
they had a lot of fun.
And here is
the young lads first box.
Kasim, Meho,
...., Mimin, Cseki and
Bahir
Then the men's
second triumph.
And the young
lad's second triumph.
The young lads
had reinforcement
from Germany,
Nico.
He joined the
group and was accepted
at once.
That is the
refugee way.
Nico.
Photo of the
day
"Who are cool?"
___________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday 16th
January 2002
Panic!!!!!!!
We were run
out of screws tuesday
afternoon.
The men shrug
their shoulders,
smiled forbearing
towards me and went home.
1000 new
screws solved the problem
and our turbo factory could continue it's production.
When something
starts at 9.00 AM in
the morning, then it is the time when you leave home?
Or is it the
time you eat your
breakfast?
It depends
very much on your
cultural background.
This knowledge
I wish I had had
years ago.
And the girls
did not show up today.
Something with the stomach.
The lads and
the men showed up,
drank a
cup of coffee, talked.
And suddenly
they began to work. One
after the other. Quietly.
Today's lesson
(to me): Punctuality
has no effect on productivity.
Yesterday I
helped Mimin's
brother sawing
a pole. 6 cm.
Today he
saluted me smiling,
squeezed my arm, praised my work, we were friends for ever.
That is the
refugee way.
Mimin
Mimin and his
pall Abas Abaziblev
made a coffee table after hours.
As they had
finished the coffee
table Mimin
and his friend sat down to drink a cup of coffee with me.
Mimin gave me
a cigarette, dear me
it was
strong.
The feeling of
accepting that kind
of gift
from people that do not have much is special.
A split second
of happiness, again!
Earlier today
I was offered a
cigarette from Cseki.
They do not
understand Danish. I do
not understand Serbo-Croatian.
But seldom
have I had more
meaningful conversations!
Morten wrote a
letter in Albanian,
Serbo-Croatian and Danish. In the letter we asked for the stories to
put into the boxes and to put in this e-book.
One of the men
said to me that it
would give him problems as we asked him to write his name in the
beginning of the story.
I tried to
convince him and with
Elvis Hot as an interpreter we had a somewhat heated discussion.
But a few
moments later the same man
smiled to me,
he came to me
when I was filling and
painting and said to me "il maestro".
I do not think
these people can bear
a grudge.
They express
their true meaning.
They live
right now. Nothing more.
I thought for
a long time about this
dispute.
How silly am I
allowed to be?
As a Dane I am
not able to imagine
if he
puts his own or his family's lives in jeopardy if his name and story
was exhibited on the internet.
Sure it is
vital for him to have
asylum.
I dropped my
plan to take a photo of
each refugee to be presented together with their story.
Again, how
silly am I allowed to be?
Who are
learning things?
I am!
Abazi,
Amin, Alen, Elvis and
Nico
A well earned
brake.
The young lads
had now developed a
teamwork that I never have seen before.
And in the end
of the day they
proudly announced: "4 boxes in one day".
There is a
tremendous potential in
these young people.
Elvis Hot is
very interested in
anything concerning computers - I hardly could keep him away from my
computer during the workshop.
God thanks we
had not connected it
to the
Internet!
Elvis Hot is
17 years old. He is
born in
Montenegro in Bijelo Polje.
He was 7 years
old as his family
moved to Turkey.
He lived in
Turkey for 7 years until
an earthquake hit Istanbul.
They slept in
tents at night because
they were afraid of new earthquakes.
After three
days he, his father and
sister flew to Bosnian where they stayed for 3 month.
They stayed
with a friend of his
father's.
Then a tough
journey to Denmark.
3 days through
Slovenia, 3 days
through Italy and 3 days through Germany.
Then he
applied for asylum in
Denmark and
stayed for 10 days i the Sandholm camp.
That was in
1999.
Elvis Hot
speaks English, Danish,
Turkish and Serbo-Croatian.
He attends the
school in the Red
Cross' Center in Randers. His great wish is to go to high school.
Boxes,
boxes, boxes.
The production
of the day was
enormous. Now we have made 9 boxes.
We have a
problem, a nice problem
however.
It is hard to
find space for storing
the big boxes.
Teacher Morten
talks to teacher Else.
Photo of the
day
"What then -
girls?"
_______________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 17th
January 2002
The men and
the lads arrived in the
same manner as the other mornings.
Same procedure.
We shook
hands, drank coffee,
started working.
We all felt a
relief. It was obvious
now that we could reach our goals.
Morten and I
learned the men and the
lads how to fill, how to sand, how to paint.
We had a
visitor from the Red Cross
Press Center in Copenhagen.
A journalist
will tell a story about
all the 14 workshops.
A link will be
made from Red Cross'
web site to this e-book.
Danish Red
Cross has the web site
address www.redcross.dk.
The E-mail
address to the journalist
is jna@redcross.dk.
The Roman
Bathir asked me how many
children I had. I told him that I had 3 sons. "You are a rich man".
He was very
surprised when I told
him that
Morten was my eldest son.
Bahir then
told me he had 5
children, sons
and daughters back in Kosovo.
Abas
Abaziblev who helped
Mimin yesterday
with his coffee table joined our group and painted enthusiastically.
An friend of
Abas joined us too. He
was able to speak English.
Omer was
the friend's name.
He told me
that Abas was a baker and
that i served his apprenticeship with Abas.
The principal
asked me if I would
make a new sculpture project.
I said yes,
and we will talk about
it later.
I drew to the
place where the
exhibition is taking place.
To see the
conference room of
Underværket.
It is 8,27
x 16 meters. And 5
meters to the ceiling.
There was a
huge screen.
Morten and I
have decided that we
will make a wall sheet with this e-book and one slide to the huge
screen.
And no more.
The sculpture
and its story can
stand alone.
We need no electronic wonders.
Even not a
computer.
People with
computer access is given
a paper with the web site addresses,
in Danish
https://www.lonvig.dk/e-bog.htm and
in English
http://
www.lonvig.dk/e-book.htm.
Abas, Nezdet,
Mimin and Omer.
In the
afternoon 4 men came to the
workshop asking politely if they might work a little,
if they might
make the last box.
Of course, I
said, I will stay as
long as you.
One of them
was Omer, who in English
told me:
"They all come
from Kosovo, all of
them live in the Dragas - the place is called the Gora.
They
belong to an ethnic group
Goran. Goran means highlanders.
They live in
the mountains Shar
planina end Koritnik.
2400 meters
over sea level.
Now we listen
to Goran music,
typical Balcan
music.
In the past,
that is 100 years ago
there were approximately 40.000 people in Goran.
Before the war
there were 25.000
inhabitants.
Now the
population has been reduced
to approximately 6.500, all of them old men and women,
everybody else
are refugees.
Goran people
are proud and skillful
people.
It is the area
in Ex-Joguslavia with
most shops".
The art of
taking brakes.
Even Morten
takes a (short) brake.
The art of
taking brakes regardless
others are working.
Mimin, Kasim,
Bahir, Mimin's brother
and Ramiz know the art of taking brakes.
Discussing
politics, soccer and
everything else.
Morten has not
yet quite learned the
art of taking brakes.
A Red Cross
employee told me, that
someone was interested in exhibiting the sculpture after the exhibition
in Underværket i Randers.
Photo of the
Day
"Snap Shot -
Morten takes a brake"
________________________________________________________________________________
Friday 18th
January 2002
We had a
meeting with the
interpreter Smajo
at 9 AM. And now we could talk. It was a pleasant redemption after one
week
of communication by gesticulation, a little bit of Danish, a little bit
of
German a lot of Serbo-Croatian and a lot of friendliness.
I told the men
and the lads about
the sculpture
and the importance of putting their own stories into the boxes an on
the
Internet.
Everybody's
highest wish is of
course to
have asylum in Denmark.
Morten and I
will accept a wish to
remain anonymous and a wish to be on the Internet or not even in the
boxes.
Of course
Saturdays I
red an article in my
local paper about a Dane who had been in a German work camp during
World War II.
Never before
he had been able to
tell or
write about his traumatic experiences in Germany.
To most
refugees it is however
important to write down their more or less traumatic stories.
Only one self
knows when.
Today Tuesday
22nd of January 2002,
I
was in Randers to make the last preparations before the sculpture is
moved.
A refugee, not
one from our group,
not one the girl, not one the lads, not one of the men, came to me and
asked if he might tell his story and have it put into the boxes and on
the Internet.
Fridays Morten
and I talked to an
Iranian refugee that might be interested too.
Morten
is class teacher 8th
grade of refugee children. They want to be in too.
Then we had
this idea:
every
refugee in the world,
who want to join our art work can do so.
Just write
your story and e-mail it
to lonvig@mail.dk
Then we will
print it and put it
into the
boxes and put it on the Internet.
Do not
hesitate to do it in your own
language even if our e-book is in Danish and English only.
So far.
Sooner or
later someone will read
your story and interpret into Danish or English and e-mail the
translation to lonvig@mail.dk.
Then your
story is on the Internet
in your
own language and in Danish and English.
Remember this:
Our art work
consists of a
combination of the sculpture and this e-book.
And
if you join
the creation of our art
work by sending your story or a translation of one already in the e-book
you yourself
will
become an
ARTIST.
Some comments
from refugees during
our meeting with the interpreter:
"We do not
know our legal position"
"We feel it
hard to read those
papers we
receive even if they are in our own language - we want verbal
information"
"We stay too
long in the camps"
"We can not
stand the uncertainty -
it is hard to stay mentally healthy"
"They
can as well shoot me
now, if
I can not have asylum,
I
do not have a country
to return back to".
Arif,
the interpreter and Ramiz
Bahir and the
interpreter
During the day
we worked with
filling, painting the last boxes,
talking to
people from TV and
other good people.
Morten is
finishing the art work.
No wonder he
looks tired, he has
made a
tremendous effort
to succeed
with this art workshop.
Photo of the
Day
"Who is he -
an artist?"
____________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 24th
January 2002
Back
in my studio,
gallery and private
home in Hedensted I got a little help from my friends.
Second grade
from Stjernevejens
school was working with geometric shapes in
art classes.
They visited
me on a rainy day.
18 pupils and
2 teachers built the
model.
I think it is
beautiful.
The sculpture
is ready for
exhibition.
I believe we
all had a splendid day
in spite of the weather.
Yes, it is
beautiful.
But as we
looked at it from behind
the two red boxes on the ground had to be separated and displaced.
Suddenly an
exit appeared.
An exit of a
labyrinth?
Or an entrance?
For sure
you have to bend down
and even crawl on your knees to get through.
Have I heard
this story before?
An
unforgettable experience
for the
girls, the young lads, the men
and
teacher Morten and me.
An I
learned "the refugee way"!
Sincerely
yours,
Asbjørn
Lønvig,
artist
"Lille
Fejringhus"
Hedensted,
Denmark
___________________________________________________________________________________
The exhibition of all the 14 projects
and the sculpture
takes place
Monday 28th January to Friday 1st
February 2002
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
in arts center "Underværket" in
Randers, Denmark.
Grand opening Monday 28th at 11 a.m.
Everybody must come.
..........and we gather the young lads
and the men, Morten
and Asbjørn
Sunday 27th January 10 a.m.
to transport the boxes from the Red
Cross Center to
"Underværket".
Morten has rented a truck. We want to
be sure, that the
boxes
are transported safely and not be harmed in any way.
____________________________________________________________________________
Sunday 27th
January 2002
I started form
"Lille Fejringhus" at
8 a.m. and I picked Morten up in Aarhus.
Then we drew
to Randers to hire a
truck.
9 men were
waiting for at 9.45 a.m.
Did I say
anything about refugee's
lack of punctuality?
We welcomed
the men.
They smiled.
In less than
half an hour we loaded
the truck with 12 boxes.
Morten took 2
of the men into the
truck, I took 1 into my van and 4 followed us in a taxi.
We drew to
Underværket.
The men
unloaded the truck in
minutes.
I had placed
the model in one end of
the conference hall.
The men built
as I orchestrated.
It was
beautiful.
The man from
the art center
Underværket did not come. Tomorrow I will meet a little before 11
a.m. in order to fix the the slides, 2 spots on the printed e-book and
a CD with Balcan music.
We finished at
6 p.m., delivered the
truck and drew to Aarhus. I just had time for a drink of very cold
water and
said hi to Morten's wonderful child, that is my grandchild, Lucca
and Morten's wonderful wife Trine.
I am so tired
now, but everything is
too exiting to go to bed.
I have
reported to Mardox net, and
FFANET that
"Now Red Cross
has hired me to
continue my work - the concept has proven to be successful.
Does your
company need a Red Cross
refugee's huge sculpture designed by me and made professionally
together with
refugees. Your
donation will
be visible to everybody as a sculpture art work consists of to
sculpture and
an
e-book about
the entire creation,
from start to finish.
Concerning Red
Cross refugee's
sculpture.
It has been
erected, it is
beautiful. It
is a tremendous success.
And I have
updated my portfolio at
WWAR.COM (World Wide Art Resources, the world's greatest gateway to art)
with the same
information.
____________________________________________________________________________
Monday 28th
January 2002
...it is today
the grand
opening i
Underværket, Randers.
In the news of
today was, on the
front page of World Wide Art Resources (the world picture and a short
notice
referring to
an article.
In the the
article was referred
på this e-book and to me as a premiere portfolio at WWWAR.
A tecnichen
came.
An the great
sound system were tuned
in.
Balcan music.
A print of the
e-book on the stage.
And a overhead
of the men and the
young lads.
The model of
the sculpture and the
drum team were ready.
Some of the
proud artists were ready.
Elvis Hot's
father to the right.
The
sculpture has been painted
here and there.
Morten works
hard - as always -
making the last preparations.
He is opening
one of the blue boxes
to show to the world,
that there are
realy refugee's
stories inside.
A lot of
people has arrived.
Jørgen
Chemnitz arrived.
First Vicky
the head teacher spoke.
She thanked
the artists.
Drumbeat.
The teachers.
Drumbeat.
Everybody who
had made this
exhibition possible.
Drumbeat.
Then
Jørgen Chemnitz from
Røde Kors Denmark made a speech.
Once more
drumbeat.
And he opened
the exhibition.
Drumbeeeeeeeeeeeat.
The crowd was
exited.
A great
success.
You can't
imagine the men's joy.
As Bahir from
the men's team saw the
overhead,
The print of
the e-book.
In that same
room as the sculpture.
Hearing the
sound of Balcan music
from those very huge loudspeakers.
He
spontaneously kneeled down in
front of me with his hands on the ground.
Can anybody
achieve higher
appreciation in this life?
Bahir has a
great sense of humor.
But somewhere
deep in his heart I
knew what he felt.
I ruffled his
hair and we laughed.
______
And where was
Fema's son?
Abas
Abaziblev's son?
Alsir's
brother?
Of course.
I found him in
the crowd.
Surrounded by
beautiful girls.
Arif and
his four "cousins".
_____
I wonder.
Why do the
children climb the
sculpture??????
I think they
like it.
A feeling of
joy.
I talked to
Jørgen Chemnitz.
Afterwards I
talked to Vicky about
continuing this work.
We all agree
we have to one
way
or the other.
You can read
more about this project
in an article written by journalist
Jette Nørby Andersen, Red Cross Denmark,
in the top
story from 28th January 2002 on Absolutearts.com,
article in the
newspaper Randers Amtsavis on
29th january
2002,
ask
for
more press coverage.
