Following the meal, there were a few announcements and then it was time for my presentation. I used this as a warm-up for the larger presentation I shall deliver tomorrow (more on that in tomorrow’s posting), so this was a scaled down version of that: Indigenous Peoples in a Globalized World – The Cherokee Nation. The theme of the larger speech and presentation for the Handelsskols’ teachers at the conference tomorrow is Globalization; the Rotarians got to see it first. I rushed through it because of the time constraints and even stopped it short from its full version to allow for some questions, and there were questions. This was a curious group, as I have found most all Danes with whom I have had contact. They want to know more, and they especially want to know more about American Indians – something they admittedly know little about but have a healthy curiosity with. I appreciate this sort of curiosity and am certainly eager to work with it.
As my time ran out and the meeting came to a close I tried to address as many questions as I could and then engaged in conversations while the time lasted, but it was not long before Soren and I were headed back to his company for a short while. He had arranged for me to meet an artist friend of his, Rene Holm, a bit later at Rene’s studio. We were only at Soren’s company for a few minutes when Rene texted and said he was clear from another appointment and we could come by any time. Soon we were on our way.
We walked into Rene’s apartment-sized studio and found him at work on a painting. This man is talented; I first noticed his work in Soren and Pia’s home when I was there for dinner. What caught my eye about that particular painting was first and foremost the size; it is nearly floor to ceiling and more than a meter wide. This is a massive painting, but it is also good. I know very little about art appreciation and technique and the other technical aspects of art, but I do know what I like and what I consider to be good art – this is good. One thing in particular that caught my attention was a similarity to some Cherokee and other native artists’ works I have seen. This particular painting I am writing about has a naturescape: a –somewhat abstract couple (faces obscured) standing in the woods, and it is the woods and the depiction of nature wherein I saw the resemblance to some Native artists’ works I know.
At Rene’s studio was more evidence of these similarities. Rene is an interesting fellow to sit and talk with; Rene, Soren, and I spoke about many things other than art, and the conversations were outstanding. I really enjoy dialogues with people who can hold an intelligent conversation on a great variety of topics, and in the hour or so we were in Rene’s studio the three of us covered a variety of topics. The conversations never lagged. And then we finally got around to talking about Rene’s Art.
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