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| Kitsilano - October 12 2020 |
Deo gratias is Latin for "thanks [be] to God". It is a response in the Latin Mass, derived from the Vulgate text of 1 Corinthians 15:57 and 2 Corinthians 2:14.
Wikipedia
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario;
Con él las palabras que pienso y declaro:
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando
Thanks to live which has given me so much
It has given me the sound and the alphabet;
With the words that I think and declare:
Mother, friend, brother, and light shining
The soul path of the one I'm loving
Gracias a la Vida – Violeta Parra
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| Design - Gitte Axen |
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Until Rosemary, our two daughters and I moved to Vancouver in 1975 the concept of the holiday was alien to me. Now after all these years here I am comfortable with the idea and we celebrate it as best we can. This year Rosemary and I were invited to Hilary and Bruce Stewart’s in Burnaby. My daughter Hilary wanted me to not have to cook (I would have loved to). Our youngest granddaughter was present, too. We put on and took off our face masks when necessary and we sat apart where possible.
Coming home I remembered that years ago my friend Karethe Linnae had decided at the end of 2003 to have a show called I Am Grateful. The idea was to celebrate the fact that she and many others had found good fortune in our city particularly in her work as a filmmaker.
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| Karethe Linnae |
I considered while driving to our Kits home that I have been lucky to have photographed two lovely Norwegians in my life. Yes both Linnae and Liv Ullmann are Norwegian!
I participated in Linnae’s show with a five photograph narrative featuring our granddaughter Rebecca Stewart and her ballet teacher Andrea Hodge.
The framed narrative is prominently displayed in our piano room and to my pleasant surprise there is an interesting description of the work pasted in the back.
The title of the work, Gracias a la Vida is from a lovely song composed by Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra. Here is her version:
And this one with Argentine Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez is lovely, too.
‘i am grateful’ the exhibit
dates: March 4 - 7address: 44 Water street
opening event: thursday 6pm -10pm
+ fri-sun: noon - 6pm
Check us out on the web @
http://www.snobb.net/iamgrateful/
Usually gratitude comes with receiving, though it can equally be expressed by giving. Which is what our exhibit is about.
‘I am grateful’ is a collaborative show of the endlessly diverse faces of gratitude. The name is in first person singular, because gratitude is a personal choice.
The on-the-spot timing is intentional. Just as we as individuals have a spontaneous choice if and how to express our gratitude, we want the artists to create something straight from the heart. They will have no time to linger.
The artists have full creative freedom. They can use any medium any size and shape. They can treat the topic (of gratitude) literal, abstract, metaphysical or ethereal. Their works can be crude or funny, but they have to be grateful.
For this reason, the works should be created expressively for the show.
Finally, reflecting the concept of gratitude, nothing is to be sold in the exhibit. No money will exchange hands. We merely borrow the works for the duration of the exhibit. By setting a price on the works, one would put a dollar value on gratitude, which is not our intension.
‘ I am grateful’ is a celebration of our ability to be grateful.
it isn't gratitude, unless it is expressed
Karethe Linnae is an editor, journalist and writer living in Ronda, Andalucía
Editor in Chief - Editora Det Norske Magasinet <https://www.norskemagasinet.com/>
Writer - Escritora SNOBB <http://snobb.net/> Author - Autora Casita 26 <http://snobb.net/casita26/> My latest article from Andalucía: A classic high – hot air balloon flight over Ronda <http://snobb.net/2020/10/a-classic-high-hot-air-balloon-flight-over-ronda/>
