Arthur Japin

Japin tells the story — fictional, but rooted in real stories from the time — of Lemmy, a small person who grows up in the "Lilliputian village" of the Dreamland amusement park at Coney Island. After the 1911 fire he joins a travelling company of dwarves. That brings him together with Rosa, the love of his life, and he goes back to live in Germany with her, only to find himself caught up in the rise of you-know-what.

Japin uses this framework to reflect not only on the obvious show more callousness of the exploitation of human "freaks" at the time (Dreamland also included a well-stocked "Human zoo" of people of exotic races), but also more generally on the instinct we seem to have to perform for the pleasure of those around us, from the smiling baby to the striptease dancer, so that the degradation of being exhibited as a freak can turn into a kind of satisfaction as well. It's all a bit superficial, squashed into the novella format like this, but quite interesting and clever all the same. show less

English Below.

Impressies
Leuke vorm! : vrouw die bij bejaarde Edgar Degas door bezittingen gaat oom op te ruimen zodat hij kan verhuizen, ze heeft een verborgen agenda die pas aan het eind onthuld wordt. Zij wil vooral veel te weten komen over zijn nicht Estelle.
De schrijfstijl is soepel.
Op blz 52, ik ken het ongemak van het koffiedrinken met een model. Een persoon die je bij het schilderen wat 'gematerialiseerd' hebt, tot onderwerp gemaakt hebt, ziet als vorm en oppervlak, wordt weer een show more mens met wie je interactie hebt ( en ook daarna weer de transformatie de andere kant op: weer eerst even gêne)

oorlog onderhuids,
Creools betekent hier in Louisiana : met Frans bloed.
ik vind dat Edgar te snel vriendelijk wordt tegen de vrouw, te abrupt. öf het is een goede inkorting, je snapt hoe de verhouding met schokken verbeterd is.
Ik vond het boek leuk door de vorm, het meeleven met de ordenende vrouw en interessant door de ideeën van de schilder Edgar.

Over Schilderen:
Dat moment van aarzelen waarin alles nog idee is. Tot aan de eerste uithaal liggen alle paden open.
Naast een Bougerreua hangen in Parc du Luxembourg hangen is voor Degas vernederend.. (EMS: sorry) . Degas wil zijn eigen stijl doen, geen loonslaaf worden van ambtenaren en daarvoor zijn stijl aanpassen die nog in de salon van de academie gewild is. Degas wilde niet buiten schilderen (bijv. in Deauville) omdat het licht te fel was voor zijn ogen en omdat hij gruwde van het commentaar van voorbijgangers die het geschilderde afmaten met wat er in de werkelijkheid te zien is.
'Succes is het einde van vooruitgang'
Als je vrouwen schildert moet je hen niet mooier maken dan zij zijn, dat maakt hen juist onzeker omdat ze niet aan dat beeld kunnen voldoen.
De afbeeldingen worden met steeds fellere kleuren gemaakt omdat dgar steeds slechter zag, ook werden de lijnen zoekender. Het grappige is dat dat juist gewaardeerd werd als nieuw inzicht. ( Edgar: 'Je moest eens weten') . Ook gebruikte hij pastelkrijt omdat die kleuren al kant en klaar zijn en steeds grotere doeken.

"'We hebben toch zeker geen bewijsstukken nodig om te weten dat we hebben geleefd? Archiveren is het tegenovergestelde van herinneren, zoals lijnen trekken het tegenovergestelde is van tekenen. Die twee mag je nooit verwarren. Je vangt een beeld niet door het vast te leggen maar door het los te laten!" blz.36

"Ik zie wat ik wil zien", verklaarde hij de rommel, "Niet wat er om mij heen is." blz.63

"Het werk voltooien is het opgeven. Je stopt niet omdat je klaar bent, maar omdat je je niet verder kunt. Wie zijn penseel geeft toe te zijn verslagen. Het kunstwerk dat het resultaat is van krachtenspel, reduceert zowel schepper als model naar hun oorspronkelijke imperfectie. ... wat je ziet is nooit wat het had moeten zijn; niet zozeer een mislukking, maar voor de maker altijd een teleurstelling. - ( EMS: je kunt op z'n hoogst maar een deel van wat je ziet weergeven, wat je in je hoofd hebt komt niet op doek. behalve die uitzonderlijke keren. Net als bij schrijven)

[.. Roze Camellia's met Oranje Gladiolen. ] Dit is vreemd. camellia's bloeien in januari en gladiolen in juli. Voor begin 20e eeuw... dat lijkt me niet kunnen... Op een schilderij - waar dit schilderij gemaakt (of geschetst) is, Estelle in Louisiana die blind schikt, waar Edgar door is geíïtrigeerd - kan het wel. Op het schilderij is het onduidelijk of het camellia's zijn, ze zijn ook bijna wit. https://kunstvensters.com/2020/09/22/een-kunstgids-bij-mrs-degas-van-arthur-japi...

Rouw/ vergankelijkheid:

"Zolang wij onze dierbaren om ons heen hebben, houden wij van ze om alles wat ze uitzonderlijk maakt, maar zijn ze weg dan missen wij vooral hun dagelijkse doen." blz. 50

"Als ik aan moeder denk zie ik enkel contour, iedere substantie is weggevallen. Van mens is zij idee geworden." blz. 57/8

Het is unheimisch werk. Wij doorwroeten zijn verleden als een knekelveld, Gedachten spatten rond als schedelresten achter de ploeg" blz. 102

"Snijbloemen", bromde de beer(Edgar), "Wat een zinloze verwoesting!"." Om uw nieuwe woning op te fleuren." Onverstoorbaar zette ik ze naast zijn ontbijtbordje. Inmiddels ben ik zo aan zijn tirades gewend dat ik ze nog zal missen. "Ruik toch eens!" "God heeft de bloeiende natuur zijn plaats gewezen en die is niet binnen." blz. 267 ...
Nooit begrepen hoe iemand kan genieten van schoonheid die langzaam staat te stervenop een theetafeltje. Iedere vaas is een uitgesteld graf." "Ik heb ze schuin afgesneden en zal ze met regelmaat vers water geven." "Waarom zoveel zorg voor wat ten dode is opgeschreven?" ... kleinburgers die hun eigen dorheid hopen te verbloemen. " blz 268.

Discriminatie
"Wij houden haar" , zei Estelle .. "Maar lieverd, ik geloof dat je het niet goed begrijpt..., zij is gekleurd" "Dat's een onderscheid dat ik niet kan maken René. ik ben nu eenmaal blind." blz 190/1

Engels: ------------

Impressions
Nice form! : Woman who goes through elderly Edgar Degas' possessions to clear him out so he can move, she has a hidden agenda which is only revealed at the end. She especially wants to find out a lot about his niece Estelle.
The writing style is smooth.
On page 52, I know the discomfort of having coffee with a model. A person you have somewhat 'materialized' in painting, made into a subject, sees as form and surface, becomes again a human being with whom you interact ( and also afterwards again the transformation the other way: again first some embarrassment)
There's war under the skin/ surface.
Creole here in Louisiana means : with French blood.
I think Edgar becomes friendly to the woman too quickly, too abruptly. öf it is a good shortening, you understand how the relationship with shocks has improved.
I liked the book because of the form, the empathy with the ordering woman and interesting because of the ideas of the painter Edgar. The romance is pleasant to feel and sad to see.

On Painting:
That moment of hesitation when everything is still idea. Until the first pull out, all paths lie open.
Hanging next to a Bougerreua in Parc du Luxembourg is humiliating for Degas.... (EMS: sorry) . Degas wanted to do his own style, not become a wage slave of officials and for that he adapted his style that was still wanted in the salon of the academy. Degas didn't want to paint outdoors (e.g. in Deauville) because the light was too bright for his eyes and because he was horrified by the comments of passers - by who measured what was painted against what could be seen in reality.
'Success is the end of progress'
When you paint women you shouldn't make them prettier than they are, that actually makes them insecure because they can't live up to that image.
The images were made with increasingly brighter colors because Degas's eyesight was getting worse, and the lines were also becoming more searching. The funny thing is that that was actually appreciated as a new insight. ( Edgar: "You had to know what was really the cause") . He also used pastel crayons because those colors were already ready-made and he used increasingly larger canvases.

"'Surely we don't need documentary evidence to know we've lived, do we? Archiving is the opposite of remembering, just as drawing lines is the opposite of drawing. You must never confuse the two. You don't catch an image by capturing it but by letting it go!" p.36

"I see what I want to see," he explained of the clutter, "Not what is around me." p.63

"To complete the work is to give it up. You don't stop because you are finished, but because you cannot continue. Whoever's brush admits to being defeated. The work of art that is the result of the play of forces reduces both creator and model to their original imperfection. ... what you see is never what it should have been; not so much a failure, but for the maker always a disappointment. - ( EMS: at best you can only render part of what you see, what you have in your head does not come to canvas. Except for those exceptional times. Just like writing)

[... Pink Camellias with Orange Gladioli ] This is strange. camellias bloom in January and gladioli in July. For early 20th century... that doesn't seem possible to me... In a painting - where this painting was made (or sketched), Estelle in Louisiana arranging blind, which Edgar is ííred by - it can be done. In the painting it is unclear if they are camellias, they are also almost white. https://kunstvensters.com/2020/09/22/een-kunstgids-bij-mrs-degas-van-arthur-japi...

Grief/ transience:

"As long as we have our loved ones around us, we love them for all that makes them exceptional, but are they gone we miss above all their daily doings." [page 50

"When I think of mother I see only contour, any substance has fallen away. From human being she has become idea." p. 57/8

It is uncanny work. We root through his past like a charnel field, Thoughts splash around like skull fragments behind the plow" p. 102

"Cut flowers," the bear(Edgar) hummed, "What senseless destruction!". To brighten up your new home." Unruffled, I put them next to his breakfast plate. By now I am so used to his tirades that I will still miss them. "Smell it!" "God has shown blooming nature its place and it is not inside." p. 267 ...
Never understood how anyone can enjoy beauty that stands slowly dying on a tea table. Every vase is a delayed grave." "I have cut them at an angle and will give them fresh water with regularity." "Why so much care for what is dying?" ... petty citizens hoping to disguise their own aridity. " page 268.

Discrimination
"We're keeping her" , said Estelle ... "But darling, I don't think you quite understand ..., she's colored" "That's a distinction I can't make René. I'm simply blind." page 190/1

Translated by www.DeepL.com show less

Nicely balanced between being a very readable story, and still containing enough ideas to stimulate the hungry mind. The blurb, cover and title do not in my opinion do justice to its fascinating psychological/sociological aspect which for me, made the book. It explores how we see and process reality, not overtly, but rather through the protagonists's eyes herself, hence - perhaps - the title. It compresses the Enlightenment, and the philosophical battle for reason, into the mind of one show more woman. I wonder whether Japin is familiar with the Jongian cognitive functions (Thinking, intuition, feeling and sensing) because the book more or less covers them in sequence. We are taken on the journey inside her mind as she learns and comes to think in different ways throughout her life.

The characters were believable - as larger than life characters go - and the description were right on the mark. If your eyes are open, you can expect to learn something about love and thought, and undeniably you will be a wee bit surprised by how revealing some parts are. Japin can pull out a solid philosophical/idea-full sentence now and then.

No-spoiler quotes I marveled at
"If you keep your eyes on reality, you cannot become disillusioned"
"We rely too much on how we think we are seen than how we see ourselves"
"Tolerance is not the same as acceptance [...] you suggest in the same breath that they are actually an inconvenience"
"Contracts between two people would be a find idea if life were immutable. But it's constantly taking us by surprise. 'Improvise' it call out to us, 'Anticipate, vary!' Eternal faithfulness is a religion for fools" show less

It takes some getting used to, that's true, the first book I've read by Japin. The writing style is sometimes a bit dry, lacking some emotion, but at the same time it's like a dream to me (for example, through Japin's storytelling I get to know the master author of Rechter Tie's adventures) or a feast of recognition (the whimsical adventures and moments bring back the same kind of memories of my travels!).

Japin reports on the moments he experiences during his travels around the world, often show more getting to know the most unexpected and unimagined people. To then return for a moment to traveling in thoughts, in a world of fantasy, to discover how you really become part of your journey without experiencing it as an outsider or just a spectator.

In my opinion, that's what makes this book so beautiful, and makes it recognizable to me. It is not the traveler who stays in a hotel or in a modern airbnb, not he or she who spends the night in a created tree house in Malaysia or in a manufactured luxury tent in the Dutch forests who gets to know the person next to them, but he or she who dares to open their heart and sometimes gets carried away in the events or the lives of people.

That entails risks, you can become seriously ill, fall victim to criminals, or simply be abused for a free drink by the local old lady at the bar.

And again and again: you tell your story when you get home and the listeners, the listeners... yes it seems as if they believe you, or find your stories interesting, but you never know for sure. You have experienced it, and you find it impressive, unbelievable, shocking, world news. The other? Even your trusted left-wing newspaper is not interested because "we already talked about that last year". And so Japin takes up the pen and offers it to the reader, directly, and to that reader to absorb it and do something, yes, anything with it. show less