Art & Culture

By Carolyn Yeager

OF COURSE IT WAS, would be my answer to the title question. That the two occur at the same time cannot be accidental. The Solstice came first, of course, because it's an effect of the earth's rotation on it's axis – it occurs when the angle of the earth relative to the sun reaches its farthest southern point. Every year at this turning point, each day has a little more daylight until we reach the Summer Solstice – although the temperatures still get colder for awhile. During the three winter months – January-February-March – the earth is at rest and little outdoor work can be done.

By Carolyn Yeager

WHAT I THOUGHT LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME was going to be a continuation of good fortune for us in 2020, with the reelection of Donald Trump as president, and his continuing (and even accelerated) exposure of fake news, Washington swamp, Democrat disinformation, etc., etc. has been all but stopped in its tracks by this turbulent year. Or has it? It can just as well be that this unhappy turn of events will stir up even more awareness of the ugly side of our reality and is an important part of a developing 'great awakening' and great cleansing.

At the end of an extraordinary and chaotic year, I want to wish all my readers a peaceful and innocent Christmas celebration. I like the simple style of these two illustrations very much. Since I didn't want to choose between them, I decided to use both. Hope you like them too.

"Two Riders on a Beach" by Jewish-German "impressionist" Max Liebermann is considered a "masterpiece" that brought his great nephew $1.9 million at auction at Southeby's, New York, after winning it because it was a treasured family heirloom. This is one of two of the same subject, and is the preliminary painting or sketch for the final, more finished product. In my opinion it's pretty average, even boring, with the one horse's backside awkwardly rendered.

By Carolyn Yeager

REMEMBER THE DISCOVERY OF THE GURLITT COLLECTION? Fifteen hundred artworks found in the possession of Cornelius Gurlitt in 2012 in Munich, that were acclaimed with a lot of hulabaloo and world press attention as “Nazi-looted art”? Well, a special commission was set up to investigate, with the aim of returning the “stolen artworks” to their rightful (Jewish) owners. In 2016, the newly created German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste) in Magdeburg took over the research, which has now ended.

The famous Judensau (Jews' sow) relief sculpture at Martin Luther's church in Wittenberg, Germany has been spared by a court from being taken down. It's an example of folk art that appeared first during the 13th century in Europe, and remained popular for over 600 years.

By Carolyn Yeager

THE ABOVE IMAGE IS THE MOST FAMOUS EXAMPLE of the Judensau in Germany. Since 1305, it has adorned the State Church of Wittenberg where Martin Luther nailed his “95 theses” to the door in 1517. German Jews have since 1988 been on a campaign to remove and destroy such ancient artwork because, for them, it is offensive. Many churches have complied with Jewish wishes and removed their own Judensau sculptures, woodcuts and engravings.

Old German New Year greeting card reads Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum neuen Jahre – “Congratulations on the new year.” Herzlich translates as cordial, hearty, sincere or heartfelt. Glückwunsch is literally wishing you good luck.

by Carolyn Yeager

HERE WE HAVE THE BRIGHT-RED, white-spotted “lucky” mushroom (Glückpilz) that I wrote about last year which can actually be found growing wild in Europe and the United States. It contains psychoactive substances so do not ingest if you're lucky enough to find one! More luck in the form of the four-leaf clover is being offered by the angelic tots atop the little boy's mushroom abode, while the delegation of children announce the new year with a trumpet, accordian, and a bouquet of fresh greenery, all symbols of the Neujahr.

Wishing you

all the blessings and cheer

of the Christmas season

This sweet German card personifies the essence of Christmas to me: the innocence of a child who can delight and believe in its magical characters and events. The most special of all special times of the year, at Christmastime the world can be transformed and we can share, through a child's eyes and uncritical nature, in the spirit of abundance and giving. 

Merry Christmas!

By Carolyn Yeager

NO ONE HAS BETTER CARDS THAN THE GERMANS [used to have, anyway]. The pig is the most ubiquitous image in New Year Greetings in Germany going way back. The pig represents prosperity and plenty, as do coins laying around or falling freely for the taking. The four-leaf clover is almost always present, along with the horseshoe, to represent good luck. Then a glass of wine or spirits for good cheer and enjoyment. And, of course, the clock pointing to 12. Sometimes it is a calendar showing Jan. 1^st instead.

The subject of all the "Sturm und Drang" - this beautiful  bronze church bell from 1934.

By Carolyn Yeager

In spite of the best efforts of the former church organist, Sigrid Peters, to make a big political issue of the 1934-era bronze church bell hanging in the village's 1000 year old Jacobkirche, the good folk of Herxheim am Berg showed their lack of concern about the manufactured issue in a parish council vote on Monday, Feb. 26. The council voted 10 to 3 to keep the bell where it was, where it had been without hurting anyone for the past 84 years.

The decision was greeted with applause from many (read most) community members. Amid the controversy stirred up by the leftists and Sigrid Peters, the bell had been silenced since last September pending a decision by the village of 700 inhabitants, only 30 miles from the university city of Heidelberg. Now it will ring again.

Wishing all my readers

A Very Merry Christmas

and a prosperous and healthy

New Year!

Enjoy all your celebrations ...

I'm going to celebrate the New Year of 2018 with a new book: The Artist Within the Warlord. It will be available for sale at the beginning of January. It's been a long wait, but worth it. As are all good things. -Carolyn