Author: dannyfob

A Wolverine Abroad – Modernity in the world of the Renaissance

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I seem to always be posting these late, and for that I apologize. I have a really sweet artist this week though Teun Hocks is the name. Photoshop is the game. Yeah, that was cheesy, but that’s okay, right? Anyway, he does some really amazing things with digital photo editing. This is one of the artists that had a display at the art fair last week. I want to show just a few of his works so that you can see how creative he is.

What I like about the works is the way you can see how large a life he leads. The main figure goes about his normal day by doing things that are on a much grander scale than the rest of us. He catches music in a net instead of butterflies. He picks up after the stars fall. He farms time. He cries a literal waterfall. These things are extraordinary.


There would be a picture here, but his website won’t let me use it… so you can use this


What a grand life it must be to catch music the way others catch insects. The artist uses the medium so well to mix colors and enlarge the main figure. He even seems oversized for the landscape he is placed on. Another aspect that I like in Mr. Hocks’ work is his use of the road. His character is always traveling, always going someone. Even when he is looking at a picture, he looks through it and travels beyond it.


Same deal as above 🙂

His website http://www.teunhocks.nl/Teun_Hocks/TEUN_HOCKS.html

Many of his works depict his main character traveling, through space, time, landscapes, etc. Often the figure seems sad, he is completely alone. And when another figure is present, it is a reflection of himself. There is never another character. But the artist makes a point to tell us home goes with you wherever you are. No matter the burden it could bring, home is always with you.


The picture that really grabbed my attention is one that I can’t find online, of course. But it’s this figure crying on the edge of a canyon. His tears form a stream, which turn to a river and then cascade over the canyon  in one of the most beautiful and sad waterfalls I’ve ever seen. Teun Hocks has so many intriguing images and I’ve actually been flipping through his website for two hours now checking them all out. I love his style. It’s so centered on the models, but the landscape still takes up space in the viewer’s analysis, in our gaze.

It’s sort of strange that I’m in the middle of all of this old Italian art and I’m writing about modern stuff, but I figure I have plenty of time to find the old art. The new is here today and gone tomorrow!

Again, I’m sorry this is late. There is just so much life happening here! And I still don’t have a regular schedule. But I’m not complaining. I’m in Italy folks!


Ciao ciao!

Danny Fob

Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger

A Wolverine Abroad – Art Fair? In January? YESSSSS!!!!

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Believe it! I went to this amazing art fair today. It was so fantastic! It was outside the city walls of Bologna, which was great because the entire bus-ride back I was singing with my friends on this bus that was like the Bursley/Baits at 9:50 am (Singing Rent no less, which Italians have never heard of). We got compliments 🙂

But seriously, this art fair was huge. Not as big as ours, but more diverse. Way more mediums than you see at the AA fair. It was all modern and postmodern, whatever all those words for abstract are. Some of the mediums were so strange, and some were just terrible. There was literally a window shutter. A black window shutter. Maybe I just don’t get all of this modern art. I saw so much though, and I wrote down a list of all the artist I really liked. After I research a little more I’ll writer more about them. For now though I’ll give you a little taste.

For reasons you’ll find obvious, I won’t post a picture of the works i saw, but if you go to the website, you’ll see some of her works

http://www.claudia-rogge.de/fotografie/everafter

This is an artist that I remember for a few reasons. I saw a lot of her works, and I had to ask to make sure that one of them was hers. So I heard her name, looked through her books, and wrote her name on the list. Also, the pictures were basically giant orgies. But artistic. They were themed on the cantos of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The whole series was just beautiful and she really knew how to set up a photo. Her name is Claudia Rogge. Her site is great, but it doesn’t show all of her works. One that really struck me, that I can’t seem to find, is of a dinner table, all set, and covered in wax. Dripping with wax. And the wall behind it has family photos. It’s really something. But for now, this is all I can say. I promise there is more to come from this great experience abroad.

Ciao ciao!

Danny Fob

Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger

A Wolverine Abroad – Can I Get That Without the Skin Please?

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This week I saw something fascinating and a little unnerving. We visited some of the buildings of the university and learned about their histories. L’Archiginnasio, which is a very old building of the university, is covered in frescos and the plagues of countless graduates, but what I found most interesting was the anatomy classroom. That sounds strange, but it was truly intriguing.

This centuries old classroom of anatomy was used to teach aspiring doctors and physicians (and even artists like Michelangelo) the functions of the human body. It is still a beautiful room, though after a bomb during WWII it had to be reconstructed. The room is constructed completely of wood, once perfumed to neutralize the smell of the corpses on the dissection table. What I find of intrest in this room are two statues that are called Spellati, or the Skinless, by Ercole Lelli. These two figures stand erect, supporting a platform in which a carved allegory of anatomy sits overseeing the processes of this science.

These two figures are truly wonderful. They are meant to express the human form as if it didn’t have skin. The muscles and veins are carved carefully into each digit and each limb. The artist took great care in positioning the statues so that all parts would be available to viewers and as a display of the human form, which will soon be laid out on the table in the center of the room. Due to the thin and almost barren look of the figures, they seemed at first to be some sort of servants supporting the platform, but after closer inspection and an explanation in Italian, we understood better and were able to respect the figures for their truly artistic and scientific value.

I want to apologize for the lateness of this post. Punctuality in Italy is almost unheard of and my classes havn’t started yet, so I have no real schedule. Please forgive me! Also, for anyone interested, I would like to offer the opportunity of requesting sites you would like me to visit and write about. Obviously you could go to any site that you want to read about Italian arts or tourist sites, but this is like a personalized version. Comment on my posts with whatever you want me to see and I’ll try my best to post a video or photos and an article. I could really use your ideas, because there are just too many choices right now and no way to narrow them down!

Tanti Auguri!

Danny Fob

Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger

A Wolverine Abroad – Strike A Pose

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This week I would like to talk about something that relates to a cause I write about often. I went to the birthday party of a bartender that I know here in Italy. He works at a Gay bar and the party was at a club called Cassero. The Cassero is, during the day, the seat of the LGBT rights foundation here in Italy, called Arcigay. It is a great foundation that does so much for the community, including this really great birthday party. This week’s post is about the spectacle put on by the friends of Massimo, the bartender, and by members of Arcigay.

Arcigay foundation
Arcigay foundation

As in any gay venue in the U.S., there were drag queens, fabulous drag queens. They sang a few great songs, mostly Italian but also “Our Day Will Come” by Amy Winehouse. It was so beautiful. I love when the queens sing, because they sing in their masculine voice and it is so surprising and fantastic every time I hear it. And their outfits were so perfectly chosen for the occasion, they could have been called art-fits.

What I really like about the night was the performance of “Vogue” by Madonna. Madonna is a common subject in the community here, even more so than in the states, because she is Italian, as I’ve been told many many times (Also in this category is Lady Gaga). I knew all this. What I didn’t know, however, was that Italians knew how to vogue. It is a huge part of American gay culture, but I didn’t think that it translated to over here. But it did. Six performers were onstage going through pose after pose. Arms spread out, then hugging torso, then behind the head. Perfect hits every time. This was actually the first time I saw vogue-ing live, so it was even better. For those who don’t know, vogue-ing is a dance style developed in the gay ball communities that focuses on poses from its namesake magazine. Each beat is a different pose. The dance requires a certain amount of poise and elegance while also needing attitude, speed, and accuracy. For more info, you could watch the documentary “Paris is Burning”. It’s fantastic.

I know that seeing people vogue in a show isn’t what you expect to read from an art reviewer living in Bologna. I feel like it’s actually really strange. But this is an art form that is still thriving throughout the gay community all over the world. I also spent the week looking for apartments, so I didn’t have the chance to find something of great mention; though I know that here it isn’t difficult. Good news though! I found a great apartment, and the roommates are all musicians!! So I’ll always have something to write about! Really though, I’m excited to move and I’m already making some great friends. Someday soon we’re going to an Italian opera here, and maybe a ballet. I’ll definitely be writing about them. I also might try out for this play here in Bologna. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Tanti Auguri!

Danny Fob

Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger

A Wolverine Abroad – the Art Lover’s Travel Blog “Old and New”

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Hello again everyone! I hope your holidays were fabulous! That’s right, it’s me Danny Fob, switching over to the arts, inc. page this semester. I hope they don’t miss me too much over at [art]seen, but for the next 7 months I am here in Italy! The most beautiful and flavorful country in the world. It’s weird already to be typing this in English after speaking only Italian for nearly two weeks, but I will do my best for you throughout the semester. Because of my travels this semester and my ongoing desire to write for Arts at Michigan, the wonderful people in the department have allowed me to switch over to this blog and continue talking about art (note the shameless brown-nosing). And so, throughout this semester I will write about the different arts I see around the places I visit. I hope you enjoy it! I’ll be posting every Sunday, so put it in your calendars!

In my first post, since I am both an old writer for the site and new to arts, inc. I want to talk about this idea within the city of Florence. We have all heard of this glorious city, its position as the womb from which the Renaissance was born, its riches and artworks, its museums and styles. And it is all true. Walking through Florence is like going back in time. Its buildings are all made of stone and long forgotten masonry styles. There are statues to heroes of the Renaissance, rich merchants and bankers, scientists and artists, and the first King of a united Italy, Vittorio Emanuelle II. The museums hold works by Bellini, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio, which used to decorate the halls of patrons and churches but now sit behind glass as artifacts of a different time. Yes, these works are old, they are masterpieces from a different era, but something that I learned about Florence is that it still thrives. Its culture is still rich in artists and art. People still use century old churches blanketed in marble and sculpture for prayer and worship. A friend of mine, that housed me for a week, is what I would like to call a Renaissance man.  Apparently it is still common, at least in Florence, to be a patron of a certain artist. My friend has an artist that paints what people ask him to paint. I would put up a picture, but I forgot to ask him if I could and his phone is out of money right now. The picture is personal for him, which I think only adds to its value. It is a beautiful tradition of the city and is continuously influenced by new culture, from films and music to the food and lifestyles of other cultures. The city is at the same time ever-changing and always the same. This is one of the reasons it is my favorite city in Italy. It’s like a living, moving work of art.

I think travel is an incredibly important part of life. I know it can be difficult and expensive, but it is sooo worth the work and the stress. Today I travel to Bologna and continue my search for an apartment there, since I will be studying at the oldest university in the World, the University of Bologna. I am very excited and a little terrified, but that is to be expected. I hope the weather isn’t too bad for all of you in Michigan. It’s mildly cold here, but I havn’t seen an Italian snow yet L Fingers Crossed!

Tanti Auguri!

Danny Fob

Your Wolverine Abroad Blogger