More Beautiful than the Nike of Samothrace

 I love cars. Not all cars. There are cars that I really hate and there are cars that are totally indefferent to me. A modern electric car is like moving with some household appliance, they are boring. Cars that I like are beautifully designed, don't have lot (or any) plastics inside, power is not so meaninful element to me (albeit 6 seconds from 0 to 100 is the minimum), and it's not the age. I like modern Volvo V60 and I like old cars (when they work).

I love cars so much that when there was a Ferrari gathering in Lieto last summer, I naturally went there. I took a good spot to photograph every arriving beauty: 458 Italia, Testarossa, 296 GTS, 360 Modena, California CT 149, Portofino, 458 Spider, F12 Berlinetta, 488 Pista, 430 Coupe F1, 458 Italia, 599 GTB Fiorano, 812 GTS, 812, Superfast, California, 612 Scaglietti and Roma. I was very happy to see so much superb, expensive cars on same spot, 20 million euros wouldn't cover the total sum of those cars.

However, when I was mingling among the cars, photographing logos, engines, etc. and trying not to faint on the smell of hot engine oil, I felt like there was something missing, there was not that very feeling that you get from very fine art or that feeling you get by seeing something wonderful or rare in museum. Those were beautiful cars and most of them would be sublime to drive (not Testarossa). Those are, however very modern cars, much assisted, lot of electric or computerized parts to make anyöne to feel better driver than they really are (not Testarossa).

You can put that thing that was missing on a single word: elegance. That thing gives classic cars desired and sublime. That makes Rolls–Royce... Rolls–Royce, that makes old Jaguars look far better than your neighbourg's Kia, etc. However I finally found one on that car show. It was standing alone, it wasn't such a showstopper than those supercars people were drooling on, but on my eyes, it was pure perfection. Ferrari 250 GT 2+2.

As a car from the 1960s, it really stood out. Unlike other Ferrari's displayed, it has engine on the front and four seats (thus 2+2). And because it is from 60s it has that classic elegance, much like Aston Martin DB 5 has. As modern standards its not a fast car (any Ford Fiesta would be faster), and it has no modern driver's assistance modes. But the speed is irrelevant on a car like this and this is a car that you really have to drive yourself. You get to feel that car and the road under the wheels, but in the end what a good car drive is: not moving from A to B but feel the joy of driving with elegant car. Stint your eyes like Daniel Craig as James Bond and hit the gas!

Umberto Boccioni said that "a racing car is more beatiful than Victory (Nike) of Samothrace". Well that statue sure is beautiful to look, but that's the only thing you can do with it, It has wings but it doesn't fly. A good car you can drive, see, feel and smell. You can taste if you like.

Horror Without Seeing Horror

 The Zone of Interest (2023) focus on a life of a German family that happens to belong to one of most effective mass murdered of the Third Reich, the Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (1901 – 1947). There has been a movie about him earlier Aus Einem deutchen Leben (1977) with suberb Götz George playing the leading role.

This movie, however is about the family that lives right next to Auschwitz camp, so close that the wall that surrounds family's idyllic art–deco house and its garden, allows us to see the upper parts of the consentration camp, watchtower with a guards pacing inside it and occasionally at night time we see a chimney of a crematorium spew red flames. Camera's are positioned still or move slowly on a dolly, thus making view like we are bystanders on their garden, the camp and its horrors looming above one-third's of focal plane.

That is exactly what this movie is about. Not seeing things that we already know. And because we know too damn well what is happening on the other side of the wall makes watching the happy family life so banal to us. We see Rudolf Höss, played by singer and actor Christian Friedel (Elser, Babylon Berlin) only doing his work at the phone or on the conference room, and observing daily horrors of the camp, and even then the we only see his face. The family is totally ignorant about the horrors behind the wall, they don't ever mention about those. He knows exactly what is happening, his wife doesn't care and children only suspect. See no evil, speak no evil.

But they and we hear evil. There are shouts and gunfire. Industrial level of extermination makes noise. We only see some selected Jews tending house and garden. One of them spreads ash on a garden... is it human? Once Rudolf and his son's idyllic river trip is interrupted by a flow of grey ash.  

At the end of movie, we see Auschwitz as it is today, as a museum where workers are vacuming and cleaning places for visitor's. According to film critic A.A. Dowd this means that the camp is still a place of work, albeit being a place of conservation instead of destruction. We don't watch these kind of movies to enjoy, we watch them to remind us for evil that can make itself look like it isn't evil at all. 

Never forget!

Film4 Productions ©

 

We still have our fingers!

 In these days it is more common that when we are upset for someone or wan't to express our opinion for someone's behaviour in traffic, we raise our middlefingers. Much rare is british, or I should say English style to raise middle and index fingers reversed, meaning that the palm is towards yourself.

I was reading Arran Lomas' fantastic book Stick a Flag in It and got an answer for the question that I wasn't evan asking. Where does it come from?

Now imagine what you can do with those two fingers, apart being an asshole in United Kingdom. Imagine that you have a bow and arrow and you get the answer, you hold the arrow with those fingers and relase the arrow. 

In 100 Years War, that lasted 116 years, England had managed to create a superweapon that was easy to make and any blockhead could use, a longbow. In the battle of Crécy in 1346, English and Welsh longbowmen made havoc on French cavallery. Knights were clad on harness, however the horses weren't and when the volley of arrows cut the French cavallery out of the game English got the upper hand.

After 69 years English did the same feat in Agincourt. Usually the enemy will adapt new weapons from the enemy, however the French resisted the idea, relying more on short-range croswbows. Instead they despised the enemy longbowmen so much, that they cut their index and middle fingers preventing them to use a bow ever again. This made the beginning of a new kind of hand gesture: When the English longbowmen stood against their French enemy, they raised their hands middle and index fingers showing, "look we still have them".

Museum or an Amusement Park

 In his book The Birth of the Museum (1995) Tony Bennett (not the singer) compares Australian theme park Timbertown as some kind of Disneyland. Both are enclosed areas with similar means to take visitors money. Timbertown being however a some kind of museum, presenting Australia's past. Disneyland has its walking mascots while Timbertown has personnel dressed on period costumes and presenting the life in park's manial historical chores like blacksmith or operating the train that just travels its enclosed loops inside the park, just like in Disneyland. 

That made me think about some museums, like Finland's outdoor museums where the buildings are collected one here other there. Like Bennett states, buildings are too close to each other to be credible image of the past. This of course cannot be helped, it is what it is. Bennett also claims that some museums that are presenting the life of lower classes do it by some bourgeoise romantic view of the past, forgetting all the misery and pain. Sometimes the museum simply dismiss the lower classes to a supporting role to serve the elite. 

Museum is however an institute to make money, it simply won't cope without. If an exhibition is held, lets say on an old castle, you have to select objects and props that suits the old castle, It is not neutral place for any kind of display. And this, sadly makes that castle a some sort of amusement park. 

Spielberg and Unintentional/Intentional Punctum

 The very concept of Roland Barthes' studium and punctum  in photography is a hard thing to understand, however when someone gives you a good examples about those, you get the picture (no pun intented).Is struggled my time to comprehend those terms when I was studying art history in university, before I got enough of that brainwashing (nobody should tell what kind of art you suppose to like).

If you google those terms, this is what you get:

Studium describes elements of an image rather than the sum of the image's information and meaning. The punctum of a photograph, however, contains a deeper dimension: the elements of punctum penetrate the studium—they have the ability to move the viewer in a deep and emotional way.

Lots of words after words. You can learn it by heart and spill it out on examination paper and get full points without understanding it's meaning.

However there is a movie that is full of studium and punctum, and that is Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List from 1993. 

Movie is black and white which is (on my opinion) the first punctum. Seeing a grey person in colour photograph or movie is a punctum, and so is seeing people murdered in peaceful world. Yet the world in the movie is not peaceful and murder and violence is always present. Thus the studium, the very atmosphere of the world has turned entirely so much full of punctum that it has turned to studium, thus the world is black and white because that is pointing to the status quo of the war and holocaust

At one point of the movie you can see a group of jews, driven out of their ghetto, walking towards their imminent deaths. Another sight of that studium situation. Then comes something that is punctum at it's purest form, something that irritates the viewer emotionally: A girl whose coat is not grey but visibly red. Seeing of those other people walking to their deaths is not very much shocking on a movie like this, seeing that little girl that is separated visually from other victims is. And later we can see that same coat on the middle of a giant pyre. Gassed and burned.

Still from Schindler's List (1993), Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures.

At the end of the movie, the real people whom Oscar Schindler's actions save, accompanied by the actors, gather to commemorate him on he's grave. Time is now early 1990s, war has ended, the world is coloured again. 

I don't know if this was intentional use of studium and punctum from Spielberg, most probably it was. However these terms were coined in early 1980s by Roland Barthes in La Chambre claire (1980). Yet one can spot so many punctums from lots of photographs and movies before that, Barthes was just givng a name to a phenomena. And Spielberg managed to give us a message by this. We must never forget.

Erebus, Terror and Too Much Horror - AMC's Terror

 

AMC's adaptation of Dan Simmons' novel about the disastrous Franklin Expedition (1845 - ?) is truly fantastic TV drama. British have always been excellent makers of television drama, be it everlasting soap opera or great adaptation of Shakespeare, like Hollow Crown. Actors do fantastic job, Jared Harris does fantastic job as Captain Francis Crozier (1796 - ?), Ciaran Hinds plays pompous John Franklin (1786 -1847) brilliantly, and British new regular face Tobias Menzies plays Commander James Fitzjames (1813 - 1848) with same commitment as he always does. Terror is really good drama about the devastating hardships that men had to endure on this trip to icy hell and ultimately on their horrible deaths.

However... there is something that is causing more of those horrible deaths, something that wasn't there, a monster. A Tuunbaq from Inuit mythology emerges from the night or the mist and rips sailors apart. It is like author has asked help from a five year old, what could be killing men besides lead poisoning, tuberculosis, freezing to death, scurvy or murder? A monster.

On real Franklin Expedition there was plenty of real horror to cope with. On their way to find North-west Passage, their two ships, Erebeus and Terror, were trapped on ice twice, first in winter 1845-46. During that time three men died at tuberculosis, which was aided by lead that was used as a sealant on thousands of food cans ships carried. In TV series a young man called David Young dies and is buried on Beechey island, In real life he's name was John Torrington, and he become very popular by the photos taken from he's well preserved remains. 

Second, and permanent trapment happend in September 1846. Next summer did not thaw the ice as usually. More people died, including John Franklin. Lead must have been taking more victims as it cumulated on men's bodies, causing anemia, weakness and even madness. Lemon juice that was meant to fight scurvy lost it's potency and most of their cans were either leaking and thus going to rot, or poisoning effects of lead might have been discovered. First days without sunlight and then days without dark, surrounded by nothing but ice.  After being trapper 19 months, ships were abandoned and men started their travel to south, 800 miles.

Walking in cold temperatures is itself much for weak, malnourished bodies, add it pulling fully loaded boats is too much. If you sweat, you get too cold and froze to death. When they reached King William Land (now known to be an island), it was a barren wasteland without nothing to hunt in winter when climate can drop to -65, celsius that is. Then came possible mutinies, we really don't know. Only few literal pieces of evidence is found, one of them is Victory Point note, first placed on stone cairn in May 1847, when all was relatively well, and then re-visited at April 1848, with additions that tells how things have turned... not so well. 

Along the way south men died, some resorted to pure cannibalism. The found remains tells that clearly. In 1850 an Inuit saw some 40 men walking south. Last sighting was in 1851 when Inuit hunters saw only four men walking. Nobody of the 129 men survived. We don't know how most of them died. but what is certain that they suffered cold, hunger, exhaustion and madness. Then the death by freezing must have been felt like a comfort from heaven because of the warm feeling before ultimate death. 

No need for a monster.

Im Westen nichts Neues - Selbst jetzt

Still photo from Im Westen nichts Neues (2022, Netflix

Maybe it is a subjective feeling and only for me personally, that I feel certain events of the past has some inbuild feeling that comes with them. It is like some ancient reminiscent of the sorrow and pain that still haunts us.

I feel World War I as a gaping wound that has long ceased to bleed. It has turned into a void full of puss and infection. Abject rotten scar on the timeline of 20th century. However, maybe we all should feel like that way and feel that creeping sadness, hopelessness and the feeling that we are attending a long funeral.

Maybe that will stop us going into the madness of world war again. Then it is such a good thing that movies like these are made. You will watch it once... and once is enough.

                                                                          Never forget!

Ce n'est pas de l'art

Andrei Kovaltšuk (b. 1959): Meeting in Turku (2012)

  If you were a little boy in late 1970s or early 80s like me, you might remember those unicolour small plastic toy soldiers. I had some US Marines and Afrika Korps. Blanket or sand become a battlefield. 

 When you look at this sculpture group, those little plastic soldiers come in mind, albeit in life-size. Their postures and physical appearances are aesthetically rigid, maybe too athletic. Just like some mannequins set for some display, "buy some early 1810s elite uniforms, on sale now". 

 Im not going to get too deep on history behind this group. Basically it's just meeting of King of Sweden (French) and Emperor of Russia (more Prussian than a Russian), held in Turku in 1812. Statue was commemorating the meeting, and was ordered by local Russian consulate and City of Turku. Residents opinion was not asked. 

One year after this was revealed, another work by this artist was presented in Kostamus, and this time it was about another meeting, this time between Aleksei Kosygin and Urho Kekkonen. And that is more horrible than the statue in Turku.

 And finally, what makes these objects as non-art, is their lifelessness. They are lacking that something that makes art, thus making them as those little plastic toy soldiers. Just like some figures to set on some position. They are still echoing some ill Soviet-nostalgia, heroic looking land workers rising the scythe and hammer towards the setting sun. If this is art, then we were artist when we were playing those little plastic soldiers.

Andrei Kovalchuck 

  
 

Covid-19 - There has been much worst

Victory Parade in Stockton, California, ca. 1918. Van Covert Martin. Holt-Atherton Special Collections (Western Americana), University of the Pacific Library

 

Covid-19 certainly is a dangerous disease. Status in January 7th 2022, 301 million cases and 5,49 million deaths so far. Modern medicine has adapt quickly to fight against this pandemic, vaccinations against it were developed in record time, so far portion of the fully vaccinated is 49,8% of the world population, with 9,21 billion shots given. Yet in kills people in fast pace, United States leading the statistics, Brazil and India following.

Now imagine a disease much worst with no vaccines available, killing the young and the able, and to make things much worst, at the time of brutal world war.

Just like many influenza (H1N1-virus) epidemics, it was an aviary based disease. There is three possible sources where it came from, first being from the Unites States Army-base at Camp Funston in Kansas at March 1918, rapidly spreading along with military preparing to war. Second possible source might have been the Chinese workers, Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) that had been ported to France by the British to do physical support work of the trench warfare. These first two sources include chickens, Camp Funston raised its own chickens among other animals, Chinese brought their own with them. Third source might have been carrier pigeons that was widely used to carry information, however that is much disputed.

Anyhow it started at spring of 1918, spreading rapidly through forces, reaching the western front in France at mid April and Australia at June, thus travelling as fast as people possibly could in those days. All and all it came at four waves, the second in late 1918 being the deadliest.

As the war itself had been horrible with its industrial way to kill much people as possible, and in horrible conditions such as cold, damp, malnutrition, already diseased with many bacterial infections as dysentery, so was the disease. Imagine of being saved from the artillery barrage, bullets, the gas, being buried or burned alive etc. First wave was often begun with ordinary flu symptoms like soar throat, fever etc. The second wave was so brutal that I quote the words of Laura Spinney de describe it best:

      [...] during the second wave, the disease was much more serious, often complicated by bacterial pneumonia, which was often the cause of death. This more serious type would cause heliotrope cyanosis to develop, whereby the skin would first develop two mahogany spots over the cheekbones which would then over a few hours spread to color the entire face blue, followed by black coloration first in the extremities and then further spreading to the limbs and the torso[...]. 

 Thus if you were saved from the variety of the poisonous gasses that were used as a weapon, you still suffocated to death by the fluids that filled your lungs. 

Naval Training Station, San Francisco, California (Yerba Buena Island), ca. November 1918. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

However it was not only the armies of the belligerent nations that suffered. It affected the civilian population of any nation, and as it killed the young and able men of the trenches it hit hard on the young and able men everywhere, the stronger the victim the harder the disease killed, it was totally wrestling with humans resistance. It saved much older population, which might have been due to immunity that have been gained from 1889 - 1990 pandemic. Because of the war the economies were low, food was scarce and meagre, all added with other diseases. Fighting nations often choose to censor the news of the disease, fearing it would tear down the morale, thus helping the disease to spread. 

As for the statistics, this epidemic has estimated 500 million suspected cases, death toll being harder to estimate, largest number being up to 100 million deaths. Compare this to statistics of that "great" war which victims being at its largest estimate being 22 million deaths.

Wear a mask or go to jail, 1918. Mill Valley Public Library/Internet Archive

Laura Spinney: Pale Rider

Favorite Work of Art - Well, maybe this one

Hasegawa Touhaku (1539 - 1610): Pine Trees 日本語: 松林図屏風 (16th century, Azuchi-Momoyama-period), Tokyo National Museum, image via Google Art Project

 Can you tell what is your favorite work of art? If you know some major works of art or are deeper into it, you certainly get some ideas what it might be. I've had many proper candidates over the years, however after decades of collecting art digitally and studying art history in university, the very task of naming one certain work has gone nearly impossible. 

What is then a good work of art? This is of course, a subjective matter and we concept any kind of artwork differently, Besides no one held the right interpretation of artwork, including the very artist. For me it the feeling it summons from my consciousness or rather from subconsciousness. European art can be very arousing with its richness of detail, symbolism and vibrancy. Sometimes it can be too much and its symbolism includes elements that you have to decode with some expertise and knowledge. Don't understand me wrong, I like European art with all its splendor. But do we really need to use our brain all the time when we are looking an artwork?

I think not, and that is why my ultimate best candidate for best artwork ever is not European. At 16th century, when western artists were producing renaissance / manneristic art with all splendor, Japanese art gave us more simplified images, one could say it was less-is-more. With  few lines of ink the artist makes trees, ponds, few birds or a flower. The rest of the artwork comes within you.

If you live on forest rich region of this planet, like me, you can easily imagine it, or maybe you have lived that moment. You are standing on the edge of the forest, white mist covers nearly all. Suddenly a light gust of wind reveals a cluster of pines, you could almost hear that wind, maybe you could hear some droplets fall from pines. Hasegawa Touhaku painted these framed paper screens with one-colored ink, giving us familiar feeling from nature, way before Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840) and nature loving paintings of romantic-era. Touhaku's work lets our own imagination make the rest, fill that vast creamy void between those trees. It gives us a moment of rest. And that is why I consider it as one of the best artworks ever made. And you know what? I have never actually seen it.

Hasegawa: Pine trees, Commons

Hasegawa Touhaki, Wikipedia

They Were Here - And thus I was there

It is about - 15° C and wind makes it more harsher. Sun is descending on southeast and i'm ascending to Puolala-Hill in Turku. Then i'm suddenly in a park, surrounded by fluorescent ghosts. A 19th century couple stands by the path a small dog standing vigilant at their feet. An amorette is flying above, aiming an arrow to some young elegantly dressed, early 19th century damselle, another volant figure, an angel is blowing a horn. There are some children playing around the park. No matter how much I try to use words to describe this exhibition is not enough, and no matter how I set my camera, change lenses from 50mm to wider 24mm, it is still not enough. This is a 3D-experience with sound, you have to be walking amidst of these spectres of the past. 

The artist, Alexander Reicstein explains it better, how They Were Here

brings former residents of any historical place to life. I think people never truly disappear without a trace: we can still hear words, steps and even breaths taken from long ago. Persons from the past wander in the park, meet each other in the street and enjoy fresh air on the balcony.

Alexander Reichstein

They Were Here

 

 

 

The Crown - Too Much, Too Soon

 

Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) scooping food with a large spoon and on the next scene, vomiting it up. Prince Charles (josh O'connor) looming on he's unhappy marriage like some royal version of Anakin Skywalker, on the verge of becoming Darth Vader. This is what Neflix's The crown was mainly focused on its fourth season. And on the fifth season it is about to give us more of it, despite of the pleads from Prince William.

In late 16^th and early 17^th century, William Shakespeare was also opening royal closets to reveal skeletons, albeit he did it with monarchs whom had reigned enough long time ago, enough water flown under Thames's bridges. He was a favourite both Elizabeth I and James I. He even flattered James I with a play that was about ancient Scottish King, Macbeth, and by including it scenes of evil witchcraft, he was coping he's majesty's religious believes. Even when watching he's father murdered on stage over and over again, was not too much, that is Hamlet's father killed by poisoned ear. James's father Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley died from infected ear, rumored to be poisoned.

There were of course plays that crossed the fine line of decency, albeit played far away from royal presence. Late 18^th century was a time of political satire both in theater and on cartoons likes of James Gilray's. The royal family got its share along with politics. What ever George III did or sometimes did not, Gilray was apt to illustrate it. George IV was nothing like modern tidy looking monarch. A Prince of Wales like him on these days would bring back ideas of the republic on every British mind, obese, red faced, sweaty and constantly drunk.

However, television and modern version of it, that is broadcast by Internet, is very wide spread and reaches hundreds of million viewers. And alas, too soon, we get to see something that we are aware to be too painful to all families it concerns, the royal. Us historians tend to study events that have ended, preferably taking regard the living persons our writings would concern.

I know Netflix is a business and it has to make interesting content to get viewers and make money, and it makes some really excellent content. I have some great idea for Netflix: Make a prequel for The Crown and start from George IV, there is stuff dirty enough, and enough water flown on Thames.

YouTube - Better Than Pile of Books?

 

In these Covid ridden days, when libraries are mainly closed, or one is simply afraid to lend books, we still have craving for fact and fiction. Buying books is one solution, however not very economical. Fiction is easy to obtain, just get Netflix, HBO or Prime Video, etc. Your lifetime won't be enough. Fact is a different matter, especially for history. Yes, there are documentaries, but they tend to contain information you already know, or the very dose of new information is meagre.

Thankfully, there are some historians who have time and effort to share their knowledge and researched information on YouTube. Just to mention some (that I know), if you are interested on WWI, there is The Great War, It followed the war weekly on real time 100 years later (and still does), including specials about economy, weaponry, sanitary, diseases, political atmosphere, etc. You simply won't get this amount of information on any book. It was hosted by Indiana Neidell, the american extrovert Duracell-bunny of history, but was replaced by Jesse Alexander later on. If you are interested of Franco-Prussian war, Real Time History (same makers as on The Great War) makes week by week series of that not so well-known war, exactly 150-years later, and whit same depth as The Great War.

One very productive YouTube channel is Time Ghost Army, which produces WWII, week by week in real time, although 99-years later. That is hosted by Indy Neidell again. It also makes sub-series of WWII, like War Against Humanity, hosted by Spartacus Olson (yes those are real names), it presents the horrors of war with neutrality, with always the same very important ending by Spartacus, ”never forget”. Following the WWII is also Home Front-series, hosted by Anna Dinehart, and war espionage themed Spies and Ties, by Astrid Dinehart. Time Ghost also makes series Between Two Wars, it represents the very Zeitgeist, politics and culture of interwar years. Their series of Suez-crisis explained deeply what that tumult was really about, and that they did to Cuban missile crises as well.

These are only some of You Tube's history channels I know. I have seen some poorly made attempts of history channels, some had spew'd out poorly researched facts or facts we all know, and alas, outrageous lies to whitewash unpleasant history. Sometimes it needs an expert mind to filter out what is the truth and what is not.

When used correctly, YouTube can be a place of effective learning. So if you want to learn about history more faster than you could with any books. Watch those series, subscribe to their channels, and if you can, support their efforts with donations, YouTube is not a goldmine. Maybe after ten episodes you may watch those cat-videos again.

Time Ghost History: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLfMmOriSyPbd5JhHpnj4Ng

Real Time History: https://www.youtube.com/c/realtimehistory

The Geat War:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheGreatWarSeries

There is no death - its just a painting

 

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 – 1931) : Tuonelan joella (By the River of Tuonela) (1903), Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki.

Tuonela, in Finnish folklore, is a place where you go after you are dead. Its not hell, nor it is a heaven. We all have to go there. It is on north, its dark and somber place where the dead wonder as spectres or ghosts. However, eternal prison it is not, we can come back if we like, such as to protect our beloved or posterity.

Even so, dead you are, and remain as a shadow. In this painting we can see the mere desperation on the eyes of deceased, as they wait their turn to cross the river that separates Tuonela from our world. People of all ages. A young timid girl undresses with shyness, a young woman cries in desperation, covering her eyes, while older people submit to their fate that they knew will become someday. Woman on the boat cries for maybe last time ever, realizing when the boat starts to move that this is it, here I go. Man who is pushing the boat might be the very boatman who takes deceased across the river, a Finnish version of Charon if you like. He's eyes are focused and calm, like concentrating on he's work. Across the murky water of the river rises mossy rocky wall, Old, long time fallen snag of a pine lies next to it. On the left we see bloody red swan of Tuonela.

On the very right corner of the painting we see a man holding a mason's trowel, looking away. He's expression doesn't show any agony of the situation. This is Akseli-Gallen Kallela himself. He painted this work as a preparatory painting for frescoes of the mausoleum of Jusélius in Pori. Fritz Arthur Jusélius had lost her daughter Sigrid to a tuberculosis in 1898, when she was just 11-years old, and wanted to build a mausoleum to commemorate her memory. Gallen-Kallela was commissioned to paint the frescoes inside. Work included six frescoes where death among life was the leading motif. Painter himself has lost he's daughter Impi Marjatta in 1895 as a child. Thus the sorrow and anguish that Jusélius felt was very familiar to him. That was the force that made the very frescoes and their preparatoty works one of the best paintings he ever produced.

After all this sorrow and desperation we have to take a closer look on this painting, there might be a an important message to all of us. Just above the undressing girl we see a reddish face looking straight to us, breaking the fourth wall. He is an another painter Pekka Halonen (1865 – 1933), the second real person in this play. Then we take another look at Gallen-Kallela on the right. Is he on this painting or standing in front of a painting? What is clear that trowel he is holding is a symbol of  freemasonry. Turn of the 20th century was an age of spiritualism and theosophy. Concepts that changed the very perspective on death. It stated that we don't die, we just change our form from physical to spiritual. Thus painters on this painting, Halonen and Gallen-Kallela, other looking to us, other looking away tells us with their indifference of depicted suffering, this is just a painting, this is not real, there is no death!