HUNDERTWASSER
This dazzling book of Hundertwasser’s paintings make the greyest world sing. The picture on the book cover is a detail from a painting I love – ‘Wintergeist – Tableau d’hiver – Winterbild – Polyp’ which I’m reliably informed translates into ‘Winter Painting, Giudecca, April 1966’
Here is what Hundertwasser says about straight lines:
‘If a lion is stalking you, or a shark is out to kill you, you are of course in mortal danger. We have lived with these dangers for millions of years. The straight line is a man-made danger. There are so many lines, millions of lines, but only one of them is deadly and that is the straight line drawn with a ruler. The danger of the straight line cannot be compared with the danger of organic lines described by snakes, for instance. The straight line is completely alien to mankind, to life, to all creation.’
I bought this book years ago from a brilliant bookshop in Lincoln, sadly now closed. It’s one of those finds that are a comfort and inspiration for life.
Poems by Gwen Grant 