Art News Articles by Asbjorn Lonvig

In Aarhus, Denmark at Café Slabberas on 6 September 2008.

Today my destination was Aarhus. At Café Slabberas, 26 Frederiksgade in Aarhus at 10 a.m.

It was early in the morning.

I was preparing myself for the event.

My wife rushed into the gallery where I was - she had heard some "voices".

Calm down, calm down - it is nothing but me practicing - reading out loud the fairy tale "Lucca and Sam in the Zoo...".

After a couple of rehearsals I was confident.

At Café Slabberas I was welcomed by beautiful ladies.

A computer with fast internet was ready.

Everything was ready.

Depending on what happened, I had 3 possibilities.

Reading out loud, signing the mini poster "9 Bernhards" and showing www.LONVIG-by-MINYMO.com on the internet.

Signing of mini poster "9 Bernhards" was a hit. This was what I spent most of the time doing this 6 September 2008 in Aarhus.

I contacted the parents, wrote the name of their child down at the left and signed down to the right.

This was the perfect way to enter a conversation, and when I told that the new kids' clothing brand LONVIG by MINYMO was based on my fairy tales and fairy tale character - a very positive contact was established. And I probably talked, and talked, and talked...

For a start the computer was used - but it was not necessary to pass the message.

I talked to a Chinese, I talked to a German, I talked to one from Greenland and one from my home city Hedensted. I talked to one from Frederikshavn and a lot from Aarhus. Among the people from Aarhus there was one from a kindergarten.

I asked all of them to take a closer look at the wonderful kids' clothing in the LONVIG by MINYMO line.

I asked them to go home and read out loud my fairy tales on the web site.

I asked them to take a closer look at the web site with its book shop, shoe shop, poster shops, clock shop, fairy tale theatre, jigsaw puzzle games etc.

For a star I talked to people entering the second floor.

Later I went down into the outdoor Café Slabberas to ensure that all visitors got a poster for their children.

I talked to a granddad - he was an IT nerd - I showed the fairy tale theatre to him. This granddad had 3 grand kids and there is no doubt that he soon has built fairy tale theatres for them.

A young lady, she was called Karin, she owned a poster store at Sct. Clemens Torv not far away. She loved Bernhard. I have sent an e-mail to her and we will see what happens.

Only one "9 Bernhards" mini poster was left at closing time. At 4 p.m.

The last poster was dedicated Tristan and his parents. But they did not show up.

I'll see to that Tristan gets his poster.

I had talked to people since 10 a.m. - interrupted only by a wonderful brunch, which Café Slabberas served.

And then an unknown number of espressos and café americanos during the day.

I was tired but very happy, that my message was passed so very easily.

When you do such things - and especially if you are a little aggressive - you might have a negative response from some.

Not one responded negatively - everybody was happy and thanked me for doing it...

Super!

Sincerely,

Asbjorn Lonvig

Lille Fejringhus

43 Fejringhusvej

8722 Hedensted

Denmark

+45 7589 0477

lonvig@mail.dk

And now I am very excited to hear the response from the 58 image projector show with Beatles music on church organ which started on 29 August 2008.

It has been shown every night at 9 p.m. during the Aarhus Festival. The Aarhus Festival ends 7 September 2008.

Click on icon to download in high resolution

I am an International commercial counselor writing on behalf of the World of Art Award* winning artist, designer and fairy tale writer Asbjorn Lonvig.

Lonvig has a very unique background as an IBM trained software engineer and is world renowned for his determined use of IT and Internet in art, design and writing.

Lonvig works in simple shapes and bright colours, and his artist statement is:
“Colourful Simplicity in Art as in Life.” He is dedicated to use his art, design and fairy tale characters commercially, in close cooperation with skilful designers from various businesses who are experts within their fields.

The tremendous synergetic effects that his art generates, is exactly what sparks Lonvig's greatest desire! A great example is the kids clothing brand
LONVIG by MINYMO.

Are you up for the challenge to create LONVIG by [YOUR COMPANY]?

Please see selection of images!

Sincerely,

Flemming Martin, MSc.

International Commercial Counselors

Praestehaven 4

DK-8722 Hedensted

Denmark

+45 2666 3330

FlemmingMartin@InternationalCommercialCounselors.com

*) The World of Art Award:

The World of Art Award (WAA) is granted to artists, galleries and museums that are pursuing "best practices" in art and culture. This competition seeks to attract artists, galleries, museums who are redefining standards of art excellence challenging existing trends and tendencies

in art and culture.

Labels: art, artist, asbjorn lonvig, design, designer, fairy tale writer, flemming martin, IBM, IT, lonvig, software engineer, storytelling, world of art award

Labels: children, childrens', childrens' clothing, clothes, clothes for kids, clothing, kid's clothing, kids, lonvig, lonvig by minymo, minymo, organic, organic childrens' clothing, organis kids' clothing

A new kids' clothing brand was launched at the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair this spring.
The brand is based on Asbjorn Lonvig's fairy tales. The name of the brand is LONVIG by MINYMO. MINYMO is an existing very successful brand in kids' clothing.
LONVIG by MINYMO is a high quality ecological kids' clothing brand.

This collection is built on the fairy tale character Bernhard form the fairy tale "Sam and Lucca in the Zoo...". Bernhard is a monkey.
You can read more about this new concept on www.lonvig-by-minymo.com. You even can read the fairy tales and download your own book.

Every year Asbjorn Lonvig designs a new logo to Hans Chrsitian Andersen Festival Plays. This year the Musical is based on the fairy tale "The Tinderbox".

The logo is an interpretation of "The Tinderbox".
Click on the logo and see a lager image.

Vejle is a City in Denmark.
Vejle has a soccer team.
This soccer team is called Vejle Boldklub.
Vejle Boldklub has had many famous soccer players over the years.
In order to pass on the great history of Vejle Boldklub to sponsors, the fan club, the crowd, the public a new initiative has been started.
This new initiative is called Vejle Boldklub Storytelling.
Each and every time the Vejle soccer team plays at home there are 2 exhibitions of 15 plates each in the 2 VIP lounges. The exihibition shows newspaper pages and pages from the club annual telling a story on a particular tema.
A brand new wonderful stadion was opened on 20. March 2008 by famous soccer player Allan Simonsen. Originally he was from Vejle, but now he lives in Barcelona, Spain, where he celebrated huge achievements with his team Barcelona FC on the renowned and huge stadium in Barcelona - Nuo Camp.
If you are a tourist in Barcelona, and you tell people in Barcelona, you are from Denmark, they spontanously say SIMONSEN.
On the opening day the tema of Vejle Boldklub Storytelling was of course Allan Simonsen.
He looked at the exhibition and he obviously enjoyed it.
You can see these exhibitions on the internet as well.
The web address is www.vejle-boldklub-storytelling.dk.
The web site uses Zmags simplified e-publishing software to present the newspaper pages and the club annual pages.

In the hall of this brand new stadium in Vejle, there is a sculpture by Asbjorn Lonvig. The sculpture is in red - it is the club color - and it symbolizes the two main sources of the storytelling. There is a newspaper bike with samples of the newpaper Vejle Amts Folkeblad and there is a sach truck with samples of the club annual.
The slogan of the storytelling is written on the sculpture:...with NO PAST - you have no future (in Danish: ...uden FORTID - ingen fremtid).
Click on the sculpture image to see a larger image.

In the hall there is a portrait of the tema soccer player as well. It is placed at the entrance on an aisle. This portrait is 91,5 x 91,5 cm, print on canvas, one of a kind and it is done by Asbjorn Lonvig. The portrait is for announcing the tema and after the Storytelling Art Event the portrait is placed in a "Wall of Fame". You can download the portrait at no charge at www.vejle-boldklub-storytelling.dk).
Click on the portrait image to see a larger image.
After the Art Event the plates are stored in the archives of the Vejle Boldklub Museum.


Vejle Boldklub Storytelling is a non-profit initiative made by the newspaper Vejle Amts Folkeblad, Vejle Boldklub, Vejle Boldklub Museum and the Vejlelibraries.

On 24 August 2007 during ”Hedensted by Night” artist Asbjorn Lonvig and organist Carsten Thomsen performs an ART EVENT.
It starts shortly after sunset at 9.05 p.m. and it is ended by a firework at 11 p.m.
By means of a projector and a computer Asbjorn Lonvig shows his recent art works in size 6 x 9 meters, that is 20 x 30 feet on the top of the crystal white Hedensted Church Tower. At the same time organist Carsten Thomsen does an organ concert.
Beatles music of course.
A brand new composition af 18 Beatles tunes is done for this purpose.
This composition is done with the point of departure in Asbjorn Lonvig’s art which represent “Colorful Simplicity”.
Never before Beatles has been interpreted in this way. “Colorful Simplicity”.
The Beatles music is played very true to Beatles without any errands on the way, without that the organist focuses on showing his own the organ’s aibilities. The interpretation is light and melodic.
Very colse to the fundamental ideas of the Beatles’ music. Asbjorn Lonvig got the idea of this Art Event and the parochial church council of Hedensted Church has supported the idea financialy. The council’s intention is to signalise the roomy church, the roomy Christianity. To signalise that the church is a cultural centre on many levels.
140 art works in 7 categories are shown on the church tower:

Christ and Christianity: ”Christ”, Christ – Blue”, ”San Francesco”, ”Adam and God” inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam on the ceiling of The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome, “Sagrada Familia” by Gaudi etc.
New Hedensted Motifs: Interpretation of the huge metallic sculpture by the motorway (by Asbjorn Lonvig), ”The Mayor’s wife’s golf hat”, ”The TV2 antenna at Kragelund common, ”The windmill at Agersboel Manor House”, ”Agersboel Manor House”, “Hedensted Church” “The Priest’s Tie”, “The Sexton’s Mug”, “Postcard to Arnt Oda”, US Postal stamp with Hedensted Church, “Oester Snede Church”, “Sindbjerg Church”, “Williamsborg Manor House”, “Korning Church”, inspiration from Gl. Sole etc.
Motfs from the surrounding area: Vejle, Haderslev, Aarhus etc...”Vejle Inlet Bridge”, ”Niels Kjeldsen’s Helmet”, ”The Egtved Girl’s Belt”, Boerkop Watermill”, ”Hadeslev Cathedral”, ”Cafe Faust”, ”22 North Street” (Jyske Bank), ”7 North Street” (Kreditforeningen Danmark), ”Aros Aarhus Art Museum”, The City Hall Tower in Aarhus, ”Aarhus Teatre”, ”Thee Mansard House” in The Old Town in Aarhus, ”Marselisborg Palace”, ”Aahus Cathedral”, ”St. Clemens Courtyard”, ”1 Cathedral Place” (Nykredit)
Beautiful houses in the surrounding area: Churches, Palaces, Manor Houses....”Oerumgaard Manor House”, “Rohden Manor House”, “Ussinggaard Manor House”, “Loendal Manor House” etc.
Denmark: “Christiansborg Palace”, “Erich Erichsen’s Mansion” at the Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen (Den Danske Bank), “2 Guardsmen”, “The Ugly Duckling”, Post Denmark’s “Post Box”, “Tranekaer Palace”, “Koldinghus Castle Ruin” etc.
The world: ”Guggenheim?” in New York, Victorian house in San Francisco, Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay Area, Killer Wales in The Pacific Ocean, Grand Canyon seen from a helicopter, Chicago’s Gangster Past in 1920s, Canadian Maple Leaves, “Toronto Skyline”, “Thunderbird” from British Columbia, Mona from Paris, Champs Elysees in Paris, Septumus Severus Arch in Roman Forum, Rome, “Spanish Bull”, Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtnis Kirche in Berlin etc.
The Mysteri of The Orient: Is the theme of ”Hedensted by Night”...motifs from Fujiyama, Tokyo, The Wall of China, Shanghai, Mount Everest, Mediterrania etc.
As a spectator you see these motifs quietly slide across the church tower while the Beatles music is sent out from the tower windows via professional concert loudspeakers from Nordic Rentals A/S. Nordic Rentals has been fair with prices and is kind of sponser of the Art Event as well.

Here you have the Beatles music that is performed:
1) Yesterday
2) All My loving
3) A Hard Day's Night
4) Norwegian Wood
5) Blackbird
6) Eleanor Rigby
7) Penny Lane
8) With A Little Help from My Friends
9) Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
10) Leaving Home
11) A Day in the Life
12) Lady Madonna
13) All You Need is Love
14) The Fool on the Hill
15) Hey Jude
16) Let it Be
17) Imagine
18) When I'm 64 + Yesterday


There is a 5 minute brake every 40 minutes.
The organist needs some rest.
I’l show my fairy tale character in the brake: Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish, Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab, Frederic The Frog, Elias the Elephant, Farmer Jack etc.

Asbjorn Lonvig and Carsten Thomsen intend to explore the results of synergy between Asbjorn’s art and Carsten’s music in the near future. They plan more Art Events, music based on Asbjorn’s art work, a children’s song book etc.

Samples of art works shownon the church Tower:

By Asbjorn Lonvig

A new Michelangelo has been born?
A new Rembrandt?
A new Van Gogh?
A new Picasso?
No.
Larger.

The internet revolutionized computer business.
By accident.
Art has not been revolutionized by the internet.
Yet.
For the last month I have eagerly tested ImageKind.com.
In the Beta test and after the launch some months ago.
I knew ImageKind.com was right for me.
You create your piece, you load it up, you set price, that's it.
I have created 500 new peaces in 25 Galleries.
People around me are sure I'm in sane.
I was pleased about ImageKind's ambitions: To build the largest and best platform for buying, creating, and selling art.
Easy to say.
But.
Very, very hard to accomplice.
This morning, however, I knew the Art world would be revolutionized.
The revolution is around the corner.
Talks are going on between ImageKind and Amazon.com.
Amazon.com has what ImageKind doesn't have.
And what ImageKind probably never will have.
A brand.
The place you go when you want to buy online.
And a dream comes through.
I create my pieces, I load it up, I set the price and a customer looks at it a few moments after.
No Mr. 25 %, no Mr. 10 %, no Mr. 50 %.
No galleries, no curators, no museums.
No intervention.

Just me, the artist and the customer.

A user portal is a portal for one specific user,
a country, a city, a municipality, a museum, a company etc.
It shows and it has links to those art works that might be relevant to that specific user.
The User Portal logo is the arch of Septimus Severus in Forum Romanum, Rome.

Why User Portals?
The short and simple answer is to serve my customers better and to seve customers that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.

I'll show you a User Portal.
I am building the Aarhus City Portal right now.
Aarhus City is the second largest city in Denmark.
Aarhus City has 225.000 inhabitants.
So, this user portal intends to serve 225.000 users.

The first thing to do is to create motifs that describe Aarhus City.
I went to Aarhus and found buildings and landmarks of Aarhus, that I could use.
The new museum, the city hall tower, the queen's summer residence, the Theater, a house in the Old Town, the cathedral and finally the old cathedral office in St. Clemen's Courtyard.

Today I finished these motifs:




I load large files of all the images to print on demand contracting parties in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area. The images are approved at once in Salt Lake City and Seattle. In San Francisco the images might wait for approval.

First of all I use a User Portal logo.

The logo is of course a portal. In a matter of fact it is a very specific portal. It is the Arch of Septimus Severus, which was erected in the Roman Forum in A.D. 203 by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus.
You can't study Roman history without visiting the Roman Forum once.
You can't visit the Roman Forum without passing through the Arch of Septimus Severus.
In this logo a BETA will shown in the big arch. That is because the 40 different User Portals, that have been launched so far are being tested.
The Aarhus City Portal is marked with a BETA, too.

See the Aarhus City Portal.
The motifs are presented. Here 7 motifs. You might see an enlargement by clicking on an image.
Then there are 3 sections. 1, 2 and 3.

1. The user must have some free titbit. So I give him the possibility to download three Word documents of each motif. Word documents that can be printed on the user's own printer.
I have to be aware of different formats in European and American standards. The European standard is A format and the American standard it is Letter format. The Aarhus City Portal probably will only be used by Europeans - therefore the A format is offered.

2. Here I guide the user to order print at print on demand contracting parties. One in Salt Lake City, one in Seattle and one in San Francisco Bay area.
By guiding to 3 print on demand contracting parties the users are offered a variety of sizes, prices, qualities and surfaces.
At the same time I keep track of what happens in this market.

The prices are kept low - the user only pays the base print price and internet costs. The user can order prints in sizes from 3.5 x 5” to 40 x 60” on paper and canvas – and some other funny surfaces like T-shirts, mugs, tote bags etc. etc. The print contracting party handles ordering and payment. The printing of course and the prints are sent directly to the user.

If the user wants to see some of the my other 750 images for print there is a link to the main pages in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area.

3. If the user wants something special. A painting. Limited edition prints. Signed prints. A huge print on canvas larger than 40 x 60" - no problem, he just has to contact me.

A brochure is available to each User Portal.
The brochure is of course used for initial presentation of the portal.
You can download the brochure Aarhus City Portal from the portal.


Thoughts.
Now what is the most important to succeed with these User Portals.
Is it to do excellent motifs? No!
Is it to simplify the User Portal? No!
Is it to make an extremely eye catching brochure? No!

It is to communicate the User Portal Concept to people that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.
I can not do it myself.
I know too much.
Or!!!!
You might as well say I know much too little.

But.
Journalists know how to present this kind of stuff to their readers.
This week Ny Hedensted Portal and Ny Vejle Portal will have press coverage.
Tomorrow I'll translate the Aarhus City Portal into Danish and find a jounalist at the Aarhus newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende.

The newly opened art museum ARoS Denmark presents a large, artistic total installation on Formula One and Le Mans racing cars. With this world premiere of the unique meeting between art and racing cars, ARoS focuses on the sculptural and aesthetic dimensions of the cars – dimensions which will be emphasized in the artistic presentation.
The exhibition covers all of 1,400 square meters of the museum's special exhibition space and foyer.

Sculpture on wheels.
The exhibition aims to give the audience an experience of the dynamics and strength latent in the form language of these cars. By regarding racing cars not just as functional items, but also as pure form – as sculpture on wheels – the exhibition creates a symbiosis between two widely differing worlds: between the ultimate motor sport, and art.
The exhibition presents highlights of design history in the Formula One and Le Mans cars from 1932, and through almost three quarters of a century.
The exhibited racing cars are not only unique in their design forms; they have also seen active service on racetracks the world over, with such legendary drivers as Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart.

Total installation.
In a ground-breaking presentation, guests are introduced to a unique universe.
The walls have been painted black.
The floor covered by reflecting steel plates.
The gallery columns have become red, metallic pistons.
The lights have been turned into giant piston rings.
The racing cars are presented on steel podiums in an installation of light, sound and moving images.
On the black walls hang relief showing the contours of the world's Formula One racetracks, while the big screens in the exhibition rooms show sequences from races, relating the exhibition to the reality for which the cars were created.

Soundtrack.
The many visual impressions are supported by an acoustic soundscape which lends an extra dimension to the exhibition's varied and intense experiences.

Among the exhibited cars are: Ferrari, McLaren, Tyrell, Lotus, Panoz, Jaguar, Vanhall, Maserati, Jaguar, Audi and Alfa Romeo.

Let's take a closer look at some of the most spectacular cars.
I am little boy.
Like nearly ever other grown up male when it comes to Racing Cars.
I have enjoyed the battle between Fernando Alonso from Spain and renowned German Michael Schumacher this year in the Formula One World Championship.
Fernando Alonso drives a Renault F1 and he has won the recent World Championship.
Schumacher drives, as you might know, a red Ferrari.
On 21 October this year the final race took place at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The race was quite exciting.
The odds were stacked against the Ferrari star from the outset after technical problems in qualifying left him only tenth on the grid.
Michael Schumacher however was flying.
Slamming in fastest sector times and slicing his way past back markers.
Smoke, oh no smoke.
Smoke from the engine of the Ferrari.

I was excited to see Michael Schumacher's red Ferrari at AROS Denmark on it's own steel podium.
I touched the Ferrari and knocked on it.
I was a little disappointed that it was all made of fiber.
I pushed it - it moved.
Amazing that anybody dears sit in these fragile light plastic boxes at speeds of up to 350 km per hour, that is 220 miles per hour.
In sane.
However the down force ensures they do not fly.
A curious fact is: At 160 km per hour, aerodynamically generated down force is equal to the weight of the car. In principle these Formula One monsters are capable of driving on the ceiling.


5 times Tom Kristensen from my country - Denmark won Le Mans in this Audi R8. Tom Kristensen has won Le Mans 6 times.
Other great Le Mans winners are Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx.
Le Mans is a 24 hour race once a year.
Danes that are not present at Le Mans in France are watching TV.
24 hours.
Enthusiastically.
This year the male population of Denmark expected a 7th Le Mans victory by Tom Kristensen.
Unfortunately another Audi won.


On the 4 pictures above you can see some of the other cars.
Williams BMW, Jaguar R3, Tyrell 006 and Lotus 72.
Williams was the most successful team of the 1990s, it all ended when their engine partner Renault withdrew from the sport.
The Ford group's luxury mark Jaguar enjoys the Formula One glory. So far the Americans only have achieved sporadic success.
Tyrell emerged as one of the leading Formula One teams of the late 1960s. Team owner Ken Tyrell created cars more functional than elegant.
Emerson Fittipaldi from Sao Poulo, Brazil is a legend in Formula One Racing. In this black Lotus 72 he won the Formula One Championship.

And.
The cars are beautiful and this beauty inspired me to some racing car motifs

Michael Schumacher's red Ferrari and Tom Kristensen's grey Audi R8.

The heart of any engine, the sparking plug - the goal of any race, the checkered flag.

Thoughts.
The little boy inside me is extremely happy. Any racing car enthusiast wants to see and touch the real thing.
The open minded art enthusiast says: How refreshing to see sports cars in an art museum. A welcome provocation. Fascinating presentation of sculptures on wheels!!! Interesting surroundings!!!
However.
My inner old boring and grumpy philosopher says: And so what? Now art museums have totally prostituted themselves and entered the entertainment industry!!! And then he wisely refers to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes"!!!