http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/2006/05/03/parading-my-ignorance-or-painters-i-should-have-known-about-003/ Art, Text & Icles Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:34:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/2006/05/03/parading-my-ignorance-or-painters-i-should-have-known-about-003/#comment-1800 michael Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:09:08 +0000 http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/?p=36#comment-1800 @Jane, I'd like to thank you very much for adding meaning and context for this picture. I always wondered about that faraway, glassy stare. If you click on the little picture, you'll find the magnified version that springs up has her name in the border. Because I don't speak Finnish, I didn't realise that the words "Larin Paraske" were the woman's name. Thanks for the enlightenment! @Jane, I’d like to thank you very much for adding meaning and context for this picture. I always wondered about that faraway, glassy stare. If you click on the little picture, you’ll find the magnified version that springs up has her name in the border. Because I don’t speak Finnish, I didn’t realise that the words “Larin Paraske” were the woman’s name. Thanks for the enlightenment!

]]> http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/2006/05/03/parading-my-ignorance-or-painters-i-should-have-known-about-003/#comment-1799 Jane Tozer Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:55:42 +0000 http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/?p=36#comment-1799 Perhaps you've been told that the "Lady Dreaming Outside Church" is the portrait of an extraordinary woman called Larin Paraske. The picture was probably painted in her home village in what is now Russian Karelia. Rather than dreaming, it's more likely that she's in a creative trance. A renowned poem-singer, Paraske memorised thousands of songs, including passages from the great Finnish myth-sequence, Kalevala. Her work was transcribed & notated by a pastor, who went with her to Helsinki, where she performed to great acclaim. Her singing was a major influence on the music of Sibelius, and a beacon to the movement for Finnish independence. Without Paraske, a huge body of oral culture would have been lost to the world. The language she spoke, Ingrian-Finnish, is now seriously endangered. Look her up on the web. She's an inspiration to us all. In case you're wondering about my interest in her, I'm a poet myself. Best wishes, Jane Perhaps you’ve been told that the “Lady Dreaming Outside Church” is the portrait of an extraordinary woman called Larin Paraske. The picture was probably painted in her home village in what is now Russian Karelia. Rather than dreaming, it’s more likely that she’s in a creative trance. A renowned poem-singer, Paraske memorised thousands of songs, including passages from the great Finnish myth-sequence, Kalevala. Her work was transcribed & notated by a pastor, who went with her to Helsinki, where she performed to great acclaim. Her singing was a major influence on the music of Sibelius, and a beacon to the movement for Finnish independence. Without Paraske, a huge body of oral culture would have been lost to the world. The language she spoke, Ingrian-Finnish, is now seriously endangered. Look her up on the web. She’s an inspiration to us all. In case you’re wondering about my interest in her, I’m a poet myself. Best wishes, Jane

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