Leonard Cohen's statue in Vilnius

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jarkko
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Leonard Cohen's statue in Vilnius

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Image

From Justinas Zilinskas:
I have a fascinating news - On August 31, 2019, the statue of Leonard Cohen will be unveiled in Vilnius Old Town in Lithuania. The statue is the last job of lately deceased artist Romas Kvintas, famous for his subtle style sculptures. His other works in Vilnius include jewish doctor Cemach Shabad, world renown French writer Romain Gary, singer-songwriter Vytautas Kernagis, etc. Even though Leonard Cohen never visited Vilnius, his parents and grandparents were of Lithuanian (litvak) descent and he is loved dearly here.
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Geoffrey
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Geoffrey »

magnificent statue! thankfully a little bit expressionistic instead of old traditional, while leonard remains easily identifiable. its size cannot be discerned from this image; would be interesting to know the height, also the material used. truly marvellous work! :) :)
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Leonard's statue

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Thank you, Jarkko.
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jarkko
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

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https://www.delfi.lt/kultura/naujienos/ ... Xhm3Z4Bhck


Google translation:
Ignas Jačauskas, BNS 2019 August 28 11:39

A sculpture will be erected in Vilnius for singer-writer Leonard Cohen. Leonard Cohen Agnė Matulaitė , spouse of Remigijus Šimašius, mayor of Vilnius and lecturer at the Philosophy Faculty of Vilnius University, announced this on Tuesday , invited to the official unveiling of the sculpture. According to her, the sculpture was created for the Canadian singer, who died a few years ago, also by the sculptor Romuald Quint, who also died last year. "I do not know how the Norwegian organizer reached the rumor that I am an absolute lover of this poet and singer," she proclaimed. BNS A. Matulaitė confirmed that the initiative to commemorate this music in Vilnius was taken by Norwegian John Afseth and his wife Ausra Baronaite. The sculpture will arise in the capital's Old Town, St. In the courtyard of Gabi Restaurant on Mykolo Street, the administration of the establishment has confirmed to BNS that the sculpture will be unveiled Saturday. As the Vilnius Municipality stated to the BNS, no permission was required for this sculpture as it is a "private initiative of friends and supporters of R. Quint." For his part, R. Šimašius said that the place could be temporary and the municipality was looking for a permanent place. The mayor told reporters Wednesday that Mr Cohen's family history is closely linked to Lithuania, as his mother "withered a dried apple from Lithuania anyway" in the interwar period. “Leonard's return to Lithuania, the capital, seems to me to be a very important sign. We do not have a suitable permanent place for this yet, so the sculpture will be inaugurated in a private yard. But we have agreed with the initiators that we will definitely find the right place together, ”said Šimašius. Born in Montreal in 1934, L. Cohen, who has Litvak roots, died in November 2016. After completing his literary studies and beginning his career in the 1960s as a writer, most of whom wrote poetry, he later became worldwide famous for his authorial songs, most notably Suzanne, Hallelujah and others. More than two decades ago, a sculpture was unveiled in Vilnius for another music legend, Frank Zappa, a few years ago, and John Lennon , a member of The Beatles
.

Thanks to Inna Rogatchi for the link!
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LisaLCFan
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

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Last edited by LisaLCFan on Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Geoffrey
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Geoffrey »

LisaLCFan wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 5:50 pm A caricature is not exactly how I would like to see Leonard immortalised. Taste in art is rather subjective, is it not?
leonard loved caricatures, and drew hundreds of caricaturistic portraits of himself. yes, taste in art is rather subjective; it would be nothing worth discussing were it not. what one might see and negate as a caricature, another might see as artistic expression, a source for lively communication. leonard is more likely to be immortalised by a modern statue that encourages controversy and disagreement than an unadventurous one that is void of imagination.
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by LisaLCFan »

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Last edited by LisaLCFan on Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Geoffrey
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Geoffrey »

LisaLCFan wrote:
>Maybe it is just me, but I think it looks far too much like Dobby from the Harry Potter films.
----------------
No, it's not just you, there is undoubtedly a distinct resemblance to the elf in the Harry Potter films. Dobby, by all accounts, was a kind and helpful character, so the association does not need to be a negative one, and in any case someone's appearance should not really affect one's judgement of their personality.

Having said that, I don't think I will be getting a tattoo of Dobby anytime soon ;-)
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

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LisaLCFan wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 5:50 pm A caricature is not exactly how I would like to see Leonard immortalised. Taste in art is rather subjective, is it not?
Dear Lisa, to my mind, it is very rude to call the art of work as "caricature". Actually, this was the last work of the artist, who have beent battling fatal form of cancer and died during the making of the statue. Nobody made him to drop his other works (and he was respected and known) and to work on Leonard's statue. No, that was his inspiration and love. Yes, in this statue Leonard is not Ladie's man with golf and leather jacket, he's an old person, humble in his greatness, Little Jew who wrote the Bible. If you check the photos of the last tours, you can easily discover on which moments the statue was modelled after. I know, there's no friends in the taste for art, but please, don't let your love for Harry Potter cloud your reason.
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LisaLCFan
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

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I am sorry if I offended anyone by my previous posts.

Peace.
Last edited by LisaLCFan on Sat Aug 31, 2019 6:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Geoffrey
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Geoffrey »

LisaLCFan wrote:I should have followed the advice I heard long ago (and to which I do, often, adhere): If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Next time, that's what I'll try to do, I promise.
quite so, but it is also important to remember that a number of people are naturally quiet, and reticent to share their opinions. perhaps it might be wrong to believe that just because someone isn't saying anything that they are holding back criticism.
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Jean Fournell
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Jean Fournell »

The only problem I can see with calling a spade a spade is, how to ascertain whether it is a spade or not.
And for this problem I have no solution.



As so often, I wrote something and then decided rather not to post it.
This time I changed my mind in what concerns the following:


> The more I look at the photo, the more I "take to" the statue.

> From the annual rings in the wooden block it is standing on, I try to imagine it about life-size knowing that it might be quite a bit smaller.

> And I very much like its aspect
> "Just a filthy beggar blessing / What happens to the heart"

> (Because this blessing is all we actually can give, isn't it?)
___________________________________________________
Therefore know that you must become one with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the target
to say nothing of the horse.

... for a while
... for a little while...

(Just a filthy beggar blessing / What happens to the heart)
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MarieM
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by MarieM »

I have to say I loved this statute the minute I saw it. It is so Leonard, the head lifted as if beseeching heaven, the lips slightly parted, the long thin neck, the ill-fitting suit, the hands clutched into fists and pulled towards the chest, and even the toes turned slightly inward. He is overflowing with the need to express himself and completely in the moment. Leonard was many people, as we all are. Many of those people would have been far easier to capture in a statute. It just seems very special to be able to capture this moment when Leonard is seeking to touch our hearts with his.
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Joe Way
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Joe Way »

MarieM wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 2:37 am I have to say I loved this statute the minute I saw it. It is so Leonard, the head lifted as if beseeching heaven, the lips slightly parted, the long thin neck, the ill-fitting suit, the hands clutched into fists and pulled towards the chest, and even the toes turned slightly inward. He is overflowing with the need to express himself and completely in the moment. Leonard was many people, as we all are. Many of those people would have been far easier to capture in a statute. It just seems very special to be able to capture this moment when Leonard is seeking to touch our hearts with his.
I like it. Marie, you have described it so well that I can't add anything.

Long live, Leonard captured in stone and in our hearts.

Joe
"Say a prayer for the cowboy..."
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Geoffrey
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Re: Leonard Cohen's statue will be unveiled in Vilnius

Post by Geoffrey »

MarieM wrote:Leonard was many people, as we all are.
surely not "all", marie? call me cynical, but i have met a number of two-dimensional individuals, shallow people with very little depth to their personalities. due to their lack of education and knowledge, having an enlightened conversation with them is nigh impossible. i'm not suggesting it's entirely their fault that they are dull company. IQ is mostly genetic, and not everyone inherits a high intellectual ability or an interesting persona. anyone who has never encountered such depressing specimens of the human race has indeed led an enchanting life.
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