Jetseters fly in for an Art Fair in the Gardens, Trinidad

Alias Alexis , Darling, where are the horses? Lets saddle up.You mean my horse? Oh, I ride bareback. I like to ride side saddle myself

Alias Alexis , Darling, where are the horses? Lets saddle up.You mean my horse? Oh, I ride bareback

The high profile A.T. flew in on her A.T. Airways Concord to rendezvous with Alias Alexis de Tiesenhausen who minutes before landed with her Antonov An-225 + pool. The only airplane in the world fitted with a 50 metre Olympic size swimming gold laminated pool. The two mingled together at the Art Fair in the mist of the crowds and oneabes who fought through to catch a glimpse of the mega 100 million times prettier than music famed Susan Boyle and the Mosconite billionaire richer that all the recent countries put together at the resent Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad. Both Alias Alexis and A.T. contemplated over the crystal and pallet of imported Guyanese red wine in a garden deflowered with works of art and they graciously allowed 4 seconds in lure of the camera. These very high profile celebrities contributed Feinin 8 million dollars for his time.

Local celebrities pose – Fashion Week TT

Alias Charles, go fetch me some of that Russian Pollock marinated in Virgin oil. Girle, Saltfish, me eh like dat

A.T. and one of her many admirers, Alias Charles Saatchi were spotted at an Art Gallery and graciously posed for the camera in charity of the launch of Fashion Week in Trinidad and Tobago. These very high profile celebrities dressed in a casual attire suited to blend in with the common folk. Alias Charles Saatchi continued to support the Artists of the World by wearing a boring (new) converse washikong, how cliché. Its a trend that needs to go. A.T. was her pompous self as usual.

Washikong: A brown or black canvas shoe once produced by Bata (Trinidad).

Question and Answers - thebookmann

The Madonna and Child, Rome, Italy, 1994

What is your fascination with Art?
I believe my fascination is with its beauty.

Is Art an easy way out?
I've been often told that I am lazy, and that studying it didn't take much effort. On the contrary, I found that art practice was both simple and extremely complex. There are no equations to explain it. Yet, you need to find a balance to understand its role. Being any artist takes perseverance , self confidence , grounded focus and self criticism under public scrutiny. Either you are an artist or a pretender as one.

So are you an Artist?
If I am honest, I will have to answer no. I believe my being an artist died when I returned to Trinidad in 1995. My paintings were too large, and my content was too religious (Christian motifs) This has deeply affected me since, I truly love painting.

When were you most happy as a painter?
My happiest moments were the painting studios at the Stewart building, Ontario College of Art in Toronto.

Will you ever paint again?
My crystal ball is whitewashed, I can only see specks of it returning far in the future

You have dabbled in photography, is this your art now?
I studied elements of photography at college, and had an exhibition in Toronto, but otherwise since, I have never made a cent from it so far. It is ironic because the bookmann blog is based in part from my work. It is also an integral part in my self-studies "feinin" collages which have been rewarding.

Where and why did you come up with the idea of the blog
I just wanted to continue photographing dilapidated building and cemeteries that I had began in Toronto, 1991 and in Europe, 1994. The bookmann began by documenting street graffiti and gave a generally analyst of it. The first wall painting online I believe was a pencil drawing of a man with his dog in Newtown by an street artist who has left it mark ever since.

You are often been mistaken for not being a Trinidadian, why do you think so?
I believe it is in my disposition, I don't feel Trinidadian, yet the content on the bookmann speaks otherwise. I am always being asked if I am foreign by Trinidadians, hence the answer, its in my psychic perhaps I am not. I am rather mysterious, people just can't figure me out.

You've work on this project since 2004, how would you describe the process so far?
At very beginning I approached many artists if they would like to be hosted online relating to the work. The majority if not all declined. So I just went to their art openings and documented the work. My writing was viewed as awkward, yet without funding or a staff of writers, editors and photographers it has manged to be ranked in the top ten listing in Google search alongside media conglomerates such as the New York Times and BBC in its editorial content. This is really astonishing.

Why do you think this is so?
Its intention and authenticity and vast body of subjects mostly on the kitschness of street art.

Has your blog affected anyone ?
The lists goes on. I have been told that no one is doing this type of work and that I should work towards a doctorate if not already is worth in its body of research. With my difficulty in spelling (dyslexia, seeing words are images) obtaining a degree will show that levels in intelligence are not necessarily based on formal academia in learning.

Would you like to have your P.H.D.?
Yes, timely and without charge

Who are your readers?
There are a broad spectrum of readers internationally and locally. And by people who deny never reading the blog, but they obviously do.

I have noticed that you have contributor, who is this writer?
She is my light and shadow and an artist who I have known since my graphic design education in Trinidad from 1982. She has recently been crowned an "Elder" in the field of contemporary in Trinidad and Tobago.

Are you then a writer as well?
I been called a writer, so under those circumstances I probably am.

Earlier, you mentioned your self-portraits, please explain?
To understand who you are, you have to think universally to who you would have like to be. These are studies I call "feinin" , where I masked myself as icons from the past. To my knowledge it has never be attempted before.

I don't fully understand
Whether this seems far fetched, It resonates in my mind as real and that is all what matters.

So what are you really?
I am a man in search of himself using technology as his footing.

What is your of perception from others?
Generally, people are afraid of me and my response to this is that I mean no harm other than an opinion in light of good, bad or indifferent. My views are beholden to no one other than myself. I feel a bit of flattered, but this is not its aim.

I notice that the bookmann has a series of personal quotes, I find this presumptuous in your stage of your career, My I asked why?
These quotes are about the power of thought, I trust in the words totally.

Do you have any enemies?
Yes, and I thank them for pinpointing my faults

Where do you see you project going?
Truly, I desire a genuine appreciation for what I have achieved as a book or film.

And finally, what will be your legacy?
In one sentence,

Timeless

Thank you Mr. bookmann

Ruling Art - thebookmann

How to Move Mountains, the power of the bookman

A coloured minister had called his flock together to pray for rain. The congregation had assembled and the parson discoursed on the subject of Faith.

Faith am a power to move mountains, he declaimed, if it no bigger that a mustard seed. but you all am congregated here to pray for de Almighty to send down de blessind rain and you all come widout even de mustard seed of faith. You all am here prayin’ and hopm’ dat de good Lawd will bless dis community wid plenteous rains but dey ain’t a single solitary one of you got any Faith dat He will do it. If you had a single speck of it sorne of you niggahs would have done brung umbrellas.

Prayer with hope, too often, is entirely lacking in faith for hope usually is a hopeless sort of thing. It is negative in its nature implies a doubt that the thing hoped for will be manifested. Most people intone the the word with an accent of doubt and common usage has coloured it with a measure of probably failure. Very little expectations is conveyed in the use of the word.

On the other hand a word of faith and confidence are expressed in the word Trust. If the coloured congregation has trusted that rain would follow their prayers, the confident expectation would have induced each member to bring his umbrella. but hopeful individuals at usually have umbrellas at home because the hopelessness of hope tents to offset any attempt to express confident assurance or faith.

It is difficult in many case to anticipate by affirming will hope that the dream will materialized. I hope, I will be successful is not positive affirmation and tents to merely emphasize the doubt of success. But I trust that I an doing the this necessary to earn success is with much confidence that a far goal will be achieved.

Phraseology and the selection of the vocabulary have much to do with establishing the right mental habits and thus the right behavior. The tone of the voice is important. Much doubt may be neutralized by a confident assertion even if the anticipation is not deep seated and well established.

Notes transcribed from a book on the power of thought, words and action ( cir.1940)

Why wonder of the world you ask?

wonder of the world plant- Bryophyllum pinnatum

If readers have noticed thebookmann shift to the title, wonder of the world, the reasoning is its resilience which the plant's name is derived from. It can survive anywhere without not much to sustain it.

Bryophyllum pinnatum plant, Life Plant, Miracle Leaf, Goethe Plant

The writer Johann von Goethe was an adamant lover of this plant and studies its mysterious reproducing properties. Every West Indian child should remember putting a leaf between the pages of their copybook. Overtime, the plant would begin to spring roots from the sides of the leaf. Known in Trinidad and Tobago as the wonder of the world, one of the many medicinal properties it contains is the power to strengthen the heart by purifying the blood or to reduce a swelling by using as a poultice over the skin.

Art back in time - thebookmann

Question: Bomb, what is your purpose?
Answer: To follow my master's command

In the summer of 1988, Toronto held its CNE Air Show. Aircraft enthusiasts gathered near lake Ontario to capture vantage and modern combat aircrafts show their range and capabilities. The summit meetings of the 7 industrialized democracies were also hosted, including leaders such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. thebookmann caught a glimpse of the shadowy figures in a heavily guarded limousine as they passed McCaul Street. Then, the Ontario College of Art had a simple foyer, a brown security desk and two doorways at either side to the upper floors of the building.

At the Toronto Air show, there was a more ominous presence lurking on the outskirts, the American B1 bomber. The man as the shadowy figure had the fate of the world, and at any given command he could trigger the bay doors of the aircraft to open and release a device. That day over the peaceful skies of Ontario, the B1 bomber skimmed beneath the clouds and placed Man as God if he so choose to be. It is a vision beholden to no one,

Emotions of uncertainty can trigger an act to produce a work relating to the political climate. The installation with a painting above it, a silhouette of the B1 bomber with the words G-O-D offended many viewers when it was exhibited at OCA.

Lamps- A Caribbean experiment with light

Illumination

At Caribbean Contemporary Art, CCA7 the bookman has installed an installation incorporating a series of photographs related to the Trinidad Aesthetic. The photographs were taken in 2004 and are reflections on cemeteries and places of worship focusing on decay, wanderers and graffiti.

A detail of image illuminated by light. See the original photograph

My Caribbean Blues

Mother Earth being revitalized by the sea

This wall painting represents the idyllic paradise called, Mayaro. The artist has made the effort to show the contentment he feels about his country. The painting is expressed by the three Trinity hills which in 1492, Christopher Columbus proclaimed the island as Trinidad. The muralist has a childlike imagination as he portrays Mother Earth carved from a mountain at the mouth of the Ortoire river. She is being cooled down by the cascading waterfall which descends from her well pressed hair.

In retrospect, the painting is a sample of the website's mandate, and where the bookmann has instigated street art as a legitimate form of Art in Trinidad and Tobago. As 2007 approaches, Tobago is on the next list and the bookman and Adele look forward to explore other places beyond these shores. We also realised that the bookman is taken very seriously and gauging by Google, the blog's position shows its importance and relevancy in the world of Art along with the responsibility that goes with it. For this we are very thankful. - thebookmann
When the bookman started out, the objective was to find a home for images that would eventually lead to a book called The Trinidad Aesthetic. In 2007, the bookman's objective remains the same, to put a coffee table book together of all of the images we see that encourage the question, what is Trinidadian taste, style, habit and culture. We look forward to continuing to bring interest, humour, debate and challenge to those who come across this site.

We also endeavour to continue to look beyond the beaten path in every way. As we have this year in the discovery of a prolific street artist, an over the top sculptor, a young graffiti artist, and all of the unsung heroes of the street trying to make a decent living and making our country the unique place that it is. We also continue to write about artists and other issues of interest, as we endeavour to give art and culture a place where the analysis shall be more about looking and seeing, experiencing and exposure. To all our viewers, even those who say they don't really look at the site- all the very best for 2007 we shall continue to influence the art world in the Caribbean. - Adele

Celebrating its first anniversary - thebookmann

The Bookman celebrates

The idea to cover underground art in Trinidad and Tobago led to the creation of the blogspot, thebookmann. This was the desire to find a home for our ideas, and the bookman endeavours to continue to ask the question, what is art in Trinidad and Tobago? What is culture, what is the Trinidad aesthetic? Since its inception, we have seen others take up our concern, and that has proven thebookmann’s influence. However we could not do what we do without the people who make the site possible and so we will like to thank all of the people we have met in our travels who were so kind and forthcoming with information about how work was made, by whom, the materials used and in many instances, the purpose.

Ours is a desire to have those of you who seek out this site, know that our major interest is to enlighten, to encourage thought and even a slice of humour to what is seen and sometimes a needed pong where necessary. We also are looking at montaging and collaging what we see to make high what is considered low art.

The bookman blog is the result of Public Art from the bookmann website, and since then it has documented some interesting public Art in the most unusual places throughout Trinidad. The bookman has also influenced how artists view their work in Trinidad and Tobago, and it has opened the door where obscure street art is now being examined as a form of Contemporary Art making. The blog is the source of Art for International readers, and thus it places the importance in viewing Trinidad and Tobago in a accurate light without any political bias. On behalf of thebookmann, Adele and Stuart, we wish to thank you. See the post of the year.

Caribbean Books - Where it began - thebookmann

In 2002, thebookmann worked on a collaborative book exhibition with Canadian artist Jamelie Hassan called Caribbean Books. At the time, she inquired if whether any of the work from the project were online.There were none. This, thebookmann website and blog is the genesis of that very question.

Jamelie Hassan met Richard Bolai in Trinidad during her Canada Arts Council residency at Caribbean Contemporary Art, CCA7, Trinidad. She recalled that while attending a lecture that he asked an important question on copyright and this began a series of connections revealing that they had previously met in Toronto where he had lived for some years while studying at the Ontario College of Art.

We had moved in the same contemporary art circles in Canada and had many people, places and books in common. Our mutual attention to books became the basis for our collaboration....

Caribbean Books involved the transformation of Ms. Hassan's original photographs of a bookshop in Tobago as five handmade books. Also, a series of ceramic books accompanied ten coloured books with the pages sized and fixed with a coloued dye. The first exhibit was held in Trinidad 2002, then the show traveled to London, Ontario in 2003.
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Alias: the - book - man(n) coined to Richard Bolai (bookbinder) by Peter Minshall