Hermes: The Summer Campaign is Shot on Aegina Island, Greece

The beauty of the pictures speaks for itself. The purity of line, the wisdom of time, the sparsity of luxury. All these are represented perfectly by the French sellier -which became the fashion and leathergoods luxe house- and the eternal Greek ideal. The mighty, sturdy olive, gigantic through the passage of the centuries, the clear skies, the flowing fabrics, the architectural lines, the "nothing in excess" spirit.

The campaign's motto? "Le Temps Devant Soi"...time before you.

Enjoy!

Greek Black: Powerful Symbol, Impeccable Style

"When I finished primary school in Distomo I had to go to the Gymnasium in Livadeia. At the time, traveling by bus from Distomo to Livadeia was too long and lasted three hours. When my father and I got off the bus in the morning, I saw 10 girls in colorful skirts. I asked him: '' Why do the girls wear such colors, father?" I had hitherto never seen a woman or a girl NOT wearing black in Distomo, because of the Holocaust in 1944" recalls Thanasis Panourgias, Distomo's mayor today, then only a young child.

The testimony reflects the nightmare of the Holocaust June 10, 1944 in Distomo, where 223 people -including elders, women and children- were massacred by the fourth Constitution of Police SS in retaliation for the losses the Germans had by partisans of the 3rd Constitution of the 34th battalion of ELAS (National Lberation Front).

old lady in Crete

Black was (and still is) synonymous with mourning in Greece. For a very long time, there was always someone in the family mourning for the loss of other members; be it from famine, or war, or hostile acts related losses (the Civil War, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus) ; or some of these combined. The longest time of continuous peace in Greece has been a mere 48 years (since 1974). This is why there are so many little old ladies clad in black attire, all wrinkled up in folklore pictures circulating all over the net; they still mourn family members lost in Nazi atrocities  most  likely.

Manos Katrakis

The tradition in villages was that if you lost your parents it was customary to wear black for at least 40 days (though many opted for a lot longer); if you lost a spouse, habitually for 7 years (or as long as you considered yourself a widow after that); and if you lost a child....you never got out of black, you wore it for life....

papa-Noufrakis (the priest head of Orthodox Mass at the St.Sophia in 1919 in Istanbul)

Black is also the colour of choice for the clergy. From head to toe. Solemn and in accordance to the suffering of the grieving parish. Every parish had their own grievers, you see. 

Cretan attire

Mourning sometimes gets to an almost nationalistic level. The classic Cretan attire is consisting of black shirt (morning for the losses in the Cretan war against the Turks), beige or midnight blue jodhpurs ("vraka", a classic rider's pair of pants), black boots and a black crocheted handrkerchief tied on the forehead (the "sariki"). The tassels on the latter are representing tears for the Greek holocaust at Arcadi monastery.
[I have to say, despite myself, I find the effect very virile-looking.]

Black looks exceptionally good under the intense sun, against the white houses and the blue sea (as does white) or the grey of the rock. This is probably why it ended up defining Greek style. All the other colours gain an added intensity under the sun, sometimes to the point of blinding. You just can't go wrong with black.

Elli Lambeti in A Girl in Black (1956)

dance performance En Attendant

dress by Elena Troulakis

Dress by Elena Troulakis

photos via costumes.gr, kairatos.com.gr,greekfilmfestival.com.au, 2rizospastis.gr, ethnos.gr, infokids.gr

Folli Follie: the Crazy for Greece campaign

Folli Follie is a Greek fashion company of jewelry, handbags and petit maroquinerie with boutiques and corners all over the world (of which 100 in Japan and China alone). Their style has always been about good craftmanship on 925 silver and 14K gold or gold-plated pieces and quality leathers producing pieces that are cute, make a statement and adapt easily to busy working lives.

This spring they're campaigning with a back home message, choosing to shoot their campaign at Spetses island, off the Saronic coast south of Athens. The star of the campaign is Vietnamese-Chinese actress and model Gaile Lai, in three incarnations (rock, trendy, classy), getting caressed by the soft, warm sun of the Mediterranean.

Let it be...even that way is better than aping foreign "paradises" and setting the scene for consumerism that profits international conglomerates. At least I know who owns and who controls this brand.

Domna Samiou: The Keeper of Greek Folk Tradition Is Singing with the Angels

In Domna Samiou a modern Homer lived: taking a rich, oral tradition and compiling decade after decade, century after century of culture into an opus of incomparable magnitude.

Domna Samiou was born by Greek parents, refugees from Asia Minor. And it was her cultural background, steeped in traditional and at the same time cosmopolitan music from the region of Smyrni/Ismir, which prompted her to later immerse herself in music: byzantine music, the mother load of all folk music in the Eastern Mediterranean, through to Greek folk music and the music of magna Grecia. She travelled the lengths and breadths of Greece, from the high mountains of Rodopi and Pindos to the lowlands of Thessaly down to Crete and the islands, always carrying a small recorder and seeking the elders: the keepers of the great oral tradition ever since the Homeric times...

She died at 84, active and joyous to the end. May the earth that lies above you be light, oh Grecian one.



Folk song Tzivaeri, the mother's lament of migration



Cretan song "The Sound of the Chains" (As heavy as the irons hang, so will the black clothes)


Thracian folk song "If I were a bird to fly" (to go abroad and see my beloved again)

Note how similar the tenuta, the harmonies and the solemnity of the voice performance is with byzantine ecclesiastical hymns.



Song Black Sea, modern orchestration & additional lyrics mixed with a Thracian folk dance song) by D.Savvopoulos

"Φταίνε τα τραγούδια του, φταίει κι ο λυράρης
μα φταίει κι ο ίδιος του ο λαός γιατί 'ναι μαραζιάρης
Μαύρη θάλασσα κλειστή, μακρινές μου πεδιάδες
πίσω από τις συμπληγάδες"

The songs are to blame, the lyra player too.
But it's its people to blame most because they like lamenting to.
Black sea, closed, faraway lowlands
behind the Symbligades*.

*translation by me

Work Like the Bees

Time travel on the tiny wings of a bee...into the Greek Outlook.

The Minoan Bee was found in the Old Palace cemetery at Chrysolakkos, outside the Palace of Malia, the 3rd largest Minoan Palace on the island of Crete (after Knossos and Pheastos), in Greece. It dates back to the Bronze Age during the Protopalatial Period (1800 - 1700 BC). This is very detailed representation of two bees carrying a drop of honey to their honeycomb. The two bees flank the drop of honey at center in perfect symmetry.

The Myceneans continued well into the Homeric tradition the admiration for the bee.

Mycenean signet ring (Reynold Higgins, Minoan and Mycenaean Art, Thames and Hudson)

Beeswax candles represent the sobriety of Easter Week and the sense of community.

Greek Orthodox church beeswax candes

Greek brand Apivita Queen Bee night cream via NYTimes

The bee enters many a care. Skincare on this instance. Give Greece a chance.

Anonymous

And then you have Anonymous busy like little bees hacking Greek state sites and media, fascinated by how far this master plan of world terror is going to go.


pics via NYTimes, aeoluskephas.blogspot.com, paintingskiathos.wordpress

The (Greek) Architecture We Leave Behind

Spetses island by Yannis Larios

Nafplio town by Yannis Larios

Nafplio town by Yannis Larios

Syros island by Yannis Larios

Syros island by Yannis Larios

Symi island by Yannis Larios

Neoclassisism....so beautiful, so fragile.

Theo Aggelopoulos: 1935-2012

"I hear you, death, coming...I hear you! "



                 from the film Voyage to Cythera 1984 starring Manos Katrakis


Greek film director Theo Aggelopoulos was abruptly killed yesterday in a motor accident in Keratsini, Piraeus, while filming his swang song, The Other Sea, concerning the Greek crisis.
Have a safe passage, Theo...

Theo Aggelopoulos is the most awarded Greek film director; he got the majority of the Thessaloniki Film Festival awards, the Palm d'Or in the Cannes Festival, the Silver Lion at the Venice film festival, the Phelix of best European movie, the Firepsci award and numerous awards of critics and critics associations around the world.

                     from the film Landscape in the Mist 1988 starring Stratos Giorgoglou

The Wedding Procession

Photo copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki, shot on the island of Sifnos, Greece, summer 2011. Click to enlarge.

Greek Beauty: Ros Georgiou

Ros Georgiou shot by Thanassis Krikis for Vogue Hellas.

17-year-old Rosanna "Ros" Georgiou is a model of Greek/Dutch origin, but I think it is her Greek DNA which brings out a certain "pride" attitude on her face, making her an exceptional canvas for classicism.
At the same time she possesses a defiant stance on proceedings, maybe due to her newess in the field or coming out of left-field (living in Athens, rather than one of three predictable fashion metropolises) which makes her totally modern.

ROS GEORGIOU by HARIS FARSARAKIS from haris farsarakis photography on Vimeo.

Humble Herbs, Rustic Roots

There is something about the herbs of Greece: They're sprouting with the insolence of the race, haphazardly and defiantly, surely against all odds. They're fragrant with a rustic honesty that is superior to artificial pretence. And they stand best when they stand proud on a most formal of setting: a wedding procession.

Shot on the island of Sifnos, Greece, summer 2011. Click to enlarge.
Photo copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki

Colour me In

The sparkling background of the white-washed church brings out the pastel hues of this wedding guest's outfit. Greek women shouldn't be afraid of colour. Or fresh fragrant flowers in the hair.

Shot on Sifnos island, summer 2011. Click to enlarge.

Photos copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki.

The Continuity of Greek Elegance

fresco from the palace of Knossos, Crete, Greece, at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, 

15th century BC

mature Greek woman attending a wedding on the island of Sifnos, Greece, summer 2011

Vision in White & Blue

Shot on Sifnos island, Greece. Copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki

Craziness Street

The signpost reads: "Craziness Street: You can walk this street fearlessly. We own it." Indeed we do.

As seen on Apollonia, Sifnos island, Greece. Summer 2011.
Picture author's own, copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki

Vogue France: the June issue is dedicated to Greece

And right when we were called "the burden, the vermin of Europe" (we, the ones who gave Europe its very name!), there goes Vogue France and dedicates their June issue to Greece. Greece seen through the classical but also the modern, contemporary eye: the one of growth, of young people, of healthy businesses, of innovative ideas and creativity and of eternal natural beauty. That latter part isn't going anyplace...
At last, a breath of fresh, optimistic air in the border of a sleazy campaign to blacken the name of an entire people, just for the powers-that-be to make fortunes on their (literally) poor backs...

The photos are scanned by It's all beauty to me, borrowed with many patriotic thanks. Click to enlarge.

The (Greek) World is Based on Chaos and Cheap Smokes

"Every morning will see me give myself 10 secs to realise where I am and why. There goes another 5 secs to accept my total incapability for any work. The realisation of my tragic financial situation is visceral, a fact that helps me gain time and devote it to my fish. There are times when I long to tell them everything about my life...But even if they weren't deaf, their memory retention ability doesn't last longer than 3 secs, as long as it takes them to swim around the bowl. Maybe that's why I can see my whole life reflected in their eyes, a continuous swirl, a happy nil. These are the first moments of the day, when inspiration comes to rescue me.
 The world is based on Chaos and I'm going to cross it without searching for logical order...This is my life, capiche?"

          ~Renos Haralambidis, Cheap Smokes(2000)

It's not hard to see how the pseudophilosophizing nihilistic types who construct poetic mock-noir films such as Cheap Smokes on a zero budget are in reality nothing of the sort. But this diarrhea of the spirit which takes place in front of an existential mirror is reflecting the plight of the modern Greek to a T: The world is based on chaos and I'm going to cross it without searching for logical order. I wonder though whether this isn't some trait encrypted into the Greek DNA. The classical adherence to Law as the ultimate order of any society of free men addresses probably people who were deeply chaotic to begin with. Otherwise why the marked insistence?

Elsewhere the anti-hero inwardly wonders in a voice-over: "I should be subsidised by the Ministry of Culture. Why should they pay someone to make a statue and not me to wander around town like a moving statue? Damn country! It doesn't appreciate artists!"

Another trait of the modern (and perhaps eternal) Greek: "Why them and not ME?" (Sarcastic) self-loathing is taking a very sideways patriotic course: The country would only be rescued if I were given half a chance!
In a place where you have to be "poniros" (i.e. cunning without being evil) to make things go by, there isn't too much shortage of chaos in the first place. This eternal self-loathing is best spent at a "cafeneion", a coffee shop, "a  place with a huge industry of lost time. It is the art of allowing time to pass by without leaving its mark". Which probably explains why the modern Greek revolutionary spirit is mollified into (intricate) words rather than swift action: Contrast with the Heroic Outlook.

The Wick

Crazied, mad, left over, bankrupt,
tied to dreams, selling out rhymes.

I cling on to the wick, amidst the storm;
my right, my own, I am not bequesting it to anyone.



The Wick (Θρυαλλίδα) is sung by Suzanna and Helen Vougioukli. 

Fata Morgana

I'll take communion with sea water,
distilled from your body drop by drop,
in an ancient copper cup from Algiers,
as done by pirates of old before the fight.

Where are you coming from? From Babylon.
Where are you going? To the eye of the cyclone.
Whom do you love? A Gypsy maid.
What is her name? Fata Morgana*.

A leather sail, all smeared with wax,
smelling of cedar-wood, of incense and of varnish,
like the smell of the hold in an aging ship
built in olden times on Euphrates in Phoenicia.

Where are you coming from? From Babylon.
Where are you going? To the eye of the cyclone.
Whom do you love? A Gypsy maid.
What is her name? Fata Morgana.

Fire-hued rust in the mines of Sina,
the capes of Gerakini and Stratoni.
That ship-coating, that old blessed rust ages us,
It feeds us, feeds on us, and then it kill us!

Where are you coming from? From Babylon.
Where are you going? To the eye of the cyclone.
Whom do you love? A Gypsy maid.
What is her name? Fata Morgana.

The poem Fata Morgana by sea-faring Greek poet Nikos Kavvadias is set to music and sung by Mariza Koch.

*A "fata morgana" is a mirage, an optical phenomenon caused by abrupt variances in air temperature. Objects on the horizon, such as islands, cliffs, ships or icebergs, appear elongated and elevated

"All Alone Am I" or the Adventures of a Greek Song

"Word upon word, we lost sense of time.
We recounted our pains and the night lapsed.
Wipe the tears with your handkerchief,
so that I can drink the sun from your lips.

Don't ask the sky,
the cloud and the moon.
Your dark gaze,
something of the night has got.

Whatever found us, whatever made us sorry
struck us secretly like a knife.
Wipe the tears with your handkerchief,
so that I can drink the sun from your lips".

Sung by Jenny Karezi in the Greek film The Island of the Brave


"All Alone Am I" is the title of a song from 1962 by the American singer Brenda Lee. The music was originally composed by the Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis and recorded by Tzeni Karezi for the soundtrack of the film The Island of the Brave. Later, a new version of the song was produced by Owen Bradley and appeared as the title track on one of Lee's albums. But did it all come to that?

In 1960, the Greek film Never on Sunday was released to considerable acclaim, earning multiple Academy Award nominations in the US. The film's star, Melina Mercouri, was nominated for Best Actress, while the title song from the film won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Greek musician Manos Hadjidakis, who had composed the music used in the film. A melody that appeared in both Never on Sunday and The Island of the Brave was sent to Lee's management as a tune to be considered for the singer to record, and after being translated into English by Arthur Altman, it became "All Alone Am I"

"All Alone Am I" became a Top 10 pop hit in both the US and the UK. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1962 and reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1963. The song also spent five weeks atop the US Billboard easy listening chart, Lee's only song to do so!

Lyrics were originally written by Ioannis Ioannidis.


Sung by Alkinoos Ioannidis and Demetra Galani.

Translation of lyrics by Elena Vosnaki.

Rembetika, the Greek Blues

The 1983 film "Rembetiko" by Costas Ferris recounts the life of old "rembetes" (musicians and songwriters of the urban outcast sub-cultures, originally in the Greek-Anatolian coast and then refugees in port-towns of Greece where they fled in 1922); especially of Marika Ninou, but also based on other artists' lives. They wrote rembetika songs, what are affectionately termed "Greek Blues" due to their mood. But watching the film we not only get a glimpse of the culture of the rembetes, but also a glimpse through Greek history from 1917 to 1957; from the aftermath of WWI, the Asia Minor Catastrophe, WWII and the Nazi occupation, the Civil War, the political upheaval and the return to a legally represented government.

The harrowing, foreboding music is written by Stavros Xarhakos, the lyrics by Nikos Gatsos. Sung by Sotiria Leonardou.



The first song (Kaigomai Kaigomai i.e. I'm burning, I'm burning) follows the Anatolian mode of "amané" (from the poignant cry "aman" throughout), a heavy, deeply sorrowful tune, here reminiscing of the plight of the refugees who had to flee Asia Minor and especially Smyrna/Izmir in 1922.

When man is born,
a sorrow is born.
And when the war erupts,
the blood cannot be count.

I'm burning, I'm burning,
throw more oil in the fire.
I'm drowning, I'm drowning,
throw me into a bottomless sea.

I swore upon your eyes, which I considered Gospel,
the slash you gave me to turn into a smile.

But you, deep in Hell, break the chain,
and if you drag me there beside you, blessed may you be.



The second song (The Net) is as Greek as it gets: concept, melody, style, lyrics and mood. A life lesson, distilled times seven...

Every time you open a road in life,
don't wait till midnight catches up with you.
Keep your eyes wide open, day and night,
because right in front of you, there's always a net spread.

If ever you get caught in its mesh,
no one will be able to get you out.
Alone you'll have to find the end of the thread
and, if you're lucky, to start over.

This net bears heavy names,
written in a seven-times-sealed scroll.
Some call it underworld's treachery,
and others yet call it first springtime's love...


Translation author's own.