Hommage á Dominik Alexander
Elements of Rhyme: [1] Before I could tear myself away from Vienna, I had planned some time to do a few tasks I didn’t want to take on my vacation. This includes this picture that I put off painting for a while, a homage to Dominik Alexander.
I don’t know Dominik personally, only from his blog scriptorium77. I once came across one of his poems and with every text I read from him my enthusiasm grew. As already written in an article, he wrote a poem for one of my pictures (a poem about one of my paintings) and so I felt the need to also create a picture for one of his texts.
I also soon started with a picture for one of his poems, only to find out that the chosen poem is in German. Dominik writes bilingually. To make a long story short, at some point I thought it would be better to appreciate his literary texts as a whole in one picture anyway. And then that’s what came out of it.
About the how and why
How I arrived at this solution can probably only be seen after reading several of his texts. I don’t want to go into it any further and instead summarize what I like about Dominik’s work in general. “Dominik Alexander studied history, philosophy and German literature. He writes poems, short stories, novellas, plays, sonnets, haikus and journalism stuff. He lives and works in Dresden“. This is what you read on his “about page”. And so it is not surprising that his texts are characterized by humanism and tradition, without allowing him to be forced into a corset.
Dominik is middle-aged but has the spirit and curiosity of a twenty-year-old. He doesn’t stick to a certain style or scheme, but is always open to new ideas. And yet his handwriting is recognizable in every text. (One of the aspects, among several, that connect the way we both work and approach). His poems are not of the nature that you would want to recite them to your grandmother on her 90th birthday – neither are my paintings. His texts are strong, authentic, often eloquent and yet don’t stick to the ground – and sometimes reach lofty heights.
Though he writes a lot, he doesn’t allow any sloppiness, but values solid craftsmanship and quality. He is able to go far in thought and yet devotes himself lovingly to the details.
We live in a time when it’s generally difficult for writers to make ends meet. Inevitably, many conform to the mainstream. Which is understandable when you have to make a living from your work. Dominik Alexander fights the same way, but it seems that he defies all temptations and goes his way unwaveringly and uncompromisingly. This way doesn’t seem to be a path through a flower meadow to me, there are many plants with thorns on them and he’s one who works on them. Then again he strays to the clouds and isn’t afraid to trek beyond them either.
High quality in terms of content in a designer suit
And then there is the appearance of his blog that impresses you immediately, as does the selection of images for each individual post.
And last but not least, I would like to give an example of his skills, a text that he published the night we found out about the death of the exceptional artist Sinéad O’Connor: Nothing Compares You To…
footnote:
[1] The title alludes to a German music group, Elements of Crime
Leave a Reply