ETHNICS IN SABAH

Sabah History & Culture
Kadazan, Dusun, Bajau, Murut


Known as the ‘Land below the Wind’, Sabah on the eastern side of Borneo is home to over 30 different ethnic races with over 80 local dialects. Its title comes from its location; directly beneath the typhoon belt making it free from climatic disturbances. Despite the advent of modernity, tradition and culture still prevail in local lifestyles, especially as a practice to welcome international visitors. A visit to Sabah is indeed a multi-cultural and fascinating experience.

Sabah’s early records indicate that it was broken up into various areas ruled by local chieftains in the early 9th Century. Later, in the 15th Century, it became a part of the Brunei Empire until an American Trader named Moses arrived in the 1880s’ to lease it. From there, it was passed on to an Englishman named Alfred Dent who converted the lease into a cession. The British North Borneo Chartered Company was thus established, ruling over the state until the Japanese occupation during World War II, after which it became a British Crown Colony. In 1963, Sabah joined the coalition of Malaysia.

Sabah’s 2 million residents are a diverse mix of races, with the Kadazan, Bajau and Murut forming the main indigenous groups. There are of course, sizeable populations of Chinese, Malays and Indians who form the majority of Malaysia’s social landscape.

Kadazan-Dusun


The largest indigenous group in Sabah is the Kadazan-Duzun, which makes up a third of the population. They are known as prolific rice-producers, but many have gone into other commercial markets outside their traditional field. They are also known for their colourful customs, including those that involve female priestesses named ‘Bobohizan’. Their most famous festival is the Harvest Festival or ‘Tadau Ka’amatan’, which celebrates a season of good rice harvest.

Bajaus

The Bajaus are known for their many skills, from farming rice to rearing water buffaloes and making boats to riding horses. They are established mostly in Sabah’s coastlines, near the sea which is a central part of their culture. Traditionally, they are a nomadic, sea-faring people, with pockets of their race scattered in other countries across South East Asia. A peaceful lot, the Bajaus often put on shows demonstrating their awesome skill in horse-riding and handling for visitors during the annual ‘Tamu Besar’ Festival in Kota Belud.

Muruts

The Muruts are found deep inland in Northern Borneo, renowned for their hunting skills using spears, blow pipes and poisoned darts. They used to practise head-hunting but have renounced it for a life of agriculture. Today, many cultivate hill paddy and tapioca, with some fishing and hunting in between.

There's a lot of ethnics in Sabah has not been stated such as Rungus,Lokos and many more Sabah is a land of inspiring natural scenery, lush ancient rainforests, vibrant coral reefs and mysterious indigenous cultures! We have it all here, from the world's largest flower; the Rafflesia, to the highest mountain in South East Asia; Mount Kinabalu, to some of the world's best dive sites; Sipadan and Layang Layang.

Sabah is naturally endowed with beaches and bays, rainforests and amazing plants and animals, and the sacred Mt Kinabalu. Scuba divers travel thousands of miles to experience the amazing wonders of the underwater realm and where better than to the bio-diversity hotspot of Southern Asia - Sabah, Borneo.

FASHION IN LIFE

Fashion is the style and custom prevalent at a given time. In its most common usage however, "fashion" describes the popular clothing style. Many fashions are popular in many cultures at any given time. Important is the idea that the course of design and fashion will change more rapidly than the culture as a whole. Fashion designers create and produce clothing articles.

The terms "fashionable" and "unfashionable" were employed to describe whether someone or something fits in with the current or even not so current, popular mode of expression. There exist a number of cities recognized as global fashion centers or fashion capitals. Fashion weeks are held in these cities where designers exhibit their new clothing collections to audiences. The main five cities are Tokyo, London, Paris, Milan and New York, all headquarters to the greatest fashion companies and renowned for their major influence on global fashion.

CLOTHING

Some historians observe the frequently changing clothing styles as a distinctively Western habit among urban populations.[dubious – discuss] Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change (such as in ancient Rome), but then a long period without large changes followed. In 8th century Cordoba, Spain, Ziryab (a famous musician of that time) is said to have introduced sophisticated clothing styles based on seasonal and daily timings from his native Baghdad and his own inspiration.

The beginnings of the habit in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in styles can be fairly reliably dated to the middle of the 14th century, to which historians including James Laver and Fernand Braudel date the start of Western fashion in clothing. The most dramatic manifestation was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment, from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks, sometimes accompanied with stuffing on the chest to look bigger. This created the distinctive Western male outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers.

The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women and men's fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex and changing. Art historians are therefore able to use fashion in dating images with increasing confidence and precision, often within five years in the case of 15th century images. Initially changes in fashion led to a fragmentation of what had previously been very similar styles of dressing across the upper classes of Europe, and the development of distinctive national styles, which remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, finally those from Ancien Régime in France.:317-24 Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance sometimes uncomfortably close for the elites - a factor Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashion.:313-15 The fashions of the West are generally unparalleled either in antiquity or in the other great civilizations of the world. Early Western travellers, whether to Persia, Turkey, Japan or China frequently remark on the absence of changes in fashion there, and observers from these other cultures comment on the unseemly pace of Western fashion, which many felt suggested an instability and lack of order in Western culture. The Japanese Shogun's secretary boasted (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.:312-3:323 However in Ming China, for example, there is considerable evidence for rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing.

Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both young and older people. The terms fashionista or fashion victim refer to someone who slavishly follows the current fashions.
One can regard the system of sporting various fashions as a fashion language incorporating various fashion statements using a grammar of fashion. (Compare some of the work of Roland Barthes.)

HOW TO SOLVE RUBIK'S CUBE

Solving the First Cross

This step, along with the next step, are the most difficult to teach because there are so many possible starting situations. Luckily, after these steps it takes very little effort to solve the rest of the cube, so please be patient on steps one and two.

In this step, it is important to remember that the very center piece of each side of the cube doesn’t move, making it that side’s respective color. You must bring all of the other pieces of that color to that side. In the example below we bring the red/green piece to match with the red and green sides. Below are the most common moves for this step. You must do this for all four sides in order to make a cross like the "after" picture.http://www.rubikssolver.com/images/solution_step1.jpg


Solving the Bottom Corners

Again, this step is a little harder to teach than the steps to follow because of the amount of possible starting situations, but the pictures below should help you through it.

Find a corner piece on the bottom layer that belongs on the top. In our example pictures this is any corner piece with green in it. Move this piece until it is situated on the bottom layer directly below its appropriate place in the top layer of the cube. In other words, the spot where the piece should start out should be in the same column as the spot where you want the piece to end up. Then, refer to the pictures below to solve. Make sure you are looking at the correct starting picture. Do this step to all four sides.
http://www.rubikssolver.com/images/solution_step2.jpg


Solving the Middle Layers

Before you start this step, flip the cube over so the face that is complete is now the bottom. In the pictures, this is the green side. Now, turn the top layer of the cube to match a "before" picture below. This will make an upside down "T" with one color. We will move that top middle piece to the correct spot on the middle row in this step. There are two ways to do this depending on which side the "T" is on when you’re looking at the cube. Make sure to find the correct starting picture before doing this step. Repeat this step with all four sides. (HINT: If you ever get stuck where there aren’t any useful pieces on the top layer then do one of the moves below in reverse.http://www.rubikssolver.com/images/solution_step3.jpg

Solving the Top Cross

In this step, the goal is to get the top face of the cube to have a cross. In the "after" picture below this is the blue side. You start out by facing a side of the cube that has a blue piece (or whatever your top color is) in the top layer in the front left position (refer to the "before" picture below). It‘s okay to have a blue piece in the front right position as well, but the key is to make sure that there is a blue piece on that front left side. You then follow the moves in the pictures below. Just doing this step once most likely won’t be enough. You may have to repeat the step a few times until there is a cross. You will also likely have to rotate the cube in your hands to munipulate different sides (still make sure a blue piece is in the front left position!).

Solving the Top, Middle Pieces

Once you have the cross at the top, the next step is to get all of the top middle pieces to be on the correct sides. This step, like the previous step, will most likely need to be repeated several times. A useful tip is that, when you have two adjacent sides in the correct place, rotate the cube in your hands so that those two sides are in the back right and front right positions, then repeat this move once more. After doing this, the top pieces will all be in the correct order but will need to be rotated around the cube until they are on their correct sides. (HINT: when performing this step, keep in mind that the front left piece will not move.)

COLOR AS A SYMBOL AND PSYCHOLOGY.

Color symbolism in art and anthropology refers to the use of color as a symbol throughout culture. Color psychology refers to investigating the effect of color on human behavior and feeling, distinct from phototherapy (the use of ultraviolet light to treat conditions like psoriasis or infantile jaundice). Color symbolism is a contentious area of study which is dependent upon a large body of anecdotal evidence, but not supported by data from well-designed scientific studies.

Color symbolism and color psychology are culturally constructed linkages that vary with time, place and culture. In fact, one color may perform very different symbolic or psychological functions in the same place. For example red is often used in North America to indicate stop, as with a stop sign, or danger, as with a warning light. At the same time, red symbolizes love, as with Valentine's Day. A person not familiar with the cultural coding of red in North America could, theoretically, confuse the symbolism of red and mistake a red Valentine's Day heart for a warning. Cross-cultural diversity is found in the symbolism of white, which historically has signified purity, virginity or death (as in Herman Melville's Moby Dick). In Western traditions it is the color worn at weddings. During certain periods in history, it was the color worn at funerals in parts of China, Korea, and Japan. White mourning clothes were also worn in medieval Europe.

In Buddhist religious art there is the most famous Stupa of Bodnath showing the color of the Buddha's eyes as light blue.[1][2] It is not known whether this color is due to symbolism or whether Buddha Shakyamuni is believed to have been blue-eyed.

White

Main article: White
White is the color that represents purity, neutrality, sterility and youth. White is often associated with cleanliness or sterility.[citation needed] White is also associated with neutrality and peace — hence a white flag for surrender or parley. For the same reason it is a neutral color that will continue to be the preferred backdrop on websites and the "color" behind the color.[3] In Western tradition the bride wears white, a custom dating back to Ancient Greece. There, the temple that was dedicated to the goddess Athene was made of white marble. It led to the linking of the color to virginity. In India white is used during death of family members as symbol of sorrow.[4]

White is known for symbolizing light, reverence, purity, truth, snow, peace, innocence, cleanliness, simplicity, security, humility, sterility, winter, coldness, surrender, fearfulness, unimaginative, air, death (in Eastern cultures), life, marriage (in Western cultures), hope, bland, empty (interior) and January (winter).

Black

Main article: Black
Black is a multi-dimensional color that can mean classic or new. It has an ominous characteristic symbolizing death. Therefore it is used in Western cultures for funerals. It has an air of intelligence (graduation robes), marked with rebellion (the bad guy), shrouded in mystery (space). It typically symbolizes absence, modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death (in Western cultures), fear, emptiness, darkness, seriousness, conventionality, rebellion, anarchism, unity, sorrow, and professionalism,

Gray

Main article: Gray
Gray, somewhere between white (good) and black (evil), is a blasé color. It can symbolize elegance, humility, respect, reverence, stability, subtlety, wisdom, old age, pessimism, boredom, decay, decrepitude, dullness, pollution, urban sprawl, strong emotions, balance, neutrality, mourning, or formality.

Red

Main article: Red
Red strikes a chord with more cultures than many other colors because of its intensity, passion and invocation of an inherent physiological response. Red is the color of celebration and good luck (China), purity and integrity (India), and mourning (South Africa). When used with a wide brush, red typically makes whatever it’s painted on look larger, whether it’s a torso or wingback chair. The color is bold and audacious, so it usually dilutes the colors around it. For this reason it’s used to accent and highlight objects of importance such as the stop light on a traffic signal.

Studies show that red can have a physical effect, including increasing the rate of respiration, raising blood pressure and thus making the heart beat faster. Red is also said to make people hungry (McDonald's, Burgerville, corner cafés). The red ruby is the traditional 40th wedding anniversary gift. Red is also the color of the devil in modern Western culture.

Red typically symbolizes passion, strength, bravery, danger, energy, fire, sex, love, romance, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, leadership, courage, masculinity, power, danger, gaudiness, blood, war, anger, revolution, radicalism, Communism, aggression, respect, martyrs, the Holy Spirit, conservatism (US politics), Liberalism (Canadian politics), wealth (China) and marriage (India) and Danger.

Orange

Main article: Orange (colour)
Orange is energy, enthusiasm, 'get-it-done' attitude, and balance. It typically symbolizes Hinduism, Buddhism (monks wear orange because this vibrant yet soothing color aids in renunciation and spiritual focus), cheer, happiness, energy, balance, heat, fire, enthusiasm, nourishment, flamboyance, playfulness, autumn, desire, Sagittarius (star sign), and September. Orange has less intensity or aggression than red and is calmed by the cheerfulness of yellow. Orange is symbolic of the Royal family of the Netherlands. As such, in the Netherlands, Orange symbolizes royalty, and as William of Orange was the Calvinist color, orange symbolizes protestantism, particularly in Ireland (Orange Order).

Yellow

Main article: Yellow
Yellow echoes the dual nature of red. Though yellow evokes feelings of happiness, when we are confronted with too much yellow we become annoyed or angered. Yellow typically symbolizes sunlight, joy, happiness, earth, optimism, intelligence, idealism, wealth (gold), summer, hope, air, liberalism, cowardice, illness (quarantine), fear, hazards, dishonesty, avarice, weakness, greed, decay or aging, femininity, gladness, sociability, friendship, Gemini, Taurus, Leo (golden yellow, star signs), April, September, deceit, hazard signs, death (Middle Ages), mourning (as in Egypt and Frank Herbert's Dune), courage (Japan), royalty (China) and God (gold). Yellow ribbons were worn during times of warfare as a sign of hope as women waited for their men to return.

Green

Main article: Green
Green says 'nature,' which explains why it is such a powerful symbol in the eco-friendly movement, as well as 'initiative' and 'wealth,' but just as it symbols good, the extremes of green are considered to be bad as in "green with envy" or its association with money which is sometimes deemed as "the root of all evil." It’s also the color of spring, a time of rebirth and renewal.

Green symbolizes intelligence, nature, spring, fertility, youth, environment, wealth, money (US), good luck, vigor, generosity, go, grass, coldness, cunning, jealousy, perverseness (Spain), deceit, disgrace (China), illness, greed, corruption (North Africa), life eternal, air, earth (classical element), sincerity, Cancer (bright green, star sign), renewal, natural abundance, growth, health, August, balance, harmony, stability, calming, creative intelligence, Islam, and the ordinary.

During the Middle Ages, both green and yellow were used to symbolize the devil. Green is believed to be the luckiest of colors in some western countries including Britain, Ireland and the US. It may also symbolize hope, spirit, life, precious, gem, gracious. While an association with green and forward motion or action may seem, at first blush, to make sense because of its association in the western world with the "go" traffic light, this association is not innate (green being a calming or soothing color) and is as a result of acculturation. Green for traffic signals was selected due to its ability to be seen well over distances and its high contrast with the colors used for stop (red) and caution (yellow).

Blue

Main article: Blue
Blue is non-threatening, yet confident and stable. It is the calmest color proven to affect the audience in a soothing manner. This is why many police uniforms are blue because the color says confidence and security, while being non-threatening. Weightlifters have proven to lift heavier weights in blue rooms[citation needed]. With the good, there’s the bad. Blue can also signify depression. 'The blues' is a nod to this attribute. Blue is also used to symbolize the Greek god "Yotuma", who protected stranded soldiers at sea.[citation needed]

Blue can symbolize devotion, seas, men, clouds (New Zealand), productive, interior, skies, peace, unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, trust, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water, ice, loyalty, dependability, technology, winter, depression, coldness, idealism, air, wisdom, royalty, nobility, Earth (planet), Virgo (light blue), Pisces (pale blue) and Aquarius (dark blue, star sign), strength, steadfastness, light, friendliness, peace, mourning (Iran),[citation needed] truthfulness, love, liberalism (US politics), and conservatism (UK, Australian, Canadian & European politics). In many diverse cultures, blue is significant in religious beliefs. It is held to keep the bad spirits, stupidity and misfortune away.

Indigo

Main article: Indigo
Indigo symbolizes spirituality and intuition.[5] In the Seven rays belief system, indigo is believed to represent both love and wisdom.

Violet

Main article: Violet (color)
Violet symbolizes magic.[6] In Chinese painting, the color violet represents the harmony of the universe because it is a combination of red (yang) and blue (yin).[7] In the United Kingdom it is traditional to package chocolate in violet colored packaging because of the association of the color royal purple with luxury.[8]

Purple

Main article: Purple
The culture of Thailand considers purple to be the color of mourning. This is different from western cultures, where purple is the color of royalty and wisdom. The Purple Heart, a military honor given to those wounded or killed in the United States military, embodies both purple attributes. Purple can symbolize nobility, envy, sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nostalgia, ceremony, mystery, wisdom, enlightenment, arrogance, flamboyance, gaudiness, mourning, exaggeration, profanity, bisexuality, pride, May, November, riches, romanticism (light purple), delicacy (light purple), and penance. Purple is the color of mourning for widows in Thailand. Purple was also the color of dye that corkers used to make the king and queen's clothing[citation needed].

Magenta

Main article: Magenta
Magenta symbolized artistic creativity[9] or anti-racism.[10]it represents kindness, knowledge, bravery, wit, comfort, happiness and deepness of the soul.

Rose

Main article: Rose (color)
Rose symbolizes optimism (as opposed to the gray which is used to represent pessimism) or romantic love (since it is the color of roses, which it is the custom to give to ones beloved in many cultures). It also represents innocence, romance, love, and simplicity.

Pink

Main article: Pink
Pink is a sister color of red, but they are very different in terms of symbolism. It is a tranquilizing color. For this reason in many prisons the cells of the most dangerous residents have been painted pink[citation needed]. It symbolizes spring, gratitude, appreciation, admiration, sympathy, socialism, femininity , health, love, romance, June, marriage, joy, flirtatiousness, innocence and child-like features.

Brown

Main article: Brown
Brown is the color of soil, giving it an earthy, environmental quality which is popularly coupled with green. Shades of brown represent skin tones and produce a comforting feeling. Brown symbolizes calm, boldness, depth, natural organisms, nature, richness, rusticity, stability, tradition, anachronism, fascism, boorishness, dullness, filth, heaviness, poverty, roughness, earth (classical element), October, and the quality of being down-to-earth. Brown can stimulate the appetite, wholesomeness, steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, and dependability. Ironically, brown is also associated with disgust[citation needed].

Criticism
Most evidence suggests the lack of a single, universal psychological reaction to a particular color. For example, death is symbolized by black in most Western cultures and by white in many Eastern cultures. Even members of the same culture from different age groups can act differently. Referencing colors with emotions is developed by every individual when they feel an emotion and then see a color repeated during this time. After the connection is ingrained, the referencing can go both ways.

Reasons for color association
Black is often seen as the 'color' of death in Western culture. Black represents darkness and the unknown, and death is associated with the extinguishing of light. The association of white with death in Eastern cultures could come from the white cloth used to enshroud corpses (as in Egyptian mummies), the pale skin of a dead person, or the stark whiteness of bones and skeletons.

Psychology
Color psychology is an immature field of study viewed dubiously by mainstream psychologists and therefore qualifies as "alternative medicine". Critics view it as an overstatement of what can be justified by research, and point out that different cultures have completely different interpretations of color.

Practitioners of color psychology, sometimes called color consultants, claim there are a number of reactions to color which seem to be noted in most persons. They also note that common physiological effects often accompany the psychological effects.

Color consultants claim hues in the red area of color are typically viewed as "warm" while those in the blue and green range are typically viewed as "cool". Reds are also viewed as active and exciting, while the blues and greens are viewed as soothing and passive. Physiological tests have revealed similar responses[citation needed]. It is claimed that red hues increase bodily tension and stimulate the autonomic nervous system, while "cool" hues release tension. Black is considered unique, as it can be either evil or malevolent, yet it also stands for elitism and style. White is associated with purity, whereas grey is viewed as dull or boring (or sophisticated and elegant).

Color consultants also point to an increasing number of studies linking colors to specific responses. One study found that weight-lifters have more powerful performances in blue rooms. Another study found that babies cry more frequently in yellow rooms. Color consultants believe that the colors used in the design of environment can have a significant impact on the emotions and performance of people within that environment.

In one system, red is considered to motivate action, orange and purple are related to spirituality, yellow cheers, green creates coziness and warmth, blue relaxes, and white is associated with either purity or death.

Although color psychology is a relatively new area of scientific research, ancient civilizations believed in the influence of color on humans. The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Indians believed in chromotherapy, or healing with colors.

The colors of the visible light spectrum[1]
color wavelength interval frequency interval
red ~ 700–635 nm ~ 430–480 THz
orange ~ 635–590 nm ~ 480–510 THz
yellow ~ 590–560 nm ~ 510–540 THz
green ~ 560–490 nm ~ 540–610 THz
blue ~ 490–450 nm ~ 610–670 THz
violet ~ 450–400 nm ~ 670–750 THz

Color in the brain
Main article: Color vision

While the mechanisms of color vision at the level of the retina are well-described in terms of tristimulus values (see above), color processing after that point is organized differently. A dominant theory of color vision proposes that color information is transmitted out of the eye by three opponent processes, or opponent channels, each constructed from the raw output of the cones: a red-green channel, a blue-yellow channel and a black-white "luminance" channel. This theory has been supported by neurobiology, and accounts for the structure of our subjective color experience. Specifically, it explains why we cannot perceive a "reddish green" or "yellowish blue," and it predicts the color wheel: it is the collection of colors for which at least one of the two color channels measures a value at one of its extremes.
The exact nature of color perception beyond the processing already described, and indeed the status of color as a feature of the perceived world or rather as a feature of our perception of the world, is a matter of complex and continuing philosophical dispute (see qualia).

THE ART OF PAINTING

The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting, or Painter in his Studio, is a famous 17th century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer. Many art historians believe that it is an allegory of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. It is the largest and most complex of all of Vermeer's works.

The painting is famous for being one of Vermeer's favourites, and is also a fine example of the optical style of painting, offering a realistic visual depiction of the scene and especially the effects of light streaming through the windows on various elements of the painting.

Elements
The painting has only two figures, the painter and his subject. The painter is thought to be a self-portrait of the artist, though the face is not visible.
A number of the items shown in the artist's studio are thought to be somewhat out of place. The marble tiled floor and the golden chandellier are two examples of items which would normally then be reserved for the houses of the well-to-do.
The map in the background is of the Seventeen United Provinces of the Netherlands, flanked by views of the main centres of power. It was published by Claes Jansz Visscher in 1636.

Symbolism and allegory

Experts attribute symbolism to various aspects of the painting.
The subject is the Muse of History, Clio. This is evidenced by her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a trumpet (depicting fame), possibly carrying a book by Thucydides, which matches the description in Cesare Ripa's 16th century book on emblems and personifications titled Iconologia.

The double headed eagle, symbol of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, former rulers of Holland, which adorns the central golden chandelier, may have represented the Catholic faith. Vermeer was unusual in being a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Netherlands. The absence of candles in the chandelier might represent the suppression of the Catholic faith.

The map on the back wall has a rip that divides the Netherlands between the north and south. (West is at the top of the map, as was the custom.) The rip symbolizes the division between the Dutch Republic to the north and the Habsburg controlled Flemish provinces to the south. The map by Claes Jansz Visscher (Nicolaum Piscatorem) shows the earlier political division between the Union of Utrecht to the north, and the colonies to the south.

Salvador Dalí refers to "The Art of Painting" in his own surrealistic painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (1934). On Dali's painting we can see the image of Vermeer viewed from his back re-created as a strange kind of table.


History

The painting is considered a work with significance for the artist because the painter himself did not part with it or sell it, even when he was in debt. In 1676, his widow Catharina bequeathed it to her mother, Maria Thins, in an attempt to avoid the sale of the painting to satisfy creditors.[3] The executor of Vermeer's estate, the famous Delft microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, determined that the transferral of the work to the late painter's mother-in-law was illegal.

The painting belonged to the inheritants of Gottfried van Swieten until its purchase for 50 florins in 1813 by the Bohemian-Austrian Count Czernin.[4] Until 1860, the painting was considered to be by Vermeer's contemporary Pieter de Hooch; Vermeer was little known until the late 19th century. Pieter's signature was even forged on the painting. It was at the intervention of French Vermeer scholar, Thoré Bürger and the German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen that it was recognised as a Vermeer original. It was placed on public display in the Czernin Museum in Vienna. Andrew W. Mellon and others tried to buy the painting.

BAMBOO GAZEBO AND PERGOLAS

Gazebos, also known as pergolas, summer houses, screen houses, pagodas, and pavilions, have been popular in backyards and gardens for generations. Their popularity has grown in recent generations, and they are now one of the most common garden structures in the world. The classic wood octagonal gazebo of red cedar is probably what comes to mind when you think of gazebos, but there are many different sizes and styles of gazebos.

Gazebos can be constructed of wood, wrought iron, or vinyl. Their shape can be an oval, an octagon, rectangle, or dodecagon (12 sides). Gazebos can have a simple asphalt roof, a double roofs, or even a roof with a cupola. A gazebo can be very small (a "lover's gazebo" 6 feet or smaller) or large enough to hold a party in. A gazebo can be screened to keep out pests, or open style without screens. They can include built-in benches, chairs, swings, and tables, and they can be wired with electricity to allow for ceiling fans, electric lights, and other fixtures.

Building a Gazebo?

Installing a gazebo in your yard or garden is the perfect way to create a welcoming retreat for family and friends to enjoy the scenery and lounge outdoors. Depending on your garden's style, there is more than likely a variety of gazebo designs that will suit your style, landscape and pocketbook. The subsequent article discusses gazebo installation and design to suit any garden style.

The most commonly found gazebo designs resemble Victorian style structures; these are generally built from wood that can be left natural or painted white typically. This type of style is still popular in both public and private gardens. Kits can readily be found at home improvement and garden centers. Of course, an enterprising builder can even design a plan to perfectly suit the setting. Victorian style gazebos may be simple affairs with floor, railings and roofs or highly ornate with built-in benches, stairs and ramps. These designs are generally open-air structures but it is possible to incorporate screens for those areas with significant mosquito populations.

Many Victorian style gazebos also feature climbing plants. For example, the gazebo's base may be constructed with lattice-work which is the perfect support for English ivy or climbing roses. When settled within the garden, this becomes the perfect backdrop for any setting. For a romantic and secluded arrangement, consider installing tall trellises around the gazebo and hang baskets of flowers from hooks along the gazebo's rim. This style is perfectly adapted to formal English style gardens or rustic country landscapes.

For Oriental gardens, consider outfitting your yard with a pagoda-style gazebo. The wood could be left natural or painted black and red and then heavily lacquered for dramatic effect. There are many Oriental garden ornaments and plants to select to surround your gazebo for an overall great effect. Consider suspending hanging lanterns around the open sections of the pavilion or installing a small garden pond nearby filled with Chinese goldfish.

A strictly formal garden can always incorporate a Victorian style gazebo, but consider one made from brick or even stone. Such construction materials will be more costly, but they will also endure the elements quite well and add a stately charm to any formal estate. These gazebos could even be fitted with windows to enjoy the outdoors behind glass in cold or stormy weather. This style could be built right off the house or set somewhere in the landscape overlooking a ridge perhaps or a stream.

Some gardeners prefer a very understated or minimalist approach when it comes to style and a gazebo need not be an ornate or overstated structure to work well. A rustic square style with four posts, a floor and a roof can provide all that is necessary to enjoy the outdoors. Such gazebos are perfect places for outdoor entertaining. A simple set of tables and chairs along with a few lovely containers for plants and you've created a wonderful outdoor room.

Finally, whatever design you choose, you can adapt it to fit in any location in your garden. A large plot of land can certainly benefit from a large pavilion style gazebo. But even a courtyard garden can employ a small gazebo in a corner of the space for those romantic candle-lit suppers in the garden. Consider hanging candelabra from the gazebo's ceiling for enjoying the garden at night.

Whatever your style, you can choose a gazebo to match it or make simple changes in kit designs to suit your needs. A gazebo offers gardeners a place to relax and enjoy the landscape they work so hard to maintain. It also is a spectacular feature for outdoor entertaining during the growing season. Whether built as a focal point or hidden as a surprise feature deep within a garden, a gazebo is an attractive feature for every garden.

WHAT IS GUITAR?

The guitar is a musical instrument of the chordophone family. The standard guitar has six strings but four-, seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars are also available. The two primary families of guitar types are the electric guitars and the acoustic guitars. The three main types of acoustic guitar are the classical guitar (nylon string guitar, plucked with the fingers), the steel-string flattop guitar, and the archtop guitar.

Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in flamenco, jazz, blues, country, mariachi, rock music, and many forms of pop. The classical guitar (nylon string guitar) can be played as a solo instrument, and is well known for its comprehensive fingerpicking technique. Guitars may be played acoustically; the tone is produced by the vibration of the strings which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a large hollow resonating chamber, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 1930s, and they have continued to have a profound influence on popular culture since then.

HISTORY OF GUITAR

Traditionally guitars have been constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut, or more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers.

Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". The term is used to refer to a number of related instruments that were developed and used across Europe beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. These instruments are descended from ones that existed in ancient central Asia and India.

For this reason guitars are distantly related to modern instruments from these regions, including the tanbur, the setar and the sitar, among others. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.

The modern word "guitar" was adopted into English from Spanish guitarra (German Gitarre, French Guitare), loaned from the medieval Andalusian Arabic قيثارة qitara, itself derived from the Latin cithara, which in turn came from the earlier Greek word kithara (κιθάρα), a descendant of Old Persian sihtar ( سی تار) (Tar means string in Persian).

The guitar is descended from the Roman cithara brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD, and further adapted and developed with the arrival of the four-string oud, brought by the Moors after their conquest of Iberia in the 8th century. Elsewhere in Europe, the indigenous six-string Scandinavian lut (lute), had gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across the continent. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried. By 1200 AD, the four-string "guitar" had evolved into two types: the guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar) which had a rounded back, wide fingerboard and several soundholes, and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) which resembled the modern guitar with one soundhole and a narrower neck. In the 14th and 15th centuries the qualifiers "moresca" and "latina" were dropped and these four course instruments were simply called guitars.

The Spanish vihuela or (in Italian) "viola da mano", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is often considered a major influence in the development of the modern guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply-cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four course guitars. By the late 15th century some vihuelas began to be played with a bow, leading to the development of the viol. By the sixteenth century the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid 18th century. Confusingly, in Portugal, the word vihuela referred to the guitar, whereas guitarra meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern.


Guitars can be divided into two broad categories, acoustic and electric:
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
There are several notable subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars; steel-string guitars, which include the flat-topped, or "folk," guitar; twelve-string guitars; and the arched-top guitar. The acoustic guitar group also includes unamplified guitars designed to play in different registers, such as the acoustic bass guitar, which has a similar tuning to that of the electric bass guitar.

ELECTRIC GUITAR
Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow bodies, and produce little sound without amplification. Electromagnetic pickups convert the vibration of the steel strings into signals, which are fed to an amplifier through a cable or radio transmitter. The sound is frequently modified by other electronic devices or the natural distortion of valves (vacuum tubes) in the amplifier. There are two main types of pickup, single and double coil (or humbucker), each of which can be passive or active. The electric guitar is used extensively in jazz, blues, and rock and roll.

The first successful magnetic pickup for a guitar was invented by George Beauchamp, and incorporated into the 1931 Ro-Pat-In (later Rickenbacker) "Frying Pan" lap steel; other manufacturers, notably Gibson, soon began to install pickups in archtop models.

After World War II the completely solid-body electric was popularized by Gibson in collaboration with Les Paul, and independently by Leo Fender of Fender Music. The lower fretboard action (the height of the strings from the fingerboard), lighter (thinner) strings, and its electrical amplification lend the electric guitar to some techniques which are less frequently used on acoustic guitars. These include tapping, extensive use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ons (also known as slurs), pinch harmonics, volume swells, and use of a tremolo arm or effects pedals.

The first electric guitarist of note to use a seven-string guitar was jazz guitarist George Van Eps, who was noted as a pioneer of this instrument. Solid body seven-strings were popularized in the 1980s and 1990s in part due to the release of the Ibanez Universe guitar, endorsed by Steve Vai. Other artists go a step further, by using an eight-string guitar with two extra low strings. Although the most common seven-string has a low B string, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds and Rickenbacker) uses an octave G string paired with the regular G string as on a 12-string guitar, allowing him to incorporate chiming 12-string elements in standard six-string playing. In 1982 Uli Jon Roth developed the "Sky Guitar", with a vastly extended number of frets, which was the first guitar to venture into the upper registers of the violin. Roth's seven-string and 33-fret "Mighty Wing" guitar features an altogether six-octave range.

The electric bass guitar is similar in tuning to the traditional double bass viol. Hybrids of acoustic and electric guitars are also common. There are also more exotic varieties, such as guitars with two, three, or rarely four necks, all manner of alternate string arrangements, fretless fingerboards (used almost exclusively on bass guitars, meant to emulate the sound of a stand-up bass), 5.1 surround guitar, and such.

Some electric guitar and electric bass guitar models feature piezoelectric pickups, which function as transducers to provide a sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar with the flip of a switch or knob, rather than switching guitars. Those that combine piezoelectric pickups and magnetic pickups are sometimes known as hybrid guitars.