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David Karlsen

@vonkarlsen.bsky.social

2K followers 1.5K following 7.1K posts

Prose writer and poet. BA (Hons) Humanities, Literature. Non-binary. Interests: The Arts, Natural History, Geology. Vegan. Francophile. X 🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇪🇺 ©️David Karlsen [All poetry, prose and photographs] Paintings, etc. belong to the artist I repost. NO CHAT!

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · Jan 3

Warning: I absolutely hate being tagged! And, I always report and block people send me lewd or offensive material! Everyone I've reported so far have had their accounts suspended. I always protect myself and people who trust and follow me. Unless I know you don't send me DMs as you'd be blocked. X

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1h

You're very welcome Nina, I love your work! 💫🎨🙋

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1h

Thank you Catherine. And, I'll certainly let you know about the two novels by Mann when I get round to them. 🙋📚

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1h

Absolutely beautiful Nina my friend! X 🎨 💫

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 2h

Beautiful bird the heron; unfortunately we only get grey herons in Britain.

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 2h

We often put okra in curries we make.

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 2h

trump only cares about one thing and it's called trump!

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 2h

The whole MAGA cult is a sick breeding ground; and trump needs removing so that someone with empathy for society can replace him!

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 2h

Our cat loves us and we love her; she's our family member. Coincidentally her name is Belle too. 😽🐾🐈‍⬛💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 3h

The Old Masters

loved painting birds
into backgrounds
I've seen some as warning
posterity
if this picture
was a product of their past
distant wings left of the castle
would tell me they were mere
ideas of something pressing
while a large singular aerialist
was a war symbol or black death
#poetry

Reposted by David Karlsen

Michael @mdstamper.bsky.social · 13h

Back of Mona Lisa A (Post-Classical Series) / 蒙娜麗莎之後 A (後古典) by Wang Guangyi (王廣義) (Chinese) – Oil on canvas / 1986–1987 – M+ Museum (Hong Kong) #WomenInArt #art #artText #artwork #MonaLisa #WangGuangyi #王廣義 #M+Museum #SiggCollection #ChineseArtist #BlueskyArt #ConceptualRealism #ChineseAvant-Garde

This vertical canvas re-imagines Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” by showing her facing away from us as if we are behind her. We see a seated figure with straight dark hair falling against her back and shoulders softened beneath a heavy brown-black garment. Instead of the famous face, only the neck’s curve and upper back are visible, lit by diffused, pearly tones that recall Renaissance chiaroscuro. A horizontal ledge near the lower edge anchors the form, while beyond it a misted landscape unfolds of pale blues and ochres fading into distance, echoing Leonardo’s sfumato style of seamless transitions and diffused light yet simplified. The brushwork is measured with calm edges and subdued palette to focus on concept rather than illusion. The familiar structure is inverted as the world’s most recognized sitter in a painting becomes anonymous with her mystery now located in withdrawal rather than gaze.

Painted in 1986–1987, this work belongs to Wang Guangyi’s (王廣義) Post-Classical (後古典) series, created as China’s 1980s avant-garde engaged Western art from a new vantage. A graduate of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts and co-founder of the Northern Art Group, Wang used this series to question how classical images persist within modern ideological and global systems. “我只是想问：如果我们把它转过来会怎样” (I simply wondered: what would it look like if we turned it around?), he said of the idea. By presenting the Mona Lisa from behind, he transforms homage into critique: what happens when this iconic emblem of Western genius is viewed from its reverse? The familiar landscape affirms tradition even as the absent face dismantles it, proposing a distinctly Chinese postmodern inquiry into visibility, ownership, and cultural translation. Within the shifting climate of the ’85 New Wave, Wang’s cool, deliberate inversion captures a generation’s resolve to face global art history by quite literally turning it around.

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 4h

I hope you enjoy whichever you decide on Catherine. Love to know your opinion on whatever you read of the two. 💫📚

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 5h

The Painting

was to be in woodland
backdrop was a field
being October
based on photographs
almost ninety taken
in two Laura completely
naked Kazu made sure
every angle was covered
for her painterly brushwork
pictures allowed the sitter
to stay reasonably warm
during Kazu's camerawork
#poetry

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 6h

Thank you Regina my friend. X 😽💜📚

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 6h

How very kind of you to say Steven, thank you, it's appreciated my friend. 💫🙏💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 7h

She's very welcome and if she wants anymore I can help her with just ask. 💫

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 8h

There Will be Times

when I grant a slow
stream of clouds
permission to touch
the order of my world
and all it takes
dear Anaïs
is a fresh complexion
throwing gender out
a window that I never
recognised
to love the estuary's
everyone and all in
a white house traced
towards the island
#poetry

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 10h

Very nasty piece of ordure; the very sight of him makes me retch!!

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 12h

Kazu's Sleeping Giant
brought her close to home
she remembered
Flavia's kiss how silently
she had received
her mouth on that day
knew it would not be
a last touch of that face
on her own
today calm waves fell featured the world
time passed inexorably
while she clasped precious people
#poetry

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 14h

Absolutely, it's great to talk about books Catherine. I had the two novels of Mann I've not read for my birthday back in May but have yet to read them as I've been busy writing, reading others. When you read novels by Mann again let me know your opinions. Yes, I love BlueSky; it really suits me. 📚💜🍁

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

💫🍁🐾🐈🥰

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

Have just seen your post Zoë, lovely to hear from you. That little painting is on my study desk dear friend. 💫📚🍁💜

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

In that case it makes me very happy dear Regina. Have a lovely evening my friend. 🥰💫🐾🐈‍⬛💜🙏📚🤗🌳🙋

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David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

How voices call to me
so cheerfully
from the garden hedges
all times of the year
sparrows sit precariously
and sway
as little clocks
ticking off the seconds

while I find it hard
to forgive a magpie
stealing dried fruit
smaller bodies were given
on a top step
I recognise its need to eat.
#poetry

David Karlsen @vonkarlsen.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations on this Ceri! 💫🙋

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Reposted by David Karlsen

History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 2d

John Atkinson Grimshaw was a master of moonlit streets and mist-draped docks, a painter who captured the very texture of the Victorian dream. His cityscapes, illuminated by the soft glow of gaslight, startled viewers with their precision and poetry, scenes where realism met reverie. Though

Shadows on the Park Wall, Roundhay, Leeds
John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836–1893)
Leeds Art Gallery Leeds Museums and Galleries

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