Feelings of COPENHAGEN

The three cold winter days in Copenhagen left me with many emotions. I remembered the feel of my freezing hands when I held the hot Danish traditional cup of coffee, feeling happy when I pulled the blanket to my chest, took a sip of aromatic coffee, and watched the peaceful scenery of the Nyhavn canal. And I fondly recalled the accidental meeting with a famous Danish artist who gave me a profound lesson in art and life. I still have many feelings of Copenhagen and those three winter days.

sun only smiled for a moment, but in those few moments, I witnessed the glow of the whole city.

FREETOWN CHRISTIANIA – A PEACEFUL REBELLION

Perhaps my biggest surprise in Copenhagen was the freetown Christiania. Formed in 1970 by illegal immigrants on the grounds of an old military barracks, Christiania became an autonomous region of the anti-government community, making its own rules outside of the Danish government. The criterion here is “nobody has a home, everyone manages each other and every decision will be voted by the people”. Existing in the heart of Copenhagen, Christiania gives a completely different image from the wellorganized, classic Copenhagen.

This is shaggy hippy compared to clean modern.

Walking into this neighborhood, we felt a bit afraid when we saw houses with furniture thrown around behind the luxuriant trees. Graffiti paintings are everywhere, no walls aren’t painted in some bright color. Their motifs embody a hippie-style, liberal lifestyle. Scattered in the neighborhood are stalls selling self-wrapped joints, also known as “weed” (cannabis) in a rather jumbled, confusing setting. Everywhere there are groups of teenagers smoking, talking and laughing.

We skimmed through the drugstores, passing through the central courtyard to a large lake. There a surprisingly peaceful, clear scene unfolded before my eyes. White swans leisurely swam on the still lake. The sun gradually shone at the end of the day through the golden reeds.it was hard to imagine such a peaceful picture of nature laying deep inside a rebellious neighborhood. They don’t seem to belong to each other on the outside, but if you think about it more deeply, it’s a wonderful arrangement of nature. What could be more perfect than being regaled with smuggled joints in such a calm scene. This may not be a place for romance, but it is a place for life.

We found a seat in front of the lake, quietly enjoying the clear view. A feeling of tranquility mixed with excitement settled on us as we took a sip of whiskey, took a few puffs of smoke, and watched the brilliant sun drop down into the lake.

AN UNEXPECTED AND INTERESTING MEETING

After a day of walking in the drizzle of Copenhagen, we stopped at a Danish restaurant on the Nyhavn Canal. Covering ourselves with a blanket while enjoying a traditional cup of Danish coffee, still hot in the cold winter weather, is an interesting, heartening experience.

It was getting darker and colder, and we were forced to move indoors. We entered a cozy and relaxing space with colorful paintings and yellow lights by a lovely window. We were busy talking to each other so we didn’t pay attention to an elderly man sitting next to us. It was only when he came to the picture at our table and drew a few more lines on it that we were really surprised and started talking.

He was the owner of this quaint house, currently rented as a restaurant, and also the “father” of all the paintings in this and many nearby restaurants. It turned out he is Rolf Gjedsted, a famous Danish painter and writer, who published 60 books of all kinds, mainly novels about the history of the Nyhavn channel and Danish culture along with volumes of poetry.

I ventured to say that I was practicing drawing and showed him my latest work. He looked at it for a second and asked: “Do you want to hear my opinion?” I nodded repeatedly, excitedly. He asked again: “Do you really want to hear? You probably won’t like it.” I replied that it would be an honor for me to receive the sincere comment from a famous artist like him. Then he smiled and said: “You draw very much like me, even I cannot draw like that. However, it doesn’t have anything yours, it’s just a copy and that’s not art. If you want to make your own way, you have to break the standard. So what’s important is that you must dare to be yourself.”

Wow. I was shocked. Actually, he just put into words what I had in my head. The more I paint, the more I find myself immersed in being proper and exact, wanting the picture to resemble reality in every little detail. When I painted my brother’s painting, I initially wanted to experiment with acrylic colors and different styles of painting. But when I put effort into

making everything just right, I was afraid to break it, afraid that I would ruin the picture. That’s exactly what Rolf Gjedsted was saying to me. If you want to create art, you must have the courage to tear down your old work. What an insightful comment by an experienced painter.

Then, he handed me a piece of acrylic yellow tissue and told me to be carefree and add to the pictures in that room as my mood took me. I was shock again. I was shocked. I was really confused because I didn’t know how to add something without ruining his work. He kept encouraging me to relax and I tried to draw a few strokes.

I appreciate the goodness behind this artist’s action. It didn’t matter how I painted on those pictures; it is the most important point he was making. He took pleasure in letting me destroy his finished paintings because it wasn’t really destroying and nothing is ever finished. So am I brave enough to destroy my own? What an accidental, fateful and interesting meeting. It is also a profound lesson in art and life. “If you want to make your own mark, you must have the courage to break your old ways.” Wintery Copenhagen was the perfect place to learn this lesson.