October 15th 2023
Lenin
I begin to doubt the need of fanatisch. Some political opponents of mine, but still in the milieu of utopians and enemies of democracy, even openly exalted a mind totally hijacked by the ideology. I lived long enough to understand it is a mere illusion. The only outcome is a plan that does not consider the complexity of our world, of human nature, nor the will of the Almighty. I surprise myself to justify the failure of absolutism quoting even the God that I so long, and vainly, fought. Plans supported by ideologies, by extremism are doomed to fail, whatever huge the effort behind them could appear. Such an enthusiasm will only reveal to the healthy part of the population how horrible can be the deed of a fanatic. There are so many extremist groups right now, there are as many as there were during my most glorious decade. Humankind has taken a long time before finding its own stability and I hope it will not take a century, once again, before breathing the pleasant mind of common sense. The same that is pervading me, perhaps because Heidi's book has now fallen into good hands, linked to a mind strong enough to dominate my ambition. It is quite strange, but the new owner of the book is aware of his control and still leaves me able to reason by myself.
The art dealer
The news in London is quite funny. The Serpentine Gallery, whose names have always reminded me of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, is proposing a jewel signed by Baselitz and created by a former apprentice of his. I should not denigrate jewels, since most of the Italian Renaissance masters worked as apprentices in a goldsmith shop. It is however a kind of merchandise that is at the same time expensive and difficult to be sold. Ai Wei Wei and Gabriel Orozco also produced rings. Quite pricey specimens of their art, but I have never been able to make a certain estimation about how they have been received by the market. The Serpentine Gallery looks to sell quite fast. Thus also despite the crisis that is hitting the financial market for at least one year right now. The Serpentine is however not the only one, in my area, that is betting on jewelry. Also Kettle‘s Yard is joining the game with an extraordinary series of buttons. The best one being signed once again by Ai Wei Wei and reproducing the button on the uniforms of the Chinese People Army. A bunch of brainwashed criminals, at least in my humble opinion, who contributed to the unrightful jailing of the great artist. While detained he was not authorized to book into the eyes of his jailers, thus he was able to stare at them only by pointing his view on the buttons. What a terrible feeling that such a little object can communicate, but also a feeling of hope to escape even the most efficient prison.
The consultant
I felt poor when I reached Zurich for the first time, getting lost into the sight of the Baur au Lac and the mastodonic cars parked all around the hotel. Not to mention the small watches, sometimes valuable much more than those luxury automobiles. I had no idea that my book was worth much more, enough to allow me to settle down and get inspired by my natural dispositions. That has never been attracted by consultancy or banking. I just needed money to feel free, one day. Now that I am definitely free from the pragmatic constraints of the world, I need to look around or perhaps much better inside myself and try to understand my deepest feelings. What do I want to do with my life? Whom am I expecting to become, or what I am expecting to give to the world surrounding me? I also need to find out more about the story behind Heidi's book. The museum in Hirzel pretended to be the purchaser, but such a small museum can hardly afford to invest so much money on a single item. They need to have a sponsor and if my conjecture is right, there is a collector of African art behind that. The suspicion occurred to me when invited by the museum to see how the book is now a central part of their collection. Apparently there was a paper, glued under the cover, with the joint signature of Johanna Spyri and Vladimir Lenin. Such news astonished me because I cannot understand how my grandfather ever took possession of such a manuscript. Perhaps he totally ignored the story, and the legend behind it.
