Asbjorn Lonvig’s 3rd Corner

Why User Portals?
The short and simple answer is to serve my customers better and to seve customers that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.

I’ll show you a User Portal.
I am building the Aarhus City Portal right now.
Aarhus City is the second largest city in Denmark.
Aarhus City has 225.000 inhabitants.
So, this user portal intends to serve 225.000 users.

The first thing to do is to create motifs that describe Aarhus City.
I went to Aarhus and found buildings and landmarks of Aarhus, that I could use.
The new museum, the city hall tower, the queen’s summer residence, the Theater, a house in the Old Town, the cathedral and finally the old cathedral office in St. Clemen’s Courtyard.

Today I finished these motifs:

I load large files of all the images to print on demand contracting parties in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area. The images are approved at once in Salt Lake City and Seattle. In San Francisco the images might wait for approval.

First of all I use a User Portal logo.

The logo is of course a portal. In a matter of fact it is a very specific portal. It is the Arch of Septimus Severus, which was erected in the Roman Forum in A.D. 203 by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus.
You can’t study Roman history without visiting the Roman Forum once.
You can’t visit the Roman Forum without passing through the Arch of Septimus Severus.
In this logo a BETA will shown in the big arch. That is because the 40 different User Portals, that have been launched so far are being tested.
The Aarhus City Portal is marked with a BETA, too.


See the Aarhus City Portal.
The motifs are presented. Here 7 motifs. You might see an enlargement by clicking on an image.
Then there are 3 sections. 1, 2 and 3.

1. The user must have some free titbit. So I give him the possibility to download three Word documents of each motif. Word documents that can be printed on the user’s own printer.
I have to be aware of different formats in European and American standards. The European standard is A format and the American standard it is Letter format. The Aarhus City Portal probably will only be used by Europeans - therefore the A format is offered.

2. Here I guide the user to order print at print on demand contracting parties. One in Salt Lake City, one in Seattle and one in San Francisco Bay area.
By guiding to 3 print on demand contracting parties the users are offered a variety of sizes, prices, qualities and surfaces.
At the same time I keep track of what happens in this market.

The prices are kept low - the user only pays the base print price and internet costs. The user can order prints in sizes from 3.5 x 5” to 40 x 60” on paper and canvas – and some other funny surfaces like T-shirts, mugs, tote bags etc. etc. The print contracting party handles ordering and payment. The printing of course and the prints are sent directly to the user.

If the user wants to see some of the my other 750 images for print there is a link to the main pages in Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Francisco Bay Area.

3. If the user wants something special. A painting. Limited edition prints. Signed prints. A huge print on canvas larger than 40 x 60″ - no problem, he just has to contact me.

A brochure is available to each User Portal.
The brochure is of course used for initial presentation of the portal.
You can download the brochure Aarhus City Portal from the portal.

Thoughts.
Now what is the most important to succeed with these User Portals.
Is it to do excellent motifs? No!
Is it to simplify the User Portal? No!
Is it to make an extremely eye catching brochure? No!

It is to communicate the User Portal Concept to people that are not familiar with computers, with internet etc.
I can not do it myself.
I know too much.
Or!!!!
You might as well say I know much too little.

But.
Journalists know how to present this kind of stuff to their readers.
This week Ny Hedensted Portal and Ny Vejle Portal will have press coverage.
Tomorrow I’ll translate the Aarhus City Portal into Danish and find a jounalist at the Aarhus newspaper Aarhus Stiftstidende.

Sculpture on wheels.
The exhibition aims to give the audience an experience of the dynamics and strength latent in the form language of these cars. By regarding racing cars not just as functional items, but also as pure form – as sculpture on wheels – the exhibition creates a symbiosis between two widely differing worlds: between the ultimate motor sport, and art.
The exhibition presents highlights of design history in the Formula One and Le Mans cars from 1932, and through almost three quarters of a century.
The exhibited racing cars are not only unique in their design forms; they have also seen active service on racetracks the world over, with such legendary drivers as Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart.

Total installation.
In a ground-breaking presentation, guests are introduced to a unique universe.
The walls have been painted black.
The floor covered by reflecting steel plates.
The gallery columns have become red, metallic pistons.
The lights have been turned into giant piston rings.
The racing cars are presented on steel podiums in an installation of light, sound and moving images.
On the black walls hang relief showing the contours of the world’s Formula One racetracks, while the big screens in the exhibition rooms show sequences from races, relating the exhibition to the reality for which the cars were created.

Soundtrack.
The many visual impressions are supported by an acoustic soundscape which lends an extra dimension to the exhibition’s varied and intense experiences.

Among the exhibited cars are: Ferrari, McLaren, Tyrell, Lotus, Panoz, Jaguar, Vanhall, Maserati, Jaguar, Audi and Alfa Romeo.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most spectacular cars.
I am little boy.
Like nearly ever other grown up male when it comes to Racing Cars.
I have enjoyed the battle between Fernando Alonso from Spain and renowned German Michael Schumacher this year in the Formula One World Championship.
Fernando Alonso drives a Renault F1 and he has won the recent World Championship.
Schumacher drives, as you might know, a red Ferrari.
On 21 October this year the final race took place at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
The race was quite exciting.
The odds were stacked against the Ferrari star from the outset after technical problems in qualifying left him only tenth on the grid.
Michael Schumacher however was flying.
Slamming in fastest sector times and slicing his way past back markers.
Smoke, oh no smoke.
Smoke from the engine of the Ferrari.

I was excited to see Michael Schumacher’s red Ferrari at AROS Denmark on it’s own steel podium.
I touched the Ferrari and knocked on it.
I was a little disappointed that it was all made of fiber.
I pushed it - it moved.
Amazing that anybody dears sit in these fragile light plastic boxes at speeds of up to 350 km per hour, that is 220 miles per hour.
In sane.
However the down force ensures they do not fly.
A curious fact is: At 160 km per hour, aerodynamically generated down force is equal to the weight of the car. In principle these Formula One monsters are capable of driving on the ceiling.

5 times Tom Kristensen from my country - Denmark won Le Mans in this Audi R8. Tom Kristensen has won Le Mans 6 times.
Other great Le Mans winners are Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx.
Le Mans is a 24 hour race once a year.
Danes that are not present at Le Mans in France are watching TV.
24 hours.
Enthusiastically.
This year the male population of Denmark expected a 7th Le Mans victory by Tom Kristensen.
Unfortunately another Audi won.




On the 4 pictures above you can see some of the other cars.
Williams BMW, Jaguar R3, Tyrell 006 and Lotus 72.
Williams was the most successful team of the 1990s, it all ended when their engine partner Renault withdrew from the sport.
The Ford group’s luxury mark Jaguar enjoys the Formula One glory. So far the Americans only have achieved sporadic success.
Tyrell emerged as one of the leading Formula One teams of the late 1960s. Team owner Ken Tyrell created cars more functional than elegant.
Emerson Fittipaldi from Sao Poulo, Brazil is a legend in Formula One Racing. In this black Lotus 72 he won the Formula One Championship.

And.
The cars are beautiful and this beauty inspired me to some racing car motifs


Michael Schumacher’s red Ferrari and Tom Kristensen’s grey Audi R8.



The heart of any engine, the sparking plug - the goal of any race, the checkered flag.

Thoughts.
The little boy inside me is extremely happy. Any racing car enthusiast wants to see and touch the real thing.
The open minded art enthusiast says: How refreshing to see sports cars in an art museum. A welcome provocation. Fascinating presentation of sculptures on wheels!!! Interesting surroundings!!!
However.
My inner old boring and grumpy philosopher says: And so what? Now art museums have totally prostituted themselves and entered the entertainment industry!!! And then he wisely refers to Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”!!!

Dan Tanenbaum, President - Portfolios.com, Toronto, Canada has announced:

Based on the evaluation of our judges, you are a winner in the International Portfolios.com Award Show!

The Portfolios.com Award Show is an international awards competition that recognizes outstanding work in the communications field. Entries are judged by industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. 
The Portfolios.com’s prestigious Award Winners will be posted on our website (www.portfolios.com) in the first week of July. 

Category: Graphic Design.
Award winning motif: Tall Charlie.
Artist/designer: Asbjorn Lonvig.

The jury:

Ron Kellum, Canada, graduated with a BFA from Louisiana State University and the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Carol King, United States, a New York City based graphic designer
Giorgio Davanzo, United States, graduated from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Italy
Terri Stone, United States, Editor in Chief of creativepro.com

Tall Charlie is available as: Painting, acrylic on canvas - Paper-cut collage - Serigraph - Poster and Fine Art Print - Huge Fine Art Print - Graphic Design - Print on your computer etc.

As poster he is available as Text Poster and several Fairy Tale Posters - all of them made ready for online ordering and print on demand.

Sincerely,
Asbjorn Lonvig artist, designer etc.
Lille Fejringhus Gallery
Hedensted
Denmark

http://www.lonvig.biz/

Available as acrylic on canvas - serigraph on canvas edition 100 - poster.
Colorful Simplicity motifs, colorful simplicity text and fairy tale posters:

Exhibition of 79 Asbjorn Lonvig art works at the online gallery TheFineArtOriginal.com in the Niagara Area, New York, United States. To be precise it is in Tonawanda. 1 Raintree Island, Tonawanda, NY 14150. Posters are ordered at ArtWanted.com.

See the Exhibition.

The Fairy Tale Poster lives side by side with the internet version
of the written fairy tale, which can be downloaded in a Word document and
form a tiny children’s book.

Tall Charlie is the name in English of the yellow giraffe.
Céline Maeder, Paris has done the translation into French.
Céline Maeder has made new French names to all my fairy tale characters.
Tall Charlie is called Sophie Moyenne.
Sophie Moyenne is a fairy tale character in “Au zoo avec Sam et Lucca”,
“In the Zoo with Sam and Lucca”.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

The fairy tale “Happy Traffic” is about children’s safety in traffic.
This Fairy Tale Poster is in English.
A baby is the main character.
He is on 12 traffic signs in 12 different languages.
The traffic signs have the text “HI - Drive Carefully”.
The traffic sign in Danish “Hej - Kør Forsigtigt” has been tested
in 3 cities on more than 20 streets.
People have told me that they work according to the intention.
I write the fairy tales in English. My English is checked by Ann Watson, Florida and others.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

This is the Hebrew translation of “Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish and
Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab”.
The Hebrew translation is done by Yochanan Dvir, who lives in the kibitz Lehavot Habashan in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border.
Yochanan Dvir translates the fairy tales and put them on his own site in Hebrew http://www.sefer-li.net/.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

Francesca Fancini from Milan, Italy has translated
“Octo-Pus the Cuttlefish and Crab-Mac-Claw the Crab” into Italian.
The story is called “La Seppia e il Granchio” in Italian.
Green, white and red are the Italian colors.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

The fairy tales are translated into Chinese by Ni Duan, Hangzhou, China.
Hangzhou is the capital of China’s Zhejiang Province 120 miles south west of Shanghai.
A small Chinese city of 7 million people!!!
Ni Duan and Jan Engberg, Shanghai are helping me to find a Chinese publisher.
See it ready to print on demand at ArtWanted.com.
See this Fairy Tale Poster enlarged.
See the written fairy tale on the internet.

I would like to ask your opinion.
Once an art work has been digitized you can print it.
Usually you print on paper.
Or cloth.
Or plastic.
Or….

This tiny close up photo of the print on canvas tells the whole story.
The close up is of a basement window.
And as you can see the texture of the canvas sure is there.

The visual differences between a painting and the print on canvas are:
In the painting you can see the brushstrokes.
You can see the painter’s shaking hand.
From a technical point of view you might prefer the print?
From an artistic point of view you might prefer the painting?
Of course there is a difference in price.
A unique painting is more expensive than a print.

See my efforts.
And - if you like - you might visit my new web site lonvig.biz with vision and prices.

And
I can’t resist this opportunity to show you my work from last week - text posters:

Above are:
Sailing T in Lake Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Keep up the steam, Fredericia Railroad Station, Fredericia, Denmark
Sky of Navona, Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy
A Figment of the Imagination, Horsens Inlet, Horsens, Denmark

Photos by:
Martin Ravn, chief photographer at Danish newspaper Horsens Folkeblad, Horsens
Photographer Stephen Downes, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Asbjorn Lonvig