Tove Jansson’s island

An article in The New European titled “The island life of Tove Jansson,” describes the post-Moomins life of Tove Jansson, creator of the popular children’s book series featuring the Moomins. She avidly pursued solitude on an island off the coast of FInland, living there intermitently the rest of her life. A Jansson quote: “If I could wish something good for someone, I would wish for them an island with no address.”

URL: https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/the-island-life-of-tove-jansson-8066592

Veijo Rönkkönen, recluse Finland artist

Yahoo! News reprints a 2015 article in Dornob.com about Veijo Rönkkönen, an artist of Finland, “described as a recluse by those who knew him, and how he spent his time was known to few. But following his death in 2010, over 500 concrete figures were discovered sprawled throughout the forest where he lived. Now known as the Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden, the extensive outdoor museum is a result of 50 years of loving artistry that currently attracts around 40,000 visitors annually.”

URLs: https://news.yahoo.com/over-500-sculptures-found-finland-212243304.html; https://dornob.com/over-500-sculptures-found-in-finland-after-artists-death/.

Silence & the brain

A Nautilus Magazine article on the neuroscience of silence titled “This is Your Brain on Silence.” A popularized review of the scientific research that demonstrates, surprisingly to many, that the brain is actively and positively stimulated by silence as much as by sound. The brain deteriorates as excessive sound or noise assaults the body via blood pressure increases and cellular changes. Further, silence promotes a higher sense of alertness and consciousness. Investigators mentioned ranged from neuroscientists and cardiologists to musicians naturally interested in the neurological role of silence in musical compositions, and tourism marketers seeking to promote Finland’s abundance of silence. From the article:

Noora Vikman, an ethnomusicologist … lives in the eastern part of Finland, an area blanketed with quiet lakes and forests. In a remote and quiet place, Vikman says, she discovers thoughts and feelings that aren’t audible in her busy daily life. “If you want to know yourself you have to be with yourself, and discuss with yourself, be able to talk with yourself.”

URL: http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/this-is-your-brain-on-silence; summary:
http://www.designntrend.com/articles/18934/20140905/noise-silence-neuroscience.htm