Crossing

Venice, Italy, May 1984. Behind the freighter is a commuter motonave.

Prepared

Venice, December 1983. The Riva degli Schiavoni is staged for acqua alta.

This is an excuse to post another Levickis clip.

I was thinking about that interview with the British expat who spoke about "Lithuanian identity." That got me to wondering about what circumstances prompted him to move to Lithuania—isn't that the reverse of the present trend? Many young Lithuanians are emigrating to Great Britain, and the Brits seem to have some trouble digesting Lithuanian identity.

 

That led me to this story—in a British paper—about Martynas Levickis. Levickis moved to London to study at the Royal Academy.

 

In the article, Levickis says this about immigration to Great Britain: "Lithuania used to be a closed country in the Soviet Union so it's important to open up. The other people come here for work and a better life because they struggle a lot back home. I wonder if they achieve that better life. They have to work really hard here."

 

Watch Levickis work hard to create some Vivaldi magic (go to 0:55):

 

 

Oh rats. Levickis was in Madison three summers ago, and I missed the performance.