Air in Asturias

The city of Avilés in Spain invited creatives from around the world to participate in the VI International Avilés Mail Art Exhibition, themed El Aire (the air). The exhibition in the Palacio de Valdecarzana features works by artists from 42 nations. It closes on January 14^th.

In cooperation with the city’s Department of Culture, the Correos (Spanish Postal Service) will edit a stamp based on one the artistic postcards.

Have fun watching the slideshow with photographs from the opening of the exhibition.

Gerald Jatzek contributed a collage about the the beatification of Karl I (1887-1922), Austria’s last emperor (1916-1918). Karl is supposed to have cured ulcers on the legs of a Brazilian nun in response to her pleas for the monarch’s help.

While this magical event is said to have happened in 1960, several years after his death, Karl is usually associated with the so-called Miracle of Caporetto: The 12^th Battle of the Isonzo (10/1917) saw a triumphant victory of the combined Austrian-German armies over their Italian counterparts. While it is debatable whether God was on Austria’s side, the use of poison gas (chlorine arsenic and diphosgene) played a key role in the outcome of the battle. And there is no doubt that the emperor was ultimately in command.

Karl’s official beatification ceremony took place on October 3, 2004. Needless to say, none of the Italian victims were commemorated by the Roman Catholic Church.

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Catalogue (PDF, in Spanish)