The ‘News’ about the Portal ‘Phantastisch’ was already posted in December 2023, but I only found out now.
I am sorry to see this site go
Since this site will close in April 2024, I copy the text of the last blog message below – it is in German, as are other sections of my post, so best to use Google Translate (I am bilingual).
Seit 13 Jahren berichte ich auf Phantastisch.at über Themen rund um die phantastische Kunst, über Ausstellungen und Künstler.
Doch Veränderungen sind wichtig und das Jahresende ist die perfekte Zeit, sie umzusetzen und neue Wege zu beschreiten. Deshalb habe ich mich entschieden, nach 940 veröffentlichten Beiträgen und mehr als 2500 hochgeladenen Fotos dieses spannende Kapitel in meinem Leben abzuschließen.
Ich bin sehr dankbar für diese Jahre, in denen ich viele Kontakte knüpfen durfte, aus denen auch einige Freundschaften entstanden sind.
Vielen lieben Dank an alle Leserinnen und Leser, die Phantastisch.at genutzt haben um auf dem Laufenden zu bleiben. Auch den Künstlerinnen und Künstlern, sowie den Veranstaltern herzlichen Dank für das Zusenden von Infos, die laufend neue Inhalte garantiert haben. Danke auch an die vielen Newsletter-Abonnenten, die sich die neuesten Artikel ins Email-Postfach schicken ließen.
Ab sofort werden keine neuen Berichte mehr gepostet – das Portal bleibt noch bis April 2024 online. Danach ist die Domain gelöscht und nicht mehr erreichbar, auch die Adressen aller Newsletter-Abonnenten sind dann automatisch gelöscht.
Ich wünsche Ihnen allen eine gute Zeit, bleiben Sie der Kunst – vor allem der phantastischen – treu!
My answer I wanted to post on this site did possibly not go through – except one short note I wrote where I said I tried to post. Perhaps the inclusion of links in the text were not allowed, I don’t know. Just for the record, this what I wrote (in German):
Es tut mir sehr leid dass auch dieses Kapitel zu Ende geht. Ich habe schon vorigen Sommer die ‘Visionary Art Gallery’ stilllegen müssen, da es von einem Virus befallen war. Das private Portal auf der Ning Platform existiert noch, und ich überlege ob ich es auf öffentlich stellen sollte, ob es möglich ist dies zu tun ohne aber Tür und Tor zu öffnen, sondern nur dass die Seiten von der Öffentlichkeit gesehen werden können, aber keine neuen Mitglieder sich da anmelden können. Ich habe noch immer Webseiten on-line die mit der VAG verwandt sind, doch Links die auf die VAG zeigen sind ‘Error 404’, dass muss ich noch bearbeiten. Ich habe nicht die Energie mehr die ich früher einmal hatte. Z.B. die Visionary Art Exhibition Seite: https://www.visionaryartexhibition.com/ besteht noch. Mal sehen wie es weitergeht. Viel hat sich in den letzten Jahren verändert. Für alle die sich mit Nostalgie dennoch erinnern wollen, man kann ältere, auch stillgelegte Webseiten über Internet Archive aufrufen. https://archive.org/web/web-advancedsearch.php
The above screen clip can be enlarged by clicking on the image.
I hope that this was informative and helpful
I am looking forward to your comments. But I also want to thank Sigrid Nepelius, which is a personal friend of mine, all the best in the future. She is a great artist, check out her website: https://www.nepelius.com/
The international exhibition “Surrealism Now”, the largest exhibition of the surrealist movement of the 21st century, will be open to the public at Escola das Armas, in Mafra, between the 5th and 29th of February, with the support of the Municipality of Mafra. The opening is scheduled for February 5th, at 5 pm. This exhibition includes works by 125 artists, from 52 countries, as well as a tribute to Isabel Meireles, one of the most recognized Portuguese surrealists. The “Surrealism Now” project was created by Santiago Ribeiro, a Portuguese surrealist artist, having started in 2010, at the Bissaya Barreto Foundation, in Coimbra, and toured several cities in the country. Opening hours: every day, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Entry can be made through the door of the Old Court (Escola das Armas), as well as through the South Cloister of the Royal Building of Mafra.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS: Achraf Baznani, Morocco / Adrian Boureanu, Romania / Agim Meta, Albania-Spain / Aissa Mammasse, Algeria / Alessio Serpetti, Italy / Alvaro Mejias, Venezuela / Ana Neamu, Romania / Ana Pilar Morales, Spain / Andrew Baines, Australia / Asier Guerrero Rico (Dio), Spain / Axel Blotevogel, Germany / Brigid Marlin, UK / Bien Banez, Philippines / Can Emed, Turkey / Carlos Sablón, Cuba / Carlota da Silva, Portugal / Cătălin Precup, Romania / Chuang Chih Hui, Taiwan / Cristiano Mangovo, Angola / Cristian Townsend, Australia / Conor Walton, Ireland / Cynthia Tom, China / USA / Daila Lupo, Italy / Dan Neamu, Romania / Daniel Chiriac, Romania / Daniel Hanequand, France / Canada / Daniele Gori, Italy / Delphine Cencig, France / Domen Lo, Slovenia / Edgar Invoker, Russia / Efrat Cybulkiewicz, Venezuela / Egill Eibsen, Iceland / Erik Heyninck, Belgium / Ettore Aldo Del Vigo, Italy / Farhad Jafari, Iran / France Garrido, USA / Francisco Urbano, Portugal / Gabriele Esau, Germany / Genesis Cabrera, USA / Graça Bordalo Pinheiro, Portugal / Graszka Paulska, Poland / Gromyko Semper, Philippines / Gyuri Lohmuller, Romania / Hector Pineda, Mexico / Hector Toro, Colombia / Henrietta Kozica, Sweden / Hugues Gillet, France / Isabel Meyrelles, Portugal / Iwasaki Nagi, Japan / James Skelton, UK / Jay Garfinkle, USA / Jay Paul Vonkoffler, American / Argentine / Jimah St, Nigeria / Joanna Budzyńska-Sycz, Poland / João Duarte, Portugal / Keith Wigdor, USA / Leo Wijnhoven, Netherlands / Leo Plaw, Germany / Liba WS, France / Lubomír Štícha, Republic Czech / Ludgero Rolo, Portugal / Lv Shang, China / Maarten Vet, Netherlands / Maciej Hoffman, Poland / Magi Calhoun, USA / Marnie Pitts, UK / Maria Aristova, Russia / Mario Devcic, Croatia / Martina Hoffman, Germany / Mathias Böhm, Germany / Mehriban Efendi, Azerbaijan / Mitchell Pluto, USA / Moisés Preto Paulo, Portugal / Naiker Roman, Cuba / Spain / Nazareno Stanislau, Brazil / Nikolina Petolas, Croatia / Octavian Florescu, Canada / Ofelia Hutul, Romania / Oleg Korolev, Russia / Olesya Novik, Russia / Olga Spiegel, USA / Otto Rapp, Austria / Paula Rosa, Portugal / Paulo Cunha, Canada / Pavlina Boroshova, Switzerland-Germany / Pedro Diaz Cartes, Chile / Penny Golledge, UK / Peter MC LANE, France / Philippe Pelletier, France / Radhika Menon, India / Richard Shannon, USA / Roch Fautch, USA / Rodica Miller, USA / Ruben Cukier, Argentine / Israeli / Rudolf Boelee, New Zealand / Russbelt Guerra, Peru / Sabina Nore, Austria / Sampo Kaikkonen, Finland / Santiago Ribeiro, Portugal / Sarah Zambiasi, Australia / Serge Sunne, Latvia / Sergey Tyukanov, Russia / Shahla Rosa, USA / Shoji Tanaka, Japan / Shan Zhulan, China / Shia Weltenmenge, Germany / Sio Shisio, Indonesia / Slavko Krunic, Serbia / Sônia Menna Barreto, Brazil / Steve Smith, USA / Stuart Griggs, UK / Svetlana Kislyachenko, Ukraine / Svetlana Ratova, Russia / Tatomir Pitariu, USA / Tersanszki Cornelia, Romania / Tim Roosen, Belgium / Victor Lages, Portugal / Vu Huyen Thuong, Vietnam / Yamal Din, Morocco / Spain / Yang Sumin, Taiwan / Yuliya Patotskaya, Belarus / Yuri Tsvetaev, Russia / Zoltan Ducsai, Hungary / Zoran Velimanovic, Serbia.
Sehr prominent auf meinem X (Twitter) Feed. Geht es noch? Ist das eine Rückkehr auf Stasi Verleumdungen? Es wird noch ganz offen über ein Verbot der AfD gesprochen! Wer sind denn wirklich die ‘Rechtsextremisten’?
Rechtsextremisten greifen unsere Demokratie an. Wir alle sind gefordert, deutlich Stellung zu beziehen: für unser demokratisches Deutschland. Und für unsere mehr als 20 Millionen Freunde, Arbeitskolleginnen und Nachbarn, die eine Migrationsgeschichte haben. #Kanzlerkompaktpic.twitter.com/Cs1Dj69TwM
Ich finde es eher beängstigend, dass offenbar bei fast allen europäischen Politikern die Sicherungen durchknallen.
Laut #Habeck will die #AfD aus Deutschland "einen Staat wie Russland" machen. Natürlich frei erfundener Blödsinn – wir setzen uns im Gegenteil für direkte Mitbestimmung ein, während Habeck ganz großer Fan von China ist. Sehen Sie selbst! #DeshalbAfDpic.twitter.com/7jXsaUgr52
Wenn etwas verboten werden sollte, dann sind es die Linksextremen Hetzportale und Volksverpetzer, wie eben auch solche links-finanzierte Schmutzkübel wie Correctiv.
For quite some time I became active on Nightcafe, creating images of subjects that interest me. Lately Nightcafe came up with a multitude of new modes. Also, there is a possibility to create a personal mode, called a Lora, which so far I took advantage of, teaching AI about my drawings by uploading over 60 of my analog drawings. This worked quite well in connection with the prompts I write.
The other private mode I created was for my own portrait. I uploaded a variety of my portrait photos, over 30 different, in different poses. This also gets me some great results.
SOME OF MY DRAWINGS CREATED
MY SELFPORTRAITS
These are just a few examples, to see my collection of Self-portraits go to TRAINED SELFIES
UPDATE MARCH 2024: Continuing problems with a virus made it impossible to fix, so unfortunately, I made the decision to keep the site unpublished. I am making plans to publish a site to replace it, to highlight the best from the private network on Ning. That network is only accessible to members. Members may log in here: https://visionarytribe.ning.com/ – I might further update this blog entry once the replacement site is up.
This was initially announced on the community blog of the Visionary Art Exhibition site.
The main problem is that most links redirect to other sites*, this through some virus that I cannot trace and eliminate myself. I will have to seek outside help, which is rather expensive. While a one-shot fix might be affordable, there is no guarantee that it won’t happen again. So the way to go is to subscribe to protection, but unlike security for your computer, this is much more expensive for websites. I am not using the site for revenue (the ads I used to run bring in very little, not even enough to pay for the domain).
There are possible areas of vulnerability – some remnants of former Flash codes are still on many pages. Flash used to be suspected in the past for being a backdoor to viruses, therefore all Operating Systems have stopped supporting Flash already in 2020. I need to clean these pages first and bring them up to snuff before I engage a virus removal service. I have another ‘seat’ on my Weebly Server that I may, if and when time permits, use to showcase some of our most important artists. Currently, such a site exists, but is a construction zone.
it had been reported by a associated site that links on their page even re-directed to pornographic content. I then took the initiative to take the VAG completely off-line until we can fix this!
Accessing the site on my PC, while it was still on line, resulted in repeated warnings from my security software.
THIS WAS ONE PART OF THE START PAGE – A SLIDE SHOW OF SOME OF OUR ARTISTS
Einladung: Ausstellung von Daniel Friedemann Fuchs
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, liebe Freund*innen der Kunst! Wir dürfen Sie ganz herzlich zu unserer kommenden Ausstellung von Daniel Friedemann Fuchs in der Galerie des Ernst Fuchs Museums einladen. Der Beginn der Ausstellung wird mit einer Vernissage am 25. Mai um 18 Uhr gefeiert, zu der wir Sie gleichsam herzlich einladen möchten. Um Anmeldung wird gebeten. Wir freuen uns auf eine schöne Ausstellung und einen angenehmen Vernissage-Abend im Zeichen der Kunst! Mit herzlichen Grüßen Das Ernst Fuchs Museum
Some of my AI creations I published on the Blockchain – there are many images found on the individual posts, and also prompts I had used. Unlike many, I do not consider my prompts a big state secret. Try them yourself.
“While AI may be able to process vast amounts of data and perform complex tasks, it will never be able to replicate the unique qualities of human emotional intelligence (EI). EI is what makes us human, and it’s what allows us to connect with others on a deeper level, to empathize, to inspire, and to lead. As leaders, we must embrace the power of AI while never forgetting the value of EI” ― Farshad Asl
Wunderschöne Farben und Transparenz definieren den Speckstein. Er gehört zu den ältesten Materialien und dank seiner Weiche und Geschmeidigkeit lässt er sich sehr einfach bearbeiten.
Gewerkt wird mit Schnitzwerkzeug, Feilen, Sandpapier und Stahlwolle um die Basis zu erlernen und ein klassisches Kunstwerk zu gestalten. Erleben Sie wie Ihre Zeichnung auf einen Stein zur Skulptur wird.
Caroline Schell ist 1983 in der Schweiz geboren. Schon als Kind ist sie von der Kunst fasziniert. Von 1998 bis 2002 besucht sie das Kunstgymnasium in Lugano und mit fünfzehn porträtiert sie ihren Vater für sein Buch „Wir waren Vier“. Dann arbeitet sie bei Prof. Ermes Dondé, für den sie Kopien von Cezanne, Modigliani, Degas, Van Gogh, Klimt und Schiele malt.
Der menschliche Körper verwandelt sich in eine lebende Leinwand, die atmet, fühlt und dreidimensional ist. Es entstehen neue Möglichkeiten der Kunst und der Illusion, dazu eine außergewöhnliche Entdeckung durch die UV Beleuchtung. Erlernt werden die Technik und Tricks eines kurzlebigen Werkes, dass wir fotografisch dokumentieren um es zu erhalten.
Spaß und keine Angst vor Menschennähe gehören dazu.
This is the most confusing page ▲ If you look on top right it says ‘Log Out’, but I have a log-in to fill out. I can click on Logout, and it would indeed show now ‘Log In’. But when I click on the Self Serve menu point, I get a drop-down with the various pages I can access, but nothing happens – the sign-in stays and the message about account locked stays. I can click Logout, and the page changes:
Now when I click Log In again, I am back with the Log In menu which I can now fill in, once I click Log In, the warning about Account being locked pops up again. There is no way to contact them at all. Eventually I went to their Facebook Page, on there it seems I caught a actual person in Messenger. A conversation of this exchange follows below.
Hi Otto, I certainly understand your concern with this. I can confirm that this is a step our team has taken in order to protect your Koodo account information. You received this email as your password was not changed since 2017 and we want to make sure your account stays protected.
e came up. I tried logging in with the new password, and got the same response. Account locked. Please talk to your IT expert who woul explain to you that the hackers bots will try until the universe ends to crack an account, so my account will be locked FOREVER!!!!
Enter
Koodo
It can happen that the account gets locked for one hour. Please try to log in again and keep us posted here.
Enter
You sent
Are you also a bot? As long as a Hacker bot is trying to access my account, my account will be locked because of unsuccessful attempts by a bot. Your algorithm sucks. I had similar problems with my website provider, but at least with them, I could communicate.
Enter
Koodo
We are a small team of agents who assist customers on social media. From what I can see in the text mentioned above, the account was locked by our security team and you need to set up a new password to access it again. Have you tried to clear cookies or use an incognito page to try again?
Enter
You sent
I will try with an incognito page – not that a Hacker wouldn’t operate from the dark net even running the bot until the cows come home. Your system will lock me out indefinitely, no matter what I try. This better be resolved before the next bill is due because, guess what: I am not on auto-pay! I can’t get in, you don’t get paid! I just got a new phone for another family member about a month ago. So there are 2 family members I administrate by remote: they are in Canada, I am in Austria.
Enter
Koodo
I see. We won’t be able to check more details on social media, as we use a verification system which requires an account log in. Are you the account owner? We can request a callback with a specialist who will have access to look into this for you.
Enter
You sent
I am the account owner, yes. I am in Austria, not in Canada, as I said. My email is artofthemystic@gmail.com My cellphone is set up so it rejects any calls from numbers that are not on my contact list. You can have your specialist send a SMS and say he/she is from Koodo – then I would add it to my contacts in order to receive calls. +43 664 7351 5405
Enter
Koodo
Thank you! Our team will contact in you 3-5 business days, but we can’t promise they will have the means to send you an SMS before the call. The time frame for the call will be between 9.00 AM and 7.00 PM EST.
Enter
You sent
that would be 3PM to 1AM CET a call would show up on my call list, but would be blocked, so I have to check my call list and call back.
Enter
Thu 12:58 PM
Koodo
I can leave a note as well, but the team will try to call you three times. Can you receive voicemail messages, if they will leave you one?
Enter
You sent
yes, voice mail will work, but SMS would be better so I can just copy the number. Trying to get a number off voice mail is a pain in the butt. btw, I tried from an anonymous page, same result, which of course is understandable, since the trigger for your algorithm bot is my email
Enter
Koodo
Thank you, the callback request has been completed and our team will contact you as soon as possible.
Enter
You sent
lets see if that works. Easy in writing, very complicated by phone. The only way I could resolve my website problems was to be able to email my provider, since talking on the phone did not resolve the problem, since technical information cannot be relaid by voice. Like, if I say change my email, easy in writing, but spelling it out by voice, the smallest mistake will be a error 404 But why make it easy, when you can make it complicated.
Enter
Koodo
I hear you. Our colleagues will get back to you during business hours, but please keep us posted here. -Maria
Enter
You sent
Thanks Maria – lets see if somehow I can get through. Both phones have tabs on them. But the newest one is over $ 700.- – so being able to get into my account is essential.
Enter
Thu 1:36 PM
Koodo
No worries! Our team will be able to fix this for you.
Enter
Sat 1:37 PM
Koodo
We value your feedback, please tap here to answer one question about your experience.
Open Survey
▲ the above is strange, the ‘Survey’ was actually a link to follow, which returned a blank page!
I waited all day Frida for a call-back, but nothing happened. On Saturday and Sunday I was not available for the weekend. In order to clear anything up, I have to be at home and logged into my computer to answer any questions and have access to my account details. This message below ▼ I wrote earlier today, Monday May 15th 2023, explaining my circumstances. Besides, from their own Help page they are not even working on the weekend (shorter hours Saturday and Sunday), yet that is when calls came in.
4:18 PM
You sent
So what I got were calls from 1-866 numbers on the weekend when I was away. Now there are a slew of 1-866 numbers blocked by my security software. No SMS, no messages. I was home all day Friday evening, missing out some important engagements just waiting. I have to be on the PC at the same time to access all the information that your ‘experts’ would want to ask me. That is why written communication is so important. If you look back on this tread you will realize that such cannot be done on the phone! – btw, having a email address as the user ID on a log-in is rather dumb. Ask any Bank IT expert. At the banks, the email is the secondary security layer behind my access user ID, which is my card number. The third or alternate layer are access codes sent via phone SMS which generally are good for only 10 minutes. I manage 10 websites, so I am not a babe in the woods when it comes to site and access security. Yours has very bad flaws, since I am still locked out for the reasons I initially told you regarding hacker bots.
Enter
Write to Koodo
Since then, nobody answered
I made Notes on my Norton Security Password Manager under the Koodo Log-In:
September 2021 I first published a blog on my website ART OF THE MYSTIC OTTO RAPP about this exhibition. Somehow it seems it got lost when I tried to re-edit it with additional content. At that time, I also published a shorter version of it on my Hive/PeakD Blockchain from which I am taking some content to recreate it here in this blog.
“It is possible, however, that the artist is both thin-skinned and prophetic and, like the canary lowered into the mine shaft to test the air, has caught a whiff of something lethal.” ― Walker Percy, Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book
I am honored to have one of my major drawings selected to be part of this large First Biennale of Fantastic Art in Serbia, (as one of two foreign guest artists, the other being Reinhard Schmid of Germany) to take place in Belgrade at the Kolarac gallery and later in Novi Sad at the Cultural center (where I exhibited before in a group show Antilogika Slike in 2015).
5 Years ago (2017) after I created this work at the Pigmalion Artist Colony – it is in the collection of the founder of Pigmalion, Gorazd Cuk who will lend it to this exhibition.
Otto Rapp's Blog 