Peter Burda: how an angel learns to fly

on special request Peter presents whole his series How an angel learns to fly (ako sa učí anjel lietať) on F blog.

the inscenation, the magic of the unseen, something that hangs in the air. this world of the irreal is connected with the world of values, with the world of meaning. i seek for austerity here, naivety of the expression, photographic simplicity. the enlargements are created through application of photographic emulsion on aquarelle paper, toned by black ceylon tea. inspired by the works of duane michals. the text is an organic element of the work here.lesson 1: angel fresh(right-handed)man gets dressed appropriately. he puts on his wings, if he hasn’t grown the ones of his own. he finds a peaceful place. stands still. breathes deeply. beginners may wear a watch with the air pressure gauge. he calms his mind. thinks of only one thing : "i want to fly !"

lesson 2: it is a mistake (and it happens to all beginners) if one tries to beat one’s hand-wings when taking off. this is not the way to fly. it is necessary to stand still. breathe deeply. calm one’s mind. raise one’s head. think of only one thing : "i want to fly". voila ! and hand-wings begin to move powered by an invisible faith-power.

lesson 3: can you hear that peculiar sound ? can you feel that distinct scent as if there was something in the air ? does every cell in your body vibrate ? are you looking at your body from up above ? with a perspective ? if a pupil answers all of these questions ‘yes’, he has just learned the basics of angel-flying. if he can not answer them yet, he should start all over again. by lesson 1.

lesson 4: it happens more or less all the time. right after the first take off. angel-disjoint. then the student of flying has a short while to make the decision. will i be the right or the left angel ? the former ones remain here forever. the latter ones only appear in this world from time to time... make the right decision and with the perspective! but, watch out! you have only one try !

lesson 5 : angel-flying is a natural thing. but it is not easy at all. if a student does not believe that he is an angel-fluid, ....he will crash! into a tree, wall, chimney, into a beautiful woman. so the basis for successful flying is faith. only those who believe can fly free.

lesson 6: all those who have seen a flying angel will agree, that: if they sneeze, start to laugh out loud, or light a cigarette, the angel will vanish. if they do not believe that he is an angel, most probably he really is not one. only those who believe, will really see the angel. ... i almost forgot the students ... when in residential areas, we fly at the max. speed of 5 miles/thought. outside residential areas it is 17 miles/thought.

lesson 7: mastering angel-flying is a basic prerequisite for a student applying for a job at the holy angel-club . after completion of 300 flying hours he may start doing his first good deed. the bad deeds do not count. there comes the angel-light.

lesson 8: after the first angel-deeds there comes gratification into the angel’s soul. false or genuine. the false gratification is the satisfaction with oneself: i can fly, i do good deeds. angel – the false gratifier is not concerned with the essence of his doings, but rather the doings themselves. he does not give a damn what the being he appears to thinks. a false peace comes to the soul of such angel. he is handsome, good and handsome, but that is all.
lesson 9: … here, dear students, we recognize two kinds of gratification : false and genuine. the genuine gratification comes through the being to which the angel appears. angel – the genuine gratifier then radiates a light. the genuine peace and joy of the well done job sets in the soul of such angel. good luck