#Otto Boll

[doortjesblog]

Otto Boll’s sculpture and the “Little” Dancer

[abstracteddistractions]

Otto Boll, Untitled (2/6), 2019

Steel, black

30 × 30 cm | 11.8 × 11.8 inch.

Courtesy: Gallery Dierking

[asoiafandotherbooks]

TWOIAF/Fire & Blood: The Black Brides

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

It is 47 AC and Maegor still does not have a son. No one thought it likely Tyanna would give him an heir. Tyanna continued to serve as Mistress of Whispers but Maegor no longer sought her bed. What to do? More wives of course! But who? The members of the Small Council named their candidates:

Grand Maester Bennifer (Maegor’s 4th Grand Maester) suggested Clarisse Dayne, the Lady of Starfall, in order to detach her lands and house from Dorne

Alton Butterwell, the Master of Coin, offered his widowed sister, a stout woman with seven children. Alton stated she was no beauty but her fertility had been proven beyond a doubt.

Lord Celtigar had two young maiden daughters, twelve and thirteen years old. He urged the king to pick one or both.

Lord Velaryon urged Maegor to wed Rhaena, his niece and the widow of Aegon the Uncrowned, thus uniting the two claims, and acquire a hostage against any plots

Let’s go over the suggestions:

Clarisse Dayne was never going to happen. The wars against Dorne were too fresh in the Dornish minds. It would have been fun if the offer was sent and Clarisse sent a “if I only had two heads response” that Henry VIII received to one of his proposals. Of course, the taunting wouldn’t have been wise since the rejected suitor has Balerion.

Alton Butterwell’s sister was rejected on grounds of unattractiveness. Was she Maegor’s Anne of Cleves?

The suggestion of Rhaena was the most logical. If Maegor was less Maegor. However, Rhaena hates Maegor and with good reason.

As for Lord Celtigar’s maiden daughters…on the surface this tactic is like show-Otto Hightower pushing Alicent as a bridal candidate to Viserys Targaryen. Otto receives massive hatred from the fanbase for pushing Alicent into the marriage. I feel the hatred for Otto is overstated. The constant use of women as cattle in the Game of Thrones is disgusting but is Otto any different from Tywin Lannister, Hoster Tully, or even Rikard Stark? They all used their daughters to further their own ambitions, regardless of their daughters’ personal desires. That said, the hatred the fandom has for Otto is the hatred I have for Celtigar. Viserys, for all his numerous faults, was never a physical danger to Alicent, not including the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth. Maegor has proven he is an erratic, violent, temperamental tyrant. The fate of Alys Harroway should have kept any loving father from pushing his daughter as a marriage candidate. The only one proven to reign in Maegor was Visenya. How are a twelve- and thirteen-year-old expected to handle him?

Maegor listened to the arguments, took bits and pieces from the input, and decided: three wives should do the trick.

Maegor worried over the threat Alyssa Velaryon and her remaining children posed to his reign. He had been unable to find Alyssa and her two youngest. Rumors abounded that the family had fled across the Narrow Sea, to Tyrosh or Volantis.

He knew the location of Rhaena. She was in Fair Isle. Aerea, the eldest of Rhaena and Aegon the Uncrowned’s twins, was the logical heir of Maegor. The twins were barely a year old and Rhaena knew that pressing their claims would be a death sentence. Rhaena had died their hair, changed their names, and sent them from her, entrusting them to powerful allies, “who would see them fostered in good homes by worthy men who would have no inkling of their true identities”. Rhaena herself didn’t know their locations – she couldn’t reveal what she didn’t know, even under torture.

Rhaena made no attempt to disguise herself because she would never be able to hide Dreamfyre, her dragon. It’s noted that Dreamfyre had produced two clutches of eggs by this time.

Maegor summoned Rhaena to King’s Landing. She went. Rhaena had “grown fond of Lord Farman, and more than fond of his second son, Androw”. Not mentioned is Rhaena’s fondness for Elissa. Rhaena would not repay the Farmans’ kindness by causing Balerion to be unleashed on Fair Isle.

Rhaena arrived at King’s Landing and learned she was to marry Maegor. She also met her fellow soon to be brides: Lady Jeyne of House Westerling and Lady Elinor of House Costayne.

Lady Jeyne had been married to Alyn Tarbeck, who had died with Prince Aegon at the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye. She had given birth to a son a few months later. Tall and slender, with lustrous brown hair, Jeyne was being courted by a younger son of Lord Lyman Lannister when Maegor sent for her.

Lady Elinor had been the wife of Ser Theo Bolling, a landed knight who had fought for Maegor in his last campaign against the Poor Fellows. She had given birth to three sons by the time she was nineteen. The youngest boy was still at her breast when Maegor had Ser Theo arrested and charged with “conspiring with Queen Alyssa to murder the king and place the boy Jaehaerys on the Iron Throne. Theo was found guilty and beheaded the same day of his arrest. Maegor gave Elinor seven days to mourn before she had to marry him. How generous!

We are offered no insight on the women’s feelings on their upcoming marriage or of their relationship with their deceased spouses. Rhaena is the exception as we were told earlier in the book of her close bond with her sibling-spouse. Its clear she despises Maegor but is determined to keep her daughters safe.

Jeyne and Elinor’s first marriages were most likely arranged as they were members of the nobility. Did they love their husbands? Dislike them? Neutral? Was Jeyne fond of the younger Lannister son who was courting her? Or was she resigned to a remarriage as the Lannisters were the ruling House of the Westerlands?

And Elinor…her husband, and the father of her children, was falsely accused and executed by the man she is now forced to wed! I can only imagine the seething anger she must have felt but being forced to play the “Sansa” role to save her children’s lives.

Septon Moon, the “High Septon” of the Poor Fellows denounced Maegor’s wedding plans but everyone else stayed quiet and kept their heads down.

On a warm spring day in 47 AC, Maegor wed his three “Black Brides” as the people of King’s Landing referred to the women. The brides were garbed and cloaked in the colors of her father’s house. The Rise of the Dragons book has a gorgeous picture of the Black Brides. Those dresses were magnificent.

The presence of Jeyne and Elinor’s children ensured they played their parts in the ceremony. Any defiance from Rhaena was squashed when Tyanna led her twin daughters to the ceremony.

The stories of the wedding night are queer and contradictory:

Did the Black Brides share a single bed?

Did Maegor consummate each marriage that night in individual beds?

Did Rhaena attempt to kill Maegor with a concealed dagger as she later claimed?

Did Elinor scratch Maegor’s back to bloody ribbons?

Did Jeyne Westerling drink a fertility potion that Queen Tyanna brought her or throw it into her face?

The maester admits he doesn’t know the truth of any of these stories. He does note the fertility potion account doesn’t appear until well into the reign of Jaehaerys, twenty years after the death of both women.

Let’s discuss the rumors. The details of the bedding..this wasn’t an Alys-Maegor-Tyanna situation so I doubt there was a group bedding. These women hated Maegor. It was a chore to accomplish not an anticipated moment. Of note is Tyanna’s lack of involvement in the bedding. She and Maegor were clearly on the outs.

We can safely say Rhaena did not attempt to kill Maegor despite her claims. The risk to her daughters was too great if she failed.

If Elinor scratched Maegor’s back to “bloody ribbons”, it wasn’t from passion, it was from hate.

Jeyne’s fertility potion…doubtful. The story probably started after Tyanna’s claims of poisoning Jeyne and Elinor.

In the aftermath of the wedding, Maegor declared Aerea as his heir until he had a son of his own and sent Rhaella to Oldtown to be raised as a septa. He disinherited Jaehaerys, “the rightful heir by all the laws of the Seven Kingdoms.”

What law exactly? The concept of the “Seven Kingdoms” only happened when Aegon I conquered Westeros. And I don’t recall Aegon I creating a “no girls on the Iron Throne” rule.  And, yes, before its brought up, Aegon was the king despite Visenya being the oldest but he clearly saw his sisters/spouses as his equals. Rhaenys and Visenya didn’t “advise”, they sat the Iron Throne! Visenya was the true backbone of the first three Targaryen reigns!

This “rightful heir by the laws” nonsense smacks of Jaehaerys ordering the maesters to spread to justify his usurpation of the throne from Aerea. And yes, Jaehaerys stole the throne. If Aegon the Uncrowned was a king (and Alyssa Velaryon did crown him), Aerea is the heir. If Maegor is the rightful king, Aerea is his declared heir. You’ll notice that Jaehaerys doesn’t have his brother, Aegon the Uncrowned, declared as a lawful king. Why? Because it makes his usurpation of Aerea’s throne more obvious.

Jeyne’s son was confirmed as Lord of Tarbeck Hall and sent to be raised as a ward of Lyman Lannister. Elinor’s two eldest were sent to the Eyrie and Highgarden. Her youngest was turned over to a wetnurse as Maegor found her breastfeeding “irksome”. I’m sure the fact that its harder, but not impossible, to become pregnant while breastfeeding was also an aspect in the decision. Or Maegor could simply be an ass.

Up next, two queens announce their pregnancy and two queens die.

[sywenai]

THIS IS A PILOT APPRECIATION ZONE

[grabsomeironmeat]

Otto Boll

[levysoft]

Franco Califano - Pier Carlino

E' sempre così, tu stravaccata a letto, Io a fa' nottata, ar freddo, giù de sotto, Pe' corpa de 'sto cane maledetto, Che se nun scenne caca ner salotto. Mo' poi vo' fa' le corse nel viale Insieme a me, chi perde è 'n animale! A vorte incontro gente e me vergogno Ma si 'n coremo lui nun fa er bisogno. Quanno je scappa è sempre mattinata, L'avesse mai 'na vorta anticipata. Spacca er minuto, ar primo chiaro 'n cielo, Pare che c'ha la sveja sotto ar culo. Chi se lo scorda er compleanno tuo "Comprami un cagnolino amore mio! Gli starò dietro, ha la parola mia"! Sei stata dietro a li mortaccia tua. Da quanno 'st'animale s'e accasato Nun ho dormito otto ore di filato E si consideramo che c'ha 'n anno Secondo te quando ripijio sonno? Fra dieci dodic'anni, quanno more? È ner frattempo dovrei pure core? Prima de fa' 'sta fine io t'ammollo, Che c'hai 'n gelone ar posto der cervello! Me casca 'n po' de cenere per tera E in du' minuti fai scoppià la guera, Vomita er cane sopra li cuscini, "Povero amore, ha male agli intestini"! "Mio Dio, cosa ha mangiato giù al viale?" Le palle de mi' nonno cor caviale! Io che ne sò' che magna 'st 'imbecille E che me frega a me se c'ha le bolle! Me frega più che da quasi 'n annetto Me chiamano "Er frocione cor cagnetto" Co' tutti quei riccetti, quer nastrino, Quer nome che j'hai dato: "Piercarlino!" Ma poi chiamallo un cane "Piercalino" Senza fa' 'nsospettì chi t'è vicino? Co tanti nomi belli, si ce penso, Potevi, che ne so, chiamallo... Stronzo! Come perché, perché nun c'ha mai sonno... Perché me fa' venì sempre l'affanno... Stronzo perché nun me fa' più dormire, Stronzo perché nun caca si nun corre... È lungo un parmo, arto mezzo sordo, E fa' casino più de 'n Sanbernardo! Ch'è maschio poi c'è ancora d'accertallo, Nun j'ho mai visto l'ombra de 'n pisello Ne' fra li peli 'n mezzo a le gambette Je so spuntate mai due-tre-pallette Hai fatto tutto te; "com'è carino"... "è maschio? ... lo chiamiamo Piercarlino!" "Sono la tua mammina, Piercarlino E questo qui sarà sarà il tuo paparino, Caro il mio cagnolino ... che bel pelo..." E paparino, ce l'ha avuto 'n culo! Giù ar viale, pe' accertamme der suo sesso, Je stavo a mette 'n po' le mani addosso; Me sento sfotte' da 'n amico mio: "Je voi da' 'n bacio! Te lo reggo io!" Capito come me so' sputtanato? 'Mo pure frocio 'e no me 'so stufato, Domani notte me ne resto a letto Er cane se cacasse pure sotto! Pisciasse sui divani ner salotto, Svejasse quelli dell'interno 8, Morisse de cimuro tutt'a 'n botto, Mica posso annà avanti a fa' 'sta vita! Ecco la morte, la porpetta avvelenata! Queste so' idee ma tocca realizzalle, 'Sto zozzo me lo levo da' le palle. Già piagni... sei distrutta dar dolore Te immagini si Piercarlino more? Carma, ma la porpetta s'a' dà fare Perché si tu voi er cane ar posto mio Vado a fa' 'n culo e me la magno io

(via Franco Califano - Pier Carlino (Vers. Originale) - YouTube)

[fraecra]

quando avevo otto anni sono caduta in uno dei cespugli di rose nel giardino dei miei nonni mentre giocavo con le bolle di sapone

[msclaritea]

"The partnership with Lalaland.ai is one that Levi Strauss says can likely assist the brand in an endeavor to expand the number of models that each line of clothing has so that customers can see Levi’s products on more models that look like themselves, which it says will create “a more personal and inclusive shopping experience.”

“While AI will likely never fully replace human models for us, we are excited for the potential capabilities this may afford us for the consumer experience,” Dr. Amy Gershkoff Bolles, global head of digital and emerging technology strategy at Levi Strauss & Co says.

“We see fashion and technology as both an art and a science, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Lalaland.ai, a company with such high-quality technology that can help us continue on our journey for a more diverse and inclusive customer experience.”

Levi Strauss says that diversity, equity, and inclusion are a “top priority” for the company and says that while AI-generated models are a way to help reach its goals in this area, it’s not the only solution it is using. The company says that over the past year, it has been working to assure that not only its own workforce is diverse, but that those both in front of and behind the camera reflect its “broad consumer base.”

From what Levi Strauss describes, it doesn’t sound as though the company intends to do away with photography, but given the sheer volume of avatars that can be created with LaLaLand.ai, real photos of actual people will likely be outnumbered by models that don’t actually exist.

Levi Strauss isn’t the only fashion brand to embrace AI models. Lalaland.ai notes it also works with Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and the Otto Group. The average person will likely never be able to tell that a majority of the models they see wearing any of these brands’ clothes aren’t actual people."

Who's ready to stop buying any of these brands that want to use AI generated models instead of human beings? I'll never buy a single stitch from Levi's for this bullshit. And I'm not labeling it Digital Blackface, either. This is wholesale erasure of human beings because they'll do it to everyone. I told people a long time ago. The elites love robots, love total control. That Squidward crap should have woken people up instead idiots cheering for their own demise.

[guy60660]

Otto Boll | © Axel Vervoordt Gallery | Yatzer

[marcolikestowatch]

Otto Boll

via Axel Vervoordt

[downinyonforest]

Otto Boll

[clear-glass]

Otto Boll

[foolingthesilence]

Otto Boll

Helix, 2014

[arianelalibre]

Otto Boll, Helix 2014

Born in 1952 in Issum/Geldern, Germany. Lives and works in Niederrhein, Germany.

Scenography Axel Vervoordt at Palazzo Fortuny, 2017

[hjmarseille]

On 24 February 1918, Wilhelm Papenmeyer of Jasta ‘Boelcke’ downed an RE 8 for his third victory, and two days later Richard Plange also racked up his third. The pilots of Jasta ‘B’ display their prized walking sticks (gifts from Anthony Fokker) and an obvious esprit de corps in this photo, taken circa late February. From left to right in the front row are Hermann Vallendor, Paul Schröder, Staffelführer Carl Bolle, Plange and Papenmeyer. In the back row are Otto Löffler, Fritz Kempf, Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp, Karl Gallwitz and Paul Bäumer. As Bolle himself wrote, the fighting strength of Jasta ‘B’ rarely exceeded ten pilots. Nevertheless, the cumulative score of the group pictured here was 131 victories. Only Papenmeyer and Plange would not survive the war

Photo and caption featured in Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 128 Aces of Jagdgeschwader Nr III by Greg VanWyngarden

[1day1artist]

Otto Boll, 'SCULPTURES' (1970-2000)

Photo: Galerie Forsblom