#common household objects in contemporary art

[serpentface]

GUARDIAN LIONS

An Odomache guardian lion cult statue (alabaster with gold plating and inlaid pearl and lapis lazuli), of the curved-reposed maned lioness variant.

Guardian lions are a Wardi architectural/artistic motif that confers protective benefits to the buildings or utilitarian objects on which they are placed. The practice of artworks depicting lions as place-guardians long predates the Faith of the Seven Faced God, and has been translated into contemporary practice as aspects of the Face Odomache.

This Face has core functions as a representation of sovereignty and military might, but additionally is interpreted as both a protective patriarch and nurturing mother to Its people. Lions represent this function well, as a powerful and venerated animal capable of both tremendous ferocity and gentleness (these functions combined in their renowned fierce protection of their own cubs).

Guardian lions come in three distinct sex variants, which impart different meanings.

Male guardian lions most typically are used to represent the Patriarch Odomache, the Face as a divine father that watches over the collective household of Its people. This iconography is most common in architectural guardian lions placed upon homes, as a representative of the father's intended function as the protector and arbiter of his family. They effectively 'guard' the culturally important private familial sphere, with their presence being a reminder to potential trespassers (literal and figurative) that retribution will be severe.

Maneless guardian lionesses are used to represent Odomache as a protector of pregnant women and children, in a form that suggests both an underlying ferocity and a feminine ideal of gentle nurturing. These are less common than the other variants, and mostly appear on smaller art and ritual objects used in conjunction with pregnancy and childrearing. Their most prominent core use is being a standard decoration on the carved ox horns used by midwives to bear oil (anointed upon mothers and newborns) and to pass over women in labor for spiritual protection. They're also common as small art objects or toys for babies and young children.

Maned guardian lionesses express a totality of these functions. Core depictions of the Face Odomache usually use a maned lioness, with the androgyny unifying Its functions as the Patriarch and the nurturing mother into a protective guardian mother to the collective people. These depictions have ubiquitous uses (the only context you Rarely see them in are as household guardians), and are the typical variant seen in important public spaces, and standard as cult statues to Odomache.

The guardian lion is a very old motif with regional variants, and comes in a variety of stylistic forms. There is very little standardization to the style (with some standardized elements only just beginning to develop in cult objects in recent history). However, there are very well-established conventions for the lion's posture that often distinguishes these guardian figures from non-functional, generic lion art, and imply more specified meanings.

STANDARD POSTURES:

Nursing lioness:

Glazed pottery nursing lioness. This is a decorative art object with guardian functions, likely to be placed near a child's bed.

The lion is at rest, belly turned out to the side to expose teats (occasionally accompanied by suckling cubs). Some unique variants are partially anthropomorphized, placing humanoid breasts in the chest area (rather than the more typical anatomically accurate teats). The posture is relaxed but alert, and will be positioned so that the face looks upon the point of approach. This pose is almost exclusively used for guardian lions as protectors for children, displaying a fierce animal mother figure in an entirely gentle, nurturing form.

Reposed:

Unpainted stone statue of a reposed male lion.

The lion is at rest. There is little active threat in its pose, instead invoking a relaxed, self-assured guardian. This motif appears often in non location-specific decoration or general public spaces.

Curved reposed:

Sketch of the curved-reposed alabaster maned lioness as seen from above, as it would appear in a temple shrine. A bowl is placed for libations, a tray for small offerings of flowers and grain.

The lion is at rest, with its front positioned to confront the viewer while the length of its body is simultaneously visible. It is a relaxed pose in a resting position, but the body's contortion makes it more confrontational towards onlookers, suggesting that a cautious and humble approach is necessary. This is most common in cult statues (where offerings will be placed along the length of its body).

Seated:

Seated Loberan house statue guardian, painted stone.

The lion is seated on its haunches, suggesting watchful alertness and an implied threat, but that the animal is secure in its strength and at rest. This type is the most common as an architectural feature for homes, representing patriarchal guardianship of the family and the domestic sphere within. This pose is almost always male, with very occasional maned lioness variants.

Standing/Striding:

Painted marble statue showing a standing/striding maned lioness. The statue is three dimensional with its sides carved in high relief; the pose will appear to be static when viewed from the front, and is mid-stride from the sides. The tail between the legs is unusual for a guardian lion motif and its placement is entirely due to the physical restrictions of this statue's form.

The lion is standing at attention or depicted mid-stride (often both simultaneously), suggesting readiness to strike. This confers a sense active protection and intimidation, and most often appears flanking the entrance in high status public spaces like temples and palaces. As a person approaches a standing+striding variant, they are greeted with a static front staring them down, and the lion appears to walk as they pass, suggesting they have entered an important space being guarded with high alertness- they can feel safe under its active protection (or know that it can and will (figuratively) come after them if they are a trespasser).

Conquering:

An oil lamp depicting a conquering maned lioness. The trampled figure's nudity in this context codifies him as a 'barbarian', while the artificially lengthened skull and long beard distinctly identifies him as a Finn king. This is a piece in the ancient artistic tradition known as 'seething and coping'.

The guardian lion stands over and/or actively tramples a prone form, usually human. It shows the conclusion of the guardian lion's function- the defeat and subduing of a threatening enemy. This enemy figure will often be expressed as a generic 'barbarian' (usually coded via nudity) or representing a specific population by depicting recognizable (real or imagined) practices of dress and adornment. Animals sometimes appear as 'enemies' instead, which can vary depending on the purpose- a dog (generally disliked animal) casts the enemy figure as pathetic and easily destroyed, a king hyena or crocodile (respected/feared large predators) casts the enemy as powerful but overcome by greater might.

This motif most often occurs in art used in state/military contexts (where it quite literally shows an embodiment of the state trampling a foreign enemy to death), but is used in everyday objects as well. The 'enemy' figure (whether a human caricature or an animal) can represent any number of threats perceived by an everyday person - bad luck, curses, a hated neighbor, thieves, livestock predators - and conveys a guardian spirit overcoming these threats.

[fairylandblog]

Faerie Thieves

Faerie thieves, figures steeped in the rich tapestry of folklore, are enchanting yet mischievous beings often depicted in the myths and legends of various cultures. These whimsical creatures are said to inhabit a realm parallel to our own, known as the faerie world, where magic and mystery abound. Their reputation as thieves stems from numerous tales of their penchant for borrowing or stealing items from the human world, often with playful or mischievous intentions.

In many stories, faerie thieves are portrayed as small, elusive beings with an uncanny ability to move unseen and unheard. They are known for their dexterity and cunning, traits that make them adept at pilfering objects ranging from mundane household items to valuable treasures. The motivations behind their thievery vary, with some legends suggesting they steal out of necessity, while others imply it is simply for sport or amusement. Their actions often serve as a reminder of the thin boundary between the mundane and the magical.

One of the most famous narratives involving faerie thieves is that of the changeling. In these tales, faeries are said to steal human infants from their cradles, replacing them with their own offspring. This act is often attributed to the faeries' desire to strengthen their own bloodlines or to exact revenge on humans. The changeling myth highlights the faeries' complex relationship with humans, characterized by both fascination and fear.

Faerie thieves also appear in various cultural myths across Europe, particularly in Celtic folklore, where they are known for their love of shiny objects and their ability to enchant or curse those who cross their path. This duality is a common theme in faerie lore, where the same beings can be both benevolent and malevolent, depending on their mood or the nature of their interactions with humans.

Literature and art have long been inspired by the concept of faerie thieves, with countless stories exploring their whimsical nature and the allure of their world. Authors like J.M. Barrie and J.R.R. Tolkien have woven elements of faerie lore into their works, creating rich narratives that explore the intersection of the magical and the mundane. These stories often emphasize themes of wonder, curiosity, and the consequences of venturing into the unknown.

Despite their mischievous nature, faerie thieves are often viewed with a sense of nostalgia and longing. Their presence in folklore serves as a reminder of the magic and mystery that exist just beyond the edges of our perception. They challenge us to question the boundaries of reality and to consider the possibility of hidden worlds filled with enchantment and adventure.

In contemporary culture, the fascination with faerie thieves endures, influencing films, television, and modern fantasy literature. Their enduring appeal lies in their ability to captivate the imagination, offering a glimpse into a world where the ordinary rules do not apply. They represent the allure of the unknown and the timeless human desire to connect with something beyond our everyday experience.

In essence, faerie thieves are more than just mythical kleptomaniacs; they embody the spirit of adventure and the joy of discovery. Their tales encourage us to embrace the wonders of the world around us, to acknowledge the magic in the mundane, and to remain open to the mysteries that lie beyond our understanding. Through their stories, we are reminded of the beauty and complexity of the natural world, as well as the endless possibilities of the human imagination.

[divydarshan0]

Divine Visuals: The Role of God Portraits in Modern Spirituality

Modern spirituality is not a limited option for a few individuals to live on the mountains, but a way of life for people in today’s society that has no time for long contemplations. Perhaps the ways this shift is especially discernible, is the rise of Divine Visuals, which are depictions of god and deities that act like substantial guides throughout one’s life, from the household to the business world. These god portraits not only represent social culture but have also become an integral part of people’s spiritual life including online booking for pooja.

The Significance of God Portraits

Since ancient time, image of gods and deities have acted as central in most religious beliefs. It is argued that they are reflections of the divine in people’s lives providing comfort, direction, and companionship. In homes, temples and even offices, these Divine Visuals become object of focus of people for meditation, prayer and devotion.

It is said that in today’s world even if one has the money they may not have the time to visit temples often. This is where the idea of online pooja booking has come in handy where devotees can access their spiritual needs easily. This is specifically true even where the physical temple visit has not been possible; there are always god portraits that keep the spiritual aspirations in check.

Divine Visuals in Modern Homes

Much to the present day sacred art and iconography Divine Visuals are frequently incorporated into personal shrines in contemporary homes. The use of god portraits, flowers, incense, and lamps is common for making sacred spaces People make use of god portraits, flowers, incense and lamps in making a space sacred. These setups serve as a constant reminder of their belief in spirituality, and come as convenient as a place to pray, meditate, or even ponder in the course of the day.

Furthermore, with the help of internet connection, people can obtain god portraits in order to buy the originals, and if not, there are the digital versions always available to be created for smartphones, personal computers, or tablets. This has thus provided ease for people to maintain their spiritual trips even at any place they are. Along with online pooja booking, it gives a spiritual experience of current technologies to the devotees.

Enhancing Spiritual Practices

Specifically, having Divine Visuals in ones living space can make spiritual practices better. These visuals act as a reminder of the divine thereby enabling people to be in touch with it no matter the level of confusion prevailing. The god portraits do generate a positive environment no matter if a person is performing classical rituals or using online pooja booking options.

Modern spirituality of life gives importance to the rituals of life but also to the inner status of the person and the state of his/her mind. Being believers, people need to have something that will remind them about the existence of God and the necessity to pray; thus, god portraits can be very useful as they provide an opportunity to pray during the morning before work or in the evening before bedtime. Sight of the gods is always consoling and becomes a source of power especially in moments of vulnerability.

The Role of Online Pooja Booking

Since the trend in booking pooja online, the services of spirituality have been availed than they used to be. With the help of internet they can join the rituals without actually having to go to a temple. Instead, they can order poojas online and get the blessings from their homes only In the same way, people can organize poojas in their home and have the blessings through online mode. This convenience has make it easier for people to continue with their religious activities irrespective of their occupied schedules.

However, Divine Visuals are still part of their content and thus the necessity to have them in their personal space. Having your god portrait at home even if you are performing an online pooja also adds more spirit into the pooja. It assists in drawing a link between the earthly and the divine, and make the devotee to feel the presence of the gods while dancing or witnessing the dance or other rituals.

Conclusion

Today, it is very crucial for people to have Divine Visuals that will help them to stay connected with their spirituality. These god portraits, whether tangible object or construction on screen, therefore serve as icon of the divine and enable people to sustain their relation or prayer schedule. It has all the aspects of the interaction of the modern world with traditions: the online booking of pooja, presence of authors, opening of centres, and so on.

Thus for those who want to take their spiritual path to the next level, integrating Divine Visuals in their lives and easily booking puja online it helps them maintain a relationship with the divine amidst the fast paced lifestyle of the modern world.

For more info:-

Online pooja booking

Divine Visuals

[divinitigifts]

Diviniti | Know the Importance of Ayatul Kursi in Islamic Art and Home Design

The Quran's "Throne Verse," Ayatul Kursi, is deeply symbolic in the Islamic religion. It acts as a potent reminder of Allah's omnipotence, divine understanding, and protection—all aspects of His sovereignty. The passage emphasizes Allah's total sovereignty and power over all of creation by portraying Him as the ultimate ruler of the heavens and the earth. For believers, reciting Ayatul Kursi is a source of spiritual consolation and certainty since it is said to call out heavenly benefits and provide protection from evil. Ayatul Kursi, a key figure in Islamic mysticism, represents unity, faith, and Allah's oneness, evoking respect and devotion among Muslims all over the world. Placing a ayatul kursi frame will bring fortune and blessing to you. 

Spiritual nature: Ayatul Kursi is a powerful invocation of Allah's sovereignty and omnipotence. It is a reminder of His eternal presence and authority over all creation. The verse describes the glory of Allah's throne and His knowledge of everything, emphasizing His ability to protect and sustain His believers. 

Symbolism in Islamic art: In Islamic art, the Ayatul Kursi is often depicted in intricate calligraphy as an ornament and decorations. Calligraphers use different scripts and styles to make the verse aesthetic while preserving its sacred nature. The works of art can have simple Arabic writing or symbolic elements such as geometric patterns, floral motifs or architectural designs that reflect the richness of the Islamic artistic tradition.

Home decoration: Ayatul Kursi has an important place in Islamic home decoration, symbolizing faith. , protection and spiritual devotion. It is common to find calligraphic versions of the verse decorating walls, doorways and mantelpieces in Muslim households. These decorative objects not only decorate the living space, but are also constant reminders of God's presence and protection. Ayatul kursi frame for wall,will be a perfect fit for your home.

Protection and Blessings: According to Islamic tradition, daily recitation of the Ayatul Kursi provides protection against harm and harm. Bad influences Considered a protection against spiritual and physical dangers, the verse offers comfort and reassurance to those seeking divine guidance and protection. By incorporating Ayatul Kursi into their home decoration, Muslims strive to create an environment full of holiness and spiritual harmony where the presence of Allah is felt in every corner.

Cultural Heritage: The importance of Ayatul Kursi in Islamic art and home decoration is increasing. . beyond its religious meaning. It reflects the cultural heritage and artistic expression of Muslim communities around the world. From the intricately decorated mosques of the Middle East to the vibrant carpets of Southeast Asia, the Ayatul Kursi is a unifying symbol of faith and identity that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Modern adaptations: In recent years, the Ayatul Kursi has seen an increase in popularity, especially in contemporary Islamic art and design. Artists and designers are incorporating the verse into a wide variety of products, including murals, fabric prints, decorative plates and even jewelry. These modern adaptations suit different tastes and preferences, allowing people to incorporate the Ayatul Kursi into their homes in creative and innovative ways.

The Ayatul Kursi has a central place in Islamic spirituality and culture, valued for its deep meaning. and protection. Functions. Its depiction in Islamic art and home decor is a tangible expression of faith, symbolizing divine guidance, protection and blessings. By decorating their homes with Ayatul Kursi, Muslims seek to create sacred spaces of spirituality and tranquility where the presence of Allah is palpable. Ayatul Kursi is a timeless symbol of faith and devotion that continues to inspire awe and reverence in believers. Hence, Buy Ayatul Kursi frame online only from Diviniti because we do not compromise with the quality. Shop now. 

[tyrell-kray]

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[dwellordream]

“In his notes on fashion for The Arcades Project, Walter Benjamin comments, “To be contemporaine de tout le monde—that is the keenest and most secret satisfaction that fashion can offer a woman.” In one economical sentence, Benjamin evokes the sexual, psychological, social, and historical theories of fashion. By equating fashion with female “satisfaction,” Benjamin captures the debate between those who view fashion as a technology of women’s subordination and those who see it as a venue for women’s pleasure, invention, and power. To refer to the “most secret satisfaction” fashion offers not women but “a woman” evokes fashion’s psychological appeal to an interiorized individual who defines herself in terms of solitude, depth, and concealment, and clothes as intimate objects that activate desire and promote reveries of beauty, leisure, and power. 

Where psychology emphasizes the individual, sociology studies the group, and Benjamin links the two when he predicates the fashionable woman’s “most secret satisfaction” on being contemporary with “tout le monde,” literally with “everyone,” but also with the social realm of worldliness connoted by “le monde.” For sociologists, fashion is a distinctly modern phenomenon that constitutes group identity through imitation and simultaneously promotes an individualist ethos dedicated to relentless innovation. Fashion is a weapon in the battle for distinction when rank is no longer fixed by birth and sumptuary laws. For women who do not vie directly in the economic marketplace, fashion becomes a way to demonstrate facility with the rules of propriety that rationalize bodies in space and time.

The fashion that makes its female follower everyone’s “contemporary” confers historicity by marking the passage of time. Clothing styles identify eras, and thus fashion becomes an index of history. At any given moment, fashion imposes homogeneity, but over time it mandates constant change. That variability represents both the relentless innovation imposed by global capitalism’s drive for profits and the triumph of individual fancy over nature, tradition, and fixed authority. Since what is novel one day becomes passé the next, to conform to the movements of fashion is to embody history’s dialectic of old and new, maturity and youth, tradition and novelty, the eternal and the transitory. Barthes observed that even more than it expresses sex and gender, fashion signifies age.

Fashion confers membership in a generation and thus becomes a transaction between generations. Fashion can cause generational conflict when adolescents adopt fashions that alienate their elders, or, as in Victorian society, it can be shared between mothers and daughters. Victorian mothers consulted fashion magazines to dress themselves and their daughters in the latest modes. To help them marry men, mothers willingly draped daughters in clothes that exposed or accentuated breasts, waists, and hips. But the gaze solicited by women’s fashionable dress belonged most often to women, for Victorian manliness directed men to admire women’s bodies while deriding the fashions that clothed them.

Dense as it is, Benjamin’s aphorism about fashion is thus incomplete, for in probing fashion’s depths, he overlooked its surface: the most overt pleasure Victorian fashion offered women was looking at other women and being looked at by them. The elaborate color plates that circulated in Victorian fashion magazines and epitomized Victorian femininity depict women who solicit and return other women’s fascinated, admiring, and probing gazes, who lock eyes, walk arm-in-arm, and stand so close to each other that their hands and dresses overlap. Fashion plates were one of the most popular forms of imagery targeted at women, and by the end of the nineteenth century over a million women had been exposed to them in France alone.

Though similar to other types of images that depicted dress in detail (clothing-trade plates, costume prints, caricature), the term “fashion plate” is reserved for images that promoted fashion by depicting women wearing the most current clothing styles. Before the 1770s, European royal courts set and disseminated fashions by exporting life-size dolls garbed in actual clothes. Portraiture, historical surveys of national costume, and women’s amateur art paved the way for iconography to replace the clothes themselves. By the 1770s, French and British magazines supplying fashion news included hand-colored fashion plates. 

By the mid-nineteenth century, fashion plates were displayed in shop windows, sold as freestanding images, and appeared regularly in the women’s periodical press, often accompanied by patterns that enabled women to see and sew the latest dresses. During those decades, industrial innovations in fabric manufacture and the popularization of home sewing machines fostered an appetite for new clothes among the middle and upper classes and increased the pace of fashion. Fashion depends on quick dissemination in time and extensive distribution in space; a fashion is one only if many people simultaneously learn of it, adopt it, then renounce it. 

Like newspapers, fashion periodicals provided previews and updates of quickly passing events and were thus a crucial factor in the rise of fashion. Fashion flourished in a modern press organized around immediacy, vividness, novelty, and conformity, and women’s journals provided wide distribution for the fashion images that shaped collective taste. After the 1840s, increased train travel and the abolition of paper taxes expanded the market for all journals, including those reporting on dress trends. As Margaret Beetham has shown, the elite fashion publications of the 1830s were supplanted in the 1840s and 1850s by domestic magazines directed at a middle-class female readership and focused on daily household management as secular female morality.

After the 1840s, the most successful women’s magazines both represented the latest fashions and taught women household skills, thus mediating between aristocratic and bourgeois codes by reconciling display with regulation and restraint. As Beetham explains, women’s magazines were commodities that “gave entry into a world of commodities.” Their seriality promoted the endlessly displaced desire that fueled consumer society, and their regularity incorporated the domestic woman into the temporal cycles of a rationalized, industrial world. Many of the fashion images in women’s periodicals were produced by female artists. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine, which published fashion plates in each issue, advertised among its readers for women who could produce wood engravings, needlework patterns, and fashion blocks.

…Scholars have characterized women in fashion imagery as passive and imprisoned, but plates depict them in the acts of writing, shopping, strolling, attending exhibitions, horse races, and the theater, playing badminton, rowing boats, traveling on trains without men, riding horses, and hunting with guns (fig. 3). Images of fashionable women, like those of well-dressed men, are not so much passive as impassive. The fashionable figure, arrested in the midst of leisure activities, embodies the unhurried pace and relaxed stance of a luxurious life. Fashion plates were images of women designed for female viewers, and that homoerotic structure of looking is intensified by the content and structure of the images themselves. 

…Fashion, often associated with a sexually charged inconstancy, becomes a respectable version of promiscuity for women, a form of female cruising, in which strangers who inspect each other in passing can establish an immediate intimacy because they participate in a common public culture whose medium is clothing. That collective intimacy extended to the fashion magazine itself, consumed by thousands of female readers separately, but simultaneously. A woman who looked at a Victorian fashion plate did not simply find her mirror image, for in that plate she saw not one woman but two. Fashion plates reflected her gaze itself, for in most, one woman stares at another who does not directly return her look. 

…Fashion plates linked visual pleasure to tactile enjoyment, making the desire to become fashionable as inseparable from an erotics of looking and touching as the plates make looking and touching inseparable from each other. Along with the female gaze they solicit and represent, fashion plates evoke a female world saturated by a tactile sensuality represented through carefully rendered drapery and studied contrasts between the soft, curved folds of clothing and the hard angularity of objects. Often accompanied by sewing patterns, the plates touched on the technical manipulations necessary to put fashion into practice: selecting, handling, and sewing fabrics, and measuring, fitting, and dressing bodies. 

Women touch in many plates; in some their figures are contiguous and overlapping, in others they touch the same object, and in others they touch each other directly as they clasp each other’s hands or wrap an arm around a waist or shoulder. Their proximity to the front of the picture plane intensifies the illusion that the viewer could reach out and grasp them, representing touch as the promise of an exchange, the transfer of modish beauty as an actual handing over of body parts or fashionable objects. That exchange never quite takes place, for the viewer cannot grasp the image, and the figures themselves are never shown completing their transactions. 

Instead, they are captured in the midst of them, limned by the very imminence that defines consumer culture. Fashion plates relegate the viewer’s desires to a realm of fantasy, in the sense of something imagined but not yet realized, a powerful promise of transformation and satisfaction that is never definitively fulfilled or thwarted. Although fashion plates link look and touch, the two are often asymmetrical. In paradigmatic fashion plates, one woman looks at and even touches another who either turns completely away from the woman looking at her or looks in her direction but not directly into her eyes. In many fashion plates in which women touch but do not meet eyes, tracing the direction of the apparently vacant gaze shows that the figure who seems to stare into space is looking not at nothing, but at another woman’s breasts, hips, or genital area.

…The convention of posing one woman to look at another who does not return her gaze creates an erotic atmosphere redolent of voyeurism. Like the beholder who looks at the fashion plate, the woman who looks at another in the plate does so all the more freely because she is unobserved. An aura of autoerotic reverie envelops many of the figures in fashion plates, inviting their beholders to indulge in similar meditations. Modern fashion has always been associated with fantasy, with whimsical invention and erotic fabrication; in fashion plates, the blank faces of the figures make them appear to be fantasizing, enjoying vision without consequence and looking liberated from acting. In some fashion plates, those blank looks allow obscene touches to appear as the polite gestures of everyday intimacy. 

…Fashion plates frequently depicted girls whose elaborate clothing and poised stances reflected their incorporation of maternal taste and discipline. Victorian culture represented girls as epistemological paradoxes, so innocent that they could be intensively eroticized without raising comment. But unlike images and stories that eroticized girls for a mixed audience of men and women, fashion imagery displayed girls in erotic dynamics with adult women for the delectation of a female audience. In The History of Sexuality, Foucault argued that the intensification of family ties in the nineteenth century also sexualized them, and fashion plates show that in the process all cross-generational ties were eroticized, including those between adult women and girls. 

…Designed to be objects of an appreciative female gaze inside and outside the image, girls in fashion plates also embody a desire to look at and touch a woman, a desire figured as both self-abasing and self-important. Fashion plates make evident the girl’s desire to be seen as well as to see; they activate a female pleasure in looking at women that triggers an equally strong desire to be looked at by them. Victorian fashion iconography disproves the still influential claims that men look and women are looked at, that only male viewers enjoy corporeal spectacles of femininity, that voyeuristic scopophilia is split from exhibitionistic fetishism, and that the beholder must choose between desire or identification. 

Fashion plates were popular because women who wanted to turn themselves into spectacles of femininity took pleasure in looking at images that reduced women to lovely bodies filling out beautiful clothing. Far from creating a utopian reciprocity that bypassed objectification and voyeurism, fashion plates trained Victorian women to assume the appearance of middle-class femininity by indulging their pleasure in looking at female bodies, their longing to touch them, and their desire to control them.”

- Sharon Marcus, “Dressing Up and Dressing Down the Feminine Plaything.” in Between Women: Friendship, Desire, and Marriage in Victorian England

[fjesusbbbwc2021]

the bed throughout art history & its symbology

BED = someone’s personal space and their retreat from the world, the gateway for sleep and dreams, privacy, security, a place of connection. It also has voyeuristic undertones.

“Site of slumber, sex, and sickness, the bed occupies a significant corner of our lives.  As a household object it is uniquely loaded — a divided destination of dreaming, devotion, death and despair, so much of existence takes place there. It is no wonder then that this humble piece of furniture has been a popular subject for artists, ranging from traditional depictions of the bed as a place of sleep and restfulness to more experimental and conceptual representations of it as an arena of political intent, or as a charged object of desire.” - Sleek Mag.

“The bed has been the subject of multiple explorations in art, representing an ambiguous realm between something personal, intimate, and yet common to all. Most often associated with passion, throughout history the bed has also been linked to childhood, death, disease and other more unseemly acts.” - HENI Talks

                                          Throughout Art History: 

Master of the Divisio Apostolorum, The Nativity of the Virgin, around 1490/95

A Pompeiian fresco that was used to advertise a brothel; a photograph showing a couple in flagrante while clutching a laptop and a mobile phone: the works in a new exhibition in Vienna span centuries and cultures. Yet they all feature one object. [Sleepless: The bed in history and contemporary art](http://www.21erhaus.at/en/ausstellungen/ausstellungsvorschau/schlaflos---das-bett-in-geschichte-und-gegenwartskunst-e181951) offers a glimpse of what goes on between the sheets in paintings, sculptures and film. (Credit: Belvedere, Vienna)

Johann Baptist Reiter, Slumbering Woman, 1849

The exhibition focuses on a piece of furniture with heavy associations. “The bed is one of the most important objects in everyone’s life and the most reproduced object in art history,” says curator Mario Codognato. “It’s where people are born, are conceived, where they go when they’re ill, where – unless they have a violent death – most will be when they die. Some of most crucial moments in life happen in the bed. For that reason, artists have used it throughout history – in diverse ways.” (Credit: Belvedere, Vienna)

Gustav Klimt, Old Man on Death Bed, 1899

“In the past, important people were often shown surrounded by a lot of people on their deathbed –those who were less grand died alone,” says Codognato. He points to the 19th-Century tradition of painting the deceased just before burial. “This ‘final portrait’ – death mask, painting or drawing – was intended to remain within the close circle of family or friends yet, in the case of celebrities, could be circulated extensively and publicly.” It remained in fashion with the advent of photography – “it was the last possible way to remember what they looked like,” says Codognato, offering [Man Ray´s 1922 photo portrait of Marcel Proust](http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/46827/man-ray-marcel-proust-on-his-deathbed-american-november-20-1922/) as an example. Yet “today, when we document every moment of our lives in photography, it’s unlikely that we would photograph one of our relatives on their deathbed – we prefer to remember them alive and in much happier situations.” (Credit: Belvedere, Vienna)

Pierre Bonnard, Nude Lying on a White and Blue Checked Background, around 1909

“A solitary figure painted or photographed on a bed, independently of the mise en scene in which he or she is depicted, triggers in the onlooker a chain reaction of interpretations… which inevitably end up reflecting our desires and experiences,” says Codognato. “The female nudes by Johann Baptist Reiter, Courbet, Bonnard and Lucian Freud are freed from any flimsy anecdotal constraint, as in the pictorial tradition of the past, and appear in instantaneous and sensual intimacy, without revealing explicitly whether we are dealing with a wakening from sleep or a pause in sexual activity.” (Credit: U Edelmann/Städel Museum/Artothek/Bildrecht, Vienna, 2015

John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Bed-ins For Peace, 1969

In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam War, Lennon and Ono held two week-long peaceful protests from the comfort of their hotel beds in Amsterdam and Montreal. Derived from the “sit-in” as a form of peaceful protest, they invited the world press to witness their quiet demonstration. While not necessarily an art performance, the

Bed-Ins

instigate vital questions associated with the medium — what’s public and what’s private, and what constitutes a protest — hinged on a piece of furniture steeped in multifaceted meaning.

Jürgen Teller, Young Pink Kate, London, 1998

According to Codognato, “A between-the-sheets portrait of Marilyn Monroe or her contemporary equivalent, Kate Moss… spark the imagination and voyeurism of the public yet at the same time makes them more human, closer to the public who ultimately also use the bed for resting and making love.” (Credit: Jürgen Teller and Christine König Galerie)

Maria Lassnig, Hospital, 2005

According to Codognato, “The bed is also the place of illness, the place around which cure and consolation, confinement and abandon take place… In sickness, the bed reveals its ambivalent nature, its potential for being a safe refuge or a place filled with danger.” Here, the Austrian painter Maria Lassnig – who won the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 2013 Venice Biennale – casts her typically unflinching gaze on an uncomfortable subject. “Lassnig conveys the sense of despair and lack of intimacy of the exposure of the hospital bed.” (Credit: Hauser & Wirth)

Mona Hatoum, Dormiente, 2008

“The bed in prison has a political meaning,” says Codognato. “Cells are made up of beds; they are also the place where the lethal injection is performed.” Mona Hatoum has added to the idea of the readymade with her piece. “She has created an enlarged cheesegrater with the same dimensions as a bed, bringing the idea of torture to an object associated with rest and love. [Its] sinister blades and teeth… keep the onlooker alert and aware of ceaseless pain.” (Credit: Galleria Continua/Bildrecht, Vienna; Photo: Ela Bialkowska)

images and text taken from BBC Culture (link), and Sleek Mag (link)

HENI Talks - The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin

...

What all of these artworks have in common is that they all feel personal, and confessional.

[kemetic-dreams]

                 Africa’s the birthplace of burial

The most noteworthy find at Uan Muhuggiag is the well-preserved mummy of a young boy of approximately 2 1/2 years old. The child was in a fetal position, then embalmed, then placed in a sack made of antelope skin, which was insulated by a layer of leaves. The boy's organs were removed, as evidenced by incisions in his stomach and thorax, and an organic preservative was inserted to stop his body from decomposing. An ostrich eggshell necklace was also found around his neck. Radiocarbon dating determined the age of the mummy to be approximately 5600 years old, which makes it about 1000 years older than the earliest previously recorded mummy in ancient Egypt. However of similar or older age Egyptian mummy is now the Turin mummy dated to 5,600 years  In 1958-1959, an archaeological expedition led by Antonio Ascenzi conducted anthropological, radiological, histological and chemical analyses on the Uan Muhuggiag mummy. The specimen was determined to be that of a 30-month old child of uncertain sex, who possessed Negroid features. A long incision on the specimen's abdominal wall also indicated that the body had been initially mummified by evisceration and later underwent natural desiccation. One other individual, an adult, was found at Uan Muhuggiag, buried in a crouched position. However, the body showed no evidence of evisceration or any other method of preservation. The body was estimated to date from about 7500 BP

Some scholars argue that the sub-Saharan African population living there could have had an influence on the later process of mummification of Ancient Egypt. There is also considerable debate about whether the rock art found at Uan Muhuggiag, along with the two dead bodies, signify that the shelter was a burial place or otherwise sacred. Mori himself had been a strong advocate of this theory and believed that the site was a place where a cult of the dead took place

Mourning Customs Mourning rituals may continue for at least a week after the burial, notes Mourning Rituals and Practices in Contemporary South African Townships. During the formal mourning period traditional practices include:

Not leaving the house or socializing

Abstaining from sexual activity

Not talking or laughing loudly

Wearing black clothes, armbands or pinning pieces of black cloth to the mourner's clothing

Men and women of the family shaving their hair, including facial hair, which symbolizes death and new life

Widows are expected to mourn for six months to a year and children who lost a parent are expected to mourn for three months. After the formal mourning, the family can stop wearing black. The family may hold a ritual or create a shrine a few days or weeks after the funeral to honor and respect their dead. At some time later, the family may hold a ceremony to commemorate the deceased becoming an ancestor.

Ritual Cleansing Africans believe that anyone or anything that came in contact with the dead is unclean or polluted. According to Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, cleansing rituals start before burial and again about seven days or more after the funeral. Ritual cleansing may include:

Ritual cleansing of the dead before burial - In the Ashanti tribe of Ghana, for example, the oldest woman if the family washes the body three times, dries and dresses it.

Items that touched the deceased, including bedding and clothes, are washed.

Things the deceased used, such as chairs and utensils, are put away until the local traditional period of mourning is over.

The dead's clothing is bundled and stored until mourning ends, then the items are given to family members or burned.

After a time, according to community custom, the house and family members undergo a cleansing, usually involving herbs, to remove misfortune and "darkness."

An animal may be sacrificed at the time of the ritual cleansing of the home and family and again about a month later to put the dead's soul at rest.

Slaves brought burial customs from Africa to the United States On this date we celebrate the African American customs regarding cemeteries and funerals. One of the most direct and unaltered visual manifestations of African influence on the culture of African Americans in the United States is found in the social behaviors centered on funerals.

In many rural graveyards across the south and many urban cemeteries in the north and far west, too, African Americans mark final resting places of loved ones in a distinctive manner. While standard markers or floral arrangements are used, the personal property of the deceased is often placed on top of the grave. This can range from a single emblematic item like a pitcher or vase, to an inventory of the dead person’s household goods. One can find clocks, cups, saucers, toothbrushes, marbles, piggy banks, and more.

Such material collections of honor contrast with the usual contemporary European-American ideal of a burial landscape. Such a collection establishes a connection to customs and practices known not only on southern plantations but also in West and Central Africa.

African graves in Georgia were always decorated with the last article used by the departed, according to Documents from 1843. Historians traveling throughout Zaire in 1884 noted that natives mark the final resting places of their friends by decorating graves with such items as old cooking pots, made useless by penetrating them with holes. Another traveler in nearby Gabon observed over or near the graves of the rich are built small huts, where mourners laid the common articles used by them in their life--pieces of cookery, knives, and sometimes a table.

In early American slavery, funeral customs were one of the few areas of African life into which slave owners tended not to intrude. Despite the massive conversion of Africans to Christian faiths, they retained many of their former rituals associated with the respect of the dead. Placing personal items on graves is more than an emotional gesture. One resident of the Georgia Sea Islands testified, “Spirits need these [things] same as the man. Then the spirit rest and don’t wander.” In addition to personal objects, some African American graves in the South are decorated with white seashells and pebbles, suggesting the watering environment at the bottom of either the ocean or a lake or river.

Such material items are not associated with the Christian belief of salvation; they are more likely signs of the remembrance of African custom. In South Carolina, nearly 40 percent of all slaves imported between 1733 and 1807 were from the Kongo-speaking region; their world of the dead is known to be underground but under water. This place is the realm of the bakulu, creatures whose white color marks them as deceased. Shells and stones signal the boundary of this realm, which can only be reached by penetrating beneath the two physical barriers. Their whiteness remembers that in Central Africa white, not black, is the color of death.

Also found in African cemeteries are pipes driven into burial mounds to serve as speaking tubes that may allow communication with the deceased and mirrors that are said to catch the flashing light of the spirit and hold it there. These same customs are found in burial sites in the Bay Area of California. When given the opportunity, any people will carry a heartfelt custom and tradition from place to place as essential cultural property.

[francesjustinepost-blog]

Six Benefits Of Having Wooden Furnishings In Your House

Any dwelling demands household furniture to allow it to come to life and generate really a personalized space for every home owner. Furnishings create a house a place to unwind, and get yourself a superior night's rest and also watch tv. When selecting furniture out, you will find a lot of unique choices on the market now. Perhaps one of the absolute most widely used types of household furniture is that of furniture. Wood offers lots of great benefits. Wood comes with a pleasing patina that develops with the years and looks even better. Furniture made from wood also supplies wonderful particulars, remains easy to wash and adds tons of class and style to virtually some space.

Works Together with Most Decor Types

Most homeowners want a more certain decoration style like region French, Bohemian, shabby chic, farm-house or nautical. These traditional design styles work exceptionally well with furniture. The warm tones easily fit in well with the common colors employed as well as offerings something familiar and comforting. When numerous home owners enjoy such decoration fashions, they want something using more modern flair. Using wood home furnishings easily fit in nicely who has any decoration plan. Wood creates a welcome natural signature against again contemporary pieces manufactured from metallic. To find out more details concerning furniture: learn more here.

Easy To Clean

Still another advantage of buying wood decoration is that timber is quite easyto wash. Other surfaces can reveal spots. Homeowners may wipe away dust working with a very simple fabric. Other stains can also be removed quickly. This allows householders to continue to keep their wood furnishings in terrific shape over many years. In addition, it suggests a bit purchased correct now is the one that will remain in excellent shape in virtually any space for several years to come.

Adds Heft

Wooden furnishings helps keep any room grounded and adds a little more heft. Heft is one particular method to support connect the room with all the lot where it is situated. From summer time , few things are more beautiful than snuggling up against a embracing piece that seems as a hug. Throughout the warm summer months, wood helps to bring the outdoors interior and leaves every space sense both high in lighting yet in song with nature at very sam e time.

Beautiful Details

Today's homeowners are also on the lookout for home furniture having pleasingly refined particulars. Details make every piece stand out at a crowd. A object of wood household home furnishings could have a lot of lovely wood carvings that attract the pieces to life. Carving may show the timber's inherent characteristics and prove that the carver's abilities. A part of wooden furniture are able to in summary, serve as moderate for art in addition to relaxation and add lots of elegance to almost some space.

Could Be Re-finished

Some forms of furnishings are all designed to be used immediately and subsequently disposed of equally quickly. No so timber furniture items. They are intended to survive. 1 way homeowners can extend the life of these furniture much further is by trimming it. Accreditation is just a process that has a lot of benefits. It allows the conclusion to removed and sanded down. Removing the existing end means eliminating any stains which have accumulated over time. This removes the dirt and also other problems in addition to any slight scratches and dings. Subsequent to the coat has been eliminated, the house owner can change the wood furniture. For instance, they might want to add the following colour to it. They are able to choose a stain that will add something more and make the piece stick out a lot more.

Indoor and Outdoor Use

Wooden household furnishings may also be used indoors as well as out doors. This causes it to be highly versatile. People may take a seat they have been employing in their family area and bring it outside to provide additional chairs in a party. They're also able to earn items from the exterior from the big event that it rains. A coffee table generated from wood may be employed front porch and then delivered indoors to serve as an additional place to keep tabs on sexy day. This would make it easy for people to make use of wood furnishings to satisfy a large range of uses. In addition, it means any timber furniture is easily adapted to changing particular conditions. People that buy these kinds of items might utilize them needed when and exactly wherever they desire them.

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Haegue Yang

Haegue Yang was born in 1971 in Seoul, South Korea. Yang is known for her sculptures and installations that incorporate common household objects and engage multiple senses. Her work has been featured at the Venice Biennale, can be seen on display at the Tate Modern and the Museum of Modern Art, and found in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and other institutions throughout Europe, Asia, and the US. In 2018, Yang won the Wolfgang Hahn Prize for outstanding contemporary art. That same year, she received the Republic of Korea Arts and Culture Award from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. 

[gagosiangallery]

Katharina Grosse | Tatiana Trouvé at Gagosian Basel

September 11, 2019

KATHARINA GROSSE TATIANA TROUVÉ Opening reception: Friday, September 13, 6–8pm September 13–November 16, 2019 Rheinsprung 1, Basel __________ There is no one right way to look at my work; it provokes one to move around, in, and through it in the attempt to put it together in one’s inner vision. —Katharina Grosse An exhibition is a ferryman crossing space and time; the works are transitional objects produced by these intermediary realities where dreams proliferate. —Tatiana Trouvé Gagosian is pleased to present recent works by Katharina Grosse and Tatiana Trouvé. The exhibition will inaugurate Gagosian’s Basel gallery programming, following Continuing Abstraction, the group exhibition presented in conjunction with Art Basel 2019. This latest addition to Gagosian’s constellation of galleries builds upon Basel’s rich cultural scene and aims to further enhance the city’s identity as an international hub for modern and contemporary art. This will be the second time that Grosse and Trouvé have exhibited together, after Le numerose irregolarità at Villa Medici, Rome, in 2018, although in Basel their works will be displayed side by side in unprecedented direct relation.

To create her vibrant abstract works, Grosse blasts paint across canvas with a spray gun. Her energetic, arcing motions cover the studio walls in pigment, conceptually echoing her practice of painting in situ directly on the surfaces of objects, rooms, or entire buildings. In three enormous silk hangings, the material accumulations of Grosse’s painting process—buckets, chairs, cables, and canvases, strewn against a color-flooded wall—are captured in digital print. Grosse’s uncannily self-reflexive prints destabilize perceptions of volume and weight; cluttered, photorealistic walls appear architecturally solid but melt into diaphanous swaths of fabric, susceptible to the slightest movement of air. In Trouvé’s series Les indéfinis (2014–), plexiglass replicas of art-shipping crates are paired with hyperrealistic bronze or copper casts of common objects. In a subversion of material solidity, pliant household items—tires, electrical cords, and macramé hangings—are re-created in unyielding metal, while the greenish luster of plexiglass transforms the crate from a coarse container for art transportation into a work of art itself. Against these limpid vitrines, Trouvé’s casts become three-dimensional drawings—as if the wires, gears, and foils of Marcel Duchamp’s The Large Glass (1915–23) have escaped their panes, reemerging as diagrammatic objects. At first, Grosse’s flamboyant prints and Trouvé’s meditative sculptures appear contrapuntally opposed: silk against bronze and glass; dripping, aleatory colors against spare lines and volumes. Despite their contrasting approaches to materiality and hue—or perhaps because of them—each artist’s work animates, illuminates, and adapts to the other’s. Both the prints and sculptures reproduce elements of the artist’s studio and the real world while signaling to their illusionistic modes of facture—creating dialogue between the works that dramatizes a continuous give-and-take between absorption and reflection. _____ Left: Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2019 (detail), digital print on silk, 106 3/8 × 236 1/4 × 7 7/8 inches (270 × 600 × 20 cm) © Katharina Grosse and VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2019. Right: Tatiana Trouvé, Les indéfinis, 2017–18 (detail), plexiglass, bronze, patina, steel, and paint, 69 5/8 × 53 5/8 × 47 1/4 inches (176.7 × 136.1 × 120 cm) © Tatiana Trouvé

[telephonenostalgia]

Spread from Genesis Belanger: Through the Eye of a Needle exhibition catalog from The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum Available at Printed Matter Virtual Art Book Fair https://aldrichmuseum.pmvabf.org/

[wolfliving]

Garnet Hertz ponders Making

From: Garnet Hertz

This discussion is great - I just subscribed with Chris's message to me - it's nice to connect with like-minded people around this topic. I've obviously been hanging around the wrong places online (like Facebook).

"maker as a disconnection to class struggle" - I could talk about this for YEARS - or at least thousands of words (see below if you don't believe me):

In my view (and I know I'm preaching to the choir here) is that the maker movement was primarily an attempt to standardize, spread and commercialize what artists and hackers were already doing into a “Martha Stewart for Geeks” by Make magazine. The founders literally used "Martha Stewart for Geeks" as their vision - this isn't a metaphor. 

My book project, for example, looks to articulate one of the many strands of this scene that predated making — DIY electronics in art — and it reaches back nearly a hundred years. As many of you know, it has a totally fascinating history. 

Other strands include hacker culture since the 1970s, the free software movement since 1983, ubiquitous computing since 1991, open source hardware since 1997, the explosion of craft practices since Y2K, the Arduino platform since 2003, the FabLab movement since 2005, and the material turn of philosophy over the past several decades — all of these are maker movements, and most of them are more of a social movement than what Make has envisioned. 

The maker movement as articulated by Make lacks fuel of its own and offers little of unique cultural value beyond giving us the nondisciplinary label of the ‘maker’ in 2005. Make magazine organized, promoted and ‘platformed’ the maker movement as its brand, but the leadership of makers came from other sources (as noted above).

What is most interesting about the idea of making is not the term itself — it is the pieces of hacking, craft, DIY culture and electronic art that were left out of constructing the idea of the "maker" (at least in North America), which was largely carved out by Maker Media to serve its private business needs related to selling magazines and event tickets. Maker Media very clearly sanitized things from the hacker scene (maker = hacker - controversy) and from the art/DIY scene (Dorkbot, especially - which I ran in Los Angeles at the time). 

The newer understanding of ‘making’ is not really an all-encompassing term for all, but is focused on a specific subset of ideas, primarily exists in a limited geography of influence, has a limited ecosystem of tools, and follows a specific form for projects that are considerably different and more constrained than the ‘making’ that existed before. The scene envisioned by Maker Media was almost exclusively focused on producing work as a leisure pursuit, which is a total misunderstanding with how many hackers or artists work.

In retrospect, the maker scene rode two major waves: the Arduino and 3D printing. I see its death as partially a result of never being able to find a third wave. Maker Media was also constructed as a relatively financially heavy structure that needed a lot of fuel to survive -- it wasn't an artist collective. In terms of financial waves, the Arduino provided vital technological, social and ethical glue that massively helped Make magazine launch. The Ardunio technical platform provided an accessible and uniform venue for sharing project prototypes, and its open source hardware provided a novel and exciting blueprint for how physical electronic objects could be prototyped and distributed. The Arduino and Make had a symbiotic and intertwined relationship with each other, with Arduino providing the hardware, mindset and seed community for Make, and Make providing media coverage and scores of fresh users for the Arduino hardware platform.

A similarly intertwined relationship formed a few years later between consumer-level 3D printing and Make magazine and its affiliated Maker Faire. In hindsight, the 3D printing movement was synonymous with the maker movement between 2009 to 2013, and this impact is still felt today. Of the many projects and companies involved in the rapid expansion of inexpensive 3D printing after 2009, MakerBot was central — and Make magazine largely served as its promotional sidekick.

The maker movement is somewhat significant in that it highlights how alienated contemporary western culture has become from the manual craft of building your own objects, and how wholly absorbed it has been enveloped in consumer culture. The maker movement works counter this alienation, but does so with considerably broad strokes — almost to the extent that making anything qualifies as being part of the movement.

 Instead of looking at the maker movement as a large interdisciplinary endeavour, it can also be interpreted as a re-categorization of all manual fabrication under a single banner. Language typically expands into a rich lexicon of terms when a field grows, and the generality of ‘making’ is the polar opposite. Ceramicists, welders, sculptors, luthiers, amateur radio builders, furniture makers and inventors have been conflated into the singular category of makers, and the acceptance of this shift seems to indicate that any form of making is novel enough in popular culture that it is not worth discerning what is being built.

If looking at what typically constitutes a social movement, Make magazine’s maker movement never fit the bill. For example, Glasberg and Deric define social movements as “organizational structures and strategies that may empower oppressed populations to mount effective challenges and resist the more powerful and advantaged elites.” If we ask what oppressed population Make magazine serves, it clearly doesn't have one.

 If looked at from an economic perspective, Make’s readership contains considerably more powerful and advantaged elites than the oppressed: the publication’s own statistics claim that its audience has a median household income of $125,000 USD, over double the national US median of $59,039. Make’s maker movement is primarily a pitch to sell empowerment to the already empowered — in a 2012 Intel-funded research study on makers, “empowerment” is identified as a key motivator for the affluent group, and Make primarily sustained itself by catering to this audience until it realized that 3D printing and the Arduino weren't everything they promised to be. Or maybe people finally realized that they had enough 3D printed Yoda heads and blinking LED Arduino projects -- and that building stuff of cultural or design value was actually quite difficult.

If anybody else is interested in reading a draft of my book, just fill this out:

https://forms.gle/1F8787aJqSSapjPW9

- I'll mail out about a dozen physical hardcopies in exchange for harsh feedback.

I'm also still collecting thoughts about a "Post-Making" type of organization here:

https://forms.gle/JBM6DDFT7436p43G9

Some of the responses are as follows:

* Model it after dorkbot but instead of having meetings it can be geared around smaller regional Faires

* I would run it as a non profit and make sure that there are people from all over the world representing. Not only so US focused.

* Focus on low tech and tech criticism...as much as possible far from western culture...let say the gambiara creative movement in LATAM (brazil) or Cuban style repair culture, guerilla, community envisioned and run publications/workshops/happenings without the 'red tape' so often discussed as part of the Maker Media legacy. 

So, no forced branding, no forced commonalities (other than perhaps a shared manifesto), no minimum number of participants or fundraising requirement for it to be a 'real' event of the community, and much less of a focus on attracting, and then satisfying, corporate sponsors.

* Should be about critical making, open source, skill sharing, critical thinking and more...

* I think the most important thing is to help local people meet up with each other in person. This should go far beyond people who already go to a hackerspace - this is something that Make did well by bringing together all sorts of people from children, university students, hackers, artists, etc. I don't think this has to be large scale.

* Member-run co-operative; leadership positions only for women; women-only days; focus on understanding biases built into technologies and imagining ways around this (critical technical practice)

And if anybody has made it this far down the page, I'm interested in talking to people working at universities that are working in this field.

--

Dr. Garnet Hertz Canada Research Chair in Design and Media Arts Emily Carr University of Art and Design 520 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada  V5T 0H2

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[hudaisashahh]

BURMA:

According to courses.lumenlearning.com “Burmese art has been influenced primarily by Theravada Buddhism and the culture of the Mon people, with additional influences from India, Thailand, and China. Themes are commonly drawn from Buddhist and Hindu cosmology and myths. Burma is particularly renowned for its richness of Buddhist architecture, and is justifiably called “The Land of Pagodas ,” as Buddhist monasteries and gilded pagodas dot the landscape.”

Burmese art have influenced by few of its neighboring countries a lot. Being a buddhist country, hinduism and chinese culture have a lot in common.

Later in that article they mention about 4th Century CE that “The styles, ground plans, and construction techniques used are very similar to those of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in the Andhra region in present-day south-eastern India.”

Also “The Pagan Empire is famous for its religious architecture: over 2,000 temples from the period survive to the present day. In addition to setting the model for subsequent Buddhist stupas and temples, the Pagan period also witnessed the production of beautiful jeweled statues of the Buddha.”

This is a Stupa style Buddhist Temple, established in 1102 CE!

According to wikipedia “Pagan dynasty and pagan empire was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-day Burma.”

So the above Temple was completed by Pagan. Later the pagan dynasty was succeeded by Ava Kingdom.

As the dynasty used to change, the art changed.

These are most famous history styles of Burmese below.

According to blogs.bl.ul Burmese chronicles recorded that King Alaung Sithu (r.1112-1167) was a great traveller as he spent much of his time on water journeys.” So they made this painting.

Burmese art is mostly only paintings and sculptures in common and famous.

Niu Today info posted about Burmese modern art

“Bilu, Burma/Myanmar, Carved wood, lacquer, mirror inlay, (35 x 12 x 18 in.) Burma Art Collection, Gift of Konrad and Sarah Bekker.”

Another modern day art,

Niutoday.info posted,

Aung Khaing, Htibyusaung Medaw Nat, 2014, Acrylic on canvas. (24 x 18 in.) On loan from the Thukhuma Collection.

According to https://www.beontheroad.com/2016/02/twante-burma-myanmar.html#

“For centuries, the people of Twante have lived off their pottery skills. Even today, their pots are of huge demand throughout Burma, but unfortunately, a lot of their new generation travels to neighbouring Yangon to do jobs in the city. This town, with its rustic riverside atmosphere and great pottery industry makes for a fantastic day trip from Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar (Burma).”

kyrgyzstan:

According to https://medium.com/@eshalievakamila/top-famous-paintings-in-kyrgyz-art-history-57262796e7e2

“artisans create objects to be sold either as souvenirs to tourists or as heirlooms for people's homes. Some are displayed in the National Gallery or in museums abroad. Most of these are done in wool or silk, including the wool carpets called shirdaks and alakiis,embroidered wall hangings called tush-kiis,and small animal or human figures. Wood, horn, leather, and clay are also used. There are a number of painters as well, whose works are sold mostly to foreigners. These often have traditional Kyrgyz themes but often use modern and postmodern styles of painting. Galleries and art exhibits are almost exclusively in the capital city.”

According to https://impakter.com/art-in-kyrgyzstan/

“Upon receiving its status of a sovereign state, Kyrgyzstan has experienced a lot of difficulties associated with the collapse of the old institutional forms of art, the formation of the market economy, etc. But finally, art in Kyrgyzstan has received its absolute freedom of expression. Nowadays, contemporary art in Kyrgyzstan bears in itself a respect for tradition, openness to everything new, secularity, internationalism, humanism, patriotism and a strong civil position.”

Semyon Chuikov. “Daughter of Soviet Kyrgyzstan” (1948).

Mukhtar Mukambetov. “Blue Windows”, 1980

This painting is the most popular among Kyrgyz people. The portrait represented not only Kyrgyzstan at several international exhibitions but also the whole Soviet Union.

“The prototype of the girl was Aimzhamal Ogobaeva, she was from the Orto-Sai village. Chuikov regularly visited her until the end of his days and called her a daughter. The original work is stored in State Tretyakov Gallery. The artist made a сopy in 1950 however. It is exhibited in the most honorable place — in the hall of Semyon Chuikov at Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts.”

Mukhtar Mukambetov. “Blue Windows”, 1980

Mukhtar Mukambetov loved to portray household moments and everyday routine. He demonstrated the cleaning of a new apartment on this painting. The mood of the picture is dramatic and playful because of the color palette on the canvas.

This is their modern art showing their scarves and their attire in Osh.

According to http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Kyrgyzstan/sub8_5c/entry-4774.html

“Public art abounds in the form of statues, murals, roadside plaques, and building decorations. But Perhaps the best indicator of the condition of the fine arts in postcommunist Kyrgyzstan is the fate of the open-air sculpture museum in Bishkek, which began suffering a series of thefts in early 1993. Because the targets were all bronze, presumably the sculptures were stolen for their value as metal, not as art. When a large statuary group commemorating Aitmatov's Ysyk-Köl Forum (a notable product of the early glasnost period) disappeared, the museum's remaining statues were removed to a more secure location. [Source: Library of Congress, 1996]”

These traditional design rugs are pretty famous in Kyrgyzstan, which is similar to Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan, also Iran and Iraq share some similarities.

This is pottery of Kyrgyzstan pottery and it is used and traded all over the world also sharing similarities with Pakistan’s pottery.

[latristereina]

Louise of Savoy was an exemplary guardian of Francis’s interests, assessing every situation for its possible impact on his future. From his birth, her greatest preoccupation was whether Anne of Brittany would have a son who would displace Francis as heir to the throne. With each of Anne’s pregnancies, Louise privately rejoiced at the birth of a daughter or the death of a son. In 1512, she recorded in her Journal, “Anne at Blois...had a son, but he could not retard theexaltation of my Caesar; he was stillborn.” This journal, probably written about 1522, was essentially a catalog of the significant events of Louise’s life, most of them revolving around Francis. Unlike a mistress or a wife who conformed to her royal consort’s context, Louise, as Francis’s mother, shaped a future king and set the stage for his reign.

When Francis became king, he turned to Louise for advice and assistance and relied on her to govern in his stead during his absences, certain that his own interests would be cultivated assiduously. Contemporary chroniclers acknowledged Louise’s fundamental influence over the young king, and artists portrayed her solicitous care for the kingdom and her son. Louise’s biographer, Paule Henry-Bordeaux, insists that she merited the title of “king” and recognition as one of the greatest “men of state” France has ever known. Louise’s preeminence in Francis’s court and, indeed, in the history of France was not foretold by her early circumstances.

She was born in 1476 into a noble family, closely related to the royal family but relatively impoverished. Her father was Philip of Bresse, the younger son of the house of Savoy. (His sister was Charlotte of Savoy, Louis XI’s much-despised wife). Her mother was Marguerite of Bourbon, the sister of the duke of Bourbon Jean II and of Pierre of Beaujeu, who married Anne, Charles VIII’s sister. Louise was sent to be reared under the tutelage of her aunt, Anne of Beaujeu. The most prominent member of that court circle of young women was Margaret of Austria, who was then Charles VIII’s intended bride. The early relationship between Margaret and Louise would prove fateful later in negotiating peace between Louise’s son, Francis I, and Margaret’s nephew, Charles V.

When Louise was only two years old, Louis XI selected Charles d’Angoulême as her spouse, not to promote her well-being but rather to prevent Charles from making a more advantageous marriage to Marie, heiress to the duchy of Burgundy, binding him instead to the politically insignificant and territorially impoverished Louise. As with his own daughter’s marriage to Louis of Orléans, Louis XI deliberately arranged this marriage to the disadvantage of his potential rival—a practice in keeping with his reputation as a malevolent meddler, nicknamed the “Spider King.” After Louis XI died, Anne of Beaujeu, ruling in her brother’s stead, insisted that Charles d’Angoulême, despite his objections, marry Louise partly to punish him for fighting in the “crazy war” on Brittany’s side. Thus at the age of eleven, Louise married a man seventeen years older than she and into a household she shared with her husband’s long-standing mistress, Jeanne de Polignac, and their offspring. Jeanne took Louise under her wing in this unconventional domestic ménage at the chateau of Cognac, where both women raised their children together. Although somewhat unconventional and impoverished, the household was also cultured. Charles was interested in music, painting, and his library. He inherited an extensive manuscript collection from his father and added appreciably to it. He retained Robinet Tesard, the most important sixteenth-century manuscript illuminator, and the two Saint-Gelais brothers; Jean later attained great renown as Louis XII’s historian, and Octavien as a translator of ancient texts. The Angoulême household thus was in the forefront of the French Renaissance in its appreciation of the ancients.

Louise took advantage of its cultural riches and shared these interests; one of her devices would be “Libris et Liberis” (for my books and for my children). Louise’s first child, her daughter Marguerite, was born in 1492. For Louise, as for other women of her station, her success as a wife required that she produce sons. To that end, she made a pilgrimage to consult with the holy man Francis de Paule, whose intercession was widely believed to ensure the birth of a son. He promised not only that Louise would have a son but also that he would be king. Louise’s much-longed-for son, Francis, was named for him. She expressed her joy when “Francis, by the grace of God, King of France, my pacific Caesar, took his first sight of the light of day at Cognac, about ten hours after midday 1494, the 12th day of September.”

After the death of dauphin Charles-Orland (Charles VIII’s and Anne of Brittany’s son), Louise urged her husband to go to court to advance the family’s interests, as they were now closer to the throne. When Charles became ill en route, she rushed to his side and nursed him for more than a month. “No one could have done more...and as his illness became more extreme, she had to be persuaded to leave the room, so that she would not die, as she already appeared more dead than alive,” reported a contemporary. Louise commented with characteristic succinctness, “The first day of the year 1496, I lost my husband.” Charles’s will expressed confidence in his nineteen-year-old widow. He designated her as guardian of his children and manager of his estates, but left her with only two thousand écus  after his debts were paid. The young widow relied on Jean de Saint-Gelais to advise her. Louis of Orléans tried to nullify Charles’s will, challenging Louise’s rights on the grounds that the customary age for such control was twenty-five and she was only nineteen. Charles VIII settled the issue by granting Louise custody of her children but Louis of Orléans control of their business affairs. If, however, Louise remarried, she would lose her guardianship—a stipulation that might well explain her resistance to subsequent marriage proposals.

When Louis of Orléans became Louis XII, Louise went to court to reclaim some family lands now attached to the crown. Attaching lands to the crown through marriage was an important way the kingdom of France had gradually increased its territory. Royal relatives were granted land in appanage  to give them a territorial base and income; such bequests would revert to the crown in the absence of a male heir. Thus Louise’s suit was highly unorthodox and ultimately unsuccessful. Louis further ordered the family to move to the royal chateau of Amboise and placed it under the control of Gié, an act Louise deeply resented. That enmity led Louise to make common cause later with Anne of Brittany in the court proceedings against Gié.

When Louis came to power, Louise was no doubt greatly encouraged about Francis’s prospects. After all, Louis was married to Jeanne, by whom he had had no children and in whom he had little interest. Louise might well have begun to believe that Francis de Paule’s prophecy would soon be fulfilled. If Louis had no heir, Francis would be the next king. But Francis’s prospects were quickly jeopardized by Louis’s annulment and subsequent marriage to Anne of Brittany. The royal court, a model of decorum under Anne of Brittany, was rather horrified by Louise’s entourage of her husband’s former mistress, illegitimate children, and Saint-Gelais. He was considered to be such an adept advisor that, on Gié’s advice, Louis XII detached him from Louise, so that Angoulême family interests could not be pursued independently of those of the crown. The king’s appointment of Gié as Francis’s governor allowed him to interfere further in Louise’s affairs, beginning with the banishment of Saint-Gelais. Nonetheless, Louise continued to supervise Francis’s education conscientiously. She instilled in him an appreciation for chivalric practices and humanist texts, and he owed his facility in Italian and Spanish to her. Knowledgeable and appreciative of the arts, Louise was likely responsible for cultivating her son’s early interest in them. Early exposure to these texts, languages, and arts formed the young man who would, of all European monarchs, most assiduously foster Renaissance culture. The renowned humanist Castiglione later praised the exemplary quality of Francis’s education: “I was told that he greatly loved and esteemed learning and respected all men of letters.” But Francis was not proficient in Latin—the sine qua non of humanist accomplishment. Thus the humanist Guillaume Budé reported to Erasmus, “This prince is not lettered (which I fear is too often the case with our kings), but he is endowed with natural eloquence; he has intelligence, tact, suppleness, and an easy and agreeable manner.” Despite Francis’s reputation as an exemplarily educated Renaissance king, his sister profited more from their excellent education and became the scholar of the family.

Louise watched with trepidation Anne’s many pregnancies and with hope each of the king’s increasingly serious bouts of ill heath. Every setback for the royal family also brought Louise’s matrimonial status to the fore, as Francis’s future kingship seemed more likely. Several crowned heads of Europe requested Louise’s hand in marriage, due to her son’s expected ascent to the throne. She rejected both Ferdinand of Aragon and Henry VII, deferring her opportunities for an advantageous marriage to protect her son’s interests.

Louise wielded the greatest authority over Francis until he made his first public appearance as Louis’s heir in 1504 and moved beyond her direct tutelage. After the Assembly of Notables (1506) pleaded with Louis for a “French” marriage between his daughter Claude and Francis, the king formally recognized Francis as his heir and requested that he join his court. Louise commented, “My son went away from Amboise to be a courtier and left me all alone.” 

With every passing year, Louise’s expectations that Francis would become king increased. When Francis toured the kingdom in 1510 as the heir apparent, he was received with great enthusiasm. After the birth of yet another stillborn son to Anne in 1512, Francis was called popularly “Monsieur le Dauphin.” He attended council meetings and was elevated to captain of a hundred lances. He acquitted himself well in his first military ventures, which may well have whetted his appetite for war. He belonged to the highest hereditary nobility, whose chief function was fighting. As descendents of the cadet branch of the house of Orléans, the Angoulême had grounds to intervene in Italy; Francis too could claim Milan through his great-grandmother Valentina Visconti. Like recent royal predecessors, Francis would spend much time and revenue pursuing the dream of control over Italy. Until her death, Louise would be the strongest advocate and most tireless negotiator for peace. 

Francis became not only Louis’s presumed heir but also his son-in-law. Louise and Anne, despite their mutual antipathy (Anne was all too aware that Louise rejoiced in the deaths of her male children), were united in opposing this marriage. Both hoped for other more-advantageous marriages for their children. When Louis was ill in 1505, he appointed both Anne and Louise as Claude’s guardians. Before her death, Anne confided Claude’s guardianship to Louise. A responsibility, Louise insisted, she carried out “honorably and amiably,” although her claim that “everyone knows it; truth recognizes it; experience proves it; moreover common report proclaims it” might seem to protest too much.

When Francis married Claude on May 18, 1514, the court was still in mourning for her mother. Nonetheless, the country rejoiced in its young, engaging presumptive heir. Francis immediately benefited from Claude’s wealth; courtiers,who expected to profit from the association, flocked to him; and in June he requested the right to administer Brittany from his new bride. But Francis’s fortunes were again cast into doubt by Louis’s sudden marriage to the sixteenyear-old beauty Mary, the sister of Henry VIII of England. As Louise recorded, “King Louis XII, very old and debilitated, left Paris to go to his young wife. . . .October was the amorous wedding . . . they were married at 10 o’clock in the morning and went to bed together in the evening.” Written seven years after Francis became king, this entry seems tinged with bitter recognition that Louise’s hopes for Francis might come to naught.

Louise was a more astute and effective protector of Francis’s interests than he. According to Brantôme, Francis was not much interested in his young bride but intrigued by the new queen, even though such interest directly threatened his own prospects. When the courtier Jean de Grignols could not discourage Francis’s pursuit of Mary, he informed Louise, who warned Francis that the birth of a male child to Mary would be his undoing. Another serious threat was Mary’s ongoing interest in the duke of Suffolk. If Mary had borne a son, whether by Francis or the duke of Suffolk, Francis’s claim to the throne would have been nullified. So those protecting Francis’s interests kept the queen under constant surveillance until this threat to his future ended with Louis’s death on January 1, 1515. Louise rejoiced in the realization of her hopes at long last: “My son was anointed and consecrated in the church of Reims. For this I hold myself grateful to the Divine Mercy, by which I am amply repaid for all the adversities and inconveniences, which came to me in my early years.” Louise had attained her greatest ambition; Francis was finally king of France, his interests preserved in no small measure because of her astute attention to them.

When Francis became king, Louise was thirty-eight years old. Antonio de Beatis, the secretary to the cardinal of Aragon, described her then as “an unusually tall woman, still finely complexioned, very rubicund and lively, and seems to me to be about forty years old but more than good, one could say, for another ten.” Contemporaries recognized both Louise’s ability and her influence on Francis. As Beatis noted,“She always accompanies her son and queen and plays the governess without restraint.” The duke of Suffolk warned Henry VIII: “Sir, it is she who runes [sic ], all, and so may she well, for I never saw a woman like to her for wit, honor, and dignity. She has a great stroke in all matters with the king, her son.” The Venetian ambassador Zaccaria Contarini’s account of Francis’s schedule highlighted Louise’s centrality in this new reign (and it is also revealing about how Francis spent his time): “He rises at eleven o’clock, hears Mass, dines, spends two or three hours with his mother, then goes whoring or hunting.” 

“Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France”, Kathleen Wellman