#hermes x tiresias

[restlesskeychains]

Out of all of the crack ships, I think hermes and tireseas are my favs

[nothing-impt]

I just saw a post on tumblr about shipping Tiresias and Hermes because one is a godly messenger and the other is like a prophetic messenger and my fingers never worked so fast

Edit: This amazing idea was by @rubypet do check them out y’all :)

[bugbear55]

hey hear my cries

eury/polites

hermes/Tiresias

thank you!

My GOD you cooked with that one

Injecting this into my veins

[blacksuitguy]

Has anyone done this?

Thing reads, “Baking my dead prophet bf into a cookie because I miss him.” (My handwriting sucks wtf)

[saltyfoxes-art]

a couple hermes x tiresias doodles

[jay-avian]

Hermes x Tiresias (pt. 2)

Part 1 here (I went a bit long with this one, but it needed to feel conclusive)

Hermes swooped down into the dark lands once more. He hummed to himself, breezing past the moans of the souls beneath him. The bright colors he wore made him shine against the the shadows. He flew and looked all around. The prophet, however, could not be found. Hermes stopped for a moment. "Now where could that little recluse be?" Off in the distance, he saw the banks of a small pool of water and a figure sitting there. "Ah, there we go!"

As he got closer, Hermes saw Tiresias kneeling. His staff sat on the ground beside him. Tiresias faced out towards the water as if he was looking at the pool. His hands rested in his lap. Hermes didn't want to go farther at first. It would have been wise to leave the prophet to his sombre reflections. Tiresias always looked so peaceful like this. But Hermes spoke anyways.

"Heyy there, darling!" Hemers exclaimed. He laid on the air on his stomach with his legs up, kicking as he talked. His head rested on his folded hands. "How's it going? Did you miss me? I bet you missed me."

"You've been gone for six months' time," Tiresias said.

"Yeah, well I was busy, you know how humans are," Hermes said, with his hands waving about. "Always running around, all like 'Help us please, Hermes, we need your guidance', and you know I can't say no to people like that."

Tiresias sighed, his shoulders dropping. He tilted his head towards the god. "You don't have to lie to save your hubris. I understand why you were gone. I saw your true self that day."

Hermes scoffed. He thought about how quickly he left. He probably thinks I couldn't care less, that I'm just some pretentious prick. I mean I know I am, but… if that's all he's going to see… He crossed his arms and leaned on the rocks beside him. "And what gave that away, do you think?" Hermes asked.

"Your eyes," said Tiresias, turning to face him. He paused. He found it hard to find his breath. "I looked to the past and saw them."

The god's face dropped. His eyes fell frozen over his friend. "I- I didn't think-"

"You spoke of compassion, of bringing down hope in a place where none seems to grow. And in your hopes, you found a cold requital. Y-" He went to say more, but found his words failing. He looked straight on past Hermes. "You spoke of love… romance everlasting…" Tiresias turned his head down to the pool, gripping his robe. He grimaced though he did not see his reflection. "I hope you will forgive my ignorance, my god," he said softly.

Hermes placed his hand over his mouth. The shadow over the god's eyes had brightened some. Devastated sympathy washed over his face. "Oh," he sighed. He flew in lower and closer. "Oh dear, of course I would forgive you."

He floated down, gently stepping onto the ground, kneeling by Tiresias. There they sat without speaking. All they heard were the low hums of the wind whisking by. There they sat, still as the stones that surrounded them. At times, the god went to console his worshipper. At times, his words found no sound. When he saw how tense the prohpet was, he remembered what other gods had done. Tiresias had faced punishment before. And though he could see the future, there were many paths it could take. Hermes looked down at his hands as he rubbed them together.

"Listen," he said at last, "I may not be the best god, or the most perfect in any light. But I want you to know that I would never, ever, do anything to hurt you. I… I care about you a lot, and I was wrong to hide that from you." As the god spoke, Tiresias loosed his shoulders. Hermes gave a short laugh. "I'm not even sure you like me at all in that regard. But, at least you can know I mean well, and…"

Hermes trailed off, his words falling short. Tiresias let go of his robe and faced the god. He sat silent for a moment.

"What I would give to see your eyes right now," Tiresias said. Hermes looked up with his brow raised. The prophet smiled. "Though I'm sure they're just as beautiful now as they were then."

The god's face grew flushed. But before he could refute the compliment, he watched Tiresias raise his hands towards his hood.

"So at the very least," he said. "I'll show you mine." He let the hood fall from his head. White curls of hair were revealed, bright against the dark that surrounded them. His hands moved to untie the band around his eyes. But instead of letting it fall, he froze.

Hermes tilted his head. "Would you like some help d- Tiresias?"

The prophet said nothing, but gave a slow nod. Hermes reached over and gently held his hands. Tiresias let out a short breath he had been holding. The god guided his hands lower, going slow. As the band fell, they revealed eyes of grey with a thin ring of amber in the center, as sunlight peering over storm clouds. Hermes paused. The shadows over his face fell in full. He stared and sighed in awe.

"Gods, you're gorgeous," he said softly.

Tiresias frowned. "Why must you taunt me like this?"

"I'm not, honest. I do really think you're wonderful and beautiful and…" In a lower whisper, he said, "Gods, I want to kiss you."

"What?" Tiresias took his hands back.

"I'm sorry!" Hermes said, his face flushed. "I didn't mean to startle you like that. I just- I was looking at you and I just kinda said that out loud and I didn't mean to, it just came out and I, well…" He rubbed his hands together with a nervous look. "I won't if you don't want me to and I understand! If you don't want to, I mean. But… may I?"

Tiresias simply stared at first. He sat frozen, hands coiled back. Apprehension filled the air about them. After a moment, Tiresias took a deep breath and let it go just as slow. "…Do as you wish."

"A-are you sure? I don't want you doing this for me. I want to make sure you want this too."

The prophet's hands clutched his robe once more. He looked to the ground. "I do want this."

Hermes sat up, his face raised with delight. He inched closer. Reaching his hand out, he lifted the prophet's face to meet his. Tiresias looked at him with nervousness, yet did not move. Hermes leaned in, closed his eyes, and gently kissed him. In that moment, the prophet saw not time nor space, but felt the world in his heart. In that moment, the god heard not a prayer, but praised the soul before him. And in that moment, the only thing that mattered was the sacred touch upon their lips.

The two parted. They stayed just inches away. Hermes looked down with care at his love. Tiresias sighed, looking up at the god with reverence. He said in a whisper, "I haven't felt such bliss in ages."

Hermes gave a soft smile. "Well then," he said, "would you like some more?"

Tiresias nodded and Hermes graced his lips again. The god raised his hands to hold the prophet's face with gentleness. Tiresias reached out to hold the god in return. There they knelt before each other in this act of worship. By the pool of water in a far off nook in the Underworld, they could be found. And it was there in that dark cave they found hope in each other. They found hope in the world of gods.

@nothing-impt hope you don't mind the tag, finished the one part I reblogged from you

[bladevoyager]

@nothing-impt

I made this for you

I just realized I forgot to color in the prophet :(

[naminoor]

Some EPIC doodles but with very low quality.

Elpenor in therapy, talking about how he died and nobody noticed or cared.

Perimedes in therapy talking about how he doesn’t love anybody (lies) and ‘can’t fail if he doesn’t try’.

They’re gay your honor i am the boat ‼️

[ivys-garden]

Other people have done this...but I haven't had a go yet sooooo

Fan Cast for an MCYT x Epic: The Musical AU

● Odysseus - Scott

● Penelope - Jimmy

● Telemachus - Bdubs

● Eurylochus - Martyn

● Polites - Owen

● The Lotus Eaters - Zedaph, Impulse, Tango, Skizz

● Athena - False

● Polythemus - Doc

● Aeolus - Katherine

● The Winglings - Shubble

● Posidon - Lizzie

● Circe - Stress

● Hermes - Pearl

● Odysseus’ Mum - Mumbo?

● Tiresias - Bigb

● Scylla - Gem

● Perimedes - Wels

● Zeus - Joel

● Calypso - Oli

● Antinuous - Ren

● Apollo - Grian

● Hephaestus - Etho

● Aphrodite - Joe

● Ares - Cleo

● Hera - Scar

[corvid-blues]

YOOO EPIC THE MUSICAL x LIFE SERIES AU THINGGG

this post is made specifically for @patches4thechaos no one else (/j)

It’s kind of (???) like a masterpost of this AU, but like badly structured and I haven’t made good reference sheets just some color palettes next to some ok drawings I suppose (I am very much going to redraw them just not soon maybe idk) SO UH HERE ROLES AND WHY I PICKED THEM

Odysseus - Joel

Notes - Idk he was the only one I could safely use because he ACTUALLY HAS A WIFE. Also it’s fun to be different. Though using him as Zeus is also like really fitting. Oh well. You get all the trauma Joel.

Penelope - Lizzie

Notes - I’m sorry Lizzie you’re cool and badass but unfortunately you’re also Joel’s wife and Pen is Ody’s wife. I do like to dream you videotape him killing all the sutiors though.

Telemachus - Hermes 

Notes - I literally have no idea who this guy is except he’s vaguely bird-like from fandom perception and also Joel’s son. But he fits the son role pretty well from what I see. (He’s in Empires btw)

Eurylochus - Martyn

Notes - Bro needs more main roles- Like he’s the least popular Life Series winner (which isn’t a low bar all of them are like super popular) but honestly I made Ren Polities and was like “Welp the only only valid option for Eurylochus is Martyn” and rolled with it.

Polities - Ren

Notes - Ren is a happy-go-lucky joyous boy and I think more people need to recognize that like bro is walking through life confused af but dam happy about it I’ll tell you. Everyone is like “Red King angst angst angst” like he has no idea what’s going on at all times.

Polyphemus - Bdubs

Bdubs is the only viable option for Polyphemus like animal-obsessed and murderous? Who else? Also he has a giant horse demon.

Aeolus - Skizz

Notes - He seems the popular choice, and his goofy demeanor and angelic fandom traits really show why. I have a really vivid mental image of his giant angelic form flapping its wings and pushing the ships with giant gusts of wind. It’s my second favorite moment in all of this.

Circe - Gem

Notes - Actually, I can’t take credit for this one, I saw someone with a different EPIC AU who put her as Circe and using skulk instead of seduction in There Are Other Ways and I was like “GENIUS” and stole it. She fits pretty well.

Hermes - Scar

No other viable option. Especially the fandom meme of Hermes selling drugs to Odysseus, seems like something Scar would do. Also the fun beat and Hermes’s other song “Dangerous” is definitely his vibe like seriously.

Tiresias - Grian

Notes - I have so much unnecessary angsty lore that has nothing to do with actual Tiresias like he was barely twenty when he died but grew up in the underworld, he was forced into being a preist to the Secret Keeper (watcher robes and stuff) and is familiar with a lot of the gods because he’s a prophet. I also have a bunch of desert duo shit (obviously). 

Siren - BigB

Notes - Honestly an arbitrary choice, but my main inspiration was Double Life and how he “pretended” to be Grian’s soulmate. Like, this is a completely different situation but like same concept. Ha you fuck up big time B.

Scylla - Pearl

Notes - Look the giant serpent heads are Pearl’s wolf pack Joel’s head is illuminated but the blood moon reflected in the water before they dock and walk through a dark cave and like his face is bathed in the blood of the moon and in the end the blood of his comrades THE SYMBOLISM. The “drown in your sorrow and tears” LIKE DOUBLE LIFE YALL I CANT.

Antinous - idk honestly

Notes - HE’S EVIL AND A JERK IDK

Calypso - Iskall

Notes - Yoooo our one of our only non-lifers- I guess he doesn’t really count for a Life Series AU but like he was too perfect Calypso being like “Noooo why are you breaking up with me” and Odysseus being like “WE WERE NEVER TOGETHER” real Iskall and Joel coded relationship.

Zeus - The Secret Keeper 

Notes - The only problem with this one is Thunder Bringer because he seems a lot more like just a guy there (an all powerful jerk guy but that’s besides the point) and less like an omnipotent divine deity which is what I was going for with the Secret Keeper in the Horse and the Infant and God Games.

Athena - Cleo

Notes - I saw her sometimes depicted with snake hair like Medusa and ya know Athena turned Medusa into a gorgon so I thought “Hey what if Cleo was Athena and her hair turned into snakes when she’s angry” like in My Goodbye and the “hold your tongue” scene in God Games. I gave her dreads so it’s a smoother transition.

Poseidon - Etho

Notes - Another arbitrary choice! I must blame this on my Ethubs brain like this AU is actually mostly based on Last Life (or at least the relationships) so like red life Bdubs being almost killed by Joel would really piss him off. But also in Limited Life Bdubs is technically Etho’s son so you could take it as that. (Sorry Boat Boys shippers I actually really considered putting him as Calypso)

Apollo - Jimmy

Notes - Now we’re getting into the really arbitrary choices. This was mostly a color match, and Jimmy seems like the kind of guy to own a bunch of cows and throw a hissy fit when one of them is killed. 

Hephaestus - Tango

Notes - Actually, I had Tango for Hephaestus in my head for a while. Idk he just has inventor vibes that would very obviously be angry at Joel’s basically sacrifice of his entire crew.

Aphrodite - Scott

Notes - This was mostly an excuse so I could put Scott in like flowy beautiful clothing also he seems like the kind of guy to be the god of love like bro is very gay.

Ares - Impluse

Notes - I… have no good reasoning for this. Impulse in my head is actually one of the chillest of all the Lifers but he seems like he could get very scary if he was ever actually angry.

Hera - Mumbo

Notes - And here we are, the winner of all the arbitrary choices I made for this AU. Man. Idk he had that one hipster outfit and Hera gives off very 80’s hipster vibes. Maybe that’s what he’ll wear. Huh. This only came to mind like now

This was all supposed to be meant for just me so if it’s confusing then uh sorry

Bam the ok references I have you didn’t expect me to have every character did you naw I’m too lazy for that

Don’t mind the terribly scribbled notes on any of them either pfft um

a couple doodles (Scar cameo lol) (click for full image on the second one)

Looking back on it I made those references MONTHS ago Ren’s cape looks so goofy

Less of a Life Series AU and more of a Hermit-Life-Empires AU um IM STILL CALLING AND TAGGING IT EPIC THE MUSICAL x LIFE SERIES THO

And I swear if you make any fanart tag me or I will hunt you down (/lh) (Probably not gonna be fanart but JUST IN CASE)

[schnitzelsemmerl]

honestly i don't even know who i ship so heres a attempt of a complete list (favourites are colored)

ride the cyclone/legoland: nisha, nishalia, mishalia; sugarspacedolls; cdplayer, cdplayer x ocean (?); blackrose (occasionally?); spacedolls

six the musical: parrleyn; aramour; katanna (mostly platonic but romantic is ok too :3), parrmour; araleyn

hb/hh: m&m; stolitz; fizzmodeus; chaggie; huskerdust; pentious x cherri bomb (idk their ship name HELP ME 😭); poly vees; velvette x verosika mayday (WHAT IS THEIR SHIP NAME)

epic + a few others: *takes a deep breath* odypen; odydio; uhh odysseus x polites x eurylochus; perenor; odydiopen; elpoliperi; hermes x tiresias (ty that one tumblr post <3 /gen); circe x calypso (crackship!! also why would anybody ship circe/calypso with odysseus like. no!! <3); telemachus x his wife x peisistratos :3c; patrochilles; some others i can't remember <3

heathers: chansaw; mcduke; veronica x martha x betty; poly heathers

hamilton: literally every ship except pheacker lmao

ok uhh that was a attempt at a small list- byee

[oleander-neruim]

Alrighty everyone so here's what's going to be my "Master Post" for my new brainroting AU.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Welcome to "A Myth's Voyage AU"

Essentially this is a Pirates SMP & Empires SMP x Epic The Musical AU. It follows a loose Canon of Pirates, the storyline of Epic, and nonesense and shenanigans thrown into the mix.

~•~•Behold our lovely Cast & Crew•~•~

『•Fully Established/Solidified•』

• Sausage Mythos as Odysseus 「#Odysseus!Sausage」, the Captain and protagonist of our story

• Joel Beans as Penelope 「#Penelope!Joel」, the Sausage's spouse & stand-in head of the Isles

• Hermes Mythos-Beans as Telemachus 「#Telemachus!Hermes」, Sausage's son

• Will Renais as Polites 「#Polites!Will」, 3rd in command & Sausage's closest crewmate

• Kuervo Fang as Eurylochus 「#Eurylochus!Kuervo」, 2nd in command

• Kyle Eef as Permides 「#Permides!Kyle」, pilot of the head ship

• Red D. Doons as Elpenor 「#Elpenor!Redd」, member of Sausage's main crew

• Aeor as Zeus 「#Zeus!Aeor」, God of Life & Storms

• Exor as Athena 「#Athena!Exor」, God of Death & Wisdom

• Codfather Jimmy as Polyphemus 「#Polyphemus!Jimmy」, a giant bipedal fish monster, "Cyclopes"

• Ocean Queen Lizzie as Poseidon 「#Poseidon!Lizzie」, Goddess of the Ocean

• Pearl Moon as Aeolus 「#Aeolus!Pearl」, Goddess of the Winds

• Fwhip Grim as Hermes 「#Hermes!Fwhip」, Messenger God of Travel

• Gemini Tay Grim as Circe 「#Circe!Gem」, Goddess & Sorceress of Magic

• Acho Denholm as Tiresias 「#Tiresias!Acho」, the Prophet

『•Likely Established/Not Featured Yet•』

• Oli Orion as Apollo 「#Apollo!Oli」, God of the Sun & Music

• Pixlriffs as Hephaestus 「#Hephaestus!Pix」, God of the Forge & Craft

• Katherine Elizabeth as Aphrodite 「#Aphrodite!Katherine」, Goddess of Love & War

• Shrub Berry as Ares 「#Ares!Shrub」, God of War & Bravery

• Joey Graceffa as Hera 「#Hera!Joey」, God of Marriage & Family

• Scott Major as Calypso 「#Calypso!Scott」, Nymph of the Sea, a shapeshifter

• Owen Orange as Antinous 「#Antinous!Owen」, lead suitor & attempted usurper of the "throne"

『• Additional Cast •』

• Guqqie Mey, member of Sausage's main crew

• Michela Ray, member of Sausage's main crew

• Ros Cumber, member of Sausage's main crew

• Puffy Kara, member of Sausage's main crew

• Graecie Elaine, head of another ship on Sausage's fleet

〔Relevant Tags〕

• #AMyth'sVoyageAU -> Main tag for the AU

• #VoyageQueries -> Tag for questions about the AU

• #VoyageTapestries -> Tag for art related to the AU

• #VoyageGossip -> Tag for random rambles or thoughts on the AU

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

I'm not sure what all should be included here honestly but I can add on as we go.

Some names may end up being placeholders if I think of something better but this is what we're working with right now.

My ask box is always open for those who have curiosities or perhaps scene requests

/nudgenudge/

Enjoy your time & enjoy the story

[nothing-impt]

Them 😔

[cherrywell]

Random thoughts as I listen to the livestream for the vengeance saga

-do you think there’s one person in the crew going “Why Tf are we singing?”

-STOOORRRMMM

-“How many floating islands have you seen before?.”

-parent ody activated

-twerking winion

-TREASURE

-“babe wake up new bag was just opened” JORGE RIVERA-HERRANS YALL

-POSEIDON I LOVE RUTHLESSNESS

-ALL I GOTTA DO IS OPEN THIS BAG WHAT?!

-drag eurylochus eurylochus in drag damm

-eury ur being a brat. Stop it.

-Hermes Ik u are listening

-HERMESSSSSSS ahem I’m fine

-HIGH NOTE JORGE/ODY!

-good luck and goodbye (I always add goodbye)

-Jorge simping for his gf in chat yep this is normal

-it’s a school night but that ain’t stopping me.

-when ody and Circe sing together in this song I can’t help but imagine a villain au like thing just due to Jorge and tayna being together (done fotr btw)

-FULL SPEED AHEAD

-POLITES L NNLDDJLJLC

-MOM? Hehanakahnsgwjsbamsbsjsnzvdnsbsbks

-this song is too emotional istg

-I’m actually drawing the VA for Tiresias for a art project in my art class

-Ody animorphs into a owl

-I am the monster rawr rawr rawr X??? XD

-MONSTER!!!!

-onto act 2 also that’ll post 2

[keramalusundeep]

THE TRANSGENDER’S TRANCE

Let’s start with God. The answers are always easier that way. Someone I am most fond of once told me, “I pity atheists you know. Because they can’t ever blame God. They don’t have the privilege to ask ‘why God, why did you do this to me’.”

When the greater religions put a gun to our head and threatened us to jump in their well, we jumped. Who knew at the bottom of that well, we would find our superhero who went by the name Evolution!

Dismissing the need for any probation, evolution soon became the king of the jungle. When it roared, the jungle went into submission. But as we all know, no jungle worth its salt ever came without its poachers. The poachers came in the avatars of kings, queens, ministers, prophets, presidents, governors, our parents, our teachers, our communities, our whims, and our fancies. They drew the lines. The ones we were to not cross.

But, the thing is, our DNA came with an eraser, a pencil, a canvas, and a grave full of imagination. So even when we were put to rest, we dreamt. Our dreams made love to our mother earth, who politely went ahead and conceived the spiteful, incestual future of tomorrow, where we carried on the trend of effing our own kids with dreams and fantasies we were obliged to please.

When the tomorrow came, a man was born. He was named William Bruce Jenner. Six and a half decades later, in June 2015, he stood on top of the world and announced that he had changed his name to Caitlyn. Caitlyn Jenner. The world stood back in the stands and cheered him from all corners. Before the announcement, William had made all the required configurations in his biological geometry and aligned his chemistry to the integrity his new name would demand.

“I am so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can’t wait for you to get to know her/me.” Caitlyn posted on her twitter handle @Caitlyn_Jenner, which, along with the first tweet of her Vanity Fair cover went on to get a record-setting 1 million fans in less than 4 hours and 3 minutes straight. Whereas the most powerful man on earth, Barack Obama had taken 5 hours to pull the hanky 1 million in his @Potus basket, last month.

Wish Dora was here now to shower under the petals from the high gardens of Twitter. Dora, born as Rudolph R, was the first person to have gone under the knife in the first-ever recorded sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in 1931.

Long before Dora or Caitlyn, the mythologies blew mighty trumpets of accounts concerning legends who were both man and woman in one form. Tiresias, the Theban blind prophet is said to have compelling wisdom for his cursed gender transformations. Cupid, the God who makes our heart fond and stupid with our better halves, apparently, is a unisex God. Way to make a point that love . . . indeed has no gender. If that was not enough, hear this – Cupid’s high-profile mama and dada, Hermes and Aphrodite, were the inspiration for the term ‘hermaphrodite’ (a person with both male and female sexual characteristics and organs). And I believe that was Hollywood’s gospel when it came to spelling the Celebrity Supercouple Nicknames.

Even though the hand holding the umbrella for transgenders is the same, all five fingers of that hand are not. The race to attaining transgender nirvana has been chalked with 5 different tracks. The tracks are identified as transexual, transvestite, genderqueer, androgene, and bigender.

Writing about transgenders is hard. Being them is even harder. Imagine a left-hand drive car coming straight from the factory and claiming that it felt very much right-handed. Since nothing can be done about it, the car is now incapacitated and forced to pretend that it is indeed a right-hand drive car and just drive down the boulevard. Then we have the car that thinks that it is neither left nor a right hand drive, instead a centre-hand drive. Hey, don’t brag your eyes. I told you, already. It is complicated for transgenders.

Harry Benjamin, the famous German-American sexologist and chief medical advisor to Christine Jorgenson (the ex G.I., who, before Caitlyn Jenner, 60 years ago, became the pioneer in America for stealing all shows concerning her Sex Reassignment Surgery), said, “Our genetic and endocrine equipment constitutes either an unresponsive/fertile soil on which the wrong conditioning and a psychological trauma can grow and develop into such a basic conflict that subsequently a deviation like transsexualism can result.”

Let me give you an example. When androgen receptors (a nuclear receptor that regulates gene expression) is said to have a firm handshake with testosterone or dihydrotestosterone (sex steroid), it will lead to the formulation of primary and secondary male sex characteristics. Whereas, instead of a handshake, if the androgen receptors and testosterone have a face-off with each other, their alliance will be broken. Meaning, a person who is assigned as ‘male’ at birth will come to feel and identify that he belongs to the opposite sex.

Again, it will be a blasphemy to summarise the identity of one’s gender purely by a single theory alone. There are potent men with pornstar-sized penises who feel that they should be women, just as there are women who are super attractive, wear feminine clothes, and perfectly capable of conceiving, feel the urge to grow hair on their chest and dangle some testosterone between their legs.

Going by the biological complexity and psychological curiosity, it is evident that Agent X and Agent Y from the Sperm Maker Inc., when it comes to adjudicating the gender of a person, are futile as a burp in a storm.

Oppression, degradation, prejudice – a staple diet in the menu of transgenders, have been riddled with brutal attacks for merely holding a balloon called ‘me’.

In 1513, when the Spanish conquistador, Vasco Nunez de Balbao, found out that a village in Panama had men dressing up as women, he ordered his men to make sure the casual crossdressers and gay indigenes were “torn to pieces” by his pack of wild dogs.

In 2008, 15-year-old Lawrence King was killed by two bullets to the head. The killer was a 14-year-old boy from the same school.

Last week, Stephanie McCarthy, a transgender musician, who was just about to play her gig, was assaulted by five men at Newtown’s Town Hall Hotel in Sydney.
 Yet, if we have a little courage to overlook the barbaric repercussions the transgenders have had to endure, we have come nowhere as close as today, when it comes to fighting for transgender rights. With Poland’s Anna Grodzka, becoming the first transexual MP in Europe to Donald Trump changing the rules in Miss Universe pageant that allowed Kylan Arianna Wenzel, the first transgender to participate in a Miss Universe competition to Madame Tussauds, San Francisco, recently announcing that it will feature a wax figure of Laverne Cox on June 26 during the Pride Week . . . the world of transgenders is on a slow and steady and progressive track. Laverne became the first ever transgender to star in the prestigious museum.

From the Indian wave, we have Manobi Bandopadhyay, who became India’s first transgender college principal when she took charge of Krishna Women’s College in West Bengal earlier this month. In 2014, the Supreme Court of India validated ‘transgender’ as the third sex.

With Caitlyn Jenner’s announcement, the transgender community in America and around the world are positive that going forward they will be able to see better days.

Obama, the first African-American to hold the office, was the first chief executive to inculcate the word ‘transgender’ in a speech, also openly prohibited job bias against transgender government workers, replied to Caitlyn’s second-ever tweet when she expressed her joy about finally being able to come out, “It takes courage to share your story.”

History is an ambitious gold digger eager to marry the most sought-after bachelor – ‘first-ever’. This century, we have had the privilege to see the changes the yesteryears had been begging and crying and hopelessly getting whipped for, just so they could live to breathe the aroma of this hopeful day – where the floods of transgender insurrection will come to overwhelm our naivety, for good.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: The Desire for the Unattainable: Myron Stout’s Paintings and Drawings

Myron Stout, “Hierophant” (c. 1955), oil on canvas, 38 x 30 inches, private collection (all images courtesy Craig F. Starr Gallery)

This is the last day of an exhibition, Myron Stout at Craig F. Starr Gallery that no one should miss. Stout was not a prolific artist, and even modest-sized shows of his work are few and far between. He was known to have spent ten years on an easel painting and just as long on a small drawing. Two graphite drawings in the show are around the size of a postage stamp. His passionate fans include an unlikely miscellany of artists: Eve Aschheim, Mark Greenwald, Catherine Murphy, Gladys Nilsson, Thomas Nozkowski, Jim Nutt, James Siena, Philip Taaffe, and Trevor Winkfield. What they all have in common is an intense focus on shapes, lines, and edges — formal issues not divorced from feeling in service of the imagination.

Stout had his first exhibition in New York at the Stable Gallery in 1954 and his second one in 1957 at the artist-run Hansa Gallery in 1957. Although his work was included in important group shows throughout the 1960s and 70’s, he did not have his third show in New York until his retrospective, Myron Stout, at the Whitney Museum of American Art (February 5–April 6, 1980). By this time, Stout was losing his vision and was only able to work with the help of an assistant. Around 1980 he stopped altogether.

In the obituary he wrote for The New York Times, Michael Brenson cited the words of Stout’s longtime friend, the writer B.H. Friedman, from the Whitney’s catalog. Describing the artist’s paintings and drawings, Friedman wrote:

[Stout] has made from his deepest feelings what amount to ritual objects — objects so physical, so full of the grain and texture of life that they suggest metaphysical photographs taken somehow simultaneously at the dazzling speed of light and at the slow, grinding pace of eternity.

Since that large gathering of the artist’s work, there have been only a handful of exhibitions in New York that have brought together the black-and-white paintings and graphite drawings he did between the mid-1950s and the late-1970s, which is why this exhibition of five paintings and eleven works on paper dating between 1950 and 1979 at the Starr Gallery is a truly rare occasion.

Stout, who was born in Denton, Texas, in 1908, made an early decision to be a painter but didn’t hit his stride until the late 1940s, after he had served in World War II. It was while he was attending Columbia University, where he had gotten his M.A. in education before the War, for a doctorate  that would enable him to teach “art appreciation,” that a friend told Stout about a drawing class taught by Hans Hofmann on Eighth Street. It was January 1947, the beginning of his second semester at Columbia. Going to that class and meeting Hofmann motivated Stout to fully recommit himself to painting. It took about two years for Stout, who was on leave from a teaching job in Hawaii at the time, to disentangle himself from one life and begin another. Between 1947 and ’52, he studied with Hofmann intermittently, but by his calculation it added up to about “two years.” More importantly, he withdrew from New York in 1952 and moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he lived in modest circumstances until his death in 1987.

After Stout moved to Provincetown he abandoned geometric abstraction and the use of color. The primary inspiration for his movement to pared down, biomorphic forms in black, white, and gray was his reading of Greek tragedies. Having read a book of Greek myths when he was a child, Stout returned to Greek plays and literature throughout his life.

Myron Stout, “Apollo” (c. 1955), oil on canvas, 40 x 23 inches, private collection

Four of the five paintings in the exhibition are of a single white form on a black ground, while the graphite drawings are gray, black, and white. The exception is “Apollo” (1955), the largest painting in the show, which measures 40 by 23 inches. In Greek mythology, Apollo was a complex, oracular figure. He was the god of music, poetry, the sun, and keeper of the herds, as well as the one who could bring plagues. Hermes made a lyre for him.

Stout’s “Apollo” consists of two forms: a white circle floating within a U-shape that could be the frame of a lyre or, more distantly, the horns of a sacred bull. By paring down his forms to memorable abstract shapes, Stout maintains a connection with his source. The key to this connection is drawing, which is the underpinning of all his work.

The balance between the white form and the black ground is so exquisitely calibrated they seem to switch places, with the black ground becoming the form and the white becoming the ground. If you move closer to the painting, you can see the differences in Stout’s application of the paint: the black ground is thin enough to reveal the texture of the canvas, while the white form has been built up and worked along the edges. The contrast is graphic and visceral. The shapes are mesmerizing— they evoke the archaic but do not feel the least bit nostalgic. This drive to get to the essence of things is something Stout shares with Constantin Brancusi. The difference is that Brancusi tried to get to the essence of observable forms – a head or a fish – while Stout aimed for mythical ones.

Myron Stout, “Aegis” (1955–79), oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches, private collection

Stout’s titles hint at the artist’s preoccupations. The white tapering form in “Aegis” (1955–1979) can be translated as the shield carried by Athena and Zeus. A “Hierophant” (ca. 1955) is a priest who brings worshippers in touch with the holy through interpretation. The form in the graphite drawing “Tiresias II” (1965) is an inverted variation of the one found in “Hierophant” — it looks like an abstract mushroom or open umbrella. In Greek mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet and clairvoyant. This is the kernel of Stout’s genius: he is able to imagine abstract forms from his reading in Greek literature. Although they were finished at different times, all the paintings in the exhibition were started between 1954 and ’56 — his first breakthrough into a territory all his own. In this three-year burst of creativity, Stout most likely began all the paintings that would consume him for the rest of his working life. I doubt that there are more than two-dozen completed paintings.

After meeting Hofmann and reading Greek literature, particularly the tragedies, the next big change happened when Stout went to New York and saw George Seurat: Paintings and Drawings at the Museum of Modern Art (March 26 – May 11, 1958). While drawing was central to Stout’s practice, and he was a firm believer in drawing from nature, the Seurat show inspired him to begin using graphite. Stout’s graphite drawings constitute a distinct body of work within this artist’s small oeuvre, and are one of the singular achievements in the medium in postwar art.

Myron Stout, “Untitled” (1977–79), graphite on paper, 5 3/8 x 8 inches, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the Gramercy Park Foundation, Inc., 1980

In his conté crayon drawings, Seurat feels his way across the paper, sensitive to the interaction between his drawing instrument and the paper’s tooth. Echoing Seurat, Stout’s graphite drawings are done in black, white and gray. The relationship between the graphite and the paper enabled him to focus on edges, varying states of solidity and dissipation, and the interplay between austerity and luxuriance.

A number of the graphite drawings are based on things that he saw, including Provincetown’s stone jetty and the view of the moon as it changed over the course of months, as seen through a row of clerestory windows stretching across one room of his modest apartment on 4 Brewster Street in Provincetown. In “Untitled” (n.d.), a drawing of the moon in its different phases, Stout chose a piece of paper that measured 2 ¼ by 13 ½ inches. There are eleven images of the moon, with some larger than others, moving from a sliver to a circle, with a rhythmic arrangement that embraces the symmetrical and asymmetrical, the balanced and imbalanced.

Myron Stout, “Untitled” (n.d.), graphite on paper 21 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches, private collection, Houston

This is what Stout said to Friedman about his graphite drawings in the catalogue published on the occasion of his retrospective:

When I start drawing, I work with the black and white areas as well as their enclosing lines. Jogging them back and forth. Feeling my way. Pushing a black area up. Starting out with a black area across the bottom. … [ I ] erase and mark out, and shift without actual drawing, more like in the painting process. So actually, I work both ways in drawing — both in the linear way and in the more painterly way of working with areas, in masses of black and white.

I hear in this statement Stout’s understated desire to attain a perfection that will only become visible to him when he completes the work. He expresses neither angst nor impatience with his process. His work arises out of the paradoxical combination of paring everything down, while employing a process of patient accretion. He caressed his work into being. No doubt Stout was aware of the paradox of reducing while adding. It seems that he briefly had a pet snail he called “Jocko” (short for “Jockey”), and was pleased when “it escaped.”

Myron Stout ends today at the Craig F. Starr Gallery (5 East 73rd Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan).

The post The Desire for the Unattainable: Myron Stout’s Paintings and Drawings appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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