#where they take the aesthetics and the motifs and the idea of Christianity

[elysiuminfra]

catholic guilt is one thing but southern baptism shame is a whole different monster i don’t see many people talking about

[tealeves]

Actually, this is really interesting, but I see Eulmore is much more of a representation of American evangelical/protestantism than Catholicism! Because I mean if you think about it, we already had a pretty direct Catholicism metaphor in the form of Ishgard and HW, not just because you kill the literal Pope, but because so much of Ishgard’s religion is built on the very Catholic idea of “you are nothing, and only through sacrifice and the grace of God do you become something.”

Eulmore, meanwhile, to tie it into the capitalism-egi you mentioned (spot fuckin on, by the way), resonates with me much more as a particularly Americanized version of evangelical christianity. First of all, you have the fucking deadset determination to convert people, often through use of military force and condescending paternalism - the scene where Vauthry’s fleet flies over Lakeland to make announcements springs to mind, and the fact that (besides *gestures to ranjit and minfilia*) pretty much the only reason Eulmore wants to take over All The Places is to “convert” the remaining nations of Norvrandt into worshipping the Sin Eaters/allowing them to roam free, which obviously serves both Vauthry and Emet-Selch.

The selling point of Eulmore, much like the particular way that American capitalism operates, is this mythologized idea that anyone can become someone. If you’re lucky enough, if you work hard enough and get your talents recognized, you can become a member of the elite! Or more accurately, a servant to the elite (see: gatetown). When you’re inside Eulmore, you mentioned the casino aesthetic - that sort of “new money” tacky bullshit is like, basically Trumpcore. Prosperity Gospel has a huge place here - if you’re rich you’re happy, and if you’re happy then you’re doing something right. You are on The Side of Right. Which is why when you go to rescue Minfilia initially, the whole “we’ll play the villains” motif really really fuckin resonates with me - because you’re literally saying fuck Eulmore’s purity culture.

And then there’s Minfilia...... so much to say about Minfilia, though a lot of it is sort of headcanon and speculation and trauma from growing up mormon, if you haven’t already guessed. The idea of a Pure Woman TM as a figurehead for the state/religion who doesn’t actually do anything is so fucking good. I feel like not much is explored about the Oracle’s place in Norvrandt, but it seems implied to me that she is definitely a recognizable figure in the whole continent, not just in Eulmore - she’s a symbol of hope and courage and why the Light can be Good, Actually. But the reality is that she’s a princess in a tower. She doesn’t have any real autonomy; she’s trotted out by Vauthry and Ran’jit after the former comes to power and makes it clear that her job isn’t to kill Sin Eaters anymore. She is, almost literally, an object. 

I mentioned Mormonism as a joke, but a huge part of Mormon culture (which is American Exceptionlist Propserity Gospel Evangelical bullshit to a T) is the idea that women are just soooo important because they keep the men pure and on track to righteousness - sort of paying lip service to the “power behind the throne” concept, except in Mormon hierarchy, women basically have 0 power. They’re wives and symbols. That’s pretty much it, and that reminds me of Minfilia(s) so, so much, and Eulmore as a whole.

actually to expand on that... what was interesting with eulmore as a concept is that it embodied the triad imperialism+capitalism+rapture culture (specifically catholicism). specifically, vauthry & the whole city/society being a direct creation of emet-selch, who introduces himself as "the architect of myriad imperialism-oriented nations", the two major examples being garlemald and allag. the city itself (its very architectural structure) is a transparent small-scale recreation of the capitalist model, alphinaud calling it "a paradise built on the bones of the poor". but what is truly interesting is the way catholic-like doctrine works in this mix, as a gamble... maybe as a take on pascal's gamble?? given the whole casino setting... anyway

- the ostensible charity (meol distribution). giving bread to the poor is about the #1 catholic metaphor

- obviously, the aesthetics of the whole place; specifically the emphasis put on the "generosity" of lord vauthry. who is about as perfect of a (false) prophet as it gets (unnatural "divine" powers, granting "succor" and "protection" and "redemption" to the masses, the fact meol is somewhere between manna and the multiplication of bread + the whole "body of christ" episodes)

- the emphasis on rapture/apotheosis, which is a very literal interpretation of "religion is the opium of the people", discouraging action on the actual, material conditions of living of the exploited bonded citizens (and also keeping the wealthy free citizens in check, passive and vulnerable to vauthry's mind control), promising a paradise after death & the cleansing of an individual's sins

and idk the way every ideology just... ties into another is very neat and clear and self-sustaining. a very neatly and efficiency woven net. it's like an equation. gonna refer to the ideologies as -egi because summoner main here and because it's pretty accurate i think but

- catholicism-egi working hand-in-hand with imperialism-egi to create a symbolic frame based on worship & personality cult (vauthry being at once prophet/demigod and military power (though the actual military part is played by ranjit)). result: morally broken and submissive masses, their faith and hope being corrupted and used against them;

- imperialism-egi and capitalism-egi isolating eulmore from the rest of the world, especially maintaining an aggressive policy towards the crystarium, their only opposing force; barring trade with them; declaring novrandt as a whole their god-given land to rule (reminiscent of the concept of manifest destiny), the idea being that vauthry is the only one able and deserving of ruling over the entire land; creating the sense of entitlement of the free citizens. the free citizens are stripped of their own power, both material and mental, but they happily ignore it to focus on exerting power over the bonded citizens, their wealth being a shield and a weapon both. also, fake promises of social elevation and general propaganda keep the bonded citizens/impoverished citizens of gatetown gambling for "freedom", which is why kai-shirr strongly rejects the offer to come to the crystarium (he'd rather be willingly enslaved while hoping to be set free one day rather than work at the crystarium)

- capitalism-egi and catholicism-egi working together to recreate what is essentially the nouveau riche aesthetic: conflating material wealth with spiritual worth, the fact vauthry's paradise (in the mt gulg dungeon) is eerily reminiscent of the mcmansion style of architecture (watered down and false neoclassical style..........). guilt and power and shame being tools of both ideologies to keep the masses in check. probably more elements that escape my notice atm

what these three ideologies have in common is the way they hold humanity in contempt, creating terrible material and spiritual conditions to live in. imperialism holds all other cultures in contempt, trying to assimilate them by force; capitalism holds humanity in contempt, trying to use people as machines to generate and confiscate material wealth; catholicism (this type, specifically) holds the earthly world in contempt, assuring that only after death we can find redemption and purity, that everything in the material world is impure.

at their core, these three ideologies consider that man is impure, lacking, selfish, cruel, and that he must be broken into submission to be worth anything; to be used for an abstract cause, serving the strong

which is why the exarch tells vauthry that he "underestimates mankind". because fundamentally, eulmore despises and hates humanity, the free and bonded citizens alike, and this is this arrogant, near-sighted mindset that ultimately causes its downfall..

ANYWAY

[writingwithcolor]

Jurassic period alien interacting with key cultures and historical figures in Middle East & Asia throughout history

@ketchupmaster400​ said:

Hello, so my question is for a character I’ve been working on for quite a while but wasn’t sure about a few things. So basically at the beginning of the universe there was this for less being made up of dark matter and dark energy. Long story short it ends up on earth during the Jurassic Period. It has the ability to adapt and assimilate into other life animals except it’s hair is always black and it’s skin is always white and it’s eyes are always red. It lives like this going from animal to animal until it finally becomes human and gains true sentience and self awareness. As a human it lives within the Middle East and Asia wondering around trying to figure out its purpose and meaning. So what I initially wanted to do with it was have small interactions with the dark matter human and other native humans that kinda helped push humanity into the direction it is now. For example, Mehndhi came about when the dark matter human was drawing on their skin because it felt insecure about having such white skin compared to other people. And ancient Indians saw it and thought it was cool so they adopted it and developed it into Mehndi. Minor and small interactions though early history leading to grander events. Like they would be protecting Jerusalem and it’s people agains the Crusaders later on. I also had the idea of the the dark matter human later on interacting with the prophets Jesus Christ and Muhammad. With Jesus they couldn’t understand why he would sacrifice himself even though the people weren’t deserving. And then Jesus taught them that you have to put other before yourself and protecting people is life’s greatest reward. And then with the prophet Muhammad, I had the idea that their interaction was a simple conversation that mirrors the one he had with the angel Jibril, that lead to the principles of Islam. Now with these ideas I understand the great importance of how not to convey Islam and I’ve been doing reasearch, but I am white and I can understand how that may look trying to write about a different religion than my own. So I guess ultimate my question is, is this ok to do? Is it ok to have an alien creature interact with religious people and historical events as important as they were? Like I said I would try to be as accurate and as respectable as possible but I know that Islam can be a touchy subject and the last thing I would want is to disrespect anyone. The main reason I wanted the dark matter being in the Middle East was because I wanted to do something different because so much has been done with European and American stuff I wanted to explore the eastern side of the world because it’s very beau and very rich with so many cultures that I want to try and represent. I’m sorry for the long post but I wanted you guys to fully understand what my idea was. Thank you for your time and hope you stay safe.

Disclaimer:

The consensus from the moderators was that the proposed character and story is disrespectful from multiple cultural perspectives. However, we can’t ignore the reality that this is a commonly deployed trope in many popular science fiction/ thriller narratives. Stories that seek to take religious descriptions of events at face value from an areligious perspective particularly favor this approach. Thus, we have two responses:

Where we explain why we don’t believe this should be attempted.

Where we accept the possibility of our advice being ignored.

1) No - Why You Shouldn’t Do This:

Hi! I’ll give you the short answer first, and then the extended one.

Short answer: no, this is not okay.

Extended answer. I’ll divide it into three parts.

1) Prophet Muhammad as a character:

Almost every aspect of Islam, particularly Allah (and the Qur’an), the Prophet(s) and the companions at the time of Muhammad ﷺ, are strictly kept within the boundaries of real life/reality. I’ll assume this comes from a good place, and I can understand that from one side, but seriously, just avoid it. It is extremely disrespectful and something that is not even up to debate for Muslims to do, let alone for non-Muslims. Using Prophet Muhammad as a character will only bring you problems. There is no issue with mentioning the Prophet during his lifetime when talking about his attributes, personality, sayings or teachings, but in no way, we introduce fictional aspects in a domain that Muslims worked, and still work, hard to keep free from any doubtful event or incident. Let’s call it a closed period: we don’t add anything that was not actually there.

Reiterating then, don’t do this. There is a good reason why Muslims don’t have any pictures of Prophet Muhammad. We know nothing besides what history conveyed from him. 

After this being said, there is another factor you missed – Jesus is also an important figure in Islam and his story from the Islamic perspective differs (a lot) from that of the Christian perspective. And given what you said in your ask, you would be taking the Christian narrative of Jesus. If it was okay to use Prophet Muhammad as a character (reminder: it’s not) and you have had your dark matter human interacting with the biblical Jesus, it will result in a complete mess; you would be conflating two religions.

2) Crusaders and Jerusalem:

You said this dark matter human will be defending Jerusalem against the Crusaders. At first, there is really no problem with this. However, ask yourself: is this interaction a result of your character meeting with both Jesus and Prophet Muhammed? If yes, please refer to the previous point. If not, or even if you just want to maintain this part of the story, your dark matter human can interact with the important historical figures of the time. For example, if you want a Muslim in your story, you can use Salah-Ad-Din Al-Ayoubi (Saladin in the latinized version) that took back Jerusalem during the Third Crusade. Particularly, this crusade has plenty of potential characters. 

Also, featuring Muslim characters post Prophet Muhammad and his companions’ time, is completely fine, just do a thorough research.

 3) Middle Eastern/South Asian settings and Orientalism:

The last point I want to remark is with the setting you chose for your story. Many times, when we explore the SWANA or South Asian regions it’s done through an orientalist lens. Nobody is really safe from falling into orientalism, not even the people from those regions. My suggestion is educating yourself in what orientalism is and how it’s still prevalent in today’s narrative. Research orientalism in entertainment, history... and every other area you can think of. Edward Said coined this term for the first time in history, so he is a good start. There are multiple articles online that touch this subject too. For further information, I defer to middle eastern mods. 

- Asmaa

Racism and Pseudo-Archaeology:

A gigantic, unequivocal and absolute no to all of it, lmao. 

I will stick to the bit about the proposed origin of mehendi in your WIP, it’s the arc I feel I’m qualified to speak on, Asmaa has pretty much touched upon the religious and orientalism complications. 

Let me throw out one more word: pseudoarchaeology. That is, taking the cultural/spiritual/historical legacies of ancient civilizations, primarily when it involves people of colour, and crediting said legacies to be the handiwork of not just your average Outsider/White Saviour but aliens. I’ll need you to think carefully about this: why is it that in so much of media and literature pertaining to the so-called “conspiracy theories” dealing with any kind of extraterrestrial life, it’s always Non-Western civilizations like the Aztec, the ancient Egyptians, the Harappans etc who are targeted? Why is it that the achievements of the non West are so unbelievable that it’s more feasible to construct an idea of non-human, magical beings from another planet who just conveniently swooped in to build our monuments and teach us how to dress and what to believe in? If the answer makes you uncomfortable, it’s because it should: denying the Non-West agency of their own feats is not an innocent exercise in sci-fi worldbuilding, it comes loaded with implications of racial superiority and condescension towards the intellect and prowess of Non-European cultures. 

Now, turning to specifics:

Contrary to what Sarah J. Maas might believe- mehendi designs are neither mundane, purely aesthetic tattoos nor can they be co-opted by random Western fantasy characters. While henna has existed as an art form in various cultures, I’m limiting my answer to the Indian context, (specifying since you mention ancient India). Mehendi is considered one of the tenets of the Solah Shringar- sixteen ceremonial adornments for Hindu brides, one for each phase of the moon, as sanctioned by the Vedic texts. The shade of the mehendi is a signifier for the strength of the matrimonial bond: the darker the former, the stronger the latter. Each of the adornments carries significant cosmological/religious symbolism for Hindus. To put it bluntly, when you claim this to be an invention of the aliens, you are basically taking a very sacred cultural and artistic motif of our religion and going “Well actually….extraterrestrials taught them all this.”

In terms of Ayurveda (Traditional holistic South Asian medicine)  , mehendi was used for its medicinal properties. It works as a cooling agent on the skin and helps to alleviate stress, particularly for the bride-to-be. Not really nice to think that aliens lent us the secrets of Ayurvedic science (pseudoarchaeology all over again). 

I’m just not feeling this arc at all. The closest possible alternative I could see to this is the ancient Indian characters incorporating some specific stylistic motifs in their mehendi in acknowledgement to this entity, in the same vein of characters incorporating motifs of tribute into their armour or house insignia, but even so, I’m not sure how well that would play out. If you do go ahead with this idea, I cannot affirm that it will not receive backlash.

-Mimi

These articles might help:

 Pseudoarchaeology and the Racism Behind Ancient Aliens

A History of Indian Henna (this studies mehendi origins mostly with reference to Mughal history)

Solah Shringar

2) Not Yes, But If Ignoring the Above:

I will be the dissenting voice of “Not No, But Here Are The Big Caveats.” Given that there is no way to make the story you want to tell palatable to certain interpretations of Islam and Christianity, here is my advice if the above arguments did not sufficiently deter you.

1. Admiration ≠ Research: It is not enough to just admire cultures for their richness and beauty. You need to actually do the research and learn about them to determine if the story you want to tell is a good fit for the values and principles these cultures prioritize. You need to understand the significance of historical figures and events to understand the issues with attributing the genesis of certain cultural accomplishments to an otherworldly influence. 1.

2. Give Less Offense When Possible and Think Empathetically: You should try to imagine the mindsets of those you will offend and think about to what degree you can soften or ameliorate certain aspects of your plot, the creature’s characteristics, and the creature’s interactions with historical figures to make your narrative more compatible. There is no point pretending that much of areligious science fiction is incompatible with monotheist, particularly non-henotheistic, religious interpretations as well as the cultural items and rituals derived from those religious interpretations. One can’t take “There is no god, just a lonely alien” and make that compatible with “There is god, and only in this particular circumstance.” Thus:

As stated above by Asmaa and Mimi, there is no escaping the reality the story you propose is offensive to some. Expect their outcry to be directed towards you. Can you tolerate that?

Think about how you would feel if someone made a story where key components of your interpretation of reality are singled out as false. How does this make you feel? Are you comfortable doing that to others?

3. Is Pseudoarchaeology Appropriate Here?: Mimi makes a good point about the racial biases of pseudoarchaeology. Pseudoarchaeology is a particular weakness of Western-centric atheist sci-fi. Your proposed story is the equivalent of a vaguely non-descript Maya/Aztec/Egyptian pyramid or Hindu/ Buddhist-esque statue being the source for a Resident Evil bio weapon/ Predator nest/ Assassin’s Creed Isu relic.

Is this how you wish to draw attention to these cultures you admire? While there is no denying their ubiquity in pop-culture, such plots trivialize broad swathes of non-white history and diminish the accomplishments of associated ethnic groups. The series listed above all lean heavily into these tropes either because the authors couldn’t bother to figure out something more creative or because they are intentionally telling a story the audience isn’t supposed to take seriously.*

More importantly, I detect a lot of sincerity in your ask, so I imagine such trivialization runs counter to your expressed desire to depict Eastern cultures in a positive and accurate manner.

4. Freedom to Write ≠ Freedom from Consequence: Once again, as a reminder, it’s not our job to reassure you as to whether or not what you are proposing is ok. Asmaa and Mimi have put a lot of effort into explaining who you will offend and why.  We are here to provide context, but the person who bears the ultimate responsibility for how you choose to shape this narrative, particularly if you share this story with a wide audience, is you. Speaking as one writer to another, I personally do not have a strong opinion one way or the other, but I think it is important to be face reality head-on.

- Marika.

* This is likely why the AC series always includes that disclaimer stating the games are a product of a multicultural, inter-religious team and why they undermine Western cultures and Western religious interpretations as often (if not moreso) than those for their non-Western counterparts.

Note: Most WWC asks see ~ 5 hours of work from moderators before they go live. Even then, this ask took an unusually long amount of time in terms of research, emotional labor and discussion. If you found this ask (and others) useful, please consider tipping the moderators (link here), Asmaa (coming eventually) and Mimi (here). I also like money - Marika.

[fermented-writers-block]

Submitted by @sepublic:

So a while back, my pal @fermented-writers-block aired a theory. To sum up the abridged version, they suggested that if the Boiling Isles was allegorical to an Underworld, and the Human World to… Well, itself, then what of a third realm above? What if there was a parallel to an angelic realm, one populated by the show’s equivalent to a race of angels/Valkyries? They speculated that Emperor Belos himself may have been one of them, cast out… And he desires the portal and access to the Human World, in order to access this hypothetical Angel Realm!

In our discussions, we came across the idea that the Human World functions like neutral territory. It is the realm between realms, the buffer/barrier between the Angel Realm and the Demon Realm. It is where the two come together, and where influences from both have leaked in, to inspire real-world myths; A callback to Eda’s line in the first episode! The Portal, as speculated by my pal, potentially is rooted in the Human World, giving it equal access to the Angel and Demon Realms respectively- As a result of the Human World being between both of them respectively!

If the three realms were bus seats, the Angel Realm might be the Window Seat, while the Demon Realm is the set right next to the aisle where people walk up and down across the bus… And the Human World is sandwiched right between! This of course means that in order for either the Demon or Angel Realm to access one another, it would be through the Human World… With only the Human World maintaining access to BOTH realms, instead of just the one!

Ergo… Given the theory that Belos intends to reconnect to this Angel Realm, it makes sense that he wants to access the Human World! To him, it’s merely a stepping stone, not his destination… The ladder he needs to reach the top, it’s his stopping point before he can progress on to the end! He has no interest in the Human World, as he claims, beyond utilizing it as a passageway to something far grander and more interesting.

But now… onto a certain idea behind Belos.

To put it simply; Fermented Writer’s Block and I think that Belos could potentially be a Satanic/Lucifer allegory. A Fallen Angel, in a sense. From a Doylist perspective, this would settle Disney’s concerns over depicting Heavenly characters as negative, as the only truly negative Angel in this sense would be a literal Satanic allegory. It’d be like Doom, in a sense!

I’ve discussed… a LOT in the past, the idea of Luz and Belos being counterparts. Even if we don’t have much within canon, there IS the association with Light, as well as the ability to communicate with the Titan to some degree. Luz’s name literally means Light… And Lucifer means Light Bringer! It’s in the name, Luz-ifer! If Belos is a twisted counterpart to Luz’s guiding light, then perhaps he’s a more literal take on the Satanic allegory…

Specifically, the idea of an Angel who was cast out of their world and fell, plummeting into a realm beneath that of the Human World! We’re already making allusions with Lilith’s name, after all. And I’d LOVE to see The Owl House tackle some more classic, eldritch takes on the Angels of old and their original interpretations, such as the Seraphs!

After all, people have noted the similarities between Belos and the idea of Christian Imperialism. If Belos were a literal ‘angel’, or the show’s equivalent, this would be a fitting twist! Fermented Writer’s Block also observed that on one page of the Unauthorized History of the Boiling Isles, Belos is depicted with almost mechanical wings, in addition to the book being somewhat burnt. What if this could imply burnt wings on Belos’ part? Especially given Belos’ mechanical, industrial motifs and deteriorated nature...

If Belos WERE a Fallen Angel, then perhaps his Wings motif amidst the Emperor’s Coven imagery is intentional. Not only does it hearken back to his true origins and identity… But it could also allude to him having burnt wings, which in itself is symbolic of a Fallen Angel, as someone who was outcast and can no longer fly! The dude IS associated with Fire, to a degree… His throne room is lit by blazing braziers. Amity and Boscha are associated with his Coven System, in a sense… Amity is indoctrinated into its values and wants to join the Emperor’s Coven, while Boscha’s ideas of hierarchy and elitism reflect Belos’ values rather well. Both characters are associated with Fire… Which, helps to serve as a unifying motif among them- Especially with Lilith, who has blue fire and was leader of the Emperor’s Coven!

It’s a contrast to Luz and her Ice, and what she stands for… Her Light is reflective, while the Light of characters like Belos is harsh, dangerous, and off-putting. If Luz were more comparable to a night star, shining amidst the darkness and providing guidance- Then Belos is like the Sun, harsh, bright, demanding attention from all… But also too powerful to be personal with, something to be regarded from a distance, and never closely looked at. This would fit into Belos’ enigmatic nature, and the idea of him heralding Day, while Luz is Night… After all, Owls are nocturnal! And if Belos is a coming dawn, then that could tie into Angelic motifs… Amidst Luz’s Night bringing an end to his Light! It’s a take on that age-old term, about the Sun never setting on the British Empire… And THAT empire is emblematic of colonialism and imperialism as a whole!

It could also allude to the myth of Icarus- A mortal who flew too close to the sun! Of course in this scenario, Belos was in fact an Angel… But there’s still the recurring theme of wanting more, of one’s circumstances not being enough, of being guided by arrogance- It’s shared between Lucifer and Icarus both, to varying degrees. Perhaps Belos tried to lead a revolt in the Angel Realm, or got too arrogant… Either way, he was cast out- He flew too close to the Sun he wished to embody, and so his wings were burnt. Clipped of the thing most emblematic of his identity, no longer able to fly and ascend… Belos fell to the Earth, and then even deeper.

It’d tie into Belos having earthen motifs, as someone who can no longer fly. Him having angelic aesthetics, underscored by demonic motifs and growls, fits into the idea of Lucifer having been a beautiful angel, only to become the literal Devil and leader of Hell and all of its horrific demons! Belos already has a decayed, deteriorated condition to him that implies he’s not in the best health. Perhaps his burnt wings are the cause of this- Or at least another symptom of whatever injuries he suffered in the past? Not only that, but returning to the Icarus motifs… If we want to get meta, we can ascertain that Dana Terrace has read Fullmetal Alchemist. She knows of Hiromu Arakawa’s artstyle, citing it as something Luz would emulate back home- And there’s that other post comparing Father and Belos!

If Belos is like Father, then there’s once again that idea of using a portal to access a heavenly ‘realm’, through the Sun, in order to access a ‘God’ figure, or beings around that level. Not only that, but Fullmetal Alchemist, from its very beginning, made a very pointed reference to the myth of Icarus, likening its main protagonist Edward Elric to him! If Father is in some ways a foil to Ed, just as Belos could be to Luz… Then it makes sense for Dana to have been inspired by Icarus by virtue of his tale being important to the themes of Fullmetal Alchemist! And if Belos IS a Satanic allegory… Well, Lucifer’s name literally means Morning Star. As Belos’ antithesis, Luz brings the sunset to his Day of Unity. They’re both outcasts to the Demon Realm, but from different worlds respectively.

Now, there’s a question- Who are the Angels? What do they look like? And where does the Owl Deity factor into all of this? Well, this gets me onto my NEXT part;

I think the Owl Deity could be the closest thing to ‘God’ in this universe, AKA an all-powerful deity who reigns above all! A while back, a background artist for the show released some art he did, depicting Luz and King resting beneath a spire. If one looks closely at the top, they can see a depiction of Belos himself! And right above it is candles, surrounding an Owl… An Owl above all. Perhaps we’re looking too deeply into this. But it brings to mind a pun, about the God of All Things… Also being the God of ‘Owl’ Things!

If the candles are lit, then this suggests fire’s association with the heavens, which fits into biblical depictions of Angels! Not only that, but Belos is right beneath the Owl… And right beneath him is a fleshy stump, indicative of his own motifs… And it’s connected to what appears to be a giant eye right beneath him! Eyes are a big motif in the Boiling Isles –and amongst biblical angels- so perhaps the fleshy stump, akin to Belos’ constructs, is symbolic? That he’s bridging the gap between the demonic world below, and the heavenly world above?

Regardless, the next portion of this theory suggests that the Owl Deity is a supreme being. Perhaps a neutral mediator between both the Angel and Demon Realms, with the Human World as neutral ground. Perhaps a weapon, utilized by the Angels? Or a powerful deity they managed to sway… More on that later. Regardless, it DOES make one consider the Clawthornes’ connection to the Owl Deity, specifically Eda’s. Her house DOES have the only known depictions of this enigmatic being, after all.

And THAT house was likely fashioned, at least partly, from a tower! Towers are known for their reach towards the skies… Could a Clawthorne Ancestor have been connected to the Owl Deity as a worshipper? A follower? Maybe they were ALSO an Angel, like Belos, albeit not fallen… Or at least, much more well-intentioned! It could bring a dark twist to Lilith’s line about Eda being with her ‘real’ family… Unbeknownst to her, Belos, being a fallen Angel, is arguably ‘family’ in the sense that the hypothetical Clawthorne Ancestor was ALSO an Angel! After all, it might better explain how Eda has access to the Portal. Not to mention that golden, blazing Owl Wraith she summons during her final battle with Lilith… Birds ARE a Clawthorne Motif, after all! And Angels have bird wings.

If Belos IS similar to Father from Fullmetal Alchemist, then it makes sense that there’s a ‘God’ he plans to usurp as a Lucifer allegory. The Owl Deity could be this god, or at least associated with the Heavens that Belos seeks to conquer and return to. That of course gets us into the symbolism behind the angelic motifs of the Emperor’s Coven. Now, when Belos first arrived in the Demon Realm, he would have been acting VERY contrary to the Boiling Isles’ values about magic at the time, and he clearly had to utilize plenty of force and genocide to make people comply. In other words, this is a dude who cares not about conforming to others, but making others conform to him…

So it doesn’t make as much sense for Belos to change his aesthetics to an Angelic one, to appease the Boiling Isles residents if he’s clearly averse to everything else they do! Especially if Angels, or what lingering memory of them there is, is seen as negative by the Boiling Isles… The point being, this alludes to Belos being genuine about his Angelic motifs, and not adopting them to appear more palatable to others; Because all of his behavior suggests otherwise, that he forces others to adapt to him, rather than the other way around!

Not only that, but if the Emperor’s Coven is Belos’ attempt at reinstating his ideal form of heavenly rule/environment on the Boiling Isles… And if the Owl Deity is a god to be conquered, then how fitting is it that his subordinate wears an Owl Mask? Perhaps it’s meant to arrogantly symbolic… That the Owl figure that Belos once looked up to, now serves him! Of course it’s only in symbols; But the idea is there, that the image and motif of Owls has been appropriated, not as a holy being above Belos, but instead as an image belonging to a subservient minion.

Now, this all leads into another question- What about the Titan? What does the Titan have to do with this? And for that matter, what of the giant Titan remains, scattered across the Boiling Seas- We know others exist, but OUR Titan is the only known intact corpse! Well…

In Understanding Willow, Hooty briefly mentions his backstory. It’s hard to discern, but he mentions how it all began with a hunt, and how there were blood-red skies before Eda and King’s dialogue cuts him off and drowns out the noise. There IS the idea of Hooty being a lobotomized and weakened reincarnation of the Owl Deity, or at least a spawn of it… Or having SOME association with it, moreso than most characters! We don’t know what killed the Titans, or why OUR Titan’s corpse is intact. There could be Doylist answers to this, maybe it’s meant to be a mystery that’s never explored, but left to a sublime imagination…

But if not, then this is where I get into a crazy idea here;

Angels are depicted as adversarial with Demons. The Titans would’ve been the first Demons, of the Demon Realm. We know one of them had Magic... And if Belos is any indication as a fallen angel, there may be a heavenly aversion to magic. Hooty recalls it all beginning with a hunt…

What if the Angels hunted down the Titans? It’d explain their sudden extinction… As for why our Boiling Isles (BI) Titan is still intact, well. Perhaps it was a lone survivor! Perhaps its Magical ability permitted it to last longer than others, before it too succumbed to death after the genocide. For all we know, its Magical ability was what drove the Angels to commit genocide upon the Titans, for fear of an uprising! Either they failed to target the Titan actually responsible for finding magic, or they kept them from spreading their craft to others by killing off anyone else who would be willing to learn.

If Hooty has a connection to the Owl Deity… Well, remember when he mentioned being haunted by his actions forever, in Adventures in the Elements? What if the Owl Deity led this ‘hunt’ against the Titans… Either as a creation of the Angels, or as a neutral mediator who was swayed to their ideas of magic being dangerous! Either way, there seems to be a recurring theme of regret and remorse… Perhaps when all was said and done, the Owl Deity rejected its actions, and banished itself to the Boiling Isles? Maybe the Clawthorne Ancestor was connected to/IS the Owl Deity… As for how the Owl Deity died, maybe it simply willed itself out of existence in shame. Maybe it succumbed to injuries from the water. Either way, the Titan didn’t erase all traces of it, which could imply some forgiveness on its part… That, or the Titan was too dead to act in outright vengeance, who knows?

Regardless, the story goes- A Titan discovers Magic, is deemed a threat by the Angels. The Angels lead a mass extermination of its kind, with the Titan the sole survivor. The Owl Deity helps lead the hunt, but comes to regret its war crimes, and dies amidst the BI Titan’s corpse, laying the foundations for the Owl House. As I said, the BI Titan also eventually dies, alone and traumatized, as the Angels head back home.

Owl Deity culls rest of titans, is about to finish the Titan when it realizes the horror of what it did

Either the Titan took it out in a pyrrhic victory, or - more likely - the Owl Deity, being an entity focused on balance and neutrality, allowed itself to be killed/seriously wounded as way to “rebalance” things as much as it can for its nigh complete genocide

We know that Belos claims to enforce the will of the Titan. Well, if he’s a fallen angel… What if he’s persuading the Titan to help it get revenge? What if as a fallen angel, he arrived on the Boiling Isles and approached the Titan’s spirit, proclaiming himself as trustworthy, in an Enemy of my Enemy situation? Belos would point to him and the Titan as being wounded and rejected by the angels to some extent. Belos would have insider knowledge on his kind. If the Angels swayed the Owl Deity, what if Belos swayed the Titan to his side by offering it the chance to strike back at the Heavens for its crimes, and avenge its fallen brethren?

When Belos claims to enforce the Titan’s will, he’s not completely wrong- It DOES feel justifiable anger, though clearly Belos is capitalizing and manipulating this anger, and then passing off the Titan’s actions as solely its own, and not at all a product of Belos’ own manipulations in any shape or form. You know how I likened Belos to Father… And my past theories about Belos resurrecting the Titan, on the Day of Unity?

Hooty mentions it all began with a hunt, with blood-red skies. What if the skies are blood-red once more, on the Day of Unity? As the realms converge or whatnot… What if Belos’ weapon to defeat his Angelic brethren is none other than the resurrected Titan, wielding full access to the powers of Magic, and with vengeance in its heart? What if Belos resurrects the Titan on the Day of Unity, possibly with its body underneath HIS control as a parasite… We could have a scene mirroring that iconic moment from Fullmetal Alchemist, where a continent-sized Father rises from the ground and reaches out to the Heavens, accessing them with the Portal! Just replace Father’s gigantic form with the Titan’s resurrected, magic-fueled body!

Now, this does lead into the idea of settling the Angels as antagonists, once Belos is done and over with. Perhaps a resurrected Owl Deity will be instrumental, with the help of Luz and the others? If she’s the Night to Belos’ Day, then perhaps she needs to set the sun on Belos’ reign, on his Day of Unity! It all begins and ends with blood-red skies, after all. Perhaps with the help of a resurrected Owl Deity, Luz can appease the Titan, or at least sway it to not turn to vengeance and jeopardize the Boiling Isles inhabitants in the process. She has experience with calming down vengeful entities in the past, as seen with Inner Willow… And Luz CAN communicate with the Titan!

Especially if the Angels have grown to also regret their actions, as a parallel to characters like Lilith! Or at least, the Angels can be held in line and prevented from further massacres, with the resurrected Owl Deity. If the Owl Deity is regretful of its actions, then perhaps we could get a scene calling back to Understanding Willow… Where Belos, at the last second, sways the Owl Deity to his logic, and suggests vengeance and annihilation of the Angels! The Owl Deity, frighteningly, agrees for a moment, reminding the Angels that its genocide of them is merely finishing what THEY started, after all…!

But then Luz steps in. Alongside the others, such as Amity and Willow, Lilith and King, Eda, and so forth… She persuades the Owl Deity to have forgiveness in its heart, especially if the Angels show remorse and a desire to fix mistakes! It’d hearken back to the theme of having justified anger, but otherwise channeling it productively into fixing mistakes, rather than simply harming the one responsible for them! It’s about a productive way of tackling issues, rather than focused on punishment; Again, a theme as far back as the first scene, when Luz is punished with the Summer Camp, VS actually having her emotional issues properly addressed, and being given the chance to fix the damage.

Our protagonists could all call back to similar incidents, with Lilith citing how Eda sparing her gave her the chance to fix the damage, or at least remedy it… Instead of JUST dying as retribution! How Willow chose to still retain her feelings, but also spared Amity so the girl could change and improve as a person, instead of just killing her off and calling it a day. It’s about not only recognizing damage, but working to properly fix and recover from it- Recovery is the key word! Fixing the damage together, as Luz said- Productively fixing what was caused, instead of beating oneself over it, the way Amity and Lilith initially did!

This could lead to the Owl Deity, especially if it has Hooty’s memories, being swayed back to a good stance. It’d contrast Belos and his inability to grow, heal, and recover from his emotional and physical wounds! Either way, perhaps the Owl Deity could make peace with the Angels, or at least ensure they genuinely change their attitudes and behaviors. Belos is stopped, and the Titan can finally be laid to rest, its spirit perhaps still communicating with whoever is willing and eager to learn Magic, the same way it did!

Now, this does leave the question- Who was Belos during the Titan Genocide, if he was an Angel? Was he even alive back then? This gets me into the speculation that Fermented Writers Block made, of Private New Guy being an allegory to Belos… If Hooty was haunted by his actions that night, well. Perhaps Belos was just another young recruit, another generic Angel in the hunt- But he was inspired by the Owl Deity, maybe even saw it as someone to emulate? And that’s part of why he’s so power-hungry and bloodthirsty, because of his ‘idol’…

Yet ironically, Belos is merely projecting his idea and desire for what he wants the Owl Deity to be, VS what it actually is- A repentant, remorseful entity with a lot of guilt! Tying into the idea of characters projecting ideas/expectations onto others that just don’t exist, confusing fantasy with reality… Maybe like Private New Guy, Belos tried to seize power in the Angel Realm, and it’s why he was banished? And hey, going into even MORE mindless speculation- What if Owl Mask was MORE than symbolic of the Owl Deity, but outright the same kind of being? Perhaps they’re Belos’ attempt at recreating the Owl Deity albeit young and/or imperfect, an additional asset to conquer the Angel Realm, in addition to a resurrected Titan. Who knows?

Mind you… ALL OF THIS is one hell of a stretch. It’s an incredibly unlikely theory, that hinges on a LOT of factors… But it���s fun food for thought, is it not? And hey, if you never pick up a shovel, one will never find gold even if it IS there! It’s an extension of the Angel Realm theory, while tying together a bunch of other details here or there, and hearkening to past themes, morals, and lessons. I’m sure that even if this isn’t what Dana and the others have planned, what we WILL get will certainly be just as enjoyable- But until then, it can’t hurt too much to guess a bit, and maybe have some outlandish fun or there, right?

[to-many-towered-camelot]

book notes

for anyone who is interested in a nuanced take on fairy beliefs vs the Christian Church in the Middle Ages, this book by Richard Firth Green was actually so good, if your library has it:

[Image: Front cover of the book ‘Elf Queens and Holy Friars: Fairy Beliefs and the Medieval Church’ by Richard Firth Green]

like, obvs it’s just one person’s take on a very complex topic, but it’s well-written, well-researched, and it uses a bunch of Arthurian examples throughout to explore this dynamic (see under cut)

really interesting exploration of how the Church’s response evolved from the early-High Middle Ages (”dude, you believe in fairies? hhhmmm, do penance for 10 days”) to the Late Middle Ages/Early Modern Period (”kill them for heresy and witchcraft!”) 

and how it enfolded vernacular/fairy beliefs into Christian doctrine as fairies being either a) demons or b) the illusions of demons (and how dangerous/bad these demons were depended on the time/location/cleric in question - some packaged fairies as “neutral” demons who fell when the rebel angels did, and who must be punished on Earth but will return to Heaven on Doomsday - potentially doing this to soften things for their parishioners, who often held these fairy beliefs and reconciled them with Christianity, uh, differently than the Church officially would prefer)

and enduring belief in fairies existed in both common and aristocratic circles (can see this in medieval romances, although they’re not the only source of evidence), rather than just being used as cultural “decoration” by a more sceptical upperclass

aaaaand because of this conflation of fairy = demon, you get a really interesting blend/overlap with medieval demonology and enduring “folk” beliefs (obvs not all of medieval demonology was just rebranded fairies, but some of it defs was - you see stories being retold with “devil” instead of “elf”, for example)

INCLUDING in Arthuriana - how you get Morgan the Fairy (”le Fay”) vs Morgan who was raised in a nunnery and learned dark magic there, the Lady of the Lake as a (largely) positive force, Merlin inexplicably as a (perceived to be...) Good Guy despite being the literal antichrist, the Green Knight and all the overlap with Christian symbolism in that story, etc, etc. and they all just either??? co-exist in the same stories or appear through either more fay or more ~Christian lenses depending on the version

and it creates a very interesting and very confusing soup of Stuff stemming from a very confusing - and sometimes dangerous - soup of official and unofficial beliefs evolving over hundreds of years

anyway, WRT Arthuriana it’s got (and ymmv on these, but they’re all interesting thoughts):

(i think in Gottfried’s Tristan???) apparently Tristan has a rainbow fairy dog called Petitcriu...name a knight less deserving of such a Good Boy smh

Chretien’s Yvain flooding out Laudine at the fountain (...jerk) as a continuation of the beliefs surrounding a magical Spring at Barenton 

Gingalain moving from being the son of Gawain and the fairy Blanchemal (and having a fairy love interest, Pucelle) in the French OG version (~1200-ish) to being the son of Gawain and his human mistress (with Pucelle also being human) in a later 15th-C Middle English version)

AJDKN UJ IOE E Merlin’s conception, that one’s a wild ride - theologians REALLY didn’t like the idea of demons being fertile, and the work-arounds they came up with were...incredible. but skipping over that sheer comedy, the author draws links between Merlin’s conception and the general trend of claiming a fairy lover/whatever when a difficult-to-explain pregnancy arose. He also theorises that Geoffrey’s idea for Merlin’s father being a demon/fairy may have come from Nennius saying that Merlin/Ambrosius’ mother “never knew a man”. Later adaptations of this storyline made it even more fay-like (when they weren’t, like Robert de Boron, making it more fucked-up) by making Merlin’s father invisible (Wace) or a super attractive guy in swanky gold clothes (Layamon) - and Vortigern’s advisor explaining the creatures that lived between the earth and the moon until doomsday, etc, etc (walking that line between fairy and incubi, whichhhhhh was not clearly delineated in the Middle Ages the way it is now). also there’s one 13th-C Anglo-Norman poem where Merlin’s father is a bird that transforms into a dashing young squire, which isn’t terribly demon-y. So even though most versions of this story describe Merlin’s dad as an incubi-demon, what people understood this to mean may have been more fay-ish that we’d expect nowadays (depending on the reader, and also on authorial intention - some are pretty explicit that he’s a demon [many clerics keen to push this as the main narrative], while others refer to him as an elf or fairy). some contemporary scepticism during this time about Merlin having any sort of supernatural parentage as well

[none of the same Church anxieties about explaining away how the Plantagenets and other aristocratic families claim a female fairy ancestress - maybe bc there’s none of the stress about patrilineal bloodlines??? who knows! but yeah, much less thought given to those stories in ecclesiastical circles, and they were very popular in vernacular romances (male aristocratic wish fulfilment?). also, fairy enchantments =/= necromancy, so there are stories like the non-cyclic Lancelot where the Lady of the Lake is found out to be “a fairy by education, not by nature or heredity” (Elspeth Kennedy), with the spirits used in necromancy being demons, not fairies. also potential trend of female-associated magic becoming more passive and book-learned, gradually demonising it leading up to early-modern witch hunts.]

Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia and in the Vita Merlini being actually pretty circumspect about saying whether or not Arthur was alive/dead, returning/not returning, maybe due to his work/text being a (hypothesised) defence of the Welsh as being “civilised” (and having been so for centuries before the Normans came) - with the corollary that believing in Arthur’s return was somehow “uncivilised”. Author argues that this may be due to an association with fairy beliefs, and that Layamon is the one that makes Avalon explicitly fey. Also the author describes Arthur as living in a “feminised version of the Christian heaven” (iconic) and says that later writers and people could be very scornful of this belief held by the Britons/Welsh/etc, and that it was contrary to orthodox ways of thinking. 

Links the “discovery” of Arthur and Guinevere’s bodies in Glastonbury in the late 12th-C as similar to when individuals found the bodies of their loved ones, thus making it much harder to believe (and hope) that they were still alive in fairyland. Makes a suggestion that the monks in Glastonbury who “found” these bodies may have been trying to curry favour with the English crown (i.e. champion/hope of the Welsh isn’t coming back) but also may have been trying to “help”/”save”/correct the thoughts/ideology of the Welsh (i.e. “set them on the correct path to salvation”). Lots of medieval writers describing Arthur as living in “fairyland”. Precedent of people visiting fairyland and returning, so Avalon/fairyland =/= a place only for the dead (i.e. Arthur isn’t dead). An Arthurian example, albeit a less explicitly fay one, is Lancelot getting in and out of Gorre (with Gorre as a “typically supressed and rationalised” version of fairyland) in Chretien’s Knight of the Cart.

Some stuff about the wild horde (distinct from the wild hunt) being presented by some writers as very penitential (i.e. they are departed souls that may look like they’re bearing arms/hunting/whatever as they did in life, but really they are in agony e.g. because their weapons burn them) and tbh demonic (black armour, carrying torches, ominous aesthetic). Other writers thought maybe it was - once again! - demonic impersonators rather than actual mortal souls. (Should note also that the wild horde/wild hunt motifs were not always associated with their being dead). Relevant in the Arthurian context because Arthur and his court were sometimes associated with the idea of the wild horde (as in, sometimes the wild horde is described as Arthur’s court living it up in a cool, undying sort of way - “in the likeness of knights hunting or jousting, commonly known as the household of Hellequin or of Arthur” [Etienne de Bourbon, a medieval writer] - with Hellequin’s household often being used to encompass either the wild hunt or the wild horde). Ultimate point made by the author (props to him, he’s always like “if i’m right” lol) that for many clerical writers, it was very uncomfortable to leave people with the impression that Arthur and his court were living it up in fairyland (and similar for other figures associated with the wild hunt/horde) and this idea needed to be corrected/shaped to suit more orthodox perspectives - e.g. tying in with notions of purgatory, etc. 

Aaaand this one was exciting to me just bc i’ve vaguely heard about Arthur and his knights snoozing under a hill, but for some reason i could only remember this being in Victoria-era-and-onwards poetry. 3 versions of the same tale, where a servant looks for his master’s lost horse on a Sicilian mountain. Version 1) servant of a bishop finds his master’s horse in the beautiful palace of Arthur’s court beneath Mt Etna. Aside from the fact that the ancient wound Arthur received from Mordred opens once a year, it’s not very purgatory-like. Version 2) a dean’s servant is told by an old man that King Arthur has the horse on Mt Gyber (Mt Etna). he is told that his master must attend Arthur’s court in 14 days, but the dean laughs it off...then sickens and dies on the appointed day (whoops). Enough differences to this story compared to the first to suggest an oral circulation. Also a note in the version/text that such mountains are said to be the mouth of hell, and only the wicked are sent there, not the chosen. Version 3) Etienne again! Also likely changed with intervening oral circulation. The master is not an ecclesiastical figure, and Arthur’s palace is now a populous city - also Arthur is not referred to, just a nameless prince. There is a gatekeeper who warns the servant not to eat or drink while he’s there (that...is a very fairy-ish proscription). This mountain is apparently reputed to be the site of purgatory. The book author (Richard, i mean) ties these versions in with other stories/accounts of different entrances to purgatory (e.g. one on an island in an Irish lake) as being part of a gradual process of “rendering [...] fairyland purgatorial”. 

Finally, Gawain in Roman van Walewein: To get to an ‘earthly paradise’ [i.e. King Assentijn’s garden with its fountain of youth - side note that ‘earthly paradises’ were often popularly described to be fairyland/where fairies live, in addition to their theological functions, e.g. Avalon was sometimes described as an earthly paradise...i should also say that purgatory was frequently thought to be located beside earthly paradise, so there’s the proximity element] and the castle containing it, Gawain must cross a river (guided by a magical talking fox) that a) has waters that burn like fire, and b) can only be crossed by using a bridge sharper than a razor. His reaction? “Is it the enchantment of elves or magic / that I see?”. He is then guided by the fox underneath the river through a tunnel, and is told that the river’s source is in the depths of hell, and “[the river] is the true purgatory / All souls, having departed from the body / Must come here to bathe.” So it’s a very strong intermingling of fairy and purgatorial imagery/ideas!

I dunno, I just found this very ??? satisfying to read

it leaned towards lit-crit at times (which, considering the subject matter, is honestly fair enough), but it was more respectful of vernacular beliefs than so many other academic takes i see (ofc ymmv re: anything to do with non-Christian major religions, but i think the author’s pretty solid on this!), and it had an explanation for the survival of these beliefs that imo made a lot of sense, especially from a pan-European perspective, not just a Celtic one 

plus it explored the undeniable damage done by Christianity over history without making up some “ranged battle between paganism and the Church” that i see  e v e r y w h e r e  in casual Arthurian circles...which, like, i empathise with the vibe, but also! that’s just straight-up historical revisionism! (i blame MZB and the 80′s for that one)

(there was a fantastic post floating around a while ago about how the religious syncretism in Arthurian literature is much more interesting than peeling away all of the Catholicism in the medieval lit (...you ?? don’t end up with much left?) and saying that this is more “accurate” to some obscure original)

anyway yeah yeah ymmv but it’s v interesting 😊

[will-o-the-witch]

It’s been very enlightening to read your posts on cultural appropriation. I still have one question though: what’s your opinion on artists and writers using concepts from other cultures in their work? Is using mythology, concepts and ideas from other cultures in one’s artistic work (properly researched or otherwise) as disrespectful and offensive as practicing rituals and traditions that you are not born in to? For example, Alan Moore’s Promethea is basically a didactic graphic novel introducing people to the concepts of the Tree of Life & Kabbalah, but from a Western ceremonial magick viewpoint rather than a strictly closed Jewish tradition. I found it an extremely inspiring work. And after some further research and further encounters with the terminology in an aristic/philosophical context by Grant Morrison, I used some Tree Of Life references in my work because no other motif seemed to fit better. Now I have found out that Kabbalah is considered a closed tradition and that Moore and Morrison may have crossed lines referencing traditions they researched only as esoteric occultists rather than members of the original group, I kinda don’t know what to do now. I always felt like learning about other cultures and referencing them as accurately as possible was a good way of preventing total eurocentrism, but now I am wondering if socially conscious white writers can only ever use christianity, norse or Ancient Greek & Roman mythology and traditions if we don’t want to make people from other cultures feel disrespected.

This is a really good and interesting question!! This is kinda long, but I think the answer really depends on how it’s handled.

I don’t think being inspired by other cultures and traditions is a bad thing at all, there’s such a huge plethora of different practices out there and all of them can be beautiful, interesting, and inspiring! Of course they are! So how are they incorporating it and to what degree? Is the material being handled with genuine love and care, or did they just cop the aesthetic to appear more mystical/demonic/exotic/etc.? Are they taking inspiration and creating something original and unique of their own, or are they portraying themselves as experts on the real subject/experience? Are they working with any members of the culture/tradition? Are those people being credited and compensated for their labor? All of those things can make a difference in how respectful or disrespectful something is, you know? 

Important to note, though, is that there are already creative people within these traditions and cultures telling their stories, making their art, and sharing their voices. Preventing total eurocentrism isn’t about just letting white culturally christian writers expand their own storytelling; it’s about supporting and uplifting more diverse creators! I don’t have one on hand but I know there are several lists of fantasy novels written by POC, and many authors will have lovingly-crafted stories with their own culture as the backbone. Diversity in authorship is really where the solution to Eurocentrism in fiction lies, imo. For the rest of us, writing respectful and diverse characters is always still a good thing to do. Back on track though- if something in another culture inspires you in a creative way, you can still let that creativity flow! But talking to members of that culture will always be the best way to figure out if you’re being respectful. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that, you know? Some things won’t be a problem at all, others might. No shame in just asking to be sure. :) 

And if a show or book you like misses the mark, it’s okay to still enjoy it and find meaning in it, it just means that now you’re looking at it with a mature and critical eye and recognizing it isn’t perfect, which is good and normal. ^^

[tlbodine]

Let’s Talk About Folk Horror

Folk horror, both as a term and a concept, is seeing a resurgence recently. It’s been widely used to describe Ari Aster’s film Midsommar, which may be the first time you’ve seen it. But the sub-genre, like the traditions at its heart, is quite old and rich with examples.

What is Folk Horror? 

Folk horror is a type of religious horror concerned with Pagan or pre-Christian religion as opposed to Christianity. Instead of demonic possession or devilish influence, the supernatural elements of folk horror (if they're present at all) will be rooted in other, older traditions. There's still plenty of overlap between Christian occult horror and folk horror, though, and aesthetically some stories featuring Christian mythology and tradition could fall under the folk umbrella.

Folk horror will often draw on several or all of these tropes:

An isolated setting, most commonly a rural community that's a big "backwards" by modern standards and often populated by unsettlingly eccentric locals.

Cults or cultish behavior, either overtly or suspected.

Blood sacrifice, violent rituals, and other types of murderous mayhem enacted by aforementioned cult members.

A slow-building, atmospheric type of horror rich in detail of the strangeness of the setting/its people.

Ideas drawn from mythology or historical religious practices, especially those of Pre-Christian Europe

An aesthetic that might incorporate Pagan (or pseudo-pagan) motifs, whether or not they’re portrayed accurately or historically - masks, dances, sex, rituals, blood magic, etc. 

Some folk horror is supernatural or overtly occult -- there might be a monster or monstrous god posing a very real and physical threat. But most folk horror is most commonly rooted in fears of the Other, and what happens when an outsider encounters believers of a faith that appears confusing, frightening, dangerous or immoral. 

Folk horror taps into a number of potential primal fears: 

Fears of “otherness” and the unknown 

Fear/distrust of religion or organized belief structures and their power/influence

Fears of social isolation or faux pas; the anxiety of not knowing or adhering to the rules (and being punished for it) 

White guilt, or related anxieties regarding colonialism, lost history/identity, and fear of being punished for the same

In many ways, folk horror is “kissing cousins” with the murderous hillbilly genre: both often tell stories about outsiders who go to a place they don’t belong and suffer the consequences at the hands of the locals. 

More modern iterations of folk horror often side-step the xenophobia by placing the main characters within the culture instead of outside it. These tales are frequently told as historical pieces and may or may not ultimately position Christianity or white imperialism in the villainous role (but not without heavily leaning on the symbolism and aesthetic of the folk elements to provide creepy atmosphere first). 

Another reason folk horror may be enjoying a modern resurgence is because it deals strongly with identity, especially the lost (and reclaimed) identities of old religions and cultures. As “whiteness” as a concept undergoes growing pains and tries to define itself, reaching back to the “old ways” of European folklore (or even early colonial America) can provide a richness and depth of history fraught with potentially horrifying perils and deeply interesting opportunities. Which is not to say that folk horror must by default be about white people...just that white people should probably let other groups handle their own folk horror stories (see previous rant re: wendigo). 

Difference Between Folk, Occult and Gothic 

Occult, by definition, means "supernatural or paranormal.” Stories about magic, demons, witchcraft and possession fall under the occult umbrella. Quite often, occult films default to a Judeo-Christian mythological framework (in the West, at least, Asian occult horror of draws on a different set of cultural influences). Regardless: in occult horror, the occult is front-and-center, and it’s a very real influence. 

Folk horror, by contrast, requires no supernatural elements -- merely a stalwart belief. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter whether the blood ritual actually summons an old god, only that the cult members earnestly believe that it will. 

Gothic, meanwhile, often shares a lot of aesthetic territory with folk horror. But as we’ve discussed before, the defining characteristic of gothic is decay -- locations that were once opulent but have fallen into ruin, beliefs that were once sacred but since have been abandoned (for better or worse). Folk horror is very much alive, and often extremely vibrant. 

A Taste of Folk Horror Media

Ok: So you’ve got a basic understanding of what Folk Horror is about. Now where should you start with studying it? 

The usual recommendation is to start with the so-called "Unholy Trinity" of folk horror films, which really cemented the genre in cinema. Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General, Piers Haggard's Blood on Satan's Claw and Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man were released in the laste 60s/early 70s and laid out a number of the tropes you'll grow to find quite familiar later on -- theology, human sacrifice, rural communities, and lots of British weirdness.

Now armed with the basics, you might be better equipped to appreciate more modern films -- let's try a sampler of different flavors.

Try The Witch, directed by Robert Eggers, and follow it up with The Wind, directed by Emma Tammi, for a pair of women-centered historical pieces rooted in early America (colonial and frontier eras, respectively). They draw heavily on the folk side of Christian tradition and are both atmospheric marvels.

Or, here's a trifecta that's fun to watch for compare/contrast: Ari Aster's debut, Hereditary, which combines pagan cults with family drama; David Bruckner's film The Ritual, where a night in the woods is interrupted by an ancient Pagan monster-god; and Apostle, directed by Gareth Evans, where Christian apostasy and creepy cults collide. Finish up with Midsommar if you’re not sick of Ari Aster yet. 

If you're looking at books, Stephen King occasionally dips his toes in folk horror. Pet Sematary dabbles in it, and Children of the Corn takes a proper full plunge. Both were adapted into films, too, if that's your preference. 

Incidentally, The Ritual was also a novel, written by Adam Nevill, and by all accounts it's even better than the movie. If you like that, also pick up his new novel The Reddening. You might also enjoy some of the work of Douglas Clegg, such as The Halloween Man.

If you're done with white dudes for a while, cleanse your palate with some Asian folk horror: The Wailing, directed by Hong-jin Na, combines folk beliefs, Christianity, and virology. Kwaidan, directed by Masaki Kobayashi, is itself a sampler anthology of Japanese folk tales.

If animated features are more your speed, try Over the Garden Wall from Patrick McHale. 

Folk horror even shows up in video games. Fatal Frame straddles the occult/folk line pretty well, especially Crimson Butterly, which delves deep into some cult-gothic territory. Alternatively, try out Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn, a wonderfully creepy game about Swedish and Norse mythology that you will love if you enjoy Adam Nevill's writing.  

And, because I can never plug it enough, Chandler Groover’s short interactive fiction game Taghairm is a magnificent example (warning: playing involves text-based simulations of roasting cats over a fire). 

[fergzillar]

Gonna just ramble on some D&D shit relating to aesthetics in tabletop gaming

I’ve expressed my feelings about Tieflings before (short ver.: Despite playing one myself, I think they are overplayed and the reality of modern D&D just including them as a core race -most 5e parties have one- is weird and ill-fitting based on their traditional origin, it also advises against this in the PHB). Everything I say should be taken with a pinch of salt because obviously all homebrew settings are different and you can do whatever the fuck you want with your setting, but at least have it make sense. If you include Tieflings in your setting as a common race, think about why. Why are these demon people walking around and where did they come from, why do they look like they do?

The traditional/canonical explanation is that Tieflings are rare individuals from a bloodline that goes back to demons and devils, as such, they have no homeland and are not a race outright but a hybrid like half-orcs and half-elves. Few games have large communities of those races, but Tieflings seem to get a free pass because they’re cool. Now there’s nothing wrong with doing something just because it’s cool, but if we follow this traditional template one should concede that one needs a good reason to be playing one.

If we do not follow this template however, I restate: why do they look like what they are depicted as in standard D&D art? And here I come to what I was trying to make this post about in the first place: Aasimar and Tieflings. Most dungeon masters do not take a super scrutinous look at their race’s origins, and that’s fair, it’s a lot of work, but I really think people should when the aesthetics of a race is so closely linked to their origin.

I’ve come across several individuals and noticed a trend. Aasimar are far less popular to play then Tieflings, despite basically being two sides of the same coin. I believe this is to do with the aesthetics involved. As I said before, Tieflings (the traditional depiction) are fucking cool. Aasimar, on the other hand, are not, they are usually depicted as Aryan humans who sometimes have glowy eyes. Why? Because they reflect Christian divinity, as Tieflings reflect the Christian ideas of hell - Traditional D&D divine beings and planes have their roots stuck hard in Christianity, with pinches of other religions here and there.

So what’s the point? Go non-traditional. Compromise the status quo of post-rebirth D&D. If we consider that Aasimar and Tieflings are reflections of the divine plane of the world they exist in, then think about your divinity (or lack thereof) when deciding if you want to include them in your game [p.s: it’s fine to put boundaries on what your players can create, you are not spoiling the fun].

Does your setting have angels, devils, or their equivalent? How do they look? are they biblical in a modern way or non-euclidean in a textual way? And the important question: what would their half-human descendants, thousands of years in the future look? What would their anomalies be and what traits are commonly associated with them?

Take for example: My friend has a setting in which there is no demonic plane, no hell, but it does have The Void, a sparse realm, a black, still ocean that goes on for an eternity, with haunting demigods that roam it called Omens. Now the Omens that exist in The Void are like lovecraftian gods in nature, they are all unique and solitary. If I were running Tieflings in this game I would have lots of variations in their looks because of this, there could be castes of Tieflings depending on who sired the progeny. My Warlock’s patron is one of these demons, the Omen A’Mi’Azzar, who is a giant humanoid with grey skin and clawed hands, above their nose is an eye-occluding limestone half-mask that covers the entire upper portion of the head and has sideward pointing horns. The Tieflings could be perfectly humanoid, keep the grey skin and claws and have them perhaps have their skin turn to white rock above their nose, growing over their eyes making them half-blind, and a set of horns to boot.

* * *

This is just something I’ve been tossing about in my head for a while whilst writing a new game. What triggered me writing this though was someone saying about how they didn’t like Aasimar always being white, got me thinking about the origins and how we can change this. Because I’m a sucker for Christian motifs, I’ve always thought Angels and Aasimar were fucking rad, but they just don’t have that old-school-cool that Tieflings do, so let’s change that.

 I’d be interested to do a campaign or setting focused around Assimar and Tieflings one day, maybe have the whole party play one or the other.

[leviathan-supersystem]

What happened between you and Nova?

nothing in particular, no big Falling Out or anything, we just sorta gradually drifted apart. i know now they’re on a big “only anarcho-communism is real communism, all other communists are Red Fascists” tip now, which obvs is completely not what i’m about at all, so, idk. i’d feel weird re-establishing contact. “hey whats up, how ya been, heard you think i’m evil? cool, cool.”

at the time when we were in touch i was still really deep in my attempt to create a communist/leftist mode of occultism- honestly in retrospect it feels surreal that i was ever so deeply involved in that project, but at the time it made sense- i saw a lot of kids in the Edgy Aesthetic tumblr scene getting sucked in by fascist occultism, wotanism and so on, and it seemed to me like a good strategy to try to create some kind of memetic counter-force, to try to draw young people with an interest in the occult toward the left, rather than toward the right. so i started studying the history of any overlap i could find between politics and occultism, and any overlap between political and occult symbolism, to try to develop a theory of political occultism within a left-wing context.

nova was one of the first people to take any kind of interest in my work, and at the time had a larger following than me, so honestly i was pretty excited that my work was having any kind of influence at all.

at any rate, since then the memetic landscape has changed- the threat of fascist occultism has subsided as the far-right has begun to shift away from that strategy because of all the infighting it was creating on their side between occult nazis and christian nazis, and meanwhile on the left, left-wing occultism has expanded and gained such a high profile that the idea that it would need boosting seems absurd to me. if anything, i’m more concerned about leftist mysticism eclipsing leftist materialism/skepticism.

also a lot of my theories on political occultism and the nature of symbolism don’t seem as convincing to me now in light of new evidence. while my approach was always from a purely materialistic worldview- in the sense of viewing mysticism purely as a psychological/sociological phenomenon, and not subscribing to any literal belief in the supernatural- i did have some theories about the association between symbolism and ideology, and the idea that certain symbols might have inherent psychological associations which overlapped with political ideology.

namely, what i perceived as a correlation between downward pointing symbolism and leftism, and upward pointing symbolism in fascism. this mostly sprung from noticing that the nordic resistance movement, a fascist movement, uses an upward pointing arrow as their symbol, and then comparing that to the downward pointing arrows of the iron front in antifascist symbolism, and in particular the way that the iron fron arrows being used to cover up fascist symbolism could be viewed as canceling out one force with an opposing force.

expanding on this, i noticed tons of stuff that followed this pattern, of downward/inward imagery being used by left-wing groups and upward/outward imagery being used by right-wing groups- also, how this could be applied to tendencies toward chthonic symbolism in left-wing imagery and toward ouranic symbolism in right-wing imagery.

and then expanding on this to explore parallels between this, and various uses of opposition between upward/downward forces as a motif in the occult- alchemy, etc. and then add in hegel’s hermetic influences, and it felt like i had stumbled on something significant.

of course, then those fascist assholes in identity evropa used the dragon’s eye as their symbol, which according to my theories should have been too inherently leftist a symbol for that to even really be possible. and there were other similar examples of symbolism being used in ways that directly contradicted my theories. so what the fuck. all that hard work the fuck out the window, it meant nothing.

interestingly though, it seems that right-wing dickhead jordan peterson arrived at something very similar to my own concepts, just with the ethical perspective reversed- ie, we both seem to have drawn eerily similar correlations about which alchemical imagery matches up to which political forces, but we have opposite perspectives on which side in that is good.

which almost piques my interest in re-exploring that, and seeing if i was on to something after all, but. nah. more likely i ended up drawing the same correlations because they were obvious correlations to draw, not because they demonstrate some kind of ~ooooooo mystical correlations between alchemical archetypes and political concepts. 

and as much as i might try to keep this concept grounded and materialist by framing it purely in terms of the social and psychological effect of symbolism, at the end of the day, this is all extremely new-agey. i don’t see any compelling reason to think it’s where i should be spending my time and energy at this juncture.

wooo this got way off the subject you asked about! but yeah nova took an interest in my work very early on, but since then we’ve both kind of gradually drifted apart.

[ratherhavetheblues]

ANDREI TARKOVSKY’S ‘THE SACRIFICE’ “Don’t be afraid. There’s no such thing as death…”

© 2021 by James Clark

     Having tested the waters of the mysterious Andrei Tarkovsky, by way of his film, Solaris (1972), I feel obliged to settle matters that could test the patience of those seriously intent upon appreciating processes of great merit. Braced by the sophisticated genius of the work of Ingmar Bergman, Tarkovsky has chosen to maintain a mysticism—far from supernatural—but clinging to (perhaps confusing) tinctures of mainstream devotion. In the film, Solaris, he takes his directions from Bergman’s films, The Devil’s Eye (1960) and All These Women (1964), where the force of nature pertains to pathos. Not satisfied to contest the weakness at several points of science, Tarkovsky, by way of a form of sleight of hand, installs dead victims of a violence becoming life-like to those now-touched by guilt. A perhaps questionable (though intense) means of challenging the brutality of wayward captains of a small planet. An unbalanced touch in the service of deep pathos should not become a song and dance. Bergman, the kudos notwithstanding, would not be a fan.

Our second selection, here, namely, The Sacrifice (1986), mercifully desists from fantasy, though its cast of players tends to whimsy. (I’ve chosen this film, being Tarkovsky’s final work, a work by way of the young maestro’s  being stricken by fatal cancer, because this film administers most effectively the artist’s campaign, leaving the other films to supplement the rigors. Our study today recalls all those pedantic, bourgeois targets whom Bergman regarded as travesties. Whereas being “educated” appears to virtually everyone’s sense of virtue, Bergman [and now Tarkovsky] want us to see a very different form of action, and thereby a form of problematic reflection never being saliant, because the educational history of the planet has throttled a crucial aspect.)

  Our film begins with one, “Alexander,” (an echo of the affluent Alexander of the Bergman film, Fanny and Alexander[1983]), planting by the sea, a fragile tree. This tree does not become décor, but instead a statement, a statement of recognition that, by way of study of not only Japanese culture but Eastern Orthodox culture, he has reached the comprehension of treasures of the depths of life itself. Along that shore, he includes his young son, Little Man, and attempts to introduce him into the life of understanding. “Once upon a time, long ago, an old monk lived in an Orthodox monastery. His name was Pamve. And once he planted a barren tree on a mountainside, just like this. Then he told his young pupil, a monk named Ioann Kolov, that he should water the tree each day until it came to life. Anyway, early every morning Ioann filled a dipper with water and went out. He climbed up the mountain and watered the withered tree, and in the evening when darkness had fallen he returned to the monastery. He did this for three years. And one fine day he climbed up the mountain and saw that the whole tree was covered with blossoms! Say what you will, but a method, a system, has its virtues. You know, sometimes I say to myself, if every single day, at exactly the stroke of the clock, one were to perform the same act, like a ritual, unchanging, systematic, every day, at the same time, the world would be changed… Yes, something would change… It would have to… Beautiful, eh? Like Japanese Ikabana.”

   On the other hand, Alexander, and his sidekick (the latter desultory to a mountainous degree), describe  scenes from the mid-century play, Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett. (The withered tree, the withered land, the withered bid.) You’ll recall, I hope, that the repetitious pedantry there was not “beautiful.” In fact, that that work was aptly ensconced within what was called, “Theatre of the Absurd.” His disciplined dialogue going for naught. On another note, however, it’s Alexander’s birthday and new maturity would be a nice gift (except that the maturity needed seems only derived from the bidder alone). The gardening barely mustering enough rocks at the base to keep the statement from crashing. Along comes Otto, the cyclist/ mailman with a card for the dreamer. Not having brought his reading glasses, it is the job of the postman to deliver the joy. “Happy Birthday, dear friend. STOP. Mighty regards, great good Prince Myshkin. STOP. God grant you joy, health and peace. STOP. From your loyal Richardians and Idiotists. STOP.” Alexander remarks, “Friends and their jokes…. That’s not half bad.”

Taking up the matter of God, in the card, Alexander brags that his relationship to God is “non-existent.” He adds, “It could be worse.” (It could be, that he not, as his “Mighty” clique prefers, treat the matter of willful incoherence like a child. All those stops unheeded.) Otto, happy to be invited to the birthday party later, pays homage to his friend. “Here you are, a famous journalist, a theatrical and literary critic, who lectures on aesthetics for students at the university and produces essays… But you’re so gloomy. You shouldn’t become tangled with something vaguely arduous. You shouldn’t be waiting for anything…”/ “Who says I’m waiting for something?” His friend insists, then, utterly inarticulate, “We’re all waiting for something.” (And yet!) “All my life, in fact, I’ve been going around waiting for something.” (Godot?)  “And I’ve always felt as if the living I’ve done, so far, hasn’t actually been real life… but a long wait for it… a long wait for something real, something important… What about you?”/ Alexander, not long ago a maven of the immutable, comes across with, “Yes, if that’s what you mean. I just never knew you were interested in that kind of problem.” Our protagonist veers away with, “Do you really think that mankind could devise a universal concept, a model, so to speak, of Absolute Truth? Why, it’d be like trying to create a new universe!” Alexander, on this wave of speculation, adds, “Look here my boy, we’ve lost our way. Humanity is also on the wrong road.”

   Here our leading man rallies somewhat, concerning the day he and his wife, driving along this stretch, discovered their Dream House. “I knew that if I lived there, I’d be happy until I died.” Quickly dismissing the situation of death in the mix, he tells her, “Don’t be afraid. There is no such thing as death. No, there’s the fear of death, and that is an awful fear. Sometimes it even makes people do things they shouldn’t. But how different things would be if only we could stop fearing death.”

Somewhat like the wiggle room of Hari, in Solaris, we’ve backed into a very unique and placid form of death, without disclosure of its corollary. Why? Surely, as with the hatchet-job toward superficial science, there is an animus against mainstream sophistication. Tarkovsky, aware of course, that modern life thrives upon inconsistency, overdoes that matter, to the point of absurdity. Why? I’m betting on his unspoken carrying of a vision of cogency so hard and so joyous which works only within a transaction between a solitary and nature itself. The fervid melodrama to come would function as a sort of barren mountainside to discern, and not only survive, but to delight as far as one’s life reaches, with its inconsistencies and solace, and then to disappear. (During the concern about a missing motif [the whole action being well described as a tone poem], Little Man had attached a rope between Otto’s bike and a tree, with a result of the postman’s being dumped. All in good spirits! All in good Beckett.)

Before the birthday party convenes, Alexander faints, after being surprised by the boy, who receives a bleeding nose in the melee. During that moment he calls out, “Dear God, what’s wrong with me?” Cut to  a black and white “documentary,” of a city in panic. Following that haunting portrayal, we see Alexander at home, appreciating a book of ancient Christian imagery, before the hoped-for festivity.

The first arrivals are Adelaide, a former actress and a former mistress of Alexander, in his days as a theatrical actor, and Victor, a medical doctor and lover of Adelaide. Victor, after opening by, “I had a rotten day today. Or rather, a day I lost control of…” adds, “Have you never felt that your life was a failure?” Before coming in, the doctor had protested, “I don’t like his (Alexander’s) monologues… Moreover, there is the uncomfortableness, in the air, that I’ll soon be leaving for Australia” (where I’ve been offered a clinic). Their twentyish daughter, Marta, asks, “Are you serious?” (That the dialogue is stagy here relates to the flimsiness of the sensibility.) Someone very intent is the next visitor, Otto, now appearing with a large, ancient, framed map of Europe, as a gift—a form of discovery. He had striven with the weight, pushing his bike. (The others brought a bottle of wine in their chic car.) Someone from the earlier group teases him, “Julia [the in-house servant], your beaux’s coming  calling.” Julia helps Otto with the heavy picture. The others declare it a reproduction; but Alexander ascertains it to be genuine. “It’s too expensive, Otto,” the man of the night scolds gently. The alert working man argues, “I know it’s a sacrifice, but why shouldn’t it be? Of course it’s a sacrifice!” (Victor looks at the map once again.) Otto, having been set up by the world of diplomas, pushes back, “Every gift involves a sacrifice. If not, what kind of gift would it be?” (The pride to reach a form of validity. And also, though, the flagging veer of advantage.) Quick on the draw, Adelaide, not a nostrum of rare sensibility, blurts out, “But I liked being the great actor’s wife.” This, then, elicits from the patrician/ intellectual, the idea that the gift “looks like Mars” (a conflict). “It has nothing to do with truth. But people lived then.” Otto adds, “And not badly, either.” The postman, not wanting to seem naïve, picks a fight about Alexander’s interest in “truth.” “What truth? You keep going on about truth. Truth, what is truth? There is no such thing! Here comes a cockroach!” But Victor lunges, “A fantastic map! It’s a first-class chart…”

Then the party, running all the way to the morning, begins in earnest. Active Victor opens the theatre by asking more about Otto’s having more time for his interests, due to a very slight caseload. “I’m sort of a collector, a collector of incidents. Things that are inexplainable but true.” The largely sanguine and generous soul proceeds to reiterate the bizarre function of pathos concerning a dead victim becoming active on the basis of, once again—as in the Tarkovsky film, Solaris—being a figure of reflective singularity. “Are you pulling our leg?” Victor sneers… “And you see fit to joke with us, Mister Postman?” In the glare of ridicule, the metaphysical overkill creates a fainting spell (the second philosopher in the day, to fall). On coming to, he explains, “Only an evil angel…” Otto, not pleased, declares, “There’s nothing to joke about here.”

A few minutes later, a more comprehensive trouble appears. The political powers that be, fake a nuclear crisis, and a nuclear  blah. “The only dangerous enemy in our midst at the moment is panic. It’s contagious. Order and organization, and nothing less, good citizens… Only order… order… order…” Soon Adelaide is overcome with the notion of imminent death, and requires a strong needle. (One of countless impetus to emigrate.) With panic in the room, the others acquit themselves with sangfroid. A rolling passion. Will it frequent the house? Even more challenging is the yard. An infrequent, supplementary servant, Maria, perhaps being impossible to frighten, turns up by way of Alexander’s need for vision. The vision she delivers is not promising. She’s asked, by the only too-facile inquisitive, “Who made that [fuss]?”/ (Ask a stupid question, and you get a stupid answer.) “Little Man.”/ “Really! But what is it?”/ “He made it for you. It’s his birthday present to you. It was he and Otto the postman who built it together. Don’t say that I told you, Mister Alexander. I’ll go now.” She turns back for a minute, “Happy Birthday.” He replies, “Go home now. It’s so damp out, like a battlefield.” (The exquisite hat she wears, infused with visions of wild, stunning foliage, brings a focus upon something exciting. Though her Bohemian appearance drew the lose-cannon, Adelaide, to avoid looking at her, the free-lancer undertakes her chores, preparatory to a feast that never occurs,  unfailingly in her sense of dignity. “I’ll put the plates to warm at once… Can I go now?” The rude bourgeoise plays cat and mouse. Maria asks, “Is there something more?”/ “Oh, one more thing! Would you put the candles on the table. Then you may go… You have opened the wine, haven’t you?”/ “No.”/ “Well, open it. Then you won’t be needed…” More testing in unintentional form, by Otto: “We’re neighbors, she and I… We’re acquainted. She came from Iceland a few years ago. She is very odd.” / “Who?” Victor asks, with a smirk./ “Maria… Yes, Maria. Sometimes she scares me…” Adelaide makes a point of snubbing Maria. Near the end of this cataract of a film, with the house ablaze, Adelaide is not only missing, but forgotten.

Now the singularities come in twos. With seemingly, anything goes, Alexander thrills, “I’ve waited for this all my life. My whole life. My whole life has been one long wait for this! With Otto cringing before the “gloominess” of Leonardo’s print of the painting, “The Adoration of the Three Kings,” he seeks to strike a confederacy with Adelaide, the routed (seemingly part of that black and white visitation). The postman listens to the now tranquillized screamer. “I have loved one man and married another… When two people love each other, they don’t love in the same way. One of them is strong, the other weaker. And the weaker is always the one who loves without reckoning, without reservation.” (Her flakiness nailing down Hollywood melodramatic “women’s films,” from the Depression-era and beyond. “Meaningful interaction” being astoundingly difficult because there has been no concentration upon what a human is—the church and science having been the worst of candidates.) Plowing ahead, she imparts, “It feels now as if I’ve awakened from some kind of life. For some reason, I always offered resistance. I fought against something. I defended myself, just as though I’d had someone else inside me, saying, ‘Don’t give in to anything… don’t go along with… anything… or you’ll die!’ But God, how foolish we are anyway!” (Bathos, bathos, bathos…) In the same collapse, Otto tells her, “It’s good that you finally understood that…” She adds, “I’ve finally understood,  even though it’s a bit late. But what shall I do now?” She tries to stand up. Otto says, “Easy, easy…”

Alexander opens a valise and takes out a gun. Does he imagine himself to be a lawman? He spends a short time observing Little Man asleep, while luxurious curtains create alternate brightness and darkness. The boy has a cloth, covering his throat. Perhaps a slight injury from the collision. Domesticity and violence. (The renowned  cinematographer, Sven Nykvist, as with his stellar career with Bergman, brings a quiet powerhouse of discompose.) Next step for the unpredictable protagonist, is a cognac, and then many cognacs. Over to the Leonardo. He chants the Lord’s Prayer. The gunman turns to his own rhetoric. “Lord! Deliver us in this terrible time. Don’t let my children die, nor my friends…my wife.” (Yes, he apparently does have a wife, but she’s not a good communicator. Lives leaving, lives hoping to embrace.) “And Victor… All those who do not believe in Thee, because they are blind, those who haven’t given Thee a thought, simply because they haven’t yet been truly miserable. All those who, in this hour of our lost hope, their future, their lives and the opportunity to surrender to Thy will. All those who are filled with dread, who feel the end coming closer, who fear, not for themselves but for their loved ones. All those whom no one, except Thou can offer protection. Because this war is the ultimate war. And after it, there will be no victors and no vanquished, no cities or towns, grass or trees, water in the sky.” (A smog of cliches.)

“Waited for this, all my life…”/ Show time! “I will give Thee all I have. I’ll give up my family, whom I love. I’ll destroy my house and give up Little Man… I’ll be mute, and never speak another word to anyone. I will relinquish everything that binds me to life, if only Thou restore everything as it was before, as it was this morning and yesterday. Just let me rid of this deadly, sickening, animal fear…” (An anatomy of a coward.) “Yes, everything, Lord! Help me. I will do everything I have promised Thee.” (The thrust of so-called “animal fear” surpassing, by far, in dignity the ways of humans who cover their sensibility as in a tailspin positioned upon a rollercoaster.) On hands and knees, toward the Leonardo. Then outside, and sludge down to the ankles. We see the integrity of a stand of pine trees.

Back home, he’s dressed like a priest. Otto tells him, “There’s still one last chance, one last hope… Engage in coitus with Maria. Maria can do it… You must go to her, and convince her.” Both of them become drunk. Otto begins to obsessively come his hair. He tells the biblical scholar, “I’ve gathered evidence. She is a witch… There is no other alternative. I’ve left the bike for you down by the shed.” (Mood aplenty; but going nowhere, because sludge fails to dig deep enough.)

Surprisingly enough, this leg of the crash (Alexander having fallen off the bike and being left with a limp to the denouement)  has a hope. At the door of Maria’s place, in the middle of the night, a small flock of sheep run back and forth. (Sheep being a violent crisis point in many Bergman films.) Ill at ease, our protagonist is at a loss for words, in the semi-darkness.  “Why don’t you say something?” she asks, knowing he’s wildly overrated. (He gazes at the gas lamp, a source of energy to her, but no such thing to him.) She notices his dirty and bleeding hands. In cleaning him up, she says, as if to a child or an idiot, “You mustn’t go about with dirty hands.” The tiniest of crosses on the wall, suggesting that much more effort be expended upon matters of vision than matters of demand. He rallies with charming, media articulation. She has a small organ in the room and he’s quick to play a passage. “As a child, I played this prelude. My mother loved it years ago. I often went to visit my mother in the country… Her cottage was surrounded by a garden, dreadfully neglected and overgrown. Even then, my mother was very ill. She almost never left the house. Still, in its way, it was beautiful. (Maria sheds a tear. She had been touched by the music, and touched with the calculations of a not to be long in this world modest appreciation of nature. The rest of the haunting would not create a tear. He admits that his bid to improve the garden was heavy-handed , leaving the lady with a sterile failure to look away from. [A slightly clever performance of bathos. In The Devil’s Eye, a man conscientiously feeling guilt for slighting his long-dead  mother, impresses the women he wants to make love with, and a performance of passionate pathos ensues.]) Alexander piling on another show of “heart,” pertaining to his father being cruel to his sister, and subsequently crying in guilt, would measure clearly the mediocrity having invaded. Out comes, “Could you love me, Maria?”/ “Go home now,” she tells him. He counters with, “Don’t kill us. Save us, Maria!” On his putting the gun to his head, she rushes to him, saying, “You poor, poor man…” (Don’t, though, for a second, think, at this juncture [Maria not amused], she’s not had to contemplate the crosshairs of a nasty devastating scandal.) She plays along to shut down the drama. “Who has frightened you so?” (She’s the only one around not fooled by the politicians.) Calm down, calm down… I understand, I know [that I could be run out of town, or worse]. I know [Alexander’s elusive wife is wicked]… Don’t be afraid of anything… Everything’s going to be all right…” [in bed]. Using the phrases, “You poor, poor man… there, there,” the connection, as it were, adopts a slow carousel, lifting off a few feet toward heaven. “Nothing will happen to you here,” she assures the critical sleuth. “Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

Cut to the black and white city, and its load of gamers, its load of pedantry and its load of advantage. The power comes back at the Dream House, and Alexander has changed his priestly garb in favor of a black shawl with a Japanese insignia. On avoiding the alfresco breakfast which included the presence of a loud and argumentative wife coming on board (having, it seems, that she preferred to snub the entire joy in one of the upstairs rooms), Alexander, biding his time at the shed until the party marches off for their constitutional, ramps up his short wave upon Japan and its music and proceeds to burn down the Dream House. Soon the party rushes to confront a singularity failing to shed light. A bathetic melodrama. The cosmopolitan dresser announces, “I did it. Listen to me. I’ve got something very important…” Falling to his knees, he demands, from out of his gross lostness, “Say nothing! Ask nothing!” His wife holds him and rocks him as if a baby. Rushing away, he encounters Maria wondering, perhaps, where her finances stand. He falls to her knees. Victor tries to move him away. “Come, Alexander! You can’t stay here!” They drag him away, but he rushes back to Maria, only to be dragged away again. The woman with a capacity for pathos, tells the mob, “Let him be! What are you doing to him!” The violent wife attacks, and Maria backs off. Though she subsides in the finale, Maria is the one to watch, the one transcending “normality,” the one grown up. (How many lone figures like this have we seen in the films of Bergman?)

An ambulance arrives. The family marches toward it. Then he’s off again, leading a contingent, a picture of Theatre  of the Absurd. Otto holds him, but both of them are captives of “a long wait for something real,” the cosmetics of lucidity, in lieu of the real war and its arduous days. The critic races in the direction of the inferno, and the House of the Leaders is reduced to smoke. Maria bikes across the fields to catch up to the ambulance and the last of his madness. On the rude path toward her bivouac, the quiet distances manage to be remarkable.

Little Man is watering the pedantic tree. Even worse, he mentions, “In the beginning was the Word… Why is that, Papa?” The tree, panning upward against the sun and sea, is doing very well by itself. An operatic snippet also seems a bourgeois touch, even funerial.

Many initiatives come our way here. Skillful film artists can reveal much about the life around us and ourselves. They add up, however, to be, a job for the viewer/ reader, the viewer /reader’s gut. Beyond cinema, there is a universe of intentional sensibility, which can never fully deliver on the screen. No matter how evocative, the crucial topspin of major films might reach, their tactile creativity, their full-scale drama will fail to complete the realization. It comes as a shock, to those practitioners, that the very most contentious historical powers in film are off limits to the screen. When strong filmmakers want to fully think what is so wrong that religion and bourgeois-technical-science are paramount in our life, they become tongue tied.

For all his film career scanning 60 years, Ingmar Bergman would send hordes of images of hands and fingers in play in his works, being not quite germane because the force in play is intimate. Moreover, another standby would be dialectic positioning, hoping for synthesis that only individual carnality could essentially deliver. The seas of such creativity would require a unique rostrum indeed. A paradox to ponder.

[k00233706]

James Hillman On Mythology

Notes taken from an online lecture https://youtu.be/blF0NdSm1lQ

Rousseau on the Child.

The child perceives differs because the child reaches down into prehistoric, archetypal, mythical experiences, an imaginal realm which provides the child with its own way of seeing. This mode of thinking also found in primitive mad and artists. The childhood of persons become merged with childhoods of people.

Hillman…we don’t know what they are in themselves unadulterated by our need as carriers for the imaginal …

 Freud…the child has no super ego, does not free associate because it does not have enough experiences so it goes back into prehistoric mythical events and stories, the child’s problems and parents are external rather than internal, absence of personal conscious

He gave the child primacy…

He gave the child body…emotional, desires

He gave the child pathology….it was our suffering

Dickens children had little passion no sexuality

Perversity in dickens came from adults and society

Jung actual child is abandoned …it lay prejudice always inclined to identify child motif with the concrete experience child. The mythological child is emphatically not a copy of the empirical child

Child archetype motif in collective …the child is all that is abandoned and exposed and at the same time divinely powerful…the eternal child in man is an indescribable experience and a divine prerogative.

Futurity…the child points to future

Divine heroic invincibility

Hermaphrodite

Beginning and end

Abandonment

Archaic mythical thinking Blissfulness of paradise appears

Mother Archetype appears

Creative child

Freud Feces child penis…a little thing that can become separated from its body

Hillman Christian Child…child refers to simple niave poor and common the orphan of society and psyce…precondition for salvation…feeling of heart than learning of rhe mind..child in the manger ,,,suffer the children to come onto me

Classical tradition…configurations of masculine psychology Zeus, Hermes Dionysus, Oedipus Hercules….child motif kept distinct from the mother archetype….gods who appears in child form

Jung child motif exist in distant past and now…purpose is to compensate and correct the extravagances of conscious mind …a psychological corrector…it is important to bring the child back (jung)from abandonment (freud)

 Abandoned child Hillman as it appears in dreams

In modern dreams where we ourselves, a child of ours or one unknown child is in danger neglected forgotten the child makes its presence known through dreams although abandoned we can still hear it

Endangered by drowning animals’ traffic being left behind in a car truck, pram or supermarket cart, kidnappers

Illness crippling mental retardation idiot child motif

War flood or fire

Dreamers response is acute worry I must do something

Infant we must keep this child with us…. a moral lesson I out to do different

But this guilt puts the burden on the ego.  The dreamer is the child and in charge of the child…feelings of responsibility obscure the feelings of loss and fear

The more we worry the less they reach us…so reacting from ego guilt, moral lessons we reinforce ego, emphasis parent child division

Crucial in dream integration…not interpretation…standing with it….is the emotional experience of all its parts… Gestalt demands we feel ourselves into all the parts…the distraught parent and the wild dogs, flooding river…interpretation may strengthen the parent at the expense of the child…may never reach the child that is abandoned…attempting tasks beyond strength….The abandoned child can be better found by moving closer to subjective misery and noting exactly how it feels where it is

Interpretation reason distance us from the child

Abandonment in marriage…marriage unavoidably evoke the child…a basket for the abandon child transforms the actual home into a psychic home in which we may be safely exposes…at home we are not only mother who embraces but also a child…what is rejected everywhere is accepted here….adults indulge their own child regressed collapse weak wanting…of course we hate beat our own children because the become rivals…not just idealizations of union but finding a place for the two inner children who come into the home. Where else can the child go…more important to wife and husband are mother and father. The archetypal child needs to rehears premarital

Divorce threatens the actual children and the abandoned children…. concertation of abandonment

 Why study mythology

Mythical deficiency + fundamentalism

Our lives start of as mythical mind…I want a story about something…in other cultures there is no distinction

Is it true is a question that arises out of the child abused by the intellectual life of the culture?

You can’t explain myths without destroying them and they don’t explain either they may deepen tantalize confuse prove but they don’t explain anything

“Prescientific explanations was western mind interpretation

Other verbs provoke tantalize puzzle interest delight…the aesthetic importance of the myths…we don’t have anesthetic culture…it is decorative aesthetic aesthetics not built into the imagination of the culture…first thing to be cut out of school budgets…midnight basketball was cut out as an idea for crime prevention…pleasure fun ridiculous the beauty of the movements…but plenty of money for a prison stay

Because we don’t have an aesthetic culture myth are functional but they are not functional they explain nothing advance nothing…well are there any new myths…our culture asks…no one would ask this in other cultures. New and improved myths…it would have to stay…we think of everything timebound and not eternal…then we get into theology …. a gardener eternal…they just come back…something simple…it doesn’t have to be coopted by the church.

The figures of the myths never were but always are

Historical claims subject to proof and disproof…

Levels of Literalism Perseus has 47 different versions no one version different takes on different mythemes.

 Myths Never were but always are

Ever-present not only eternal not (not platonic meaning) always in our midst, the ride the room with us

Study myth to recognize them and learn the names and can’t keep it in your mind not even Hillman, impossibility oof how they fade in and out…you can’t keep them in the realm of fact…they can’t be caught in a net…suggest they are alive

Always are, where are they?

They are not typologies …but it can approach…I am not only caused by my history genetics…there is also a mythical aspect at work…figures at work in my life…there are styles of existences…the gods and goddesses are styles …helpful to identify styles and boundaries…don’t step in other gods bounds…

Always +eternity

Are here and now

They are not in me…has a humanist flavor…like we don’t manipulate God for our own purposes…not in Platonic world as metaphysical literal real figures

They are in life

Persephone…innocence and violence…forest Gump…insidious praising of ignorance. All you need to do is be uncomplicated the more innocence you have the more violence you constellate…you can’t get out of the violence by returning to innocence…you can’t…new world was an ideal new and innocence but full of violence. Innocence keeps us from looking at the soil and what’s in it…. what’s in the soil is constantly affecting you…Greeks blood guilt…Ancient Greeks believed in miasma, 'spiritual pollution' or 'blood guilt'. A crime would infect the criminal with miasma, cursing them to suffer, whether or not the crime was intentional. Only spiritually-purifying acts would alleviate the pollution. ... Blood always claims more blood

Very deep question…innocence constellates violence…

Transcendent idealism…Nazi…purification…people in the Nazi camp split between not knowing and purity

Innocence is the sin …Socrates.

Not knowing what you do does not deserve forgiveness. most innocent is the most sadistic

If there is enough shadow in society you don’t need satanism as such

[jdevlinglassart]

Find Unique Religious Gifts at J Devlin Glass Art

If you’re looking for Unique Religious Gifts, go hard or go home. There are tons of gifts out there that are supposed to be unique, but so very few suppliers out there selling really unique religious and Christian gifts. Don’t fall prey to the supposition that a gift is unique only because it is religious. The same themes and motifs have been used and reused many times throughout history, so if you’re looking for something really special and novel, don’t cut yourself short.

What you could do alternatively is visit JDevlinGlassArt.com, where every single piece of art in glass on their site is an original work of art, and truly unique. This goes not only for their religious gifts but for every piece on their site.

First off, every single piece of art is a unique, individual work. There are no ‘shelf items’ in their store. Every single one of their gifts is an original design devised by the craftsmen at J Devlin Glass Art. Not only is their entire collection originally designed, but each piece is crafted and finished by hand as well.

Handmade still only scratches the surface of what makes their gifts so special. While some others might use cost-cutting measures to color their glass, J Devlin Glass Art uses real, Tiffany method stained glass that will offer the richest hues imaginable and will never fade. Created by combining metals and oxides with the glass while it is molten, it creates a colorfast finished piece. Not only will real stained glass never fade, but its colors and appearance will shift with the light. All you need to do is see one of their boxes or frames in different lights and you will know what we mean. Natural light like sunlight and moonlight will affect and play with the colors of their glass differently, just as artificial light will. In short, there’s no replacement for the character of real stained glass.

Their designs are original and the quality of their products is top-notch, but it gets better. All of their designs are original and many of them can be personalized to put a really nice touch on them. That’s why when you visit J Devlin Glass Art for unique religious gifts, you really get unique religious gifts - not just religious gifts.

As an example, take a look at some of their specific gifts. They offer many personalized religious gifts for specific milestones such as baptism, communion, and confirmation, so you’re bound to find something you’ll love. Consider as an example their Box 631 EB218-5 Bible Verse Box, which makes a wonderful gift overall and is applicable to so many settings and occasions in life. This box is a wonderful representation of their unique sense of style, featuring beveled and textured panels of glass set in J Devlin’s signature lead-free solder. This particular box is also ornamented with a cross accent piece and can be personalized with your favorite biblical verse and given as a gift. That, of course, is only one example of the many unique inspirational gifts that you will find on their site, but when it comes to personality, this box has it all. It’s original, handcrafted, beautifully aesthetic, and personalized - and the same can be said for their other unique religious gifts and home decor.

If you like the look of this box and you appreciate the idea of handcrafted beauty and a personal touch, then check out the other gifts on their website, JDevlinGlassArt.com. Not only will you be amazed by the product selection, but you’ll be glad to know that all orders to their website ship free of charge, so you can shop them confidently from the convenience of your own home. If you have any questions on their products or would like a little help picking out the perfect piece, give them a call at 844-772-2145.

[marsjapanvilawantaweesaeng]

MARS Japan

Fun Fact - America tried to paint mount fuji red. During WW2, when America was at a deadlock with Japan, they had a thought. If they lowered Japanese morale on a huge scale somehow, it could tip the balance in their favour. A sound idea. Their logical conclusion was that the easiest way to achieve this was by vandalizing a Japanese cultural icon. And how did they do this? They tried to use their air force to paint Mt. Fuji red...

- During the war between Japan and America, some Japanese people secretly hoped that America would win. At the time, most that had any form of authority (Police) would abuse their power at the common folks. It was easy to get arrested and not get a fair trial, they can just simply accuse anyone and that person would not have a chance. Some had wished the Americans would win so when they take over, and their government and police force would be fair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI8trlbCbU8 - The Incredible Japanese Prison Break

-More than half a century has passed since the normalization of Japan-South Korea ties in 1965. Ahead of the 55th anniversary in 2020, the relationship between the two countries has hit rock bottom. In addition to historical issues, tensions have spilled over into economic and national security matters. As animosity between the two governments grows, friendly ties between the Asian democracies have also taken a hit, with South Korean consumers boycotting Japanese products, and some tourists rethinking their vacation plans. The two neighbors have had a tumultuous relationship for hundreds of years, but had enjoyed more amicable ties in recent years until the relationship went south last fall. Last fall, the South Korean Supreme Court made a series of rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate Korean wartime laborers. Tokyo balked at the decisions, arguing that the compensation issue had been settled under the 1965 Japan-Korea Basic Treaty and the claims settlement agreement.

- K-pop has become a soft power juggernaut for South Korea, and the nation’s music industry has achieved massive success in Japan over the past two decades. Recent political tension between the two countries, however, has sparked concern on one side that this exchange could be in jeopardy.South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency speculated on the fate of a series of high-profile K-pop shows and releases coming to Japan later this year, while others worried that Tokyo could sanction South Korean entertainment in the same way China did several years ago.While it remains to be seen whether the Japanese government makes any moves, Japanese fans are probably not going to turn on an industry that has produced some of the most popular contemporary pop stars going. Still going through many Japan-South Korea disputes, K-pop grew as one of the most popular music genres in Japan.

Japanese’s Spirits from their folklore. 

-Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami. Today, most Japanese people observe both Buddhism and Shinto, according to the occasion, without any conflict or contradition between the two. While weddings are often Shinto or Christian ceremonies, funerals (soshiki) are almost always Buddhist.

-Why Zen Gardens?

Every element has different meanings and they symbolize many things. Water or pond is seen to be one of the vital elements of Japanese garden except Zen gardens. Though, Rock and Zen garden's sand or gravel represents water, clouds and purity. Japanese bridges that you see in Japanese gardens reflect artistic feelings. (Because It looks cool.) The Significance of the Red Bridge. Red is an important color in Japanese culture, and in this case represents wisdom, transformation and all that is sacred. Japanese bridges, as with the Japanese gardens as a whole, are designed to offer a meditative and self-reflective experience.

- Bonsai trees are important to Japanese culture because of their connection to spirituality and Zen Buddhism. The range of landscape forms was thus much more limited. Many well-known techniques, styles and tools were developed in Japan from Chinese originals. Although Bonsai is a Japanese word, the art of growing these miniature trees originates in China, where it is called "Penjing" or "Penzai".

-Tenmyouya Hisashi 

Japanese Contemporary artist,Tenmyouya Hisashi was born February 1966 in Tokyo.Tenmyouya commenced his activities in the realm of contemporary art after having worked as an art director for a record company.He introduced the Neo Nihonga genre as an antithesis to the desubstantialized contemporary Japanese-style painting, translating the original quality of traditional Japanese painting into depictions of contemporary subjects using various modern materials such as acrylic paint.He further proposed a style he calls Butouha, as a means for fighting against the authoritative art system by way of painting.Tenmyouya Hisashi continues to create paintings charged with the exceptionally gorgeous BASARA aesthetic, as opposed to referencing the ancient Japanese zen aesthetic of wabi-sabi. His wide-ranging activities, including next to the creation of artworks also literary work and the production of exhibitions that reflect his philosophy, keep getting attention from all around the world. We believe that “Masterpiece” is a fitting title for this definite edition portfolio that contains a total of approximately 200 pieces ranging from Tenmyouya’s early efforts to his latest works, along with the artist’s own explanatory notes. 

How does he bring old styles to contemporary subjects?

Tenmyouya has expanded his artistic approach to include extravagant and dynamic aestheticism of the samurai-termed basara “outlaw culture” that, he believes, underlies Japanese culture throughout its long history, reaching beyond the stereotypically more subdued and austere images of Japan according to the notions of wabi, sabi, and Zen. He draws inspirations and motifs of artistic expressions from across the world and imbues in it a strong degree of contemporaneity, social consciousness, and critical thinking. It may be frowned upon by a lot of people as his art work shows off of a lot of modern Japanese stereotype, however I found it enlightening and amusing of his choice of features.

-Kawanabe Kyosai

Born in 1831 in Koga, in Ibaraki Prefecture, with the original name of Shusaburo as the son of a samurai. When he was only 6 years old, he joined the school of the great ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Later he studied traditional Japanese painting at the Kano Painting School. Kawanabe Kyosai's often satirical art works look weird for Western eyes. Nevertheless, the artist is highly appreciated among collectors of Japanese ukiyo-e in modern times. 

Nickname: “The Demon of Painting” (”Shuchu gaki”)

His genre is known as Kyoga (”Crazy pictures”) from which his own name Kyosai is derived. Kyosai witnessed the evolution of Japanese political state by living through both the Edo and Meiji periods. Kyosai earned a reputation as a caricaturist during the political unrest that followed the revolution of 1867. Because he continued to aggravate those in power, he was arrested many times for his works. He is known as the first Japanese political caricaturist.

- Yayoi Kusama

Over the age of 80, legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is currently one of the most popular and successful artists in the world. In the 60's, Kusama also staged elaborate performance art pieces - or "happenings," to use the parlance of the time - often involving nude performers which she would adorn with her signature polka dots, many of them protesting the Vietnam War. While Kusama's art and performances brought her much fame and notoriety, it brought her very little fortune.

[jewishphilosophyplace]

A Cinematic Christian-Pagan Philosophy of Life (“What Now? Remind Me”) (Joaquim Pinto) 

Joaquim Pinto’s Portuguese language film What Now? Remind Me is too big a film to lend itself to a narrative or scene-by-scene exposition. Along with a conversation with the director, it was screened as a plenary session at “The Place of Religion in Film,” a conference organized by Gail Hamner at Syracuse University. It is what they call “spiritual, not religious” while explicitly steeped in Christianity and Christian categories, which the film sets in nature as a philosophy of life. As film, the spiritual effects are entirely mediated. A Stoic production in its philosophical orientation, Pinto’s film resembles a sort of biblical wisdom or anti-wisdom literature. It is at the cross between Psalms and Ecclesiastes, saturated by a euphoric but knowing sensibility of life and human limit whose milieu is Mediterranean.

What Now? Remind Me moves slowly following Pinto through the course of a year or so of treatments for hepatitus C related to the AIDS virus. The film is comprised of a set of shot-types. These include [1] Pain: Pinto speaks with great labor and quiet intensity directly into the camera. He seeks with painful eloquence to convey his condition at various stages of the treatment and his recuperation as a mirror of the human condition writ large. Ecce Homo, the director-protagonist is “Everyman.” [2] Nature: The camera tracks the motion of a slug, the replication of viruses from under a microscope, a dragonfly in suspended animation, dogs at home in the Portuguese countryside, dogs abandoned by hunters on the side of a road, human architectures of modern life such as airports and hospitals, and  basic elements such as earth, water, and fire. [3] Politics: Shots of news footage as mediated on television or a computer screen convey the sense that we are living in a state of political and ecological emergency. [4] Domesticity: Eschewing the friend/enemy distinction that defines the public agora in radical/fascist political theory, the place of the film is set in the oikos set in nature.

Pinto himself together with Leonel shot the film without the interventions of camera crews and production companies. The viewer is, at were, at home alone with the creators of this film. An intimate cinematic portrait of a life and life, What Now? Remind Me is Aristotelian in its intellectual scope. But the world picture is flattened in that lacks any hierarchical, metaphysical structure. In this meditation, all things are first things:  a philosophy of nature, a philosophy of history, aesthetics and ethics, a philosophy of religion, a philosophy of politics, a phenomenology of perception, a philosophy of life, an ontology.

The main motif is our being in the world –marked out in terms of corporeal vulnerability, bio-technological and bio-political structures, the ethical care of the self and of others, the miracle of spiritual regeneration and the inevitability of death. Its version of Christian religion sets the institution of the church and church dogma aside, living in the sense of a quiet finitude of the present moment. Himself silent throughout the film and frequently naked, with a thick beard and a heavy mane of hair, Leonel, compared to Pinto’s loquaciousness, is a symbol. At first I thought, here’s the Christ figure, but that’s not quite right. Leonel’s is the screen presence of St. John, around whose gospel the film is explicitly themed, and about whom Pinto and Leonel made another film, The New Testament of Jesus Christ According to John. To follow the explicit scriptural citations, what Pinto takes from the Gospel of John is the imperative to love and only to love, which he couples with the depth ecology of the law regarding sabbatical year and jubilee in the book of Leviticus.

Looking online for information, I found this bit of commentary here by Francisco Ferreira, which you can read in full here.  I’m citing this long passage because, starting off with an exceptional moment in a film full of exceptional shots, Ferreira evokes so well the large canvas of the film. He writes, “There is a book in the movie, a fabulous and mystical one, illustrated by one of the most important figures of the Renaissance in Portugal, Francisco de Holanda (1517-1585). Housed in the National Library in Madrid, De Aetatibus Mundi Imagenes (The Illustrated Ages of the World) tells us the story of the world in images, and its importance in the organization of the film is crucial. When Pinto, loaded with pills and interferon, remembers his time in East Germany (where he met a certain ‘activist’ named Angela Merkel while living in Leipzig), when he leaves a car with Nuno, extinguisher on hand, to fight a fire, or approaches a pack of dogs abandoned by their owners, when Pinto has sex with his partner, goes down the Castro da Columbeira caves, questions the Neanderthals, and quotes, like Monteiro, the Portuguese poet Ruy Belo, Saint Augustine, or the Gospel According to Mark, there’s something chimeric that comes from the Francisco de Holanda book that acts like a contagion in the film’s structure, changing our perception of reality.”

It would be entirely erroneous to read Pinto’s work as expressed here in the short blurb of a review in the NYT that “the film repeatedly erases the neutral hues of sickness with the lush vibrancy of nature.”  This is utterly mistaken of the perception of reality in this film. What Now? Remind Me is not a theodicy. Nothing is forgotten or erased. Personal distress is just one among others, ecological and political stress points all subsistent as the condition of late capitalism. The suffering wrought by and upon human life is seen as all carried further until some later point of extinction. Said not in anger, human life will end. What marks, then, this life in the meantime is the sheer will exemplified by the sick person in the process of recovery who understands better than most people the difficulty under which one has to will, to will oneself to move, to will oneself to breathe, to will oneself to believe. And then the miracle? Towards the end of the film, Christmas is literally announced as the good news, natal figure of hope. This message is then hedged in by a long, ironic shot of caged turkeys shipped off in a lorry for holiday feasts. If I remember correctly, it was soon after this shot that Pinto’s intones with the sense of sad wisdom, “When we go back to dust, life will sigh with relief.”

I also found online this insightful piece by Max Nelson, which goes to the philosophical and theological heart of the matter. You can read it here. Nelson is writing about The New Testament of Jesus Christ According to John. Modelled more brightly than Pasolini’s movie on the Gospel of Matthew, in this film, the complete text of the Gospel of John is read (by Luís Miguel Cintra) juxtaposed with images drawn from nature. Nelson understands the film as building on the idea of revelation. He explains, “It is this theme, one senses, that most interested Pinto and Leonel, who transform The New Testament into a demonstration of what it looks like for a text to find a material voice: literally, by virtue of Cintra’s voiceover, and figuratively, in the movie’s stream of beguiling, tactile images. This exercise in reading the physical world as a kind of mouthpiece for the revealed Word would, as it turned out, heavily inform Pinto’s next film.”

In What Now? Remind Me, it is “life,” not “God,” that finds its material mark in the space in between the physical voice and the moving image. Again, Max Nelson: “that plants, animals, and natural phenomena have something to tell us—a message to reveal, a Word to make incarnate, an inheritance to bestow—that can only be heard by careful listening and re-listening, which is to say, recording.” I’m not sure if “message” is the right word for this unspooling of images. But Nelson’s use of the word “Word” suggests that, such as it is, the divine in What Now? Remind Me is presented as epiphenomenal. The revelation would be the revelation itself, an old idea that goes back to Martin Buber, the idea of revelation that begins in nature, that proceeds from this world and from this world alone, this lively world of earth and  decay. There is not a trace of negative theology. The sense of the spiritual is given in the relational-aesthetic juxtaposition of one image and world followed by the next image and world. (I expect to find something of the exact same when I go see the movie on the Gospel of John.)

You can find What Now? Remind Me on Amazon, but do not be misled by the picture of Pinto’s ravaged face with which the distributors, for some reason, thought wise to pitch the DVD. The film is nothing like that. I don’t usually show trailers here at the blog, but this here will give you the sense of this meditation, which is simultaneously sad and ecstatic.

http://ift.tt/2oafQcf

[shutdownld50-blog]

ABOUT LD50'S REACTIONARY TURN

The LD50 gallery in Dalston, London last year ran this series of talks featuring 6 high profile far right reactionary speakers:

#9 Sunday – 7th August 2016– 12pm NICK LAND on Techno-Commercial NRx

#8 Saturday – 6th August 2016 – 6pm MARK CITADEL [as virtual avatar] 'Christianity, Progressivism, and the Occidental Soul' watch here

#7 Saturday – 6th August 2016 – 6pm BRETT STEVENS [as virtual avatar] ‘The Black Pill’ watch here

#6 Sunday – 31st July 2016– 6pm PETER BRIMELOW on Imigration, Ethnicity and Economics listen here

#5 Sunday – 24th July 2016 – 6pm IBEN THRANHOLM on The Sanctuary of Traditionalism in Russia and the West listen here

#4 Saturday – 28th May 2016 – 6pm Dr PETER SAUNDERS ‘Epigenetics and Evolution Theory’ screening: The Monk and the Honeybee (1989) listen here #3 Saturday – 21st May 2016 – 6pm Dr FLORIAN PLATTNER ‘Can we enhance memory?’ screening: TransHumanism ( h+) / Genetic Modification of Life (2010) listen here

#2 Wednesday – 18th May 2016 – 6pm ‘Autoimmunity’ (hosted by Goldsmiths university) watch here

#1 Saturday – 7th May 2016 – 6pm Dr SILVIA CAMPORESI ‘CRISPR Genome Editing Technologies: Which possible futures?’ screening: Gattaca (1997) listen here

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.ld50gallery.com%2Ftalks%2F

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

The talks programme mixes straight up fascists and reactionaries with other innocuous seeming figures with no known right wing affiliation or convictions.

Peter Brimelow is hardcore fascist: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/peter-brimelow

As is Brett Stevens: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2011/07/26/american-blogger-praises-oslo-shooter

Mark Citadel seems to be part of the 'Return of Kings' manosphere blog, so is clearly another reactionary voice. (‘Return Of Kings is a blog for heterosexual, masculine men. [...] men should be masculine and women should be feminine.’ – to quote their own philosophically self-undermining self-description.)

Iben Thranholm is a proponent of racist, anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant, homophobic and misogynist politics. She routinely discourses on the need to resurrect strong ‘european' gender binaries and ‘strong men’ to ‘protect women’ from 'male immigrants' who she presents as a violent sexual threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaOLgy3YKtA

Nick Land: One can split hairs by saying that Nick Land isn't a white supremacist and is just into eugenic selection for intelligence so we can survive the coming AI singularity. However, a close reading of his recent writing reveals he just doesn't like immigrants and black people. He likes Asians because they are deemed to be smart and polite, and he likes Japanese because they've resisted immigration. Racism is an aura around all his other pronouncements.

The first three named speakers in the talks series – Peter Saunders, Silvia Camporesi, and Florian Plattner – are all reputable scholars. The topic of epigenetics (Saunders’ subject) is a hot button one for the new biological racists, because it shortens timelines over which evolutionary change can potentially happen, meaning that changes in historical time can have significant effects on human populations. This is usually used to argue that evolution within NW European populations has led to the wonders of the Enlightenment and enhanced IQ, while everyone else are just cousin-marrying knuckle draggers who are resistant to democracy because they haven't selected for non kin altruistic behaviour. The fact that HBD (human biodiversity) proponents use and sometimes misuse epigenetics doesn't mean anyone talking about it is necessarily fascist.

Considering the rest of the line up, however, it seems these figures fulfilled a kind of legitimating function for LD50’s project. Openly reactionary speakers could enjoy credibility by association with reputable academics. However innocent, they became tools in what appears to be a conscious and extended attempt to promote extremely reactionary ideas by introducing them, uncritically and indeed enthusiastically, to an art world and art educational context.

The live streams still available on the gallery’s blog testify to LD50’s gushing reception of and advocacy for racist, white supremacist, misogynist and homophobic views. If we can learn one thing from the above, it is the need to stop assuming everything programmed by small or large galleries is at worst ‘exploratory’, ironic or even critical – either an intellectual provocation or contribution to ‘discussion’. This programme appears to have been part of a wider far right push to infiltrate academic institutions, and to normalise and promote extremely reactionary ideas.

THE ART OF ENTRYISM

As well as the talks programme, LD50 also mounted a gallery show, 'Amerika'. Dedicated to the so called alt-right, and featuring wall to wall Pepe memes, kek, 'neoreactionary' esoterica, and misogyny, the same structure of plausible deniability allowed some at least to view the show as a kind of enquiry into a cultural phenomenon rather tha a direct act of political infiltration. Any illusions about the disinterested or critical ambitions of the gallery have been dispelled by the recent public revelation of the gallery's politics. A brief review of the gallery's blog reveals a show brimming with sympathy for affluent white male mass murderers of of women and muslims, but nothing that would pass for actual critique – let alone the visceral disgust this material evokes in those who side not with abstractions ('free speech') but human victims of violent oppression.

A similar standard of fascist entryism is seen in artwork still displayed on the gallery's website: a pseudo-critique of consumerism by replication (look, Taylor Swift!) exuding a will to distinction and superiority, at the same time functions to run fascist ideas (text by Hitler) and symbols (the Afrikaner white supremacist flag) past the un/knowing art consumer:

https://www.ld50gallery.com/exhibitions/

Some further background and analysis from the Horrible Gif blog's piece on the LD50 debacle:

'LD50, a small project space in dalston junction, had some exhibitions of questionable taste and arrangement in recent months. The alt-right exhibit it staged using scavenged parts of the aesthetic and philosophical matter online wasn’t immediately partisan on the surface. It could have been bad satire, it could have been one of those things many adult-child digital artists do where they incorporate the very thing they critique. Obviously the depraved chasm which 4chan and allotments of reddit are located in is morbidly fascinating, to someone who feels they’re on an important media archaeology tip even moreso. Despite the Hitler quotes coupled with anime motifs and other bizarre conflations of alt-right imagery, the show itself didn’t offer a concrete position. This is a commonplace exhibition model that allows “racy” subject matter to be presented with critical immunity, because the art moves to within a viewers praxis. More often this is used with cultural appropriation, where a white artist will extract reference points and framing devices from culture they do not belong to and situate the art itself on the intersection of their gaze, etc etc. So the art is about the white gaze on other culture, that way it removes itself from, at best, being accused of ignoring postcolonial theory or, at worst, just being mildly racist. Very meta though, and you can extract 2000 words from meta quite easily. With the benefit of hindsight plus a screenshot of a private fb conversation, it became obvious the curiosity with the alt-right wasn’t coolly detached in the LD50 show. Given the social media output of LD50 runs along moaning lines about the apolitical nature of net artists and glib rejoinders to political/social occurances, strangely they might have found the blazing political net art they were looking for… just the bad kind of politics. HEY, bad is a construct in art that is irrelevant after postmodernism and pop art, so who is to say it is bad? It’s just neo-reactionary. Sounds like the working title of a group of Final Fantasy rebels. These dodgy politics weren’t always so clear, even in that classic uncertain/ironic way, so it’s possible it was a slippery slope slodden down.

As said in the beginning of this longform rant, the social media microdramas of the art cottage industry aren’t very interesting in themselves beyond the sorry online appearances of calculated hostility and contrived artjoke acumen. But with artist Sophie Jung posting in a public way a ‘call-out’ to a curator of a gallery holding quite dodgy fascist views, the fallout is more interesting than the usual bruised/inflated egos or comment flame wars. The gallery itself has responded by “archiving” the post and all the comments on the main page, as doxing (a strategy of online shaming perfected by the alt-right) bait to sentient pepe memes and twitter eggs. It’s an obfuscatory and aloof reaction, one that shows particular acumen to online psychological skirmishing. Take away the veneer of irony and you see only a few slimy individuals toying with repugnant ideas that most good artists would give no merit, even as illusory discourse.

Is it right to call out someone by posting private convos? Well, check the gallery events and talks - they were pretty public (albeit small and within purposely obfuscating platforms) call outs to those neon genesis authoritarians. A lighter discourse than “is it ok to punch a nazi?” but no less annoying. Of course the answer is yes. Do you argue the inverse that the alt-right should be given platforms? Do you agree with the BBC giving airtime to UKIP but not the Green Party, who have existed for longer/have more members/more elected MPs/have actually run a fucking area of the country? Logic has associations, and while you can spin them away, we fucking see you. The alt-right would legislate for the structural, hidden bureaucratic violence against non-white/foreign people but it is not OK to punch them? They’d happily punch you. It can be so easy if it doesn’t affect you, or to think it wouldn’t, to think that exposing their bullshit is better. Hindenburg thought Hitler wouldn’t be as evil when he finally was given power, the tories seemed to think appeasing the UKIP types was the best way to keep themselves in power. Fuck m9, punch tories AND nazis if you can get away with it. Yeah, if you can back it up, calling people out on something as basic as nazi sympathies is OK. Why did it take so long to be called out on? The alt-right are super zeitgeisty right now and net art dorks are into that because it can be processed into smug “political” diatribe and gestural academica. Things within the art gallery mechanica are afforded un-anchored critical protection at least until the management are revealed to think the muslim ban is fine.'

http://horriblegif.com/post/157189463814/level-drama-50

[ccagalleries]

MUM’S THE WORD!

She knows what she likes and she likes what she knows.

With prints to suit all styles and tastes we've got Mothers Day covered!

Call the office on 01252 797 201 today to place your order

CITY MUM

Designer Trees Bruce McLean

Silkscreen print with collaged elements Edition size: 100 Image size: 790 x 583mm Paper size: 943 x 748mm Published: 2011 BUY HERE

Two black Trees combines dynamic geometric shapes suggestive of architectural forms and with tree-silhouettes. Though effectively abstract, McLean’s palette and inclusion of a segment from a London street map perfectly capture the atmosphere of a sunny day in a London park.  The urban atmosphere is increased by the inclusion of graffiti –like text. Companion piece to Pink Moda.

Encounter Danny Rolph

Silkscreen print with glazes Edition size: 15 Image size: 700 x 985mm Paper size: 725 x 1010mm Published: 2017 BUY HERE

Usually finding inspiration in philosophy, poetry and history, Rolph wanted to produce a print that related to his current interests in the studio. Having only produced one silkscreen edition before, Rolph saw creating this edition as an opportunity to allow him time to investigate the process further, which he found informative and exhilarating in equal measure. ‘Encounter’ will shortly be followed by another silkscreen edition. “Recently I swam in the Indian Ocean and encountered colours, animals and geology I had only previously seen on TV. The experience of being in such a stimulating, other worldly environment influenced my choices quite strikingly in ‘Encounter’. The objective in using these particular shapes, forms and colours was to communicate the experience I had in nature and to expand my visual vocabulary in a new direction.” - Danny Rolph

This is the Big City Baby Dan Baldwin

Silkscreen print with gold leaf, diamond dust and glazes Edition size: 100 Image size: 800 x 400mm Paper size: 950 x 560mm Published: 2014 BUY HERE

This piece was created in collaboration with Allison Mosshart (lead singer of The Kills). "Allison Mosshart, lead singer of the band The Kills, wrote a piece called ‘THIS IS THE BIG CITY BABY’ when sitting with Jack White from the White Stripes, they had been sitting in New York by the wishing well fountain, and the events of that day prompted the written piece. It was then given to a project SFWAM - (Songs For Words and Music) which is a charity based literacy project with Jeff Antebi Waxspolitation records, pairing artists with musicians - Tom Waites, Nick Cave and many more. Allison had been hanging on for several years waiting for the right artist to illustrate her piece, my image was inspired by her writing - the cats and freaks come out at night whilst the city sleeps, as the clock strikes 12am some magic occurs. It’s quite a specific illustrative piece as it was a specific image for a project." - Dan Baldwin.

VINTAGE MUM

Faith, Hope and Charity Peter Blake Silkscreen print Edition size: 125 Image size: 990 x 547mm Paper size: 990 x 547mm Published: 2012 BUY HERE

Faith, Hope and Charity is a nostalgic triptych of segments made up from collaged elements of Victorian postcards. This delicate and feminine work illustrates the three Christian virtues mentioned in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. This work is about sentiment and the power of words.  It continues the exploration of this power, these eternal themes, that Blake examined in his recent ‘I Love You’ and ‘Hope’ prints. Using floral motifs on postcards was very popular in the Victorian era; here Blake has re-arranged these ornamentations to suit his own aesthetic vision. Cherub heads and child-figures playing musical instruments feature in the ‘Faith’ section; echoing the themes of childhood innocence and joy that recur throughout Blake’s work. The rectangular panel at the peak of the cross is taken from a work by Sir Joshua Reynolds ‘A Cherub Head in Different Views’ 1787.  Each panel includes the design of a hand holding a messages ‘Remember Me, Forget Me Not and A Tribute of Love’ that would have been the centre-piece of the original postcards from which they are extracted.  

Philip Morris Peter Blake

Silkscreen print with silver leaf Edition size: 175 Image size: 760 x 1015mm Paper size: 760 x 1015mm Published: 2007 BUY HERE

One of Peter Blake's found art cigarette packets or fag packets as they have come to be affectionately known. This series demonstrates Blake's belief that beauty can be found anywhere, even in objects that most would believe to be rubbish. The fag packets highlight iconic 20th century design and branding, a key component in the pop art movement. The simplicity of these pieces adds to their wallpower.

Milk Maids Peter Blake

Silkscreen print Edition size: 175 Image size: 455 x 660mm Paper size: 595 x 820mm Published: 2009 BUY HERE

Milk Maids is part 11 of the 12 pieces that comprise Peter Blake's portfolio box set, based on his work in the early 60's. The bright colours, bold patterns and simplistic compositions of pop art are heavily present, as are 60's pop culture icons such as Marilyn Monroe as seen here, Kim Novak, Lavern Baker and Billy Rainbow. The paper border has CCA's publisher stamp embossed in bottom right hand corner (not shown).

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MUM

Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary Storm Thorgerson

Silkscreen print Edition size: 325 Image size: 480 x 480mm Paper size: 835 x 660mm Published: 2004 BUY HERE

Storm decided to rework his iconic album cover for the re-release of Pink Floyd's album, he says 'Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was remixed from original tapes in 5.1 surround sound or super audio to provide an even more detailed and splendid audio experience. It was the same music but not the same mix. A different beast, in effect, and it seemed appropriate to indicate as much on the cover by reworking the original design, which was an airbrush illustration with line work for tint lay.'

Pink Pig Over Battersea 3 Carinthia West

Archival inkjet with satin glaze Edition size: 50 Image size: 307 x 467mm Paper size: 406 x 562mm Published: 2017 BUY HERE

Her black and white photographic stills of the inflatable pig 'Algy' (the actual album cover devised by Hipgnosis for Pink Floyd's Animals album 1976) have appeared in several international exhibitions including London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, along with forty other images in her archival collection entitled 'Hanging Out'. Most recently, seven of Carinthia's images of this historic shoot, hang in the Victoria and Albert's Pink Floyd exhibition 'Their Mortal Remains'  until October 2017, after which it will travel to Rome, New York, and other cities.

Vintage Blake Peter Blake Silkscreen print Edition size: 250 Image size: 570 x 570mm Paper size: 750 x 770mm Published: 2012 BUY HERE

Peter Blake celebrated his 80th birthday in 2012, the year was peppered with projects and events to celebrate the occasion. In Spring Blake unveiled a variation of his magic crowd composition: Vintage Blake: Peter Blake’s 80th Family Friends and Icons that was created especially for the celebrations around his birthday. The work  features a magic crowd full of the key figures from the artist’s career and personal life, including David Hockney, Damien Hirst, David Bowie, Gary Oldman, Eric Clapton, Ian Dury and many more.

SEASIDE MUM

Sea Rock Louise Cattrell

Silkscreen print Edition size: 20 Image size: 815 x 655mm Paper size: 815 x 655mm Published: 2017 BUY HERE

"The opportunity to make a large scale screen print made me evaluate many of the ways in which print evolves from the process and how that responds to the way I make paintings. Printmaking has always been a part of how I develop work fusing drawing, tone and colour. My work is inspired by the natural landscape, in particular where the boundaries of sea, sky and land come together and depart. I make the paintings using thin layers of paint akin to watercolour in substance; using the transparencies of the screen printing film was a new way of building an image. Using early examples as a base, the context was developed through the application of watercolour as the ability of the movement in the paint responded to the ideas behind Sea Rock - where a rock within sight of the shore becomes a landmark and guide for those on both land and sea. Encompassed by all that the change of light and weather does to transform the known into the mysterious."

To the Lighthouse, Ile de Re Lucy Farley

Silkscreen print Edition size: 100

Image size: 1070 x 800mm Paper size: 1270 x 1020mm Published: 2013 BUY HERE

To the Lighthouse, Ile de Ré showcases Farley’s fresh and dynamic take on nature, landscape and the spirit of place. Romantic and windswept, Farley’s sweeping lines and washes of colour draw the viewer into this coastal scene of lighthouse, boats, ominous sky and swelling water. She combines a tremendous sense of atmosphere with a modernity and minimalism that reflects her personal connection with the landscape. The title of this piece reminds us of the novel of the same name by Virginia Woolf, and indeed the flow of line and colour is reminiscent of Woolf's stream-of-consciousness style of writing. 

Beachscape Wester Ross Donald Hamilton Fraser Silkscreen print Edition size: 175 Image size: 453 x 560mm Paper size: 605 x 725mm Published: 2006

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Beachscape Wester Ross by Donald Hamilton Fraser. Fraser's dramatic use of colour lends the landscape an almost surrealistic air. The marks of his palette-knife technique can be clearly seen in the foreground, lending real texture to the picture surface. The bright swathes of colour are not blended together, but stand in stark contrast and create a feeling of joy and vivacity that dominates the work.

CLASSIC MUM

Horse at Water (silkscreen) Nic Fiddian-Green

Silkscreen print Edition size: 50 Image size: 550 x 950mm Paper size: 600 x 1000mm Published: 2017 BUY HERE

World renowned as an equestrian sculptor, Nic Fiddian-Green's Horse at Water limited edition silkscreen print is an edition size of 50 and demonstrates the dramatic elegance of his iconic horse's head. Whilst studying at Chelsea School of Art, Fiddian-Green took a trip to the British Museum and found inspiration in the shape of the head of the horse of Selene. 'The encounter paved my future. It was as if lightning had struck twice in the same place. The horse's head was so beautifully made, so considered, so right. It was as if it had been carved by the gods: a lesson in balance and harmony and proportion. Immediately it became my benchmark. For the past 30 years I've focused on capturing the beauty of a horse's head.'

Dog Rose Peter Blake

Silkscreen print Edition size: 50 Image size: 250 x 195mm Paper size: 380 x 310mm Published: BUY HERE

Dog Rose by Peter Blake. A delicate signed limited edition silkscreen print featuring a stunning watercolour illustration of a Dog Rose in flower.

Pueblo Barbara Rae

Published: 2008 Paper size: 990 x 937mm Image size: 760 x 757mm Edition size: 125 Silkscreen print with silver leaf and glazes BUY HERE

Pueblo, signed limited edition silkscreen print with silver leaf and glazes by Barbara Rae RA CBE.

Printed with 29 colours + silver Leaf on 400 gsm Velin Arches paper.

Rae's printmaking has been integral to her artistic activity since her student days. The way she conceives and works on her monoprints, screenprints and etchings complements and informs her approach to painting. The discipline imposed by these media and the unique opportunities offered by them create a set of possibilities, which stimulate her vision of the world, whether she is drawing, painting, making prints, or simply observing.

Call the office on 01252 797 201 today to place your order

To see the full range of all of our artists visit our website at www.ccagalleries.com

Please note all works are subject to availability and price changes