thegardenvirtual

[thegardenvirtual]

“Zaouli is a traditional dance of the Guro people (who speak the Guro language) of central Ivory Coast.” (1)

“Legends at the origin of the Zaouli mask and dance are diverse, but all say that they were inspired by a very beautiful girl named ‘Djela Lou Zaouli’, daugther of Zaouli.” (1)

“Each Gouro village has its local Zaouli dancer, who performs during funerals or parties. A musicians and singers orchestra first call the Zaouli dancer by its music. The dancer wearing the mask covered by a cloth then arrives after a predecessor who unveils the mask. After the beauty of the mask has been shown to the audience, the dancer performs extremely quick and rhythmical steps according to the flutes of the orchestra. Hands and feet follow a common choreography improvised by the dancer according to the music.” (1)

“The dance is believed to increase the productivity of a village that it is performed in, and is seen as tool of unity for the Guro community, and by extension the whole country.” (2)

Sources:

1. https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/zaouli-de-manfla-the-zaouli-dance-of-the-ivory-coast-west-africa

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaouli

[thegardenvirtual]

Chris Cunningham's audiovisual remix of Gil Scott-Heron's New York Is Killing Me (2010).

“It's thrilling and technically remarkable. While some film-makers devise a separate role for sight and sound, Cunningham obsesses over ‘Mickey mousing’ every beat to perfection, creating a synaesthetic episode.” (1)

“The Big Apple continues to inspire vastly divergent songs. In the rap world alone, the metropolis has been the subject of triumphant rallying cries, grim street assessments, and rowdy vignettes. Leave it to the ever-prescient Gil Scott-Heron to brush yet another line of color to the city's canvas. The Chicago-born, NYC-based artist is primarily known for his acclaimed series of proto-rap and spoken-word records during the 1970s. But Scott-Heron's recent life outside of music has seen him living with HIV and doing time in prison for drug-related offenses, and those experiences inform ‘New York is Killing Me’.” (2)

Sources:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/apr/27/chris-cunningham-review

2. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11762-new-york-is-killing-me/

[thegardenvirtual]

“I can't believe Pink Elephants on Parade exists. It's a five-minute indulgence in a film that lasts just over an hour. A bizarro squeal of throwaway surrealism that somehow becomes the turning point of Dumbo, the greatest animated film of all time.” (1)

“The pink elephants sequence tells us that the difference between the circus world, in which Dumbo is shunned and his mother imprisoned, and the crow’s world (in the sky), is not simply one of geography. It is a difference in imaginative and moral capacity. Thus the transition from one world to the other is not merely physical; it is also mental and imaginative. The pink elephants sequence underlines that aspect of the transition.” (2)

Sources:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/16/why-i-love-dumbo-pink-elephants

2. http://new-savanna.blogspot.com/2012/06/american-mythology-in-disneys-dumbo.html

[thegardenvirtual]

“Though it is believed that Louis Wain’s paintings followed a direct line towards schizophrenia, it is actually not known in which order Wain painted his pictures. Like his finances, Wain’s mental state was erratic throughout his life, which may explain the changes back and forth between the cute and cuddly and the abstract and psychedelic. No matter, they are beautiful, kaleidoscopic, disturbing and utterly mesmerizing.”

Source:

https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_psychedelic_madness_of_louis_wains_cats

[thegardenvirtual]

“Legong is a form of Balinese dance. It is a refined dance form characterized by intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and expressive gestures and facial expressions.

Legong probably originated in the 19th century as royal entertainment. Legend has it that a prince of Sukawati fell ill and had a vivid dream in which two maidens danced to gamelan music. When he recovered, he arranged for such dances to be performed in reality. Others believe that the Legong originated with the sanghyang dedari, a ceremony involving voluntary possession of two little girls by beneficent spirits.”

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legong

[thegardenvirtual]

“Peacock spiders have elaborate courtship, even by salticid standards [...] If the female orients towards the male, he will raise his abdomen, extend his abdominal fan-flaps and wave the whole structure back and forth, accompanied by third leg movements that accentuate this dance. Male courtship ranges from a few minutes to over an hour, depending on the female response. If a male is not attacked nor does the female flee, he will slowly approach her, dancing and vibrating as he does so.”

Source:

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(14)00591-0.pdf

[thegardenvirtual]

“Explore ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, the mind-blowing masterpiece by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch at the Museo del Prado. Pleasure, sin, and suffering exist side by side in this exquisitely detailed monumental triptych. Painted more than 500 years ago, this epic work has been thrilling audiences ever since. Some consider the work to be a warning about the dangers of carnal sin; others see it as a portrait of a lost paradise. Whatever Bosch’s intention, it is now celebrated as a masterpiece of the imagination.” (1)

“For he spake, and it was done. For he commanded, and they were created.” (2)

Sources:

1. http://www.sothebys.com/content/sothebys/cn/news-video/videos/2018/06/from-heaven-to-hell-and-back-in-hieronymus-boschs-garden.html

2. http://artup-tv.com/en/18-article-hieronymus-bosch.html