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Maz Ernst, from Une semaine de bonté, 1933 analysis

this appears to be some kind of print, likely woodcut.  There is a sense of chaos and confusion in composition.The image is strange and obviously symbolic of some sort of comment the author is trying to make about ancient Greek culture. 

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Postcard to John Hejduk

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tumblr kompatibilis

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Wallace Stevens, The Snowman Analysis

This poem is a contemplation of wintertime.  The writer is somber and somewhat depressed by the qualities of the cold barren landscape.  However, he admires and appreciates it and attempts not to be sad.

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Oil paintings by Karen Woods

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First impressions

The green paisley skirt and ruffled top from Old Navy contradicted my new identification as a teenager.  However, I did not argue when my mother told me to wear it. Frankly, because we were on vacation and my selection of sexy clothes was limited, but also due to the fact that we were going to mass and there probably wouldn’t be any cute boys there any way.  

Embarrassingly, this is the thought process I remember having before attending a Catholic mass for the first time in my life.  My grandmother was raised in the town of Long Lake, New York in the Adirondack region, and we were attending the Catholic Church across the street from her childhood home.  Aside from my trifling concern about my outfit, the biggest impression this experience had on me was the contents of the interior of the church.  I idly knelt, stood, and sat in unison with the congregation and paid barely any attention to the words being spoken. Once I confirmed the absence of any boys my age, I remember contemplating very heavily on the images depicted on the walls, windows, and ceiling.

At this point, my eyes were none more educated than that of the medieval peoples who were first influenced by these works.  Some of the stories I knew already from my southern protestant background, but most of these depictions were new to me. The faces are so pristine and ambiguous they seem to be some other breed of human all together.  The extreme detail and clutter of images was confusing to me.  I now know this was intentional and clearly aimed at distracted persons such as myself. Design is always creeping up on me in this way.  These nameless designers are poking at my memories that I once thought to be unique and magical saying, “We thought of that already.”  

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Raimund Abraham, Universal City Analysis

Everything in this image has two interpretations. The helmet could also be the surface of the moon. The directional walkway is also an arrow and a perhaps a maze.  

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Fra Filippo Lippi, Annunciation Analysis

Composition is important. Elements of framing and light allow the story of Mary to be told. Symbolism is also a key player in the narrative the author is conveying.  A montage of symbols.

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Stunning paintings from Gurami Khetsuriani

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“hit me”

This is the text message Daniel sent me exactly one hour after dropping me off at my apartment.  Glad he made it home safe. Without words, we exchanged a series of internet memes reminiscing the anecdotes of the night’s film until our giggles tired out and the availability of new ironies recessed.

The film Blue Velvet was a psychological thrill that looked into themes involving subconscious desire.  Although the plot is that of a detective story, the director, David Lynch, uses this hard boiled approach to delve into a strange and chaotic string of events that moves the viewer to squirm one moment and then laugh the next.  The film works like a Wonder Bread sandwich in the way that it both opens and closes with happy scenes of a perfect American town. The first of which we are interrupted from our lovely daydream as the camera dives down underneath the soil to reveal for a few moments a close up if the chaotic insects that take habitat just beneath the surface. From here we occupy the dark meat  that lives in between. 

Jeffery is the conflicted protagonist that commits himself to investigating the mystery that began with the discovery of a detached ear in a field near his home. A good boy, he escorts the ear to the local detective.  With the help of Sandy, the detective’s daughter and an embodiment of the 80’s feminine stereotype, Jeffery develops his plan to personally observe the case’s topnperson of interest. Enter Dorothy Vallen, A sexy singer who’s rendition of Bobby Vintont’s song “Blue Velvet” carries both Jeffery and the viewer into the curious perverseness of desire.  We accompany Jeffery in the closet.  This is a very conveniently placed closet for his purpose of observing Dorothy. From here we can see the living room, kitchen and part of the bathroom as Dorothy undresses herself in all of these places.  The most confusing moment for everyone occurs when she finally discovers him, and welding a kitchen knife, proceeds to deliver fellatio to our dear Jeffery.

It is at this point that a long and strange spiral of events occurs that carry our protagonist deeper into the surreal world beneath the façade of his pleasant home town. He develops a night and day relationship with Dorothy and Sandy respectively.  In the finale his two worlds collide with the forcing of Dorothy’s naked body onto his parents lawn.  

This film does an excellent job of presenting such a dream-like experience. Through excellent cinematography the director is able to convert the familiar American town into some surreal and unfamiliar place that, by the end of it, makes us question our own perverse psychological state.

“now it’s dark”

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Amazing artworks from Ieva Ozola