#also there's the Marian imagery

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[onefleshonepod]

ID: A digital collage of "The High Priestess” tarot card as the Body from the Locked Tomb series. The card depicts the Body as a ghostly figure with both arms raised, dressed in a diaphanous blue-white robe, standing on a large crescent. In her left hand is a sword. In her right hand is a scroll. She is crowned with the headdress of the Egyptian goddess Hathor, a red sun disc with cow horns. At the top is another representation of the Body reaching out of a river, from Mermaids by Arthur Rackham. In the background is the Bird and Pomegranate pattern by William Morris. Behind that, providing the abstract landscape, is Avignon by Ralph Hotere, an influential Māori artist. The image of the Body is from Allegory with a Woman by Luděk Marold. The left side of the card shows the upright meaning of The High Priestess and reads, “Inner Voice | Unconscious | Intuition | Mystery | Spiritual Insight in all caps. The right side of the card shows the reversed reading and reads “Repressed Feelings | Secrets | Hidden Motives | Cognitive Dissonance” in all caps. The base of the card reads "The High Priestess | The Body” in a retro 1970s-style font.

My goal with these tarot cards was to choose characters who embody the meanings of the cards when you think of them, to make the cards intuitive to grasp for Locked Tomb fans who might not be very familiar with tarot. Discussion below:

The Body haunting Harrow is quite literally an inner voice and a representation of Harrow’s subconscious. She’s the perfect figure for the High Priestess card. It’s hard to represent spiritual insight better than with. well. um. a spirit who is a religious figure who also provides insights. The nature of the Body is also one of the central mysteries of Harrow the Ninth.

Regarding the reversed meanings, the Body is also emblematic of Harrow’s secret which is hidden even from herself. My personal interpretation (along with many others') is that Harrow sublimated her forgotten and repressed feelings for Gideon onto the Body throughout Harrow the Ninth.

With my visual interpretation of this card, I tried to preserve or nod to some elements of the Rider-Waite-Smith High Priestess card. As a disclaimer, the hodge-podge orientalist imagery of the RWS deck is a shameful product of its time, but the illustrations are iconic and well known, so I wanted to acknowledge them. I also wanted to use images which evoked the dark wet ghost imagery of pre-Nona art and fanon of the Body.

The RWS High Priestess, and mine, presides over two pillars, representing the balance between them. The RWS pillars can be seen as multiple different dualities (such as good and evil), but are often called are the Pillar of Establishment and the Pillar of Strength. I interpreted the left side (with the scroll) as Harrow’s path of completing the process of Lyctorhood and becoming a fully functional tool of the empire. The right side, where the Body is holding a sword, represents Wake, Gideon, and the path of heresy. Just as the High Priestess’ role is to mediate between the two extremes, the Body’s role seems to be to help Harrow on her own chosen path.

The crescent moon at the Body’s feet, in the same place as in the RWS card, is seen also in many depictions of the Virgin Mary. This is meaningful because (as has been more thoroughly discussed elsewhere) the Ninth House’s worship of the Body and the way this is viewed as heretical and idolatrous by the other Houses can be seen as a parallel to Catholics’ veneration of Mary. I tried to continue the Marian imagery from the RWS card with a subtle blue tint to the figure’s robes.

The pomegranates in the background, also a detail preserved from the RWS card, are a symbol of — well, what aren’t they a symbol of. Many things that resonate in the Locked Tomb series. Death, eternal life, Hell, being torn between two realities… I used the William Morris pomegranates because I love his prints.

Finally, the RWS High Priestess wears the headdress of the Egyptian goddess Hathor, which I kept specifically because the cow horns are perfect: the Body being the Earth and wearing the symbol of John’s first transgression against the Earth while also trying to save it. Hathor’s domain was to help souls transition to the afterlife, and she was often depicted as a cow.

[uwmspeccoll]

Spotlight: Clinton Balmer

Last fall we showcased some historiated initials from Minstrel Weather by American writer, journalist, and conservationist Marian Storm (1892-1975), published by Harper and Brothers in 1920. Today we present some of the illustrations from this volume by British artist Clinton Balmer (1879–1967). The book is a series of nature essays describing the outdoors in various seasons throughout the year. The first twelve sections each describe a month of the year followed by five additional chapters using imagery and metaphor drawn from mythology, folklore, and poetry. American writer Christopher Morley described the book in his 1921 collection of Modern Essays as "a series of open-air vignettes which circle the zodiac with the attentive eye of a naturalist and the enchanted ardor of the poet."

This was the first of Marian Storm's published books. Unfortunately, as we said in our previous post:

We could not find much information on Balmer except for the fact that he was a painter, and although British, spent a good portion of his career in the New York area. He also seems to have been an early drawing instructor for the American artist Alexander Calder.

His style, however, seems to have been influenced by both Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau. We hold three other books illustrated by Clinton Balmer, some with original wood engravings. We'll be highlighting some of these in future Spotlights.

View some of our other Spotlights.

[musicalhell]

So this is a silly question, and you can disregard it, but I was watching your cats video, and you talked about literal visuals in musicals. I was just curious about how you tow the line and navigate with visuals like that.

For instance, if you made a song called How the Tables Have Turned and had it in a fictional space in the characters heads with turntables involved, would that be considered too literal? I’m just curious how that works

That's a good question, and the fact is a lot of it is up to interpretation, but it mainly has to do with understanding that lyrics tell a story while at the same time being, well, lyrical. There are occasions when lyrics indicate specific imagery or actions, for example in "Color and Light:"

More red... And a little more red... Blue blue blue blue Blue blue blue blue Even... even... Good Bumbum bum bumbumbum Bumbum bum... More red... More blue... More beer...

The lyrics are a direct representation to what George is doing--dotting the canvas, changing colors, evaluating the work, grabbing a drink. But more often lyrical imagery tends to be abstract, like in "Till There Was You:"

There were bells On the hill But I never heard them ringing No, I never heard them at all Till there was you

There were birds In the sky But I never saw them winging No, I never saw them at all Till there was you...

Marian is not singing about literal bells and birds, but of the wonderful world she'd been missing out on and that her eyes have been opened to through her relationship with Harold. To have birds suddenly swooping around and twittering in the middle of her song would push the moment from sentimental to absurd.

Literal interpretation can also miss important nuances in the material. Why, for example, does Eponine sing about "A Little Fall of Rain" when nothing else in the setting suggests it's been raining? Because her skin feels wet. Why does her skin feel wet? Because she's been shot and is bleeding out, and also probably because Marius is crying over her. The song works much better as her dying delirium interpreting the blood and tears as a gentle rainfall, rather than having a literal rain shower come through just for the sake of the song (looking at you Tom Hooper). Likewise, Joel Schumacher's interpretation of "Masquerade" doesn't work not because he doesn't mirror the lyrics (neither did Hal Prince) but because he misses the mood they convey, which is one of astonishing variety and hedonistic sensory overload.

All that said, theatrical staging isn't necessarily literal either and you can do fun stuff with it. "Hurricane" in Hamilton makes generous use of the turntable, tying the image of the hurricane that helped launch Alexander's career with the whirlwind of history he's caught up in. You have to decide how the action on the stage or screen complements the lyrics and the story they're telling, and whether it adds to the mood, detracts from it, or is just gilding the lily.

[awsugar]

I can ask a random frerard question! lol all evening I’ve been pondering if unholyverse will be the next fic-binding project I work on and thinking about what it would look like… so as someone else who has read the fic frequently I will poll you if you wanna answer - what images do you associate with the fic? (I have rosaries so far on my list bc obvious lol)

ive actually known multiple people who made physical copies of unholyverse so i feel like im a bad person to answer this because i don't want my answer to be influenced by things that people have already done you know....

but like at the same time, i think the series has some very obvious imagery, rosaries being obvious for sure. i think of those iconic like statues/paintings of mary with the pearlescent tears and anguished face, due to franks marian devotion. the seraph obviously.

and also one of the official art pieces for unholyverse is an image of frank and gerard with the red string of fate all tangled between their hands and i looooove that so i think that, since its bexless approved, is also cool

augh it really. REALLLYYYYY. hurts me

and then you know obvious things like priest collar, blood tbh, crown of thorns. and then like aside from religious imagery theyre sooooooooooo in love!!!!!!!!! so idk what imagery could represent that but its really important to me....

[marietheran]

LotR reread - book 1, chapter 3 - (nomen omen) Three is Company

"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. Do you realise that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?"

That old pre-First-Age road, older than Hobbits and Men! (Do you realise, that it used to run from Moria to Doriath and the drowned Beleriand parts of it, at least, had been built before the Sun rose?)

The Elven hymn:

Oh stars that in the Sunless Year/ with shining hand by her were sown - "Sunless Year" as in the years before the sun? Or since it looks as if it refers to a shorter period (year) does it mean the Darkening? But there were no new stars made then...

We still remember, we who dwell/ in this far land beneath the trees/ Thy starlight on the Western Seas - beautiful lines *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Btw I know at least one Marian song that not only connects the Virgin Mary with the stars ("O douce Dame aux étoiles") but also calls Her "whiter than snow"?? and I'm not sure the imagery is that rare.

"Of the House of Finrod"!! Also you're all very welcome to my headcanon of Gildor as the unofficial adopted son of my favourite elf haha

"We are Exiles" - I'm always subtly tickled by the phrasing because it was sort of self-chosen exile, though I guess that's a thing? But right now there's certainly nothing to stop you from returning so it seems a bit outdated. I suppose the appellation is a proper name for Noldor in Middle-Earth at this point.

The Turin constellation! Rest in peace my problematic fave.

Back to the present... "They spoke of many things, old and new, and Frodo questioned Gildor much about happenings in the wide world outside the Shire. The tidings were mostly sad and ominous: of gathering darkness, the wars of Men, and the flight of the Elves." - similar passage to the one I quoted from the last chapter; also moved me terribly as a young teen and doesn't anymore :(((

"But I already know a little, and I can read more in your face and in the thought behind your questions." - Is Gildor reading his mind here or am I reading (pun not intended) too much into the phrasing?

"The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourself in, but you cannot forever fence it out" ✧*:･🦉

"Chance" again.

"May Elbereth protect you" ✏️ *notes under heading: Elvish customs - blessings

"The Wandering Companies shall know of your journey, and those that have power for good shall be on the watch. [Does Gildor have contact with Rangers?] I name you Elf-friend; and may the stars shine upon the end of your road!" ✏️ *files under same heading as above* (also I loooove the sound of it, and it does have meaning, because if you end up enslaved in the dark lord's fortress you cannot see the stars, I suppose)

Elves like to hear people speak Quenya, it seems (or at least Noldor, the Sindar might have other opinions, though the Noldo-Sinda divide seems to matter little in the Third Age)

[times-eclipse]

What if Maid Marian as a persona?

I tried incorporating elements of Maid Marian's older representation (stronger energy, page disguise), possible role in May Day celebrations (springtime, flower bud, sunlight on feather), and possible connections to the Virgin Mary (shawl)... and fox.

When I got to doing the legs, I got the idea of... what if I left them out, which was kind of a hard decision to make. The goal was to reduce the human-ness to the design (along with the obscured face), as well as be more overt with any imagery. It also may connect to the character who may use her as a persona, as said character has robotic legs.

The only thing I'm not so happy about is the falling blossoms/petals, as they feel haphazardly placed, or possibly the way the flower dress flows, but that's more regarding the composition than the design.

[falsebooles123]

Confessions of a Recovering Genrephobic 5/18/24

Hey Whores;

O My Heart (2008) - Mother Mother

Genre: Indie Rock Length: 47:19 (12 Tracks)

If you got into Mother Mother sometimes during the 2010s then this is the album you listening two. Kinda a greatest hits moment. As an album experience it was alright.

Stripped (2002) - Christina Aguilura

Genre: Pop, R&B Length: 77:34 (20 Tracks)

So why did I never put together that Christina Aguilura was latina. I am a dumb bitch right.

I don't have much to say about this. Its pretty standard 2000s Latin inspired Pop. Baby girl we heard fergie? Its a lot like that. I liked it but it also sounded a lot like what you imagine a Christina Aguilura album would sound like.

The Writings on the Wall (1999) - Destiny's Child

Genre: R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Soul Length: 64:52 (16 Tracks)

Ok this one was interesting. So early Destiny's Child album if you big B stan then you probably have a much better context to how big this was for there careers.

Its definetly very conceptual with each song being based on these 'commandments of a relationship' and overall a lot of religous imagery. Kinda slay.

This was a solid album.

Mischief (2010) -S.J.Tucker

Genre: Folk Length: 46:39 (12 Tracks)

I really don't know what to say about this one. S.J. Tucker is the type of girlie to do long form folk ballads with a lot of irish influence and that is what this is baby girl. Theres some humor theres some mysticism. If your into the Boekbinder sisters or Marian Call you will love her. Hers a sample.

AtaVista (2024) - Childish Gambino

Genre: Alt Hip Hop, Alt R&B, Neo-Soul, Experimental Length: 50:15

OK Lets go Childish Gambino's new album. or re-released album I honestly don't care about the minituea

and it was finee...... I just don't think im into this sound. Its very experimental very trance-like and atmospheric and it reminds me a lot of redbone.

[sonofekares]

SHOWCASE #1 : Various People of Titan

Braellian Gunman : The primary infantry of the army of the Braellian Empire, their distinctive face-masks are based off the designs used by the Metalworkers of the Steelworks in Natrus, Hylae and Hor-Skashi, from which many of the ranks of soldiers are hired.

Eumen-Riad Fighter : The Eumen-Riad are a warrior Euva who currently reside in the Isle of Erdione. They are descended from the Golden Band of Emmon, and lead the Neo-Marian invasions. They were forced from their home in Castle Rosa, when its current occupants took over and they fled to the Taprenyin Sea. They use ferromancy to control their weapons, specially designing them with faults through which deadly spikes of metal can be extended out of the blade, instantly killing the victim of the attack.

Rosa Knight : The Order of Rosa lead the reformation of the Central Republic as part of the nationalist movement. They would eventually defect to the Darkwater Republic (soon to be known as Ferenstraiter) during the Central-Darkwater War. They are known for their iconic armour which is impenetrable by nothing except the most powerful of firetubes, and are feared by all. Their base is Castle Rosa, which they seized from the Eumen-Riad during their founding. The modern Order is actually an imitation of a far older knighthood, which ruled the ancient Central Kingdom. Fashionable Soruki : The Soruki are the inhabitants of the Gilded Republic (also known simply as Soruk and Soruksten), which is best known as a refuge for the various noble houses that have been displayed throughout the various of the last two centuries. This mixing of noble families and their cultures has lead to what is quite frankly a bizarre series of fashion trends as the mix of clothing wealth and royal clout chasing bash against each other into a rather alien sense of style.

Marian Noble : The Marian Noble is from one of the Great Cities of the Gladencoast. Marian clothing often includes themes and imagery of sea-life and sea creatures often manifesting as the many swirling patterns engraved into the man's head-dress and collar. Due to their matriarchal society, both men and women follow feminine beauty standards, with men usually fully shaved and boasting young faces, enhanced by makeup.

Demon King Cultist : Various Demon King cults have existed throughout Titan, but who exactly this so-called Demon King is, is hotly debated. The Emmurian Consensus is that it's a corrupted form of Unville, the Braellian god of Primordial Ambition and important folklore figure. Some Marian scholars have instead argued its a version of the Mechanical God, a figure often referenced in ancient Onchi texts and believed to be their god of magic. Shie Koremlo : Member of House Koremlo, she is at the centre of the Koremlo Sundering and the later Ivar Sundering, an event that saw the Koremlo Clan, divide into the Ivar and Koremlo factions over whether the family should allow themselves to be annexed into the Marian Golden Empire. The Koremlo would eventually succeed, with the Ivars retreating back into Tareneauv. Later the Ivars would be similarly split on which side to support during the Tareneauvian Civil War.

Euva of Mearimir : The Euromancers of Mearimir make heavy use of Titan technology to enhance the physical and magical abilities. The Euva of Mearimir was founded by Kaeyon of Mearimir, founder of the Euvagean Empire, who was a heavy enthusiast of Titan technology, making regular expeditions into the Chasm. The modern Euva continue this legacy with their research.

Euva of Kin : The Euva of Kin are a culture of pastoralists, with their lifestyle and culture revolving around their raising of cattle and aurochs. They were the former heads of the Kingdom of Kin, the greatest of the post Neo-Marian states, whose war with Teva Teva forced the creation of the Marian Provisional Government. They would fall out of power following their defeat in this war, and later with the Necromantic Bombing of their capital Trelynska. The capital would be moved to Hollow Row and now the Kin are fiercely loyal to the Euvagean Empire.

Euva of Erdione : The Euva of Erdione are a euva of coral and pearl divers and have a close connection to the sea, as it is the centre of their lifestyle. The Erdione have a close relationship with the Eumen-Riad who reside on their islands. The corals and pearls collected by the Erdione are very commonly used in the creation of luxury goods, most notably being made into beads. They also collect many other forms of sea life for use in trade.

[saganandkatelynindc]

Day 3, Monuments, Golf Carts and Heat

July 17, 2023

I can say with great confidence that this day kicked our butts. Temps in the 90s and a haze from I'm not sure where - but it took a toll.

We started our day around 9:30 and at that time the temps were great and the breeze in the golf cart was delightful.

First stop was the Viet Nam War Memorial. This place is the most emotional of all the monuments for me since the names on the wall are my generation. Katelyn had just read a book about the Viet Nam war and she also found the wall and what it represented very emotional. I had them look up some names; a kid from my high school, someone with the Last name of Eberle (no relation) and Mary Klinker one of only 6 women on the wall.

We went in search of the names and got deeper and deeper into the hole that was the Viet Nam war.

We found all the names and discussed Mia Lin's design and how too many Americans acted poorly when they saw that this bright capable artist had physical features of an Asian as her parents were from China. It was an ugly time.

Next we went to see the statue dedicated to the nurses. I am aways so pleased to see how these kids truly analyze everything and THINK!

As the kids circled the statue, asked and answered questions, I counted way too many adults who just took a look and walked on by. They saw the desperation and fatigue in the women's faces. They saw the the soldier laying in the arms of the nurse had little to no chance to live. They saw the woman watching for a helicopter to airlift this soldier, with her hand tenderly on her colleagues arm. They saw that race and age didn't matter. Being here with these young minds is such a joy!

Next up was the Lincoln Memorial. We had spent a lot of time this AM talking about the design or this memorial, the material used, and the speeches that are written on the wall. With this background they could experience this with different eyes and they did not disappoint.

There is renovation happening here and the block where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr gave his "I have a dream speech" is in the work area - but they kids still could feel the power of that moment from the top of the monument. They also understood so much about Marian Anderson's free concert on August 9, 1939 and why that mattered. The photos taken from here show the air quality of that day.

Next up Declaration of Independence Signers Island. This is an often missed gem on the mall. It is the perfect venue - free from pesky tourists - to talk about treason and the decisions one has to make regarding personal safety and ideals to make a better world. The truth is that so many of the men who signed that document have faded into anonymity, it took the kids and I several minutes to find names we knew. Then I asked them to do a rubbing of the names.

They liked this activity which left time for discussion. The last question on the Island...Knowing that this signature meant treason and the penalty for treason was death, would you sign?

Katelyn said, she didn't think so. Sagan was maybe, yes - kinda'. Daphne was a yes and I was a HARD NO!!!

Next up was the WWII Monument and it was here the 90+ degree heat caught up with us. The Viet Nam Memorial has trees - and shade. The Lincoln Memorial has a covered statuary hall - and shade. The Declaration of Independence Signers Island is mostly in the shade but the WWII Monument is tons of white marble and sunshine... heat!

First I asked the kids to find the very well hidden "Kilroy was here."

The imagery of Kilroy, suggests that “someone is watching”. It's a connotation that Adolf Hitler appeared to take seriously. In fact, it's believed that German intelligence considered the phrase a code name for a high-level Allied spy and they had an entire department with the mission of finding "Kilroy. In reality it was easy to draw and was a picture of support to the American soldier. But we liked that Hitler wasted resources trying to find "him."

The kids were overwhelmed with the more than 58,000 names on the Viet Nam wall - but here - each of the 4048 gold star represented 100 dead. Katelyn's eyes were so big - then I reminded them that these stars represent only American soldiers and that it is estimated that 70 - 85 MILLION people were killed during the war.

We found Michigan, Daphne took a pic and we headed out to find shade and then lunch.

Lunch was nice in a beautiful setting - but still hot!

All of us agreed that sitting under this fountain would have been refreshing break. The fountains was designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who also designed the Statue of Liberty. He was a busy guy!

On to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. More renovation and we picked the wrong direction and has to walk almost 3/4 around before we found the entry. YIKES!!! Hot!! Good ol' Thomas was also in a covered hall, so that helped. We talked about him and learned some words like "polyglot" and "polymath" and "paradox."

I presented the kids with Two Dollar Bills to, so they will never be broke - if they keep that forever.

Then on to Franklin Roosevelt.

The only Presidential Memorial that honors the first lady as well. Katelyn and I do love Eleanor!!!

And that was it! I called the day DONE! Despite our Golf Cart we still had logged more than 8,000 steps. Sagan was done, Katelyn was done, Daphne was done and Damma was done, done, done. Our golf cart took us right to our hotel and we relaxed in air conditioned comfort. The kids worked on their books, Daphne read and I took a nap. We will have some re-arranging to do - but we can do it. Later in the afternoon, we watched short videos on The Old Guard, the sentinels who guard the "Tomb of the Unknown" and after dinner (leftovers from China Town) we turned on Part 2 of Apollo 13.

Tense times as the CO2 numbers started to rise in the ship and then as they entered the earth's atmosphere and the radio silence ticked in to 4 minutes, but finally they were home. The kids were very interested in seeing the old time methods of recovering the astronauts and the capsule. That led to a discussion about the upcoming Artemis moon project. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed since that mission.

We played Euchre - and although I told the kids "PREPARE TO DIE", they beat Daphne and me. Then it was 9:00 and we all agreed that going to bed sounded great. It is currently almost 8:00 AM - Tuesday. We are spending the day at the African American Museum of History and Culture and we have to be there at 10:00. We are taking an Uber - so I'm letting people get the rest they need.

We will be inside today - but we are taking sweatshirts. It seems it is either too cold or too hot. But, whatever the temp the learning and the laughter continues.

Stay tuned.

[talbottoabbott]

Francesca Woodman Research Paper - Delaney

Francesca Woodman was an American photographer born in 1958 to a family of artists, her mother being a ceramist and a sculptor and her father a painter. Her work tended to explore the connection between the human body, most often the female form and the environment, whether that was the wallpaper of the room or the clothes on her back, and was known for the “sophistication of her images” and content from a young age (“Francesca Woodman”). Yet, being heavily inspired by Surrealism, her photography, especially her attempts at fashion photography, was sometimes critiqued as too “avant-garde” for the time (The Woodmans). As an artist, Woodman strived to “condense experience into small images that contain all the mystery of fear or whatever it is that’s latent in the eyes of the viewer, and bring it out as though it were her own experience,” (“The Lady of the Glove”). The two collections I will examine are examples of her success in evoking that feeling through differing content, technique, and messaging. Yet, both collections exemplify what I feel is the most intriguing of Woodman’s subjects, which is the care she took in portraying the female form. The first collection consists of five photographs that are all part of a series titled Swan Song' taken in 1978 while Woodman was still a student attending the Rhode Island School of Design (“Francesca Woodman”). The second collection consists of photographs taken by Woodman between 1979-1980 in New York. These photographs portray her take on fashion photography and were featured in an exhibit at the Marian Goodman Gallery titled I’m Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography, the title stemming from Francesca’s habit of writing and sending letters on the back of her photographs which in one sent to her parents in 1977 she announced “I’m trying my hand at fashion photography” (“Letters Exchanged”). I have narrowed this collection to eight photographs that I feel capture the essence of Woodman’s fashion work at the time.

The Swan Song series of photographs were all taken in the same space, a room with wooden planks running vertically across the floor and a stark white bench placed horizontally across the scene. In two of the photographs (From Swan Song series, Providence, Rhode Island BFA 3.0 and BFA.05), a patchwork quilt covers part of the floor under the bench, disrupting the vertical lines of the wooden planks. The photographs have the same base subjects, being a self-portrait featuring the nude body, sometimes wrapped in sheets, laying on the white bench, and each photo includes a different form of swan imagery laying on the bench next to her body, such as drawings of wings or what appears to be a bird figurine. Throughout the series, different body parts are covered while others are exposed, however, the subject’s face is never seen. The camera is placed high above looking straight down at the subject as if mounted to the ceiling. Because these are self-portraits, the photographs also include an object that gives insight into the staged performativity of the photos (in opposition to candidness); the black cord of a cable release that spirals and extends across the bench. Blurriness of movement is depicted in some of the photographs, implying a long shutter speed was used. The lighting of these photographs is interesting, with the nude body seemingly overexposed and lacking detailed gray tones, while the floor in many would become completely dark on one side of the bench or other. Overall, the blacks and whites add to the emotions of turmoil Woodman is evoking, but mean the photos lack an aspect of dimension that other works are better able to capture.

The I’m Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography collection of the photos were taken in New York but for many it is hard to tell where, as they seem to be taken in nondescript rooms. Two, however, are taken seemingly at quintessential New York locations. Both portray women laying across the scene, one portraying a woman laying in what seems to be a National History Museum diorama and one portraying a woman laying across the base of one of the famous New York Public Library lion statues. As subjects, the photos in this collection all experiment with the presentation of clothing and fashion. Unlike classic fashion photography from the time that focused more on the garment, Woodman’s fashion photography was more abstract, playing with the garments in connection with the space and form and evoking specific emotions. Looking at the photographs from a more technical point of view, the color of these photographs are deeper than the Swan Song series. These photographs display very even tones, with rich blacks, stark whites, and detailed gray tones that allow for the details of the photographs to come across to the audience. Untitled, New York (depicting a woman’s face surrounded by fur coats) is an example of these beautiful gray tones, as the lighting allows for the darkest individual strands of fur on the coats to be seen while the lightness of the subject’s skin contrasts the coats without being washed out. This is very different from the unevenly exposed nature of the Swan Series, and shows Woodman’s impressive technical knowledge of the camera and lighting. Both collections also are very performative and do not strive for creating candid moments, rather are very intentional about the placement of the subjects.

These collections elicit very different emotions from the viewer and portray very different emotions through their subjects, with the Swan Song series eliciting a sense of turmoil and discomfort while I’m Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography seems to be more interested in stillness. Both however are very effective at influencing the audience to experience the emotions themselves. In BFA.05 from the Swan Song series, Woodman lies across the white bench with everything but her legs and one arm covered by a white sheet. A single wing of a bird lies on the bench to the left and a long shutter speed means Woodman is able to use movement of the sheet of fabric to create a sense of movement that mimics the shape and idea of a bird wing. The fabric and her leg both have a trail of translucency showing the pathway of movement, implying that the subject is turning from her back to her side. This movement, its bird likeness, along with the subject's pose, a slightly arched mid-writhe, evokes the idea that she is agonizing over her similarity to the cut, single wing laying on the bench next to her. She is longing to move and to act yet is unable to make anything happen. By capturing this movement in the photos of this series, Woodman depicts the physicality of this turmoil and influences the audience to acknowledge the familiarity of this inner turmoil physically embodied. Untitled, New York (depicting two women separated by lace), on the other hand, shows the stillness of Woodman’s fashion photography that contradicts her Swan Song series. In the photograph, a woman stands at the center with her belly to head in the frame. Her elbow is raised above her head, as her face is hiding in the crease. She is wearing a light-colored dress and a piece of black lace runs across the frame, covering from her breasts to her eyes, while another woman wearing a dark dress stands in front of the fabric to the left of the frame, with half of her back and her hand reaching across her neck being seen by the camera. The lace fabric is taut at the bottom but slightly slack and folded at the top. The subjects are in focus and the colors are soft, making use of many gray tones. These aspects of the photo are common in this collection. Subjects are still, allowing the fabric to drape and lie naturally in the scene, evoking a sense of quietness that allows the audience to fully take in the garment and how it falls on the body.

The two collections are inherently rather opposite from each other in content as well as emotion. Swan Song is interested in exploring emotions through the naked form while I’m Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography is inherently focused on the objects that cover a form, clothes and fashion. However, they both include the aspect of Woodman’s work that I find most fascinating, her Woodman’s treatment of the female body which invokes it as both a body that is lived in and resilient and as art, something beautiful and elegant. BFA.06 from the Swan Song series and the Untitled, New York, depicting the woman laying across the lion to be the best examples of this. In BFA.06, Woodman lies vertically across the bench with her neck and legs hanging off and a sheet draped across her stomach to the top of her thighs. A drawing of a bird's wings sit on the bench to her left, its open wing span parallelling the open and arched position of Woodman’s chest. Similarly, Untitled, New York portrays a female form lying next to an animal form, in this instance a lion. The woman is laying on her side in an elegant black dress. Her top half is very placed, with her arm posed above her head and the dress draped across her shoulder. Her lower half however is more natural, knees together but legs spread in a way that is unflattering for the shape of the dress. In both of these photos, Woodman captures the body moving as the body does, even if it is not specifically flattering or delicate, yet retains a sense of beauty for both the posed and natural female form. The female form has been a central part of art for centuries, yet so often this art is either a man glorifying the woman’s body for its beauty and sexuality or a woman coming to terms with her body as it exists outside of the male gaze. Woodman’s brilliance lies in her ability to take photographs that find the balance of portraying the female form as beautiful without degrading it, and as flawed without being hostile to it.

Sources:

“Francesca Woodman.” Marian Goodman, https://www.mariangoodman.com/artists/francesca-woodman/. 

“The Lady of the Glove: Francesca Woodman and Surrealism.” The Woodman Family Foundation, https://woodmanfoundation.org/essay. 

“Letters Exchanged between Francesca Woodman and George Woodman, April 1977: From the Archives….” The Woodman Family Foundation, https://woodmanfoundation.org/news/letters-exchanged-between-francesca-woodman-and-george-woodman-april-1977-from-the-archives. 

“The Woodmans | Full Documentary Movie | Francesca Woodman.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Sept. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSKsA8gwSaM. 

Photography

Swan Song series:

“Francesca Woodman Exhibit: New York, 28 November 2007 - 5 January 2008.” Marian Goodman, https://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/298-francesca-woodman/. 

I’m Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography:“Francesca Woodman Exhibit: I'm Trying My Hand at Fashion Photography.” Marian Goodman, https://www.mariangoodman.com/exhibitions/84-francesca-woodman-i-m-trying-my-hand-at-fashion-photography/.

[aworldofyou]

MARIAN HAWKE, modern elder scrolls [ ??? / ??? ] writing partners may reblog

[hauntedfalcon]

me: *checks Netflix for The East*

Netflix: here’s The OA

me: I don’t want this

[bemusedlybespectacled]

so, I've noticed that some Discourse™ posts about adult content (and I am including my own in this) tend to have a kind of misery poker element to them. like, "well, when I was your age, I watched videos of people being literally set on fire, and I'm fine, so stop complaining about zutara!" or whatever, which just isn't really a good argument, considering that the response is going to be "no, you're not fine, you think it's okay to have porn of teenage characters on AO3!"

so, I want to tell a story about the opposite of that.

I think I've talked about this before on here, but my parents were extremely careful about the kind of media my siblings and I watched as kids. not for religious reasons; it was for the entirely secular reason of "screentime in general, but especially violent or sexual media of any kind, is bad for children's brains." I exclusively watched PBS (except for the news and Saturday morning cartoons on ABC) until I was eleven or twelve, because stuff like Power Rangers and The Power Puff Girls was too violent.

I started being allowed to branch out into "adult" media because I was considered old enough to self-screen for inappropriate content, and also pre-screen stuff for my younger siblings and, at least one time I remember, someone else's kids. this is why I started being allowed to watch police procedurals: I watched the first ten minutes or so of an episode of Numb3rs (it was Soft Target, I remember the imagery extremely clearly) and was able to convince my mom to let me watch it because a) it wasn't any more violent than Mystery, b) it had math in it and was therefore educational, and c) it came on at 9 PM on Fridays so it wouldn't keep me up too late on a school night.

the problem wasn't that I was incapable of filtering my own media. I was excellent at filtering my own media. the problem was that I was twelve years old and the most graphic thing I'd seen up to that point was Miss Marple, so my filter was wildly miscalibrated.

some things that I considered "inappropriate for children":

The Will Of The Empress by Tamora Pierce, both then and now my favorite author, not because of the two seconds of implied sexual content that flew directly over my head, but because one of the characters discovered she was a lesbian and kissed a girl onscreen a couple of times, and of course gay content meant something was automatically adult.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini, where I somehow completely missed all the nudity except for one scene where a pair of twin elves are described as dancing while naked, which to me made it basically porn.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, because of the scene where the Sheriff of Nottingham speeds through his wedding ceremony as quickly as possible so he can have sex with Maid Marian right there on the floor, not because it's a weirdly graphic almost-rape scene that's played for laughs for some reason, but because it had sex in it!

I think when someone talks about how X Show Is Problematic or Y Ship Is Morally Wrong, the response tends to sound like, "Suck it up and ignore any potential implications or problems it has, you big whiny baby!", which is not my point here.

my point is that when you haven't been exposed to a wide variety of content and/or life experiences, your Media Immune System is going to overreact to stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, is probably not that bad, because it's the first time you are experiencing it. it's also going to underreact to things that are so beyond your frame of reference that you can't even identify them as potential problems. your filter is going to be badly calibrated because you don't know what to calibrate it to.

I don't think being an adult is being able to handle The Most Viscerally Uncomfortable Movie or anything like that. I do think being an adult is, basically, microdosing on Problematic Content™ to expand your boundaries enough to even know what your boundaries are.

but if your response to anything potentially problematic is to completely avoid it because consuming it – or, horror of horrors, enjoying it – somehow taints you as a person, I can guarantee you that your filter is already wildly miscalibrated and you're doing your level best to keep it that way.

[samael-i-am]

catholic iconography hunter and belos; finally got around to adding my analysis here :))

i lost my apple pen a few days ago and just found it last night which means i’ve been thinking about drawing this For Days. i have so many thoughts all the thoughts. everything here is drawn for a specific reason.

the way clothes are drawn in iconography is really interesting - folds in clothes are almost entirely geometric, it represents heavenly order. they also have a specific meaning. black, outside of the application as traditional monastery dress, represents, yk. evil. death. etc. i kept belos’ clothes pretty similar to what we see in canon but the Vibes fit. the brown is like, dust to dust or something? i think? don’t quote me on that but that also felt fitting given his whole mud transformation thing.

in iconography gold is pretty much reserved entirely for christ - i kept belos’ gold accents to kind of represent how he’s usurping the titan’s will, and there’s definitely some kind of jesus metaphor going on with hunter and the whole day of unity sacrifice thing so he gets a gold shawl. i consider belos’s white to just be part of the ‘fit, but hunter is in a white smock partly because white is pretty uniformly used to represent swaddling clothes, and is also used to depict purity. he’s baby!

belos and hunter’s faces are pretty stylized…which, i mean, i’ve always had a rather cartoony style, but you see a lot of flat, almost uncanny faces like theirs in iconography for a reason. again, represents divinity, being closer to god…etc etc. belos’ is flatter than hunter’s because i imagine him as more disconnected from his humanity (witchanity? would it be witchanity for hunter?? we need words for this).

hand gestures are specific too…i thought about those a lot. belos’ hand gesture is meant to display that he’s about to speak. i thought about having him make a gesture that more closely correlates to ‘speaker,’ since he claims to be the titan’s prophet, but i felt like straying a bit away from that could show how the titan doesn’t actually favor him.

hunter’s hand gesture is one that you see made a lot by saints known for spending time in prayer - i believe it represents the success of prayer? here, i’m using it to show how much he’s forced to dedicate his life to the titan and belos’s cause. it’s like..the purpose of his existence, poor kid. having him use his left hand instead of his right, as is traditional, to sort of symbolize how he’s ‘different’ - the no-magic thing is not even a metaphor for disability, it’s pretty much explicitly a disability, and there’s no way this kid isn’t neurodivergent. further tying this in with the fact that historically, left handed people were kind of treated awfully.

aaaand last but not least the halos. belos just has the simple halo you see in most iconography because fuck him, and also he technically represents the virgin mary in this scene? i based it off of marian iconography so. yk. the perfectly circular nature of the halos represents sanctity, etc, etc, and it also just helps draw attention to their face. hunter gets the special jesus halo because again. vibes. metaphors.

(also hunter looks like an actual *child* here instead of the weird homonculus looking thing you see in iconography of young jesus because a) baby hunter and b) that looks so fucking weird. like in theory i understand why it was done but oh my god. why. why. i’ll shut up now but i could talk about this at length)

anyways uhhh tldr; dana terrace went to catholic school, something something religious trauma, something something biblical imagery in the emperor’s coven

[traumacatholic]

Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in life. As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular Roman Catholic devotion. In common religious Catholic imagery, the Virgin Mary is portrayed, sorrowful and in tears, with one or seven long knives or daggers piercing her heart, often bleeding. Devotional prayers that consist of meditation began to elaborate on her Seven Sorrows based on the prophecy of Simeon. Common examples of piety under this title are Servite rosary or the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, the Seven Joys of Mary, and, more recently, Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

O most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion, and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable object. Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate Mother of God. Amen.