The Lady of Kalymnos

I didn't know about this magnificent Hellenistic statue until today.

If you want to see more, go to Greekreporter.com where there is much more information about this style.

Money to burn on books? Check out ISD holiday offerings

ISD is a disributer of Medieval Studies scholarly books, generally high quality books from small presses.  For instance they distribute my Deeds of Arms series by Freelance Academy Press.

Last week I got a special offer flyer from them and it made my mouth water.  The boks on offer were mainly art oriented and the contents promised to be interesting and beautiful.

Note that these books are by no means cheap, but they have been marked down substantially.  Just the thing, if you can afford it, to give to the love of your life -- or  yourself, if you can justify the expense.

ISD

The William Morris Manuscript of The Odes of Horace
​

by William Morris, introduction by Clive Wilmer, translated by William Gladstone

9781851244492

Hardback, 2 volumes, 186 pages (facsimile + 240p commentary and translation, 183 col illus.)

Publication Date: November 2016

Regular Price: $275.00 /

Special Offer Price: $195.00

Pompeii, a Different Perspective:

Via dell'Abbondanza, a long road, well traveled​

by Arthur Stephens and Jennifer Stephens

9781937040789

Hardback, 126 pages

Publication Date: June 2017

Regular Price: $50.00 / 

Special Offer Price: $40.00

Mosaics of Ravenna: Image and Meaning

by Jutta Dresken-Weiland

9783795432065

Hardback, 320 pages

Publication Date: July 2017

Regular Price: $108.00 /

Special Offer Price: $87.00

Martin Luther. Treasures of the Reformation: Catalogue

edited by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and The Morgan Library and Museum​

9783954982233

Hardback, 504 pages, 488 color illus.

Publication Date: September 2016

Regular Price: $44.95 / 

Egyptian Wall Painting

​

by Francesco Tiradritti

9780789210050

Hardback, 392 pages, 350 color illus.

Publication Date: December 2008

Original Price: $150.00 /

Special Offer Price: $60.00

Publisher: Abbeville Press

Richard Watson Gordon parades an amazing ignorance

Gordon is talking up an art exhibit on the subject of 19th century prostitution in Paris:

 It was a subject that interested them. Why? The obvious answer is that they were men, but another reason was that prostitution was linked to the idea of modernity. People had moved to the city, which was in itself a new concept, where the moral strictures of the village had disappeared. 

Gordon is a professor of fine arts.

Woodpiles as art

Anyone who has heated a house with wood can't help but pay attention to woodpiles.  Just seeing a good pile ready for use stirs emotion; this kind of creative effort is truly fine.

A beehive cell

Darrell Markewitz, historically inspired metalworker par excellence, starts thinking about sacred enclosures and monastic beehive cells. Have a look!

Victory Day in Kiev

From the Big Picture.

British eccentricity put to good use

Thanks to the BBC.

Lowry in Berwick

Long ago, Berwick-on-Tweed was a prize in the Anglo-Scottish wars over old Northumbria. For centuries now it has been English, but the casual visitor (me) has a hard time telling which kingdom it belongs in (Northumbria?). The big social issue seems to be whether dogs should be welcome in pubs.

It is not a flashy place and may never have been, but Berwick had its artistic champion in the mid-20th century, when one L.S. Lowry did many striking paintings of the streets and the people. There is now a downtown "trail" on which you can visit sites he made famous, and which are pretty much the same.

A genealogy site has a good selection of Berwick neighborhoods and the paintings they inspired.

Summer, Park Avenue, 1930

From Ephemeral New York.

From Ephemeral New York: Spring Night, Greenwich Village

By Martin Lewis, 1930.  More here.

A work of minor genius...

...but genius still.  King Philip IV signs autographs.

Congrats to Improv Everywhere and all involved in the project.  And thanks to Will McLean for the heads-up.

Scott Caple exhibit in Toronto, February 25, 2011

As a bit of relief from very serious matters, I pass along this invitation from Scott Caple, an extraordinarily talented artist and animator:

I am having a SHOW in Downtown Toronto , at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop, 486 College St. / Friday Feb. 25 / 7-11. It 's going to be a show of layout and design work from past projects I 've worked on -Incredibles, Hunchback, the Bluth movies, maybe even some Nelvana stuff - plus some personal work. Some will be original , some won't. But there WILL be refreshments and good conversation. And signed prints for sale!

If you can, go!

More beautiful iron work from a re-enactor

Historical re-enactors and re-creationists don't have the highest reputation either with the general public or among scholars.  since I have spent more than my fair share of time running around in armor, I  have a  different opinion. Part of it goes back to the attitude that "historians don't own history" ( or at least not all of it :-)) but also because I know a number of people who have come out of the reenactment and become masters of some historical-based skill.   Their accomplishments deserve the highest praise.

One such person is Darrell Markewitz, whom I've known for almost 40 years now. In that time has grown from a young eccentric  to a mature eccentric who knows things other people don't know and can do things that other people can't do.  He loves researching historical techniques and has done valuable work in connection with Viking culture in North America, but he is also a contemporary person who makes iron – based art for modern clients. Here, too, he might be seen as a reenactor – reenacting some of the graphic innovations of the 1970s. Whatever you call it, I say it is good, and better than good. The picture above is an example of a commission piece for a patron/client.  Go here to have a closer look and, if you've got the cash and share Darrell's belief in the beauty of iron, give him a call.

Original mind at work

Anyone can burn a book, or threaten to.  How many can write stuff this good?

Bird of Paradise by Holly Anne Garnett

Link.

Full of awe

On a personal note

Jane Cloutier is a Michigan artist who works in cut paper. I acquired a piece very much like this just today hoping to get more in the future. This picture does not really do the piece I got justice. My original is far more colorful and vibrant. If you want to see more go here.

What does this have to say about historical movements in general?

Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station refers us to this dance party:



Draw your own conclusions!

Steampunk

Here is a nifty article at the Smart Set, via the League of Ordinary Gentlemen (how appropriate!).

The aesthetic movement Steampunk wants to bring the wonder back into our relationship with machines. Its tack is to fully embrace (and affect) an Edwardian orientation to the world. Though Steampunk has been a growing cultural trend for a few decades, it really came into its own in the aughts and is now a full-fledged phenomenon. Steampunks dress like the Wright Brothers and Arctic explorers. They write alternate history fantasies in which alien clones ride around in dirigibles by the light of gas lamps. Steampunks are fascinated by mechanics, and Steampunk art, jewelry, and fashion often involve gears, wheels, pulleys, and, of course, steam: a laptop computer fused with a rickety typewriter; an arcade game redesigned to look like a mini-submarine. What most defines Steampunk as a culture, however, is attitude. The “punk” in Steampunk confronts technology's alienating qualities with messy DIY defiance. The “steam” (besides its literal connotations) is almost like another word for magic: brute, utilitarian contraptions powered by clouds, and breath — ephemeral energy.

Steampunk tries to capture that Edwardian moment when steam power still ruled and the romance of technology lay precisely in the line it toed between destruction and possibility. Equally fascinated by flying machines and trench warfare, Steampunk is both optimistic and nihilistic. I like to think of this attitude as Gleehilism. It's this Gleehilism that makes Steampunk one of the defining aesthetic movements of the early 21st century.

Image: Extraordinary gentlemen/woman.

A great Canadian work of art

I have said elsewhere that I am a sucker for great ephemeral works of art, for instance (some) Olympic opening ceremonies.

Last night's pagentry was not perfect, but it had perfect moments.

My first reaction, sparked by the beginning act featuring representatives of First Nations, was to think, almost seriously:

"I hear that Jack Vance is blind, but I have a feeling he may have scripted this anyway. He sees things more vividly with his inner eye than most of us with the outer ones."

But really it was better than that; not the creation of a 92-year-old American I admire very much, but of much younger Canadians I don't know with dazzling technical skills and first-class creative ideas. And performers who could dance energetically for an hour straight! And fly!

Even if you saw it on TV, you owe it to yourself to see the Big Picture presentation, to remind you, and see details you might have missed.

Image: One of those perfect moments. I had a hard time choosing.