Kurenai Considerations

Crimson tints in light and shadow

Well, I've been promising a period in which my blogging will mainly consist of "Image of the Day" type posts. As the past few updates indicate, that time is now!!!

But that doesn't mean I won't be posting my random thoughts, birth date celebrations, or art show reports. It just means that the daily churn of posting will be photographs, a couple words, and, occasionally, a few music vids after the jump. But when I have the time and energy, you can count on my traditional style of blogging, for better or worse. ;-)

Anyways, I'm glad to be back at the keyboard, in good health, and of a disposition quite optimistic.

Now, let's listen to some music.

Seconds in Silence

Empty dance studio

Another thing about Summer, there is something both peaceful and creepy about an empty campus or classroom. Peering through the windows into a room, where one would normally hear the constant chatter of students, the sounds of occupation, finding it abandoned and silent can be disturbing.

Of course, teachers probably see it as wonderful thing. Like Sisyphus and his stone, it is the moment that the task has been completed, if only for a while, before the next academic year starts the whole process over again.

But I'm not a teacher. I look at the emptiness with an eye towards poetry and purpose. Without habitation, we can appreciate the structure and space of the buildings, their functional design. However, classrooms without students are not fulfilling their purpose. And there is something transgressive about that.

Empty classroom


It's as though the space echoes with impressions of what has been, what will be, and what ought to be. It is as if every empty classroom is haunted by the ghosts of potential students.

Strange as Angels

Detail of album art for Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987) by The Cure

Well, it's another holiday weekend. I'd say that posting will be sporadic, but that wouldn't indicate much of a change. ;-)

A few weeks back, I wrote about my admiration for The Cure and their album, Pornography. However, the album about which I have the fondest memories is Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Today, May 25th, marks twenty-five years since it was released.

So, let's kick the weekend off with a brief trip back to 1987 and ask, "For how much longer can I howl into this wind?"

The Cure's album, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, was released on May 25, 1987

"So when the hurting starts and when the nightmares begin. . ."

Malaise of Adolescent Existentialism

Detail from the cover image of the Cure's album, Pornography (1982)

Put on your black clothes, smudge on the thick make-up, and get your inner Goth goin'!

Today, we're celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the Cure's Pornography, a classic work of goth rock. Seriously, how can you beat lines like "It doesn't matter if we all die" or "Everything as cold as life" or "The atmosphere rots with time"? There's some hardcore existential angst in those lyrics, intensified by the rough and moody instruments.

I was still a youngster when this album came out, but my aesthetic sense was starting to take form. Although I was never a Goth, the dark romanticism of this music certainly made a mark. Later, when I began studying the English Romantic poets and the French Existentialist writers, around 1987, the seeds of this record bloomed in my own creative vision.

Yeah, I never took on the style, but the Goths and I were kindred souls. ;-)

In a Kingdom by the Sea

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809.

We can't let the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth date go by without marking the occasion. ;-)

A master of the macabre, Poe could weave dread and despair, madness and mystery, into the very words of his poetry and stories. The cadence of his writings hint of a mental state on the verge of hysteria, building to a frenzy of gothic romanticism as the narrative concludes. His works always give a wild thrill of terror, a haunting glimpse of the bizarre.

Yes, Poe does get a bit overheated and verbose from time to time, but I feel that's part of his charm. His excess is an expression of his authenticity. As a writer, he gets so caught up in the work that he loses control; the dread and sensation that he creates is felt first by him.

Annabel Lee (1910) by John R. Neill

As usual, I have a hard time picking my favorite work by Poe, but "Annabel Lee" is my choice for today.

Baroque Beauty and Bygone Glamour

Detail of Regina (2011) by Sylvia Ji


"Gilded Roses" is an exhibition of new works by Sylvia Ji, on view at the Corey Helford Gallery. This is her fourth show at the gallery, which has showcased her fascinating development as a fine artist of "dark" visions, going from the Day of the Dead imagery typical of her early work, as shown in her exhibits "Por Vida" (2008) and "Haute Epoch" (2009), to an exploration of animal, "Shapeshifter" (2010), and floral themes.

This show is less overtly dark, lacking the creepy crawlies of her earlier work, but goes for a more subtle style. The antique baroque attire of her figures establishes a haunted mood, a long-lost glamour, as though we are viewing bygone beauties who persist as restless spirits. Each image is dominated by a single color. Most of the figures are associated with a particular type of flower. These qualities hint at some hidden significance, a story that explains the haunting, a meaning by which to understand the compulsions behind their lovely facades.

Mourning Dress in Violet (2011) by Sylvia Ji

As usual, Sylvia Ji has wonderful technique. The manner in which she allows the grain of the wood panel to establish a sense of atmosphere is fantastic. Her use of color is especially compelling in this show. And her skill at depicting beautiful women never disappoints.

Modern Prometheus

Detail of Monster of Frankenstein #1 cover art (1973) by Mike Ploog

Published on January 1, 1818, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus founded two genres of fiction dear to my heart, Horror and Science Fiction. Certainly, there are older instances that could claim the credit, but Shelley's novel isn't merely a "scary tale" or "speculative" fiction; it gets to the philosophical and aesthetic premises that define each of these genres.

As regards Horror, the exploration of transgression, the danger of human genius removed from moral concern, and the hubris of finite humanity imposing its limited awareness upon a Nature that surpasses both comprehension and control, these are themes and topics that characterize the best of the genre since Frankenstein.

For Science Fiction, the intellectual quandaries posed by the novel, such as the concept of "person" or the ethical concerns raised by pressing into uncharted realms of technology, have become staples of speculative fiction. No "Artificial Intelligence" story can be told without being compared to the progenitor of the genre.

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster (1931)

Therefore, we can't let this day pass by without celebrating this literary treasure:

"I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation."

Powerful stuff!!!

The Aesthetics of Dread

Calamity (2011) by Ray Caesar


At the Corey Helford Gallery, the current exhibit is "A Dangerous Inclination," featuring the works of Ray Caesar, displaying his disturbing vision of a twisted Rococo world where beauty is but a facade, hiding a chthonic reality of nightmares and monstrosities.

Scenes of beauty are transgressed by the weird, insectoid legs extending from beneath the ample skirts of Fragonardian ladies, tentacles forming from the silken fabrics of an evening dress, turning an image of voyeuristic thrill into a recoiling vision of horror. It is a reality in which wrongness reigns. Though fully embracing of the dark fantastic, the images retain a Rococo sensibility towards the precious, the gorgeous, the sumptuous, even if vermin swarm the subject.

The contrast between that which invites and that which repels ignites the spark of dramatic conflict in the viewer's imagination, simultaneously inflaming the passions of desire and disgust, searing the beautiful abominations into the mind. It is a vision in which Beauty is the Beast!

Eris (2011) by Ray Caesar

Dark delicacies from a world of dangerous beauty.

Friday Flowers: Fuchsias For Proserpina

Fuchsia: Mendonoma Belle


A Glimpse of Proserpina
(By John Hollander)

Clear, early mornings as I stride
Westward, the usual brick street
Grows meadow grass from its concrete:
The neighborhood turns countryside.

Huge structures hovering across
The river like excluding shades
Collapse into the Palisades;
The river burns away its dross.

If I went up a nearby hill
You would be there in sight, bent down
To gather flowers at the crown
Of my hill's twin against the sky;

We'd meet where, as in fields of wars
Forgotten, stones and daisies swarm,
Then turn back, arm in flowers in arm,
And bring them quietly indoors.


Almost missed our weekly Friday Flowers post, which would have been a shame because today marks the birth date of John Hollander, born in 1929.

Fuchsia: Bonnie Doan

As is the usual case with holiday weekends, I'm expecting posting to be erratic until Tuesday. Have a great weekend!!!

Danse Macabre

Dance of Death (1493) by Michael Wolgemut


October 9, 1835 is the birth date of Camille Saint-Saens.

This isn't a "Classical Music" blog, but I was thinking of sneaking in a little Spooky Sunday fun for an early October evening. One of Saint-Saens' most famous pieces is the Danse Macabre. This tone poem is based on a story in which Death appears at midnight every Halloween and summons up the dead from their graves. To the sound of Death's violin, they dance until sunrise. Then they return into the earth and wait for another year to pass so that they can enjoy another night of liberating dance.

In late medieval lore, the danse macabre was symbolic of the universality of death. Regardless of your age, wealth, social status, or personal talents, the Reaper was always at your side. Death was waiting for all mortals. And so Life was nothing but a dance on the way to the grave.

Morbid stuff!!!

Dance of the Dolls (2011) by Anthony Clarkson

But I find the imagery fascinating. Dancing is such vigorous and life-affirming activity that the combination with Death creates a transgressive thrill. Lifeless things should not be dancing. And dancers should not be dead.

Malign Sentience of the Souless Stone

Tomb effigies of the Knights Templar, Temple Church, London

Have you every looked upon a funerary sculpture and imagined the horror that you would feel if it suddenly began to move? There is something vaguely disquieting about such statues and carvings. It's as if they are receptacles for the disembodied spirit of the restless dead. The body of flesh and blood may have decayed into nothingness, but that enduring stone figure presents a cold home for defiant, damned spirit.

And that's the premise of E. Nesbit's classic ghost story, Man-Size in Marble, written in 1893. A newlywed couple finds a delightful cottage, but it has a dreadful connection to the effigies of two knights, known for their maliciousness, entombed at the nearby church. And one night of the year, as local superstition would have it, the inanimate stone becomes animate.

This isn't the best of ghost stories. It's a predictable plot and has annoying characters. But the concept is delightfully chilling. Yeah, it's kind of a cheap thrill, but I always enjoy the dark visions that Man-Size in Marble conjures up in my imagination.

Effigy of Sir Richard Lee in St. Mary's Church, Acton Burnell, Shropshire (Photo by Tom Oates, 2009)

I read this story as a child. Nesbit was a writer of children's fiction. So, I had developed an interest in her stories. Wow! Her Tales of Terror gave me many a sleepless night. But it helped build the foundation for my lifelong explorations into ghostly fiction, both as a reader and as a writer. So, this tale has sentimental value for me. ;-)

Seeking the Sublime

Detail of Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon (1830-35) by Caspar David Friedrich

I always have a tough time listing my favorite anything, from book to movie to song. This is also true in choosing my favorite painters. However, I'm certain the Caspar David Friedrich consistently makes the top five. Friedrich was born on this date in 1774, so let's take the opportunity to appreciate his unique genius.

I feel that his style is the definitive look to Romanticism, especially as regards contemplation of the Sublime. Moreover, his muted colors and overwhelming spaces creates that sense of loneliness or insignificance that characterizes the later Gothic aesthetic. Additionally, his focus on death and transience works as a critique of materialism and the "heroic arrogance" of classicism and neo-classicism.

In Friedrich's world, the sublime grandeur of Nature reduces human accomplishment and material ambition to inconsequential ruins. It's a profoundly terrifying view that has influenced Western aesthetics up to the contemporary era.


Detail of Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (1818) by Caspar David Friedrich


So what can humanity do? Contemplate the awesome spiritual immensity of the Sublime.

Crept Through His Dreams

Tim Burton's Vincent (1982)

Today is Tim Burton's 53rd Birthday. I have a lot of fondness for his movies. They appeal to my "gothic" sensibility. ;-)

As usual, it is hard for me to settle on a favorite Burton movie. I usually like the one that I have most recently seen best. But the three movies that always make my top five list are: Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Big Fish. I guess these are my favorites by averaging the highest scores.

So, here's a Happy Birthday wish to Tim Burton. May he have many more such celebrations.

Celebrating Tim Burton (Image by Rob Dobi)


Let's look at some photos and vids.

Peddlers of Death

Detail from Peddlers of Death by David Stoupakis

I've been meaning to write a glowing review about the current exhibit of David Stoupakis' and Tom Bagshaw's work at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City. Since it's closing on August 27, I figured it was now or never. So although there is only one week left for this show, I think it is excellent enough to merit my writing time and your viewing time.

I've got a fascination with morbid topics, such as death, ghosts, horror stories, and most sorts of Gothic styling. Both of the artists on exhibit deliver on the dark imagery, albeit in different manners. David Stoupakis presents a haunting set of serious imagery in his show "Walking Within These Shadows" in which ghostly young women or girls drift wraithlike within a gloom-filled, Stygian environment. These images hint at an underlying narrative of death and sorrow.



The Choice by David Stoupakis


The milky eyes and pale flesh of his figures imbue even the robust images with an enervating sensation of undeath. They are animated by a mysterious, umbral energy.

Ominous Bird of Yore

The Raven by Edouard Manet (1875)

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore —
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —
            Only this and nothing more."

That's the opening stanza to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", first published in 1845. Over the past few weeks, I've been discussing ghost stories. This poem isn't exactly a ghost story, but it plays off a related trope, the obsessive sorrow of the bereaved turning into madness. Although the story holds no supernatural occurrences, the protagonist is still "haunted" by their memory and desire for the departed. Later authors, such as Henry James or Edith Wharton, will follow in Poe's footsteps addressing this trope in their own style.



The Raven by John Tenniel (1858)


I'm a big fan of Poe's work. It's hard to say which of his works is my favorite. But "The Raven" is certainly a contender. ;-)

Gala of the Grotesque

Untitled #2 (2011) by Scott Radke

"Burlap" is the title of an exhibit at Thinkspace Gallery, featuring the mixed media sculptures of Scott Radke. It's an interesting show but a bit difficult to accurately describe. The problem lies in the nature of the art works themselves. They have a shifting narrative premise based upon their current environment. To a degree, these are not self-contained sculptures, but focal points to an improvised installation artwork.

The show consists of a series of sculptures and some photographs of these pieces, generally within a evocative setting. The sculptures are of chimerical figures of a "fairy tale" nature. They are gnome-like fey creatures. Some are humanoid in their general appearance, but others are animals or flowers with gnomish faces. The majority of them are covered in a dark sackcloth material either as clothing or skin. It is from this rich material that the show derives it name, "Burlap".

I really enjoyed looking at them. Each piece had a distinct "personality" and expressive presence. The craftsmanship of their design was excellent. These chimerical figures really captured my imagination.



Bird #5 (2011) by Scott Radke


And it's in the imaginative engagement that the pieces become especially noteworthy.

Shadowtime

Wishing a Happy Birthday to Siouxsie Sioux, born on this date in 1957.

Yeah, I have an eclectic taste in music. Although I never got into the Goth scene of the late '80s and early 90s, I enjoyed the music. Certainly, it could get a bit overwrought and angsty to the point of hilarity, but, when the excesses of pathos are avoided, there were some memorable works of music. Now, I wouldn't classify Siouxsie and the Banshees as just a Goth band, because their music has notable post-punk elements that don't fit well with the Gothic aesthetic. It's probably most accurate to label them as "alternative rock".

Whatever you want to call them, Siouxsie and the Banshees were wonderfully experimental. Heck, they even have a song that uses the glockenspiel!!!

So let's get to the music.