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the-al-chemist · 2 years

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The Beginning of a Symphony - Chapter 12

Summary: Ophelia makes her first step in becoming an accomplished woman.

OCs featured: Professor Hemlock @that-scouse-wizard

OCs mentioned: Adelia Selwyn @thatravenpuffwitch, Carolyn Nyberg @lifeofkaze, Siobhan Llewelyn @kc-and-co

Warnings: mentions of poverty and privilege.

February 1896

February had arrived, and that meant one thing: St Valentine’s Day was approaching, a celebration of love in all its forms and an opportunity for individuals to declare their affections to their unsuspecting sweethearts. Though Ophelia had never been excited for St Valentine’s Day before, now that she had made the epiphany that catching a wealthy suitor was her best means of securing a fortune of her own, she had a newfound appreciation for the occasion.

Of course, she would have her work cut out for her before she might expect to receive any attention from the opposite sex; she was not yet what one would call an accomplished woman, after all. Still, that was no matter; she had a whole fortnight to change that. And where better to start than in the music room?

Ophelia sat at the pianoforte and stared at the keys, irregularly alternating between ebony and ivory. They meant nothing to her yet, of course, but they soon would. She placed the tip of her forefinger against one of them, feeling the cool, firm ivory against her skin, and pressed down firmly.

A single note rang out, and Ophelia sang the note back to the pianoforte before choosing another, and singing that note out as well. She repeated the process over and over, playing and singing a dozen or so notes, before sighing heavily to herself. Learning to play the pianoforte was not nearly so simple as she had anticipated.

“Miss Burke?”

At the sound of a woman’s voice behind her, Ophelia turned in her seat. Professor Hemlock, the music teacher, was standing in the doorway behind her, a peculiar expression on her face.

“I was not aware that you were a singer, Miss Burke,” said Professor Hemlock, entering the room.

Ophelia stood up and bobbed into a curtsy, the way one fine lady should greet another. “I am not a singer, professor.”

“I disagree. You have perfect pitch.”

“I am afraid that I do not know quite what you mean.”

“The notes. You can replicate them exactly by ear.”

“Cannot everyone?” Ophelia asked, frowning as Professor Hemlock shook her head. “That surprises me, professor. I am not instructed in music. I cannot even play the pianoforte, when so many other girls my age do so almost effortlessly.”

“They have probably had more practise. I daresay that some have their own instruments at home.”

Ophelia considered Professor Hemlock’s words. It was true, both Adelia and Carolyn certainly had their own instruments. She had once heard that Siobhan Llewelyn of Ravenclaw house had no less than three pianofortes at her father’s manor. Ophelia almost envied her this, but she also knew that Siobhan’s family lived at a dragon sanctuary. She would not have wanted to share her home with a horde of dirty great dragons, not even for all the pianofortes in the world.

Still, she had not realised until this moment how much harder it was to become a fine lady when one was not already at least halfway to being one from the start. But she could not let her disadvantage stop her; she would just have to try harder. Perhaps she should try her hand at drawing instead of music, though it seemed that Professor Hemlock had other ideas for her.

“I wonder, Miss Burke, whether you would like to join the school choir,” the music teacher asked her. “It would be wonderful to have another voice, especially when that voice is as sweet as yours.”

“I had never considered the matter before,” said Ophelia, completely honestly. “Would I require new robes or songbooks?”

“I have all the songbooks, and your uniform will suffice. Though you will need a toad or a frog.”

“A toad or a frog?”

“Yes, it’s a peculiarity of the Hogwarts choir, a great tradition of which we are most proud,” Professor Hemlock informed Ophelia, who backed away from her, horrified. “However, if you do not have a frog or toad of your own, we may be able to provide you with-”

“No. No, thank you,” Ophelia said quickly. “I do not wish to be provided with one. Thank you for your offer but I am afraid that I must refuse. I should now like to take my leave of you.”

Ophelia sped away from Professor Hemlock, and once she was out of the music teacher’s sight, she shuddered. She was not a great lover of creatures - or any sort of lover of them, for that matter - let alone slimy, pond-dwelling beasts such as frogs or toads. Why the Hogwarts choir would be proud to sing with such beings she would never understand. It was a shame, for she had been rather pleased to learn that she had perfect pitch - whatever that was - but be that as it may, she could not imagine that any self-respecting lady would ever sing with a toad.

No bother. She was just going to have to try her hand at something else.

#the beginning of a symphony #hogwarts legacy #ophelia burke

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tombeane-blog · 2 years

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Now They Are Your Problem

"Igqira lendlela nguqongqothwane

Igqira lendlela kuthwa nguqongqothwane

Igqira lendlela haya nguqongqothwane (Haya, haya)

Igqira lendlela kuthwa nguqongqothwane (Haya, haya)"

Miriam Makeba - Qongqothwane (The Click Song)

Everybody has at least one (or six) junk drawers that every once in a while they look into and think, "That broken rubber band has been in there for over 20 years. Maybe it's time to throw it out."

Then after some thought, "Wait, didn't I just read you can use a rubber band to back out a stripped screw? Maybe I should keep it a little longer just in case."

So I recently looked into my "ideas for a blog" drawer and found these things.

Realizing they are just stupid and not worth using or keeping, I thought I should just junk them, or, better yet, clear them from my mind and store them in yours.

================================

January 28, 1896. Walter Arnold takes his 'horseless carriage' for a drive through the English village of Paddock Wood.

Dangerously racing through the streets at 8 miles per hour, and after a 5 mile chase, Arnold was eventually caught by a bicycle-riding constable.

He was issued the world's first speeding ticket for traveling 4 times over the posted speed limit of 2 miles per hour. (Arnold could have avoided the citation by using someone jogging in front of his vehicle waving a red flag to alert anyone on the street of their breakneck speed like the law stipulated.)

Later that year the speed limit was changed to 14 mph.

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Many people born this year will be alive to celebrate the year 3,000.

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Epiphany

(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something

(2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking

(3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure

b : a revealing scene or moment

My new word for the week.

When you are listening to someone speaking (usually a politician, celebrity or elite) and they are lying, know that they are lying, knows that you know they are lying but continue to lie anyway because some fool somewhere will believe them.

It hits you:

Epiphony

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Gravity didn't exist when I was young, but now I'm aware of it all the time.

I get up from my easy chair and I'm halfway across the room before I'm standing completely upright.

I'm standing at the sink trimming my fingernails and all of a sudden I realize my head is 8 inches from the sink. I straighten up and a minute later realize I'm bent over again.

Decades of gravity has shrunk me from my majestic high school height of 5 ft 8 1/2 inches. If I live to be 125, I will probably stand 4 foot 7.

Paradoxically, if you live long enough, life is short.

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Lost in translation:

I say: "Get On The Bed."

Seeva hears: "Get On The Bed!!!!!"

I say: "Don't Get On The Bed!!!!"

Seeva hears: "don't Get On The Bed!!!!!"

==================================

My mother used to hold small things at arms length and squint to look at them.

I asked her once about her eyesight.

She said, "My eyesight is fine, my arms are too short."

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dgshoe · 3 years

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"DAYTON BOYS EMULATE GREAT SANTOS-DUMONT"

Thus reads the headline of the "Daily Dayton News" in the wake of the news of Orville and Wilbur Wright's flight in 1903. This is in reference to the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont's greatest, and most recent, feat at the time: the first practical dirigible, created in 1901.

The debate regarding who invented the plane, Santos-Dumont or the Wright brothers, may not be unknown; but here's a refresher: In 1903, the Flyer takes off. Orville and Wilbur Wright have done it; they created a heavier than air machine that could fly. Well... the French didn't think so. In fact, there was a claim that they would be the ones to create such machinery. It did happen, sort of. Santos-Dumont had French citizenship, and in 1906 flew the 14-bis. The debate goes on because neither could fully claim they did invent the plane. Whereas the Flyer needed the assistance of a rail to take off, the 14-bis left the ground on its own; alternatively, the latter was difficult to maneuver, and landing proved a challenge every single time. Even though the Wrights had indeed flown in '03, there were very few witnesses; while Santos-Dumont's demonstrations were always public.

However, those were mere prototypes, they can't really be said to be the first airplanes: the interesting part comes now.

Now here's a quick story to take note: In 1896, Otto Lilienthal died within one of his own prototypes due to the stall - an event in which, because of the elevator (a part of the tail end of an airplane), the plane remains vertically upwards and unable to remain airborne - and because of that, for the next decade, the elevator was placed in the fore of the plane, not its aft.

This even earned the 14-bis the nickname of "Cannard", "Duck" in French, because of that. Needless to say, the Flyer I was also built that way.

In the following months, Santos-Dumont tried to create an aircraft that could take flight with the elevator in the back of the pilot, not in front of them, but the 3 projects he came up with failed; not a single one of them took off the ground. Meanwhile, the Wright brothers had managed to patent their own aircraft, for, as any "good American citizen" should, they wanted profit. The events of the Wright Patent Wars will not be discussed here.

It was when testing a boat model that Santos-Dumont had the epiphany that allowed him to finally finish that project. Meet the Demoiselle:

Santos-Dumont's 19th model, while functional, proved itself to be of poor quality. Although its first version was demonstrated in 1907, the wings were too short, the engine was less potent than the 14-bis's - nevermind that the plane itself was far lighter than its last functioning predecessor - and the fuselage, too fragile. Nothing that couldn't be solved, of course, but it would be two years before the nicknamed "dragonfly" would actually rise to the skies.

In the meantime, specifically in 1908, in a bid to sell their aircraft to the US military, the Wright brothers made public demonstrations of their Flying Machine throughout Europe: the Wright Model A proved capable of flying for 124 kilometers without stopping. Truly, an impressive feat and a successful endeavor; in 1909, their planes became the first military planes in history.

Also in 1909 the Demoiselle made its return. In light of the growing popularity of the machine, many pressured Santos-Dumont to patent it. As it turns out, Dumont would rather die in the slums than charge for the usage of his designs; any who wanted the project were free to merely ask him, and he'd give them a copy without hesitation. The Demoiselle was so cheap to produce that it in fact became the first aircraft to be produced en masse, and by 1910 even the Wright brothers had incorporated it in their design of the Wright Model B.

So, yes, it can be said that these two boys from Dayton have been emulating the great Santos-Dumont.

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arts-dance · 4 years

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Biblical Magi stained glass window, ca. 1896,

Church of the Good Shepherd (Rosemont, Pennsylvania), showing the three magi with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus

Epiphany means 'revelation' and both the visit of the Wise Men and his Baptism are important times when Jesus was 'revealed' to be very important.

#Biblical Magi #The Three Kings #Epiphany

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graywyvern · 2 years

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( via / lanny quarles on fb )

"If there is one abiding purpose to psychoanalysis, it is to make bourgeois lives seem fascinating, at least to those who live them."

"Our age has no impress of its own. We have impressed the seal of our time neither on our houses nor our gardens, nor on anything that is ours. On the street may be seen men who have their beards trimmed as in the time of Henry III, others who are clean-shaven, others who have their hair arranged as in the time of Raphael, others as in the time of Christ. So the homes of the rich are cabinets of curiosities: the antique, the gothic, the style of the Renaissance, that of Louis XIII, all pell-mell. In short, we have every century except our own--a thing which has never been seen at any other epoch: eclecticism is our taste; we take everything we find, this for beauty, that for utility, another for antiquity, still another for its ugliness even, so that we live surrounded by débris, as if the end of the world were at hand." --Alfred de Musset, Confessions of a Child of the Century (1896)

Goodbye.

The only poem i have been able to find by a Dallas poet contemporaneous with the Kennedy Assassination:

"The Spell

You can almost see him, looking as if well, Shedding it, shaking it off, The least shadow on the shoulders Marking the hurt--as if absorbed almost; Then the face turning, alive--

Only hesitating momentarily--

Until you remember how the head Was horribly shattered And fell, with the lifted hair, As from an ax in back--Oswald Cutting a path for himself In the midst of America, a wedge;

But was the thing as it sped, Coppered, leaden, not stopped Perhaps there in the invincible thick hair? Where the woman with her skill Could pick it away, in her lap, Breaking the spell? in the cloth of her dress--

It was deeper than that; Neither burr nor dune thistle, Nor like the roses she held Black as blood in the light, so dark red-- But a kind of blunt bud, splintered Into flower, that could not be touched, Having its own final force that spread throughout, The blind dark overwhelming him."

--William Burford, A Beginning (1966)

She Said It's the Little Things I Do That Always Broke Her Down.

“I see the devil can quote Wittgenstein. He’s blacker than he’s painted.” --Randall Jarrell

"Morton likens this realisation to detective stories in which the hunter realises he is hunting himself (his favourite examples are Blade Runner and Oedipus Rex). 'Not all of us are prepared to feel sufficiently creeped out' by this epiphany, he says."

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jokemotipi · 2 years

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Da ra bendre poems in kannada pdf

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Find the latest Status about da ra bendre poems in kannada pdf from top creators only on Nojoto App. Also find trending photos & videos. Classic Poetry Series. D. R. Bendre. - poems -. Publication Date: the second person among eight recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the. Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre (31 January 1896 – 26 October 1981), popularly known as Da. Ra. Bendre, was a Kannada poet of the Navodaya Period.Sakhigita by D.R. Bendre (Ambikatanayadatta) - Free download as PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Sakhigita poem by D.R. Bendre (Ambikatanayadatta). Dattātreya Rāmachandra Bēndre (31 January 1896 – 26 October 1981), popularly known as Da Rā Bēndre, is generally considered the greatest Kannada lyric poet

https://botiqevogene.tumblr.com/post/666918833602314240/universal-gates-pdf, https://kesoqileb.tumblr.com/post/666917134089191424/ame-ypd-handbook, https://botiqevogene.tumblr.com/post/666919759820046336/four-steps-to-the-epiphany-pdf, https://xovivefaci.tumblr.com/post/666924693089107968/good-practice-guide-28358, https://tacivuduruvi.tumblr.com/post/666923076064280576/notice-sonnette-avidsen-102436.

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thelockpick · 6 years

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II.V.V Something Gas Lighting Would Make Impossible

I just need to start this entry by commenting on the absurdity of Javert's obsession with Valjean.

Javert, probably. (Actually: Arresting Deserters, 1896, from The Art and Picture Collection, The New York Public Library.)

Consider:

Seven or eight soldiers in a body had just entered Rue Polonceau. He saw the gleam of their bayonets. They were coming towards him.

These soldiers, led by a tall figure he identified as Javert, advanced slowly and cautiously ... This was -- and it was impossible to be mistaken in this conjecture -- some patrol Javert had encountered and requisitioned. Javert's two henchmen were marching in their ranks.

Yeah. Javert has not only convinced the police precinct that it would be a valuable use of resources for four of their officers to pursue a shaky lead on a dude who stole a loaf of bread decades ago, but he has requisitioned a small army to join the search crew.

Also, he has henchmen.

Fortunately, JVJ has mad wall-climbing skills. Hugo predictably describes this and gets caught up in thinking about JVJ's sexy muscles/strength:

He was ... a past master in the art of climbing the inside corner of a wall, as much as six storeys high if necessary, without a ladder, without irons, by sheer muscular force, using neck, shoulders, hips and knees for support, scarcely relying at all on on the odd irregularity in the stones' surface ...

Yeah, we get it, Valjean is strong.

(Victor also references a criminal named Battemolle escaping in this way from the Conciergerie, but the only references I can find to this online are from Les Mis, so it must either be fictional or very obscure. I'm disappointed that I can't read about a badass wall-climbing French criminal's escape.)

A 19th century public urinal in Paris made a nice alternative to the corners of peoples’ homes. (Public domain image from the State Library of Victoria.)

So JVJ sizes up this wall and it's 18 feet high, but he notices that the building's gable end meets the ground at a corner filled with a pile of rubble some five feet high "probably intended to save this too suitable corner from being used as a public convenience by passers-by. This filling-up of corners is commonplace in Paris."

Stay classy, Paris.

Anyway, JVJ can climb this wall with his awesome skills, but he can't figure out what to do about Cosette. He can get her over the wall, too, but he'll need a rope.

As much as I hate on Hugo's asides and excessive scene-setting, his writing can be quite profound at times. He describes Valjean's desperation and soon-to-be epiphany in this way:

All dire situations are electrifying, sometimes blindingly so, sometimes to illuminating effect.

Very true. Also a bit of wordplay, because JVJ's "illuminating" gaze then falls on a lamp post.

Hugo explains that this scene was taking place prior to gas lights being introduce, so Paris was instead lit by lanterns that were raised and lowered by a rope. On this particular night, the lanterns hadn't been lit because of the full moon. Valjean is able to pick the lock of one of the boxes containing the rope normally used to hoist the lantern, and he instead ties the rope around little Cosette, climbs the wall, and then pulls her up with him.

So far, Cosette has been incredibly well-behaved. This strange man has ripped her from her relatively brief comfort and made her stay silent during a mysterious nighttime walk during which they are being tailed by police, and she's been totally cool with it. But that can only last for so long.

"Father," she whispered, "I'm scared. Who is it that's coming this way?"

"Hush!" replied the poor man. "It's Madame Thénardier."

Cosette shuddered.

He added, "Keep quiet. Leave it to me. If you call out, if you cry, that Thénardier woman's ready to pounce. She's come to take you back."

I have such mixed feelings about this. My immediate reaction was: WTF, Valjean?!? You're re-traumatizing poor Cosette!

But this is also kind of brilliant. How better to communicate the importance of staying quiet in this situation other than relying on the main source of authority and terror in poor Cosette's life? Madame T is to Cosette as the police are to Valjean.

Just as Valjean pulls a silent, cooperative Cosette ("Either through terror or bravery Cosette had not uttered a sound. Her hands were a little grazed.") over the wall, Javert reaches the alley with his little army.

Summary

Locks picked: 1.

Javert henchmen: 2 - 10, depending on whether you count the soldiers.

Descriptions of JVJ's sexy muscles: 1.

Note: Obviously my "I'm going to blog daily!" thing took a nosedive very quickly. I had this entry mostly written but set aside for a long time -- there was camping, the the holidays ....

At any rate, here's to a better record in the new year!

#les mis #les miserables #the brick #reading #books #literature #french literature #reading les miserables #javert #valjean #jvj #valvert #cosette #mine

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keywestlou · 4 years

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KING TODAY, GOD TOMORROW

Trump has been elevated once again. By his own sheer power. If he believes something, it is.

He began as an ordinary person. Not really. The son of a millionaire. Got financed by his father to get started. He turned into a personality. Then President. Now a self-anointed king. Tomorrow, God.

Wow!

He is lucky he made it to President. He has to be stopped before actually becoming King. His words yesterday were loud and clear: “Authority of the President is total.”

In his mind only. No way legally. Many of the governors will stand up to him. And win!

It amazes me. Trump kept throwing responsibility for the handling of the crisis to the States. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel (from his perspective), he wants to move to the one thing important to him. The economy. Helping big business.

It is his road to winning the election.

I worry there may not be an election in November. Or, assuming Trump loses, he refuses to give up the Presidency on some sort of lame excuse like the election was rigged.

He will not go easy!

He wants to be Putin.

His present position re his power as President borders on madness. He is in the throes of usurping power. He is trying to take for his that which is not his.

Cuomo and the other governors mount your white chargers. Take him down!

Trump’s rush to federalism (as he sees it) is a charade. An absurd pretense.

Many years I have sat in the Chart Room. I write this blog which frequently mentions the Chart Room. Over the years, people started visiting the Chart Room looking to meet Key West Lou.

It has been 15 yeas that I have been a fixture at the Chart Room. The number of people I meet, say hello to, chat with, hug, etc., I cannot estimate. Which also means I cannot recall all of them. Impossible.

I’m only human.

My good friend Theos chastised me yesterday for mentioning I had never met Pasta Pantaleo from Islamorada. Pasta is Theos good friend also.

After hearing from Theos again, I recalled Pasta. He came in about a year ago. A stocky guy. Bright faced. Hair and beard white. I especially liked his beard.

He came in as I was leaving. We did not spend that much time together. Probably why I did not initially recall him. In any event, Theos I am sorry! And if Pasta is aware, I apologize to him too.

I can’t win!

Whatever, I still love you Theos!

Theos mentioned that Pasta refers to me as Mango Man. I could not figure it out at first. Got it now. All alone. Did not need Theos to explain.

Jimmy Buffett wrote Last Mango in Paris. The mango in the song was Captain Tony. Key West’s man of everything. Captain Tony did it all. All over the world.

Certain portions of Buffet’s great tune: “I went down to Captain Tony’s / To get out of the heat / I heard a voice call out to me / ‘Son come here have a seat’….. / But a legend never dies / He said I ate the last mango in Paris / I took the last plane out of Saigon / Took the first fast boat to China…..”

Anna has written several times since I blogged that I thought she might be dead. When the virus hit Italy, I became concerned for her. She is alive and well. E-mails me with some frequency now.

She wrote to me mentioning Easter Monday. Turns out some countries celebrate the day after Easter also as part of the Easter celebration. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know and could not figure out why.

The Italians eat a special food on Easter Monday. Sort of like the Easter Sunday ham in the U.S. It is a cake. The Pasqudalina cake. A combination of eggs, spinach, parmesan cheese, soft cheese, and any vegetables the cook wants to throw in. Baked in the oven. A “must” to eat Easter Monday in Italy.

Italy has another custom we do not celebrate in the U.S. Learned from Anna also.

The Feast of the Epiphany is January 6. Italian tradition says the folk lady Befana comes to visit the children the night before. She looks like a witch. Only has a few teeth. A good lady however.

Our Christmas mixes with the story of Bifana. She brings candy and cookies and puts them in children’s stockings the night before Epiphany. However, and this is a big however, if a child was bad the child received coal.

My parents put coal in my stocking one Christmas. I have been searching my mind as to what bad thing I did before Christmas to deserve coal. I think I smoked.

I had intended to write an anti-Trump blog this morning. I got side tracked somehow. I will stay with the “softer” topics.

Work on Cow Key Bridge begins this week. A great time to begin! Little traffic. Going to be a nightmare when we are all out of our homes and driving around.

Thus far Key West has experienced 28 confirmed coronavirus cases. All residents. No deaths yet. Hope it remains that way.

Key West father to many eccentric stories. The most way out one the eccentric romance of Count Carl von Cosel aka Carl Tangler.

The Count was in love with a much younger lady. She unfortunately died at 29 from tuberculosis. Her name Elena Hoyos Mesa. A beauty.

The Count obtained her family’s permission to have Elena placed to rest in a mausoleum in the Key West Cemetery. He payed to have it erected.

I saw a picture of the mausoleum this morning in KONK E-Blast. Huge! Magnificent!

Elena was left quiet in the mausoleum for 2 years. Then the Count stole her body. Took her to his home. Did a number of things to her body to maintain it and kept her for 7 years. He slept with her, danced with her, etc.

Elena’s family discovered what had occurred. The Count was arrested. Charges against him were ultimately dropped. All barred by the statute of limitations.

Elena was buried in a secret place so the Count would not try to do it again.

On this day in 1940, the Count left Key West for Zephyrhillis. A couple of hours after he left Key West, the mausoleum was destroyed by a “violent explosion.”

May Johnson has apparently recovered. On this day in 1896, she wrote she made some sandwiches and spent the day at La Brisas.

La Brisas had to be a big money maker. From pictures of the place and stories I have read, it seems like everyone went there to have fun. A huge open air pavilion on the ocean.

Today, a sad day in history for 2 reasons.

Abraham Lincoln was shot at the Ford Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. The President died the next day.

On this day in 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg. The Titanic sunk in 2 hours 40 minutes later with 1,514 lives lost.

Tonight, Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Guaranteed a wild and informative half hour. Probably all Trump. Oh, the stories that will be told! Some you are aware of, others not. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Enjoy your day!

KING TODAY, GOD TOMORROW was originally published on Key West Lou

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: The Exceptional Life and Political Art of Violet Oakley

Violet Oakley, “Self-Portrait” (1919), oil on canvas, mounted on panel, unframed: 30 x 25 inches, ANA diploma presentation, January 20, 1920, National Academy Museum, New York (photo by Glenn Castellano)

In glowing, jewel-toned paintings, murals, and stained-glass, Violet Oakley (1874-1961) told stories about the healing powers of faith and the social benefits of civic engagement — allegories that made tangible the restorative powers of art.

Even for the era that formed her as an artist and a woman, artistically she was a throwback, the American counterpart of a British Pre-Raphaelite, if with a suppler style. In terms of her social arrangements, however, she was decidedly a New Woman.

As A Grand Vision: Violet Oakley and the American Renaissance at the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia demonstrates, Oakley’s life was as luminous as her art. For while her style may be throwback, its content, the embodiment of Quaker principles of religious, racial and gender equality — not to mention antiwar sentiments — remains pertinent today. The exhibition runs through January 21, 2018.

Violet Oakley was 22 in 1896 when she enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia to study with Cecilia Beaux, the society portraitist and the only female on the faculty. It’s possible that the aspiring painter had heard about the commencement address that scholar Eliot Norton, the nation’s most eminent professor of art, delivered at Bryn Mawr College nearby. Something to the effect of counseling female artists to put aside their own ambitions and follow the calling to which they were most ideally suited, supporting male artists.

Quietly but emphatically proving Eliot wrong, Oakley went on to become one of the most celebrated muralists in America. At first she was the hub of a circle of women who supported each other’s work. Not long after, she set up household with her life partner, Edith Emerson (a former student), with whom Oakley lived openly for more than 40 years.

Between 1897 and 1900 Oakley studied with Howard Pyle at the Drexel Institute, gained initial fame as a book and magazine illustrator, completed a mural and stained-glass program at New York’s All Souls Church, and embarked on an ambitious mural cycle in the Pennsylvania state capital of Harrisburg. She also worked with architects to design murals for sacred and domestic interiors, as well as for such colleges as Bryn Mawr, Sarah Lawrence and Vassar. Her mastery of many media made her something of a Renaissance woman. Her significance to the late 19th– and early 20th-century art and architecture movement known as the American Renaissance literally made her one.

The Woodmere retrospective marks the first time since 1979 that this underknown artist has been the subject of a major exhibition. Though she made easel paintings, portraits mostly, Oakley’s site-specific works naturally do not lend themselves to a museum exhibition. To complement the photo reproductions of the Harrisburg murals, Woodmere has industriously rounded up much extant — and portable — work (like the detachable painted decorations for a private home that were taken off its walls when the property was sold) in a manner that feels less like a retrospective than a family reunion.

I hear you asking: If this dame is such a big deal, why haven’t I heard of her? Possible reasons: 1) because she was a woman; 2) because she wasn’t a gallery artist or a society portraitist 3) because most of her commissions were in Philadelphia and Harrisburg; 4) because after World War II her political themes and illustrative work looked passé. Yet in the ‘oughts and ‘teens of the 20th century, her commissions earned more coverage in The New York Times than, say, the work of Mary Cassatt, reckons Patricia Likos Ricci, the art historian who helped organize both the 1979 and current retrospectives.

Violet Oakley in Front of Her “Unity” Mural in the Senate Chamber at the Pennsylvania State Capitol (c. 1905), Violet Oakley papers, 1841–1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution (photographer unknown)

Like many female painters coming of age before the middle of the 20th-century, Oakley was born into a family of artists. She represented its third generation. Both grandfathers were members of the National Academy of Design. Her mother, Cornelia, studied with William Morris Hunt, father of the American Renaissance. As a teenager, Oakley studied painting in France and at the Art Students’ League in New York. Her father, a successful investment banker, supported her cultural pursuits. She was asthmatic, believed too frail to attend college.

Then came the Panic of 1893, depleting both the family finances and her father’s mental capacities. By 1896 her mother had sold the family home, moving Violet and her father to Philadelphia where the women lived in a boarding house while Mr. Oakley sought treatment from Silas Weir Mitchell, the neurologist and inventor of the rest cure. The cure didn’t take, and her father died soon after. But Oakley took to Philadelphia. She withdrew from the Academy of Fine Art to study illustration with Pyle at Drexel in the belief that magazine work would support her and her mother. Though the door to society portraiture had closed because Oakley’s family no longer had access to the upper class, the door to magazine and book illustration had opened.

Oakley’s fall from privilege easily could have turned her into a helpless figure like Lily Bart, the protagonist of Edith Wharton’s contemporaneous The House of Mirth. Like Lily, the flower-named Violet had enjoyed a life of plenty and now was living in reduced circumstances. Rather than husband-hunt like Lily, who was bred to be ornamental, Oakley devoted herself to art. By the time her father died, she had left the Anglican Church to study with a Christian Science practitioner. The process bolstered both her health and resolve.

At Drexel, where Pyle’s earlier students included Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth, Oakley was one among a number of gifted women, among them Jessie Willcox Smith and Elizabeth Shippen Green. With Pyle’s imprimatur, Oakley and her sister artists enjoyed successful careers as illustrators. Among the magazines for which Oakley worked were Collier’s, McClure’s and Woman’s Home Companion. Her treatment of medieval and religious themes in these images impressed Caryl Coleman of the Church Glass and Decorating company in New York, and in 1899 he invited her to apprentice there. Her work on a window representing the Epiphany won her the commission as principal designer for the chancel — murals, mosaic and stained glass — at All Angels Church at 251 West 80th Street in New York. The commission transformed both her personal and professional life. At last she had the skills for heroically scaled art, as well as the means to move from boarding house to estate house, .

Inspired by artist William Morris to form artistic communes, Oakley, Smith, and Green — plus Oakley’s mother, Green’s parents, and Green’s friend, Henrietta Cozens, in 1902 rented an 18th-century estate, the Red Rose Inn, in suburban Villanova. Pyle dubbed his students “The Red Rose Girls.” The artists worked while Cozens took care of the house and the garden. When the estate was sold in 1906, they relocated to a renovated farm and barn in the leafy Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. They named it Cogslea, an acronym for Cozens, Oakley, Green and Smith. The commune stayed together until Green wed in 1911.

Senate Chamber, Pennsylvania State Capitol (photo by Darryl Moran)

When Joseph Huston, architect of the Pennsylvania State House in Harrisburg, saw the pops of brilliant ruby-red drapery on the white robes of the army of angels in “The Heavenly Host” (1901) at All Angels, he recognized an exciting storyteller and daring colorist. (It didn’t hurt that the New York Herald Tribune praised Oakley’s sacred murals as an “artistic triumph.”)

Her imagery was what Huston was looking for in the State House decorations. He promptly commissioned a mural from her, a panoramic frieze (six feet high and 134 feet wide) for the Governor’s Reception Room, to illustrate the “The Founding of the State.” Oakley went abroad for a year to study frescoes in Italy and the life of William Penn in England in order to tell the story of how the religious intolerance he experienced led him to the New World. Pennsylvania’s pre-history. In the New York Globe, the Philadelphia press, and in the State House itself, Oakley was acclaimed for her “splendid” history paintings. In All Souls and her first Harrisburg commission, Oakley found her artistic calling: The exaltation of religious and political principle. She called it her “sacred challenge,” and contributed murals and stained-glass for many more churches.

She also decorated private homes. While her murals for the Charlton Yarnall house in Philadelphia were secular, they have a quasi-religious feel. In these works, figures gaze heavenwards, as if converted to the religions of music and science, succumbing to their ecstasy and erotics.

When the chief muralist of the Harrisburg State House died in 1911, Oakley received his commissions for the mural cycles in the Pennsylvania Senate chamber and Supreme Court. She couldn’t yet vote (this was 9 years before the adoption of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women’s suffrage), but she sure could paint. She was awarded $100,000 ($2.5 million in 2017 dollars) for her work, which took 16 years to complete.

For the Senate chamber murals, “The Creation and Preservation of the Union” (1911–20), Oakley continued the narrative she had begun in “The Founding of the State,” illustrating how the Quaker principles, particularly those of racial equality and nonviolence, played out in the founding and defense of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. One remarkable panel, “The Slave Ship Ransomed,” represents the story of a Quaker who purchased a ship of enslaved Africans in order to free them in Nova Scotia where slavery was illegal. Treating the Senate chamber as a sacred space, she placed the mural, “Unity,” directly above the rostrum. To the right of the personification of Unity, armies beat swords into ploughshares; to her left, she welcomes African Americans and immigrants into the New Jerusalem.

Unity, from the mural series “The Creation and Preservation of the Union” (1911–20), Senate Chamber, Pennsylvania State Capitol (photo by Darryl Moran)

As it revived the ideals and practices of the Italian Renaissance, Oakley’s art united the fine and the decorative arts. Perhaps more importantly, her imagery united all Americans. If taken in terms of scope, sweep, and political idealism, Oakley’s 43 Harrisburg murals compare favorably to those of her contemporary, Diego Rivera.

While Oakley was executing the Senate Chamber murals, World War I broke out. Her preoccupations — and imagery — turned from nationalist to internationalist. Inspired by the League of Nations and the concept of international law, she conceived her last Harrisburg mural cycle — for the Supreme Court chambers (1912-1927) — as a musical analogy, an octave that begins and ends with the same note. To a non-musician, the murals, with their combinations of images and letters, resemble illuminated-manuscript pages. One, “Divine Law,” looks like a large-scale Marsden Hartley painting. Another, “International Law,” represents the figure of Christ negotiating world disarmament.

In 1927, after she installed this last mural cycle in Harrisburg, she travelled to Geneva with partner Edith Emerson to paint portraits of those involved with League of Nation endeavors. As she got older, the sphere of Oakley’s interests grew progressively larger. In 1945 she painted a mural cycle, “Women of the Bible,” at the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Pennsylvania, not far from Cogslea. In 1946, she was commissioned by the Philadelphia Bulletin to do a portrait series of delegates to the newly formed United Nations.

The Senate Chamber panels in Violet Oakley’s studio, 1926

Undeterred by health or reversals of fortune, Oakley was a painter, a feminist, a Christian Scientist and citizen of the world.

Can you hear me thinking? Given her life, her public work, and her domestic and sacred spaces, why is Oakley lesser known in the United States than Diego Rivera? You tell me.

A Grand Vision: Violet Oakley and the American Renaissance at the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia (9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) through January 21, 2018.

The post The Exceptional Life and Political Art of Violet Oakley appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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italianartsociety · 7 years

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By Costanza Beltrami

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”… and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts: gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:1-11)

The 6th of January, known in Italian as the Epifania (Epiphany) is an important religious festivity for the Catholic Church. It celebrates the manifestation (in Ancient Greek, ἐπιφάνεια, epifàneia), of Jesus’s divinity to the Gentiles, as represented by the presents given by the Magi to the new-born baby. Literally, the Magi were the Zoroastrian priests of ancient Persia. Inspired by apocryphal sources, Christian art generally represents them as three Kings dressed in rich and sometimes exotic robes: Caspar from India, Melchior from Persia, and Balthazar from Arabia. Caspar is often represented as young and beardless, Melchior as elderly, and Balthazar as black.

The Adoration of the Magi was one of the most common subjects in Italian religious art, especially in the Medieval and Renaissance periods. For example, in the 3rd century an Adoration scene was painted on the walls of the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter in Rome. Realized before the scene’s iconography became fixed, it features only to Magi. The Biblical event was later represented by artists such as Giotto, Gentile da Fabriano and Leonardo.

Despite the religious importance and artistic fortune of the Adoration of the Magi, the 6th of January is more commonly celebrated as the day of the Befana, traditionally an old lady or witch who brings small gifts to well-behaved children, and lumps of coal (or rather, black-colored sugar candy) to the unruly ones.

Adoration of the Magi, 3rd century AD, fresco, Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter, Rome.

Nicola Pisano, Adoration of the Magi, 1260, marble, 85 x 113 cm, Baptistry, Pisa. Photo: Web Gallery of Art.

Giotto di Bondone, Scenes from the Life of Christ: Adoration of the Magi, 1304-06, fresco, 200 x 185 cm, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua. Photo: Web Gallery of Art.

Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, 1423, tempera on wood, 300 x 282 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Photo: Web Gallery of Art.

Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi, Adoration of the Magi, The Adoration of the Magi, 1440/1460, tempera on poplar panel, 137.3 cm, Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, inv. no. 1952.2.2. Photo: National Gallery of Art.

Leonardo da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi, 1481-82, oil on panel, 246 x 243 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Photo: Web Gallery of Art.

Andrea Mantegna, Adoration of the Magi, 1495-1505, distemper on canvas, 55 x 71 cm, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. inv. no. 85.PA.417. Photo: The J. Paul Getty Museum.

Andrea Della Robbia, Adoration of the Magi, early 16th century, enamelled terracotta, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, inv. no. 4412-1857. Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum.

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Adoration of the Magi, 1753, oil on canvas, 408 x 210 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Photo: Web Gallery of Art.

Gaetano Previati, Adoration of the Magi, 1896, oil on canvas, 98 x 198 cm, PInacoteca di Brera, Milan, inv. no. Reg. Cron. 2284. Photo: Pinacoteca di Brera.

#epiphany #befana #epifania #italy #relgion #italia #Catholic Church #Christianity #feast #holiday #art #history #art history #adoration of the magi #magi #italian art

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todayclassical · 7 years

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January 20 in Music History

1586 Birth of German composer Johann Hermann Schein near Annaberg.

1649 FP of Cesti's opera Orontea in Venice.

1681 Birth of Italian composer Francesco Bartolomeo Conti in Florence.

1703 Birth of Belgian composer organist and harpsichordist Joseph-Hector Fiocco in Brussels.

1726 FP of Bach's Sacred Cantata No. 13 eine Seufzer, meine Tränen on the second Sunday following Epiphany. Was part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725-27).

1743 Birth of composer Pascal Boyer.

1761 Birth of composer Giovanni Domenico Perotti.

1762 Birth of Belgian-French composer Jerome-Joseph de Momigny.

1798 Death of German composer Johann Christian Cannabich in Frankfurt.

1809 Birth of Spanish composer Sebastian de Iradier in Sauciego.

1821 Birth of English composer, pianist Clara Angela Macirone in London.

1833 Death of soprano Gertrud Mara.

1844 Birth of Norwegian conductor and composer Johan Peter Selmer in Christiania.

1855 Birth of French composer Amedee-Ernest Chausson in Paris.

1856 FP of J. Brahms' Two Sarabandes, in a & b; Gavotte in A, arrangement of Gluck's Paris ed Elena, for piano, in Vienna.

1870 Birth of Belgian composer Guillaume Jean Joseph Nicolas Lekeu.

1876 Birth of Polish pianist and composer Josef Hofmann.

1877 Birth of bass Emil Pollert in Liblice.

1880 FP of J. Brahms' Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, for piano, in Krefeld.

1882 Birth of soprano Evgeniya Bronskaya in St Petersburg.

1890 Death of German composer Franz Lachner in Munich.

1891 Birth of Ukrainian-American violinist Mischa Elman in Talnoye, Ukraine.

1892 FP of Catalani's opera La Wally in Milan.

1894 Birth of American composer Walter Hamor Piston in Rockland, Maine.

1895 Birth of American composer Eva Jessye in Coffeyville, Kansas.

1896 Birth of Finnish musicologist Elmer R. Diktonius.

1899 Birth of Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin.

1900 Birth of Russian composer Boris Semyonovich Shekhter in Odessa.

1904 Birth of bass-baritone Norman Cordon in Washington.

1907 Birth of bass-baritone William Parsons in Bristol.

1908 Birth of American composer Wilfred Conwell Bain in Shawville, Quebec.

1909 Death of soprano Zulma Bouffar.

1910 Birth of Italian composer Ennio Porrino in Sardinia.

1919 Birth of British conductor Royalton Kisch.

1919 Birth of Czech composer Stepan Lucky in Zilina.

1924 Birth of French pianist Yvonne Loriod in Houilles, France.

1926 Birth of American pianist and experimental music composer David Tudor in Philadelphia, PA.

1928 Birth of Portugese-American conductor and musicologist Antonio de Almeida in Neuilly, Paris.

1935 Birth of tenor Ugo Benelli in Genoa.

1939 FP of C. Ives' Piano Sonata No. 2 composed in Concord, MA. 1840-1860. Performed by pianist John Kirkpatrick, in NYC.

1940 Birth of Portugese pianist and composer Jorge Peixinho, aka Manuel Rosada Marques, in Montijo.

1941 FP of B. Bartók's String Quartet No. 6, by the Kolisch Quartet, in NYC.

1944 FP of Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis on a Theme of Carl Maria Von Weber. New York Philharmonic, Artur Rodzinski conducting.

1945 Death of baritone Armando Borgioli.

1948 Birth of American composer Woody Norvell in Norfolk, VA.

1951 Birth of Hungarian conductor Ivan Fischer brother of conductor Adam.

1952 Death of American composer Arthur Farwell, at age 79, in NYC.

1956 Death of soprano Lucy Marsh.

1958 Death of tenor Nikolai Bolshakov.

1960 Death of bass Constantin Joukowitsch.

1961 Bernstein's "Fanfare for JFK," written for the new President, premieres at the inaugural gala with the composer conducting. Pianist Earl Wild, currently a Columbus resident, performs Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

1961 FP of F. Poulenc's Gloria in Boston, MA.

1970 Birth of Bulgarian composer, pianist and organist Sabin Levi in Sophia.

1975 Birth of American composer Kati Agocs.

1979 FP of G. Rochberg's String Quartets Nos. 4-6 of The Concord Quartets, by the Concord Quartet at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, PA.

1987 Death of tenor Luigi Pontiggia.

1993 Death of baritone Marko Rothmuller.

2000 Death of mezzo-soprano Ira Petina.

2001 Death of singing coach Beverley Johnson.

2014 Death of Italian conductor Claudio Abbado in Milan.

#classicalmusic #musichistory #todayclassical #today in music history #onthisday

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dailybiblelessons · 6 years

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Friday: Preparation for the Fifth Sunday in Epiphany

Hebrew Scripture (Writings): Job 36:1-23

Elihu continued and said: “Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. I will bring my knowledge from far away, and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

“Surely God is mighty and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right. He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted. And if they are bound in fetters and caught in the cords of affliction, then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. He opens their ears to instruction, and commands that they return from iniquity. If they listen, and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness. But if they do not listen, they shall perish by the sword, and die without knowledge.

“The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them. They die in their youth, and their life ends in shame. He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, and opens their ear by adversity. He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no constraint, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

“But you are obsessed with the case of the wicked; judgment and justice seize you. Beware that wrath does not entice you into scoffing, and do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside. Will your cry avail to keep you from distress, or will all the force of your strength? Do not long for the night, when peoples are cut off in their place. Beware! Do not turn to iniquity; because of that you have been tried by affliction. See, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him? Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’”?

Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre. He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Praise the Lord!

New Testament Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 9:1-16

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?

Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law also say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.¹” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that—no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!

¹Deuteronomy 25:4

Year B Epiphany 5 Friday

Bible verses from The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All right reserved. Selections from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Image credit: Elihu Counsels Job. Illustration from The Art Bible, Comprising the Old and New Testaments (1896), via Wikimedia Commons. This is a public domain image. The image was modified by Michael Gilbertson to delete text.

#B Epiphany 5 Friday #apostle #Deuteronomy 25:4 #get living by the gospel #obstacle #proclaim the gospel #rights #adversity #affliction #Elihu #God's instruction #God's power

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amazingstories · 6 years

Text

Hardcover: 240 pages

Publisher: IDW Publishing; Illustrated edition (October 24, 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 168405091X

ISBN-13: 978-1684050918

Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 1 x 11.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds

Hardcover: $31.44

I suspect that I am very much like many other fans of the SF genre in finding genre art to be as fascinating and worthy of attention as its literature. Were this not so, little space and time would be given to the Art Show at conventions and our publications would lower their prices by foregoing cover illustrations (as some are wont to do owing to fiscal restrictions).

Visual appeal certainly seems to be responsible for capturing many a fan (and many a fan-turned-pro) if their statements are anything to go buy: Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury, Moore and others have all stated that they were originally attracted to the genre by magazine covers depicting other-worldly visions – giant ants, exploding spaceships, robots and planetary vistas.

My own story is similar, being captivated by the John Berkey illustration for Heinlein’s Starman Jones (depicting the crew working their astrogator’s stations aboard a spaceship): I’d never seen the inside of a starship before…what were they so intent on? What do those instruments do? What might one see through that viewer? Where were they…and where were they going?

Over the years I have accumulated a fair collection of SF related “coffee table” books of artwork…and I’ve been mesmerized and fascinated by each and every one of them:

And now a new one to add to my collection, the absolutely stunning THE ART OF THE PULPS An Illustrated History edited by Doug Ellis, Ed Hulse and Robert Weinberg.

I’d love to share some of the interior layouts and cover art selected for this volume, but my attempts to scan without creasing a page would not do the book justice. I will attempt to convey with words, however inadequate that may be.

Unlike most of my art book holdings, The Art of the Pulps focuses on the entire pulp magazine field, from sports to westerns and from science fiction to true love stories, not missing detective, war, aerial adventures, horror, hero, or titillation along the way. One glance will tell you that walking past an old-style newsstand during pulp’s heyday must have been like walking through an everyman’s art gallery.

Designed to attract, intrigue, scandalize and spur impulse buys, the covers of the pulps, regardless of genre, were eye popping, vibrant and action-filled.

Art of the Pulps begins with a comprehensive introduction by author F. Paul Wilson, who relates his own exposure to the pulps at 13 (stories from Weird Takes in a Wollheim anthology) and an encounter with one of the great collectors and re-sellers, Gerry de la Ree (a man who I purchased some of my own collection from). I know well the feeling when Mr. Wilson states “My first view of these covers was an electrifying epiphany. Love at first sight. They spoke to me.”

Mr. Wilson then goes on to try and explain the allure of these sometimes lurid images:

The art you’ll see here, the cover paintings and interior illustrations of the pulp magazines, relied heavily on “inward dreamings”. The science fiction pulps, for instance, depicted fantastic technologies, bizarre spaceships…and the like that never were, and most likely never will be. They showed us the future, not the way it might look, but the way we wished it would look – chock full of bright colors and cool gadgets.

Wish fulfillment realized on the cover of a dime magazine.

Wilson then conducts a short course, based on his years collecting the pulps, in how to go about viewing this unique art form: there are illustrative tropes as well as literary ones and here is the list of things to keep an eye out for:

An intervening hero: a secret passage/trapdoor: a crooked politician: an ethnic mobster: yellow peril: a damsel in distress: some sort of bondage: skull/skeleton: a madman/mad scientist: your choice of blood, lucre or weapons: partial or complete nudity (shielded by strategically placed objects.

The introduction concludes with a brief survey of other things to look for among the various pulp genres, the sports, romance and other rags.

It’s a fine introduction that whets the appetite for what is to follow.

Douglas Ellis (who – full disclosure – requested my review copy from the publisher) regales us with a history of the pulps. I’ll leave Doug’s history for the reader who picks this book up, except to quote the quote he opens his history with, as it more than amply encapsulates the entire experience:

What were the pulps? Cheaply printed, luridly illustrated, sensationally written magazines of fiction…Were they any good? No. They were great. Charles Beaumont.

other than to say that he accurately relates the history of this medium, taking us back to 1896 and Munsey’s The Argosy, which was quickly followed by The Popular Magazine and The All Story Magazine, three ventures that set the stage for the all-fiction pulp magazine, that eventually gave birth to the specialist pulps, a foreshadowing of the sub-genre fiction markets we see today.

There then follow a number of chapters devoted to each of the various genres – adventure pulps, detective pulps, western pulps, the war and aerial warfare pulps, (remember, these were published when biplanes were still a common sight), the sports pulps, the romance and true love pulps, horror and weird pulps, science fiction and fantasy pulps, the hero pulps, the racy pulps, each detailing important titles and important artists. These are then followed by chapters devoted to specific artists and specific authors.

(Side note: Mike Ashley, history king of the SF magazine field, is tapped to cover the science fiction pulps and I was very pleased to read the following, where Mike notes that Frank R. Paul’s sometimes over-the-top fantastic visions of the future were harming the perception of the new genre:

…also harmed the image of science fiction, which was aggravated further when pulp publisher William Clayton launched a rival title, Astounding Stories of Super Science, from January 1930. Whereas Gernsback had hoped the stories would encourage readers to explore science and technology, Clayton wanted pure explosive adventure. What’s more, Astounding was a genuine pulp, whereas Gernsback’s magazines had been the full flat size, often called “bedsheet”.)

I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the fact that I spent much of my time paging through The Art of the Pulps on the science fiction section. But it doesn’t matter which pulp genre appeals to you personally, you will find yourself equally fascinated by all of them.

If you already have a collection of pulp art books, The Art of the Pulps will undoubtedly fill some holes with its comprehensive coverage. If you don’t own any pulp art books, The Art of the Pulps is the one to start with. Just for a moment, pretend you are 10, or 11, or 13 again, meeting legendary pulp collector Gerry de la Ree for the first time and he has just opened the door to reveal your own electrifying ephiphany.

FURTHER READING: Phil Stephenson-Payne maintains a visual inventory of the pulps at GalacticCentral. You can get some small idea of the breadth and depth of the pulp field author’s Ellis,, Hulse and Weinberg had to review for The Art of the Pulps by taking a look. You’ll want to reserve several hours.

The Art of the Pulps: Review Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: IDW Publishing; Illustrated edition (October 24, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 168405091X ISBN-13:

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londontheatre · 7 years

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FIVE PLAYS TO BE STAGED THIS SUMMER IN AN ‘EAST END SEASON’ AT THE ARCOLA THEATRE, THE YARD THEATRE AND WILTON’S MUSIC HALL

AT THE YARD THEATRE FROM 8-26 AUGUST: MOHSIN HAMID’S MAN BOOKER SHORTLISTED THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST ADAPTED FOR THE STAGE JESSICA SWALE’S BLUE STOCKINGS ABOUT THE PIONEERS OF FEMALE EDUCATION IN THE UK, DIRECTED BY ALICE KNIGHT THE HOST, A NEW PLAY FOLLOWING A SYRIAN REFUGEE IN SOUTH EAST LONDON, BY NESSAH MUTHY, DIRECTED BY ZOE LAFFERTY

IN A DIGITAL RESPONSE TO THE HOST, A 360 VIDEO FEATURING REAL ACCOUNTS OF REFUGEE STORIES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE YARD

A RESTAGING OF THE DEFINITIVE PLAY ON FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM, ZIGGER ZAGGER, FOR ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY AT WILTON’S MUSIC HALL FROM 6 – 9 SEPTEMBER

The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) this month launches their first ever East End season which will run throughout the summer, with 97 of Britain’s best young actors from all over the UK performing in five productions at three venues across East London. NYT’s social inclusion course, ‘Playing Up’ will run at the Arcola Theatre from 20 – 22 July, with Three, a new play by Sophie Ellerby. Following the sell-out success of their season of new writing at the Finborough Theatre last year, the organisation will present a politically charged programme of three plays at The Yard Theatre from 8 – 26 August, exploring the themes of cultural prejudice, women’s suffrage and the European refugee crisis. A 360 video will also be available at The Yard Theatre, which will feature real accounts of refugees in the UK and their stories. The East End season will culminate in a celebration of 50 years of NYT commissioning new writing for young people, with a restaging of their first commission Zigger Zagger at Wilton’s Music Hall from 6 – 9 September.

[See image gallery at http://ift.tt/1FpwFUw] For the first time three plays will be staged at The Yard Theatre, which has recently been announced as a new Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), with two new productions, including one new play, plus the return of one of the successes from the Finborough season.

The stage adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel and Hollywood blockbuster film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist will return from 8 – 12 August, having received its world premiere in NYT’s season of new writing at the Finborough Theatre in 2016. The production looks at the ironies of prejudice and representation in a post 9/11 New York. It follows Pakistani native Changez’s disenchantment with the West and his journey back to Lahore. The production was adapted for stage by Stephanie Street (Sisters and founder member of The Act for Change Project) and will be directed by Prasanna Puwanarajah (Moth and Nightwatchman).

Following its world premiere at the Globe Theatre in 2013, NYT present the first play by Olivier Award-winning playwright Jessica Swale (Nell Gwynn) for which she was nominated for the Evening Standard’s Most Promising Playwright Award. Blue Stockings follows the battle at Girton College, Cambridge in 1896 to earn women the right to graduate. Challenging gendered views about women’s moral judgement and suitability to academia, the play has heavy parallels with the fight for female suffrage. The brand new production will run from 15 – 19 August and will be directed by Alice Knight, recipient of the 2014 Bryan Forbes Director Bursary Fund.

NYT will also stage its most recent commission, The Host by Nessah Muthy (recently listed by BBC as a one-to-watch), directed by Zoe Lafferty (Queens of Syria), which will run from 22 – 26 August. Commissioned in response to Brexit and the European refugee crisis, The Host is set on a South East London council estate and tells the story of Rabea, a Syrian refugee as he forges new relationships with the family who have taken him in, all the while battling the memories of his journey to England.

In a digital response to The Host, a 360 video will be available at The Yard Theatre featuring real accounts of refugees living in the UK. Furthering the themes raised in the play, the film will explore the responses and opinions of refugees based on their real life experiences, discovering their point of view around the society and country which they now find themselves in. The video has been specially commissioned for NYT and is being created by NYT alumni Ben Carlin and Sean Hollands (2016 Bryan Forbes Director), founders of Epiphany VR.

In the year that NYT marks 50 years of commissioning new work for young people, the East End season will culminate in a performance of their first commission in 1967, Peter Terson’s Zigger Zagger. The widely studied play is considered one of the definitive plays on football hooliganism and will receive a special anniversary production at Wilton’s Music Hall from 6 – 9 September. The production is set to have a cast of 50 under the direction of Juliet Knight (White Boy). An irreverent tale of tribalism, the play follows the story of Harry Philton, a passionate fan of the local football team, who struggles between the life of sex, violence and drink which football offers and, a stable future. Former alumni who performed in Zigger Zigger as NYT members include Tim McInnerny, Alex Jennings, Robert Glenister, Paula Wilcox and Clive Mantle.

In a new commission by Sophie Ellerby (HighTide First Commissions Writer and NYT REP Company 2013), participants of social inclusion course ‘Playing Up’ will star in Three at the Arcola Theatre from 20 – 22 July. Ellerby’s urban and domestic drama, directed by NYT Associate Director Anna Niland (Pigeon), follows three sisters who fight to keep track of reality as their world is turned upside down following their father’s release from prison. ‘Playing Up’, now in its eighth year, is a course for 19 – 24 year olds not in full time education, employment or training, creating productions and commissioning new work. It has an 85% success rate of moving young people into higher education, further training or employment, with recent alumni including Seraphina Beh, who after joining NYT’s 2016 REP Company was spotted for a role in EastEnders, which she recently starred in as Madison Drake, Gavi Singh Chera who’s currently appearing in Headlong Theatre’s Pygmalion and Ria Zmitrowicz recently seen in BBC drama Three Girls.

Following the East End season, autumn will see the REP company return to the Ambassadors Theatre for a fifth year from 26 September to 8 December with a brand new female-led adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Jekyll and Hyde exploring women’s roles and rights in Victorian society. The production has been adapted by Evan Placey who wrote their 2015 hit Consensual and is directed by Roy Alexander Weise (JMK 2016 Winner), whose recent directing credits include the Young Vic’s acclaimed production The Mountaintop and The Ugly One at the Park Theatre. The second REP show, which marks an exciting new collaboration, will see NYT present Frantic Assembly’s award-winning modern-day Othello, adapted by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly. Under the direction of Frantic’s Associate Director Simon Pittman, their electrifying take on Shakespeare’s thriller is set in 21st century Britain and is celebrated for its physical and collaborative theatre, bringing the sex, violence and jealousy of the tragedy into the modern day. Also as part of the 2017 REP season Thomas Bailey, this year’s recipient of the Bryan Forbes Bursary will direct Mrs Dalloway in a new, free adaptation by Hal Coase. Tickets are now available for this fast-paced, dynamic staging of Virginia Woolf’s classic tale.

Inspired by the traditional repertory theatre model, the NYT REP was set up by Artistic Director Paul Roseby in 2012 to provide a much needed free alternative to expensive formal training. The course is a unique free talent development initiative allowing the best young talent to work for nine months with leading institutions culminating in three months of performances in the West End.

LISTINGS PLAYING UP Three Arcola Theatre, E8 3DL 20 – 22 July

EAST END SEASON AT THE YARD The Yard Theatre, E9 5EN 8 – 26 August

The Reluctant Fundamentalist Press Performance: 9 August 8 – 12 August Evening performances: 7.30pm 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 August Matinee performances: 3pm 12 August

Blue Stockings Press Performance: 16 August 15 – 19 August Evening performances: 7.30pm 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 August Matinee performances 3pm 19 August

The Host Press Performance: 23 August 22 – 26 August Evening performances 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 August Matinee performances 3pm 26 August

ZIGGER ZAGGER Wilton’s Music Hall, E1 8JB Press performance: 7 September 6-9 September Evening performances 7.30pm 6,7,8,9 September Matinee performances 2.30pm 7,8,9 September

REP SEASON Ambassadors Theatre, WC2H 9ND 26 September – 8 December Press Performances: Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 October

Jekyll and Hyde In a new version by Evan Placey Based on the novella by Robert Louis Stevenson Directed by Roy Alexander Weise Evening performances (7:30pm): 27 Sep, 2,4,11,17,31 Oct, 8,14,22,28 Nov, 6 Dec Matinee performances (2:00pm): 2,4,11,17,27,31 Oct, 3,8,14,17, 22, 28 Nov, 1,6 Dec

National Youth Theatre present Frantic Assembly’s Othello Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Simon Pittman Adapted by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly Evening performances (7:30pm): 26 Sep, 3,10,24 Oct, 1,7,15,21,29 Nov, 5 Dec Matinee performances (2:00pm): 29 Sep, 3,6,10,13,20,24 Oct, 1,7,10,15,21,24,29 Nov, 5,8 Dec

Mrs Dalloway Based on the novel by Virginia Woolf Adapted for stage by Hal Coase Directed by Thomas Bailey Matinee performances only (2.30pm): 27 Sep and 4 Dec

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todayclassical · 7 years

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January 13 in Music History

1683 Birth of German composer Johann Christoph Graupner in Kirchberg.

1690 Birth of German composer Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel in Grünstadtl.

1726 FP of J. S. Bach's Sacred Cantata No. 32 Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangenon the 1st Sunday following Epiphany in Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig 1725-27.

1727 Birth of German composer Johann Christoph Schmugel in Pritzier.

1734 Birth of Croatian composer Luka Sorkocevic in Dubrovnik.

1762 Death of composer Leonhard Trautsch, at 68.

1775 FP of W. A. Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera 'The Feigned Gardener', at the Opernhaus St. Salvator in Munich.

1778 Birth of composer Anton Fischer.

1780 FP of Mozart's "Die verstellte Gärtnerin" singspiel, Augsburg.

1788 Birth of composer Carl Ludwig Cornelius Westenholz.

1795 Death of composer Francois-Joseph Krafft, at 73.

1811 FP of Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, Carl Czerny in Vienna.

1815 Birth of mezzo-soprano Rosine Stoltz in Paris.

1822 Birth of mezzo-soprano Elise Polko in Leipzig.

1824 Birth of Polish cellist and composer Ignacy Marceli Komorowski in Warsaw.

1828 Death of English composer Elizabeth Anspach in Naples, Italy.

1828 Death of French composer Alexandre-Auguste Robineau, at age 80.

1838 Death of German composer Ferdinand Reis, at age 53, in Frankfurt.

1842 Birth of German pianist and composer Heinrich Hoffmann in Berlin.

1850 Birth of Australian composer Leon Francis Victor Caron.

1864 Death of American composer Stephen Collins Foster in NYC.

1870 Birth of Polish composer and conductor Henryk Opienski.

1873 FP of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Maid of Pskov.

1882 German composer Richard Wagner completes his opera Parsifal.

1883 FP of George Chadwick's Thalia Overture. Boston Symphony.

1893 Birth of Czech composer and organist Jan Evangelista Zelinka in Prague.

1893 Death of soprano Melita Otto.

1895 Birth of Spanish opera singer Fortunio Bonanova, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

1895 Birth of Austrian composer Abraham Wolfe Binder.

1896 Birth of tenor Nikolay Pechkovsky in Moscow.

1898 Birth of Italian baritone Carlo Tagliabue in Mariano Comense.

1899 Birth of British-American composer and conductor Laurence Powell.

1900 Birth of composer Yasuji Kiyose.

1901 Death of composer Carlo Angeloni, at 66.

1903 Birth of American tenor Charles Kullman in New Haven Connecticut.

1904 Birth of English composer Richard Addinsell in Oxford.

1904 FP of Bela Bartók's tone-poem Kossuth, with parody of the German national hymn causing outrage, in Budapest.

1906 Birth of composer Maxime Jacob.

1910 First experimental live broadcast of opera. In NYC, from the MET Opera stage, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and part of Pagliacci, with Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn.

1914 Death of Spanish composer Valentin de Zubiaurre y Unionbarrenechea, at age 76, in Madrid.

1917 Birth of Mexican composer Felix Guerrero Diaz.

1917 Death of tenor Albert Niemann.

1923 Birth of Russian cellist Daniel Shifrin.

1931 Birth of tenor Erwin Wohlfahrt in Nurnberg.

1933 Birth of soprano Christiane Sorell in Vienna.

1935 FP of Roy Harris's overture When Johnny Comes Marching Home the final version, by the Minneapolis Symphony and chorus under Eugene Ormandy.

1936 Birth of Italian baritone Renato Bruson near Padua.

1936 Birth of composer Ami Maayani.

1938 Birth of Finnish composer Paavo Heininen in Helsinki.

1938 American debut of pianist Rudolf Firkusny.

1943 Birth of composer William Duckworth.

1944 FP of Igor Stravinsky's Circus Polka for orchestra and Four Norwegian Moods at the Garden Theatre. Boston Symphony conducted by the composer in Cambridge, MA.

1945 Death of baritone Alfred Kase.

1945 FP of Sergei Prokofiev's 5th Symphony.

1951 Birth of English composer Gary Carpenter in Hackney, London.

1954 Birth of English composer Richard Blackford in London.

1954 Death of composer Roland Diggle, at 69.

1961 Birth of English organist, pianist and conductor Wayne Marshall.

1971 Birth of tenor Domonic Natoli.

1971 Death of French composer Henri Tomasi, at age 69, in Paris.

1971 Death of English composer Robert Still, at age 60.

1973 Birth of tenor Juan Diego Flores in Lima,Peru.

1974 Death of Canadian tenor Raoul Jobin in Quebec, age 67.

1976 Death of soprano Lily Pons.

1976 American conductor Sarah Caldwell is 1st woman to conduct at NY's Metropolitan Opera. She led the MET orchestra and singers in a performance of La Traviata.

1980 Birth of England based, Polish conductor and organist Krzysztof Czerwinski.

1980 Death of conductor Andre Kostelanetz, at 78 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

1992 Death of soprano Rachaeli Mori.

1993 Death of Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri in São Paulo.

1994 Death of English musicologist Frederick William Sternfeld, at 79.

2000 FP of Richard Danielpour's Voices of Remembrance for string quartet and orchestra. Guarneri String Quartet and the National Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting in Washington, D.C.

2002 FP of Robert Kapilow's Louisiana Purchase by Louisiana Philharmonic, Baton Rouge, LA.

#classicalmusic #todayclassical #onthisday #todayinmusichistory #musichistory

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