November 16, 2010
Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff (1913 – 2006) was one of the most commercially successful artists of all time – his painting Chinese Girl (popularly known as ‘The Green Lady’) is one of the best selling art prints ever. Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist who painted realistic figures, portraits, still life and animals, with subjects often inspired by his early life in China and Malaysia, and later life in South Africa. Tretchikoff’s work was immensely popular with the general public, but is often seen by art critics as the epitome of kitsch (indeed, he was nicknamed the ‘King of Kitsch’).
He worked in oil, watercolour, ink, charcoal and pencil but is best known for his reproduction prints which sold worldwide in huge numbers. The reproductions were so popular that it was said Tretchikoff was second only to Picasso in his popularity. Tretchikoff once said that the only difference between himself and Vincent Van Gogh was that Van Gogh had starved whereas he had become rich.
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November 16, 2010
Catullus 16 is a poem by Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC). The poem, written in a hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) meter, was considered so explicit that a full English translation was not openly published until the late twentieth century:
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November 16, 2010
Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as ‘Remember your mortality’ or “remember you will die’ – (literally: ‘[in the future] remember to die’). It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely from one another, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality. The phrase has a tradition in art that dates back to antiquity. In ancient Rome, the words are believed to have been used on the occasions when a Roman general was parading through the streets during a victory triumph. Standing behind the victorious general was his slave, who was tasked to remind the general that, though his highness was at his peak today, tomorrow he could fall.
The thought came into its own with Christianity, whose strong emphasis on Divine Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and the salvation of the soul brought death to the forefront of consciousness. Most memento mori works are products of Christian art, although there are equivalents in Buddhist art.
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November 16, 2010
Jeff Koons’s ‘Rabbit‘ began as an inflatable, store-bought, plastic toy. Its transformation started when Koons bought it, blew it up, and had it cast in highly polished stainless steel. It has crinkled ears like an inflatable toy, a spherical head, and bulbous appendages, yet its face is blank. While it appears to be a shiny, lightweight, Mylar balloon, it is actually quite heavy and hard and stands 41 inches tall.
Rabbit’s surface also calls to mind the use of shiny metals in both historical and social contexts. According to Koons, ‘Polished objects have often been displayed by the church and by wealthy people to set a stage of both material security and enlightenment of spiritual nature; the stainless steel is a fake reflection of that stage.’
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November 16, 2010
Principia Discordia is a Discordian religious text written by Greg Hill (Malaclypse The Younger) and Kerry Thornley (Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst). It was originally published under the title ‘Principia Discordia or How The West Was Lost’ in a limited edition of 5 copies in 1965. Discordianism is a religion centered on the idea that chaos is all that there is, and that disorder and order are both illusions that are imposed on chaos. There is some division as to whether it should be regarded as a parody religion, and if so to what degree.
It has been called ‘Zen for roundeyes,’ based on similarities with absurdist interpretations of the Rinzai school of Buddhism. Discordianism recognizes chaos, discord, and dissent as valid and desirable qualities, in contrast with most religions, which idealize harmony and order. While the Principia is full of literal contradictions and unusual humor, it contains several passages which propose that there is serious intent behind the work. Saints identified include Emperor Norton, Yossarian, Don Quixote, and Bokonon.
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November 16, 2010
Fnord is the typographic representation of disinformation or irrelevant information intending to misdirect, with the implication of a worldwide conspiracy. The word was coined as a nonsensical term with religious undertones in the Discordian religious text Principia Discordia (1965) by Kerry Thornley and Greg Hill, but was popularized by The Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975) of satirical conspiracy fiction novels by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
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November 16, 2010
Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut’s colleague in the genre of science fiction), although Trout’s consistent presence in Vonnegut’s works has also led critics to view him as the author’s own alter ego.
Trout, who has supposedly written over 117 novels and over 2000 short stories, is usually described as an unappreciated science fiction writer whose works are used only as filler material in pornographic magazines. However, he does have at least three fans: Eliot Rosewater and Billy Pilgrim—both Vonnegut characters—have a near-complete collection of Trout’s work or have read most of his work.
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