.

My friend
http://itsmf.biz/index743m--.php?dybprofileID=96

            Tue, 6 Dec 2011 17:52:41

Posted via email from Jonathan's posterous

Climate Change Warning - Blue Man Group

Any Questions?

Come si è visto attraverso gli occhi e sentire nel cuore

I just got a chance to see the film NINE. It was a spectacular feast for the eyes, ears and heart. The story of the film centers on the fictional character Guido Contino, a world famous, 1960's Italian film director who is having a mid life crisis while trying to find his muse to create his comeback film. The story is a very thinnly veiled interpretation of Federico's Fellinni's semi-autobiographical movie 8 1/2. The maestro is plagued by the memories of all of the women he has chased throughout his life, his infidelities and the resulting emotional turmoil. The film follows the musical tradition of the Broadway hit however, it has the flavor of the 1960's, the flash and dazzle of a modern masterpiece and an emotional intensity that anyone of any age can feel.

Take a moment to check out this trailer of NINE.

This film was created in Venice and Milan. Just as we use our imagination on this journey we can enjoy the magic of "I Cinema" to take us to many times and places we will never get to see in reality. So take a the time to see another man's life as seen through the eye and felt in the heart.

AlterNet: Why Is Texas So Psycho?

This story has been forwarded to you from
http://www.alternet.org by artistjsudler@hotmail.com
 
To my friends both in and from Texas, I am so sorry you have to endure this guy.
 
-------------------------------------
Why Is Texas So Psycho?
http://www.alternet.org/story/138306
 
The Governor of Texas is one bad haircut away from Blagojevichian levels of gubernatorial gooberness.
-------------------------------------

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What did you do today?

Hi there to all my family and friends,

"What did you do today?" one of my school mates asked me during the Senior Shows at School today. Well, since I'm not a senior yet (although I may feel like a senior citizen), I got to watch everyone else go crazy with the stress of installing their thesis shows. And then I got a wonderful invitation yesterday, and today during the show, I played a very special old piano. This piano has been reworked so that every key triggers a corresponding light or lights inside of a beautiful blown glass form. These forms were suspended in a wave form around the stage and up light in purple, blue and red. For nearly an hour, I played in my improv style and watched my music literally dance in the air around me.

Right now, I can only send this one photo, but I am hoping to have a video of this performance later this coming week. As soon as I have it I will post it. The sound will be ambient and as I said it was a very old piano so, it seemed quite interested in creating its own unique sounds in spite of my best efforts.

I would like to encourage everyone to see the remarkable work of this talented, new artist who shared his wonderful creation with me today. Please visit www.tomryderart.com

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and create something beautiful!

Jonathan

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AlterNet: Florida's GOP Governor to Be Outed in Explosive Documentary Released Today

This story has been forwarded to you from
http://www.alternet.org by artistjsudler@hotmail.com
 
Its about time.
 
-------------------------------------
Florida's GOP Governor to Be Outed in Explosive Documentary Released Today
http://www.alternet.org/sex/139908
 
"Outrage" film goes after closeted hypocritical Republicans who push anti-gay legislation.
-------------------------------------

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Jr. Glass and Metal Casting

Here is a collection of my sculptural work from the spring semester at Alfred University. The class was Jr. Glass and Metal casting. My professors let me take the class with the understanding that I could include stone as part of my work. Initially I only used glass and metal and it was very challenging. Once I started looking for the rocks first, then the sculptures started coming together much easier. The sparkling material in "Inner Shimmer" and "Sapphire Spire" is mica which proved to be impervious to the heat of molten glass. I hope to be able to create more pieces with remarkable mineral.

Jonathan

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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World Population

World Population

artistjsudler@hotmail.com has shared: ${socialTitleEscape}

Telepathic Tweets!!!
${socialTitleEscape} http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/braintweet.html

artistjsudler@hotmail.com sent this using ShareThis.

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Invitation to Join ShareThis

I thought you might like to try ShareThis, a simple way to share things you find online. I have been using ShareThis to send things to all my friends and family, across social networks, email, SMS and AIM. I thought you might like to try it, too. Check it out! http://sharethis.com/users/register/

Posted via email from Jonathan's posterous

Invitation to Join ShareThis

I thought you might like to try ShareThis, a simple way to share things you find online. I have been using ShareThis to send things to all my friends and family, across social networks, email, SMS and AIM. I thought you might like to try it, too. Check it out! http://sharethis.com/users/register/

Posted via email from Jonathan's posterous

BBC E-mail: 'Quiet Sun' baffling astronomers

Jonathan Sudler saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you
should see it.
 
 
 
** 'Quiet Sun' baffling astronomers **
Astronomers hope new images of the Sun will offer an insight into why there is so little activity on our closest star.

 
 
** BBC Daily E-mail **
Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all
in one daily e-mail

 
 
** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.
 
If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/4162471.stm

Posted via email from Jonathan's posterous

Fw: Stop yelling

Jonathan Sudler
Artist, Sculptor & Musician
on the VZW Blackberry Storm
 
-----Original Message-----
From: chrscromarty@aol.com
 
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:13:26 To: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Subject: Stop yelling
 
 
?
 
 ?
 
 
 
 
 
 ?
 
 
 
 
 
 STOP YELLING ACROSS THE HOUSE!!!
 
 
 Everyone needs a good laugh at least once a day, so send this to someone?else!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 --
 Mac Mcdermitt

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Photo Test

Just testing my multi-posting system to see if I got everything set right.

Posted via email from Jonathan's posterous

Science of Dolphin Power

Just came across this fascinating article from RPI.edu

“Gray’s Paradox” Solved: Researchers Discover Secret of Speedy Dolphins

A single frame from a research video tracking the flow of water around Primo, a retired U.S. Navy bottlenose dolphin.

The same frame, but with visualized information illustrating the water flow. The arrows indicate in which direction the water is moving, and the colors indicate the speed. The red and dark blue arrows signify the fastest-moving water.

See DPIV video.

Credit: Rensselaer/Tim Wei


New technology helps disprove 72-year-old scientific mystery

There was something peculiar about dolphins that stumped prolific British zoologist Sir James Gray in 1936.

He had observed the sea mammals swimming at a swift rate of more than 20 miles per hour, but his studies had concluded that the muscles of dolphins simply weren’t strong enough to support those kinds of speeds. The conundrum came to be known as “Gray’s Paradox.”

For decades the puzzle prompted much attention, speculation, and conjecture in the scientific community. But now, armed with cutting-edge flow measurement technology, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have tackled the problem and conclusively solved Gray’s Paradox.

“Sir Gray was certainly on to something, and it took nearly 75 years for technology to bring us to the point where we could get at the heart of his paradox,” said Timothy Wei, professor and acting dean of Rensselaer’s School of Engineering, who led the project. “But now, for the first time, I think we can safely say the puzzle is solved. The short answer is that dolphins are simply much stronger than Gray or many other people ever imagined.”

Wei is presenting his findings today at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics in San Antonio, Texas. Collaborators on the research include Frank Fish, a biologist at West Chester University in Pennsylvania; Terrie Williams, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz; Rensselaer undergraduate student Yae Eun Moon; and Rensselaer graduate students Erica Sherman and Paul Legac.

After studying dolphins, Gray said in 1936 that they are not capable of producing enough thrust, or power-induced acceleration, to overcome the drag created as the mammal sped forward through the water. This drag should prevent dolphins from attaining significant speed, but simple observation proved otherwise — a paradox. In the absence of a sound explanation, Gray theorized that dolphin skin must have special drag-reducing properties.

More than 70 years later, Wei has developed a tool that conclusively measures the force a dolphin generates with its tail.

Wei created this new state-of-the-art water flow diagnostic technology by modifying and combining force measurement tools developed for aerospace research with a video-based flow measurement technique known as Digital Particle Image Velocimetry, which can capture up to 1,000 video frames per second.

Wei videotaped two bottlenose dolphins, Primo and Puka, as they swam through a section of water populated with hundreds of thousands of tiny air bubbles. He then used sophisticated computer software to track the movement of the bubbles. The color-coded results show the speed and in what direction the water is flowing around and behind the dolphin, which allowed researchers to calculate precisely how mush force the dolphin was producing.

See a DPIV video of Primo.

Wei also used this technique to film dolphins as they were doing tail-stands, a trick where the dolphins “walk” on water by holding most of their bodies vertical above the water while supporting themselves with short, powerful thrusts of their tails.

The results show that dolphins produce on average about 200 pounds of force when flapping their tail — about 10 times more force than Gray originally hypothesized.

“It turns out that the answer to Gray’s Paradox had nothing to do with the dolphins’ skin,” Wei said. “Dolphins can certainly produce enough force to overcome drag. The scientific community has known this for a while, but this is the first time anyone has been able to actually quantitatively measure the force and say, for certain, the paradox is solved.”

At peak performance, the dolphins produced between 300 and 400 pounds of force. Human Olympic swimmers, by comparison, peak at about 60 to 70 pounds of force, Wei said. He knows this for a fact because he has been working with U.S.A. Swimming over the past few years to use these same bubble-tracking DPIV and force-measuring techniques to better understand how elite swimmers interact with the water, and improve lap times.

“It was actually a natural extension to go from swimmers to dolphins,” said Wei, whose research ranges from aeronautical and hydrodynamic flow of vehicles to more biological topics dealing with the flow of cells and fluid in the human body.

The dolphins Wei filmed, Primo and Puka, are retired U.S. Navy dolphins who now live at the Long Marine Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz.

Wei said the research team will likely continue to investigate the flow dynamics and force generation of other marine animals, which could yield new insight into how different species have evolved as a result of their swimming proficiency.

“Maybe sea otters,” he said.

For more information on Wei’s work with Olympic swimmers, visit: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2477

Yes, I'm still alive...

I have been woefully neglectful of posting here, what with the end of term, helping out with both a graduate student's final show (cold-working a lot of glass), helping a friend hang his prints for his senior show, dealing with commencements and all the pomp, ceremony and insanity associated with this time of year.

Getting back on track, I found an older web listing of a show called "Things With Wings" at The Walter Museum in Maryland. Here is a description of the show from October 12, 2005 - November 26, 2006

This small exhibition explores the various winged gods and hybrid creatures in ancient Greek art. The Greeks conceived of messenger gods like Hermes and Iris as winged, so they could go anywhere and swiftly deliver their messages to gods and mortals alike. In the medieval world, angels became the winged intermediaries between God and humans. Personifications of abstract concepts, such as Love (Eros), Victory (Nike), Sleep (Hypnos), and Death (Thanatos), could also appear as winged humans. The wings of monsters like griffins, sirens, and sphinxes enhanced their terrifying appearance but also protected the beings they guarded. The installation presents 31 objects, which include Greek bronze and marble statuettes, vases, and gems.

I have already corresponded with the museum regarding these pieces and Dr. Sabine Albersmeier, Associate Curator of Ancient Art will hopefully be able to assist me with some of my research! This show is being reprised at the Ward Museum of Waterfowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland next year, from May 15 – July 19, 2009. Hopefully, I will be able to get there to see it.

If anyone out there has any information(history/origins/folktales/etc.) to share about "hybrid creatures" please email me!

Syncronized Movement

Lorenzo : the Flying French Man...
by alatebo

My mom sent me this video because she likes horses and showmenship. I like this video because it shows how an interspecies relationship can develop. It shows how a man viewed from a distance could be thought to be part of a heard of unique animals, perhaps he and the horse are actually one being, because what other explanation could there be for a man moving so easily in sync with all of these animals? Makes one ponder the idea of the origin of some of our longest standing myths.

"Redefining Movement" 5/4/08

Well folks, here are the photos as promised. An undulating sculpture ala Calder. The installation went well and although not sparkly, loud, messy or otherwise obtrusive, I believe it achieved the goal of demonstrating an undulating movement during our final show (Redefining Movement- A Sculptural Experience, May 4 2008).

We'll see how it does academically. Just as a review here is the Final Assignment instructions (click to read the instructions) . Please scroll down through the blog and compare the video "Learning to Dolphin Kick" with the images that I have here. As an object of assistance, the approach I ultimately took is to teach the first step of visualization. That is to say, to visualize a wave-like movement, which the body can replicate. I would really like to get some input back on what people think about this project. For the time being this is my conceptual, Zen statement on learning the movement of the dolphin kick.

All About Movement

Want to mess with peoples' heads? Stop moving. Put a hold on everyday movement in a crowd and watch what happens. This video does just that. Hope you enjoy.

Final Sculpture Project

I will post some pictures of the final project a bit later. At least it is finished and installed, after three failed attemps/design revisions.

The final project is about designing something to enhance or inhibit a movement which we described in an earlier project. My movement was learning how to dolphin kick. I wrote a brief decription with instructions on how to accomplish this swim stroke. The first step to learning this movement, however, begins by envisioning an undulating ripple or wave. Then you have to apply the idea of that motion to moving your body in a similar fashion underwater.

In an effort to help the viewer understand this rippling motion I have created a mobile which undulates from side to side. By standing below it and watching the movement of its nine rectangular, vertically hung panels, the viewer gets a sense of how the body must move horizontally through the water. The spaces between each panel represent each of the major joints involved in accomplishing this movement (wrist, elbow, shoulder, lower back, hips, knees and ankles).

Originally the sculpture was going to involve many components ala Ned Kahn's designs. Due to a challenge with the US Postal system, I didn't receive the holographic sequins in time to complete the sculpture as originally intended, so I tried it with just its hardware cloth form but it wouldn't move becuase there wasn't enough surface area to catch an aircurrents. Then, there were issues with hanging/balance. So I got a shimmering antique silver(more of a taupe) ripstop nylon cloth and made covers for each of the panels and switched all the mechanics to black.

The completed sculpture is hanging in the foyer to Harder Hall just above the main doors. It is by far and away one of the most simple and yet elegant things I have made in a while. No flash, no sparkle, just a gentle, undulating mobile; an undulating reminder to help the curious move more naturally through the water, just like a dolphin.

Solutions in Progress

I went back and studied the videos of Ned's work and realized that basically he had a net(work) that supports all of the individual metal or plastic plates. Since I am working much smaller, I realized (I believe), I can acheive the same effect by using hardware cloth with 10mm sequins suspended inside each of the squares. I will cut the cloth to the shape of my dolphin kicking figure, and because this is hardware cloth, the overall structure will be much lighter than if I had tried to make it out of wood and used the Reflecto-Lite system (or similar style with finish nails and sequins).

Now the next step is getting all of the pieces together without a car...Hopefully someone will respond to my calls. If not I will be empty-handed in class.

Final Sculpture Challenges

Although I have not heard back from Ned Kuhn Studios, I have been searching the internet for an alternative to his metal plates to create my final sulptural piece. I have only found one company which makes the shimmering effect used on large billboards and signs. Reflecto-lite is located in Canada and they haven't been answering their phones since last week. They seem to be the only source for the shimmering discs. Their system, however costs $20.40 per square foot; that's before shipping. Ok back to the drawing board.

The other challenge I am facing, besides time, is weight. If the mobile piece I am trying to create is life size (this would be ideal) there is a logistical nightmare in trying to rig (suspend) the work if I am dealing in wood and metal. There has to be another way to create this piece.

After coming across this image and the last video, I believe I can combine these two ideas into a single work which should demonstrate the idea of an undulating body form. Getting the idea of the movement firmly established in the mind is the first step to successfully completing this challenginging style of swimming.

Technorama Facade

In thinking about my final sculptural movement assignment, the piece is supposed to help enhance a movement or hinder a movement. Since my movement is "learning how to dolphin kick" and the first step to that is understanding undulating movement, I am fascinating by this video of Ned Kahn's sculpture which captures undulating movement of air currents and translates them into something the eye can see.

Everything I have read about the dolphin kick says that you must first envision this undulating movement in your mind. This tells me my sculptural piece must be conceptual in nature. To truly help, it must convey this idea of undulation before even moving into the physical logistics of muscle movement.

Proposed Sculptural Installation

As part of my bronze assignment, we were instructed to make a miniature of a monument that we would like to see installed in the Alfred area. Since coming to AU, I have come to realize that Harder Hall (the art building) is a place that has given me a true sense of artistic freedom. With wings being a symbol for freedom, I thought I would create a monument based on a stylized idea of flight.

The photo seen here is a Photoshop combination of the actual monument location (Harder Hall), the bronze (the actual piece used in the photograph is approx. 16" tall-the finished bronze would be 72" tall). The glass feathers will be cast glass, faceted and polished, with the longest feather being approximately four feet long.

My hope is this piece will inspire and motivate other students to give their imagination wings and being willing to explore their own potential during their time in Harder Hall.

Hannah Mermaid SHOW REEL

Here is a collection of some of the best footage of Hannah Fraser in her mermaid incarnation. She is a professional model, mermaid, activist and artist. Hannah has several now five different tails all of which she has created herself.

I'm trying to contact her to discuss a variation on her mermaid tail, one specifically designed to mimic that of a dolphin. Something that I hope I can create for our assignment in enhancing a movement (in my case dolphin kicking). You can find hannah on myspace.com and all over YouTube.com

Japanese Fishing Futo Citizen of Taiji Dolphin Slaughter

I wish there was a way to stop this. I applaud people like Hannah Fraser who are trying to draw attention to this wholesale slaughter.

TGIF? & Frustrated Librarians

Once upon a time, we used to say, "Thank God its Friday." Unfortunately, that seems so meaningless at the moment. I have too many projects happening at once and I don't like the quality of any of them. I need more hours in the day, days in the week or fewer projects.

A note of particular frustration: In pursuit of the therianthrope issue, looking through the journal listings with the assistance of one of the reference librarians, I found that worldwide there are less than 30 published articles on this topic. Of those, 24 of them are focused on prehistoric rock art in either Africa or Spain. I put out what seemed to be the best 7 requests for inter-library loans/access and all but two were denied as the information is unavailable or no longer exists in a format which can be shared.

What puzzles me about this, is that none of these resources address the half human/half animal(beast,monster,non-human) art and sculpture from the Grecian era through the 19th century. This widespread hole tells me that A) I must be using the wrong term yet again for searching or B)perhaps no one has really done a concentrated, cohesive study of the particular subject and I really might have a basis for developing a foundation for my MFA thesis. Ok, I know I dreaming big here, but why not. I know that I have frustrated the reference librarians with this search, why not keep it up?

Transforming Aurora

As I have said before, I am very interested in trans formative works of art. In my Video art class, I created this piece starting from some simple video static which was run through a Sandine processor and the replicated 8 times in Final Cut Pro. I used a keying process to take out various portions of each frame to be able to see the frame below. I made two versions of this process and then combined them through a Maximus P Jitter patch (with the help of my friend Devin Henry). Then I took this image back into Final Cut Pro, slowing down the visual speed, creating a rotating path, modifying it with motion blurs, skews and enlargements. My intention with this piece is to create a moving painting. Hopefully, this piece and others like it will become part of my overall work when I project these video images both onto painted sculpture as well as illuminating sculptures from within. This is definitely a work in progress.

Although this is a very abstract work, I believe if you look at it as you would passing clouds, you will see many different images appear. Give it a try and let me know what you see. I am interested viewer response to my work.

Visual Experiment / meditation

I would really like to hear back from everyone who sees this video, if they could tell me what images came to your mind while watching it. What did you see? Be sure to click to full screen to get the full impact.

This video meditation was created by Ted Chambers

Practicing the Dolphin Kick (video)

Practicing the Dolphin Kick

Through a study of the movements of the Dolphin, the human body can mimic the Dolphin's fluidity and thereby move through the water with grace and power.

Special Thanks

I just wanted to say "Thank You" to my wonderful friend Christine in central Florida who surpised me. A package arrived from Amazon.com it was the book, "The Quest For Paradise, Visions of Heaven and Eternity in the World's Myths and Religion" by John Ashton and Tom Whyte.

This was one of the books I had just put up on my Wishlistr site (see link at left side of the screen). Again, thank you Christine for your support of my art research and work. You are the best!

When I think about a common movement made every day, I think about writing, manipulating a pen, pencil; even painting is very gestural. What fascinates me about this concept is that when you take it apart piece by piece, you come to realize that working with your mark making implement, you are transferring an abstract concept between the mark maker and the viewer. I believe this is extremely true in the case of small children or people just learning to paint, because they tend to make a mark which describes what they "think" rather than what they "see".

Much later as these skills develop the words/images become clarity with practice and maturity. Therefor you can imagine my surprise when I came across Paya, a 6 year old elephant in a Northern Thailand elephant village who paints. Pachiderms are believed to be on par with primates regarding intelligence. Her painting, however, crosses so many bridges and tells us there is so much waiting for us to see in the animal kingdom that our humanity has overlooked in the past.

This story becomes yet another fascet of my idea of human and animal blending...only here the elephant is creating images which her human audience can cleary understand and enjoy

Therianthropic Creation in the Name of Science

Ah, the Brits have gone and done it! Your wildest fears will be a reality. No wait seriously, Fergus Walsh, the medical coorespondant for BBC America announced "Scientists at Newcastle University have created part-human, part-animal hybrid embryos for the first time in the UK." Using human DNA placed in bovine eggs which have been stripped of their genetic material, the scientist have developed a way to grow and harvest stem cells for further research and development.

And the Catholic Church has gone ballistic in their resounding condemnation of this act of science calling it "monstrous."

All hype aside are we talking about minotaurs or microscopic cells? Thankfully only the latter-and at that they are only allowed to grow for 14 days. This interesting solution came about because of a shortage of human eggs so the scientist simply engineered a replacement with governmental approval.

The blending continues.

I am very interested in the forms of biologically engineered movement. The formation of wings, the muscles which move them and the coordination needed to maintain a life sustaining movement such as flight or moving away from a predator at high speed is fascinating to me.

The act of bipedal movement has been referred to as a "form of controlled falling" and this can be seen in the photographs of Edward Muybridge. Look at how the torso leans forward into the movement and then is 'caught' by the outstretched leg.

Comparing the movement between the running man and fighting birds, there is such a natural fluidity in the bird's movement. The Bird doesn't have to be taught how to move, but the man must train for extended periods of time to perfect his running ability.

I believe we humans observe the animal kingdom and learn from their natural abilities to enhance our own movements.

Therianthropes Possibly 32,000 years old

I'm back on the pursuit of what the origin of half human and half animal beings are called in ancient art. I came across this article in New Scientist which discusses a variety of pieces which date between 10,000 B.C. and 32,000 B.C.

The article uses the term "Therianthrope" which means: "part man and part beast, from the Greek therion, θηρίον, meaning "wild animal" or "beast", and anthrōpos, άνθρωπος, meaning "man") refers to the metamorphosis of humans into animals.[1] Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings[2] such as the Sorcerer at Les Trois Frères."

The challenge I see with this word is that it has the connotation of transformation, metamorphosis or change from one form into another rather than two forms coexisting simualtaneously as in the case of animal headed deities or merfolk, for example.

I believe however, I am getting closer.

References from Wikipedia
1. ^ Edward Podolsky (1953). Encyclopedia of Aberrations: A Psychiatric Handbook. Philosophical Library.
2.^ Trois Freres. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.

Challenged by Murphy

Well, frustration has certainly set in. I have spent the last week sculpting a stylized wing form in foam as part of a bronze casting project. I organized a late night blow time (11pm tonight) with a fellow glass worker so I could create the glass feathers and the egg for my sculpture. Yesterday, I tried to start the molding process to create a wax copy of the foam positive only to discover I didn't have enough clay on hand and the Clay store is only open Monday - Friday. How could I be so off in my planning? So today, I went in and worked with old clay to soften it and get it ready for the first step. Just as I was finishing this step, one of the other students also at the same step discovered we didn't have any plaster. He gave up in frustration and left.

Stopping what I was doing, I went off in pursuit of plaster. First one store and then the next is closed, only then do I realize, 'Duh, its Easter Sunday!' Nothing is open...except for Walmart! Off to Wallyworld and I bought the last two containers of crafting plaster.

Back at school, I discover that this crafting plaster sets up much faster than what I am used to and its a mad scramble to get it into the form before it completely hardens up. An hour later I flip the form, peel away the clay bed around my foam, coat everything with vaseline/oil and start to mix the plaster only to find I don't have enough material. A quick panic call and a ceramics friend shares his stash of plaster and I'm back in business.

After everything sets up, I take away the forms only to discover that the oil didn't work and the plaster has adhered to the first pour and now my foam form is totally encased in a block of plaster. I contemplate the pleasure of hurling the whole mess against the far wall...Instead I cancelled the glass slot because I needed the positive for the glass working. Class starts in 16 hours and I don't know what to do. Damn that Irishman, Murphy!

Babylonian Blending

The first image depicts an overly developed man with the head of an eagle and having four wings, the next two images are animal forms but given human faces/heads. These images from ancient Babylon/Assyria (modern day Iraq), demonstrate a human desire to illustrate their power and traits through a symbolic relationship with the traits of the wild animals which were part of their world. This anthropomorphic attitude can be seen through out the religions of the world which all have roots in the traditions and practices of ancient Babylon.

The last image is a called a Karabu. Note what the Catholic Encyclopedia has to say regarding the relationship between the Cherubim (rank of angel) of Judeo/Christian traditions and this Babylonian creation:

"The word cherub (Cherubim is the Hebrew masculine plural) is a word borrowed from the Assyrian kirubu, from karabu, "to be near", hence it means near ones, familiars, personal servants, bodyguards, courtiers. It was commonly used of those heavenly spirits, who closely surrounded the Majesty of God and paid Him intimate service. Hence it came to mean as much as "Angelic Spirit". (The change from K of Karabu, to the K of Kirub is nothing unusual in Assyrian. The word has been brought into connection with the Egyptian Xefer by metathesis from Xeref=Kr-bh.) A similar metathesis and play upon sound undoubtedly exists between Kerub and Rakab, "to ride", and Merkeba, "chariot". The late Jewish explanation by analogy between Keerub and Rekub, "a youth", seems worthless. The word ought to be pronounced in English qerub and querubim, and not with a soft ch."

Here we can trace the origin of an angelic form back to an idea of Babylonian anthropomorphic blending.

Regeneration & Beyond

Well, so much for all the sci-fi writers. Science is finally catching up to all of the writers and visionaries' wildest dreams. Check out this news report where scientists are using the body's own cells to regenerate body tissue, regrow body parts and ultimately regrow vital organs. CBS Sunday Morning Newsmagazine (click to view the video & article) just ran this fascinating story. Now, how long do you honestly think it will be before some enterprising scientist takes these technologies another step further and starts blending human cells and animal cells to create hybrid organs? Think about it, imagine a soldier who has the ability to see with the clarity of a hawk or owl? Or the soldier who can sense with reptillian accuracy heat signatures? Or who can track by smells just like their canine counterparts? Perhaps a muscian/sound tech who can hear a fuller spectrum of sound. What about muscle development for faster speed or greater strength? Forget steriods, this guy really is a Gorilla!

Icarus Fallen

In exploring the idea of humans with wings, of course, Icarus of Greek legend comes to mind. I found these beautiful and unusual photos from around the web. I particularly like the last image documenting a performance piece by Chris Burden.

I also found this information regarding the symbolism of wings:

Wings In the more general sense, wings symbolize spirituality, imagination, thought. The Greeks portrayed love and victory as winged figures, and some deities, such as Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite were at first- though not later-also depicted with wings. According to Plato, wings are a symbol of intelligence, which is why some fabulous animals are winged, depicting the sublimation of those symbolic qualities usually ascribed to each animal. Pelops’ horses, and Pegasus, as well as Ceres’ snakes have this attribute. Wings are also found on certain objects such as heroes’ helmets, the caduceus and the thunderbolt in the cult of Jupiter. It follows that the form and nature of the wings express the spiritual qualities of the symbol. Thus, the wings of night-animals express a perverted imagination, and Icarus’ wax wings stand for functional insufficiency. In Christian symbolism it is said that wings are simply the light of the sun of justice, which always illuminates the mind of the righteous. Since wings also signify mobility, this meaning combines with that of enlightenment to express the possibility of ‘progress in enlightenment’ or spiritual evolution. In Alchemy, wings are always associated with the higher, activice, male principle; animals without wings are related to the passive female principle. It should also be recalled that since the foot is regarded as a symbol of the soul, the wings on the heels of some deities, especially Mercury, stand for the power of spiritual elevation comparable in essence with cosmic evolution. Jules Duhem, in his thesis on the history of flight, remarks that , in Tibet, Buddhist saints travels through the air wearing a special kind of shoes known as “light feet”
A Dictionary of Symbols By Juan Eduardo Cirlot pages 375 & 376
(2002) Courier Dover Publications ISBN 0486425231

More Disturbing Information

After coming across the photo of Paccinini's "Young Family", I found this article from National Geographic which talks about Chimeras that are being bred right now in the name of scientific research. This isn't National Enquirer or some Sci-Fi novel. This is current, real medical practice which is not governed in any way. Our current ideas of ethics don't even begin to cover the possibility of "mice with human brains" or "pigs with veins following with human blood."

When I started on this idea of tracking the blending of Human and Animal forms I had no idea the extent to which this idea is actually being carried out. Is this a source for art inspirations? Definitely, no matter what you feel about the topic this is sure to illicit very strong emotions.

Possible Augmentation

I just came across this fascinating video on "Artificial Muscle." The possible applications are fascinating. Click HERE to see the video.

Clarity of Definitions

In researching the idea of Anthropomorphism as something trackable through art history, I have discovered perhaps my word usage may not be truly inline with my focus of study. Anthropomorphism relates to assigning human traits and abilities to non-human or inanimate objects. Anthropomorphology specifically relates "to applying human traits and desires to God." That one really threw me; so much for 'ology' referring 'to the study of..." So where does this leave me now?

My interest lies more in the realm of why there has been throughout history into our modern day a combining human and non human elements into hybrid creations. In 2003, Australian artist Patricia Piccinini made an unforgettable impact on the Venice Biennale with her "Young Family" as shown above.

So far the closest word I have been able to come up with for these kinds of creatures (Angel, Centaur, Merfolk, Werwolves etc) is that of the Chimera.

From a religous standpoint, I believe* (*This is a work in progress) the idea for the imagery of angels with wings appeared in the Biblical cannon after the Hebrews left captivity in Babylon. I will look into this further. If this is true, Babylon's panthesitic, visual dipictions of their hybrid gods, may have had a direct impact on the artistic ideology of the Judeo/Christian traditions which continue to proliferate today. I am very interested in this cross-cultural pollenation of ideas and hope to use this in my research. I just want to be sure I am using the correct terms so that my intention and meaning is correct.

In my last post I mentioned the Unity Church's use of the winged globe (and if you follow the link there is a discussion about the Egyptian origin of this symbol). So I wanted to show the Egyptian concept of the sould in the Ba form. Another form of Ba is a bird with a man's head. This symbol however, is supposed to embody the idea of a soul or one's personality.

For my work, I think I would like to take that another step further and suggest the idea that the sphere might represent the individual's potential and or abilities.

Anthropomorphic Inspiration

I am very interested in anthropomorphic creations: visual blendings of animal and human forms or human aspects. Throughout all of recorded history, these blendings have been taking place usually in the realm of the supernatural, but especially in religous art as in the case of the of the Archangel pictured here. In reality a pair of wings to support the weight of a human would need to be nearly 30' across (as in the case of a hang glider) However, the musculature to operate those wings would completely transform the body into something no longer recognizable as human. Compare the chest/breast size of a pigeon, for example, to the rest of its body if you have any doubts. In the more extreme, I'm fascinated by the work of H.R. Giger who blends mechanical and biological or organic forms into one image.

I am also fascinated by flight, wings, feathers and symbols which convey the concept of lighter than air movement and the freedom it represents. The Unity Church uses a "winged globe/disk as a symbol for divine spirit uplifting the whole world."

I came across a