Blue Bloods Review: Don’t Forget To Bow

"Ends and Means" made me remember why I've always liked Erin, as well as ponder why anyone puts up with Danny.

Let's start with the latter. 

Tensions Over Dinner

He was an arrogant ass for much of this Blue Bloods episode. 

That he was upset that Linda wouldn't allow him to speak to the accomplice was understandable…in the moment. Emotions were running high. Adrenaline was pumping. He'd just witnessed a man gun down people in a public setting.

But at some point he should have been able to realize that Linda had a job to do as well. As Linda said over pizza, Danny will always believe that his job is more important than hers. Yes, perhaps he could have caught the killer faster if Linda had allowed him to talk to the suspect, but what if the added stress caused the man to die even sooner? It not only could have jeopardized the patient but left the hospital open to a possible lawsuit and put Linda's job on the line. None of that seemed to matter to Danny.

That he continued to hold the grudge was annoying. When I thought Danny couldn't have ticked me off any more he did something even more stupid. Instead of waiting for his partner who had his vest, he entered the girlfriend's apartment solo. For a guy who claimed to get paid to know when people were lying to him he seemed obvious to the fact that Sheri's discomfort was because the killer was in the next room.

Danny deserved the beating he got for being so asinine. 

To make matters worse, when Linda found him beaten and bruised at the precinct, he presumed that she should feel guilty for his beating because if she had just let him have his way in the beginning this never would have happened. Yes, what he said was she shouldn't feel that way but on some level, that's exactly what he was thinking. Sometimes Danny can be a real jerk.

Of course Danny takes after his grandfather.

I couldn't believe that Henry could stand there so proudly touting the Reagan family record of derby racing wins when he'd cheated for every race. 

But it did lead to the absolute best scene of the night with Frank and Jamie sneaking around the garage in the middle of the night as Frank confessed his father's sins in this Blue Bloods quote

Jamie: He rigged the car. Why would he do that?
Frank: Because he got grounded when he was seven. | permalink

Like Danny, Henry just can't let things go. 

Frank was devastated that his derby win as a child wasn't really his, so much so that he decided to black out the garage windows and grab a welding torch in the middle of the night to try and make things right.  

But the best line of the night went to little Shawn. As the family worried over how he'd do in the race, Shawn didn't seem to care very much as he told his father…

I was in a coma a few weeks ago. I think I can handle this. | permalink 

The child seemed to have more brains than his father and great-grandfather combined.

Erin's promotion was punctuated by one of the most entertaining acceptance speeches that even included a crown...

I just wanted to say that now that I'm your boss nothing has changed. Except now I can fire any one of you at the drop of a hat. So, you should remember no direct eye contact and don't forget to bow. | permalink

But Erin had her own ethical dilemma as she had to decide whether doing the right thing was worth a rapist doing less time and her losing a wonderful career opportunity.

When Amanda mentioned that she worried some idiot juror could have let their rapist walk, I bristled. Not that she couldn't have been right but it's disheartening to hear it from someone who has dedicated her life to our system of justice. 

Frank's words over dinner were equally meant for Linda and Erin…

It takes guts to stand by your principles, not just when it's easy but when it can cost you something. | permalink

Where Danny takes after Henry, Erin and Jamie obviously resemble their father. It makes me wonder what Joe was like.

In the end, Erin did the right thing and was willing to deal with the consequences. I don't think she could have lived with herself otherwise and it did lead to another great moment. I felt for poor Rachel when she walked in to Erin's office to find Amanda sitting there as well. That poor girl couldn't leave that room fast enough.

Overall, it was an excellent night for Blue Bloods

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/blue-bloods-review-dont-forget-to-bow/

The Vampire Diaries Clip: Super Hot, Terribly Cold

Is it cold in here? Or is it just Elena?

In a newly-released clip from this Thursday's episode of The Vampire Diaries, "Pictures of You," we watch as Caroline tries on a dress for the prom (looking SUPER HOT, as Bonnie rightfully tells her) while listening to her witchy friend describe some seriously frightening dreams.

It's all going perfectly well... until Elena and her lack of humanity stroll in.

Watch now as the temperature suddenly decreases and Caroline storms off. Not that the new Elena gives a damn:

What else can fans expect as Season 4 winds down?

Visit our Vampire Diaries spoilers section for an idea of what's to come!

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/the-vampire-diaries-clip-super-hot-terribly-cold/

NCIS Round Table: "Chasing Ghosts"

Our NCIS review broke down "Chasing Ghosts," this week's episode, in detail.

Now, TV Fanatic staff members Steve Marsi, Douglas Wolfe and Christine Orlando have assembled for our weekly Round Table Q&A discussion of various events and topics from this installment.

Join in as we analyze another entertaining hour of TV's #1 show!

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1. How would you describe this week's episode in one word (or two, or three, or four)?

Doug: The one-finger discount.

Christine: Vena Amoris because sometimes I just love Ducky's stories.

Steve: I want in.

NCIS Round Table Logo NEW!

2. What was your favorite scene from "Chasing Ghosts?"

Doug: It's a toss-up between two scenes. The first was Palmer's adamant refusal to be pigeon-holed by Ducky, when he said: "No, you know what? I take it back. It is not okay. I appreciate you throwing me a bone once in a while, or in this case a finger but it's not enough. I want to step up in all aspects of my career. And I will not let you send me on my way because you think something is... what... beyond my reach? It's not beyond my reach. I can help. I want to help. I want you to teach me that." And the second was contained in Gibbs' directive to Ziva: "What are you waiting for? Take DiNozzo. Go." Both scenes were uniquely charged, albeit for different reasons.

Christine: Gibbs telling Tony to go check on Ziva... NOW! Perhaps Gibbs really is a Tiva shipper.

Steve: Vance's nod. See clip below ... what an awesome conclusion. Also, I second what Doug said about Palmer, I enjoyed his scenes, as well as Gibbs telling him he's moving up in the world.

3. What, if anything did you find wrong with this installment?

Doug: I'm frankly a little worried at how far Vance is sticking his neck out: after being asked by Homeland Security to rein Ziva in, he did the opposite and okayed her trek to Rome. It's not a technical problem with the show, but it's a problem for the team as a whole. And it ramps up the tension just a bit.  

Christine: I really thought the neighbor who saw the door open was going to end up being the killer. Kudos to the show for throwing in that red herring because I kept expecting it to circle back to him for the entire episode and it never did.

Steve: Honestly, not a lot. It was a great way to set up what's to come and to establish the impact of Eli David and Jackie Vance's death on the entire team. No matter where you stand on the Tony-Ziva situation, they are clearly very close and work together well ... this should be no exception.

4. Bigger surprise: McGee being in on Ziva's plan, or Gibbs and Vance effectively signing off on it?

Doug: Both are pretty equal but frankly I was more surprised by McGee's presence in the apartment. I expected to find Ziva talking with Shmeil in that apartment, not Tim McGee. 

Christine: I was shocked to find McGee secretly working with Ziva. I suppose it was for his technological expertise but I was still shocked. Tony was barely able to cover his hurt with his trademark humor.

Steve: Definitely Tim. Gibbs I can see backing her if he thinks she can finish the job, and Vance, while not normally the type to back such an operation, likely wants payback, too. But seriously, who wasn't taken aback that McGee had been working with Ziva the whole time? It's great, but I was as surprised as Tony.

5. Does Ziva intend to bring Bodnar in or kill him?

Doug: Definitely she plans to kill him. I suspect Tony might want to talk her out of it, but I can see him getting conflicted too, and wanting to help her bury him.

Christine: This is Ziva. It could go either way but I think she just might try to bring him in.

Steve: If given the choice, and assuming Bodnar had no say in the matter, she might want to bring him in, but this is not the kind of person you just bring in. I don't think she's going in with any expectation of that happening, nor would I expect it the storyline to end that cleanly.

6. How will the Tony and Ziva in Europe dynamic work out - regarding her plan and their relationship?

Doug: I hope the relationship is put to bed one way or another (pun half-intended). I think it's time they showed their cards. The viewers need to win this one: whether they agree to just be friends and no more, or to become a crime-fighting couple. I'd like to see them acknowledge their attraction and can easily see how that can happen: as Tony enables her vengeance, understanding completely her need to punish her father's killer, she'll realize the depth of his commitment to her. If on the other hand he plays it straight and pulls out the procedural law card, she'll see the uncomfortable rift between them. Either way, Ziva needs closure regarding her father's killer, just as the viewers need closure on their relationship. (Okay we don't exactly *need* closure - but it sure would be nice to have it)

Christine: I can't wait to see them working together. They make a good team but I hope he goes all in on whatever her plan is and it's not all about him trying to rein her in. As for their relationship, I'll be really upset if they don't confront their feelings for one another. They need to make a decision. Move forward together or decide it's never going to happen.

Steve: Three words ... shall we dance?

7. Share one bold prediction for the final four episodes of NCIS Season 10.

Doug: Vance will have an internal battle with his need for vengeance and his need to uphold the law. In the end, the law will win and he'll do his best - after making the mistake of sending a vengeance-filled Ziva after Bodnar - to pull her back and demand that she merely apprehend him. Ziva will go completely rogue and cut off communication with him and Gibbs, and will only allow Tony into her confidence. Tony too will battle with his attraction for her and his need to stay within the law. This struggle will see him hit the bottle for a while, until he finally decides he must do what's right. After a few nights of romance and danger with Ziva he will ruefully inform her of his decision to uphold the law. She will kill Bodnar. The season will end with her in Gibbs' basement, and the final scene will be her look of astonishment as he tells her she's no longer welcome at NCIS.

Christine: My hope is that Tony and Ziva become a couple... finally. The tease has gone on far too long.

Steve: These end-of-season arcs always build to dramatic conclusions and leave us hanging at the same time. You can also guarantee there will be ancillary characters playing key roles - perhaps the return of Tim's dad? - and some side plots tying in unexpectedly. It seems obvious that Ziva's hunt for Bodnar will be the focal point, but how her relationship with Tony fits into that, and what the casualties will be? I'm curious to hear what our readers think.

What's your take on these issues of the week on NCIS? Discuss below!

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/ncis-round-table-chasing-ghosts/

Happy Endings Review: The End of the Affair

If 2012 was the "year of Penny," then tonight was the "night of Penny and Pete." Alas, in case you thought the writers forgot about Penny's upcoming nuptials the way ABC forgot about how awesome Happy Endings is, fear not. "She's Got Game Night" and "The Storm Before the Calm" were all about P & P.

Unfortunately, it wasn't all smooth sailing. While Penny and Pete whooped butt at couples game night, even beating Jane and Brad (say what?!?), they found that they had bigger issues to deal with.

A Competitive Game Night

It started off innocently enough. Penny was jazzed about the wedding when she ran into an old friend. Suddenly her subconscious seeped in and she was questioning whether she and Pete knew each other all that well. When Jane added to that insecurity by saying that Penny and Pete had the rest of their lives to get to know each other, Penny decided she needed to prove that no, everything was just dandy. What better way to prove how well you know your significant other than couples game night?!

Competing against Jane in anything is...well, frightening to say the least. The only thing that turns Jane on more than competition is making lists and people agreeing with her. So it was off the races. Imagine walking into Jane and Brad's apartment to find them chanting in matching track suits?

Winners win and losers lose and alcoholics they just booze. They win at drinking, that’s their thing but our thing’s always just win-ning. We’re Brad and Jane, let’s start the game. Sup suckas? | permalink

In the end, couples game night really didn't prove anything. Brad and Jane tanked and they're one of the best TV couples of all time. Even Max and stalker Scottie did better than them! Alex and Dave never showed because of the dumbest b-story ever about Dave and some psychics. Let's not even go there. Ultimately Penny just didn't have that gut feeling about Pete. Cue: the breakup cocoon.

The second episode "The Storm Before The Calm" was all about how Penny deals with a breakup. I have to say, that scene where Max walked into Penny's breakup cocoon too early when she was all Exorcist style was hilarious. The play wasn't my favorite part of the episode. It was just a little over the top.

I know, I know Happy Endings is over the top and that's why we love it. Just something about "The Black Plague: A Love Story" was a touch too much on the crazy scale. I kind of preferred the Max and Alex idiot tastemaker scam. Watching the two of them try and sell products and not realize they were getting completely gipped was awesome; As was how jealous Jane acted not to be included.

By the way, you know you're not promoting a cool product when you get Dave's endorsement. Case in point: 

Those are cool. And this is coming from a guy who wore a bandana around his jeans leg in high school, so I know what I speak of. | permalink

Oh boy. The bandana around the jeans leg. I can picture it so well! At least Dave and Brad saved the day with Penny's disastrous play. Who knew how easily they would both be seduced into the theater world? Sorry Derek, but Brad definitely would've made a better Clete. 

Well R.I.P. Penny & Pete. You guys had a good run. I was proud of Penny for dealing with her breakup in a new way. What did you all think of the latest Happy Endings happy hour?

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/happy-endings-review-the-end-of-the-affair/

Claudiu Candea – Female Anatomy

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (2)

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (1)

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (3)

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (4)

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (5)

Lucrari Claudiu Candea Female Anatomy (6)

Seemingly normal figure drawings and portraits are dissected away by Romanian artist, Claudiu Candea. His figure drawings are almost photographic, capturing intimate moments made deeper by exposing the anatomy below the surface.

Guess who I’m contacting for the next OBJECTIFY THIS: Female Anatomy Dissected and Displayed gallery show….

 

 

[via our friends at Who Killed Bambi via drtenge]

 

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/streetanatomy/OQuC/~3/cjLbJfMbs_s/

Glee Exclusive: Dot Marie Jones Talks Shooting, Wemma and More!

Glee returned last night with one of the most emotionally charged episodes in the show's four-season history. As gunshots rang out in the halls of McKinley High, the choir members found themselves in one of the scariest situations imaginable. 

What was filming that scene like? We recently had the opportunity to chat with one of Hollywood's nicest stars, Dot Marie Jones who plays Coach Shannon Beiste, as she shared some behind the scenes insight into "Shooting Star" and playing everyone's favorite football coach since Eric Taylor.

Read on for excerpts from our exclusive conversation!

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TV Fanatic: So, what's the best thing about being a part of a show like Glee
Dot Marie Jones: The messages and the incredible writing. And all of our directors. One of my favorite directors is Brad Buecker who is also one of the editors. I love working with Brad Falchuk. And Ryan! You can't pick one! For me it's interesting to work with Brad Buecker because he is also the editor. He directed "Shooting Star" and he also edited it, which, I mean, my god, how many hours does that man have in his day!? He's unreal! And I've known him for a long time because he edited Pretty Handsome and I just have such an admiration for him and his work because he's phenomenal.

Beiste and Will

TVF: What was it like while filming "Shooting Star?"
DMJ: It was really emotional. I don't know if they showed me crying but I had no expectations and didn't anticipate it. I just let whatever happened happen organically. I love my scenes with Matt, and I think the kids did a fantastic job and I can't wait to see how it comes together because it did take quite a while to shoot that and especially having to shoot it over and over again. And I don't feel like from the first take to the last take, however many that was, I don't feel like anybody lost anything.

TVF: For a show like Glee you get a little bit nervous with a story like this because the show is so light and the story is so heavy. There's always this fine line that gets walked where art imitates life and is the art doing life justice. It's one of those things where when shooting a show about high school, I always sort of wonder if those shows feel a responsibility to cover events like this when the reality is that they don't happen often.
DMJ: But they DO happen. And the fact that they do happen, I mean, it's a horrific thought. God forbid anything like that actually happen, but it does happen, and you can't wish it away. I love the way Ryan and the writers all went about it because I think it was done very respectfully. I mean, nobody got shot, but you don't know that. Our minds' eye is that there's somebody with a gun there. Some crazy ass kid or an adult has come into the school with a gun to hurt people. We read the script, we see what happens, but you have to dismiss all of that. You can't hold on to that while you're in that scene.

TVF: How do you prepare for an episode like this with so many emotional moments?
DMJ: Some of the time, I'll read it once, but I won't read it again. I'll just put it aside and let whatever happens happen organically. I was exhausted that day when it was over. It was just one of those days that was like 'my god and this is pretend.' And the thought of this being real just makes it tenfold more intense.

TVF: Speaking of the editing, it was excellent last night. The staging and the dark lighting, there was no music or sound as distractions. 
DMJ: They didn't need it to sell the scene and I love that! That says so much about the writing and about these kids! They're fricking awesome! When Sam tries to go get Brittany, that got me. He was so amped. It was unbelievable. That part of the scene, Chord did amazing. His work is just, he's growing so much.

TVF: He's been kind of a clown, just goofy and fun and happy this season, so last night seeing that fierce side of him and Heather Morris as Brittany perched on the toilet crying was great.
DMJ: Brittany/Heather is one of my favorite characters, and when I say grow, these guys are great actors. When Heather first started she had these hilarious one liners - even one word - and just her expression she would sell it. And to see something so 180 is fantastic. And it's fantastic for them.

TVF: The Becky Jackson angle of the shooting was interesting. They didn't go the bullying route with the shooting. There was this very real struggle for Becky. And it's always nice to watch Jane Lynch as Sue step up to that really human place because she can be such a caricature sometimes. She's so over the top.
DMJ: Exactly. I loved the twist where it's Becky and a total accident and Jane taking the blame for it. And you're right, it totally adds the human aspect to Jane's character.

TVF:: All of the characters on Glee have the propensity to swing both ways, where in that moment they can be really dramatic and overly emotional, but then Ryan Murphy does a good job of really pulling those characters down when he needs to.
DMJ: When I signed on two seasons ago the contract they gave me didn't have a character name, I didn't know what I was playing, who I was playing, and because of having worked with Ryan before, his writing is so amazing and having done Nip/Tuck and Ryan's pilot Pretty Handsome when they wanted me to do this I was like, 'absolutely' because anything Ryan writes, I know I'm going to love and it's going to push me. I've played every tough girl role there is, so to get someone like Beiste who is a beast but has a huge heart, it's the best role I've ever played.

TVF: Shannon Beiste is just a fantastic character that viewers fell in love with almost instantly. 
DMJ: I'm so proud of this role and it's amazing who it effects and how far the words reach. And you don't realize how powerful words are. You know last season with the domestic violence thing, I still have women and men contacting me thanking me for those episodes and I feel so proud of what Ryan wrote and what they did as far as the domestic violence story and one of the things I love is they didn't wrap it up with a bow in one episode. They let it play out some and the majority of women I've talked to, you know, they do go back. And the fact that some women thanked me and said that show gave them the courage to get out of an abusive relationship, it's overwhelming.

TVF: Do you ever wish that that had been fleshed out even more? Some viewers have lamented what seems to be a 3-episode trend to some of the story lines where they're explored but it almost feels like they're pushed aside.
DMJ: I feel like it could have played out longer, but you don't want to overdo it. You flesh out your options and you let the characters make the, hopefully, best choice. By the end of the run of the story line, I was leaving him. And here I had lied and said I had moved out with my sister, and I went back home. And that's real life.

TVF: Do you think there's an opportunity for the emotional trauma of the domestic violence to play out in Shannon's online dating?
DMJ: Absolutely! I would love that. I would love the challenge. I would love to see where they could take it. I would love it if they took that further. And who knows, maybe next season they will.

TVF: Did you feel like Beiste's last chance confession to Will was a natural progression for the character or did you feel like that maybe came out of left field a little bit?
DMJ: One of the big questions was why wasn't I at the wedding.To me, I was like "why the hell, I'm their best friend and I'm not at the wedding!" But then I read this script and I'm like "oh my god, no wonder!" I couldn't go to the wedding because I would've been the one standing up saying "I object!" And so this kind of explains it because, you know, Will is the only guy to ever kiss me before Cooter and to show me respect and affection. He was the most positive man in my life and here I ended up married and divorced because my husband was abusive and Will never did that to me. So in a sense, yeah it kind of sounds out of left field, but if you really think about it, and I'm sure people can conjure up their own stories as to why, but he's been the most positive man in my life and has been so supportive and who wouldn't want that?

TVF: There are so many great moments for all of these characters and you have played Shannon Beiste so well. 
DMJ: I've always been one that less is more. I can cry at the drop of a hat and it's a blessing and a curse. It just happens. And the biggest thing too, for me, as far as acting, is allowing that. That's one of the things I love about Beiste is it has let me be open and allowing things to happen organically and not forcing anything. If you trust the writing and you trust the direction, it'll be there. You don't have to force it or add anything to what they've written. Because it's such great writing. It's unbelievable.

TVF: Shannon gets some great lines and your delivery is fantastic!
DMJ: My first scene with Jane Lynch in season 2 when I say "you're all coffee and no omelette" and she says "that makes no sense!" to me it made 100% sense! It's hilarious, some of the scenes and the lines that they write for my character. That scene with Will last night made me happy because I'm usually the one packing it with my roasted grocery chicken! And I can't even tell you how many chickens I've eaten in the past three years but it's been a lot.

TVF: What's been the best part of playing Coach Beiste?
DMJ: It's her heart. It's huge, which I think is very close to me. People said they thought they were gonna hate me until I got rejected and I didn't get to sit at the table at lunch and you see me in the mirror and I'm trying to put on my lipstick and I'm just bawling. And that's, I will never forget that scene. I will never forget that episode.

TVF: What can we look for in the remaining episodes this season? The final scripts have been rewritten around Finn's absence, so how has that affected things?
DMJ: I am in next week's episode and then after that, I'm not in any more this season. But I love Cory Monteith so much. I just adore him. He's a very upstanding guy and he's always been very open and honest about who he is and where he came from and I have nothing but respect for him.

TVF: We at TV Fanatic certainly wish him the best.
DMJ: As do I, and I certainly give him nothing but credit for taking care of him.

TVF: Any closing remarks for the fans at TV Fanatic?
DMJ: I hope and pray that I come back next year! I just feel like Glee reaches so many people demographically and there are so many messages in these episodes. With the response of the kids on Twitter and those who write to us, it's given so many kids an avenue or a vehicle to get through the tough times. And you wish them nothing but the best. I can't imagine being a kid right now. It's hard as hell. It's just amazing to me to be a part of something that is so affecting and how it affects so many people. I'm very proud to be a part of this show

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/glee-exclusive-dot-marie-jones-talks-shooting-wemma-and-more/

Amazing Auction Alert #583: "The Rouchomovsky Skeleton’: A Russian Gold Fully Articulated Skeleton In Silver-Gilt Sarcophagus," 1901

The fully articulated human skeleton in a velvet-lined coffin chased around on each side with three panels showing the course of life, one end with attributes of the arts, the other with attributes of war,  the removable cover with the journey in the footsteps of the Angel of Death, surrounded by the faces of infants alternately laughing and crying...

This fantastic piece is up for sale as Lot 291 in Sotheby's "A Treasured Legacy: The Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection"auction coming up on April 29, 2013. Who would like to purchase it for The Morbid Anatomy Library?

The Rouchomovsky Skeleton’:  A Russian Gold Articulated Skeleton In Silver-Gilt SarcophagusEstimate: 150,000 - 250,000 USD

The fully articulated human skeleton in a velvet-lined coffin chased around on each side with three panels showing the course of life, one end with attributes of the arts, the other with attributes of war,  the removable cover with the journey in the footsteps of the Angel of Death, surrounded by the faces of infants alternately laughing and crying.
Skeleton signed in Cyrillic, on the right splint-bone: Mozyr [18]92 Odessa [18]96 and on the left splint-bone Rouchomovsky.

Sarcophagus signed on lid: Israel Rouchomovsky and in Cyrillic on base Israel Rouchomovsky Odessa 1901.
length of skeleton 3 1/2 in., length of coffin 4 3/8 in.
9 cm; 11.2 cm
the skeleton 1892-1896, the sarcophagus 1896-1906
Israel Rouchomovsky, Mozyr and Odessa

Catalogue Note

The Skeleton
Israel Rouchomovsky (1860-1934) came from a poor family in Mozyr, Belarus. Almost three-quarters of the population of the town was Jewish, and according to some accounts his parents wanted him to become a rabbi.[i] His memoirs describe how he was drawn to silversmithing, and the efforts required to get a work permit and move with his family to Odessa, where he arrived in 1892. They also recount how he helped a colleague make a first gold skeleton, now held in the Museum of Historical Treasures of the Ukraine.[ii]  He had thought this first skeleton would require a month of work, when in fact it took four, and he thought he could do even better; only certain sections of the first skeleton could move. The inscription on the leg shows that the fully articulated skeleton – supposedly with 167 different parts[iii] – required five years of work.

In his own words:"In the second piece, with the help of minute ball-bearings, all body members can move in all directions, and even the lower jaw can be opened and closed. This time I was entirely satisfied and I could say without any humbleness that I succeeded, I really succeeded, and it was at that point that I realized that this "deceased" deserved a beautiful sarcophagus."[iv]

It would be another five years to make the case, finished in Odessa in 1901. Again in Rouchomovsky's own words: "The sarcophagus is cut in massive silver and is covered entirely with ornaments and miniature figures [which he describes in minute detail]." Of the whole project, almost a decade of careful craftsmanship, the artist wrote, "although the work has taken very long, I can say that it is one of my best works, and I have always remained more than content with it, not only with its execution, but also with its underlying conception."...

You can find out more--and put a bid!--by clicking here.

Thanks so much to friend and excellent artist Martin Bland for bringing this wonderful piece to my attention! Click on image to see larger, more detailed images.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-rouchomovsky-skeleton-russian-gold.html

Dan Zettwoch Anatomical Self Portraits

Dan Zettwoch Green Recliner self portrait
Self-Portrait in Green Recliner  Ink, Acrylic & Colored Pencil on Masonite, 32″ x 48″

Dan Zettwoch Green Recliner self portrait

Dan Zettwoch brainworms self portrait
Self-Portrait in Flannel Shirt - Weird drawing made with white-out and a fluorescent-pink paint pen.

Anatomically fun work by comic book illustrator Dan Zettwoch. The top painting was done for a show called Congestive Art Failure (great title) at the Evermore Gallery in St. Louis, which also happens to be a tattoo and piercing shop. The show focused on medical illustration so Dan decided to focus on the gross anatomy of the things found under his recliner, such as:

  • Loose change
  • Bottlecaps
  • Fritos (whole & partially smashed by the mechanical guts of the chair)
  • Pink (skim) milk-cap rings hidden by my cats
  • Dust

Definitely check out more of Dan’s pop comic art at danzettwoch.com!

 

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/streetanatomy/OQuC/~3/2_9znPmFSQo/

A Look Behind the Dissecting Art, Intersecting Anatomy Gallery Show

Dissecting Art; Intersecting Anatomy from Phillip Schalekamp on Vimeo.

Dissecting Art Video Phillip Schalekamp

Dissecting Art Video Vanessa Ruiz

Get an inside look at our recent gallery show Dissecting Art, Intersecting Anatomy: Merging Contemporary Art with the Works of Pauline Lariviere that opened March 9th, 2013 in Chicago. Hear curators Phillip Schalekamp and your very own Vanessa Ruiz talk about the significance of Pauline Lariviere’s gorgeous medical illustrations and the prevalence of women in medical art.

More photos of the awesome anatomical event! View all photos on the Dissecting Art Facebook page.

Dissecting Art Intersecting Anatomy gallery show Street Anatomy Chicago (5)

Dissecting Art Intersecting Anatomy gallery show Street Anatomy Chicago (6)

Dissecting Art Intersecting Anatomy gallery show Street Anatomy Chicago (4)

Dissecting Art Intersecting Anatomy gallery show Street Anatomy Chicago (3)

 

 

Source:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/streetanatomy/OQuC/~3/HxnK77tKW7M/

"I Do Not Fear Death" or RIP Roger Ebert, In His Own Very Wise Words

I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, wonder and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris.

I don’t expect to die anytime soon. But it could happen this moment, while I am writing. I was talking the other day with Jim Toback, a friend of 35 years, and the conversation turned to our deaths, as it always does. “Ask someone how they feel about death,” he said, “and they’ll tell you everyone’s gonna die. Ask them, In the next 30 seconds? No, no, no, that’s not gonna happen. How about this afternoon? No. What you’re really asking them to admit is, Oh my God, I don’t really exist. I might be gone at any given second.”

Me too, but I hope not. I have plans. Still, illness led me resolutely toward the contemplation of death. That led me to the subject of evolution, that most consoling of all the sciences, and I became engulfed on my blog in unforeseen discussions about God, the afterlife, religion, theory of evolution, intelligent design, reincarnation, the nature of reality, what came before the big bang, what waits after the end, the nature of intelligence, the reality of the self, death, death, death.

Many readers have informed me that it is a tragic and dreary business to go into death without faith. I don’t feel that way. “Faith” is neutral. All depends on what is believed in. I have no desire to live forever. The concept frightens me. I am 69, have had cancer, will die sooner than most of those reading this. That is in the nature of things. In my plans for life after death, I say, again with Whitman:

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,

If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles...

The above is a but a short excerpt from a wonderful essay entitled "I Do Not Fear Death" from Roger Ebert's Life Itself: A Memoir. The essay was published in full on Salon in honor as a sort of memorial to the recently deceased film critic. You can read the entire piece on Salon's website (highly recommended!) by clicking here. Special thanks to Evan Michelson and Allen Crawford for bringing this essay to my attention.Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-do-not-fear-death-or-rip-roger-ebert.html

Lover’s Eye and Masonic Prank Initiation Devices Illustrated Lectures with One-Night-Only Mini Exhibits! Dance of Death Linocut Class! Workshops in Taxidermy, Hair Art, Anthropomorphic Insects and Bat Skeleton Domes! "Rest in Pieces" Book Party! Special London-based series this June and July! Morbid Anatomy Presents this Week and Beyond…

This Thursday, April 11, Morbid Anatomy hopes to see you at Brooklyn's Observatory at our "Lover's Eye" event, a night dedicated to enigmatic portrait miniatures featuring only the sitters eye that were often used to commemorate illicit love affairs in the 18th century. The lineup will consist of an illustrated lecture tracing their history and resurgence in contemporary art, as well as a one-night-only mini exhibit of actual antique examples from a private collection. See top image for a special sneak preview of the lecture!
We also are excited to announce our newly added "Masonic Slapstick" evening, which will take place on Tuesday April 30 and explore the work of the DeMoulin Brothers, leading makers of "initiation prank devices" for the masons and other lodges. It will begin with an illustrated lecture by John Goldsmith, Curator of the DeMoulin Museum, followed by a one-night-only exhibition of initiation devices curated by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's "Oddities". The second image down shows one of the DeMoulin Brothers's works, a "Parade Goat."

We are also excited to announce a new, typically inspired class by Morbid Anatomy Art Academy's regular instructor Lado Pochkua. In this class, entitled "Dance of Death by Hans Holbein: A Linocut Workshop" (Mondays May 20, 27th and June 3, bottom image) students will learn the techniques of woodcuts and linocuts by creating a copy of one of Hans Holbein’s prints from his 1538 Dance of Death series, and will leave class with their own finished Dance of Death linocut and the skills to produce their own pieces in the future.

Other upcoming offerings include taxidermy, hair art, anthropomorphic insect shadow box AND bat skeleton dome workshops, Rest in Pieces book party, and a special London-based series this June and July.
Full details follow. Hope to see you at one or more of these terrific events!
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Love’s Unknowable Eye: The Curious History and Mysterious Allure of 18th century “Lovers Eyes” Illustrated lecture and Genuine "Lover's Eye" Show and Tell with Artist Lauren Levato
Date: Thursday, April 11th
Time: 8.00
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy
Tonight at Observatory, we invite you to join us for a highly illustrated talk on what were historically called "eye miniatures," now called “lover’s eyes.” These beautiful portrait miniatures, featuring only the eye of the sitter, enjoyed a brief stint of outrageous popularity in the 18th century after a scandal involving the Prince of Wales, an illicit love affair, and a dramatic suicide attempt over the rejected love of a forbidden woman. Often created as tokens of memory for unsanctioned love, these gorgeous paintings—intensely intimate yet mysteriously anonymous—were lushly rendered on such media as ivory or copper. More than just treasures or statements of wealth, they were symbols of devotion, marriage, death, infidelity, memory, and promise. Nearly all of these enigmatic eyes are from lovers unknown, fictions that lure us with a fixed gaze, unyielding in its mystery and desire. Although the feverish mania for these objects ended nearly as quickly as it began, they continue to inspire, serving as muse to contemporary artists, photographers, painters and tattooists who explore the concept in thoroughly contemporary manners.
Tonight, Chicago based artist Lauren Levato--who curates a private collection containing thousands of objects of erotic affection, including several lover’s eyes set in brooches, rings, pill boxes, and bracelets--will trace the history and phenomenon of Lover’s Eyes, of which only an estimated 1,000 are known to still exist.
Lauren will also bring some authentic 18th century Lover’s Eyes for your delectation.
Lauren Levato is a visual artist and writer.  She is working on her exhibition for the International Museum of Surgical Science, opening in December, and has begun her own collection of lover’s eyes in tattoo form, as a type of signature of some of today’s best working tattooers.
Image: Unknown "Lover's Eye" on braided hair bracelet, Georgian period; Private collection
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Raccoon Head Taxidermy Class with Rogue Taxidermist Katie Innamorato
Date: Sunday, April 14
Time: 12 – 6 PM
Admission: $350
***Class Limited to 5; Must RSVP to katie.innamorato [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
This course will introduce students to basic and fundamental taxidermy techniques and procedures. Students will be working with donated raccoon skins and will be going through the steps to do a head mount. The class is only available to 5 students, allowing for more one on one interaction and assistance. Students will be working with tanned and lightly prepped skin; there will be no skinning of the animals in class. This is a great opportunity to learn the basic steps to small and large mammal taxidermy. All materials will be supplied by the instructor, and you will leave class with your own raccoon head mount.
Rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato has a BFA in sculpture from SUNY New Paltz, has been featured on the hit TV show "Oddities," and has had her work featured at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Los Angeles, California. She is self and professionally taught, and has won multiple first place ribb
ons and awards at the Garden State Taxidermy Association Competition. Her work is focussed on displaying the cyclical connection between life and death and growth and decomposition. Katie is a member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens and uses roadkill, scrap, and donated skins to create mounts.
Her website and blogs-
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Bat in Glass Dome Workshop
Part of DIY Wunderkammer Series: With Wilder Duncan (formerly of Evolution Shop, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library
With Wilder Duncan (formerly of Evolution Store, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library
Date: Sunday, April 21
Time: 1 – 6 PM
Admission: $200
*** MUST RSVP to Laetitia [at] atlasobscura.com 
In this class, students will learn how to create an osteological preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays. A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary materials will be provided for each student, but one should feel welcome to bring small feathers, stones, dried flowers, dead insects, natural elements, or any other materials s/he might wish to include in his/her composition. Students will leave the class with a visually striking, fully articulated, “lifelike” bat skeleton posed in a 10” tall glass dome. This piece can, in conjunction with the other creations in the DIY Wunderkammer workshop series, act as the beginning of a genuine collection of curiosities!
This class is part of the DIY Wunderkammer workshop series, curated by Laetitia Barbier and Wilder Duncan for Morbid Anatomy as a creative and pluridisciplinary exploration of the Curiosity Cabinet. The classes will focus on teaching ancient methods of specimen preparation that link science with art: students will create compositions involving natural elements and, according to their taste, will compose a traditional Victorian environment or a modern display. More on the series can be found here.
Wilder Duncan is an artist whose work puts a modern-day spin on the genre of Vanitas still life. Although formally trained as a realist painter at Wesleyan University, he has had a lifelong passion for, and interest in, natural history. Self-taught rogue taxidermist and professional specimen preparator, Wilder worked for several years at The Evolution Store creating, repairing, and restoring objects of natural historical interest such as taxidermy, fossils, seashells, minerals, insects, tribal sculptures, and articulated skeletons both animal and human. Wilder continues to do work for private collectors, giving a new life to old mounts, and new smiles to toothless skulls.
Laetitia Barbier is the head librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library. She is working on a master's thesis for the Paris Sorbonne on painter Joe Coleman. She writes for Atlas Obscura and Morbid Anatomy.
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A Fate Worse Than Death: The Perils of Being a Famous Corpse with Bess Lovejoy, Author of Rest in Pieces
With Bess Lovejoy, author of Rest in Pieces
Date: Friday, April 26th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Most of us know what our afterlives are going to be like: eternity in the ground, or resting in an urn on some relative’s mantelpiece. If we’re lucky, our children might occasionally bring us flowers or a potted plant, and that’s about as interesting as things are going to get.
Not so the famous deceased. For millennia, they’ve been bought and sold, worshipped and reviled, studied, collected, stolen, and dissected. They’ve been the star attractions at museums and churches, and used to found cemeteries, cities, even empires. Pieces of them have languished in libraries and universities, in coolers inside closets, and in suitcases underneath beds. For them, eternity has been anything but easy.
The more notable or notorious the body, the more likely it is that someone’s tried to disturb it. Consider the near-snatching of Abraham Lincoln, or the attempt on Elvis’s tomb. Then there’s Descartes, who is missing his head, and Galileo, who is spending eternity without his middle finger. Napoleon’s missing something a bit lower, as is the Russian mystic Rasputin, at least if the rumors are true. Meanwhile, Jesse James has had three graves, and may not have been in any of them, while it took a court case and an exhumation to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald was in his.
In this illustrated lecture, Bess Lovejoy will draw on her new book, Rest in Pieces, to discuss the many threats faced by famous corpses--from furta sacra ("holy theft" of saintly relics), to skull-stealing phrenologists, "Resurrection Men" digging up cadavers for medical schools, modern organ harvesters, the depredations of crazed fans, and much more.
Rest in Pieces will also be available for sale, and wine will be served in celebration of its release.

Bess Lovejoy
is a writer, researcher, and editor based in
Seattle. She writes about dead people, forgotten history, and sometimes art, literature, and science. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Believer, The Boston Globe, The Stranger, and other publications. She worked on the Schott’s Almanac series for five years. Visit her at BessLovejoy.com.

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Masonic Slapstick - The DeMoulin Brothers and their Odd Initiate Prank Devices
An Illustrated lecture by John Goldsmith, Curator of the DeMoulin Museum accompanied by a one-night-only exhibition of initiation devices curated by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's "Oddities"
Date: Tuesday, April 30th
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $8
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

Between 1890 and 1930, hundreds of thousands of men belonged to the Masons, the Elks, the Kiwanis, or another of the over one hundred lodges which provided American men with a social outlet, a sense of importance, and sometimes even health and life insurance. One way these many lodges competed for members was with the use of inventive, theatrical and unlikely gadgets used in lodge initiations.

In 1892, Ed DeMoulin, a small town photographer who had more than a passing interest in the gadgets of the day, founded the DeMoulin company which went on to become one of the leading manufacturers of these lodge initiation devices. The DeMoulin brothers (Ed, U.S. and Erastus) held patents on many of the best known of these including "The Lifting & Spraying Machine," "The Lung Tester," and "The Low Down Buck Goat." The DeMoulin’s motto was “Fun in the Lodge Room” and there’s little doubt that these water shootin’, electric shockin’, blank firin’, collapsin’ devices could do the trick.

Who were the DeMoulin brothers? And how did they become the zany geniuses behind these lodge initiation pranks? Tonight John Goldsmith, curator of the DeMoulin Museum, will share their story and demonstrate some of the devices. He’ll also provide a virtual tour of the DeMoulin Museum. There will also be a one-night-only mini exhibit of initiation devices curated by Mike Zohn, co-star of TV's "Oddities."

John Goldsmith is curator of the was the DeMoulin Museum. He was also a consultant on Catalog 439: Burlesque Paraphernalia published by Fantagraphics in 2010 and The Extraordinary Catalog of Peculiar Inventions published by Perigee in 2011. The DeMoulin Museum has been featured on KSDK’s “Show Me St. Louis” and WSEC’s “Illinois Stories”.
Mike Zohn--co-star of TV's "Oddities" and co-owner of Obscura Antiques--is a long term DeMoulin enthusiast and collector.

Image: "The DADDY Uv-Um ALL," parade goat by The DeMoulin Brothers.


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Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop with Former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy TaintonWith Daisy Tainton, Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History
Date: Saturday, May 11th
Time: 1 – 4 PM
Admission: $75
***Tickets MUST be pre-ordered by clicking here
You can also pre-pay in person at the Observatory during open hours.
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Today, join former AMNH Senior Insect Preparator Daisy Tainton for Observatory’s popular Anthropomorphic Insect Shadowbox Workshop. In this class, students will work with Rhinoceros beetles: nature’s tiny giants. Each student will learn to make–and leave with their own!–shadowbox dioramas featuring carefully positioned beetles doing nearly anything you can imagine. Beetles and shadowboxes are provided, and an assortment of miniature furniture, foods, and other props will be available to decorate your habitat. Students need bring nothing, though are encouraged to bring along dollhouse props if they have a particular vision for their final piece; 1:12 scale work best.

BEETLES WILL BE PROVIDED. Each student receives one beetle approximately 2-3 inches tall when posed vertically.

Daisy Tainton was formerly Senior Insect Preparator at the American Museum of Natural History, and has been working with insects professionally for several years. Eventually her fascination with insects and  love of Japanese miniature food items naturally came together, resulting in cute and ridiculous museum-inspired yet utterly unrealistic dioramas. Beetles at the dentist? Beetles eating pie and knitting sweaters? Even beetles on the toilet? Why not?
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Dance of Death by Hans Holbein: A Linocut Workshop with Classically Trained Artist Lado Pochkua 
Dates: Tuesdays May 20, May 27 and June 4

Time: 7 - 10 PM
Admission: $60
***MUST RSVP to morbidanatomylibrary [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

The "dance of death" or "danse macabre" was a "medieval allegorical concept of the all-conquering and equalizing power of death, expressed in the drama, poetry, music, and visual arts of western Europe, mainly in the
late Middle Ages. It is a literary or pictorial representation of a procession or dance of both living and dead figures, the living arranged in order of their rank, from pope and emperor to child, clerk, and hermit, and the dead leading them to the grave." (Encyclopedia Britannica). One of the best known expressions of this genre are a series of forty-two wood cuts by Hans Holbien published in 1538 under the title "Dance of Death."

In this class, students will learn the techniques of woodcuts and linocuts by creating a copy of one of Hans Holbein’s prints from the Dance of Death series. The class will follow the entire process from beginning to end: drafting a copy of the image, either a fragment or whole; transfer of the image to a linoleum block; cutting the image; printing the image on paper. Students will leave class with their own finished Dance of Death linocut and the skills to produce their own pieces in the future.

  • Lesson 1: creating a copy of either a fragment or full image from the series on paper. The copy can either be freehand and stylized, or students can use a grid to copy more exactly.
  • Lesson 2: transfer the drawing to linoleum.
  • Lesson 3: correction of image, and beginning to cut the image.
  • Lesson 4: finalizing the cut image.
  • Lesson 5: Printing the image. Students will be able to use several colors and backgrounds to create the final image.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

  • A block of linoleum: Blick Battleship Gray Linoleum, mounted or unmounted (details here)

OR

  • Speedball Speedy-carve blocks, pink only (details here) Size: 9x12 or 8x10.

AND

  • Linocutter set: Blick Lino Cutter Set (details here)Water soluble printing inks
  • Printing paper
  • Tracing paper
  • Pencils
  • Black markers (fine point)

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Lado Pochkhua was born in Sukhumi, Georgia in 1970. He received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Tbilisi State Art Academy in Georgia in 2001. He currently divides his time between New York and Tbilisi, Georgia.
Selected Exhibitions:

  • 2011   “Works from the Creamer Street Studio,” at the Literature Museum, Tbilisi Georgia  (solo show)
  • 2010    “Paradise ” at Proteus Gowanus, New York
  • 2009    “Prague Biennale 4,” Georgian pavilion
  • 2009    “The Art of returning Home,” Arsi Gallery, Tbilisi Georgia (solo show)
  • 2008    Gardens, Ships, and Lessons, K. Petrys Ház Gallery, Budapest, Hungary (solo show) Exhibition of Georgian Artists, Festival OFF EUROPA ditorei Gallerie NBL, Leipzig, Germany
  • 2004    Artists of Georgia, Georgian Embassy, London, UK
  • 2003    Curriculum Vitae: a retrospective of 20th century Georgian art, Caravasla Tbilisi History Museum, Tbilisi, Georgia, Waiting for the Barbarians, Gallery Club 22, Tbilisi, Georgia (solo show)
  • 2001     21 Georgian Artists, UNESCO, Paris, France
  • 1998    Magical Geometry, TMS Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia (solo show)

Image: Image: “Melior est mors quam vita” to the aged woman who crawls gravewards with her bone rosary while Death makes music in the van." From Hans Holbein's "Dance of Death."
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Date: Sunday, June 2
Time: 12-4 PM
Admission: $75
***Must pre-order tickets here: http://victorianmourningjewelry.bpt.me
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
Hair jewelry was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal lockets or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class will explore a modern take on the genre.
The technique of "palette working" or arranging hair in artful swoops and curls will be explored and a variety of ribbons, beads, wire and imagery of mourning iconography will be supplied for potential inclusion. A living or deceased person or pet may be commemorated in this manner.
Students are requested to bring with them to class their own hair, fur, or feathers; all other necessary materials will be supplied. Hair can be self-cut, sourced from barber shops or hair salons (who are usually happy to provide you with swept up hair), from beauty supply shops (hair is sold as extensions), or from wig suppliers. Students will leave class with their own piece of hair jewelry and the knowledge to create future projects.

Karen Bachmann
 is a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany and Co. She is a Professor in the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled Hairy Secrets:... In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock. 
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Morbid Anatomy Presents at London's Last Tuesday Society this June and July
A series of London-based events, workshops, special tours, screenings and spectacles surveying the interstices of art and medicine, death and culture curated by Observatory's Morbid Anatomy
Date: June 2 - July 25
Time: Variable, but most lectures begin at 7 PM
Location: The Last Tuesday Society at 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP map here) unless otherwise specified

The series will feature Morbid Anatomy's signature mix of museum professionals, professors, librarians, artists, rogue scholars, and autodidacts--many flown in direct from Morbid Anatomy's base in Brooklyn, New York--to elucidate on a wide array of topics including (but not limited to!) The Neapolitan Cult of the Dead; "human zoos;" "speaking reliquaries;" why music drives women mad; eccentric folk medicine collections; Santa M
uerte (or "Saint Death); dissection and masturbation; dissection and magic; Victorian memorial hair jewelry; the "hot nurse" in popular fiction; The Danse Macabre; "a cinematic survey of The Vampires of London;" and anatomical waxworks and death.

There will be also two special backstage tours: one of the legendary Blythe House, home of the vast and incredible collection of Henry Wellcome and the other of the Natural History Museum's zoological collection, featuring the famously gorgeous Blaschka invertebrate glass model collection; a special magic lantern show featuring "the weirdest, most inappropriate and completely baffling examples of lantern imagery" conjured by collector and scholar Professor Heard, author of Phantasmagoria- The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern; a screening of rare short films from the BFI National Archive documenting folk music, dance, customs and sport; and workshops in the creation of Victorian hair work, lifelike wax wounds, and bat skeletons in glass domes.

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Wax Wound Workshop with medical artist Eleanor Crook
Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 1:00 - 5:00 PM
More here

Let acclaimed sculptor Eleanor Crook guide you in creating your very own wax wound. Crook has lent her experience to professionals ranging from forensic law enforcement officers to plastic surgeons, so is well placed to help you make a horrendously lifelike scar, boil or blister.
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Art, Wax, Death and Anatomy : Illustrated lecture with art historian Roberta Ballestriero
Monday, June 3, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Wax modelling, or ceroplastics, is of ancient origin but was revived in 14th century Italy with the cult of Catholic votive objects, or ex votos.  Art Historian Roberta Ballestriero will discuss the art and history of wax modeling sacred and profane; she will also showcase many of its greatest masterworks.
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Music Driving Women Mad: The History of Medical Fears of its Effects on Female Bodies and Minds: Illustrated lecture with Dr. James Kennaway
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Over the past few centuries, countless physicians and writers have asserted that music could cause very serious medical problems for the 'weaker sex'. Not only could it bring on symptoms of nervousness and hysteria, it could also cause infertility, nymphomania and even something called 'melosexualism'. This talk will give an outline of this strange debate, using the raciest stories to be found in gynaecological textb
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Solitary vice? Sex and Dissection in Georgian London With Dr Simon Chaplin
Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

In this lavishly illustrated lecture, Simon Chaplin explores the sexual undertones of the anatomy schools of Georgian London, in which students dissected grave-robbed bodies in the back-rooms of their teachers' houses, while their masters explored new strategies for presenting their work to polite audiences through museums and lectures.
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Heartthrobs of the Human Zoo: Ethnographic Exhibitions and Captive Celebrities of Turn of the Century America: An Illustrated Lecture with Betsy Bradley
Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

From ransomed Congolese pygmies to winsome Eskimo babies, the American world's fairs and patriotic expositions  present history with a number of troubling ethnographic celebrities, and their stories offer a rare glimpse inside the psychology and culture of imperial America at the turn of a new century.
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The Astounding Collection of Henry Wellcome: Blythe House Backstage Tour with Selina Hurley, Assistant Curator of Medicine, The Science Museum
Friday, June 7, 2013 at 3:00pm
More here

Henry Wellcome (1853 - 1936)----early pharmaceutical magnate and man behind the Wellcome Trust, Collection, and Library--was the William Randolph Hearst of the medical collecting world. That collection, possibly the finest medical collection in the world, now resides in Blythe House, kept in trust by The Science Museum on permanent loan from the Wellcome Trust. Today, a lucky fifteen people will get a rare chance to see this collection, featuring many artifacts of which have never before been on public view, in this backstage tour led Selina Hurley, Assistant Curator of Medicine at The Science Museum.
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Neapolitan Cult of the Dead with Chiara Ambrosio
Monday, June 10, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

In tonight's illustrated lecture, Italian artist and filmmaker Chiara Ambrosio will elucidate this curious and fascinating "Neapolitan Cult of the Dead" and situate it within a the rich death culture and storied history of Naples.
  
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A Vile Vaudeville of Gothic Attractions: Illustrated lecture by Mervyn Heard, author of Phantasmagoria- The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

An illustrated talk in which writer and showman 'Professor' Mervyn Heard waxes scattergun- sentimental over some of the more bizarre, live theatrical experiences of the 18th, 19th and early 20th century - from the various ghastly manifestations of the phantasmagoria to performing hangmen, self-crucifiers and starving brides.

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Professor Heard's Most Extraordinary Magic Lantern Show with Mervyn Heard
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Professor Heard is well known to patrons of the Last Tuesday Lecture programme for his sell-out magic lantern entertainments. In this latest assault on the eye he summons up some of the weirdest, most inappropriate and completely baffling examples of lantern imagery, lantern stories and optical effects by special request of Morbid Anatomy.

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"Speaking Reliquaries" and Christian Death Rituals: Part One of "Hairy Secrets" Series With Karen Bachmann
Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

3-part series on human relics and Victorian mourning jewelry--master jeweler and art historian Karen Bachmann will focus on what are termed "speaking" reliquaries: the often elaborate containers which house the preserved body parts--or relics--of saints and martyrs with shapes which reflect that of the body-part contained within.

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Hair Art Workshop Class: The Victorian Art of Hair Jewellery With Karen Bachmann
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 1:00pm
More here

Hair jewellery was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal lockers or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class will explore a modern take on the genre.

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The History of the Memento Mori and Death's Head Iconography: Part Two of
"Hairy Secrets" Series Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

In tonight's lecture--the second in a 3-part series on human relics and Victorian mourning jewelry--master jeweler and art historian Karen Bachmann will explore the development of the memento mori,objects whose very raison d'être is to remind the beholder that they, too, will die.

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Hair Art Workshop Class: The Victorian Art of Hair Jewellery With Karen Bachmann
Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 1:00pm (More here)
Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 1:00pm (More here)

Hair jewellery was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal lockers or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class will explore a modern take on the genre.

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The Victorian Love Affair with Death and the Art of Mourning Hair Jewelry: Illustrated lecture with Art Historian and Master Jeweler Karen Bachmann
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

The Victorians had a love affair with death which they expressed in a variety of ways, both intensely sentimental and macabre. Tonight's lecture-the last in a 3-part series on human relics and Victorian mourning jewelry-will take as its focus the apex of the phenomenon of hair jewelry fashion in the Victorian Era as an expression of this passion.

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Dissection and Magic with Constanza Isaza Martinez
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

This lecture examines images of human corpses in Early Modern European art in relation to two specific themes: the practice of 'witchcraft' or 'magic'; and the emergent medical profession, particularly anatomical dissection.
  
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Future Death. Future Dead Bodies. Future Cemeteries Illustrated lecture by Dr. John Troyer, Deputy Director of the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath
Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Dr. John Troyer, from the Centre for Death & Society, University of Bath, will discuss three kinds of postmortem futures: Future Death, Future Dead Bodies, and Future Cemeteries. Central to these Futures is the human corpse and its use in new forms of body disposal technology, digital technology platforms, and definitions of death.

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‘She Healed Their Bodies With Her White Hot Passions’: The Role of the Nurse in Romantic Fiction with Natasha McEnroe Illustrated lecture Natasha McEnroe, Director of the Florence Nightingale Museum
Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 7:00pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/478987722156193/

Victorian portrayals of the nurse show either a drunken and dishonest old woman or an angelic and devoted being, which changes to a 20th-century caricature just as pervasive - that of the 'sexy nurse'. In this talk, Natasha McEnroe will explore the links between the enforced intimacy of the sickroom and the handling of bodies for more recreational reasons.

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Face lift or face reconstruction? Redesigning the Museum Vrolik, Amsterdam's anatomical museum An illustrated lecture with Dr. Laurens de Rooy, curator of the Museum Vrolik in Amsterdam
Monday, June 24, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Counting more than five thousand preparations and specimens, the Museum Vrolikianum, the private collection of father Gerard and his son Willem Vrolik was an amazing object of interest one hundred and fifty years ago. In the 1840s and 50s this museum, established in Gerard's stately mansion on the river Amstel, grew into a famous collection that attracted admiring scientists from both the Netherlands and abroad. In this talk, Museum Vrolik curator Dr Laurens de Rooy will take you on a guided tour of the new museum, and give an overview of all the other aspects of the 'new' Museum Vrolik.

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The Walking Dead in 1803: An Illustrated Lecture with Phil Loring, Curator of Psychology at the Science Museum in London
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

A visiting Italian startled Londoners at the turn of the 19th century by making decapitated animals and executed men open their eyes and move around, as if on the verge of being restored to life. This was not magic but the power of electricity from the newly invented Galvanic trough, or battery. This talk will discuss a variety of historical instruments from the Science Museum's collections that figured in these re-animation experiments, including the apparatus used by Galvani himself in his laboratory in Bologna.
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The Influencing Machine: James Tilly Matthews and the Air Loom with Mike Jay
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Confined in Bedlam in 1797 as an incurable lunatic, James Tilly Matthews' case is one of the most bizarre in the annals of psychiatry. He was the first person to insist that his mind was being controlled by a machine: the Air Loom, a terrifying secret weapon whose mesmeric rays and mysterious gases were brainwashing politicians and plunging Europe into revolution, terror and war. But Matthews' case was even stranger than his doctors realised: many of the incredible conspiracies in which he claimed to be involved were entirely real.

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A Waxen France: Madame Tussaud’s Representations of the French: Illustrated Lecture by Pamela Pilbeam Emeritus Professor of French History, Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Madame Tussaud and the History of Waxworks
Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Madame Tussaud's presentation of French politics and history did much to inform and influence the popular perception of France among the British. This lecture will explore that view and how it changed during the nineteenth century.

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Backstage Tour of the Zoological Collection of the Natural History Museum with Miranda Lowe
Friday, June 28, 2013 at 3:00pm
More here

Today, ten lucky people will get to join Miranda Lowe, Collections Manager of the Aquatic Invertebrates Division, for a special backstage tour of The Natural History Museum of London. The tour will showcase the zoological spirit collections in the Darwin Centre, some of Darwin's barnacles and the famed collection of glass marine invertebrate models crafted by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka in the 19th and early 20th century.
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Bat in Glass Dome Workshop: Part of DIY Wunderkammer Series With Wilder Duncan (formerly of Evolution Store, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid Anatomy Library
Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 1:00pm (more here)
Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 1:00pm (more here)

In this class, students will learn how to create an osteological preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays. A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary materials will be provided for each student.  The classes will focus on teaching ancient methods of specimen preparation that link science with art: students will create compositions involving natural elements and, according to their taste, will compose a traditional Victorian environment or a modern display.
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The Coming of Age of the Danse Macabre on the Verge of the Industrial Age with Alexander L. Bieri Illustrated lecture with Alexander L. Bieri
Tuesday, July 9, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

The lecture not only discusses Schellenberg's danse macabre in detail, but also gives an insight into the current fascination with vanitas and its depictions, especially focusing on the artistic exploitation of the theme and takes into consideration the history of anatomical dissection and preparation.
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"Viva la Muerte: The Mushrooming Cult of Saint Death" Illustrated lecture and book signing with Andrew Chesnut
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

The worship of Santa Muerte, a psuedo Catholic saint which takes the form of a personified and clothed lady death, is on the rise and increasingly controversial in Mexico and the United States. Literally translating to "Holy Death" or "Saint Death," the worship of Santa Muerte-like Day of the Dead-is a popular form of religious expression rooted in a rich syncretism of the beliefs of the native Latin Americans and the colonizing Spanish Catholics.
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From Blue Beads to Hair Sandwiches: Edward Lovett and London's Folk Medicine: An Illustrated lecture with Ross MacFarlane, Research Engagement Officer in the Wellcome Library
Monday, July 15, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

During his life Edward Lovett (1852-1933) amassed one of the largest collections of objects pertaining to 'folk medicine' in the British Isles.  Lovett particularly focused his attention on objects derived from contemporary, working class Londoners, believing that the amulets, charms and mascots he collected - and which were still being used in 20th century London - were 'survivals' of antiquated, rural practices.
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The Vampires of London: A Cinematic Survey with William Fowler (BFI) and Mark Pilkington (Strange Attractor)
Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

This heavily illustrated presentation and film clip selection explores London's Highgate Cemetery as a locus of horror in the 1960s and 1970s cinema, from mondo and exploitation to classic Hammer horror.
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"Here's a Health to the Barley Mow: a Century of Folk Customs and Ancient Rural Games" Screenings of Short Films from the BFI Folk Film Archives with William Fowler
Wednesday, July 24, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

Tonight, the British Film Institute's William Fowler will present a number of rare and beautiful short films from the BFI National Archive and Regional Film Archives showing some of our rich traditions of folk music, dance, customs and sport. Highlights include the alcoholic folk musical Here's a Health to the Barley Mow (1955), Doc Rowe's speedy sword dancing film and the Padstow Mayday celebration Oss Oss Wee Oss (Alan Lomax/Peter Kennedy 1953).
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Of Satyrs, Horses and Camels: Natural History in the Imaginative Mode: illustrated lecture by Daniel Margócsy, Hunter College, New York
Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 7:00pm
More here

From its beginnings, science was (and still is) an imaginative and speculative enterprise, just like the arts. This talk traces the exchange of visual information between the major artists of the Renaissance and the leading natural historians of the scientific revolution. It shows how painters' and printmakers' fictitious images of unicorns, camels and monkfish came to populate the botanical and zoological encyclopedias of early modern Europe.

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You can find out more on all events here.

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2013/04/lovers-eye-and-masonic-prank-initiation.html

"The Angel of the Odd: Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst," Musée D’Orsay, Paris; Through June 9, 2013

Whilst in Paris last week for the Anatomical Model conference at the Academy of Medicine (which was wonderful, by the way) I made time to visit the Musée D'Orsay's spellbinding exhibition "The Angel of the Odd: Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst." I and my companion spend a good three and a half hours marveling at the works--which ranged from romantic painting to Hitchcock film clips to spirit photography to decorative arts--and absorbing the text, which sought to trace a through-line from the Dante-inspired 18th century romantic paintings of Johann Henry Fuseli to today's horror films. Above are just a very few of my favorite works seen in this wonderful, sprawling exhibition.

The exhibition terms this trope "dark romanticism"--drawn from art historian Mario Praz's 1903 publication Flesh, Death and the Devil in Romantic Literature--and traces its development in three major sections. The first examines its genesis in the years from 1750-1850 in, paradoxically, "the age of reason," a response to the post-French revolution "Terror" and Napoleon's wars which, the text explains, "mark[ed] the end of the belief that reason alone could lead to enlightened humanity." Text and images demonstrate how the romantics used literary works--Gothic novels, of course, but also Goethe's and Milton's visions of hell and the darker interludes of Shakespeare--as the launching off point for artworks exploring the darkest and most taboo aspects of humanity: "cannibalism, Satanism, torture, incest, infantacide, and nightmares." The real standouts in this section were the works of Goya (4th down), Fuseli (2nd and 3rd down), some wonderful illustrations by Delecroix for Goethe's Faust (8th down), and the shockingly perverse and powerfully large-scale "Dante And Virgil In Hell" depicting an act of cannibalism described in Dante's Inferno (top image) and painted by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, whom I had previously known as the artist behind exceedingly competent and somewhat sentimental academic paintings such as this one. Another surprise in this section was a Goya print from his "Les Caprices" series which, the text convincingly asserted, served as the inspiration for Karloff's iconic Frankenstein.

The second part of the exhibition which examined the "dark romantic" revival of the 19th century was the real st
rength of the show for me, showcasing dozens of unforgettable works by the French Symbolists drawn from the Musée D'Orsay's magnificent permanent collection. We learn that the work was a response to a time of upheaval, when faith in scientific positivism and democracy were weakening, and artists and intellectuals were growing increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of bourgeois propriety. It was also a time of "obsessive fears" about prostitution, venereal disease, and evolutionary degeneration, where a post-Darwinian nature was viewed not as gentle mother but, instead, "a devouring force relentlessly destroying personal happiness to ensure the survival of the species." No wonder, then, that this section is rife with images of Medusa, Salome, The Sphinx, "The Idol of Perversity" and other erotic and terrifying femme fatales. This section also boasted some surprising images by Gauguin (12 down), a number of oddly contemporary and revelatory fetishy cyanotypes by Charles-François Jeandel (13 down), and a the fantastic sculpture "Eternelle douleur (Eternal Pain)" by Paul Dardé, a wonderful, dynamic depiction of the lifeless head of Medusa aloft on a nest of writhing snakes (bottom image, but does not capture the power of the original).

The third part of the exhibition focused on "Surrrealism's Redescovery," and traced this early 20th century movement's ebrace of the dark non-rational after the absurd horrors of WWI. Although thematically fitting, aesthetically there were few things of great interest to me, personally, in this section. The only things of note here were some works by Dali and a series of photographs of Hans Bellmer's wonderfully perverse dolls (16 down).

Throughout the exhibition, there were also a good many film clips meant to be playing in small theatres; sadly, many were out of order on the day we were there, but on a good day, one would find clips from Dracula, Frankenstein, Nosferatu (17 down), Hitchcock's Rebecca, Un Chien Andalou, Häxan, and much more.

The official introductory text for the exhibition--which is on view through June 9, 2013--follows; you can read the complete wall text by clicking here; you can learn more about the exhibition by clicking here. Full captions for all images follow as well.

You can order a copy of the exhibition catalog (in French but so, so worth it!) by clicking here. A copy will also soon be in The Morbid Anatomy Library. Special thanks to Pam Grossman for letting me know about this wonderful exhibition, and to "professor of art" Michael Daks for lingering with me there for 3+ hours.

The Angel of the Odd: Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst
It was in the 1930s that the Italian writer and art historian Mario Praz (1896-1982) first highlighted the dark side of Romanticism, thus naming a vast swathe of artistic creation, which from the 1760s onwards exploited the shadows, excesses and irrational elements that lurked behind the apparent triumph of enlightened Reason.

This world was created in the English Gothic novels of the late 18th century, a genre of literature that fascinated the public with its penchant for the mysterious and the macabre. The visual arts quickly followed suit: many painters, engravers and sculptors throughout Europe vied with the writers to create horrifying and grotesque worlds: Goya and Géricault presented us with the senseless atrocities of war and the horrifying shipwrecks of their time, Füssli and Delacroix gave substance to the ghosts, witches and devils of Milton, Shakespeare and Goethe, whereas C.D. Friedrich and Carl Blechen cast the viewer into enigmatic, gloomy landscapes, reflecting his fate.

From the 1880s, seeing the vanity and ambiguity behind the belief in progress, many artists picked up this legacy of Dark Romanticism, turning towards the occult, reviving myths and exploiting the new ideas about dreams, in order to bring Man face to face with his fears and contradictions: the savagery and depravity hidden in every human being, the risk of mass degeneration, the harrowing strangeness of daily life revealed in the horror stories of Poe and Barbey d’Aurévilly. And so, right in the middle of the second industrial revolution, hordes of witches, sniggering skeletons, shapeless devils, lecherous Satans and deadly enchantresses suddenly appeared, expressing a defiant, carnivalesque disillusionment with the present.

After the First World War, when the Surrealists took the unconsciousness, dreams and intoxication as the basis for artistic creation, they completed the triumph of the imagination over the principle of reality, and thus, put the finishing touches to the spirit itself of Dark Romanticism. At the same time, the cinema seized on Frankenstein, Faust and other masterpieces of this genre that are now firmly established in the collective imagination.

Following the first stage of the exhibition at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, the Musée d’Orsay plans to present the many different expressions of Dark Romanticism, from Goya and Füssli to Max Ernst and the Expressionist films of the 1920s, through a selection of 200 works that includes paintings, graphic works and films.

  1. William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Dante And Virgil In Hell, 1850
  2. Johann Henry Fuseli, Sin Pursued by Death, 1794-1796
  3. Johann Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, circa 1782
  4. Francisco de Goya, Witches in the Air, 1797-1798
  5. Louis Boulanger, Les Fantômes, 1829
  6. Gustave Moreau, Galatea, Circa 1880
  7. Eugène Grasset, Trois Femmes et Trois Loups, 1892
  8. Eugene Delecroix, Illustration from Goethe's Faust, 1828
  9. Odilon Redon, La Mort: C'est moi qui te rends serieuse; enlaçons-nous (Death: It Is I Who Makes You Serious; Let Us Embrace) from La Tentation de Sainte-Antoine (The Temptation of Saint Anthony) (plate XX), 1896
  10. Jean Delville, Idol of Perversity, 1891
  11. Franz von Stuck, The Kiss of the Sphinx (Der Kuss der Sphinx), 1895
  12. Paul Gauguin, Madame le Mort, 1891
  13. Julien Adolphe Duvovelle, Crâne aux yeux exorbités et mains agrippées à un mur, 1904
  14. Cyanotype by Charles-François Jeandel
  15. Anonymous spirit photograph, 1910
  16. Hans Bellmer, The Doll (face and knife), 1935  
  17. Still from F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, 1922
  18. Arnold Böcklin, Shield with Medusa's Head, 1897
  19. Paul Dardé, Eternelle douleur (Eternal Pain), 1913

Source:
http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-angel-of-odd-dark-romanticism-from.html

Mad Men Season 6: Nine Things to Know

The Walking Dead Season 3 came to an end last week.

But there is a positive to this development: it means it’s time to go back to the 60s for AMC’s equally entertaining – albeit far less bloody – Mad Men.

I recently spent a day hanging out with the actors that fill the offices of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Price to see if we could get any scoop out of their tight lips about the new season. Here are 11 things we found out that will get you ready for Sunday’s two-hour premiere...

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Don Draper’s duality: “We open with a man sitting in paradise reading about hell. And I think that's an interesting juxtaposition,” said Jon Hamm, who plays Don and does not utter a line for the first eight minutes of the season premiere. “We see it in the key art and as the season progresses you'll see a lot of dualities and two sides of this person.”

Season 6 Themes: To get a glimpse into what the new season is all about, creator Matthew Weiner broke down this poster: “There is a lot of meaning in it. It came from a dream…I had this dream and it was not Don, it was me. But a lot of stuff is like that. It could be, end up being expressed through Peggy or any of the characters but it was really about -- we don't wanna repeat ourselves on the show. But the fact is that you do repeat things in life. And coming back to a place where things are not so great and starting to realize that maybe you are the problem.”

He also said that one of the characters says in the first episode that 'people will do anything to alleviate their anxiety.’ That's what this season is about.” 

Joan as Partner: “We definitely are sort of exploring the fact that we have seen her all of a sudden become Partner and sort of what that means,” Christina Hendricks previewed. “Are people going to just all of a sudden turn around and, ‘Oh, Joan’s a partner. Let's treat her like a partner’…or is it a title and just everything same as usual?”

The fact that Joan slept with a client to help the business but also secure her partnership won’t be forgotten either, she teased: “It will always be something that she knows she did, but, I think, one of the things I really like about Joan is that she makes a decision, sticks with it, demands not to be judged for it in all sorts of things that she does throughout the show, and I think this is another one of those things.”

Roger, Don and Pete

Is Peggy Gone? Elisabeth Moss said Weiner told her that Peggy leaving the firm did not mean it was over for her. She explained that at season five’s episode 11, the show’s creator “called me and said ‘all this stuff's gonna happen and you're gonna leave.’ I literally was like, ‘that sounds amazing: Am I still on the show?’ He was actually a little bit offended and he was like, ‘Of course! Yes!’”

Moss feels having a main character separate from the rest of the pack, “that’s the beauty of this show, it's not afraid to take that risk, to kind of give the audience a little bit of maybe what they don't want.”

Moss also said she was wrong to assume that it might mean less Peggy Mad Men Season 6: “I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much I had to do in this season. I was kind of expecting not to be in it so much, because I thought well, I'm at a different agency. And I'm pleasantly surprised.”

Megan In The Spotlight: The acting career of Megan (Jessica Paré) goes to higher heights in the new season, but will Don be okay with that?  “We ended last season with Don walking out of the light and into the shadow," Hamm said. "We saw Don leaving Megan in the spotlight and retreating to the shadow. I think that's significant.

A Don and Joan Coupling? Hendricks admitted she loves that the audience wants something to happen between the two characters and isn’t totally ruling it out from ever actually happening: “If it made sense for the characters,” she said, “I am sure if that was something that happened, it would be for a very good reason that Matt would inform us of.”

Jon Hamm, Director: The actor steps behind the camera again for an upcoming episode this season and he admitted it was a tougher challenge this time around: “I had a lot more to do in my episode this season as an actor,” he explained. “It was sort of a degree of difficulty more challenging in that respect. You are completely of two minds on set. It's a very, very difficult mindset to stay in. You're watching one thing as a director and especially if you're in the scene you're watching one thing as an actor.”

He credited watching Ben Affleck wear dual hats while shooting the film, The Town, for helping him take on the task.

Can Roger Keep It In His Pants? John Slattery (Roger) is directing the 10th episode of the season but also talked about whether Roger could ever be faithful to a woman.

“Faithful? I don't know, I don't know. I hope not. Because he really does appreciate people, I think. [His ex-wife] Mona, I think they have a great relationship. I think they sound like each other, Mona and Roger. And Mona and Joan sometimes. They sort of have a way of cutting through the bullshit and pointing something out.”

Sally Parenting Betty: One of the themes with Betty is how she connects with children better than adults yet has a strained relationship with her own kids. Why? “She is on the same emotional level,” explained January Jones, “and I think now Sally is even surpassing her emotional maturity in a way, and has become almost Betty’s parent.”

And while Betty’s second marriage to Henry continues in the new season, can Betty ever be happy? “I don’t think that she’s ever satisfied with her circumstances. It’s just a personality flaw.”

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/mad-men-season-6-nine-things-to-know/

Doctor Who Review: The Most Important Leaf In Human History

Clara got her official induction into the world of The Doctor in "Rings of Akhaten" with a trip to an alien world. It was magical and fun and reminded me a bit of one of the original words in the Star Wars franchise.

We learned very early in the episode the story of the leaf that was the first page of Clara's book from "The Bells of St. John," and with this magical alien world came the necessity to part with items very precious to you instead of money. It's all setting up a theme, but I'm sure that I cannot figure out what it is yet.

Rings of Akhaten Photo

The Doctor is not giving up on his search for the mystery that is Clara Oswin Oswald. If his research is any indication, there will be no end to the intrigue any time soon. The leaf struck a man in the face and he was almost hit by a car. A woman saved him, and she became Clara's mother:

Man: So I've got something for ya.
Woman: What? Ya kept it?
Man: Of course I kept it.
Woman: Why?
Man: Because this exact leaf had to grow in that exact way, in that exact place, so that precise wind could tear it from that precise branch and make it fly into this exact face at that exact moment. And, if just one of those tiny little things had never had happened, I'd never have met ya. Which makes this leaf the most important leaf in human history. | permalink

The first page of Clara's book, "101 Places to See" was a duplicate copy of one her own mother, Ellie, had. In her mother's copy was the leaf. In Clara's was the progression of her age, as little girls will do to mark their possessions.

Minutes later, we see Clara at a grave of Ellie Ravenwood who died in 2005, holding the same book. Inside the book is the name Ellie Ravenwood, the same name on the gravestone, with the age 11 inscribed. The books themselves, from the different timelines, are different colors. Ellie Ravenwood, Clara's mother, died when Clara was 11 in 2005. None of it makes perfect sense to The Doctor and still he says, "She's not possible!"

It makes the story of our new companion all the more exciting, and his enjoyment of taking her on adventures is only enhanced by her mystery. I wonder why Clara's mother's grave was marked as Ravenswood while Clara's last name is Oswald. I'm sure we'll find out. Each time someone asked for a personal artifact to pay for passage of some sort, I imagined her pulling out "101 Places to See."

Nothing seems to phase our Clara, but the possibility of giving up what she remembers of her mother.

Did anyone else think that the god to whom Merry, the Queen of Years, had to sing her song looked an awful lot like a combination of the Grinch who stole Christmas and a sleestak?  It was going far too well for the story to end on a positive note, and for Merry to be captured and summoned to the mummy made perfect sense to the story of Clara so far. Because she is so much like Merry. As The Doctor said to Merry, there is only one Merry in the universe, and whether he likes it or not, there is only one Clara. He just cannot suss out how that's possible.

Something in Merry's song woke the sleeping god and he wanted to feed on her memories. In the end, The Doctor offered himself up as a sacrifice, giving one of the most exquisite speeches about who he is, where he has been and what he has seen over the past 50 years of Doctor Who I've ever heard. If I could have caught it all into a quote, I would have but it was beyond my capabilities. It was truly magnificent, right down to sharing that he had walked alone in the universe when there were no men and he was willing to give it all up to save the lives of all the others.

When in stepped Clara. Clara with her mother's copy of "101 Places to See," a book so well known and yet she was unable to come up with a single place to visit in the Tardis when asked by The Doctor where she would like to go. She opened her book and offered to the god the memories not of herself, but of a life unlived, that of her mother. All of the infinite possibilities that could have and should have been, but were not. The insatiable god took it, and exploded. As The Doctor said:

The Doctor: Well? Come on then. Eat up. You're full? I expect so. Because there's quite a difference between what was and what should have been. There's an awful lot of one but there's an infinity of the other. An infinity is too much, even for your appetite. | permalink

Clara saw that The Doctor was giving up everything to save the people of the worlds they were visiting, and in exchange, she gave up her most precious possession, the life her mother never lived and all of the promise it held to save The Doctor.

You all can argue with me and bring out examples of other companions and Doctors who have had great chemistry, even try to say what Clara has feels forced, but the last 15 minutes of this episode was epic. With Matt Smith's Doctor on his knees begging for his memories to be dragged out of his soul as salvation for generations with tears streaming down his face and Jenna-Louise Coleman's Clara taking that burden from him with a speech equally as emotional, I was moved to sobs. Not just tears. Sobs.

All of this will work it's way to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. Can you even imagine what Steven Moffat has in store for us? If the stories and the writing continues in this manner, I'm just going to watch from bed with a box of tissues. I realize they can go campy, funny or emotional, but so far I'm getting an emotional vibe that will knock my socks off. Note to self: don't wear socks.

Source:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2013/04/doctor-who-review-rings-of-akhaten/