Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Guilty Pleasures, Part 1

Here are some of my favorite painters who have the melodrama of the morning, noon and night on their side. It's all too much, it's very very overwhelming, they all seem to say, in their own way (according to me). I am so happy to feel the agony, the burden, the exciting sensual love of bodily accentuation, the rampant theatrical notions of spirit-laden physicality in blameless ecstatic moments. Girations and twisting, choreographed into frozen poses. Please give me more. Please, it hurts...I must have more!





40 comments:

Mountain Man said...

Rossetti, Bougereau, Cabanel, Fragonard, Parmagianino, Pontormo, El Greco.

Corny said...

WOo-WoO, blameless ecstatic moments!

OMG, what a dazzling display. You are ON FIRE MM! I need to decompress for 8 hours and look again tomorrow with virgin morn'n eyes.
Thanking you.

sloth said...

MM, this may be a cheesy question, but have you seen the Cistine Chapel in person, really & for real? When you see it you get the full impact of the wall-of-twisting-bodies effect. It is astonishing that those Roman priests & Bishops & Cardinals are exposed over and over to it. It must add to their agony/ecstasy. Anyway, that is what your pictures made me think of. Hearts to you.

Corny said...

OMG, yes the Cistine chapel. It's mind blowing. Amazing how in figurative art forms are disinct from each other yet myeriously connect and on that scale it provokes powerful feeling of love for all humanity.

Anonymous said...

I hate to be a spell-marm but it's Sistine Chapel and YES I have seen it!!! Honestly it was the 2nd best art viewing experience, I have had, and the number 1 most dramatic (I like to rank things). It felt to me, as we were nearing the Last Judgment, that I was on a roller coaster ride about to go deeply downward, thrill-style. I was so excited to get into the room, I started to cry upon entering. I just couldn't believe all the roiling energy everywhere.

Yes to figures!! Even though I've taken them out of my work in the last 2 years, I want to get that implied energy in really physical, anthropomorphic landscapes...that is my goal and hope. And I wanted to remind myself of the things that inspired me when I was still using the figure. I think they still have something to teach me.

YAY!

Anonymous said...

BTW, the first best art-viewing I ever had was the San Marco monastery in Florence - Fra Angelico's frescos in each of the monks' rooms. I may have said this before on my Fra Angelico post. I think of his work all the time. The unearthly glow. I am in love with art today. It is my girding against the mouth hell. The propulsion forward.

Anonymous said...

Corny, I agree about the powerful love of humanity, it happens, in spite of everything. How cool. And I bet the priests, et al were having more fun than we know. Ecstasy in any fashion is well worth it.

fairy butler said...

YES to this blart display mm. but a couple of the images didn't load, boo! ?? Anyway I just want to commend you on including fragonard, a secret fav. and I agree that one of my favorite arts in italy was the san marco fra angelicos!

Anonymous said...

Piles of love! These pictures quickened my heart.

sloth said...

me too, Hammy. They are getting me excited in the pants.

sloth said...

This kind of painting (much like the "rock and roll" style of music so popular with young people these days) leads down the road to depravity, excess, and fast living.

Anonymous said...

BRING IT ON! I am a degenerate.

The Capt'n said...

Now I feel the love. I don't mind the pain.

Mountain Man said...

Bougereau and El Greco were there last night and this morning and disappeared later today. Who stole the art???

I CRY THIEF!!!

Anonymous said...

We got a Thomas Crown affair here.

sloth said...

how you feeling, MM?

fairy butler said...

yes, mm, how are the sockets?

Anonymous said...

Getting better, thanks. Today is better than yesterdeay so far so it looks like by tomorrow night, everthing will be somehat groovy. Thank you for your inquiries as to the state of my sockets.

sloth said...

Ems, I read that the pain goes away after a few days. You should be out of the woods soon. Mean ol' woods.

Anonymous said...

The woods are mean and creepy, they are meant for the unjust as a punishment destination station.

Anonymous said...

fair Mountain Man, if you come my way, I will guide you through the troublesome woods. I will be your guide.

Anonymous said...

Wood Nymph, I will deliver this delightful, spiteless message to the Mountain Man. I am sure he will be pleased.

Anonymous said...

Stay away from the woods...there is nothing but trouble there. Who needs it?

Anonymous said...

Charred bark, was there a fire in your woods? Or did someone just burn you up by accident? Or was it a purposeful, ritual burning? I need to know.

Anonymous said...

Well, I was toasting some marshmellows and the flames got outta hand. It was awfully embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

I am not burned although you may think so.

Anonymous said...

Did you know he was a bedwetter and dreampt of seeing the crown gloryholes hidden deep beneath the ladies' skirts?

Anonymous said...

I am spite free, that is certain.

Charred Bark, I would like to help you. You seem sad.

Anonymous said...

I am. I am a loner and I am dark and ashen. What's a tree to do?

Anonymous said...

There is much loneliness in the forest but if you merge deep enough inward with the needles, branches and such there is magical unity of speechless cresting, like the white of a wave, and the smearing and clumping of muds on the forest floor. Many hiding places, many fallen things. It's good to stay there and rest a while.

Anonymous said...

I am here, deep in the forest...burnt and alone. But i guess it ain't so bad.

Anonymous said...

PD, I'm in the forest too. Wandering around. Only slightly lost. Lets have a bonfire.

Anonymous said...

Collect all the toadstools and arrange them in rows. Do a speed relay race. weaving through them. Then retreat to your hollow in a tree and make doomsday-related inventions. These are my ideas for what to do, to offset the despair of lostness and the disappearance of the poppy capsule.

Anonymous said...

I wouold like to find a wintery wonderland and skate into infinity.

Anonymous said...

ugh, celebrity ice skater. hit the road.

Anonymous said...

yeah you know what happens to all celebrity ice skaters - only bad things, only really bad things.

Anonymous said...

Oh. go away C.I.S.!! We don't let your kind in the forest!

Anonymous said...

Ouch report is being sent around via roundtable facsimile: ouch is the word. The word that will not leave me. I am gripped into the zone of mysterious business transactions that have no content, no contracts.

My downstairs neighbor is getting a singing lesson. There is electric piano playing arpeggios and bad bad singing to go along with it. Is it an aural hallucination? Are they government watchdogs?

Mountain Man said...

Arthur, I tried. I didn't see a picture. I didn't know what to do when I got there (dumb). I want to see!!! Is it from a trip you took to the Italian lands?

Anonymous said...

Beautiful picture!!! Is that the FB up on the cross? Did she climb up there to do penance?