Saturday, December 31, 2011

Twas Brillig

2011 has been pretty momentous. Looking forward to whatever comes next.

Still thinking about how this blog might evolve in the coming months, and what purposes (educational or otherwise) it could serve now that I'm technically no longer a grad student.

In any case, having done the seemingly impossible this year (finished my PhD), I definitely have a plan for 2012.

My resolutions: first, I will achieve physical perfection. After watching this instructional video, I'm quite sure it's possible.





Then, I will join the cast of an inexplicably popular yet bodacious television program.





Next I will use my fame and wealth to genetically engineer a species of grotesque creatures who will call me mother and take over New Zealand.


[Via]


It is going to be so great.


P.S. Thanks to everyone who visited and commented this year. I appreciate you all. Happy New Year. Please call again.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Hungry Like The Troll

[Via]

For most Internet users, it's impossible to avoid the word 'troll.' On Twitter, Facebook, forums, the comments sections of news articles and blogs; everywhere you look, someone is accusing someone else of 'trolling' - saying and doing troll-like things with nefarious intent. If someone is trolling, it follows that they must be a troll. But why?

I find it very interesting that, out of all the real and imaginary beasts available, it is trolls that have been selected as the embodiment of bad behaviour on the 'net. After all, trolls aren't tech-savvy, urban or contemporary. Their roots lie in Norse mythology and the untamed wilderness of the ocean, mountain and forest.

In this sixteenth century drawing, trolls are aligned with supernatural power over the environment:


[From Olaus Magnus' "Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus", book 3 (1555). Via]


The description explains what is occurring:

"To the left a gnome who is cutting stones in the underground. In the middle a supernatural creature is working in a stable. At the bottom right corner a wind troll with passengers are going by boat without using sails. At the top left corner a witch riding backwards on a dragon. At the top right a coach is driving without horse."

More recently, author and self confessed "troll expert" Lise Lunge-Larsen describes trolls in this manner:

"As tall as trees and as ancient and rugged as the Norwegian landscape from which they come, trolls are some of lore's most fascinating and varied creatures. Some live under bridges, others deep inside caves. They can carry their heads under their arms or hide their hearts inside wells. They can walk across oceans and fly over mountains. Trees and shrubs may grow from their heads, and their noses can be long enough to stir soup. There are troll hags, troll daughters, and elderly, shrunken trolls. Old or young, they are quarrelsome, ugly, and boastful, and they love to trick princesses and children. To defeat them, children must rely on the strengths of their humanity-persistence, kindness, pluck, and willingness to heed good advice."

Trolls have indeed proven popular in children's stories throughout history.


[Good evening, old man! the boy greeted. From Walter Stenström's The Boy and the Trolls (1915). Illustrated by John Bauer. Via]


[Look at them, troll mother said. Look at my sons! You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon. From Walter Stenström's The Boy and the Trolls (1915). Illustrated by John Bauer. Via]


[Here is a piece of a troll herb which nobody else but me can find. From Alfred Smedberg's The Boy Who Could Not Be Scared, in the anthology Among Pixies and Trolls (1912). Illustrated by John Bauer. Via]


[So, how is your appetite, troll mother continued. From Walter Stenström's The Boy and the Trolls (1915). Illustrated by John Bauer. Via]


Trolls often merge with the surrounding landscape, staying still for so long that foliage begins to grow across them.


[Troll Becoming A Mountain. JNL. Via]


[Skogtroll (Forest Troll). Theodor Kittelsen (1906). Via]


[Troll. Michail Samez (2009). Via]


In her book The Troll With No Heart In His Body, Lunge-Larsen identifies the merging of body and environment as a critical element of troll mythology:

"Clearly, one aspect of children’s fascination with trolls is that they make the very landscape come alive. Not only are trolls of the landscape, they also return to and shape the landscape around them when they die.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of walking in the woods with my mother when I was about three. We ambled along the trail in the dark old-growth forest filled with filtered sunlight, when my mother suddenly grabbed my arm and whispered, 'Look! There’s a troll' I actually thought my last moment had come, until I saw where she pointed: to a dead troll that had turned into an overturned tree root. Together we examined the troll, found his nose, arms, and even his eye sockets.

It was a magical moment, and to this day I point out all the dead trolls in the landscape to my children and their friends: A huge rock pile is a troll that burst, a tree root lying on its side is an ancient troll, an oddly shaped rock may be part of a nose. One summer my eight- year-old son, swimming in Lake Superior, spotted an unusually round white rock. He dove for it and proudly emerged with a 'troll’s eyeball.'"

[Sjøtrollet (The Sea Troll). Theodor Kittelsen (1887). Via]


Of course, our ideas about trolls have changed as the years have passed. The twentieth century had its own incarnations, some more frightening than others...


[Troll Terror. Via]


And who could forget that pinnacle of film making genius, Troll 2?*





*Yes, technically these are goblins, but the film is called Troll 2 so I'm going with it.


The most popular contemporary example is the one I began with: the Internet troll. Urban Dictionary describes a 'troll' as:
"One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument."

The second most popular definition offers a more extended answer:
"One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his or her peers. He will spark of [sic] such an argument via the use of ad hominem attacks (i.e. 'you're nothing but a fanboy' is a popular phrase) with no substance or relevence [sic] to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue."


[Internet Troll: As trolls are as old as mankind, so internet trolls are as old as the internet. By JNL. Via]


Perhaps the term isn't so strange. Like all trolls, the Internet variety are a product of their environment. Protected by anonymity, Internet trolls are free to taunt and trouble, then fold back into the online landscape once their work is done - effectively disappearing beneath the virtual foliage, back into their caves. Manipulating the discursive environment for their own entertainment, these individuals resemble their namesakes in more than one respect.


[Man in troll mask at New York Comic Con 2011. Photograph by Rahul Arefin Prithu. Via]


Like the children in fairy stories, other Internet users can perhaps use their cunning to outwit the trolls and cross the metaphorical bridge. The problem is, of course, that there are not just one or two or three trolls squatting on the path, but potentially millions. They even have a theme song.





Current top rated comment: "All trolls rise for the national anthem of the Internet."

It does seem that trolls, in all their guises, are here to stay. Just try to keep your fingers out of their mouths...

[Via]

Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Christmas Monster

With all the festive cheer, well-wishing and gift-giving, you might assume the grotesque takes a break during the Christmas holidays.

You would be wrong.

Behold your worst nightmare: Krampus.


[Krampus at Perchtenlauf Klagenfurt (2006). Photograph by Anita Martinz. Via]


[Krampus, Salzburg (2008). Photograph by MatthiasKabel. Via]


[Krampus, Salzburg (2008). Photograph by MatthiasKabel. Via]


Krampus is the yin to Santa's yang, the punishment to his reward. This creature represents what happens to those who tend towards the 'bad' half of the naughty/nice dichotomy.

The Wikipedia explains that:

"Krampus is a mythical creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children. When the Krampus finds a particularly naughty child, it stuffs the child in its sack and carries the frightened child away to its lair, presumably to devour for its Christmas dinner."

And you thought getting a lump of coal in your stocking was bad.

Krampus is true nightmare fodder.


[Gruß vom Krampus. Artist unknown (~1900) . Via]


[Saint Nikolaus and Krampus arrive to pass judgement. Newspaper-illustration (1896). Via]


[Krampus costume. Trautenfels castle, Austria (1950). Photograph by Wolfgang Sauber. Via]


Graphic designer Monte Beauchamp talks a bit more about the Krampus in this short interview.




The parades seem to be the best part of the contemporary Krampus phenomenon. I've got nothing against Santa, but these demons are a tad more exciting...



[Via]


I hope you've been good this year. For your sake...

Thursday, December 8, 2011

PhinisheD

Before:





After:






And it's done.

Wow.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Paper Tiger



I'm taking a little blogging break this month. (Yes, I've already ignored Halloween, but that isn't a big deal around here.)


In the absence of anything clever to say, I will share my horoscope with you.




I'm not into astrology, but this is deeply comforting. See you on the other side...

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Golden Age Of Grotesque

[Liar. Marilyn Manson. Via]


I'm very interested in artists who use the word 'grotesque' and explicitly describe their work in terms of grotesqueness, because it often highlights the wide range of meanings that are associated with this term.

Musician and artist Marilyn Manson, aka Brian Warner, is one such person. Not only did he name his fifth album The Golden Age of Grotesque, but he also wrote a song of the same name.

Unfortunately Grotesque wasn't released as a single so there is no official music video. However, there is a video for mOBSCENE, another song from the album, which perhaps gives a clue as to Manson's definition of grotesque.





Manson went on a 'Grotesk Burlesk' tour to promote the album. If you are wondering what constitutes a grotesque burlesque, here is one version:





This reminds me of one of my favourite movies - The Brain that Wouldn't Die.

Manson has commented that "the deformed scar of one man, is "love's pretty dimple" to me." This preoccupation with deformation and injury - both physical and emotional - is visible in his watercolour paintings, which are deeply personal in nature.


[Everyone has their blue period. Via]


[“Do I have to do everything for you?” Via]


[Harlequin Jack and the Absinthe bunny. Via]


[I’ve got my arm around no one. Via]


The influence of the Gothic is quite clear in these images, and Manson's portrait of Edgar Allen Poe seems very appropriate.


[The moment I became Edgar I suddenly realized I was in Hell. Via]


[Each morning she prayed that demons would devour her parents. Via]


[When I Get Old. Via]

Love these.

While I may not be comfortable with all the imagery Manson makes use of, I rather doubt comfort is the response he is trying to evoke. It is difficult to deny the talent that fuels his musical and artistic work, or the complexity of the issues he wrestles with. The fact that this takes place somewhere under the banner of 'grotesque' is very interesting.

You can see more on Manson's website here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Crotchety

I love how creative people are being with music videos nowadays. It warms my heart.

[This might be NSFW, if you work in a nice place. Or any kind of place.]



It would make more sense to brush teeth after going to the toilet.

Big Bad Wolf by Duck Sauce reminds me of this music video, only pushing things further, to a more weird and interesting place.

[Via i09 and Eleanor]

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Zombie Boy

This advertisement is positively hypnotic.




It stars Rick Genest, aka Zombie Boy, a freak show performer who recently found fame in a Lady Gaga music video. [<--- Warning, that Gaga video may put you off giving birth. Ever.]

Yes, that is his real skin under there.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Two Thumbs

My new desktop background.


[Via]

It cheers me.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Of Milk and Slime


I saw these pics by Bart Hess on the FaceCULTURE blog a while ago, and haven't been able to get them out of my head.





I love the texture and movement, and how they show something 'yucky' as beautiful in motion. They remind me of Julia Kristeva's discussion of abjection:

"The repugnance, the retching that thrusts me to the side and turns me away from defilement, sewage, and muck" - a reaction evoked by "that skin on the surface of milk," which revolts her despite being totally harmless (Powers of Horror, p.3).

Except here, the gelatinous mucus draws you in, rather than pushing you away (or is it just me? I would like to know how it feels in the slime.) It seems soft and... clean?



Hess has also created another set of works, the STRP mutants, for the 2011 STRP Art & Technology Festival in the Netherlands. His description states:

"The mutants evolved around the idea of transformation. They visualize movement and the ever changing boundaries between the different disciplines: art, music and technology."

They also remind me a little of superheroes, somehow fused into their costumes.








This festival looks ace. Wish I could go.

STRP Festival leader 2011 from bart hess on Vimeo.

Lots more videos on Hess' Vimeo account (links above) if you are interested in seeing more, or you can visit his website here.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Be Kind Rewind


I took a little mini break last weekend. One of the 'grown up' things I have learned in the last few years is that my sanity is my responsibility. What a revelation, eh. Only you can keep your cogs and joints turning smoothly. Nobody else - no matter how much they might want or try to - can do it for you. Things were starting to get a bit out of balance all round, so I decided to take executive action.

It was a really good idea, if I say so myself. Which I do.




















True to form, I came across a few weird and wonderful things, but I might save them for later. Oh okay, there was this rock.


Lion King. Amirite?