2014+Julie+C

2014 Julie C

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/18/-sp-why-digital-art-matters

How has fantasy and grotesque art progressed from fine media to digital media. [Exploring how the Gothic and the Grotesque progressed over the ages - comparing and contrasting with the new digitalized and hyper-detailed artworks of now - taking into consideration audience purposes.]
 * __Research Question:__**

__**What research have you undertaken so far?**__
 * I have seen and learned about the gargoyles on Notre-Dames de Paris - religious purposes ( used to "convey the concept of evil, through the form of the grotesque gargoyle, which was especially useful in sending a stark message to the common people, most of whom were illiterate. Gargoyles also are said to scare evil spirits away from the church, this reassured congregants that evil was kept outside of the church’s walls.")
 * Bosch and Goya representing legends and myth in traditional art (As seen in Madrid on the art trip)
 * Exploring vivid and surreal digital illustrations commonly found in daily media (everywhere on television, internet etc.) Example: [|Surreal Digital Illustrations by Alfonso Elola]

__**What research are you planning to undertake this summer?**__
 * Exploring further grotesque and gothic art in Rome such as in the Vatican (another very religious place) and other fine arts museums.

__**What other specific research sources will you attempt to investigate?**__
 * This summer I will be doing a graphic design course in Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts in London). I could try to interview my teacher, an expert in digital art and graphic illustrations, and ask him about the darker side of the art and its purpose (always keeping in mind the purpose and the audience). Or even students in my class, and get a younger perspective on the recent grotesque digital art seen in video games or movies.

__**Loose hypothesis/ answer to your research question?**__ Grotesque art has become less and less based on evil, religious figures and has progressed into entertainment purposes. With the help of digital advancement, grotesque art has been manipulated into the field of entertainment (video games, horror movies, fiction)

Thanks Julie

A very positive start.

Next:

Narrow your focus to 3 or 4 specific artists from both traditional and digital media (always work that you have actually seen)

Perhaps find a common motif/theme to compare the two artforms- Eg Bosch's vision of hell compared to hell in video games http://www.gamesradar.com/the-evolution-of-heaven-and-hell-in-gaming/ Goya's witches compared to contemporary digital fantasy art witches (that tend to be rather sexualised)

Can you find examples of digital grotesque art that are closer to 'fine art' rather than 'entertainment'?. Jake and Dinos Chapman don't do digital, but do subvert toys and commercial imagery into visions of hell including Goya references:

http://www.saatchigallery.com/aipe/jake_dinos_chapman.htm

http://jakeanddinoschapman.com/

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2009/feb/23/chapman-hell-art

http://www.designboom.com/art/the-sum-of-all-evil-by-jake-and-dinos-chapman/

They make their visions of hell without the Christian judgements, instructions or warnings

GM 23/07/14

=**__FOCUSING ON:__**= Art piece example – Christ in Limbo ([])
 * BOSCH ( As seen in Madrid museum on art trip)
 * GOYA (also seen in Madrid)

The study of goya and the grotesque, interesting essay to follow…

([]) Following the theme of __“OF WITCHCRAFT AND__ __MONSTROUS BODIES__” from the previous essay, which also relates to Bosch’s Christ in Limbo

è []

è []

Could possibly consider emailing him for further information and specific details.

[]

other invented conceptual art of creepy locations and characters

([])

To mention the contrast of the hyper realism of digital art and the older traditional art

Researching witchcraft in video games, (if able to convince Mother to buy me a video game to truly experience personally the moving art haha)

=__**FIRST DRAFT STARTED:**__=

**__How have the Grotesque and Monstrous Bodies Been Portrayed Over the Years Through Different Mediums ?__**

Over the years, the darker side of art, including the grotesque, maleficient and unknown have been portrayed in diverse manners, through sculptures, paintings and digital art. Each proving to be extremely efficient for their purpose and meaning. (to be continued)

‘Christ in Limbo’ is an art piece created in 1575 by Hieronymus Bosch. Bosch was born circa 1450 and died the 9th of August 1516, born as Jheronimus van Aken, he is famed for his use of fantastic imagery used to illustrate religious concepts and narratives. The piece tells the story of Jesus Christ's descent into Limbo in order to rescue the souls of those who lived before him and who deserved being saved. This painting depicts Bosch’s vision of Limbo, a dark, mystic and chaotic place, featuring Christ’s bright and vivid entry, breaking the sinister scene. In this time he brought salvation to all of those who were honorable and has died since the beginning of time. Limbo, as know in the the theology of the Catholic Church, refers to the border of hell, a speculative idea about the afterlife. Theologians in western Europe have separated the underworld into four different parts: ‘Hell of the Damned’, ‘Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs’, ‘Limbo of the Infants’, and Purgatory.

(Christ in Limbo….. meaning, notes etc. in depth)

Similar to the religious theme having a strong presence found in ancient and grotesque art, an evil presence can be seen in the famous gargoyles existing on the cathedral of Notre-Dame. The demon-like creatures resemble a part beast part human figure. Many are with eagles’ beaks, wings, lions’ talons, tails and many other animal qualities. The stone statues adorn the gutters of Notre-Dame de Paris, as the word gargoyle in Latin translates into gullet or drain. In fact, the actual use of the eerie figures is that to drain the top of the cathedral of any rainwater. The construction of the cathedral started in 1163 by the three architects Peter of Montereau, Jean de Chelles, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus

The mythical creatures acquired over the century the reputation of symbolic guardians of the city and act as the witnesses of its life and vicissitudes. The French gothic architecture is prominently seen in the Notre Dame de Paris, characterized by the tall spires, stained-glass windows and numerous pointed arches. The gargoyles uphold the reputation to protect the church and frighten off malevolent and harmful spirits. The French legend about ‘La Gargouille’, relates to how a former chancellor of the king Clotaire II saved Rouen from a monster, //La Gargouille//, a dragon with batlike wings, an elongated neck and the ability to spit fire. Furthermore they proceeded to mount the head on the walls of a newly built church in order to scare off the evil spirits as a method of protection. One of the uses of the gargoyles for the Catholic Church was to convey the notion of evil through this grotesque form. This proved particularly useful to send a stark message to the illiterate, common people.



I'm still worried that this is way too vague and broad. Here are some suggestions for an outline:

Julie Structure for 26/09 meeting

Refocus your question to From painted devils to digital demons: How and why has the depiction of the grotesque and monstrous in art moved from religious instruction to popular entertainment?

Intro: Field of interest and specific encounters that prompted choice Brief overview – Bosch & Gargolyles: Christian art for the illiterate masses (instruction through fear - scared into conforming) but also excitement and thrills for those wealthy enough to afford Bosch’s art. Goya : personal demons (mix of religious and social comment mixed with his own personal turmoil) Contemporary Art – Christian themes now rare in Fine Art (give the example of Jake & Dinos Chapman’s Hell as a rare exception – that is actually secular rather than religious in intent) The monsters and demons have now shifted to entertainment (divorced form ideas of instruction) via films and comics 8find 2 or 3 key examples) Mention the key works that you will focus on here from each genre (stuff that you have seen) Section One Art that inspires fear to instruct and teach specific values (let this section be chronological and end with the personal works of Goya – the witches) How specifically did these images prey upon the fears of their contemporary audience? Discuss specific symbolisms (the monsters and tortures all mean something specific) Explore the psychology of fear What is their effect now (esp on non- Christian audience) Section Two The origins of digital art (games, films and fantasy art mostly?) Influences and similarities with their predecessors (focus on key specific examples of digital hell, witches and gargoyles as this essay is already very broad and vague in scope) Specific key examples for everything Discussion/interview with gamers Conclusions Similarities and differences

= FIRST DRAFT: =

**__From Painted Devils to Digital Demons: How and Why has the Depiction of the Grotesque and Monstrous in Art Moved from Religious Instruction to Popular Entertainment?__** - The expression and application of human creativity and imagination, seen in visual form for example a painting or sculpture, is appreciated mostly for its aesthetic beauty and emotional power. I chose to focus more on the emotional power that these artworks transmit, I will explore art as a medium to express a message and as an unconventional method of thought control, and how a specific area, the grotesque and fantastic, has transformed into modern day form of entertainment. This particular choice has been inspired by Goya’s art that I have seen in the Museo Del Prado in Madrid, and by the rapidly increasing forms of digital art seen on the Internet and on television, concerning themes of horror.

‘Christ in Limbo’ is an art piece created in 1575 by Hieronymus Bosch. Bosch was born circa 1450 and died the 9th of August 1516, born as Jheronimus van Aken; he is famed for his use of fantastic imagery used to illustrate religious concepts and narratives. The piece tells the story of Jesus Christ's descent into Limbo in order to rescue the souls of those who lived before him and who deserved being saved. This painting depicts Bosch’s vision of Limbo, a dark, mystic and chaotic place, featuring Christ’s bright and vivid entry, breaking the sinister scene. In this time he brought salvation to all of those who were honourable and have died since the beginning of time. Limbo, as know in the theology of the Catholic Church, refers to the border of hell, a speculative idea about the afterlife. Theologians in Western Europe have separated the underworld into four different parts: ‘Hell of the Damned’, ‘Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs’, ‘Limbo of the Infants’, and Purgatory.

Limbo is an uncertain period of time where one is stuck in an intermediate stare or condition, according to the theology of the Catholic Church, it is the edge of hell, and is perceived as the momentary state of those who, despite their sins, are still in God’s favour but were not able to enter heaven, until redemption by Jesus Christ allowed them to. This is exemplary of how the Church would depict such scenes in order to strongly encourage the population to not commit sins if they did not want to end up in Limbo. This method proved very effective, as the common people, ignorant and unaware of any other ideas or theories, acknowledged and accepted this as their only fate.

Similar to the religious theme having a strong presence found in ancient and grotesque art, an evil presence can be seen in the famous gargoyles existing and carefully placed on the cathedral of Notre-Dame. The demon-like creatures resemble a part beast part human figure. Many are with eagles’ beaks, wings, lions’ talons, tails and many other animal qualities. The stone statues adorn the gutters of Notre-Dame de Paris, as the word ‘gargoyle’ in Latin translates into gullet or drain. In fact, the actual use of the eerie figures is that to drain the top of the cathedral of any rainwater. The construction of the cathedral started in 1163 by the three architects Peter of Montereau, Jean de Chelles, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus. The most distinguishable characteristic of the gargoyles is the use of anthropomorphism. In architecture the term “grotesque” actually means a figure carved out of stone. Grotesques are not to be confused with gargoyles, as they differentiate themselves due to waterspouts that they contain through their mouth. This type of sculpture is commonly known as chimera.

The mythical creatures acquired over the century the reputation of being symbolic guardians of the city and act as the witnesses of its life and vicissitudes. The French gothic architecture is prominently seen in the Notre Dame de Paris, characterized by the tall spires, stained glass windows and numerous pointed arches. The gargoyles uphold the reputation to protect the church and frighten off malevolent and harmful spirits. The French legend about ‘La Gargouille’, relates to how a former chancellor of the king Clotaire II saved Rouen from a monster, //La Gargouille//, a dragon with bat like wings, an elongated neck and the ability to spit fire. Furthermore they proceeded to mount the head on the walls of a newly built church in order to scare off the evil spirits as a method of protection. One of the uses of the gargoyles for the Catholic Church was to convey the notion of evil through this grotesque form, this proved particularly useful to send a stark message to the illiterate, common people. An additional purpose of gargoyles is that they were an appropriate alternative to the devil to materialize the concept of evil, as portraying the devil on the outer surface of a church would be rather unorthodox. Therefore the gargoyles successfully convey the horrific impression of hell and enforce the idea of comfort, safety and sanctity //inside// the church.

**__SECTION ONE__** - Hell is depicted as a place of suffering, pain, fire, and various kinds of torments on both the soul and body. A protestant view on Hell, stated in Chapter XXXIII in the Last judgement, is that "but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." This eternal physical and mental pain instilled fear to those who didn’t believe in the church or those who sinned. Therefore, artists illustrated the written descriptions of Hell, for those who were illiterate, letting them have a better understanding, this gave the church the ability to control them more effectively.

Hieronymus Bosch, seen in the right panel of ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’, which is the renamed, modern title it is currently know as, illustrated a vision of Hell in oil paint. The triptych painting by the Netherlandish artist dates from between 1490 and 1510 and is found in the ‘Museo del Prado’ in Madrid. Throughout history the artwork was also known as ‘La Lujuria’ (Lust), and also as ‘The Sins of the World’.The painting is separated in three distinct parts; on the left side is the visualization of Hell. The first two panels are rather bright and have a positive tone; in contrast the overall sombre tone of the panel on the right hand creates a distinct separation. Bosch reveals Hell as a world in which certain human beings were weak enough to succumb to the many temptations, which, in consequence, has lead them to eternal damnation. Through the use of cold colourisation, Bosch creates a striking contrast with the warmth seen in the previous panels, which better emphasizes the absence of beauty in the last panel.

On the top left there is a densely detailed scene of a burning city, emitting long beams of light, and fires are spread out all over the city– noting that fire is a strong recurring theme in the depiction of Hell. The beams of light are due to the explosions in the background In the foreground of this image there are mutated animals eating human flesh, the strong theme of eroticism depicted in the preceding panels has now disappeared as the viewer witnesses the nude human figures attempting to cover themselves. The foreground is also filled with distorted figures, some crucified by a musical instrument – hinting at the contrast between pleasure and pain.

Descending the right panel is another painting of a “Tree-Man”, which has contorted arms in the form of rotting tree trunk, and a disk placed on his head. On the disk are demons playing bagpipes and some victims. The Tree-Man’s torso is broken, and through the crack is revealed one of the branches from the tree trunks piercing through him. Bosch is unique in his style of depicting Hell due to the fact that he does not detail it as a fantastical place, but rather as a hyper realistic world, this can be seen by the numerous elements seen in normal human life. The panel’s centrepiece is an enormous monster with a bird head with a cauldron placed on it feasting on rotting corpses. Demons and a crowd of nude human beings surround the monster, known as the “Prince of Hell” due to the cauldron resembling a crown. The crowd of naked people are near a gambling table are seen being attacked by swords. However, this is not the only sign of ruthless violence, on the right hand side of the tree man, the viewer notices a knight being torn apart viciously by wolves. In the lower right corner lust is symbolised as a pig disguised as a nun; the pig is shown seducing a man in order to persuade him to sign some papers. Lust is also further symbolised by the frequent, various musical instruments, as in those times they carried erotic connotations.

During the Middle Ages, sexuality and lust were perceived to be the most atrocious of the seven deadly sins. In ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ the first two panels depict a life full of sinful pleasure, entertainment, and joy. The right hand panel immediately interrupts this scene where Bosch warns the viewer of the consequences by depicting Hell, which is were sinners who committed such a crime would end up. Many critics interpreted Bosch’s triptych to be a warning to the public. Art historian Ludwig von Baldass stated that Bosch’s triptych was a way to demonstrate “how sin came into the world through the Creation of Eve, how fleshly lusts spread over the entire earth, promoting all the Deadly sins, and how this necessarily leads straight to Hell”. Therefore, from this one can interpret that Bosch’s intention was to convey the punishments in order to warn commoners against sinning. ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ shows the consequences to sensual pleasure in an obvious yet extremely intricate manner.

The painting proved effective to instil fear in those who admired it. These numerous depictions of Hell aided religious authorities to be able to manipulate and control those who believed they could be sent to Hell, an eternal place of suffering. The church successfully used the power of fear to control and intimidate common people. Fear is defined as an emotional response to when one is threatened; it is probably one of the strongest and most powerful emotions one can feel. Therefore it was a primitive tactic that the Church practiced in order to gain and retain ‘followers’. Returning to the present, in these modern times, the same piece of art is not perceived in the same manner. To those who are atheist, it is neither convincing nor fearful but rather an entertaining and intricate piece of art.

Goya was also an artist who experimented in the religious theme, but more as an opposing force rather than one in favour. Goya’s “Escene de Brujas” commonly known as “The Spell” in English is an oil painting on canvas started in 1797, and finished a year later. The scene depicted is one of a group of witches who appear to have employed in magical practices, as seen by the spells, the character in the centre focused on reading from a book, and pin-pricked dolls. This element emphasizes the grotesque overall visual effect due to their gruesome facial features. Goya ridicules the Church’s superstition by painting common stereotypes about witches, which is a tactic to expose their corrupted philosophies, concerning the Inquisition where they persecuted those considered to be involved in witchcraft.

‘The Spell’, along with similar paintings such as ‘Witches’ Sabbath’, and the ‘Witches’ Flight’, had been Goya’s attempt to protest against those who encouraged the Spanish Inquisition which involved hunting those who were considered witches. The paintings reflect Goya’s disdain for the common beliefs and absurd superstition upheld by the church, and its return to medieval fears. Therefore he used such scenes in order to mock the seventeenth-century church whom he believed exploited these medieval fears for political gain. This is a prime example that the church may use art for religious instruction, but that it can also be a weapon against it.

In the Spell, the witch figures’ position form a pyramid seen in the foreground of the overall composition, and beneath them is a cowering man dressed in a nightgown which one would presume that he has been abducted during the night. He is visibly praying, begging for mercy from the witches, whilst his light nightgown powerfully contrasts with the dark surrounding and leads the eye upwards to the similarly coloured mantle that the witch is holding above him. The dark cloaks that the witches are wearing separate the composition, the dark line contrasts with the light aura appearing from the background, where an angel and owls are emerging from. The faces in ‘The Spell” are the most prominent features in the whole painting, particularly the hectic madness in the eyes of the characters. Goya’s technique for extreme detail was to paint in small strokes, to emphasize an atmosphere of distortion. Even though the flame from the candle appears to be the only source of light, which is reflected on the main witch with the grotesque wrinkles emphasized by the contrast of the light, the infernal creatures flying above are nonetheless illuminated. The room that this painting has been placed in are lined with wood, carved accurately according to the grotesque ornament. The walls surrounding it pay tribute to the distorted style that evolved and developed in Goya’s modern art; they have many figures, such as griffins, and other metamorphic designs depicting natural plant-like characters transforming into fantastical creatures.

**__SECTION TWO__** (Artwork I will be describing in section two -> [|Hell's First Born] ) Hell is an important theme and recurring one in art, which has expanded and diversified due to video games, films, fantasy art and many other forms of modern digital art. Wayne Barlowe is an author of science fiction and fantasy books as well as writing a novel, a screenplay and numerous art books. He is also an artist who draws images for movies, books and galleries. Starting as an artist painting paper back covers for major publishers, he went on to illustration and writing ‘Barlowe’s Inferno’, ‘Brushfire, Illuminations from the Inferno’ and many others. Furthermore, Barlowe created film designs that can be seen in Hell Boy and its sequel, as well as many other fictitious movies known for their prominent grotesque and dark themes. ‘Inferno’ is one of Barlowe’s most important novels and was released in 1998, followed by ‘God’s Demon’ in 2007. Wayne Barlow’s Inferno is a story of the artist’s imaginary voyage, as he expresses through an original, vivid, and powerful depiction of Hell. Numerous striking paintings are included, which he has painted himself, to portray the vision of hell as he is travelling through, guided by ‘Sargatanas’, known as the Revealer of Hell and the Demons Major. In this book, Hell as been extended and explored in further depth, as a hierarchy appears: Demons Minor who serve Demons Major (the ruling class), and human souls are at the lowest level. Moreover, there also cities that exist, one of them built on two planes: one has been built upside down directly over the other, all of this constructed by ‘soul laborers’. The fantastic cities contribute to the general idea of the absurd concept of hell: a prime example of this is the location of ‘Wargate’ where one can find a building occupied by millions of kilometers of blood vessels which link to a slowly beating heart, creating the sound of a war drum. Barlowe’s Inferno was used and included in PlayStation 3’s video game ‘Dante’s Inferno’, the Divine Edition version of PlayStation.

An image seen in Inferno is ‘Hell’s First Born’, an acrylic painting on panel. The scene is a giant Abyssal standing on a scorching field; behind it appears the walls of ‘Adamantinarx’. It is revealed to us in Inferno that there is a form of an apprehensive, co-existing relationship between demons and Abyssals, where they prey upon each other, which creates an unusual, mutual respect. However, Abyssals keep their distance from demons, as they seek their skins or obedience as war-beasts. In the painting the Abyssal is the main focus, painted in hyper realistic detail using a dark monotone black and brown palette, however the face twisted in an evil glare is a lighter brown adorned with bronze shades. There are golden symbols engraved in the Abyssal, this unknown language distances the viewer, emphasizing the fact that this is a creature from a separate world. In the background the city fades into a light grey fog, with hints of yellow and orange surging from behind the architecture, to reinforce the popular idea of Hell being submerged in constant fires.

Barlowe admits to being greatly inspired and heavily influenced by the 17th-century English poet John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The poem in blank verse offers a vivid and intricate description of how Satan views Hell after his fall from heaven. In Milton’s poem, he lavishes in description to indicate the torments that the fallen angles have had to endure and to infuse a feeling of terror in those who read it. Paradise Lost stimulated Barlowe’s initial sketches of hell and his many options as he states in an interview with Rosemary Van Deuren, “ We live in an era where we are just beginning to understand the vastness of the universe and see it depicted in films. I could not have created a world for Hell that would have been any less expansive. I sometimes played with the idea of layering a temporal element to Hell — a kind of string-theory approach that would have involved multiple Hells that could co-exist but only be joined in certain locations.” Similarly, Barlowe’s art is used to describe Hell as well as to horrify the audience, as a form of entertainment.

In the interview with Rosemary Van Deuren reveals the importance of “humanizing” hell, as the themes of sadness, a yearning for redemption, desensitization to suffering, and fear are important contributions to the general idea of eternal punishment. The reason why Barlowe humanizes demons is so that the target audience would not feel completely disassociated from them and their situation, however still maintaining their bizarre and distant façade. Barlowe states that his spiritual muse for Inferno, Milton, described the characters in hell as being emotional, as God, the same entity who is said to have created human beings as well, created angels and demons. Therefore it is logical for them to act similarly to us, therefore making them more relatable which is a key point in entertainment.

**__CONCLUSION__** - All in all, there is a general understanding and acceptance that Hell is a frightening place. However it is the fear that is felt by the viewer that has changed over time. It is clear that during the medieval times, the uneducated perceived hell with such terror that it allowed them to be manipulated, but this is mostly due to the fact that they were ignorant of any other knowledge. The interpretation and depiction of Hell has scarcely changed and remains a dark space of suffering However, as we have evolved and modernised, such fear has become superficial and a base for entertainment, this is due to the vision of Hell being employed in fantasy art, video games and fiction movies. Demons are expressed as being complex, horrifying, and evil creatures deemed to act in malicious ways – this certainly hasn’t changed or probably ever will. Besides it is the effect on the audience that has changed, this is because of the general decline in religious people, an example of this is in UK: polls reveal that the amount of atheists in Britain has risen from 14% to 42% since 1963.