RIP James Kirkup (1918 – 2009)

RIP James Kirkup

James Kirkup, FRSL (23 April 1918 – 10 May 2009) was a prolific English poet, translator and travel writer, best-known for his controversial poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name, which describes a sexual fantasy of a homosexual soldier for the dead Christ.

The Dead Christ (1582) by Annibale Carracci

The Dead Christ (1582) by Annibale Carracci

The Love that Dares to Speak its Name is  written from the viewpoint of a Roman centurion who is graphically described having sex with Jesus after his crucifixion, and also claims that Jesus had had sex with numerous disciples, guards, and even Pontius Pilate. Its title The Love that Dares to Speak its Name was taken from a line in the poem “Two Loves” by Lord Alfred Douglas.

Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c. 1480) by Andrea Mantegna

Lamentation over the Dead Christ (c. 1480) by Andrea Mantegna

Dead Christ

In Western art, the death of Christ and its depiction is usually known by the term lamentation of Christ and it is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends and family mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by many different artists.

RIP Viola Wills (1939—2009)

“If You Could Read My Mind” (1980) by Viola Wills

Viola Wills was an American singer best known for her version of “If You Could Read My Mind” (1980).

The version by Miss Wills came out when I was fifteen. Little did I know the song was by Gordon Lightfoot and its theme was divorce*, although my parents were going through a particularly nasty end of marriage, I just loved the song.

*Powerful cinematic divorce allegories include The Brood (1979) and Possession (1981).

Lex Barker @90

Lex Barker @90

Image via www.tarzan.com

On the cover: Lex Barker

Lex Barker (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973) was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May’s novels. What I find interesting in his career is that he emigrated to Europe when his American career was faltering, like so many with and before him. He ended up in  German paracinema.

Introducing Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c.1566 –1568)

By Sholem Stein

The image breakers, c.1566 –1568 by Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder.

Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder (c.1520–c.1590) was a Flemish artist associated with the English court of the mid-16th Century and mainly remembered as the illustrator of the 1567 edition of Aesop’s Fables, De warachtighe fabulen der dieren[1]. Gheeraerts’ style resembles that of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. In his own day, Gheeraerts was particularly famous as a draughtsman of birds and animals.

Ruggero Deodato @70

Ruggero Deodato @70

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHfAc3CJStQ&]

Ruggero Deodato (born May 7 1939 in Potenza) is a controversial Italian film director, actor and screen writer, best known for his infamous 1980 film cannibal film Cannibal Holocaust.

Ruggero Deodato belongs to the same mantle that holds Joe D’Amato, Dario Argento, Mario Bava, Tinto Brass, Ruggero Deodato, Lucio Fulci, Riccardo Freda, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Sergio Leone, Antonio Margheriti and Bruno Mattei.

These were filmmakers of the pre-internet dark ages, the terra incognita of the 20th century, who exploited the ignorance of the general audience regarding prurient matters such as sex, drugs and rock and roll.

In 1979 Deodato started work on Mondo-style Cannibal Holocaust. Deodato caused massive controversy in Italy and the United Kingdom following the release of Cannibal Holocaust, which was accused to be a genuine snuff film. Deodato was forced to reveal the secrets behind the film’s impalement[1] scene and to parade the lead actors before an Italian court in order to prove that they were still alive. More importantly, Deodato was harshly criticized for the use of real animal torture in his films. Deodato’s film license was then revoked and he would not get it back until three years later

Younger viewers may have spotted Ruggero as a client in the film Hostel: Part II.

See also Italian exploitation, Italian horror film, Italian film, cannibal films

Parisian “Exposition Universelle” @120

In 1889, 120 years ago tomorrow, the Exposition Universelle world fair opens in Paris.

via expositions.bnf.fr

At the Exposition (see photo), the French composer Claude Debussy first heard Javanese gamelan music, performed by an ensemble from Java. David Toop, a modern musical critic, denotes Debussy’s experience at the fair to mark the start of an ambient music. Toop (see previous  post) expounds upon Debussy’s importance in his 1995 exegesis on ambient sound, Ocean of Sound.