Ocular eroticism II

The ocular eroticism mentioned in my previous post appears to be a niche art criticism trope.

Evidence:

Reconfiguring the Renaissance: Essays in Critical Materialism – Page 159

by Jonathan V. Crewe – Renaissance – 171 pages

37 The same model of what we may call “ocular eroticism” informs secular literature as well: one thinks of Wyatt’s “Through mine eye the stroke from her did …

Eroticism on the Renaissance Stage: Transcendence, Desire, and the Limits of … – Page 103

by Celia R. Daileader – Performing Arts – 1998 – 194 pages

… displacing the “ocular eroticism” prevalent from Plato through Wyatt – an eroticism which pertained to the longing for one’s lady as well as the longing …

Reading the Medieval in Early Modern England – Page 208

by Gordon McMullan, David Matthews – Drama – 2007 – 287 pages

… point is that Mary’s ‘erotic fragrance’ — a vestigial remnant of medieval ‘ocular eroticism‘ — presupposes the importance of Mary’s physical knowledge …

Shakespeare the Actor and the Purposes of Playing – Page 134

by Meredith Anne Skura – Performing Arts – 1993 – 325 pages

… particularly of the erotics of the gaze.50 The ocular eroticism associated with the hunt in general in Love’s Labour’s Lost is here epitomized in …

The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima – Page 70

by Jerry S. Piven – Literary Criticism – 2004 – 273 pages

… which is also consistent with Mishima’s ocular eroticism as simultaneously retaining, destroying, and merging with those on whom he gazes, …

Sexual Aliveness: A Reichian Gestalt Perspective

by Edward W. L. Smith – Self-Help – 1987 – 126 pages

Gotta love Google books.

My tongue would penetrate her eyelids

Claude Nicolas Ledoux has the best public domain eye.

The best in the non-public domain area is the eye from Bunuel’s An Andalusian Dog.

French blog Au carrefour étrange has a post on ocular eroticism.

Story of the Eye invariably comes to mind, but to our subject at hand:

I quote from Au carrefour étrange [1] who quotes from La vie sexuelle de Robinson Crusoe:

« J’ai connu une femme dont j’embrassais l’œil en introduisant ma langue entre ses paupières et son orgasme alors était intarissable » (Michel Gall. p.89)

« I once knew a woman whose eyes I kissed and my tongue would penetrate her eyelids, she would then climax to the point of exhaustion» (Michel Gall. p.89)

I love books or films which start with the sexual life of….

Examples in this category include The Sexual Life of Catherine M., The Sexual life of the Belgians, The Sexual Life of the Savages and now this The Sexual life of Robinson Crusoe.

Emmanuel Pierrat has called The Sexual life of Robinson Crusoe a small masterpiece. It is not available in an English translation.

Digression:

Here the An Andalusian Dog eye, just before being slashed, with the beautiful Argentinian tango in the background.

I’ve posted the razor scene before, it’s about the last place online where you can still see the still and the film[3]

Here is the tango scene with a nice colorized pre-razor still of the film.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P17OAI5M4tI]

Un Chien Andalou (1929) – Luis Buñuel [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Un Chien Andalou is World Cinema Classic @69

Elliott Smith @39

It’s been five years since singer-songwriter Elliott Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) died from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted. Smith had battled with depression, alcoholism and drug addiction for years, and these topics often appeared in his lyrics.

I’d heard of him before, but this is the first time I am listening to his work. His story and music remind me of Nick Drake and that other tragic 20th century American musician, Tim Buckley.

Some complimentary depression imagery:

L’Absinthe (1876) – Edgar Degas

Morphine (1894) – Santiago Rusiñol

Goodnight

See you tomorrow.

click

for

credits

Goddamned Days on a Goddamned Planet standing on Emotional Rescue

Goddamned Days on a Goddamned Planet standing on Emotional Rescue

Dimitri Verhulst is Flanders’ hottest (I hate that word) novelist and one of the few contemporary Flemish novelists translated into English (Problemski Hotel is in print by Marion Boyars)

His latest novel Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol (Eng: Goddamned Days on a Goddamned Planet) was not released through conventional channels but given away free with Humo magazine which understandibly upset the bookselling business. The book’s release did not go unnoticed, far from it, I believe one out of every 20 Flemish people now have a copy in their homes. Imagine that on the scale of a large country. Incredible.

The book.

Goddamned Days on a Goddamned Planet offers a bleak view of humanity.

The story is that of human evolution, much like the epic poem The Legend of the Centuries by Victor Hugo was in the 19th century and The Cantos by Ezra Pound in the 20th century.

The novel should be seen as an epic poem rather than regular novel. It’s difficult to imagine that as novels go, this one is plotless, unless you concede that reality lacks plot for want of a plotter.

Most people seem to find the novel boring and hard to read, others have remarked to laugh out loud while reading.

Dimitri Verhulst will be best-known internationally for the future film version of his novel De Helaasheid der Dingen (expected in 2009).

Verhulst is a writer pur sang. He never repeats a formula. I agree that this novel is cold, but its reputation will go a long way. Still, I will be wanting some emotional relief from his future writing.

Digression #1: Steve + Sky (the link is Felix van Groeningen) is WCC #68.

Note to self: should be able to get hold of Verhulst’s poetry.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Poetry… But Were Afraid to Ask Timothy Leary

Goede Raad is Vuur (cover photograph: ‘De Toren van Babel‘ in Ruigoord by Marrit Dijkstra)

Goede Raad is Vuur is a Dutch language poetry anthology and at the same time a theory of poetry, first published by Simon Vinkenoog in 2004.

Simon Vinkenoog is the Dutch Timothy Leary, just as Jean-Jacques Lebel was the French Timothy Leary, see counterparts.

The book is the definitive guide to cult poetry and begs for a English translation.

In this collection for example: “The Right Mask” by Brian Patten in a Dutch translation more powerful than its English original:

One night a poem came up to a poet.
From now on, it said, you must wear a mask.
What kind of mask? asked the poet.
A rose mask, said the poem.
I’ve used it already, said the poet,
I’ve exhausted it.
Then wear the mask that’s made out of
a nightingale’s song, use that mask.
Oh, it’s an old mask, said the poet,
it’s all used up.
Nonsense, said the poem, it’s the perfect mask,
still, try on the god mask,
now that mask illuminates heaven.
It’s a tight mask, said the poet,
and the stars crawl about in it like ants.
Then try on the troubador’s mask, or the singer’s mask,
try on all the popular masks.
I have, said the poet, but they fit so easily.

Simon Vinkenoog at Demian yesterday

Simon

Vinkenoog

Simon Vinkenoog at Demian yesterday where he read from Goede Raad is Vuur to me (and the rest of Demian).

“The Right Mask” by Brian Patten was translated by C. Buddingh’ is included in Goede Raad is Vuur, a poetry book by Simon Vinkenoog.

“The Right Mask” is the ultimate mask allegory and a piece of cult poetry.

I know own a signed and author-illuminated copy of Goede Raad is Vuur.

Goede Raad is Vuur is the first book on poetry I own.

Goede Raad is Vuur

The window display

Simon in de verte

Simon van dichtbij

Simon

Ecphrasis and the bedness of things

A Reasonable Amount of Ice (2008) Jahsonic

ekphrasis

and

the

bedness

things

Introducing Wim T. Schippers

Wim T. Schippers

This post is mainly intended for people living in Antwerp or the environs.

Tonight, “Pollens, wat een heisa!,” an homage to Dutch artist Wim T. Schippers starts at the Monty in Antwerp.

There are many things to be said about Wim T. Schippers, but since I write this blog in English and most of my readers are from all over the globe, these things will be of interest to few. Suffice it to start by saying that Schippers belongs to the Dutch Dada tradition.

Digression #1

I say Dada because Surrealism is to weak a word; and it can be agreed upon that surrealism was not but an insipid decoction of Dada; Dada having the chronological benefit of course. On the other hand, I realize there is no use bemoaning the insipidness of Surrealism, since Surrealism was its best possible replacement. Nevertheless, Surrealism to my liking has always been too formalistic and dogmatic.

In discussing Schippers, a number of comparisons are called for. In the Dutch language geographical area, we have Doctorandus P. whom I celebrated here[1] and [2] and who is most certainly a precursor of Schippers. Internationally, one can compare Schippers to Monty Python.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_azDvJdRC2Y]
Famous banana clip (I can’t hear you, I have a banana in my ear!)

Now the force of Schippers resides in his mainstream influence, most Dutch-speakers know him without knowing him, he is voice actor of a number of voices of the local version of Sesame Street, most famously Ernie. In The Netherlands he is also known by face as the presenter of a popular science quiz show.

Outside of some dim recollections of his 1970s TV shows, he crossed my personal path each Wednesday afternoon when I listened to his radio show on VPRO (Schippers in the persona of Jacques Plafond (Eng: Jacques Ceiling) [3]. These shows were hilariously irreverent. It was love at first sight.

Garage, Haarleem by Andy Field (Hubmedia)

Shit, I forgot my car, from a Sjef Van Oekel comic

Later still, there were the comics of Sjef Van Oekel, the brain of which was again Schippers.

In Belgium, the Dutch-speaking part where I live, there are two soul brothers of Schippers: Kamagurka and Herr Seele. And perhaps Hugo Matthysen.

To conclude: Schippers is the nobrow example and canonical to this blog, even if you’ve never heard of him, try to find his equivalent in your country.

Ernie’s drol (Ernie’s Turd)

photo Laurens Bontes

Much better than the similar work of Paul McCarthy

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbBRVUjWKUg]
Going to the Dogs -Part 01 – This is the famous play for dogs by Dutch Wim T. Schippers.

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAVOOn-Ill4]

The song “Pollens, wat een heisa!,” from which the homage’s title was taken. Notice the naked ladies towards the end

[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl0EFJWx-bg]

Phil Bloom, reading the news naked, in 1967 on national television.

Louis Althusser @ 90

Photo unidentified

Sainte Anne, psychiatric hospital (04) - 17Sep06, Paris (France)

Photos of the Sainte-Anne psychiatric hospital by Philippe Leroyer

Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher would have been 90 today, infamous for strangling his wife on November 16, 1980 and not being tried for it. Althusser was diagnosed as suffering from diminished responsibility and committed to the Sainte-Anne psychiatric hospital in Paris. Althusser remained there for three years and was then released.

Jahsonic

Burgemeester van Dodenstad

Ocular eroticism II

Reconfiguring the Renaissance: Essays in Critical Materialism – Page 159

Eroticism on the Renaissance Stage: Transcendence, Desire, and the Limits of … – Page 103

Reading the Medieval in Early Modern England – Page 208

Shakespeare the Actor and the Purposes of Playing – Page 134

The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima – Page 70

Sexual Aliveness: A Reichian Gestalt Perspective