German Expressionist Woodcuts
July 16th, 2007
Four woodcuts from German Expressionist Woodcuts, 1994, edited by Shane Weller.
“Expressionism was in part a reaction against Impressionism’s emphasis on atmospherics and surface appearances, and against academic painting’s rigid technique, stressing instead the emotional state of the artist and subject… creating an experience rich in drama that conveyed the inner reality of the subject matter” (pvii).
Ernst Barlach. To Joy, 1927 (p1).
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Three Paths, 1917 (p47).
Christian Rohlfs. Large Head, 1922 (p100).
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Prophetess, 1919 (p115).
July 16th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
In the last post, Janus Geminus looked forward and backward, coordinating past and future. In the last image here, I see the prophetess with one eye open and one eye closed, translating inward to outward.
These four directions remind us of Yeat’s Four Faculties: Janus, all-of-time thus timeless, an all-seeing Concord, beyond any one; the prophetess, an instrument of personal vision, subjective, drawing on her time(s).
Janus, btw, was also god of door hinges. Need I say more?
July 17th, 2007 at 9:00 am
No, you need not.
Janus is a truly charming god… my favorite living mathematician, John Horton Conway, has recently resurrected the bi-pronged fellow, in his riveting interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.
You can see & hear Conway talking about Janus some time in the middle of this video (it is called Geometry, Logic and Physics):
http://www.math.princeton.edu/facultypapers/Conway/