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The Swing - Fragonard

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Other; Published: 16 January 2020; Hits: 1274

On the surface, a charming (??) picture of a young lady on a swing. Harmless, and so commonplace that you probably wouldn't even notice. But look at it a little closer and you'll see the devil's in the details, it's a masterpiece of French innuendo and erotic symbolism. Viewers at that time would have recognized the young lady wasn't wearing knickers (they didn't exist yet), and would have understood the young man's enthusiasm for her billowing skirts. The shoe flying off the foot (classically a symbol of virginity, the foot is sexual, think Cinderella, or foot fetishists), the two angels (?? Putti) looking on in the background, one in fascination, the other turned away in (?? Shame), the dog barking, a symbol of constancy or fidelity, the old man (Guardian or Husband?) in the background pulling the swing, the Cherub looking on with a finger to his lips to admonish secrecy...there's a whole lot more than first meets the eye.

The first link a slight breakdown of the symbols and interpretations, history and context of the painting, the second - covers the first - but as well refers to the symbolism of the painting itself - as it appears in later works of art...

Links:

The Joker

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Film; Published: 11 January 2020; Hits: 1087

After all the hype and despite all better intuition I saw it. Fine.

First of all Joaquin Phoenix does a fine job - excellent job, of portraying the Joker. One can tell there was a lot of mental work and preparation that went into it. The film - well written, well executed - and it made money - a lot of money - off a reasonably small investment, compared with other Superhero movies.

But, at the end, I don't care. I didn't need the back-story of the Joker explained to me. I liked him perfectly well the way he was. Heath Ledger was a fine example of a Joker, and reviewing the old Batman movie clips, I'm not sure who again is supposed to be the Hero. My money says The Joker. In any event, another super-villain movie the world really didn't need, that brought nothing new or of substance to the Superhero universe but made the studio's a pile of money. Expect more of the same.

The Curious Case of the Notebook from State Lunatic Asylum No.3

Details: Written by: Rod Boyle; Category: Other; Published: 08 January 2020; Hits: 1834

Outsider Art,

A treasure trove of Outsider Art discovered in a dumpster in 1970. Curious art, with a curious provenance. Note how it's value has steadily increased...from garbage, to $10,000 for the folio, to in excess of $10,000 per page...