[100ja a.k.a. mr_mitja]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

I am sorry to say this, but this is hauntingly familiar. Isn't that the way the Whore Babylon is usually depicted? A woman on a multiple headed monster?

Actually I believe it is the Whore of Babylon .
The both monsters have 7 heads, and I think that the tarot card emily is reffering to is a depiction of the whore.

But, it doesn't matter that much. The beauty of the art is in interpretations. And, like in all art, your thoughts and opinions are what counts. The important thing is what you "see" and feel.

[fov]

Ooh, thanks for that picture. I can't believe no one has ever pointed this out to me before.

I think it's telling of a few things. The original name of the card was Strength - Crowley changed it to Lust. He actually changed the names of several cards based on his own belief system... and seeing as he was an old chauvinist man it doesn't really surprise me that his depiction of female strength would be equated with sexual promiscuity. (The paintings were done by Lady Freida Harris based on his interpretations of what the cards meant - it could be that he told her to do a likeness of the Whore of Babylon, or that he gave a certain description and she made that decision herself. I'm not sure.) But if you look at it another way... whores are only bad because they go against the sexual "rules" of a patriarical society. And a woman who turns that around and owns her sexuality is much stronger than one who cowers under the patriarical society's sexist and arbitrary rules.

Plus the motif of the woman and the beast carries over from deck to deck... this is just Crowley's (and/or Lady Freida Harris's) interpretation of the card's meaning. Some other Strength cards:

http://www.facade.com/i/t/rider_waite/l/r9.jpg
http://www.ciromarchetti.com/ciro/tarot/strength.jpg
http://tsuzukinekochan.com/kp/mt/dig...t_strength.jpg
http://hem.passagen.se/elund/Tarot_o...11strength.jpg

Of all of these (and others), the card from the Crowley deck has the least passive (and most interesting) woman, IMO. If that's achieved by likening her to a whore, so be it.

I can't find a real good description of the card's meaning online, but I have some tarot books at home that I'll take a look at later to see if they say anything about this. Unfortunately they're on the bookshelf that's currently blocked by our Christmas tree...

-emily

[LauraMac]

Usually the strength card depicts a royal beast like a lion...

But that is an interesting thought about lust as an emblematic alternative.

To me lust might be profane, not actually in a negative sense at all, just not perhaps the best interpretive alternative for that card in a tarot deck.

Now Passion to me would be strength....

Regardless, it's an amazing illustration and I can see why you used it as the basis for your tattoo (s). mmmmmm

[100ja a.k.a. mr_mitja]

Originally Posted by fov

But if you look at it another way... whores are only bad because they go against the sexual "rules" of a patriarical society. And a woman who turns that around and owns her sexuality is much stronger than one who cowers under the patriarical society's sexist and arbitrary rules.

-emily

You go girl!

[Jazhara7]

In this article is the picture I was thinking of


And I agree, that it is just a beautiful picture. I know that the Whore of Babylon is from the Bible, but I am not that religious (I just tend to remember everything I hear.)

And I just wanted to point it out to you, what the picture is. It does not necessarily have any meaning.


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[Kolorabi]

Doesn't a lot of christian fundamentalists believe that the Whore of Babylon is supposed to represent the catholic church?

[100ja a.k.a. mr_mitja]

Originally Posted by Kolorabi

Doesn't a lot of christian fundamentalists believe that the Whore of Babylon is supposed to represent the catholic church?

You have a link above the pic i posted earlier, you can read more there.

[Kolorabi]

Originally Posted by 100ja a.k.a. mr_mitja

You have a link above the pic i posted earlier, you can read more there.

Ah, thanks. Didn't see that.

[gillyruless]

Well, in the Book of Revelation the Whore of Babylon is described as a figure of supreme evil, a being that's not only corrupted herself but will corrupt those who come in contact with her. It was used by Christians to refer to various entities that represented a corrupted entity oppressing the Christendom. The Roman Empire, for example, was one of the entities that was linked to the idea of the Whore of Babylon. Some Christian reformers also used the term to describe the Catholic church, which they consider corrupted and engage in idolatry and apostasy for the veneration of saints and relics.

[UPtimist]

Well these two are quite, eh, meaningfull ...







(The first one being of course Teniers' St. Anthony and St. Paul and the second Poussin's Et in arcadia ego or Arcadian shepherds)

[tabacco]

I can't believe this hasn't been submitted yet...





Seriously, though, Kingz, do you have a higher-res version of that Hopper adaptation? Like... 1024x768? I could use some good wallpaper for my laptop.

Edit: Whoops, nevermind! Just spotted it on the CoT

[Terabin]

Originally Posted by UPtimist

(The first one being of course Teniers' St. Anthony and St. Paul and the second Poussin's Et in arcadia ego or Arcadian shepherds)

I love it when games incorporate art into them! Good choices UPtimist.

[EasilyConfused]

I like it when games incorporate art too, although, of course, games ARE art--I mean, lots of us confess to liking the "eye candy" part of gaming. What about games that had paintings (or art?) as part of the story?

The Black Mirror springs to mind immediately, though those were kind of gothic and cheesy. Speaking of cheese, there was Monkey Island number whatever (I played them all in a row so I don't remember which was which, 3 I think) and the portraits of the innkeeper's family. There are some beautiful pieces of art in the Last Express. And in the Broken Sword games (haven't played no. 2) they keep coming across interest old art objects . . . even Runaway is partly set in a museum.

I liked the Teniers Uptimist but Poussin is too Academic for me (I mean like, the French Academy.) Fov's tattoo rocks as does the manuscript version of it, and so do those little people with the stare-y eyes . . . Anyway, just to keep the thread colorful, here's another random one.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

That's a Kandinksy, isn't it?

[EasilyConfused]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

That's a Kandinksy, isn't it?

And Trep wins an "art and culture" pie piece in the AG Chit-Chat virtual trivial pursuit! Yes, indeedy, it is a Kandinsky--sorry, I forgot to label it, but I was too lazy to go back and edit the post. Ho hum. It's one of his awesome improvisation series. Actually if you look it seems to be that there are two boats in a stormy ocean, and perhaps in the background a hilltop town crowned by towers, which was a frequent Kandinsky motif. There may be horses and riders approaching the town, who are probably the horsemen of the Apocalypse (this thread is turning into the Religious Iconography thread) . . . I didn't figure this out, heard it in a lecture on abstraction in college oh-so-many years ago.

BTW I really love the LaTour on your website (yes I snuck over there.) Does it mean something coded though????

[Terabin]

I like paintings with shadows. Therefore, I like Rembrandt.



Rembrandt. A Girl with a Broom. 1651. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by Terabin

I like paintings with shadows. Therefore, I like Rembrandt.



Rembrandt. A Girl with a Broom. 1651. Oil on canvas. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

If you like shadows in your painting, I don't think you can beat this one:



Aristotle with a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt. Wonderful use of light and shadow. Notice how Aristotle's brow and eyes are covered in shadow implying that his deep in philosophical thought. As far as realistic representation is concerned, no one's better than Rembrandt in my book. When you see the painting in person, you wouldn't believe how realistic the cascading sleeves look. It feels like you can reach out and feel the fabric!

[Wormsie]

I'm feeling spooky right now. I'm afraid the picture might come alive from the screen...

I'll hit it with my frying pan!

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

I'm feeling spooky right now. I'm afraid the picture might come alive from the screen...

I'll hit it with my frying pan!

Yeah, those dogs playing poker are really scary...

*shivers*


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[UPtimist]

Originally Posted by EasilyConfused

I liked the Teniers Uptimist but Poussin is too Academic for me

Yeah, I kinda agree. I do like the Teniers' much more too.