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On the pyramid

Lots of attention given this week to a series of photos taken from the summit of the Great Pyramid of Cheops by a Russian group of urban explorers. The Egyptian authorities who maintain the World Heritage site bar visitors from the place at night so the photographers hid in a tomb for a few hours before beginning their ascent. The original LiveJournal post with the full complement of photos is here, and is worth running through Google Translate if you’re interested in the details. One of the other photographers has a page devoted to his spectacular views here.

Ascent of the Cheops pyramid may be discouraged now but used to be a common pursuit for those visitors capable of making the climb. The Russian post mentions that among the graffiti carved into the stones on the summit they found the name of Tsar Nicholas II. The Library of Congress has many photos of Egyptian monuments in its archives, including a number showing pyramid ascents. Ex-Hawkwind man Nik Turner made the ascent himself after leaving the band in 1976. Whilst there he recorded three hours of solo flute in the sarcophagus of the King’s Chamber which later formed the basis for his Xitintoday album.

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The art of Naomichi Okutsu

Hatsuyume – one’s first dream of the New Year – (2005).

Naomichi Okutsu’s variation on the amorous octopus theme is understandably popular in the Tumblr world, but it often appears uncredited while his other work is far less visible. That seems unfortunate when there’s a lot more to his beautiful paintings than tentacle sex. His work applies homoerotic twists to Japanese iconography, with many of the paintings using gold leaf for the backing. Japanese Gay Art has many more examples, all of which are currently for sale.

Title unknown.

Bozu ni hanakanzashi.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The gay artists archive

Eustace details

St Eustace (c. 1501) by Albrecht Dürer.

As is often the case with his engraving on religious themes, Dürer is less concerned with the Biblical story—in this case St Eustace’s vision of Christ appearing between the horns of a stag—than with the opportunity to render with great fidelity a wealth of natural detail. Everything here is observed with the utmost precision, down to the binding of the spurs on Eustace’s boots. A superb composition which leads the eye past the mystical deer, through the trees and up the hill.

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Rackham silhouettes

Another recent work-related discovery, this edition of the tale of Sleeping Beauty was published in 1920. The text is by CS Evans, and the book is illustrated throughout by Arthur Rackham who forgoes his usual ink-and-wash style in favour of silhouettes. Many of Rackham’s other books employ silhouettes, usually as vignettes at the ends of chapters, but this is the first book I’ve seen of his where the technique is applied to the book as a whole. The effect is stunning, with careful application of colour, and some very clever use of negative space. The combination of silhouettes with a fairy tale immediately brings to mind the animated films of Lotte Reiniger so it’s no surprise to find Rackham’s book being cited as an influence on both Reiniger and Fritz Lang. Browse the rest of the pages here or download the book here.

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The art of Mark Reep

Crossing.

Artist Mark Reep sent me a link recently to his gallery of meticulous pencil and charcoal drawings which he calls “dreams in black and white”. The combination in many of these of isolated settings with minor architectural features is something I always enjoy seeing but don’t find often enough. Offhand I can think of Gérard Trignac‘s equally meticulous etchings, and Jean-Pierre Ugarte‘s paintings. Mark Reep has cards and prints of his drawings and photographs available for purchase at Bluecanvas and Redbubble.

Abandoned Waterworks.

Not All The Old Doors.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The art of Gérard Trignac