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Hell, Heaven, Earth (Hurezi Monastery, Romania)
Posted By: causey, 07-23-2009, 06:46 AM















Last edited by causey; 07-23-2009 at 07:18 AM.
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07-23-2009, 10:18 AM   #2
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Stephan, some very powerful religious imagery! Awesome and conducive to accelerated neuron activity. Your quotation, "Auri Sacra Fames," is highlighted well by some of these images.

Keep up the fascinating, important work.

On a light note--the horse is beautiful!
07-23-2009, 12:58 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Jewelltrail Quote
Stephan, some very powerful religious imagery! Awesome and conducive to accelerated neuron activity. Your quotation, "Auri Sacra Fames," is highlighted well by some of these images.

Keep up the fascinating, important work.

On a light note--the horse is beautiful!
Orthodox images look naive and coarse (contrast them to the refined Catholic pictures, for instance), yet in a sense all the more forceful--there is something primitive in them... I find this primitivism reminiscent of that of the prehistoric cave drawings in Spain and France. It relates to the Id, not to the (super-)ego. The more such pictures I see, the more they fascinate me.

I added that quotation today... It doesn't fit with anything photographic--I was thinking of how human cravings seem to be abnormal means of survival: abnormal, because they turn against humanity itself (and, I'm afraid, the human species, in the long run).

Yes, the horse is beautiful. The poor guy was pulling a cart full of hay. Lives are 'ancient' here.

Last edited by causey; 07-23-2009 at 01:41 PM.
07-23-2009, 01:34 PM   #4
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Thank you for posting these powerful images. I see what you mean about lives being ancient there. In the beginning images, whomever created them long ago looked to be attempting to illustrate the stuggle of man between the sides of light and dark and captured it quite well in my opinion.

07-24-2009, 10:30 AM   #5
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QuoteQuote:
Stefan: "It doesn't fit with anything photographic"
Auri Sacra Fames, or the "holy lust for gold," also rendered the "accursed lust for gold," I think, does fit well with art & photography. A man's struggle to balance his life is in conflict with the powerful distractions which are expressed in your quotation. And the pictures, as Wolfshire so eloquently states, capture the struggle.

Remember, of course, "gold" here is just a metaphor--its true meaning is anything men lust for, anything which drives them out of balance, anything which inspires insatiable lust. That "gold" could be the thirst for fame, the longing for money, or any material possession which distracts men from their true purpose.

QuoteQuote:
Stefan: I was thinking of how human cravings seem to be abnormal means of survival: abnormal, because they turn against humanity itself (and, I'm afraid, the human species, in the long run).
YES--my point too!

For example, INSIGHTS: Auri Sacra Fames

QuoteQuote:
Stefan: there is something primitive in them... I find this primitivism reminiscent of that of the prehistoric cave drawings in Spain and France. It relates to the Id, not to the (super-)ego.
You are correct, our superego (as conceived by Frued) is a later development in mankind, and a higher level--perhaps consciouness itself? "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny," or man, at the individual level, undergoes a transformative process reflective of the transformation of man at the species level.


*note* my use of the word men here is inclusive; I mean women too.
07-24-2009, 11:52 AM   #6
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Great photos!

There is nothing naive and crude about Orthodox iconography, by the way. They painted that way for a reason, not because they were ignorant of how to paint.
07-24-2009, 01:27 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wolfsfire Quote
Thank you for posting these powerful images. I see what you mean about lives being ancient there. In the beginning images, whomever created them long ago looked to be attempting to illustrate the stuggle of man between the sides of light and dark and captured it quite well in my opinion.
I thank you, Wolfsfire.


QuoteOriginally posted by ikonographics Quote
Great photos!

There is nothing naive and crude about Orthodox iconography, by the way. They painted that way for a reason, not because they were ignorant of how to paint.
Thanks for the word of appreciation & comment. However, I didn't mean to say that painters were naive or ignorant. I was trying to characterize--maybe awkwardly--their style. "Image X looks naive and coarse" doesn't mean that X is naive and coarse.

QuoteOriginally posted by Jewelltrail Quote
Remember, of course, "gold" here is just a metaphor--its true meaning is anything men lust for, anything which drives them out of balance, anything which inspires insatiable lust. That "gold" could be the thirst for fame, the longing for money, or any material possession which distracts men from their true purpose.
Actually, I think you're right. Didn't think of it this way: *gold* as the opposite of art. (But isn't LBA a craving?)) On the other hand, humans are out of balance anyway, at least originally--thus is the nature of our existence, but we can (in principle) live beyond existence... (This sounds almost religious... and in a sense it can be taken so.) By "existence" I mean the plane of everyday worries, tasks to be completed (more or less important ought), duties--all the things with which we identify and which put pressure on our selves. Existence is already imbalance; balance needs to be achieved.

BTW, is it "Auri..." or "Aura"? As I remember it from my few high school Latin classes, it's "Aura sacra fames." Online I can find both versions.


Last edited by causey; 07-24-2009 at 01:44 PM.
07-26-2009, 10:14 AM   #8
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Well done documenting those wall/ceiling paintings! Love them!
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