Book stand as art

This looked so nice, I couldn't resist ripping it off my editor's facebook stream. It's the Soho Press book stand at a recent conference, and it looks like a work of art. This is the creation of Rudy Martinez, Abby Koski, and Meredith Barnes. Well done, ladies and gent.

Cool dudes of statuary

I wouldn't normally place anyone's advertising on this blog, but I can't resist this lot.  Traid is a UK clothing charity that recycles old clothes.  They recently issued some advertising in which French artist Leo Caillard placed recycled clothing on some even older statues.  This is the result:

I've left the pictures at original size because that's how they look best.  I realize they won't fit neatly on everyone's screen.  If you click on each picture your browser will probably give you a good full image.

The last guy looks like someone I used to work with.

I would love for the artist to get together with the people who did the colours of ancient Greece.

Puppets of ancient Greece

It's very likely that the Greeks had puppets--or more accurately marionnettes--and put on  shows.  Certainly their children had wooden dolls with articulated arms and legs that would have been suitable for the purpose with the additions of only a few strings.

The first known mention comes from Herodotus, where he says the Egyptians had a figure, certain parts of which could be moved by a string.  The word he uses for this is neurospasta, which means something like string-puller.  Next, Xenophon, in his Symposium, has Socrates present when a troupe of entertainers puts on a show that includes neurospasta.  The same word.  On the face of it, this is case closed, except by context it might also refer to the sinews of a boy contortionist who is mentioned as being present.  The third mention is Plato, who in his Laws refers to children being entertained by a thaumiston, which means something like a show of wonders.  Most people take this to mean a puppet show.  There are enough other mentions in passing that it seems a safe assumption.

Assuming they did have marionnettes, no one knows what stories they told, except that it can't have been Punch and Judy: that's a much later creation.

Akropolis, by von Klenze

Leo von Klenze painted in 1846 this idealized view of the Acropolis in the time of Pericles. I'm glad the title includes the word "idealized", because there are a few things wrong with the accuracy. Even so I suspect it does a terrific job of capturing the feel of what it was like back then, especially the Parthenon and the walk up to the Propylaea. That's the building you see smack in the middle, with the steps leading up to it. The mega-statue rising from behind the Proplyaea can't possibly be real.

I can't believe the Areopagus -- that's the rock platform in the foreground where the crowd is milling about -- was ever as flat as von Klenze has it. If you visit today you'll see that the Areopagus is very up and down in its top surface, and I doubt it's all due to wear. Also, there's no way there was ever an ornate marble building on top as shown at the left. I do think there was a large wooden structure for meetings of the Council of the Areopagus. But this is all carping. The point is, he captured the spirit of the place.

This picture is interesting to me because in the center of it is where I killed my first victim, on line 1 of my first book:

Diotima instructing Socrates

As you surely know, the great French artist Jacques-Louis David painted the very famous Death Of Socrates, along with many other brilliant neo-classical works.  

What is less well known is that at one point he thought about painting Diotima Instructing Socrates.  He made a sketch, which is now held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington.  Apparently the sketch isn't on display, but here it is, linked from their web site: 

So that's two of my three main characters.

Thanks to Jason Rehmus, who is @longstride on twitter, for tracking this down.