Mythic art of today - recommendations

Discussion of Joseph Campbell's work with an emphasis on the personal creative impulse as well as the sociological role of the artist in today's global community.

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art
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Post by art »

Hi this my first post in the MYTHOS: CREATIVE COMMUNITY FORUM.

I dont want this sound like a biased or subjective opinion, or to undermine anyone in any way, but i think the band TOOL are probably, and this is my opinion, an art collective who are really the ones who have tapped into what Campbell was trying to say.

There is an intense mystery behind everthing TOOL does. They use sybolism and myth from cultures and religions as diverse as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Occult traditions, Gnosticism all which of course incorpoarte a large serving of mytholical symbolism and ritual. They do not buy into the commercial world of monetary ends.

This is not ready-found information, so thats why i'm saying i dont want it to sound biased. There is a lot of confusion about what it is that TOOL represent. TOOL actually dont really comment much about what they do at all, which is the very beauty of it.

TOOL offer brooding, intense emotional music, coupled with a dark sense of humour (the 'clown' if you will), and a view to the mystical; the mythological.

The enigmatic qualities that surround the band, and their art, perpetuate a subjective journey from within the viewer/listener. One does not, and cannot hang on to the words of the band members; one finds their meanings and experiences out for themself.

If any of you dont know, TOOL have collaboarted with Alex Grey on several occasions over the past year or so.

TOOL actually led to my discovery of Grey, Campbell, and within the past year i have learnt more and experienced more within myself than i could could ever possibly have imagined.

I do not want put them on a pedestal, more to see past even the idea of a pedestal, through to Campbells ideas, through to the transcendent.

I feel that TOOL are the most important artists the world has seen in a long time. They inspire, mystify, teach and yet remain transparent to it all. Campbell spoke of the world as being de-mythologized, that there was no ritual for young adults to embrace and to initiate them into adulthood. I belive TOOL offer such a mythology, such a ritual.

Then again i could be wrong, but thats what i get out of it.

peace all.


art

ALOberhoulser
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Post by ALOberhoulser »

I am trying to get tickets to see TOOL next week. I agree with you art, they are fantastic, but definately not for the faint of heart.

I have heard a lot of similar stories to yours about people re-discovering themselves after seeing them in concert.

Do you know if Alex Gray did the cover art for the last CD, the one with the human body represented in a series of transparencies? It really reminds me of Sacred Mirrors now that you mentioned it.

Peace,
AL

art
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Post by art »

yeah he did. He also colaboarated with them on their latest film clip, 'parabola', which seems to have gnostic symbolism in it, as well as of a sort of story about a man relinquishing his religion for the spirit he finds within himself, engulfed in the final moments of the video by the trancendental ground, or a kundalini experience if you will, which is basically the Sacred Mirrors in full live motion.

I would highly recommend seeing TOOL live. I saw them twice here in Australia, but apparently now their live shows are reaching somewhat of a culmination point, involving on-stage performers, animations designed by the band, and apparently 50 ft projections of nurmerous paintings by Alex Grey. Wish i could see that.

art

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

I saw this kid, 12 yr. old Mattie Stepanik, on CSPAN today. What a great message this little trooper shares through his poetry.

http://www.myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=mattieStepanek

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

This is a great collection of links to mandala art from aroud the world.

http://www.abgoodwin.com/mandala/ccweb.shtml#animateweb

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

http://www.mahatma.org.in/audio/audio.j ... &cat=audio

At the above site, in the right column, under the heading new, is a link to a flash slideshow through Gandhi's life.

FANTASTIC!!

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

http://www.well.com/user/davidu/asterism.html

I really liked this collection of poetry.

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

On 2002-09-19 18:19, Alexa wrote:
I'm studying utopias and many of the works that are published in science fiction and in fantasy are retellings of ancient myths. In poetry I want to add the poet Jorge Luis Borges, from Argentina.
Alexa, Borges is an excellent recommendation! I like especially his "labyrinthic" short stories, but also some of his poems, like "Los enigmas".

My favourite poem I am just able to quote in a translated version and from commemoration:
Die Zeit ist der Stoff, aus dem ich gemacht bin.

Die Zeit ist ein Strom, der mich fortreißt, aber ich bin der Strom.

Sie ist ein Tiger, der mich zerfleischt, aber ich bin der Tiger.

Sie ist ein Feuer, das mich verzehrt, aber ich bin das Feuer.
I cannot help, but it seems to me, that it could be from the Upanishads!

I was wondering, if you were a participant of the upcoming Lisbon RoundTable, when I saw your post first. Now I see, that I was right. I wish you fun (or maybe, at this place, it's better to say "bliss") and success!

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Post by ALOberhoulser »

I highly reccommend this collection for poetry buffs
http://www.learner.org/catalog/extras/vvspot/

AL

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Post by Alexa »

On 2002-10-11 15:28, Martin wrote:
I was wondering, if you were a participant of the upcoming Lisbon RoundTable, when I saw your post first. Now I see, that I was right. I wish you fun (or maybe, at this place, it's better to say "bliss") and success!
Thank you Martin. We've just started and it's been great.We're yet defining and adjusting the group.

I'm glad you like Borges too. Here's a litle curiosity about him, I don't know if you already know this because this had happened during the last visit Borges made to Portugal.

Do you remember Borges poem about his family, its called "Los Borges"? (Part of Borge's family came from Portugal, where the family name Borges is quite common.) He finished that poem talking about King Sebastian, a portuguese King that in the 16th century dissapeared in the desert during a battle. There he talk's about the mystic desert in wich the King vanished.

When Borges was in Portugal he gave an interview to one of his great portuguese fans Antonio Mega Ferreira, and after the end of that they continued talking. Then Borges asked how old was the king when he perished in the desert and he was told that he was 24 years old. Borges was quite disturbed and then murmured that he had wrote it wrong, because at that age, a desert is a magical place, not a mystical one. Very few things at that age are mystical.

This is the kind of detail that makes Borges great. I too love his stories about labirints and I think that I recognized the poem you quote, I think it was the one I used in a work about the immortality theme in his works.

And what about a discussion over Borges and Campbell? I think I'll try to do it in one of the round tables... Hope I will not regret it! :smile:

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Post by Martin_Weyers »

... I am sure, you will not!

We started, as usually, with some Campbell films, because it's a great possibility to introduce his ideas about mythology. Now I am trying more and more, to complement the Campbell lectures with my own preferations. Well, this sounds, like a private message. The reason for me to post some RoundTable topics (each of them concepted for about three meetings) in the public area is, that the artworks, they are handling may also be of use as recommendations of mythic art, and can be related to Campbell writings:

TOPIC: The Crisis of Myth
FILM: Power of Myth (Film): The Message of Myth.
TEXT: Power of Myth (Book): Chapter I & II
ARTWORK: "La Mort de Molière". A Film by Robert Wilson

TOPIC: Myth and Fairy Tales
TEXT: Flight of the wild Gander, chapter I.
FILM: Documentary about composer Carl Orff
ARTWORK: Der Mond. (The Moon) A musical play by Carl Orff, based on a fairy tale, narrated by the Grimm Brothers.

TOPIC: Myth and War
FILM: War Photographer
TEXT: Myths to live by, chapter IX
ARTWORK: the CIVIL warS. a tree is best measured when it is down. Act V - The Rome Section. An opera by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson.

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Post by Alexa »





On 2002-10-20 20:45, Martin wrote:
The reason for me to post some RoundTable topics (each of them concepted for about three meetings) in the public area is, that the artworks, they are handling may also be of use as recommendations of mythic art, and can be related to Campbell writings:


Thank you Martin

It's always great to get some advice and points of view from another round tables (and leaders). We're still defining our group's organic (I've even received mails from people that want to participate :smile: ).

You're right in posting this in the public area as it may help other people in getting other perspectives about Campbell's work (in this case through art).

All for now

Alexa

P.S. and Borges will be there, absolutelly






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Post by JR »

This is an amazingly fertile thread, but no one has yet brought up the subject of modern or sci-fi myth, or what might be called future myth as seen in recent movies, books, games etc... I'm not talking about rehashing odl themes or verbatim retelling of ancient myths, a la <a href="http://www.nasm.si.edu/StarWars/sw-unit1.htm" target="blank"><font size="4">Staw Wars</font></a> or <a href="http://www.palantir.net/2001/meanings.html" target="blank"><font size="4">2001: A Space Odysey</font></a>. What I'm referring to are themes like those found in <a href="http://aetherealforge.com/~aeon/thesis/thesis6.html" target="blank"><font size="4">Terminator</font></a> or <a href="http://www.cassiopaea.org/perseus/perseus_unveil.htm" target="blank"><font size="4">the Matrix</font></a> where man takes on the role of the creator only to find that, in terms of godlihood, he is too flawed to master the role and his creation overtakes him. This is the technology theme and though it has been present since <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5972/gibson.html" target="blank"><font size="4">Frankenstein</font></a> it is unique as a mythological theme because it's really only relevant to events that have not yet come to fruition. Also there are very few, if any, myths that I am aware of where man assumes the role of creator, though there is a proliferation of myths where the creator assumes the role of man.

Aslo, since I mentioned 2001:ASO, I submit <a href="http://www.mp3dimension.com/Strauss/Als ... Zarathustr" target="blank"><font size="4">Also Sprach Zarathustra</font></a> as a definitive musical myth.Here's some more info on <a href="http://www.americansymphony.org/dialogu ... trauss.cfm" target="blank"><font size="4">Also Sprach</font></a>. And since we're now on the subject of myth in music, I'm shocked that no one's brought up <a href="http://www.mistral.co.uk/hammerwood/ledzeppa.htm" target="blank"><font size="4">Led Zeppelin</font></a>. With songs like Stairway to Heaven, Achilles Last Stand, No Quarter, Going to California, Immigrant Song, and a huge list of others it would be fair to say that as a band they were rooted in myth more than any other.

Penultimately, I thought I'd just mention one of my favorite paintings as an example of myth in "modern" (well within the last 150 years anyway) art ... Henri Rousseau's <a href="http://perso.wanadoo.fr/le_douanier_rou ... urpris.htm" target="blank"><font size="4">Suprise!</font></a> Though all of his art is somehow mythic in stature, this one always spoke to me, as if I had entered the telling of a fable mid-way through.

Finally I thought this was an important link for us like minded individuals to share <a href="http://www.e-sheep.com/main.shtml" target="blank"><font size="4">It's fairly entertaining too</font></a>

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JR on 2002-11-13 08:33 ]</font>

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Post by JR »



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JR on 2002-11-13 08:35 ]</font>

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