In the Loupe

24th January 2012

Video

“ I noticed that the divers, in their routine, were not speaking at all. To me, they were like priests preparing for mass. Those few who have experienced the world under the frozen sky often speak of it as going down to the cathedral. ”

A night well-spent watching two excellent Werner Herzog documentaries, Encounters at the End of the World (2007), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010).   Herzog knows how to make a National Geographic-style shot of a cave painting or an iceberg into a truly beautiful, meaningful statement about the nature of the human experience, (a) god, the universe, and everything.

Tagged: Werner HerzogEncounters at the End of the WorldCave of Forgotten Dreamsdocumentary film

23rd January 2012

Photoset reblogged from R. SCOUT with 8 notes

I have been thinking about Edward Hopper’s porch since the middle of last week, ever since we briefly discussed the origin of the word “stoicism” in my philosophy class.  ”Stoicism” has as its base the Greek word “stoa,” meaning, basically, porch  (here is the Wikipedia entry on “stoa”).  Our professor pointed out how the porch is a place that is a hybrid of both a private space (it’s attached to your house, a private space) and a public space (other people can see you on your porch); the metaphor could also be extended, I think, to symbolize the space between civilization and wilderness—something I think Hopper recognized and captured perfectly in both of these paintings.  (Admittedly, the second painting is not a porch, but it was the image I first thought of—my flawed memory remembered it as a porch…)

Source: referencescout