230428 - Toshihiko Okuya

Toshihiko Okuya (Japanese, 1955)

— Franz Kafka, from Letters to Milena

曜変天目茶碗、藤田美術館、大阪

yōhen tenmoku chawan from the Fujita Museum (Osaka) collection

Southern Song, 12th-13th century; National Treasure of Japan

Source

Borgund Stave Church, Norway. Built approx. 1200 C.E.

Portal to Urnes stave church, Norway

Day After Day (Jean-Daniel Pollet, 2006)

Goddess in the Car, from the series Kirchner Girls Raphael Kirchner (Austrian, 1875–1917) Publisher: The Delta Fine Art Co. Printer: Bruton Galleries Ltd. Austrian about 1900

mfa boston

“Here the torturer behaves as if he’s the victim. But you know what to expect. Claude.”

— Claude Cahun, from Aveux non avenus (Disavowals), 1930, tr. Susan de Muth

~ Childhood of Dionysos: From the cubiculum B of the villa Farnesina (Dionysos with the nymphs of Mt. Nysa, to whom Zeus has entrusted the care of his baby-son).

Date: 1st century B.C.-A.D. 1st century

Provinience: Roman National Museum, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (Roma, Museo nazionale romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme).

Ancient Greek gold coinage.

Hellenistic Kings and Queens ruled an area from Greece in the west till India in the east.

From left to right:

1) King Asandros, Kingdom of Bosporos/Pontos (Black Sea region), 36 BC

2) King Demetrius I Poliorketes, Kingdom of Macedonia, 3rd BC

3) Seleukos II, Seleucid Empire, 3rd BC

4) Antiochos III o Megas (the Great), Seleucid Empire, 3rd-2nd BC

5) King Ptolemaios II, Kingdom of Egypt, 3rd BC

6) King Alexandros IV (the young Prince/Son of Alexander the Great), Kingdom of Macedonia, 323-315 BC

7) King Achaios (usurpator), Seleucid Empire, 220-213 BC

8) King Menander I Soter, Kingdom of Indo-Greeks (appr. modern Afghanistan -parts of India), 165-130 BC

9) Queen Arsinoe II, Kingdom of Egypt, 283-246 BC.

“Flame-Rimmed” Cooking Vessel (Kaen doki), Jomon period (ca. 10,500 B.C.–ca. 300 B.C.), Japan

Klimt’s famous “kiss” on the walls of a devastated building in Syria

“Authors should not be ALLOWED to write about–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“This book should be taken off of shelves for featuring–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Schools shouldn’t teach this book in class because–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Nobody actually likes or wants to read classics because they’re–” you are an anti-intellectual and an idiot

“I only read YA fantasy books because every classic novel or work of literary fiction is problematic and features–” you are an anti-intellectual and you are robbing yourself of the full richness of the human experience.

"you are functionally a conservative" is such a good and clarifying insult

Literally right after I saw this post, I saw another post in a discord chat for BOOK EDITORS in which an outspokenly liberal editor talked about how Nabokov should have never been published because he wrote about p*dophiles and described women's bodies in ways that made her uncomfortable. She described his writing as "objectively terrible" and said she wanted to burn his books. And other editors were bringing up classics they didn't like and talking about how they wanted to throw them in the trash. This wasn't like a light "unpopular opinion!" conversation. This was actual book editors talking about how books should be destroyed and censored.

There is something so scary and toxic in global culture right now. The revival of fascism is influencing everyone's mindset and approach to art, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.

I see far more books being censored today than when I was a kid. Librarians handed me The Catcher in the Rye, The Sexual Politics of Meat, and Animal Farm when I was literally 8-11. My mom would never have taken a book away from me. I read everything from the Tao Te Ching to the Qur'an to atheist texts under my desk at school. Teachers thought nothing of it or encouraged it. Books seemed universally acknowledged as sacrosanct to me.

Now I can't find any adults who don't hesitate or want to make exceptions when it comes to censorship. Even the most liberal social activist librarians I know go, "well except for book X..."

Functionally conservative. It's so important to have the language to express that.

Thank you for this addition!

Alexandra

“I am wearing a 70s housecoat from Sababa Vintage. It’s one of my favorite pieces of clothing I’ve ever owned. I found my blouse in a big pile at a flea market. The skirt is another favorite of mine, I bought it from stylist & writer Subrina Heyink when she sold vintage. She no longer sells as a brand, but she has a brilliant Substack that everyone should go support. I found the dog purse in the stuffed animal section of a thrift store. The strap was really ugly, so I replaced it with a thrifted chain belt. I feel like if I was a cartoon character, this is probably what I’d be wearing most episodes.”

Apr 2, 2023 ∙ Industry City

Mark Laver, "I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence" / "Everything looks beautiful, when you're young and pretty" / "I may never be unhappy again"

Writing Room in the Tower at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, England

where the personal books of Vita Sackville-West are stored

by John Hammond

The Gaulcross Hoard Ancient Silver Chain, The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Katzenversammlung (The Cats’ Assembly) by Quint Buccholz, 1995