Kafka’s porn unveiled

Pages from Der Amethyst (1906) showing Reh-Inkarnation by Thomas Theodor Heine. Okay, don’t get too excited, I simply wanted to make a couple of points of order while this story is still causing a stir. I noted earlier the recent (London) Times piece about James Hawes’ new book, Excavating Kafka, described as a work which: … Continue reading “Kafka’s porn unveiled”

Chris Watson: Oceanus Pacificus

This is worth noting even though it’s nearly over, a short presentation of sound recordings by Chris Watson at the alt.gallery, Newcastle. Watson was a founder member of one of my favourite groups of the post-punk era, Cabaret Voltaire. He left CV in 1981 and shortly thereafter formed The Hafler Trio, an experimental audio outfit … Continue reading “Chris Watson: Oceanus Pacificus”

A Midsummer Night’s Dadd

Contradiction: Oberon and Titania (1854–58). Richard Dadd painting Contradiction, c. 1856. Of all the paintings based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream my favourite is this one by Richard Dadd (1817–1886), the artist who famously murdered his father in a fit of psychosis and spent the rest of his days as an inhabitant of Bethlem Royal … Continue reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dadd”

Carlos Schwabe’s Fleurs du Mal

La Déstruction. More Symbolist femmes fatale, this time courtesy of Carlos Schwabe (1866–1926) and his illustrations for Baudelaire’s Fleurs du Mal from 1900. I’d had the site these pictures are from bookmarked for some time but hadn’t noticed that the version of Schwabe’s Spleen et Ideal illustration (below) was different to the one more commonly … Continue reading “Carlos Schwabe’s Fleurs du Mal”