Book Description
Originally published in 1983, Leo Steinberg's classic work has changed
the viewing habits of a generation. After centuries of repression and
censorship, the sexual component in thousands of revered icons of Christ
is restored to visibility. Steinberg's evidence resides in the imagery
of the overtly sexed Christ, in Infancy and again after death. Steinberg
argues that the artists regarded the deliberate exposure of Christ's
genitalia as an affirmation of kinship with the human condition.
Christ's lifelong virginity, understood as potency under check, and the
first offer of blood in the circumcision, both required acknowledgment
of the genital organ. More than exercises in realism, these unabashed
images underscore the crucial theological import of the Incarnation.
This revised and greatly expanded edition not only adduces new visual
evidence, but deepens the theological argument and engages the
controversy aroused by the book's first publication.
Customer Reviews:
Theology of the Divine Phallus through Art.......2006-03-21
As a visitor enters the nave of the Episcopal church I attend, his gaze is immediately drawn to the stark pentagonal brick wall behind the raised altar, and to the large cross on it with a life-size statue of a crucified Jesus, naked except for the loin cloth about his hips to satisfy the normal decency criteria of the Church. Although we do know that crucifixion victims were stripped of all their clothing, and that the Bible specifically describes the Roman soldiers gambling for Jesus' garments, good taste forbids us to show Jesus naked. Yet there was a time when this was not true.
This book examines the Renaissance period (14th to 16th century) when artists presented Jesus either completely naked or covered by a simple loincloth that accentuated a rigidly erect member. Three hundred beautiful plates show this state of undress of both the baby Jesus and of the dying or resurrected Christ. What caused the artists to break the normal decency codes, asks the author, and he advances various theories to answer his own question. The first half of the book was written in 1983 and is divided into two parts: the main analysis and 39 excursuses (appendices to you and me) that amplify various points made. The second half was written thirteen years later and presents the author's newer thoughts plus a detailed refutation of the arguments put forth by his critics.
The paintings examined in the book relate to three periods of Jesus' life: his infancy, his baptism, and his crucifixion. Those depicting his infancy show a progressive diminution of worn apparel with passing time: in the 12th century Jesus is shown covered completely by a long philosopher's tunic; in 13th century paintings he appears in short child's dresses; and in the next two centuries he is painted either completely nude, or wearing short, sometimes see-through shifts, that are pulled up by either the baby or his mother to reveal his genitals, while the actions of the surrounding figures direct the viewer's attention to them. Whether it is Mary's mother poking at them (in Hans Baldung Grien's "Holy Family" 1511) or a magus staring at them intently (in Monticello's "Adoration of the Magi," c. 1470), or even the baby himself holding or pointing to them, these treatments of a baby's, let alone baby Jesus' genitals seem to transcend good taste.
Steinberg explains it as an effort by the painters to bring to the viewer's attention Jesus' full humanity, and to remind us that as a true Jew he shed his first blood for us during his circumcision. It is, "I, your Creator, have come to share your humanity"; or, "See how I have not delayed to pour out for you the price of my blood." The Magus's almost indecent examination is just an effort to certify the sex or the circumcision status of the child. St Anne's poking, in Grien's woodcut, is explained away as some type of the artist's preoccupation with fecundity and miracle-working spells.
The manner in which the adult Jesus was painted relates to the beliefs regarding original sin held by the Eastern Orthodox and the Western Catholic Churches. The Orthodox Church believed that there was no sex in Paradise, and that there never would be. "God did not need marriage to fill the earth," preached St John Chrysostom. The Church maintained that Adam and Eve had been created sexless and it was only after they sinned that they were endowed with procreative organs. The author presents an 11th century Spanish drawing showing Adam acquiring a penis after he sinned. Since Jesus was not subject to the original sin, he resembled the original man having no genitalia. So this is how he was painted in Medieval times (12th and 13th centuries); during his baptism, or on the cross, he was shown naked and sexless. Since there were no sexual organs to give rise to feelings of shame these naked paintings of Jesus could be freely exhibited in and out of church.
In later years, the Catholic Church in the West was influenced by St. Augustine's theory of original sin. According to him Adam and Eve were created with all their genitalia intact, but after they sinned God punished them by removing from them conscious control of these organs. Instead of performing the procreative act in a calm and emotionless manner, they were now subject to the vicissitude of their lustful emotions; Adam could no longer control the erection status of his member. (Charitably the author did not mention St. Augustine's sexual history: as a young man in Africa he took a concubine and produced a son; then he turned to his childhood boyfriend Alypius; and finally moved to Rome where, with five other friends, he took a vow of celibacy, upon which his concubine took his son and left.) The question then became, how did this affect Jesus since he was not subject to original sin?
Michelangelo's response was "Risen Christ," a work more resembling pagan Greek and Roman works than Christian Church statues, a completely nude Christ holding onto a cross. It seems, however, that Michelangelo was not very interested in this work since he had one of his pupils finish it. Even so, at least seven copies of it were produced during this period, but in all of them Christ was suitably covered. So why did Michelangelo produce such a statue? Before they sinned Adam and Eve had walked naked in the Garden without feeling shame. It was only after they sinned that they became ashamed of their private parts and covered themselves. By this reasoning, since Jesus was without sin he did not need to feel ashamed and cover himself. Most other paintings of the period, however, do not show this much frontal nudity. Although Christ's naked body may be shown removed from the cross, one of his hands is usually placed strategically to prevent exposure. This can be explained, argues Steinberg, by the common belief that a dying man often tends to place his hand on his groin.
Perhaps more shocking to the viewer are those paintings where the dead Christ's loincloth clearly shows a massive underlying erection. In the first part of the book, the author advanced various explanations for this practice: in pagan days the phallus was equated with power; in the Egyptian Osiris myth the erection and resurrection motifs were almost combined. But by the time he wrote the second half of his book the author had come up with his Theory of Penile Erection. Since, according to St. Augustine, after the Fall man lost his ability to control this member of his body, what better way for a painter to show that Jesus is unaffected by the original sin than to depict him in control of his erections. And to dissociate it from any sexual involvement, and thus sin, these erections occur either after his death or during his infancy.
All in all this is a very interesting book that can be appreciated by even non-artistic types like me. It obviously contains much more that I have space to comment upon. The only thing that I failed to understand was another reviewer's description of breaking up with hilarity while reading it. Perhaps it is because I am neither an artist nor a trained theologian but, with the possible exception of Joos van Cleve's "Holy Family" where Joseph is portrayed reading a book with his spectacles on, I didn't see anything particularly funny in this book.
(The writer is the author of "Christianity without Fairy Tales: When Science and Religion Merge.")
Scandalous and brilliant.......2004-02-15
Several art historians of my acquaintance, experts in the period, say that this is the best art history book ever written. I'm not an expert, but I can say that it's terrific, and one of the few academic books that, at first reading, had me lying on my back on the floor with my feet in the air, laughing hysterically. Steinberg had the audacity to wonder, looking at a Renaissance painting, why is it that Jesus's male member is so, well, *prominent*? Instead of averting his eyes (which is what most of us would do) he started looking for other paintings with which to compare it, and lo and behold, he discovered lots of them where indeed the painter seems to be deliberately *accenting* a part of the anatomy which normally one would expect to be concealed. He concludes that the painters were trying to show that the son of God had become Incarnate as a man in the most literal sense. In that sense, what seems scandalous to us is simply a manifestation of Renaissance humanism.
Beyond the screamingly funny prose lies a serious argument, about the Renaissance, and the way to do art history. Finally, Steinberg teaches the reader's eye how to look at a painting.
Book Description
Ganseys are sweaters that developed in 19th-century England as hard-wearing garments for hard-working fishermen. Characterized by their dense, dark yarns, rich pattern combinations, and dropped shoulders, these simple square garments provide the modern knitter with a template for a wide variety of classic designs. Detailed, step-by-step line drawings and photographs, sidebars, and formulas help the reader build a foundation of skills. Pattern graphs and instructions for six of the author's own designs are included.
Customer Reviews:
Difficult knitting techniques wefll explained.......2007-08-09
I returned from the Scottish Fisheries Museum with the itch to know more about the fishermen's ganseys of which there was a sample there but no instructions available. I had a bibliography with some older books that the assistant curator had provided. When I went to Amazon to see if any of those were available, I found that, yes, one was but I also found Ms Reinsell's book that looked most promising. It did not disappoint, and I made the gansey sampler to learn the techniques. Now I am ready to tackle a full sized sweater as soon as I find some five ply gansey yarn.
So thank you,Ms Reinsel,for making the instructions clear and understandable. While I have no trouble with the stitich patterns, the shoulder strap technique and some of the other design features were new to me, and you explained them well. The other, older book that I also bought had many interesting patterns but not good instructions.
Nanalou Sauder, a knitter for nearly sixty years.
Superb how-to for ganseys.......2007-05-31
This is a step by step approach to knitting ganseys, using traditional methods and shaping but presented in a very clear and coherent style. The construction of these garments is more complex than meets the eye, and Ms. Brown-Riensel makes it understandable and do-able.
Excellent Resource.......2007-03-27
Love this book. It's a clear and simple reference to creating ganseys. There are a few patterns to provide a good base to practice from and tons of information that would help you create your own gansey.
Easy to follow.......2007-02-16
Beth really has the corner on educational content with this book. She walks you through a miniature sweater using the techniques that are employed in a full size sweater. Then presents some patterns for adult and childrens sweaters. Great book.
Wonderful Resource.......2005-12-13
I loved all the history included and I found the tutorials very easy to follow. I liked the way they are broken down into little bits, so that you are not overwhelmed with the information. Grab this one while you can.
Average customer rating:
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They lived by the sea: Folklore and ganseys of the Pentland Firth
Henrietta Munro
Manufacturer: H. Munro and R. Compton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0950686034 |
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- This is the sequel?
- Venom is back!
- Venom....oh wait, this isn't Venom, this is A FAKE
- JJJ offers $5 million for Spider-Man's secret identity
- Millar is still amazing
|
Marvel Knights Spider-Man Vol. 2: Venomous
Mark Millar ,
Terry Dodson , and
Frank Cho
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0785116753 |
Book Description
As Spider-Man continues to search for Aunt May, things go from bad to worse for the wall-crawler! Everyone's favorite symbiote, Venom, is back - as only Millar and Dodson could envision him. Hold on to your spit, there's a beatdown coming for at least one guy with a spider on his chest! Featuring Black Cat, Venom, Doctor Octopus, and the X-Men.
Customer Reviews:
This is the sequel?.......2007-01-12
This story did not seem realistic to me, there were too many things in it that I could not believe would ever happen. While the artwork was good, I didn't like the way Venom was designed. For the most part it didn't feel like it belonged in the whole May being captured saga, but many graphic novel trilogies seem to do that.
As a side note, if Spiderman's so hated by the general public, where do these people get all the Spidey outfits from?
Venom is back!.......2005-11-21
The cool thing about Mark Millar is that he never gives you the same old thing the same way as everyone else has. In The Ultimates he gave us the Avengers, different and flawed. In Wanted, he gave us a group of super-villians, at war with each other. And in the second volume of Marvel Knights Spiderman, he gives us Venom. But this is a Venom that's vastly different and flawed and amazing.
Millar just keeps the story flowing and really knows how to knock your socks off.
Trust in Millar and all will be well.
Venom....oh wait, this isn't Venom, this is A FAKE.......2005-08-02
I am a HUGE venom fan. I have a shelf of nothing but venom comics. I have Venom Action Figures, Shirts, heck I even have a Mask of him!!!!!
So when I saw this storyline I was excited. However, the very first thing that turned me away was the artwork. I don't like the new way Venom is drawn, so that's not appealing. He just doesn't....feel right this way.
Next is the storyline. The REAL Venom, with the symbiote/eddie brock is no more. That right there is also another turn off for the story. When I say "VENOM" I mean Eddie Brock and the Venom Symbiote, not somebody else and the symbiote. Eddie/Venom just have one of the coolest combined minds ever, and they're so much fun to watch in action they way they act together.
Personally, the storyline, art, and characters I thought were all bad. The REAL Venom's gone, and I didn't enjoy watching him leave. 1 Star, and that's being GENEROUS.
JJJ offers $5 million for Spider-Man's secret identity.......2005-04-17
With the success of the "Spider-Man" movies there has been a marked increase in the number of Marvel comic books featuring the web-head. From "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Spectacular Spider-Man" in the main time stream and "Ultimate Spider-Man" going back to the beginning to start anew, we then had "Marvel Age Spider-Man" retelling the original Stan Lee & Steve Ditko stories, with "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man Unlimited" doubling the contemporary adventures of our hero. Now we can throw in "Marvel Adventures Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man/Human Torch," and that is without getting into all the mini-series, guest appearances, and team appearances. Although the artwork is not the most compelling I have seen, it is Mark Millar's writing on "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" that stands out among the new crop.
"Venomous" presents issues #5-8 for the second volume of the "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" trade paperback collections. The problem is that Aunt May is missing having been kidnapped by an old foe who has learned Spider-Man's secret identity and is out to get him and get him good. Following a wild goose chase engineered by the Owl that had him tangling with both the Vulture and Electro, Spider-Man ended up in the hospital where a picture of him with the lower half of his face exposed by his tattered mask is on the front page of the "Daily Bugle." Smelling blood in the water, J. Jonah Jameson is offering $5 million to anyone who identifies the man in the picture and reveals Spider-Man's secret identity. The Black Cat is helping Spider-Man, but Mary Jane does not like the Felicity Hardy hanging around her husband.
As you can tell from the title Venom is going to show up in this one, but first Spider-Man has to tangle with a drug-addled Doctor Octopus, a NYPD SWAT team, and Norman Osborn. This requires a visit to the Xavier Institute for some psychic help in finding Aunt May, but the news is not good. Add to that the Parkers's money problems and the fact that somebody is experimenting on his old foes, Spider-Man is about ready to crack (and this is before Venom actually shows up). Fortunately a coffee break can help clear the webs, but the next thing you know Peter Parker's old classmates are trying to give him a wedgie at his high school reunion and then things get really bad.
Millar and artists Frank Cho and Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson are heaping a lot of bad times on Spider-Man but in an intricately structured way. Consequently, things do not start spiraling out of controlling but just keep pilling on Spider-Man. Aunt May's fate still being on the back burner is the only significant weakness, because he really would crack under all that pressure by the time we get to the end of this four-part story. But overall "Venomous" delivers a nice on-going nightmare for the web-head and a solid story. Plus, there is a nice punch-line as Peter Parker comes up with a way to get JJJ off of Spider-Man's back. Okay, it would not really work once JJJ stops to think about it, but it is still a nice little joke.
Millar is still amazing.......2004-11-16
Collecting the four part storyarc, Venomous continues Mark Millar's run on the newly launched Marvel Knights Spider-Man, but for those looking for some sort of closure after the cliffhanger ending of the first storyarc (Down Among the Dead Men), you're going to be left hanging again. Picking up right after the end of the first arc, Peter Parker finds that a million dollar reward has been offered by J. Jonah Jameson to anyone who reveals the identity of Spider-Man. As if that weren't enough, Aunt May is still missing, and after paying a visit to X-Men telepath Rachel Summers, is feared dead. But, there is something else going on as well. What are the police doing working with Doctor Octopus? What is Norman Osborn hiding and why is he in danger? And just who is the mysterious assaillant who knows everything there is to know about Peter? In the thick of it all, Eddie "Venom" Brock has auctioned off his alien symbiote, and now there is a new, sadistic individual wearing the costume and pushing Spidey past his limits. Millar's writing is just plain awesome (is it me or is he having Spidey say "What?" a lot?) and his characterizations of the villains and various in-jokes are refreshing to longtime web heads. The art by Frank Cho (in issues 5 and 8) is superb, while the art by Terry and Rachel Dodson (issues 6 and 7) is as great as it was on the first arc. All in all, this is definitely worth picking up for longtime Spidey fans, and it will leave you salivating for the next chapter.
Book Description
Colonel Lemuel Q. Stoopnagle twisted old tales in his 1945 book: My Tale Is Twisted. Keen James has brought back the tales (still twisted) with added information about Stoopnagle, Spooner, and spoonerisms in his book: Stoopnagle's Tale Is Twisted.
"Beeping Sleauty," "Prinderella and the Since," and 41 other tales are here.
Customer Reviews:
Review of book ordered.......2007-01-11
The book, "Stoopnagle's Tale Is Twisted", arrived when expected and the book arrived in good shape. It was a brand new paper back book. I have no complaints.
A fun book!.......2002-11-05
I found this book to be very humorous & stimulating. Working your way through the tounge twisters is great when reading aloud with a group. I definitely recommend this book to older children & adults! It makes a great gift!!!
So much fun!.......2002-04-04
This book is a lot of fun! Great for small gatherings of friends. Provides a lot of laughs as you stumble and bumble your way through the tongue twisters. And the listener has to try to figure it out as you go along. Also a great book for those who love brain-teasers. I highly recommend this for your coffee table!
Books:
- The Sharpshooter Blues (Front Porch Paperbacks)
- The Sirens of Titan
- The Troll Garden and Selected Stories (Large Print Edition)
- The Very First Light: The True Inside Story of the Scientific Journey Back to the Dawn of the Universe
- Titus a Comrade of the Cross
- Tomorrow's Eve
- Tony Cragg: Winner of the 1988 Turner Prize
- Towards Best Practices for Surveying People With Disabilities
- Tula Station
- Wartime Lies: A Novel
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