John Coulthart's Blog, page 304

Chernobyl's zone of alienation

Chernobyl/Prypiat (2011) by Paul Curry.

Everyone's favourite irradiated town, Prypiat in the Ukraine, has been in the news again now that twenty-five years have passed since the the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This photo of the area by Paul Curry is part of a panorama (with the nuclear plant in the distance) taken from a rootop on a clear day. Most photos of the site show the now-familiar abandoned buildings, empty playgrounds and so on; Curry's view taken on 29th May this year is remarkable for showing how overgrown the place has become.

Chernobyl has become indelibly twinned with Andrei Tarkovsky's masterwork of grimy science fiction, Stalker (1979), and the novel upon which the film was based, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic, a mesh of connections I explored in an earlier post. Darren Nisbett's series of photos currently showing at the Rhubarb and Custard gallery, Berkshire, are good examples of how Stalker-like the place is now looking. Nisbett calls his series, many of which are infra-red views, Chernobyl's Zone of Alienation although there's no indication of whether he's alluding to the hazardous Strugatsky/Tarkovsky "Zone". The photos are on display until the end of this month, and the prints are for sale. The Independent has a gallery feature about the exhibition here.

Update: Simon Sellars from Ballardian alerts me to this blog which is currently running reports from a visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Previously on { feuilleton }

• Rerberg and Tarkovsky: The Reverse Side Of "Stalker"

• The slow death of modernism

• The Stalker meme

Clive Barker, Imaginer

Sea Captain by Clive Barker.

The inhabitants of Carlisle in the north of England are fortunate that the town's Crown Gallery is hosting the first exhibition of Clive Barker's artwork outside the US with a show entitled Clive Barker, Imaginer which opens this weekend. The artist will be attending the opening this Saturday, July 16th, and there's also a signing planned the day after. Tickets are required for both these events so anyone interested will need to contact the gallery. No details as to what will be on display but the exhibition will run to August 23rd, 2011. Barker's paintings, drawings and photo prints can be purchased through Bert Green Fine Art, Los Angeles.

Further oddities

Another of my Lambshead title pages.

A slight return to that book. Co-editor Jeff VanderMeer posted a page of Lambshead links which he'll be following up with extracts from some of the contributors. He'll also be having a draw to give out signed copies to people who write something about the book:

Bloggers (non-contributors) who post the link to their mention of the antho in the [Ecstatic Days] comments thread will be in the drawing for a free copy of the book, signed by the editors, as well as a copy of the coffee table book The Steampunk Bible, along with a few surprises…

Monstrum alatum, & cornutum instar Cacodaemonis.

And by coincidence, the latest post at BibliOdyssey is a selection of woodcut illustrations from Ulissi Aldrovandi's Monstrorum Historia (1642). Many of these (or copies of the same) are familiar from later collections but as always it's good to see the original printings.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }

• The etching and engraving archive

Previously on { feuilleton }

• The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

• Liceti's monsters

• Portuguese Diseases

• The specimens of Alex CF

• Walmor Corrêa's Memento Mori

• Pasticheur's Addiction

• The art of Ron Pippin

• Custom creatures

• Jan Svankmajer: The Complete Short Films

• Cryptozoology

• The Museum of Fantastic Specimens

Alan Moore: Storyteller

Another book out this month from Ilex Press (the Lambshead anthology should be out in the US today), Alan Moore: Storyteller is an illustrated biography of Mr Moore by comics writer and artist Gary Spencer Millidge whose 50th birthday tribute Alan Moore: Portrait of An Extraordinary Gentleman appeared in 2003.

Subjects covered include rarely-seen early work, breakthrough UK comics, the hugely successful American work that brought comics to a wider, adult audience, and the genre-defying independent stories of the 1990s, up to his current alternative periodical, Dodgem Logic.

Of equal interest, and covered in full here, are Moore's other endeavours: freedom of speech; magic and ritual; performance art; anarchism; self-publishing; and supporting the arts in his native Northampton, amongst others. (more)

My copy is on its way, apparently, so I haven't seen the contents yet but it should include some of my designs and illustrations for the Moon & Serpent CDs. The book also includes a 19-track CD of songs, readings, and performances by Alan and co. I'm looking forward to this one.

My insert for the Snakes & Ladders CD (2003).

Previously on { feuilleton }

• Alan Moore: Tisser l'invisible

• Dodgem Logic #4

• Watchmen

• Alan Moore interview, 1988

Wonders of the Invisible World

Nicolaas Hartsoeker's drawing of a spermatozoon from 1695 is on display in Sunderland as part of the Wonders of the Invisible World exhibition at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. The exhibition takes its title from a treatise on witchcraft by Cotton Mather, and the notes for the show must be one of the few places where quotes from Prince Charles and Dadaist Hugo Ball have been used together.

The artists here have coaxed objects to levitate, facilitated autosuggestion, photographed apparitions, or foretold the future. Though echoing pre-scientific ideas, their approaches are curiously timely, and might collectively be described as ones of 'irrational exuberance'. For many of the artists, their works are allegories for the workings of an intangible and mysterious world propelled by illusions and suspension of disbelief: those of the economic marketplace. As here, much of the material world seems to defy the laws of gravity, as though objects were suspended 'in a bubble', or else held aloft by a so-called 'invisible hand'.

Given the intriguing nature of the exhibition it's a shame that more of the works on view aren't shown on the gallery site. There's a preview of the show this Wednesday after which it will run until October 9th, 2011. See gallery details and a list of the artists here.

Weekend links

A design by Emma Kunz (1892–1963).

• Following the news this week it's worth reminding people of a great post put together by Adam Curtis back in January, Rupert Murdoch—A portrait of Satan. One detail there concerns the death of chat show host Russell Harty in 1988. This week the London Review of Books posted an extract from Alan Bennett's diaries referring to the Harty episode where he notes how the tabloid practice of getting private phone numbers from the police was common and widespread, not simply the actions of a single newspaper. For more about the deathbed hounding of Russell Harty (and Bennett's loathing of Murdoch) see Writing Home. Related: Dennis Potter shortly before his death discussing his desire to kill Rupert Murdoch.

• Don't get mad, get even: Hakim Bey's Black Djinn Curse: "How to invoke a terrible curse on a malign institution." See also: Black magic as revolutionary action.

• Village Voice talks to Linda Manz about her experience as a young actor in Days of Heaven, The Wanderers and Out of the Blue.

• Truth Wins Out infiltrates the "ex-gay" clinic run by Michelle Bachmann's husband.

• Free Situationist booklets by Larry Law. Related: films by Guy Debord at Ubuweb.

• Have tea with Doctor Dee in Mortlake, London, next Wednesday.

• Publisher Peter Owen: Sixty years of innovation.

• Wilhelm Reich: the man who invented free love.

• A conversation with Brian Eno by Ben Sisario.

• The mysterious minaret of Jam, Afghanistan.

• Stereolab cover designs at Hardformat.

• Orgone Accumulator (1973) by Hawkwind | Cloudbusting (1985) by Kate Bush | Orgasmatron (1986) by Motörhead | Orgasmatron (1993) by Sandoz | Orgone Donor (2004) by Deathprod.

The Cambodian Pavilion, Paris, 1900

Despite being one of the most striking and beautiful national pavilions in the Exposition Universelle of 1900, the Cambodian building seldom features isn't featured in any of the exposition guides I've seen. These photos are from the excellent set of William Henry Goodyear views presented by the Brooklyn Museum at Flickr. If it wasn't for the people visible in the picture below (and the Parisian lamp-post) you wouldn't know these were from the exposition at all.

Another trace of Cambodia appeared via the Tour of the World exhibition where a variety of "exotic" buildings were forced to occupy the same plot of ground. This group does appear in the guides, the view here being from L'Exposition du Siècle by Albert Quantin. The multi-story confection dominating this scene may superficially resemble some of the Angkor temples, but for me it's more reminiscent of buildings like the Casa Milà which Antoni Gaudí was constructing in Barcelona a few years later.

Previously on { feuilleton }

• Le Manoir a l'Envers

• Suchard at the Exposition Universelle

• Esquisses Décoratives by René Binet

• Le Palais de l'Optique, 1900

• Exposition Universelle films

• Exposition jewellery

• Exposition Universelle catalogue

• Exposition Universelle publications

• Exposition cornucopia

• Return to the Exposition Universelle

• The Palais Lumineux

• Louis Bonnier's exposition dreams

• Exposition Universelle, 1900

Angkor panoramas

Ta Phrom by Rob van Gils.

This Cambodian architecture post by Will from 50 Watts sent me to 360 Cities for some panoramic views of the temples of Angkor and environs. I always prefer the sight of these places in their weed-infested state even though all those weeds and tree roots were slowly destroying the stonework. For more recent photos, John McDermott's site has many beautiful infra-red views of the temples and their statuary. (Click on the Fine Art section.)

Naga at Angkor Wat – Siem Riap, Cambodia by Tetsuyayoshi.jp.

Angkor by Vasiliy Nikitenko.

Previously on { feuilleton }

• The Temples of Bagan

• Sedlec Ossuary panoramas

• Hothouse panoramas

• Arcades panoramas

• Stonehenge panorama

• Winter panoramas

• Prague panoramas

• Eno's Luminous Opera House panorama

• Callanish Standing Stone panoramas

• Jaipur Observatory panoramas

• Infinite reflections

• Large Hadron Collider panoramas

• Passage des Panoramas

• Bruges panoramas

• Paris panoramas

• Venice panoramas

• The temples of Angkor

• St Pancras in Spheroview

• Karel Plicka's views of Prague

• Giant mantis invades Prague

• Whirling Istanbul

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

Cover design by James Iacobelli.

The sequel to The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases is published next week in the US but we have permission to write about it before the official release. The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities is a chunky hardback of 320 pages with a host of contributors including Holly Black, Greg Broadmore, Ted Chiang, Rikki Ducornet, Amal El-Mohtar, Minister Faust, Jeffrey Ford, Lev Grossman, N.K. Jemisin, Caitlín R. Kiernan, China Miéville, Mike Mignola, Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, James A. Owen, Helen Oyeyemi, J.K. Potter, Cherie Priest, Ekaterina Sedia, Jan Svankmajer, Rachel Swirsky, Carrie Vaughn, Jake von Slatt, Tad Williams, Charles Yu and others. I provided title pages for the various sections of the book, as well as a variety of found and bespoke illustrations. And seeing as how I seldom miss an opportunity to take a dig at Rupert Murdoch (especially this week), it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention that it's published by an imprint of HarperCollins which means I'm currently feeling somewhat tainted by the Evil Empire. Mea culpa. When you sup with the devil, use a long spoon.

My title spread.

That aside, this is a treat for anyone who enjoys the more experimental, eccentric and surreal end of the fantasy spectrum:

After the death of Dr. Thackery T. Lambshead at his house in Wimpering-on-the-Brook, England, a remarkable discovery was unearthed: the remains of an astonishing cabinet of curiosities. Many of these artifacts, curios, and wonders related to anecdotes and stories in the doctor's personal journals. Others, when shown to the doctor's friends, elicited further tales from a life like no other. Thus, in keeping with the bold spirit exemplified by Dr. Lambs­head and his exploits, we now proudly present highlights from the doctor's cabinet, reconstructed not only through visual representations but also through exciting stories of intrigue and adventure. A carefully selected group of popular artists and acclaimed, bestselling authors has been assembled to bring this cabinet of curiosities to life.

From what I've read so far the general tone is a lot less overtly wacky than the first book, and if set beside some of the more clichéd and pedestrian fantasy works being jobbed out at the moment will probably seem downright avant garde. Editors Ann and Jeff VanderMeer have been at pains to emphasise that this isn't another steampunk collection although seeing as how many people now equate steampunk with any kind of antique graphics that's the way some may take it. Alan Moore aficionados should know that Alan's piece, Objects Discovered in a Novel Under Construction, is a riff on some of the contents of his forthcoming novel Jerusalem. My illustration for that entry is below.

Jeff had some blog posts this week related to the book, one looking back at the Disease Guide, the other with details of the US tour he and Ann will shortly be undertaking. A couple of my other contributions follow.

One of the section titles. After writing about John Dee earlier this week I'd forgotten that I'd put Dee's Sigillum Dei Aemeth into the background of this design. The Elizabethan scholar and magus receives a mention in Caitlín R Kiernan's piece.

An untitled sculpture/fetish/object that I made in 1995 and which is printed in black-and-white in the book. The skull is a real one, a gift from a student nurse I knew for a while. The embellishments are razor blades, scalpel blades, kitchen knife blades, nails, Blu-Tack, plastic tape, pheasant feathers, and (of course) peacock feathers. I've given up trying to keep this dust-free, deciding, like Marcel Duchamp did with his Large Glass, that any dust it accumulates is part of the composition.

In Alan Moore's piece he mentions a book about a group of ghost children, The Dead Dead Gang. Once again this is printed in black-and-white but here you get an exclusive look at the colour original.

Previously on { feuilleton }

• Portuguese Diseases

• The specimens of Alex CF

• Walmor Corrêa's Memento Mori

• Pasticheur's Addiction

• The art of Ron Pippin

• Custom creatures

• Jan Svankmajer: The Complete Short Films

• Cryptozoology

• The Museum of Fantastic Specimens

The Worlds of Mervyn Peake

Illustration by Mervyn Peake for The Sphinx by Oscar Wilde (1949).

The centenary of writer, artist and poet Mervyn Peake is being celebrated this year with a number of events in the UK. Mervyn Peake: A Centenary Celebration is a small exhibition of Peake's drawings which has been running since April at the Pallant House Gallery, Chichester. That show ends on July 17th so if you want to be glared at by Fuchsia Groan you're advised to get your skates on.

The Worlds of Mervyn Peake is a more substantial affair opening this week at the British Library, London, which promises to have materials from the British Library collection and the Peake archive on display. Two evenings of talks are also scheduled although the first of these, Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, is now sold out. The Guardian ran a feature at the weekend with pieces by some of the people who'll be involved in the discussions, including Michael Moorcock, who's been championing Peake's work since the early 1960s, and China Miéville. For those who can't make it to the exhibitions, there are also books: The Gormenghast Trilogy has been republished in a new illustrated edition, and the British Library is selling an American edition of Maeve Gilmore's Peake's Progress, a 592-page selection of writings, drawings and poetry which has been out-of-print in the UK for years. Essential purchases for any Peake enthusiast.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }

• The illustrators archive

Previously on { feuilleton }

• A profusion of Peake

• Joseph Cavalieri's stained glass

• Mervyn Peake at Maison d'Ailleurs

• Peake's Pan

• Buccaneers #1

• Mervyn Peake in Lilliput

• The Illustrators of Alice