R. Crumb Creates Illustrated Genesis

And predictably, it’s controversial. (I mean, seriously, people–who didn’t see this coming?)

Famous for his Zap Comix back in the 1960s, which also featured the art of famed psychedelic poster artists such as Rick Griffin and Victor Moscoso, Crumb has set forth his own vision of the first book of the Bible, which has drawn some ire from people in religious circles. In defense, Crumb said to the New York Times that:

I had no intention to scandalize the Bible,” he said. “I was intrigued by the challenge of exposing everything in there by illustrating it. The text is so significant in our culture, to bring everything out was a significant enough purpose for doing it.

As is mentioned by a representative from the Bible Society, the Bible does include much more violence, nudity, and sex than people normally think it does. However, I personally am most inclined to agree with the spokesperson from the Church of England who put forth the idea that “trying to sell something by emphasising the sexual nature of some of the scenes doesn’t seem to be a good way to pass on the message of the bible.”

Regardless, this definitely appears to be worth a look. The New York Times has also provided a very useful slideshow featuring artwork from the book, including Crumb’s reasons for how he presented certain scenes.

Iran Demands “Loan” of Cyrus Cylinder

Ever eager to throw around their weight these days in whatever way possible, it appears the Iranians are now threatening to cut all ties (forgive me, I just had an image of “Casual Friday” Ahmadinejad) with the British Museum if the latter does not “loan” the Cylinder of Cyrus the Great to Iran. The Cylinder, which dates from approximately 539-530 B.C., is said by some to be the one of the first written declarations of human rights. Covered in Akkadian cuneiform, the Cylinder was found in one of the foundation deposits of the Esagila in Babylon in 1879.

Carl Jung’s Red Book

For the first time ever, Carl Jung’s Red Book is going on display at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. This magnificent volume is a genuine illuminated manuscript created by Jung over 16 years.

A hardbound copy of the book has been published by W.W. Norton, and it’s available on Amazon for the rather surprisingly low price of $105 (down from the retail price of $195).  I’m not sure from the description and reviews if the edition is a true facsimile–instead, it seems to provide the words of the text and some of the illustrations and accompany them with translated text. Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about this. In going through the monumental task of creating such a manuscript (and admittedly I say this without having read the book itself), I’m quite sure that Jung believed that the content of the book was meant to be experienced as a manuscript.

Book of Kells Facsimile Edition

The Library Shop of the New York Public Library has an incredible limited edition facsimile edition of the Book of Kells available for purchase. From the website itself:

Facsimile Limited Editions are works of art in their own right. The Book of Kells is composed of two volumes, the facsimile itself and a scientific commentary, in a presentation case. The edition is limited world-wide to 1480 numbered copies of which 740 are reserved for Anglo-Saxon countries. All 680 pages of the manuscript were reproduced in the finest detail, in a format measuring approximately 33 x 25 centimeters. Created through a combination of the most up-to-date technical processes with qualified craftsmanship, the volumes are bound in the finest white leather. The sheets have been trimmed according to the original pages and bound by hand on four cords.

Be prepared to pay for such an incredible work of art, though: A facsimile of the Petite Heures by the duc de Berry costs $8,000. The Petite Heures is smaller by comparison, and, indeed, they don’t even bother to put the price on the Book of Kells facsimile.

Photo: Michigan City, Indiana

Photo by Jeremiah Leif Johnson

Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages

There’s only one reason why I occasionally wish I lived in New York and not Chicago, and that’s the ability to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fantastic medieval manuscript exhibitions, which, at least from my vantage point, seem to happen rather often.

The most recent one is called Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages, and it focuses on my main love in all of art: illustrations in medieval manuscripts.

A brief summary from the link can be found below:

With strokes of genius, artists in the Middle Ages explored the medium of drawing, creating a rich panoply of works ranging from spontaneous sketches to powerful evocations of spirituality and intriguing images of science and the natural world. Opening June 2 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages is the first museum exhibition to examine in depth the achievements of the medieval draftsman. Through some 50 examples created in settings as diverse as a ninth-century monastery and the 14th-century French court, the presentation considers the aesthetics, uses, and techniques of medieval drawings, mastered by artists working centuries before the dawn of the Renaissance. Works from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum are displayed along with important loans from American and European museums, and the great national, university, and monastic libraries of Europe. Many of these manuscripts are so highly prized that they have never before been lent outside of their home countries.

Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk)

This morning I came across what may be the last word in finding the best fantasy books possible, a very comprehensive British site that’s aptly named Fantasy Book Review.

Of particular note is their listing of the best 100 fantasy books of all time, a list that’s sure to provoke some intense discussion. (The list has already won points with me for placing Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea Saga as the second best fantasy collection of all time.)
If you’re tired of scouring through Amazon pages or being disappointed by your friends’ suggestions for quality fantasy novels, this site might just be the last thing you need.

The Voynich Manuscript (XKCD)

Above is a funny comic from last week from XKCD concerning the Voynich Manuscript, which is, in fact, a real object. When I was doing some research at the Beinecke Library at Yale, it was one of the manuscripts that I most wanted to get my hands on. Unfortunately, when I arrived, someone else apparently had it.

You can read much more about the Voynich Manuscript for yourself over at Wikipedia, in what is largely an accurate article.

Creating Men of Steel the World Over

Largely by accident, I came across the Women of the DC Universe series of busts (ahem) this morning.  As I flipped through them, I couldn’t help but notice how oversexed everything with comic books seems to be these days.  When I was younger, my grandfather used to give me the old jibe about how I should be spending my time in the real world and not wasting my time on fake heroes and fake women.  Looking at this, the growing codger in me is tempted to tell the same thing to my kids.  Yeesh.

Earning the Achievements

This might be a pathetic thing to admit, but I sometimes think of things that I must do in real life along the lines of achievements in World of Warcraft.  It’s a way of motivating myself to get them done.  Indeed, sometimes this is pushed to such a nerdy limit that I wish that there were a to-do list interface (I actually use Remember the Milk) that somewhat mimicked the achievement screen in WoW.