Exhibition of Tolkien inspired art / Sue Wookey's art

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Lúthien
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Exhibition of Tolkien inspired art / Sue Wookey's art

Post by Lúthien »

Hi,

there is going to be an exhibit of Tolkien inspired art here in the Tolkien Shop (I happen to live just around the corner) http://www.tolkienshop.com/. Here is the poster for the event:

Image

I googled for one of the artists, Sue Wookey, and i think she's quite interesting. This is her website: http://galleyhillart.blogspot.com/2009/ ... key-i.html/
Her imagery is in any case very mythical, for instance this "Sun Boat" one:

Image

Ah, I just saw a quote on her website saying
"'Artists are gnostics, and practise what the priests think is long forgotten.' - Hugo Ball"
That is very true! It also explains why these works appeal to me.
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Re: Exhibition of Tolkien inspired art / Sue Wookey's art

Post by Meneldur Olvarion »

Very interesting!

When I saw her last painting, I immediately thought of the Nebra Sky Disk, which was found in east Germany in 1999. It dates from the mid Bronze Age, and is said to be the oldest chart of the heavens in the world that we know of. Below is an image of what it looks like now that it has been cleaned of corrosion and restored to its original condition, insofar as that can be done.

Image

And in this schematic, you can see postulates of the artistic elements based upon archaeo-astronomical researches:

Image

Here is a link from the BBC which gives a better summary than the Wiki, in my opinion:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2207297
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Re: Exhibition of Tolkien inspired art / Sue Wookey's art

Post by Lúthien »

Thanks! It seems we have another case of "Synchronicity is da shizzat" at our hands :D

I wrote her a mail, and she replied promptly. Some fragments from her reply:
You clearly understand (like the Bardic poets of old) that real inspiration comes through the subconscious and that far from being some sort of 'fantasy land', with no relevance to the 'real' world, it has its own deeper reality and mystery (I'd even say sanctity) and is a source to be drawn on. People though thousands of years of history drew their strength and inspiration from their great myths and symbols and it's only in the last couple of centuries that supposed rational people have poo poohed it all. It drives me nuts, to be honest! I'm trying to bring some of that magic and connection back through my paintings and I think anyone who really loves Tolkien knows that he was trying to do the same through his writing. He clearly felt that something huge had been lost (and not just Anglo Saxon culture).

(...)

I read a lot, meditate by letting my imagination wander, and let it all gel, and sometimes paintings (and poems) seem to compose themselves. It sounds like you know how to tap into your source of inspiration too!
This sounds an awful lot like what we're doing in here.

PS note that the reference that she makes to "fantasy land" is not something like "the land of Faerië" or the "imaginal realm". From the context it seems clear that she rather means "fantasy land" as in the pop-cultural meaning of today.
A! Elin velui, dîn dolog, aduial lúthad!
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Re: Exhibition of Tolkien inspired art / Sue Wookey's art

Post by Lúthien »

Ah, that's the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" website - as a sort of tribute to Douglas Adams. The letters dna in the url stand for Douglas Noel Adams :)

ok, pretty useless knowledge, sorry :dontknow: - I just like Douglas Adams ...
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