DRAFT: ACHILLES
BELOW IS A FIRST ATTEMPT OF AN IDEA WHICH HAS BEEN VERY MUCH REWORKED A YEAR LATER IN 2019
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Please note this webpage is not yet completed. e.g. more images need to be posted etc which will be done in due course at a yet unspecified time but probably in the new year. The etchings shown here are actually only Artist Proofs ( A//P) and equivalent to writing drafts as it is deemed need to be reworked etc but the viewer may still find this webpage of some interest.
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Hello, on this webpage will be a series of 'etching couplets' whereby etchings based on star trails which will be used to represent figures from the Trojan War will be seen in relation to their relationship to Achilles who was a central character of this Homeric epic. The star trails maybe viewed as an abstract representation of human or spiritual realities in much the same way such markings can be perceived in indigenous art which also serve a spiritual or ceremonial role on a conceptual level which can only be appreciated by the acquisition of knowledge that relate to the markings. Thus, there is some onus on the viewer to understand what is involved behind the actual creation of the markings which involves the mind rather than the eyes to gain an appreciation of what is on display. Coupling Achilles with Hector can signify human hostility as these two opposing leaders clashed on the battlefield. Achilles is represented by Sirius while Hector is represented by Orion. I have relied on a book Homer's Secret Iliad. The Epic of the Night Skies Decoded by Florence & Kenneth Wood. (A John Murray publication. 1999) which attributes the stars to particular Homeric characters which it is claimed Homer did and that the Iliad can be seen as a representation of the movement of the stars in the cosmos which revolved above the affairs of humanity. It occurred to me to do such etchings after reading Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles (Text Publishing. Melbourne. 2017) in which she mentions a quilt artist Anna Von Merten who has stitched star trails on the days certain events have occurred in American/U.S. history such as Martin Luther King's assassination; the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War; September 11, 2001. New York and so forth...see below at this link for a much better look and explanation:
http://annavonmertens.com/portfolio/as-the-stars-go-by/
Please note due to technical inadequacies you will have to copy and paste the link to a search toolbar otherwise trying masking the link and then click on it to see if a direction comes up for you to press to go to the relevant webpage. (Please do for any other links as well. Thank you).
However, in my case I have focused on Achilles and utilized the astronomical notions presented in Homer's Secret Illiad as a variant to Anna Von Merten's portrayal of star trails.
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Achilles & Hector
(Sirius & Orion). Two zinc etching plates. Full size: 33cm X 14.5 cm. B&W. aquatint. This is merely a 'draft' artwork which has been produced to visually draw on the idea of using lines representing star trails. The actual series which will involve far more refined prints will hopefully be produced in the second half of 2019. This is a 'draft etching' which is just visualizing an idea until a final style is reached.
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Front Cover of Homer's Secret Iliad by Florence & Kenneth Wood.
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Front Cover of Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles.
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