Erebus, Terror and Too Much Horror - AMC's Terror

 

AMC's adaptation of Dan Simmons' novel about the disastrous Franklin Expedition (1845 - ?) is truly fantastic TV drama. British have always been excellent makers of television drama, be it everlasting soap opera or great adaptation of Shakespeare, like Hollow Crown. Actors do fantastic job, Jared Harris does fantastic job as Captain Francis Crozier (1796 - ?), Ciaran Hinds plays pompous John Franklin (1786 -1847) brilliantly, and British new regular face Tobias Menzies plays Commander James Fitzjames (1813 - 1848) with same commitment as he always does. Terror is really good drama about the devastating hardships that men had to endure on this trip to icy hell and ultimately on their horrible deaths.

However... there is something that is causing more of those horrible deaths, something that wasn't there, a monster. A Tuunbaq from Inuit mythology emerges from the night or the mist and rips sailors apart. It is like author has asked help from a five year old, what could be killing men besides lead poisoning, tuberculosis, freezing to death, scurvy or murder? A monster.

On real Franklin Expedition there was plenty of real horror to cope with. On their way to find North-west Passage, their two ships, Erebeus and Terror, were trapped on ice twice, first in winter 1845-46. During that time three men died at tuberculosis, which was aided by lead that was used as a sealant on thousands of food cans ships carried. In TV series a young man called David Young dies and is buried on Beechey island, In real life he's name was John Torrington, and he become very popular by the photos taken from he's well preserved remains. 

Second, and permanent trapment happend in September 1846. Next summer did not thaw the ice as usually. More people died, including John Franklin. Lead must have been taking more victims as it cumulated on men's bodies, causing anemia, weakness and even madness. Lemon juice that was meant to fight scurvy lost it's potency and most of their cans were either leaking and thus going to rot, or poisoning effects of lead might have been discovered. First days without sunlight and then days without dark, surrounded by nothing but ice.  After being trapper 19 months, ships were abandoned and men started their travel to south, 800 miles.

Walking in cold temperatures is itself much for weak, malnourished bodies, add it pulling fully loaded boats is too much. If you sweat, you get too cold and froze to death. When they reached King William Land (now known to be an island), it was a barren wasteland without nothing to hunt in winter when climate can drop to -65, celsius that is. Then came possible mutinies, we really don't know. Only few literal pieces of evidence is found, one of them is Victory Point note, first placed on stone cairn in May 1847, when all was relatively well, and then re-visited at April 1848, with additions that tells how things have turned... not so well. 

Along the way south men died, some resorted to pure cannibalism. The found remains tells that clearly. In 1850 an Inuit saw some 40 men walking south. Last sighting was in 1851 when Inuit hunters saw only four men walking. Nobody of the 129 men survived. We don't know how most of them died. but what is certain that they suffered cold, hunger, exhaustion and madness. Then the death by freezing must have been felt like a comfort from heaven because of the warm feeling before ultimate death. 

No need for a monster.

Im Westen nichts Neues - Selbst jetzt

Still photo from Im Westen nichts Neues (2022, Netflix

Maybe it is a subjective feeling and only for me personally, that I feel certain events of the past has some inbuild feeling that comes with them. It is like some ancient reminiscent of the sorrow and pain that still haunts us.

I feel World War I as a gaping wound that has long ceased to bleed. It has turned into a void full of puss and infection. Abject rotten scar on the timeline of 20th century. However, maybe we all should feel like that way and feel that creeping sadness, hopelessness and the feeling that we are attending a long funeral.

Maybe that will stop us going into the madness of world war again. Then it is such a good thing that movies like these are made. You will watch it once... and once is enough.

                                                                          Never forget!

Ce n'est pas de l'art

Andrei Kovaltšuk (b. 1959): Meeting in Turku (2012)

  If you were a little boy in late 1970s or early 80s like me, you might remember those unicolour small plastic toy soldiers. I had some US Marines and Afrika Korps. Blanket or sand become a battlefield. 

 When you look at this sculpture group, those little plastic soldiers come in mind, albeit in life-size. Their postures and physical appearances are aesthetically rigid, maybe too athletic. Just like some mannequins set for some display, "buy some early 1810s elite uniforms, on sale now". 

 Im not going to get too deep on history behind this group. Basically it's just meeting of King of Sweden (French) and Emperor of Russia (more Prussian than a Russian), held in Turku in 1812. Statue was commemorating the meeting, and was ordered by local Russian consulate and City of Turku. Residents opinion was not asked. 

One year after this was revealed, another work by this artist was presented in Kostamus, and this time it was about another meeting, this time between Aleksei Kosygin and Urho Kekkonen. And that is more horrible than the statue in Turku.

 And finally, what makes these objects as non-art, is their lifelessness. They are lacking that something that makes art, thus making them as those little plastic toy soldiers. Just like some figures to set on some position. They are still echoing some ill Soviet-nostalgia, heroic looking land workers rising the scythe and hammer towards the setting sun. If this is art, then we were artist when we were playing those little plastic soldiers.

Andrei Kovalchuck 

  
 

Covid-19 - There has been much worst

Victory Parade in Stockton, California, ca. 1918. Van Covert Martin. Holt-Atherton Special Collections (Western Americana), University of the Pacific Library

 

Covid-19 certainly is a dangerous disease. Status in January 7th 2022, 301 million cases and 5,49 million deaths so far. Modern medicine has adapt quickly to fight against this pandemic, vaccinations against it were developed in record time, so far portion of the fully vaccinated is 49,8% of the world population, with 9,21 billion shots given. Yet in kills people in fast pace, United States leading the statistics, Brazil and India following.

Now imagine a disease much worst with no vaccines available, killing the young and the able, and to make things much worst, at the time of brutal world war.

Just like many influenza (H1N1-virus) epidemics, it was an aviary based disease. There is three possible sources where it came from, first being from the Unites States Army-base at Camp Funston in Kansas at March 1918, rapidly spreading along with military preparing to war. Second possible source might have been the Chinese workers, Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) that had been ported to France by the British to do physical support work of the trench warfare. These first two sources include chickens, Camp Funston raised its own chickens among other animals, Chinese brought their own with them. Third source might have been carrier pigeons that was widely used to carry information, however that is much disputed.

Anyhow it started at spring of 1918, spreading rapidly through forces, reaching the western front in France at mid April and Australia at June, thus travelling as fast as people possibly could in those days. All and all it came at four waves, the second in late 1918 being the deadliest.

As the war itself had been horrible with its industrial way to kill much people as possible, and in horrible conditions such as cold, damp, malnutrition, already diseased with many bacterial infections as dysentery, so was the disease. Imagine of being saved from the artillery barrage, bullets, the gas, being buried or burned alive etc. First wave was often begun with ordinary flu symptoms like soar throat, fever etc. The second wave was so brutal that I quote the words of Laura Spinney de describe it best:

      [...] during the second wave, the disease was much more serious, often complicated by bacterial pneumonia, which was often the cause of death. This more serious type would cause heliotrope cyanosis to develop, whereby the skin would first develop two mahogany spots over the cheekbones which would then over a few hours spread to color the entire face blue, followed by black coloration first in the extremities and then further spreading to the limbs and the torso[...]. 

 Thus if you were saved from the variety of the poisonous gasses that were used as a weapon, you still suffocated to death by the fluids that filled your lungs. 

Naval Training Station, San Francisco, California (Yerba Buena Island), ca. November 1918. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

However it was not only the armies of the belligerent nations that suffered. It affected the civilian population of any nation, and as it killed the young and able men of the trenches it hit hard on the young and able men everywhere, the stronger the victim the harder the disease killed, it was totally wrestling with humans resistance. It saved much older population, which might have been due to immunity that have been gained from 1889 - 1990 pandemic. Because of the war the economies were low, food was scarce and meagre, all added with other diseases. Fighting nations often choose to censor the news of the disease, fearing it would tear down the morale, thus helping the disease to spread. 

As for the statistics, this epidemic has estimated 500 million suspected cases, death toll being harder to estimate, largest number being up to 100 million deaths. Compare this to statistics of that "great" war which victims being at its largest estimate being 22 million deaths.

Wear a mask or go to jail, 1918. Mill Valley Public Library/Internet Archive

Laura Spinney: Pale Rider

Favorite Work of Art - Well, maybe this one

Hasegawa Touhaku (1539 - 1610): Pine Trees 日本語: 松林図屏風 (16th century, Azuchi-Momoyama-period), Tokyo National Museum, image via Google Art Project

 Can you tell what is your favorite work of art? If you know some major works of art or are deeper into it, you certainly get some ideas what it might be. I've had many proper candidates over the years, however after decades of collecting art digitally and studying art history in university, the very task of naming one certain work has gone nearly impossible. 

What is then a good work of art? This is of course, a subjective matter and we concept any kind of artwork differently, Besides no one held the right interpretation of artwork, including the very artist. For me it the feeling it summons from my consciousness or rather from subconsciousness. European art can be very arousing with its richness of detail, symbolism and vibrancy. Sometimes it can be too much and its symbolism includes elements that you have to decode with some expertise and knowledge. Don't understand me wrong, I like European art with all its splendor. But do we really need to use our brain all the time when we are looking an artwork?

I think not, and that is why my ultimate best candidate for best artwork ever is not European. At 16th century, when western artists were producing renaissance / manneristic art with all splendor, Japanese art gave us more simplified images, one could say it was less-is-more. With  few lines of ink the artist makes trees, ponds, few birds or a flower. The rest of the artwork comes within you.

If you live on forest rich region of this planet, like me, you can easily imagine it, or maybe you have lived that moment. You are standing on the edge of the forest, white mist covers nearly all. Suddenly a light gust of wind reveals a cluster of pines, you could almost hear that wind, maybe you could hear some droplets fall from pines. Hasegawa Touhaku painted these framed paper screens with one-colored ink, giving us familiar feeling from nature, way before Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840) and nature loving paintings of romantic-era. Touhaku's work lets our own imagination make the rest, fill that vast creamy void between those trees. It gives us a moment of rest. And that is why I consider it as one of the best artworks ever made. And you know what? I have never actually seen it.

Hasegawa: Pine trees, Commons

Hasegawa Touhaki, Wikipedia

They Were Here - And thus I was there

It is about - 15° C and wind makes it more harsher. Sun is descending on southeast and i'm ascending to Puolala-Hill in Turku. Then i'm suddenly in a park, surrounded by fluorescent ghosts. A 19th century couple stands by the path a small dog standing vigilant at their feet. An amorette is flying above, aiming an arrow to some young elegantly dressed, early 19th century damselle, another volant figure, an angel is blowing a horn. There are some children playing around the park. No matter how much I try to use words to describe this exhibition is not enough, and no matter how I set my camera, change lenses from 50mm to wider 24mm, it is still not enough. This is a 3D-experience with sound, you have to be walking amidst of these spectres of the past. 

The artist, Alexander Reicstein explains it better, how They Were Here

brings former residents of any historical place to life. I think people never truly disappear without a trace: we can still hear words, steps and even breaths taken from long ago. Persons from the past wander in the park, meet each other in the street and enjoy fresh air on the balcony.

Alexander Reichstein

They Were Here

 

 

 

The Crown - Too Much, Too Soon

 

Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) scooping food with a large spoon and on the next scene, vomiting it up. Prince Charles (josh O'connor) looming on he's unhappy marriage like some royal version of Anakin Skywalker, on the verge of becoming Darth Vader. This is what Neflix's The crown was mainly focused on its fourth season. And on the fifth season it is about to give us more of it, despite of the pleads from Prince William.

In late 16^th and early 17^th century, William Shakespeare was also opening royal closets to reveal skeletons, albeit he did it with monarchs whom had reigned enough long time ago, enough water flown under Thames's bridges. He was a favourite both Elizabeth I and James I. He even flattered James I with a play that was about ancient Scottish King, Macbeth, and by including it scenes of evil witchcraft, he was coping he's majesty's religious believes. Even when watching he's father murdered on stage over and over again, was not too much, that is Hamlet's father killed by poisoned ear. James's father Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley died from infected ear, rumored to be poisoned.

There were of course plays that crossed the fine line of decency, albeit played far away from royal presence. Late 18^th century was a time of political satire both in theater and on cartoons likes of James Gilray's. The royal family got its share along with politics. What ever George III did or sometimes did not, Gilray was apt to illustrate it. George IV was nothing like modern tidy looking monarch. A Prince of Wales like him on these days would bring back ideas of the republic on every British mind, obese, red faced, sweaty and constantly drunk.

However, television and modern version of it, that is broadcast by Internet, is very wide spread and reaches hundreds of million viewers. And alas, too soon, we get to see something that we are aware to be too painful to all families it concerns, the royal. Us historians tend to study events that have ended, preferably taking regard the living persons our writings would concern.

I know Netflix is a business and it has to make interesting content to get viewers and make money, and it makes some really excellent content. I have some great idea for Netflix: Make a prequel for The Crown and start from George IV, there is stuff dirty enough, and enough water flown on Thames.