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THE END IS AT HAND [meet me there]

I’ll take you there, Ernest Withers

Cat with a kitten, gargoyle-chimère on the roof of the Château de Pierrefonds, France. Built ca.1393-1407, restored between 1857-1885

woshibai

“Wing” by Woshibai

woshibai

“Cold” by Woshibai

nevver

Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be

best-of-memes

uncoatedletters

theroseinthedarkness

thisisalsoyou

inktober day 8: “crooked”

gilgai

Jessie Traill, Ti-tree frieze, 1910 (AGNSW 3421.a-c)

thisisalsoyou

pious duck takes a pause

caravaggista

If you read one thing today, read this article on the Getty Iris about the results of an incredible project at the Getty Villa wherein visitors were invited to leave prayers to Venus.

“Given the means to engage with a 2,500-year-old goddess and some instructions about how to show good manners, what did people ask for today? … People want to love and be loved in successful and happy relationships with their friends and family. They want wealth, glory, success, health, and beauty. They want to live a long life, and be close to their gods.The experience didn’t end with the written prayers. When visitors hung their prayers, read the wishes of their peers, and responded out loud, they contributed to a larger response to history, spirituality, and public vulnerability. These tags were a testament to how much of Venus’s identity has (or has not) translated into the twenty-first century, as our visitors fully embraced the opportunity to learn through emotional experience.” - “Dear Venus”: Praying to an Ancient Goddess at the Getty Villa by Bella Anderson, 09/21/2017.

As an art historian, I am thankful for projects like this that demonstrate the powerful relationship between the arts and ancient religious beliefs and help us engage with art, history, and spirituality in a meaningful way, revealing the timelessness of the human experience.