Raphael - A Mortal God

This documentary on Raphael edges towards the hysterical at times and the segments where modern artists recreate his works seem obscure. But it is well made and gives a good idea of how brilliant the famous painter and architect was. The suggestion that Raphael died of syphilis is also unfounded. The sudden onset of his fever and the rapid decline he experienced seems to suggest it was an acute infection, possibly pneumonia and that the blood letting that was prescribed, a common practice at the time, weakened him to the point of death. 

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Italian: [raffaˈɛllo ˈsantsjo da urˈbiːno]; March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520), known as Raphael (/ˈræfeɪəl/, US: /ˈræfiəl, ˈreɪf-, ˌrɑːfaɪˈɛl, ˌrɑːfiˈɛl/), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop and, despite his early death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome, much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking.

After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael's more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models. His career falls naturally into three phases and three styles, first described by Giorgio Vasari: his early years in Umbria, then a period of about four years (1504–1508) absorbing the artistic traditions of Florence, followed by his last hectic and triumphant twelve years in Rome, working for two Popes and their close associates.

Raphael saved the Coliseum, the homes on the Palatine Hill, the Forum and the Curia, the arch of Constantine and various temples and many others.

On Good Friday, April 6th, 1520, Raffaello Sanzio, one of the greatest painters of the Renaissance, died. Raphael, as he is known in English speaking circles, had asked to be buried in the Pantheon, and his request was granted, making him the first artist to be accorded such an honour. 

Raphael's epitaph hails him as a preeminent painter and rival of the ancients; it also implies that he died on his birthday, which may or may not be true. Vasari simply states that Raphael was born on Good Friday, 1483, which in that year fell on March 28th. However, another source states that he was born on April 6th. 

By the 19th century Raphael had become a cult figure and on September 14th, 1833, Pope Gregory XVI (r. 1831-46) ordered that his tomb be opened to verify that the artist was really buried there. The tomb was opened in the presence of a host of distinguished figures from the worlds of art, the church, politics and medicine. A skeleton was discovered and the doctors declared (on what grounds?) that this was, indeed, the earthly remains of Raphael. The event was duly recorded in a painting by Francesco Diofebi (1771-851). 

The skeleton was transferred to an ancient sarcophagus, a gift from the pope, on which were inscribed the last two lines of his epitaph: 'Ille hic est Raffael, timuit quo sospite vinci, rerum magna parens et moriente mori.' They have been attributed to Pietro Bembo (1470-1547), a Venetian humanist, scholar and writer, who first met Raphael at the court of Urbino.

The couplet was beautifully translated by the English poet, Alexander Pope (1688-1744), in the last two lines of his Epitaph on Sir Godfrey Kneller (1723): ‘Living, great Nature feared he might outvye Her works; and, dying, fears herself may dye.’ Kneller, who was a very successful German portrait painter, is interred in Westminster Abbey, London. 

Antonin Artaud's The Theatre and the Plague

Antonin Artaud’s The Theater and the Plague is an international cinematic reading of the essay "The theater and the plague“ by the French poet Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Directed by Wolfgang Pannek, co-director of Taanteatro Companhia (São Paulo, Brazil), the project is a collaboration of artists and academics from five continents and engaged in multiperspectivist reflection on the critical tension between „death and cure“.

In The Theatre and the Plague, the first, now prophetic-iconic text from his best-known book, The Theater and its Double, originally presented as a peformative lecture on April 6, 1933, at the Sorbonne, Artaud develops the foundations of the „Theater of Cruelty“ by establishing an analogy between the rupture of the civilizational order caused by the "plague" and the "convulsive passions" triggered by the virulence of his transgressive theatrical poetics.

The Artaudian text was divided into 8 distinct segments (in turn divided into sub-segments), each with a specific thematic focus. Each collaborating artist accepted the challenge of developing an audio-visual dramaturgy (and recording Artaud's text in their respective language), corresponding to the segment to be addressed. The only creative indication given to the artists was to perform a cinematographic reading of Artaud's text in the light of their subjective experiences conected to their respective geographical locations, and under the conditions of limited circulation and social distancing in pandemic times. This work process, recorded with simple digital cameras, cell phones or IPads, resulted in a set of 18 films, lasting between 4 and 11 minutes each).

In addition, the audio-visual collection of these cinematic narratives was re-edited for the feature film Antonin Artaud's The Theater and the Plague (62 min., 11 languages, English subtitles). The film presents the text of “The Theater and the Pest ”in its entirety and brings together people, landscapes and sensibilities ranging from São Paulo to Paris, from Brisbane to Garðabær, and from Maputo to Khon Kaen.

The Swedish Theory of Love (2015)

This documentary from 2015 by Erik Gandini (Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers, Videocracy) examines the social and political landscape of Sweden in terms of relationships, family and love. (There are precoded English subtitles available by clicking the CC button in the bottom left corner). The implications of such basic social elements as attachment and interaction with other people are probably obvious. 

I have lived in Sweden for 20 years and am still continually surprised by the society. It is a culture of contradictions. On the one hand incredibly individualistic and with remarkably high degrees of personal freedom and choice. But on the other hand, it is totally conformist and always struggling for a homogeneity that seems to be slightly out of reach or pragmatically impossible. It is a segregated society, built along deepening ethnic and more recently economic fault lines, but at the same time social mobility is more available than in any other country I have encountered, with free education, high standards of housing and well paid jobs in a unionised workforce. It is a supremely psychological culture, by which I mean discourse is performed according to an established set of ideas, but there is little room for sarcasm, surrealist humour or satire (parody is the norm when it comes to humour). In many countries one could say the norms and proclivities of hegemonic culture are based on a consensus enforced by media, education and public opinion. But in Sweden there are few alternatives. Ideas are accepted and distributed or shared according to a very stable hierarchy of knowledge. An example that still makes me smile is how news broadcasts are often accompanied by an 'expert' who explains the rapport as part of the news. Analysis of social and political issues is conducted from the top down, and the vast majority of people do not question it. 

Everything from sexuality to political dissent is organised by the State. For example RFSU - Riksförbundet för sexuell upplysning (The National Association for Sexual Enlightenment) is just one of many organisations that is state sponsored and devoted to organising the intimate lives of Swedish citizens via a complex network of media and educational channels. The annual Pride festival is also managed and financed by RFSU. In one sense the work of RFSU is very progressive, and personally I support it. But there is no alternative. Revolutionär Pride Stockholm and Anarchopride are two examples of recent attempts to radicalise Pride and move it away from the 'Pink Washing' commercialisation and political photo opportunity is has become. But any questioning of the official discourse in Sweden is shut down very quickly by an activation of a carefully controlled public opinion. I believe this level of manufactured consent and crafted public opinion comes from the same forces described in "The Swedish Theory of Love". 

You can click through to the events page for the 2020 Revolutionär Pride

AÏsha Devi Talks Frequencies, Transcendence and Performance

Aïsha Devi uses her voice to break through the din of our current musical moment.

Singer, producer and performer Aïsha Devi speaks with Chal Ravens about her personal philosophy, why the voice is her preferred instrument and how she looks at ritualistic traditions as a source of inspiration for a new transcendental electronic music.