Or Where I Learn Something About History. (Maybe.)
I’ve been reading a lot of history books lately, initially for research, but in the end because bibliographies are full of tempting titles and the detours signposted thus are obviously more inviting than the trip at hand. So, am currently lost in history books about history. Besides, like Franklin P. Jones said “Perhaps nobody has changed the course of history as much as the historians.” When you’re using Occam’s Razor for that morning shave, you can only hope it’s still sharp - unless of course Parsimony is your Principle..
And, seeing as one of the culprits in the historical Flat Earth scam (yes, distracted from that once again) was the author of Rip Van Winkle, who had no scruples about practising exactly what he preached: “For what is history, but… huge libel on human nature, to which we industriously add page after page, volume after volume, as if we were holding up a monument to the honor, rather than the infamy of our species.”; I tripped over a quote, lost my bearings and ended up wandering off into history itself. (Irving, when he wasn’t penning epigrams, indulged in a good deal of epitaphs for infamy, by the way.) John Howe’s Journal: SAMIZDAT PALIMPSEST
Last week, I was going to pursue that Flat Earth theme, but got distracted (again). I had a visit from a friend. My high-school buddy Harold stopped over on a trek through Europe, hot on the trail of Goethe. He told me a story from back west. Here it is. Read the rest of this entry »
In an exclusive interview with TheOneRing.net, Guillermo del Toro talks about Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Howard Shore, Animatronics vs CGI, the ‘tone’ of the upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films and much more!
We had the opportunity to chat with Guillermo del Toro this morning from his current HQ in London. He’s hard at work putting the finishing touches on ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ and taking interviews from news outlets about that film, and the recent announcement that he’ll be doing ‘The Hobbit’ and a subsequent Hobbit sequel down the line.
First things first, YES, that is him on our message boards, he told me he intends to post there as often as he humanly can. And yes, he is as cool and approachable as he sounds. Take a look at my interview! Read the rest of this entry »
John Howe writes: As part of the launch of the French edition of Fantasy Art Workshop, there will be a little show in Paris, at the Galerie Arludik on the ÃŽle Saint-Louis, on April 17th. All the information is on the card below. This is also one of the extremely, very, exceedingly, exceptionally, extraordinarily, singularly, uncommonly, decidedly, particularly, remarkably, really, truly, awfully, fearfully, terribly, seriously few times I will have anything actually really for sale. Not a lot mind you, but at least I won’t be up to my usual tricks, which consist of nodding politely and replying “Of course, I’ll let you know as soon as that one is available.” and then forgetting entirely or losing the contact details… This time around it’s out of my hands and in far more capable ones. [More]
… IS, WELL, WHAT YOU SEE
Or The Lego Box View of the World of Yore and a Few Other Considerations
John Howe writes: I’ve been spending a lot of time leafing through old atlases and encyclopedias, both physically and on the net, and have become enamoured of the various and varying views of the world of yore*.
John Howe writes: The other day, walking outdoors was like stepping into a picture. The lake and precocious moon were by Aivasovsky. Not turbulent enough to try as a Turner, but there was a hint of mist courtesy of Caspar David Friedrich. The woods nearby by Klimt, trees and fields below by Corot. A patch of sun by Bieler, a patch of grass by Durer. Mountains by Calame or l’Eplattenier in the distance. In Switzerland, they are never far away, mountains. On a good day, I can see them out the studio window (if they’re sharp, popular wisdom says the weather will turn bad, but there’s no such thing as bad weather, just a switch of painters and palettes.) From our place, it’s a hop, skip and jump, at least in fancy, across the lake and the plateau to the Alps. Remote enough to be a backdrop, sometimes startlingly clear or often near-invisible in the mist and cloud, they are only an hour and a bit by car, but far enough to be more routinely ideas of mountains than looming lumps of vertical rock (which do have a tendancy to tumble down on highways and railways, given that Switzerland’s mountains are very lived-in.) [More]
(And Some Curious Thin Tetracentennial Men, as well as Some Stone Dwarfs)
John Howe writes: The other day, on a business trip (I love saying “business trip”, it makes this cockeyed profession of drawing pictures sound somehow actually respectable) to the Alsace, we took a couple of hours to wander around Colmar before heading home. Read the rest of this entry »
John Howe writes: Every now and then, a person just gets too busy to think. So, I confess. The following is an admission of failure - and a newsletter with little or nothing to say. (Which, it must be said in passing, has never been a reason sufficient to shut me up.) Am currently working on writing and illustrating two books and (distractedly) researching a third. Suddenly taking the time to write something else than what will go in one or the other seems no only unreasonable but treasonable. (This business of author-illustrator is rather like taking on two jobs at once.) An unexpected side-effect of writing a non-fiction book was that I naturally end up buying dozens of reference books, which all ended up stacked everywhere they could stack, until, finally fed up with stumbling over and bumping into piles of the things, new shelves seemed the only solution. I don’t know about you, but in this household, modest unassuming projects gradually assume colossal proportions and I ended up building a full wall of shelves. The books went in (there’s even still room, but rapidly shrinking) and suddenly a particular patch of wall seemed to call out for more home carpentry, so a drawing pulpit got itself made. Read the rest here…
Yes, I realize the title sounds like the name of a lacrosse team (but it’s only to insure that my compatriots read this.) Nevertheless…
A summer ago, I spent a few days in Toronto giving a little talk at IdeaCity and shooting a television program. Being in Toronto was akin to going back to a place one has never been before, one of those reassuring and slightly troubling moments where you realize that (of course) the superficiality of familiarity is enough to enhance any strange city, as long as you have some tenuous link (in this case, the entire population fiddling with their BlackBerries while walking.) So, in a way, back in a Canada to which I’d never been. Which, as it turns out, was very a propos…
In Queen’s Park*, on the way from the hotel farther downtown towards the Royal Ontario Museum, stand the Ontario Parliament Buildings. My hurried strides, and the most promising-looking shortcut on my free city map, carried me past there. Something about them was so unsettling, otherworldly and fascinating that I returned and spent two afternoons in their company. John Howe’s Journal: CANADIAN CELTICS
Telperion writes: This year marks the 4th International Art Competition of ST Wieza City Culture and Art Centre of Bielawa in association with City Promotion and Strategy Department of Bielawa (Poland). The theme of this year’s competition is Battles and Combats of the First Age and there is much freedom allowed in the artistic style and technique chosen by competitors. The First Prize is €250 and there are two Second Prizes of €100 each. The panel of judges will be chosen from a wide range of sources and will include the world famous Tolkien artist, John Howe, whom it is an honour to have as a judge. The competition is now open and the closing date for submissions is March 31st, 2008. Tolkien Themed Art Competition in Poland
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Or Where I Learn Something About History. (Maybe.)
(And Some Curious Thin Tetracentennial Men, as well as Some Stone Dwarfs)
(Or An Alliterative Throwing-In of the Towel)
Or Empires Within, Empires Without
