BOOK REVIEWS
I have dispensed with my 'Books of the Year' postings which covered the years 2009 and 2010, and now attempt to review a selection of books that I have read both good and bad, in editions old and new. Much of what I buy is often based on suggestions by others, or some train of thought that makes me think "maybe I should try..." so they are not necessarily all strange/supernatural fiction.
With many small press books costing around £35-£40 each, and some seemingly worthy tomes changing hands on the second hand market for many times that, these reviews may also give the potential purchaser some indication of what they might receive for their money. Needless to say, my opinions should not be given any great value as I bring my own foibles to every review and these may change at any time.
Otto M. Urban (edits)
'Decadence: In Morbid Colours - Art
and the Idea of Decadence in the
Bohemian Lands 1880-1914'
Arbour Vitae Press (2006)
£40.00 (approx)
Though published over forty years ago one of the best books on decadent art remains Dreamers of Decadence(1971) by Phillipe Jullian. Whilst that book gives excellent overview of western european artists, In Morbid Colours introduces us to a whole other strand of artists working in what was 'Bohemia' (an area now broadly covered by the Czech Republic and Slovakia) the majority of which are, I would hazard, still largely unknown to the English speaking world.
There are three useful introductory essays looking at the emergence of Bohemian decadence from philosophical (Daniel Vojtěch), literary (Luboš Merhaut) and art historical (Otto Urban) viewpoints. These are sometimes quite dense, partly due to a fondness for jargon but also because there are so many new names to get ones head (and mental tongue) around.
Bohemian decadent art was highly influenced by modernist trends in literature, especially the French symbolists and others such as Huysmans, Baudelaire and Poe. Czech literature rapidly developed its own identity through the prose and poetry published in journals such as the Moderní revue. In Morbid Colours contains numerous extracts from the poetry and prose of the period (most of it newly translated), which is both welcome (I will be scurrying to the internet to try and find further works by a number of these authors) and appropriate, as the artwork in this book was as much inspired by these new writers as by the artworks of Munch, Redon and Moreau.
There are four main illustration sections: Gloomy, Debauched, Morose; The Demon Love; Satanic Hallucinations and Purgatory of Death. Each has a short commentary but the emphasis lies with the poetic extracts and the artworks themselves which include prints, paintings and sculpture.
It would be very difficult for me to choose a 'best of' from the 500+ images within this bulky large format book, but highlights for me are František Kupkas violent and satirical 'Money' series has its parallels to Hogarths Rakes Progress, Hugo Steiner-Prags illustrations to Meyricks Golem are beautiful exercises in tone as are the amazing nudes in František Drtikols photos. Josef Váchals spiritualist inspired paintings look almost like crazed precussors to surrealist Yves Tanguy until one attunes oneself to the distorted faces and limbs within them and Jaroslav Panuškas 'Vampire' series show them as spectral lizards rather than the more duller derivative femme fatales of Max Švabinský.
Given the wealth of unusual images and artists all beautifully reproduced, often in colour, this is an absolutely essential purchase for anyone interested in the subject, the translated texts alone make it a useful addition to any decadent library.
If you need further convincing there are even You-tube videos here and here so that you can see it in, er, action.
A short interview with Otto Urban is here.
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| Jaroslav Panuska 'Spirit of the Dead Mother' (1900) |
Bohemian decadent art was highly influenced by modernist trends in literature, especially the French symbolists and others such as Huysmans, Baudelaire and Poe. Czech literature rapidly developed its own identity through the prose and poetry published in journals such as the Moderní revue. In Morbid Colours contains numerous extracts from the poetry and prose of the period (most of it newly translated), which is both welcome (I will be scurrying to the internet to try and find further works by a number of these authors) and appropriate, as the artwork in this book was as much inspired by these new writers as by the artworks of Munch, Redon and Moreau.
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| František Koblíha 'Vampire' (1909-1910) |
It would be very difficult for me to choose a 'best of' from the 500+ images within this bulky large format book, but highlights for me are František Kupkas violent and satirical 'Money' series has its parallels to Hogarths Rakes Progress, Hugo Steiner-Prags illustrations to Meyricks Golem are beautiful exercises in tone as are the amazing nudes in František Drtikols photos. Josef Váchals spiritualist inspired paintings look almost like crazed precussors to surrealist Yves Tanguy until one attunes oneself to the distorted faces and limbs within them and Jaroslav Panuškas 'Vampire' series show them as spectral lizards rather than the more duller derivative femme fatales of Max Švabinský.
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| August Bromse 'Life Escaping' (1902) |
If you need further convincing there are even You-tube videos here and here so that you can see it in, er, action.
A short interview with Otto Urban is here.
