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Khmer Art, Middle Ages

Khmer Art

The God-kings and stone cities of Cambodia

In 802 CE, King Jayavarman II (ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី២) ascended the sacred Mountain Phnom Kulen in the city of Mahendraparvata and declared himself the Deva Raja, the God King and universal monarch. But king of what? At the time, Southeast Asia and what is now Cambodia was made up of many independent tribes led by belligerent warlords and theoretically overseen by the Sailendra dynasty of Java. read more
The Etruscans, 400BCE
Chimera of Arezzo
This is an undeniably modern interpretation. The chimera, like most beasts of antiquity, was the bad guy. Child of the giant serpent Typhon and the half woman half snake Echidna (you know her from the Starbucks logo) the Chimera was an abominable thing, unnatural combination of lion and goat, with the head of a snake for a tail. Her brothers and sisters live in legend. read more
Chimera of Arezzo, The Etruscans
Toyen
What's in a name?
Names are assigned to us before we are aware of their meaning, and we grow into them as much as they come to reflect us. In Japan artists often changed names after milestones in their lives, but in the west, once you've been given a name, you're usually stuck with it—a rigidity that makes claiming a new name even more powerful magic. read more
Toyen, The Artists
Sascha Schneider, 1904
Hypnosis
To Sascha Schneider the male body was perfection, and the world its antagonist. Schneider worked in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the development of Freikörperkultur, free body culture, also called the Health and Hygiene movement. Freikörperkultur aimed to counteract the restraint and stress of industrialization with a restorative mix of open air nudity, exercise, and healthy diet. read more
Hypnosis, Sascha Schneider
Born on April 30
Antonio Sant'Elia, The ArtistsPortrait of Antonio Sant'Elia

Antonio Sant'Elia

Prophet of the violent, industrial future

1888 – 1916
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, The ArtistsPortrait of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Ghosts, madness, and the blood-soaked end of feudalism

1839 – 1892
Luigi Russolo, The ArtistsPortrait of Luigi Russolo

Luigi Russolo

Machines that scream: inventing Futurist music

1885 – 1947

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