Thursday, June 1, 2017

Beheading Update

A short time ago we explored the once popular artistic subject of beheading here at Pulverized Concepts. In the last couple of hundred years, however, it doesn't seem to be seen as often as it once was, unless you're in an art museum.
 

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The 17th century master Michelangelo Caravaggio used the event in more than a few of his works, which were hung in places where they could be seen then as they are now.  Above we see Judith decapitating Holofernes. This made the Jews happy then and the Christians happy later.

People are bent out of shape over the efforts of minor league comedienne Kathy Griffin and photographer Tyler Shields to depict something that has been brought back into the public consciousness by the maniacal villains of ISIS. But they're not really beheading anyone. The photo is a fake! It doesn't mean that they're going to actually chop the noggin off of anyone. And, indeed, how could they? Their version of Holofernes is surrounded by agents sworn to protect him from Colombian prostitutes and other mal hechors.

 
Tyler Shields has done a number of somewhat irreverent video projects like this one:

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