bleeding hosts, anyone?

first of all, doesn’t this look like a drawing by amy wilson?

ha!

no really, this was on my exam today (and i totally rocked the answer, by the way, so what’s up now). but seriously, this object has some severe anti-semitism attached to it.

the host itself was originally given by Pope Eugenius IV to Philip the Good in 1433 as a gift of gratitude, and it was housed in Sainte-Chapelle. this image is actually an addition to the Book of Hours of Mary of Burgundy, ca. 1505-an illustration of the actual thing.

the text beside it in Mary’s book tells of a story of a Jew, dubbed a “non-believer”, striking the host and causing it to “bleed profusely”. a reinaction of the crucifixtion, kind of. this sort of emphasized the split between old religion and new (Christianity and Judaism) and serves as evidence of the reports of supposed brutality and agression from the Jews towards Christians and their objects.

not to bore everyone, but i keep staring at this thing. i mean, i can’t really imagine having this added to my prayer book after having it for twenty years, and really believing that a Jewish person manhandled it and caused it to bleed the blood of Christ. the power of images is much different now, obviously. but what a creepy way of reminding yourself that Jewish people are supposedly out to get your religion.

please, i’m not judging, i’m only stunned. the fifteenth century mind worked so differently, at least in the spiritual sense, than mine. after i finished my answer, i stared at my blue book for a second, then at the screen, and temporarily left my academic realm of memorized dates and practiced answers and was like, “what the fuck?” i thought of other pictures that i’ve seen recently, pertaining to modern unrest in the Holy Land, and saw a disheartening, less beautiful continuation.

i’m not going to cite the page i found these on; i’m not trying to be a plaigerist, it’s that the site has a ton of really gruesome photos and i also don’t want to be misread as promoting it. i don’t think i can really feel one way or the other about it, 100%, because i have no involvement in it and no experience, and therefore find it really problematic to claim my position in the matter. my purpose here is to comment on the way the propaghanda has developed.

think: host vs structure

obviously: blood, bleeding.

ok,  no more grim posts for a while.

i think it has to do with all the crucifixtion wounds and flagellations and church divisions i’ve been reading about all semester.

hey, at least i’m not  drawing bloody-eyed self-portraits or anything.

dream bicycles! and some other stuff

so i had this crazy dream last night that carlos built me these handlebars for my bike that made absolutely no sense. the best part was they were so comfortable, and had actually been my design. i was killing these big hills, and as i passed people by, whether they were standing on the sidewalk, driving a car, or on a bike, everyone asked me about them. and i just continued up the hills, waving, and saying “yes, they’re my design, custom built, designed for speed and tough inclines. the simplest idea, i’m amazed i’m the first to think of it.”

but really, they were weird. instead of regular bars, a single hook was attached to the stem. it was lateral and positioned to be parallel with my front wheel. and, of course, it was powedercoated white. i could either ride upright, holding onto it with one hand to give my arms and back a break, or i could be aerodynamic and hunched over, holding it with both hands, elbows bent. then, much lower, by the steer tube, i had racing drops. see, this all comes from a type of bike carlos told me about during our valentine’s dinner date last night. i forget what it’s called so i couldn’t find the exact model, but it is something really close to this. so i drew a quick pic of my crazy dream bike. it was supposed to be my pink bike, but for some reason it was blue in my dream.

the set up made for a really awkward hand position.

and i also wanted to add, i made a few of my “biographical analysis” books into a different kind of book. i am just having trouble figuring out what kind of slip cover i want them to slide into, cause they need something extra to a) boost the presentation and b) make the act of opening it more exciting. here’s what i have so far:

if you have any ideas, let me in on them!

oh, and i jst wanted to share this pic from my last vacation. i was reminded of it after reading the dog show reveiw on POSTSKUNK. (see blogroll).

this is true animal lover amazingness.

holly’s tank

i know my birthday was over a month ago (and i realize it’s been 2.5 weeks since my last post. i’m not slacking, i just didn’t have too much to put up here) but i just found the pics i took of the vegan tank cake she made me for my party. it’s honestly theone of the most amazing things anyone has ever made me, and i will remember it forever.

nicole and stephen give tank cake a serious thumb’s up

there were all kinds of little plastic figurines, like pirate birds and smurfs, on the cake and on the cardboard plate, either firing the tank or getting run over.

and yes, those are mike and  ike’s for the roller chains. cutting that thing was one of the hardest things i’ve ever done.