Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Vampire Duchess

This is an almost wonderful picture. The play of the moonlight on their skin, the glass, the blood.... The tinting of the light on the floor as it passes through the glass, the pile of skulls in the corner, and the flow of the two figures...


Vampire Duchess by Steven Stahlberg

There's so much to like in this piece that the one thing I don't like stands out like a sore thumb: the supposed need to cover the "naughty bits." Clearly both the vampire and the victim are nude. The draping of the cloth over their breasts just seems so artificial, so unnecessary to the picture's composition. It doesn't add anything, except somehow making it safe for general public viewing... or something like that.

5 comments:

  1. Nothing illustrates our warped social censoring more than the willingness to show a bloody and violent death in situ, yet be unable to give us a peek at a woman's "naughty bits". It's annoying to be a prisoner of a society with the sexual maturity of a 12 year old. Will we shed such puritanical leanings within my lifetime? I hope so, but doubt it will occur.

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    1. Exactly. And I don't see it changing any time soon...

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  2. Nothing illustrates our warped social censoring more than the willingness to show a bloody and violent death in situ, yet be unable to give us a peek at a woman's "naughty bits". It's annoying to be a prisoner of a society with the sexual maturity of a 12 year old. Will we shed such puritanical leanings within my lifetime? I hope so, but doubt it will occur.

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  3. I didn't even notice the coverings. It's a good picture.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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Comment Moderation is in place. Email notifications are spotty... might be a bit before this gets published. Sorry.