Art Encounter II : The Dark Side of Romanticism

CARCERI
The Architecture of Imaginary Prisons

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Carceri d'Invenzione, Plate XIV, 1750

http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_263013/Giovanni-Battista-Piranesi/Carceri-d%27Invenzione%2C-Plate-XIV

Giovanni Battista Piranesi's created a series of 16 etchings/prints named Carceri.  Many of the images within Carceri are haunting and menacing, as they depict imaginary prisons. The image above (Plate XIV) is part of the series and measures at approximately 16"x21". It is currently housed in Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. This piece was created quite early in the era of Romanticism, and is representative of Dark Romanticism.  Carceri d'Invenzione, Plate XIV is a great example of Dark Romanticism as it is a rather grim, menacing and suffocating image. One of the elements of this image which  is so interesting, is the complicated architecture within. Although architecture is depicted in this image, my main focus is on the feeling evoked by the etching.  After all, Romanticism was mainly interested in feeling and intuition.  

*ETCHING*

Carceri is an etching, displaying dark tones in gray scale and blacks.  Etching is quite an extra-ordinary process.  The video below demonstrates the etching process and print-making, and highlights the remarkable works of Blake as well. 

*FORM AND COMPOSITION*

Carceri's Plate XIV is full of lines: vertical, horizontal and diagonal.  Endless series of stairways, railings, arches and columns extend throughout the image.  Although the staircases appear to cover a lot of ground and extend to all directions, the observer can feel quite claustrophobic and almost suffocated because there is no visible exit to the viewer.  Furthermore, the heavy use of dark tones contribute to the feeling of being closed in.  The movement within the etching is chaotic, as it is unsystematic and unorganized.  The stairways move in all different directions at the same time and there is no apparent order or structure within the structure. Because of this, the eye is constantly in motion.  It if difficult to find a center point.

Almost every line in the etching is sharp including the arches near the top and in the background of the image.  The only soft lines are used in the representation of small shadowy images scattered throughout on the various stairways or walkways.  The viewer can assume that these images are human, although there is nothing detailed about them. They are nameless, faceless and androgynous. They are essentially, black blobs wandering throughout the structure.  

*SUBJECT AND INTERPRETATION*

 The series of prints from etching represent imaginary prisons, possibly within the human psyche which speak to the darker side of human nature. These works have been described as images which could illustrate Edmund Burke's theory of the sublime outlined in [sic]  "A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful."   Carceri would be representative of the sublime, as the sublime has the power to compel and destroy.

"The passions which concern self-preservation turn mostly on pain or danger.  The ideas of pain, sickness and death fill the mind with strong emotions of horror; but life and health, though they put us in capacity of being affected with pleasure., they make no such impression... Whatever excites this delight, I call sublime."  -Burke

Psychologically, Carceri d'Invenzione, Plate XIV seems to speak to both the complexity and darker depths within the human mind. It seems to represent the endless possibilities, directions, thoughts, memories and limitations we have as individuals.  Perhaps he is demonstrating that our minds are our prisons, in many ways.  Humans have always been afflicted, on some level, with internal and psychological pain whether through memories, nightmares, traumas, abuse and forms of injustice. When we ruminate and become fixated on these things, we lock ourselves into an invisible and imaginary prison of sorts.

*THE ARTIST*

 Portrait of Giovanni by Labruzzi

Piranesi largely considered himself an architect.  He was the son of a stone-mason and master builder and was largely influenced by his father.  Even though Piranesi encountered great difficulty in obtaining architectural commissions, his architecture found its way into his art and ultimately made him one of the most revered print-makers of his time. He spent the bulk of of his life in Venice and Rome.  His etchings and prints awarded him a lucrative living, an outlet for artistic and architectural passion, and even a platform with which to argue his views and perspectives on art at the time.  He was a master at etching and print-making, and pushed the limits in imagination.  Many of the structures in his etchings were impossible and dream-like.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Self Portrait

"I need to produce great ideas, and I believe that if I were commissioned to design
a new universe, I would be mad enough to undertake it." -Piranesi

Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pira/hd_pira.htm

*CONNECTIONS*

IN FILM...

“I GUESS I THOUGHT THAT THE DREAM SPACE WOULD BE ALL ABOUT THE VISUAL, BUT IT’S MORE ABOUT THE FEEL OF IT.  MY QUESTION IS, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU START MESSING WITH THE PHYSICS OF IT ALL?” - From the film "Inception"

Within the last year, a major film was released called Inception.  It deals a lot with both dreams and architecture.  In fact, one of the main characters was sought out in the film, become a dream architect.  Also, one of the main themes within the film is about the prisons within the mind - internal and invisible prisons tied to loss, grief, pain and suffering. This scene (and the film at large) ties in so closely to the concepts that Piranesi was demonstrating centuries ago.  Please follow the link as there were complications when inserting the video. 

Dark Romanticism is alive and well, have no doubt about it.  

IN MUSIC w/ ART...

The following is a video by a group named, interestingly enough, Atrium Carceri.  Many dark images are displayed while the band's music plays.  Both the images and the music are quite dark, haunting, with an element of terror.  This is a perfect example of how Dark Romanticism is used in modern times and culture.  The same feelings are explored and evoked. 

IN OTHER ART...

   When I first saw Piranesi's Caceri, specifically the image above, I was blown away at the uncanny similarities to a work of art created by MC Escher.

MC Escher, Relativity, 1953, lithograph.

Though Escher's Relativity is more uniform, clean and tight in appearance, there are many similarities to Piranesi's image above.  Both have paradoxical architecture with straight and sharp lines revealing stairways in all directions.  Both are in dark tones and gray scale as well.  It is also important to acknowledge that like Carceri, there appears to be no exit point.  The observer's eye has a difficult time staying still because of the movement within the image.  Even though Escher's human figures are much more defined and pronounced, they still appear as nameless, faceless and androgynous.  This contributes to a feeling of being disconnected and alone.

Clearly, Escher's work(s) have more of a mathematical component, but the aforementioned similarities are undeniable.  Years after Escher's Relativity was created, teams of people work together to attempt the construction of his ideas and concepts in real 3D form.

“It is then a revolt.” “No, Sire,” replied the Duke. “It is a revolution."

As the text from "The Human Spirit" claims, a revolution requires philosophical inspiration in order to be successful.  In my opinion, one of the most inspirational quotes/ poems is titled, "Our Deepest Fear." Though Nelson Mandela used this text in a speech, it was originally written by Marianne Williamson. "Our Deepest Fear" is a call to action, of sorts, whether on a personal level or a societal level.

Without the attitude and belief by the people that a revolution is both necessary and possible,  many may not have the motivation or drive to even consider the pursuit of such an endeavor. Furthermore, an event with the magnitude of a revolution often has a ripple effect and can work to bring about similar events elsewhere. One line specifically in "Our Deepest Fear" speaks to this phenomenon.

 "...and as we let our own light shine, 

we unconsciously give other people 

permission to do the same."

-Williamson

A perfect historical example of the ripple effect of revolution and revolutionary thought is the relationship between America's independence from Britain in the American Revolution (1775-1783), and the French Revolution (1789-1798) which followed.  America served as an example of both revolutionary thought and action. Furthermore, the fact that the United States succeeded against a power such as Britain surely gave hope, belief and motivation to the people of France who also had a fierce hunger for change.

The thoughts, ideals and beliefs which helped to drive such change are characteristic of Western democracy.  However, the roots of these ideals are in Natural Human Rights.

This desire and reverence for Natural Rights of mankind became especially popular in the Age of Enlightenment.  The belief was that Human Rights originate in Nature, and Nature is of God.  Therefore, these Natural and inherant rights cannot be granted or stripped away by a political institution.  These ideas are evident in the Declaration of Independance in America.  They are also outlined in The Declaration of the Rights of Man issued by the National Assembly in France on 8/27/1789.

Today, many paralleles are evident with the current uprising and revolution which is taking place in Egypt.  The people of Egypt essentailly seek the same principles and rights which the French sought and fought for more than 200 years ago.  Though a considerable amount of time has passed, people still seek many of the same principles and ideals in the current revolution in Egypt. 

Perhaps the most glaring example of how times had changed between the French Revolution and the Revolution taking place in Egypt, are the images (or tools) which have become symbols of each revolution.  The French Revolution saw thousands (more than 25,000) of executions of people (be-headed by the guillotine) from both the political left and right who may have been considered a threat to the movement.  Many of those executed never saw a fair trial.  Radicals became quite "trigger-happy" in their use of the guillotine, and some of this time during the French Revolution became known as the Reign of Terror.  Therefore, the French Revolution is thought to be largely symbolized by the guillotine, as it represents the terror of the time and the numerous executions which were on public display. 

Since the French Revolution, there have been huge advancements in modern technology.  The world became much more connected and communication moved much faster during the time just before the American Civil War with the invention and technology of the telegraph. Today, connection and communication across the globe takes place in almost real-time since the development and advancement of the internet, not to mention other devices such as cell phones and satellites.  

Along with the internet came the development of online social networks which connects people in ways never known before. Demonstrators in Egypt primarily used Facebook as the social networking platform with which to unite like-minded citizens and o quickly organize large protests and demonstrations.  Eventually, Egypt shut down the internet across the nation in an attempt to prevent the use of both the internet and sites such as Facebook as a way to cut off communication and paralyze the demonstrators. Cutting off communication between people simply provided another example of the violation of the rights of the people.  After all, what is more natural than communication? As a result, Facebook has largely become the symbol of the uprising and revolution in Egypt. 

 

It is no wonder that the rapid pace and speed at which news and information travels across large distances has impacted the speed of the ripple effect of revolutionary thought and action.  The French Revolution took place less than 10 years after the Revolutionary War in America. Today, there can almost be a domino effect. Just after the uprising in Egypt, Libya followed suit within days.