Indeed, Bob... learning astronomy can have its rewards!
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Alice Kiss - Crux Legend
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View attachment 706484 A nice botany class too, that's a Crimean Pine,
Pinus nigra pallasiana, getting intimate with her nipple!
It's a subspecies of Corsican Pine, and another plant for which Ai Petra is famous -
'The unique shape of the Crimean Pine is often described as 'organ pipes'
as the branches grow vertically and looks like a tree coming off another tree!'
Pinus nigra pallasiana, getting intimate with her nipple!
It's a subspecies of Corsican Pine, and another plant for which Ai Petra is famous -
'The unique shape of the Crimean Pine is often described as 'organ pipes'
as the branches grow vertically and looks like a tree coming off another tree!'
bobinder
ARTISAN
Thanks, Eul, for this information about the wonderful plants growing on Ay Petri.View attachment 706484 A nice botany class too, that's a Crimean Pine,
Pinus nigra pallasiana, getting intimate with her nipple!
It's a subspecies of Corsican Pine, and another plant for which Ai Petra is famous -
'The unique shape of the Crimean Pine is often described as 'organ pipes'
as the branches grow vertically and looks like a tree coming off another tree!'
Alice seems to have been genuinely fascinated by the exotic flowers and trees of Ay Petri - so different from the ones she was used to seeing in Moscow (and so different from the forest with which she would forever become associated, exactly one month later!)
Here is another charming study of Alice and the Crimean Pine, from her 'Astronomy Class' series.
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MahaShiva
Magistrate
19-year-old Alice...blooming at her best!Thanks, Eul, for this information about the wonderful plants growing on Ay Petri.
Alice seems to have been genuinely fascinated by the exotic flowers and trees of Ay Petri - so different from the ones she was used to seeing in Moscow (and so different from the forest with which she would forever become associated, exactly one month later!)
Here is another charming study of Alice and the Crimean Pine, from her 'Astronomy Class' series.
Here is another charming study of Alice and the Crimean Pine, from her 'Astronomy Class' series.
The branches of needles casting their shadows like a scourge across her pale skin
are deliciously erotic - no wonder she - and I - love the harshness of wild country
and the trees and flowers of mountain and forest!
bobinder
ARTISAN
A striking analogy, well observed, Eul - the shadows on Alice's skin make a dramatic contrast, echoing the pine needles against the sky.
Here are some more pictures of Alice's encounter with the Crimean Pine, taken during her 'Astronomy Class' -
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Well, astronomy is something that certainly could be studied naked. It might even make one feel more naturally in tune with the universe, I suppose. That said, wouldn't one generally also do this in the dark?
bobinder
ARTISAN
Ha ha you wish, Jolly!
bobinder
ARTISAN
'Stalag 57' by MahaShiva
'Stalag 57' marks Alice's eighth appearance in a MahaShiva manipulation, and her first appearance in a Cruxdreams-inspired mass crux composition by this artist. Alice joins Makar models, Akrobatka and Erica (on her left) and Arkady's Raimonda (on her right) in an ensemble which presents these models for the first time in a Shiva production. In fact, this is the first time that Shiva has presented us with any other Makar model apart from Alice, and the latter appears in the same pose as his previous manip, 'Alice in Saudi-Arabia' (also reviewed previously in this thread.)
The picture illustrates the consequences of attempting to escape from a German Prisoner of War camp during World War Two, the crux girls portraying various DeviantArt members being punished following recapture. Junior army ranks are attributed to them, although no attempt is made to explain how members of the women's services have been imprisoned at Stalag 57 in the first place (such is fantasy crux art.) The picture, therefore, falls into Shiva's historical crux category, rather than his idiosyncratic, contemporary crux theme, although the subject is by no means as ancient as many other popular crux depictions. By using Alice to portray [B]Eulalia[/B] Shiva is perpetuating an informal convention inaugurated by myself, in which Alice represents Eulalia's character in illustrations to stories by herself and [B]ronniebegoode[/B]. Indeed, Eul has already complimented Shiva on making this identification.
The cinematic, widescreen aspect is another informal convention of Alice/Eulalia depictions by myself, although in this case, it is inspired by the movie background, and the broad vista composition of a quadruple crux scene. The background is derived from 'Hart's War', a 2002 movie, starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell as prisoners of the Germans. In the film, the chosen scene depicts a dogfight between a P51 Mustang and a Messerschmidt Bf 109, witnessed by the prisoners and ending with the German plane crashing into the prison camp -
The two aircraft appear behind Alice's right forearm, and Shiva has deleted them by extending the cloud cover.
The head of one of the prisoners in the foreground has also been deleted, to facilitate the insertion of the German officer. Otherwise, the background has required little else in the way of preparation, apart from an overall colour shift to increase the red value, which seems to harmonise better with the flesh tones of the inserted figures. These have been treated to individual colour and contrast adjustments to ensure visual harmony between the subjects from four different crux photo shoots.
The four crux figures have been selected and scaled, so that their patibulae line up in a subtle, parabolic, diminishing perspective. Barely obvious is the fact that the ends of each patibulum have been tidied up with new saw cuts. So successful is the total effect, that the viewer is hardly aware of it. Nevertheless, Raimonda is approaching a head-on view on the left, whereas Erica appears in three-quarter view on the right. Both of these figures have been reversed to give the desired orientation for the picture. Alice and Akrobatka provide the appropriate intervening angles of view for this regimentally ordered line up.
The way in which the crosses and all the hands and feet line up is a triumph of scaling. Many manipulators would be satisfied with so many components blending so effectively. But Shiva's vision demands that the story behind the picture should be presented in a convincing way, and so the officer and guards are required as a physical barrier between the foreground prisoners and the crosses. Consequently, five German soldiers have also been inserted, including the officer, whose Totenkopf cap badge indicates SS origins. I have not identified the sources for these figures, so I do not know if the group of three constitutes a single component or individual troopers. Perhaps Shiva will enlighten us about the sources of the German figures?
The colouring, scaling and blending of all inserted figures, in what amounts to an ambitious multi-figure composition, is so consistent, that many manipulation aspects are simply not immediately apparent. The well-known crux figures might be the only obvious incongruity in such a picture, until we examine the small details. I think the presence of an SS officer in the camp might be accounted for if he is visiting, perhaps having played a part in the prisoners' recapture. The guards on the left wear tunics without overcoats, despite the snow on the ground and a presumably cold temperature. The guard on the right is wearing a trench coat, and seems to have arrived from the front line, where helmets have been painted in snow camouflage.
If these details present any kind of inconsistency, they illustrate the challenge of identifying suitable original sources which can be blended together effectively. Plausibly, such inconsistencies are of the kind promoted by Hollywood, in which case they present no problems in this kind of image. Ultimately, by the time the artist is inserting the ninth new figure into the composition, a small degree of compromise is not unlikely - and I do speak from experience, and with considerable sympathy (and I haven't even started on the German scenes in 'Barbarossanova'!) It is entirely to Shiva's credit that such compromise is not obvious here, and overall, the picture has been manipulated very skilfully indeed. It is certainly worthy of the high acclaim which it has received.
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'Stalag 57' by MahaShiva'Stalag 57' marks Alice's eighth appearance in a MahaShiva manipulation, and her first appearance in a Cruxdreams-inspired mass crux composition by this artist. Alice joins Makar models, Akrobatka and Erica (on her left) and Arkady's Raimonda (on her right) in an ensemble which presents these models for the first time in a Shiva production. In fact, this is the first time that Shiva has presented us with any other Makar model apart from Alice, and the latter appears in the same pose as his previous manip, 'Alice in Saudi-Arabia' (also reviewed previously in this thread.)
(Image hosted on DevianArt - https://www.deviantart.com/mahashiva001/art/Stalag-57-796327844 )
The picture illustrates the consequences of attempting to escape from a German Prisoner of War camp during World War Two, the crux girls portraying various DeviantArt members being punished following recapture. Junior army ranks are attributed to them, although no attempt is made to explain how members of the women's services have been imprisoned at Stalag 57 in the first place (such is fantasy crux art.) The picture, therefore, falls into Shiva's historical crux category, rather than his idiosyncratic, contemporary crux theme, although the subject is by no means as ancient as many other popular crux depictions. By using Alice to portray [B]Eulalia[/B] Shiva is perpetuating an informal convention inaugurated by myself, in which Alice represents Eulalia's character in illustrations to stories by herself and [B]ronniebegoode[/B]. Indeed, Eul has already complimented Shiva on making this identification.
The cinematic, widescreen aspect is another informal convention of Alice/Eulalia depictions by myself, although in this case, it is inspired by the movie background, and the broad vista composition of a quadruple crux scene. The background is derived from 'Hart's War', a 2002 movie, starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell as prisoners of the Germans. In the film, the chosen scene depicts a dogfight between a P51 Mustang and a Messerschmidt Bf 109, witnessed by the prisoners and ending with the German plane crashing into the prison camp -
The two aircraft appear behind Alice's right forearm, and Shiva has deleted them by extending the cloud cover.
The head of one of the prisoners in the foreground has also been deleted, to facilitate the insertion of the German officer. Otherwise, the background has required little else in the way of preparation, apart from an overall colour shift to increase the red value, which seems to harmonise better with the flesh tones of the inserted figures. These have been treated to individual colour and contrast adjustments to ensure visual harmony between the subjects from four different crux photo shoots.
The four crux figures have been selected and scaled, so that their patibulae line up in a subtle, parabolic, diminishing perspective. Barely obvious is the fact that the ends of each patibulum have been tidied up with new saw cuts. So successful is the total effect, that the viewer is hardly aware of it. Nevertheless, Raimonda is approaching a head-on view on the left, whereas Erica appears in three-quarter view on the right. Both of these figures have been reversed to give the desired orientation for the picture. Alice and Akrobatka provide the appropriate intervening angles of view for this regimentally ordered line up.
The way in which the crosses and all the hands and feet line up is a triumph of scaling. Many manipulators would be satisfied with so many components blending so effectively. But Shiva's vision demands that the story behind the picture should be presented in a convincing way, and so the officer and guards are required as a physical barrier between the foreground prisoners and the crosses. Consequently, five German soldiers have also been inserted, including the officer, whose Totenkopf cap badge indicates SS origins. I have not identified the sources for these figures, so I do not know if the group of three constitutes a single component or individual troopers. Perhaps Shiva will enlighten us about the sources of the German figures?
The colouring, scaling and blending of all inserted figures, in what amounts to an ambitious multi-figure composition, is so consistent, that many manipulation aspects are simply not immediately apparent. The well-known crux figures might be the only obvious incongruity in such a picture, until we examine the small details. I think the presence of an SS officer in the camp might be accounted for if he is visiting, perhaps having played a part in the prisoners' recapture. The guards on the left wear tunics without overcoats, despite the snow on the ground and a presumably cold temperature. The guard on the right is wearing a trench coat, and seems to have arrived from the front line, where helmets have been painted in snow camouflage.
If these details present any kind of inconsistency, they illustrate the challenge of identifying suitable original sources which can be blended together effectively. Plausibly, such inconsistencies are of the kind promoted by Hollywood, in which case they present no problems in this kind of image. Ultimately, by the time the artist is inserting the ninth new figure into the composition, a small degree of compromise is not unlikely - and I do speak from experience, and with considerable sympathy (and I haven't even started on the German scenes in 'Barbarossanova'!) It is entirely to Shiva's credit that such compromise is not obvious here, and overall, the picture has been manipulated very skilfully indeed. It is certainly worthy of the high acclaim which it has received.
Whoa.
MahaShiva
Magistrate
Thank you very much for the detailed review, Bob! Always good to see how well a manip passes muster against your eagle eyes and encyclopedic knowledge base.'Stalag 57' by MahaShiva'Stalag 57' marks Alice's eighth appearance in a MahaShiva manipulation, and her first appearance in a Cruxdreams-inspired mass crux composition by this artist. Alice joins Makar models, Akrobatka and Erica (on her left) and Arkady's Raimonda (on her right) in an ensemble which presents these models for the first time in a Shiva production. In fact, this is the first time that Shiva has presented us with any other Makar model apart from Alice, and the latter appears in the same pose as his previous manip, 'Alice in Saudi-Arabia' (also reviewed previously in this thread.)
(Image hosted on DevianArt - https://www.deviantart.com/mahashiva001/art/Stalag-57-796327844 )
The picture illustrates the consequences of attempting to escape from a German Prisoner of War camp during World War Two, the crux girls portraying various DeviantArt members being punished following recapture. Junior army ranks are attributed to them, although no attempt is made to explain how members of the women's services have been imprisoned at Stalag 57 in the first place (such is fantasy crux art.) The picture, therefore, falls into Shiva's historical crux category, rather than his idiosyncratic, contemporary crux theme, although the subject is by no means as ancient as many other popular crux depictions. By using Alice to portray [B]Eulalia[/B] Shiva is perpetuating an informal convention inaugurated by myself, in which Alice represents Eulalia's character in illustrations to stories by herself and [B]ronniebegoode[/B]. Indeed, Eul has already complimented Shiva on making this identification.
The cinematic, widescreen aspect is another informal convention of Alice/Eulalia depictions by myself, although in this case, it is inspired by the movie background, and the broad vista composition of a quadruple crux scene. The background is derived from 'Hart's War', a 2002 movie, starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell as prisoners of the Germans. In the film, the chosen scene depicts a dogfight between a P51 Mustang and a Messerschmidt Bf 109, witnessed by the prisoners and ending with the German plane crashing into the prison camp -
The two aircraft appear behind Alice's right forearm, and Shiva has deleted them by extending the cloud cover.
The head of one of the prisoners in the foreground has also been deleted, to facilitate the insertion of the German officer. Otherwise, the background has required little else in the way of preparation, apart from an overall colour shift to increase the red value, which seems to harmonise better with the flesh tones of the inserted figures. These have been treated to individual colour and contrast adjustments to ensure visual harmony between the subjects from four different crux photo shoots.
The four crux figures have been selected and scaled, so that their patibulae line up in a subtle, parabolic, diminishing perspective. Barely obvious is the fact that the ends of each patibulum have been tidied up with new saw cuts. So successful is the total effect, that the viewer is hardly aware of it. Nevertheless, Raimonda is approaching a head-on view on the left, whereas Erica appears in three-quarter view on the right. Both of these figures have been reversed to give the desired orientation for the picture. Alice and Akrobatka provide the appropriate intervening angles of view for this regimentally ordered line up.
The way in which the crosses and all the hands and feet line up is a triumph of scaling. Many manipulators would be satisfied with so many components blending so effectively. But Shiva's vision demands that the story behind the picture should be presented in a convincing way, and so the officer and guards are required as a physical barrier between the foreground prisoners and the crosses. Consequently, five German soldiers have also been inserted, including the officer, whose Totenkopf cap badge indicates SS origins. I have not identified the sources for these figures, so I do not know if the group of three constitutes a single component or individual troopers. Perhaps Shiva will enlighten us about the sources of the German figures?
The colouring, scaling and blending of all inserted figures, in what amounts to an ambitious multi-figure composition, is so consistent, that many manipulation aspects are simply not immediately apparent. The well-known crux figures might be the only obvious incongruity in such a picture, until we examine the small details. I think the presence of an SS officer in the camp might be accounted for if he is visiting, perhaps having played a part in the prisoners' recapture. The guards on the left wear tunics without overcoats, despite the snow on the ground and a presumably cold temperature. The guard on the right is wearing a trench coat, and seems to have arrived from the front line, where helmets have been painted in snow camouflage.
If these details present any kind of inconsistency, they illustrate the challenge of identifying suitable original sources which can be blended together effectively. Plausibly, such inconsistencies are of the kind promoted by Hollywood, in which case they present no problems in this kind of image. Ultimately, by the time the artist is inserting the ninth new figure into the composition, a small degree of compromise is not unlikely - and I do speak from experience, and with considerable sympathy (and I haven't even started on the German scenes in 'Barbarossanova'!) It is entirely to Shiva's credit that such compromise is not obvious here, and overall, the picture has been manipulated very skilfully indeed. It is certainly worthy of the high acclaim which it has received.
I'm a little surprised that the encyclopedia does not have the German soldiers indexed and ready for retrieval, but I guess they are not exactly the main subject of this volume.
Incidentally, it looks like a little detail has escaped detection by your eagle eyes this time: The images of both Akrobatka and Erica have been distorted slightly to keep their crossbeams more or less in the same angle as Alice's and Raimonda's. Otherwise, they would have incurred additional punishment for being out-of-line in formation. See, I do have their best interest on my mind.
I'm certainly honoured and flattered!
bobinder
ARTISAN
Thanks Shiva, that is why I specifically noted that 'a small degree of compromise is not unlikely'. Certainly re-enactor photos provide good quality sources, and if the forthcoming 'Barbarossanova' scenes look anything like as good as the results you have achieved, I shall be very pleased.I'm a little surprised that the encyclopedia does not have the German soldiers indexed and ready for retrieval, but I guess they are not exactly the main subject of this volume.All five of them came from the various WWII reenactment sites--the one on the right from a reenactment of the Battle of the Bulge, the group of three (taken together as a group) from a parade in town (hence the spotless sharp uniforms), and the SS officer from a reactor's portrait. I had no idea an SS officer was not supposed to show up at a POW camp (not even Waffen SS?), but the one thing that I was not very happy about with this "project" is how the three poor guys were called to duty without a chance to put on their coats. I mean, what if they catch a cold and end up with running noses? Wouldn't look very good for the parade, for sure. But, as you suspected, these guys are the finest I could recruit from Das Vaterland at the moment, so they'll have to do.
I noticed the crux image distortions when I mapped and scaled the original sources onto them for the comparison pictures, but I didn't comment. Yes, it is a very subtle but important detail in composition, which would otherwise escape attention. You have certainly taken a lot of care in creating such a successful manipulation.Incidentally, it looks like a little detail has escaped detection by your eagle eyes this time: The images of both Akrobatka and Erica have been distorted slightly to keep their crossbeams more or less in the same angle as Alice's and Raimonda's. Otherwise, they would have incurred additional punishment for being out-of-line in formation. See, I do have their best interest on my mind.
bobinder
ARTISAN
GoatJr - End of Day (Part 1)
GoatJr's manipulations were first noted in this thread two years ago, when he was presenting work in his own thread, entitled, 'End Of Day - Death In The Balance' - http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/end-of-day-death-in-the-balance.5900/post-319781
His current thread is entitled, 'End of Day' - http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/end-of-day.5385/
'After the Dark 1' presents a dungeon scene in which three female captives have been brought into a dark chamber, where they are confronted by a brazier, containing glowing, branding irons. All three girls are naked and shackled in chains. The figure being escorted down the steps bears the marks of a brutal flogging as well as injuries to her knees and left elbow. The faces of the two males are clearly visible, but we cannot see the faces of any of the girls, which are concealed by their hair and the shadows.
Alice sits on the floor in the lower right corner, her head in her hands, elbows on knees, in a pose which evokes a sense of anxiety appropriate to the occasion. The Makar source derives from the early part of the 'Crux Forest' session, in which she is awaiting sentence prior to her crucifixion. As an effective portrayal of anxiety and despair, Alice's pose is a good one for the manipulation, but the fact that she was already shackled and chained by her wrists and ankles makes her an ideal choice for this scene.
The seated figure blends into the shadows in the darkest part of the room, following colour adjustments to produce a violet skin tone, and an overall darkening which obscures her face. The title, 'After the Dark 1' is curious, considering the evident state of darkness, although this is partly relieved by the light coming down the steps, through the doorway and onto the floor. And the brazier presents a second, rather sinister light source.
Since Alice is concealed in the darkness, there is no requirement for her character to cast a shadow. Arguably, she is the most successful inserted component here, considering the relative complexity and ambiguity of the lighting on the figures in the scene. The ambiguity extends to some of the details - the male descending the steps carries something in his left hand, and there is a curious band on his left sleeve. The heavy pixellation makes it impossible to identify such details, although this coarse-grained effect is a characteristic feature of manips by GoatJr.
Meanwhile, we find close attention to detail in the over-painted shoe buckles, the yellow glow around the branding irons, the carefully painted coil of smoke from the brazier, and the rumpled clothing around the feet of the girl on the left. Such elements of clarity and obscurity combine in GoatJr's work to produce a composition which exudes a powerful atmosphere of anticipation.
bobinder
ARTISAN
GoatJr - End of Day (Part 2)
'Crucifiction Road' and its derivative, 'Thrust of Death' present us with a pair of spectacular GoatJr manipulations, employing the Via Appia mass crux scene from 'Spartacus', as a background. The original scene, which showed the crucifixion of the rebel slavegirl, Kore, has been adapted so that Makar's Mila takes centre stage on the cross, in a dramatic thrusting pose. Mila seems to be a favourite model of GoatJr, and she has made appearances in some of his other manipulations.
GoatJr has included a total of five crucified girls in the left half of his picture, although most of them are very small and distant. The furthest on the left is another Makar model, Julia, and second from left is Insex's Liz Tyler, who reappears in GoatJr's later picture, 'Savaged Sisters'. Mila is the focus of our attention here, and the evident discomfort of her original pose has been exploited with the addition of a rope around her throat, a cruel sedile, nails, scourge wounds and blood flows. She stares at the defocused foreground figure, seen close up, almost out of shot on the far right side of the picture.
Yet again, Alice is partly concealed from view on the right of the picture, behind this foreground figure. GoatJr has employed the mysterious source figure of Alice, whose origins I have yet to discover, since the original picture does not form part of any series with which I am familiar. Again, her defensive pose is a study in nervous tension and anxiety, which is entirely appropriate for her role, and some facial wounds have been applied around her downcast eyes. Three more female captives appear in the scene, naked and chained, and their impending fate is all too obvious.
Having created such a dramatic scene, full of tense atmosphere, GoatJr developed the picture with a back story about the execution of the defeated rebels, which he presented as, 'Thrust of Death'. The narrative text forms part of the picture, explaining how the sword thrust came to be applied to Mila, whose increased sufferings are thereby mercifully shortened. Compared to the previous picture, she has some horrific, if superfluous, nails in her groin, her blood flow has been increased and she is urinating - the various fluids being diluted by the heavy rainfall which increases the oppressive atmosphere. GoatJr's current avatar is a detail view of this picture.
Alice remains relatively unchanged in the second picture, apart from the fact that she is now soaked by the rain, which has been applied using a semi-transparent top layer, composed of near-vertical lines, in pale tones to show up against the predominently dark elements of the picture. The rain layer also has the effect of softening the coarse pixellation.
bobinder
ARTISAN
GoatJr - End of Day (Part 3)
Alice's appearance in manips by GoatJr during 2017 - 2018 amounted to the aforementioned supporting roles. But two of his pictures from earlier this year mark a change in which Alice emerges as a crux manip star in her own right. One of them repeats the atmospheric drama of heavy rainfall, and both increase the visual drama by employing raging fires. The first of these is, 'Savaged Sisters', which depicts a violent arena scene, full of action involving no fewer than eight unfortunate females. The executioners, two of whom are regular performers in Roman crux manips, bring the total number of inserted figures to eleven in this powerful, multi-figure composition.
The main challenges in such a picture are lighting, relative scale and perspective. Overall, GoatJr has handled these aspects very well. Drifting smoke from the flames obscures the audience in the background, leaving us to focus on the foreground action. The figures are defined by overhead daylight, which tends to reduce the visual impact of the flames, which should otherwise be uplighting everybody from behind. But this is always a problem, regularly encountered in BATS manips, when the inserted figures have completely different lighting conditions from the new background.
Meanwhile, there is evidence of shadows being cast on the arena sand by the individual figures, and the convincing sense of scale and depth draws the viewer into the centre of the foreground action. The naked females here are submitting to the whip and the branding iron. Scorched flesh is smouldering on the spread-eagled girl, and urine flows from the girl on the left with her buttocks raised. Some of the girls display impressive injuries, inflicted by the whip.
Three of the girls are readily identifiable, including Alice, still roped to the recognisable remains of Makar's cross, but now sporting some deep cuts across her right side. This pose has been popularised by numerous manipulators, most recently by MahaShiva in 'Stalag 57' (see the preceding posts in this thread.) Lying on the ground on the left is Amy Hesketh, sourced from Red Feline's 'Romana Crucifixa Est', and crucified on the right, is Liz Tyler from the 2002 Insex session variously entitled, 'Cow Cross' or 'Cow Girl' (although she may be spared the cattle prod on this occasion.) I believe this may be the first manipulation to show Alice in the company of either of these well-known crux stars.
bobinder
ARTISAN
GoatJr - End of Day (Part 4)
GoatJr's latest Alice manip is entitled, 'Fire and Water', and indeed these elements dominate the scene. The background shows an ancient, fortified village on a hilltop, surrounded by snow-clad mountains. Alice hangs crucified in the middle distance, in an empty field outside the village. The blazing fire at the base of her tall cross puts the picture in the slightly unusual genre of BATS/Crux manips, and carries all the attendant problems of a bright, low elevation light source. The composition exploits a continuum of diagonal themes and jagged edges - in the mountains, in the rooftops, in the V-shape of Alice's raised arms, and in the smoke and steam - all contributing to the sense of visual tension.
My original comment on the picture reads, 'She prayed for the rain and the heavens opened...' GoatJr's semi-transparent rain layer succeeds in producing a cold and wet atmosphere, and these are precisely the conditions needed to suppress the heat of the fire, which still burns extensively with brilliant white flames at the base. But rather than smoke drifting in the wind, I think we are seeing clouds of steam condensing as the rain assaults the flames. The sense of desperate tension here is brilliant. The conflict between fire and water is reflected in Alice's pose, straining with her head thrown back to inhale fresh air, and perhaps a mouthful of rainwater. The cooling effect is demonstrated by a cloud of her breath, condensing beyond her left arm. The heat has already seared her lower legs and knees to redness.
We are looking down, from the rising ground to witness this spectacular event unfolding. The only other participants are the four executioners, mounted on horses on the left, one of them still holding the flaming torch, which provides a visual highlight to balance the flames below. They are uncertain if their task is done, and their presence contributes to the tension - will the fire prevail, or will the rain? If they leave, will the villagers reappear and rescue Alice? We have no way of knowing how the human element will respond.
The picture succeeds in presenting contrasts and tension. The scene is as dark as the atmosphere it evokes, and against this, the flames burn with a brilliant intensity. If the figure of Alice could be uplit by the flames, it would be sensational and utterly convincing. But such treatment presents significant challenges in reversing the original lighting of the figure. And Alice is a small component in the scene - a fact which emphasises her isolation. If the fire is extinguished, she may suffer a much more prolonged agony on the cross before death intervenes.
And so, GoatJr has again produced a picture, charged with atmosphere, in which he has paid close attention to small details. There are no explanations for the detached observer, but it remains provocative - inviting us to experience the tension and demanding a response. I think 'Fire and Water' will be a hard act to follow, but I look forward to seeing whatever GoatJr chooses to show us in the future.
I took two main things away from this one. Reinforcement of my frankly disturbing thing for "women crucified naked in Hell," and my disappointment that Cowgirl isn’t as ubiquitous as Alice in crux manipulations.
Thanks Bob, and the same to GoatJr.
Attachments
bobinder
ARTISAN
GoatJr has made further use of Liz Tyler - e.g. she appears in this arena scene, behind the bull which is busily engaged in goring Shannon
- http://www.cruxforums.com/xf/threads/end-of-day.5385/post-255775