photo and poem by clinock – photo from Cinque Terra, Italy.
Click on photo for superior viewing experience.
i•con (ˈaɪ kɒn)
- a picture, image or other representation.
- an image of Christ, a saint, etc., venerated as sacred.
- a sign or representation that stands for something by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it: an icon of womanhood.
- a person or thing that is revered or idolized: a pop icon.
- a small graphic image on a computer screen representing a disk drive, a file, or a software command.
[1565–75; < Latin < Greek eikṓn likeness, image, figure]
Another good one John…….love the “superior viewing experience” of the photograph and the script-like etched words of the poem.
So interesting… the textures in both pictures, John. The first photo disconcerting at first. What if those are phone or cable lines? All those voices and images floating over his head?…And the second photo, fascinating. So golden. An expressive time warp…
(You don’t con me 🙂 I love your art. 🙂 ) Icons seem untouchable. They also might have no idea what they represent. Pictured vicitms of dissasters or of holocausts may never know they had an impact. That’s what makes icons also vulnarable I think. xx
Thanks Robert, yes, most posted photographs and art works benefit from being enlarged, this one certainly does. I had fun playing with the poem’s presentation and am glad you liked the results…
I was in a textural and text-ural mood so used in header and poem…it was already wonderfully present in the photo. This icon is of stalwart build so I imagine he knows how to let all those voices and images go floating by him like clouds of incense born prayers….
Good pun Ina! What you say about icons brings many thoughts. Holy icons often are untouchable, behind glass or out of reach, although there are some I will be showing that are accessible to touch. Your mention of “pictured victims..” makes me think of certain historical photographs that have become another kind of icon. xox
electric chair
~
in a throne with
a crown of thorns
a lever pulled
power surges
through stone
distilled
and delineated
in braided wires
circumnavigating
a chiseled head
generating
life and death
Beautifully presented, and crafted.
Thank you very much Cheryl…
I warmly recommend Malta where you’ll find lots of similar ‘topics’… 🙂
I would warmly accept your recommendation Melanie but Malta is far from where I am and I seem to be somewhat lacking in funds for travel at this time. Is Malta your home?
Almost as if was anticipating an electrified niche with those haphazard wires mirroring the lines of the shroud. He looks like the face on the bow of a ship. But recessed… and as you say… Impassive…. Very thoughtful John.
Thank you Steven. I was also quite taken with the ‘mirroring’ of the wires in the shroud, and especially in the ‘crown’ around his head. I really enjoy your perception of Christ’s face as a ship’s figurehead…much early Christian symbolism reflects life on the water. The architecture of the church includes the term ‘nave’, from medieval Latin navis (ship), probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting. Different forms of the anchor appear in the catacombs. The anchor, because of its importance in navigation, was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The Christians, in adopting the anchor as a symbol of hope in future existence, merely gave a new and higher signification to a familiar emblem.