Welcome to John’s personal blog page. On this site I’m just going to discuss those areas which are the subject of my current professional and personal interest- issues of art, literature and cultural history and development- rather than covering any of my former professional interests. Here I’ll write about art and culture: exhibitions, films, music, painters, poets, books, language, history, archaeology and anything else that takes my fancy. After a recent talk at a central London bookshop, I was described on their website as a “cultural and social historian”- not my own choice of label but (having read it) not unfair. For example, I’ve written about the way that faerylore has influenced not just British art in the twentieth century, but British music (from classical compositions by John Ireland to heavy metal). I have argued for recognition of the major impact of the works of Pierre Louys: not just in and of themselves in literary and philosophical terms but also through music (the operas based on his novels) and, through the very large number of illustrated editions of his books that have been published, aesthetically. Questions of the philosophy of art (aesthetics) are to the fore here.
I have been interested in art for the last forty years and more recently have studied art history with the V&A Academy and Oxford University: a lot of my posts will focus on my research and writing on this subject and its links to my writing on mythology and literature. I have discussed the depictions of classical myths in my books on Pan, Aphrodite, Dionysos and the nymphs, examining how the ancient divinities and stories have been presented for more modern audiences. I also have a particular interest in the representation of the nude figure in Victorian neo-classical painting and in the way that artists handle issues of sexuality and diversity. My books on themes in eighteenth century, late Victorian and early twentieth century writing and paintings (and their interactions) all connect to this. You will find details of my books and my essays on Academia if you wish to pursue these subjects.
Two other particular interests, folklore and music, are dealt with on other WordPress blogs: see BritishFairies.wordpress.com and broadcastbarnsley.wordpress.com. Related to my interest in British faery lore, my researches into classical nymphs, and my various books on the dryads, satyrs, centaurs and naiads, are dealt with separately on my Nymphology blog. There is, though, a great deal of crossover between my discussions of Greek and Roman nymphs and that of faeries and elves as well, equally, as with my examinations of art and literary history, given the major role that the classical myths have played in the creation of Western culture (and classical artistic principles have played in the formulation of European traditional/ Academic art). There is therefore considerable spill over from one blog to another.
Hope to see you again soon!
John
johnkruseblog 