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Stories Which Appeal To The Desire For Self-Sufficiency
World events have an effect on the stories which follow. Take the 9/11 terrorist attack for instance. Commentators have drawn a direct line between that and Mad Men, or rather, the desire for Americans to retreat to a safe 1950s version of America which exists only in modern imaginations. The wish to return to an…
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Post Christmas Moods In Art and Illustration
The period between Christmas and New Year is a classic example of a liminal space in which we feel this sense of unease, captured best through art, perhaps.
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Krampus, Saint Nicholas and Santa
A collection of facts about Santa traditions around the world
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Warm Yellow Windows Which Look Cosy From a Distance
It’s that time of year again in Australia, where the land becomes brown and dusty, I’m stuck inside to avoid the heat, prepping for Christmas, looking at artwork from the Northern Hemisphere, where 90% of humankind live.
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Snowmen In Art and Storytelling
It’s that time of year in Australia, when it starts to get uncomfortably hot and I start looking at pictures of snow.
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That Pre-Christmas Spirit In Art And Illustration
Snow, warm yellow light coming out of cosy buildings, villages coming together, decorated trees, love, bell towers, churches, white people… The illustrations below are largely from 20th century illustration and convey the Christian American hygge of December.
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A Victorian Creepy Christmas
I’m not sure if Victorian sends of Christmas cards were having a laugh or if they enjoyed a genuinely creepy aesthetic. Probably a bit of both.
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Domed And Bubble Worlds In Storytelling
What better way to seal off the outside world than by plonking a dome over it? If an island doesn’t work for your story, maybe a literal or figurative dome will?
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Novel Study
Various notes collected about Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
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City Streets In Art And Illustration
A collection by various artists
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Dog, Cat and Baby by Joe R. Lansdale
“Dog, Cat and Baby” is a very short story by Joe R. Lansdale, an American writer born 1951. This story is an excellent example of a double twist ending.
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Pianos And Organs In Art And Illustration
Pianos in art tend to feature women (rather than men). Piano art also quite frequently features cats. In the public imagination, cats and women are linked. Where there is a man, he’s statistically more likely to be gazing at the woman playing piano than actually playing himself.
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Views Of Rivers From The Middle Of The Rivers
Where do artists stand when they do these paintings? (On a bridge, perhaps, or waist-deep in water.)
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Climbing Trees in Art and Illustration
Did you climb trees as a kid? I went to the park at the end of the street with my best friend. My friend used a tip from her grandmother: Tree climbing must be done barefoot.
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How To Write Like John Cheever
American writer John Cheever is sometimes described as Chekov of the Suburbs. If you’ve not encountered Cheever before, perhaps start with his most famous story: “The Swimmer”.