William Blake

William Blake (1757-1827) was the first of the great English Romantic poets as well as a painter. Blake is often regarded as a mystic writing in the style of Hebrew Prophets and apocalyptic writers. He envisioned his works as that of Prophecy and thought of himself as of Milton. It is clear from looking at both his paintings and poems that they are inextricably linked- the dominate theme in many of his paintings are that of Heaven and Hell, this is also true for many of his poems, for example 'The marriage between Heaven and Hell' along with 'Proverbs of Hell'.

Proverbs of Hell (plate 7)



In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity.
He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.
The cut worm forgives the plow.
Dip him in the river who loves water.
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star.
Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
The busy bee has no time for sorrow.
The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure.
All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap.
Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth.
No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
A dead body, revenges not injuries.
The most sublime act is to set another before you.
If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.
Folly is the cloke of knavery.
Shame is Prides cloke.

Development

I hope to create in my final project an image of Heaven and Hell, I am looking to incorporate aspects of more modern fantasy while looking at traditional images and views on this subject to create my own vision of Heaven and Hell. In order to create my own vision of Heaven and hell I am interested in looking further into what is portrayed in 'Paradise Lost' and the images produced by William Blake that were inspired by this book, however it is important to highlight that I am particularly interested in the concept of peoples individual fantasy's and hope to demonstrate a more personal vision.

Jesus Is my Homeboy - David Lachapelle

>McQueen A Twisted Fantasy

Alexander McQueen March 1969-February 2010, was a British Designer who created some of the most extraordinary pieces of couture in fashion. His ability to bring Fantasy into reality is fantastic and theatrics played a major role in in shows. His work has provided me with much inspiration and I hope to explore him in much more detail as my work progresses.

Takashi Murakami and Japanese aspects

Takashi Murakami's work being displayed in the Chateau de Versailles.

I love how many Japanese take aspects of fantasy and apply them to everyday clothes, particularly the Harajuku girls.

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost by John Milton concerns the Christian story of the fall of man, the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. This work is generally considered to be one on the greatest literary works in the English Language.

I am extremely interested in the question of reality in Religion and hope to focus much of my 'wonderland' on this subject. Indeed reality means an entirely different thing to each person and to the same person at different points in their life. This book battles with many difficult theological issues including fate, predestination, the trinity along with satan and the introduction of sin and death into the world.

What is regarded to be absolute truth in Religion would usually be regarded as fantasy?

It is clear that the mind cannot ever fully understand what constitutes absolute truth or reality, however writers such as Lewis carroll challenge the concept of personal reality by using the genre of fantasy.


Fantasy on the Runway

Christian Dior Couture

Franz Kafka

I am extremely interested in to what extent one's mind influences their personal reality (or reality in general) . Indeed this has been debated by philosophers throughout time, and it is represented by Franz Kafka extremely well in the psychology of 'The Metamorphosis'. As the main Character, Gregor, Loses connection with his own body, he slowly loses connection with the outside world. Despite Kafkas superficial focus on the characters physical aspect, it is fundamentally the mental breakdown which the author wants to demonstrate and the control that the mind is able to create over the body.

It has been described by Elias Canetti as 'one of the great and perfect works of the poetic imagination written during this century'. The story begins with the salesman Gregor Samsa waking to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect.

Other examples of this are portrayed in The 'Fight Club' an 1999 American film adapted from the 1996 novel 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk. The film is directed by David Fincher and it shows various references to existentialism- the philosophy that an individual must make sense of a chaotic and empty universe.

I am particularly interested in the idea that your mind can create its own universe, your own reality or essentially your own wonderland and fight club demonstrates areas of this, it includes forms of psychosis and schizophrenia while also incorporating Sigmund Freud' s theory suggesting the existence of an Id, ego and superego.

'Only after disaster can we be resurrected'

Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is a popular Japanese writer and Translator, his novel 'Hard boiled Wonderland and the end of the world' written in 1985 focuses on a strange dreamlike atmosphere which alternates between two narratives, The two storylines converge, exploring concepts of the consciousness, the subconscious and identity. It is clear that is novel is reminiscent of Franz Kafka's novel 'The Castle'.

His works of non-fiction and fiction have gained him critical acclaim including the Franz Kafka Prize for his novel 'Kafka on the Shore'.

Alice Im Wunder-land For Diva Magazine- By Franke Fischer