Hi Margaret,
Interesting.
I think the use of the 4-element motif in itself is not controversial,
though. After all, it was a standard part of pre-modern natural philosophy
and not at all pagan, if that was your implication.
But this does remind me of Gaudi, a devout Catholic who was deepy influenced
by alchemy,
Cheers,
Nick
-----Original Message-----
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Margaret Gouin
Sent: 17 May 2012 07:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] One last try: charles rennie mackintosh
I've followed this thread with interest although it's not a subject I've
been much involved in. In the general area of art deco, though, I've just
come back from a visit to the UK during which I visited the church of St
Thomas the Martyr in Winchelsea (Kent, I believe). It has huge, glorious art
deco windows--three of which are devoted to the four elements (earth and
water each have their own window; air and fire share one--pictures here,
although not the best quality:
http://www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/EastSussex/Winchelsea/WinchelseaStThoma
s2004.htm). I thought it was strange that the elemental motif was used in a
Christian church--it reminds me a bit of how masons in times of old would
put Green Men high in the rafters. Or am I just being romantic?
Best wishes,
Margaret
----------------------------------------
Margaret Gouin, PhD (Bristol)
Honorary Research Fellow
School of Theology, Religious Studies and Islamic Studies
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
________________________________________
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
[[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nicholas Campion
[[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 17 May 2012 07:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] One last try: charles rennie mackintosh
Hi Mikhelle,
Many thanks for this.
I got interested in Lethaby because he designed Avon Tyrrell House. This is
described as a 'calendar house' with 365 windows for days of the week, 52
rooms for weeks, 12 chimneys for months and 7 entrances for days.
I'm interested in whether Lethaby thought this was just romantic symbolism
with no deeper resonance, or whether the house is an agency for practical
magic, actively harmonizing with time and space. I will tackle the reading
you suggest but I am particularly interested in whether Lethaby might have
had links with practicing magical groups, or whether he was more of a
hands-off student of esotericism.
Cheers,
Nick
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mikhelle Taylor
Sent: 03 May 2012 18:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] One last try: charles rennie mackintosh
Hello, Nick,
Actually, Lethaby is one of the key people I've been investigating recently.
What kind of info are you looking for? I have been looking at his place
within the 18/19th century art/architecture world and the Arts & Crafts and
Socialist circles, focusing on the influence of his earlier works,
Architecture, Mysticism, and Myth (1891) and Architecture: An Introduction
to the History and Theory of the Art of Building (1912).
Deborah van der Plaat's work has been essential, provideing some very
critical insights into his theories and their relationship to the Late
Romantic mind (these are just a few):
"'Would you know the new, you must search the old': William Lethaby's
Architecture, Mysticism and Myth (1891) and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
(1499)." Fabrications: The Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians, Australia and New Zealand. 12 No. 1(June 2006), pp. 1-22.
"Seeking a 'Symbolism Comprehensible' to 'the Great Majority of Spectators':
William Lethaby's Architecture, Mysticism and Myth and Its Debt to Victorian
Mythography", Architectural History , Vol. 45, (2002), pp. 363-385.
"Seeking a Practical Aesthetic: The Reconciliation of Art and Science in the
Architectural Writings of William Richard Lethaby (1857-1931)" (available
here:
http://www.tu-cottbus.de/theoriederarchitektur/wolke/eng/Subjects/011/Plaat/
vanderplaat.htm).
All the best,
Mikhelle
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