Walpurgis Night

Tonight is the Walpurgis Night. Tonight is celebrated old pagan Goddess of Spring - She takes over the World and Winter is expelled. Women are restoring Their magic powers, powers ensuring fertility and love to all mankind.

Catholic church named the night after an english missionary Saint Walpurga from 8th century. She gained the reputation to protect from evil ghost and the church decided to make Her the patron of the night.

There cannot be better illustrations for tonight than paintings of Luis Ricardo Falero (1851-1896), a Spanish artist, specialized in celebration of Women beauty, power and magic.

Scott Wilson's Femdom Cartoons

In March 1994 CCC Publishing published first edition of the Scott Wilson's book 'Things You can do with a useless man' with following text on he back cover:

At last! For all these Women searching for fulfillment in Their relationships, a book bursting with ideas for things you can do with your man. This practical guide will change your life.

The book was quite successful and two years later there was a sequel 'More things You can do with a useless man':

Like many other 'funny' and ironic cartoons handling power exchange in 'normal' relationship, it succeeded to describe masochistic phantasies very well. Both books are long out of print - what a shame!

Women in Ads - Voodoo Hosiery (10 years later)

We are living in magical times - what was painted phantasy 10 years ago is photographic reality today. What a company!

Alexander, Phyllis & Aristotle

Wenzel von Olmütz, c.1500

Alexander the Great just conquered India and was resting with his Girlfriend Phyllis. His teacher, Aristotle,  did not give them room and kept reprove his former pupil. Phyllis decided to take revenge and make Aristotle forget all his grammar and logic in one day. In the morning, She invited Alexander to watch from a window, went to the garden and start signing. Aristotle heard the song, saw Her beauty in the morning sun, came out to Her and courted Her like a lover. She asked for a proof of his devotion.

Georg Pencz, c.1545

'It is merely a little whim of mine,' she said, 'if you will gratify me in that, I might love you. If you let me ride about the garden on your back. And you must have a saddle on because then I shall go more gracefully.'

Hans Burgkmair the Elder, c.1519

And there was the foremost scholar of the time prancing about on all fours like a horse, with a saucy and beautiful Girl on his back. When he saw Alexander in the window, the great philosopher was not overwhelmed. Still crawling he looked up at the king: 'Master, was I not right to fear love for you in all the ardor of youth, since love has harnessed me thus, I who am old and withered!'

Master MZ, c.1500

Reader's Diary (Week 16)

It is possible to love really only that which stands above us, a Woman, who through Her beauty, temperament, intelligence, and strength of will subjugates us.
(Sacher-Masoch, 1870)

Femdom Advertisement

In honor of Goddess GINA, i had to try myself...

Reader's Diary (Week 15)

Where i am, i don't know, i'll never know, in the silence you don't know, you must go on, i can't go on, i'll go on.
(Beckett, 1953)

Women in Ads - Voodoo Hosiery

I would like to present here some advertisement campaigns that not only try to sell their product but also have courage to comment on a patriarchal world and show strong and powerful Women. I am glad we can see such ads more frequently nowadays and their public acceptance is much less bewildering then just a couple of years ago.

For me it started with Voodoo Winter Hosiery campaign in 2002. This outdoor advertisement featured an image of elegant young Woman walking behind two crouching men, naked except for dog collar, the leashes of which were held by the Woman. As far as I know the billboard has been seen in Austria only and many people found it offensive. Fortunately it was not banned, but some discussion about double standards and ignorant sexual exploitation were held.

The whole campaign was carefully prepared and it was VERY successful. It drove sales up by an unprecedented 87%. The controversy re-started the brand awareness. But it was not only selling the hosiery. The images show ideals of role reversal between male and Female gender. Women are not innocent victims any more, but the males are stupid and incapable. The advertisement worked in the favor of the Female as the dominant gender, portraying the pathetic males as hopeless and easily manipulated.

Max Ernst and his Picture-Manifesto

As far as I know Max Ernst (1891 - 1976), a German surrealistic painter & sculptor, made only one picture that can be called masochistic. It is 'The Blessed Virgin Chastising the infant Jesus before Three Witnesses' from 1926. This probably little blasphemous picture (it was immediately publicly denounced by the archbishop of Cologne) is recreating Parmigianino's mannerist masterpiece 'The Madonna of the Long Neck' from 1540 for 20th century. Muted colors are replaced by primary one, fluid forms and classical allusions are replaced by simple geometric shapes and traditional adoration by the modernist questioning.

The beaten child in Ernst's picture, the blond, curly haired Jesus, is most probably autobiographical. In 1896 five year old Max escaped from his parent's house and walked in the middle of a pilgrim's procession. Enchanted by blue-eyed, blonde infant in red night shirt the pilgrims proclaimed 'Look, little Jesus Christ'. When next day a policemen brought the child home, little Max proclaimed that he was sure he was a little Jesus.

The three men peeping through the window and watching the scene are Paul Eluard, Andre Breton and Ernst himself. Masochism played important part in whole Surrealism and its esthetic, but it was reversed - turned around - from passivity into more active form of sadism ('it is in so far as the subject makes himself the object of another that the sado-masochistic drive not only closes up, but constitutes itself' - surrealists were reading Freud too much, I think). This Ernst's paining, so carefully destroying old myths about art, remains one of the rare examples of pure masochism in whole surrealistic movement.

Easter Bunny for My Goddess

Spring is here

Spring is here, things are happening and I will just use immortal words from Eliot's famous poem:

April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.