Terrance Lindall on Paradise Lost
Cover Illustration by Terrance Lindall
(Image from Amazon.com)
Yesterday, to my surprise, a Christmas present arrived at my apartment, sent by none other than the artist, intellectual, and postmodern Renaissance man Terrance Lindall.
What did I get? Primarily, a DVD:
"John Milton's Paradise Lost: Art and Recitation by Terrance Lindall," with music by Peter DizozzaI've not yet had the opportunity to view this DVD, but I have probably seen some of the material on You Tube, where Mr. Lindall has posted a number of videos presenting art, recitation, and commentary on Milton's Paradise Lost, several of which he recently shared with scholars on the Milton List:
Lindall discusses Milton's 'Cranky" God (05:53)Included among these links was a video about the DVD that I received yesterday:
Lindall Discusses Milton's Chaos & Eternal Night (02:27)
Lindall Discusses Milton's God's Creation of Duality & Self (02:23)
Satan, Sin & Death in Milton's Paradise Lost (04:18)
Terrance Lindall Discusses Satan's "Humanism"in Milton (05:12)
Terrance Lindall Discusses Satan's "Idealism" in Milton (02:34)
Milton's Paradise Lost -- A New Visual & Auditory Masterpiece (03:04)There's even an invitation to a party celebrating the 400th anniversary of Milton's birth:
Invite to John Milton's Birthday Gala Sept. 2008 (02:56)I haven't seen all of these videos, but those that I have seen are quite interesting, for Lindall is insightful and articulate. Appropriately for his background in art and philosophy, he seems especially interested in using art to express ideas, which makes his work particularly intriguing for Milton scholars, for he has painted a number of works depicting scenes in Paradise Lost, one of which has been selected for the cover of The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton (edited by William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon). Here's a clearer reproduction of that image:
Illustration for Paradise Lost
Terrance Lindall
As one might surmise from his interest in ideas and in Milton, Mr. Lindall strongly supports education, and the letter that he included with yesterday's Christmas present makes this explicit:
Dear Professor Hodges,I don't flatter myself that Mr. Lindall sent this letter only to me, but he did pen in a personal note next to his signature:
Abraham Lincoln called education "the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in."
I quite agree with that. So, with the enclosed DVD of Milton's Paradise Lost, I want to transform the experience of Milton for students, teachers, teenagers, families, and scholars, into one that is entertaining and of our time. If the experience with this giant of literature is enjoyable, the more likely the viewer will be to look further into great literature of the past.
I hope that you will take time to see this 25-minute production. Possibly it might be used in some of your educational programming.
In the fall of 2008, we are celebrating John Milton's 400th birthday. I hope that you will join us.
Have a great New Year!
Best Regards,
Terrance Lindall
P.S. Many Thanks for promoting my work!He must be referring to my blog entries on his art and his interest in Milton, which I hope have drawn some of my readers to take a look at his artwork and ideas.
I'm no expert on the art of Terrance Lindall. I'm hardly even an 'expert' on Milton. I'm mainly just a gypsy scholar on a journey through this small part of the universe, where my path occasionally crosses the paths of others, including Mr. Lindall's . . . and even your own as you read these words.
If you have time in your own gypsy journey, take a side path down through Lindall's visions of Milton.
UPDATE: From Terrance Lindall (March 27, 2008):
On your blog site . . . I Have removed this You Tube video:
Satan, Sin & Death in Milton's Paradise Lost (04:18)
Also this one:
Invite to John Milton's Birthday Gala Sept. 2008 (02:56)
I have added this one:
Lindall Discusses Milton's Character of Satan (04:42)
I intend to use your 3 blog sites that discuss my work as a promotion some time in the next few months, so I want to keep you updated about the project.
Best Regards,
Terrance
Labels: Abraham Lincoln, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Peter Dizozza, Terrance Lindall
posted by Horace Jeffery Hodges @ 4:22 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
So interesting on so many levels.
I had little knowledge of or interest in painting until I took an art appreciation course a few years ago. I suppose I tuned out art for so many years because classical European and East Asian paintings and sculptures do not appeal to my senses, which prefer the visually delightful interplay of color, shape, and texture in Islamic art and some modern art.
Apart from infamous works like Piss Christ and Cow Dung Mary (yes I know why the artist chose that medium), I had never heard of any modern artists dealing with Christian themes, nor did it occur to me that an artist might interpret a poem on canvas.
I suppose few modern artists are devout Christians and thus do not approach Christian themes with the same reverence as artists in the Middle Ages.
While I am not an aficionado of classical European art, I was wowed by a small Dutch still-life in a traveling exhibition at the Renwick Gallery in DC. It was so real I had to stand inches away from it to verify it wasn't a photograph.
Yes, Lindall's an interesting fellow -- very smart, talented, and broad.
I don't know if he's religious, and if he is, he's likely not orthodox in his views, so his interest in creating 'religious' art is intriguing -- though his choice of Milton is appropriate, given Milton's own heterodoxy.
I don't think that I have any special ability as an art critic, but I'm slowly developing an interest in art, insofar as it's related to my other interests.
The Dutch seem to have perfected the art of the still life -- the paintings do look very real, but even more than real, though not in the 'super-realist' sense but in the sense of having infused in them something deeper, a numinosity perhaps. I seem to recall a half-peeled lemon that appeared to glow...
Jeffery Hodges
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This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
John from Melbourne:
I've had to delete your comment, mainly because the links that you posted were too long and got chopped off. You need to learn the coding for posting links.
I'm not trying to censor your message, though I don't see much direct relevance for this particular blog entry. At any rate, here's what you wrote (minus the links):
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Hi, My name is John from Melbourne. I came across your site via a browse on Remi Brague.
Please check out these related references on Paradise Regained -- and how "it" was lost -- and the culturally devastating consequences of this universal loss.
It is also a work that covers ALL the great themes of ALL the great epics of Humankind. And written from a perspective that knows EXACTLY what is being communicated.
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One link was short enough (though still not properly coded):
www.mummerybook.org
However, I still fail to see much relevance to Lindall's art, and I'd suggest that people stick to the point.
Jeffery Hodges
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