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Wars, the Second Seal of the Book the of Apocalypse
The Book of Apocalypse is one of the most revealing of the history of the mankind. Its symbols and prophecies have become a benchmark in Christianity, which takes this book of the New Testament as a key point of their faith and beliefs. Despite the intricacy of his metaphors, historians and theologians have unravelled each one of the Seven Seals, equivalent to seven prophecies given by God. If the First Seal referred to the false preachers, the false Christs and the false prophets who seek to deceive the masses, the second argues that there will be wars over the centuries, culminating in the final time with a world war. Many people think that the third world war, the most frightening of all, is yet to come. In the Second Seal there appears a red horse killing human beings – the second horseman of the apocalypse -, taking the peace of the planet with him and symbolizing the bloody war. This is the vermilion horse over the crystal sea and opposite to the golden altar that was in front of the throne in the sky. Thus, the red represents the colour of the blood. There have been many wars that have plagued the planet since man exists. The humankind history is dyed of red by the blood spilt in the skilled wars: the devastating Roman Civil Wars, the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the two great World Wars, or the most recent and terrifying conflicts, like the Cold War, where since the end of the Great War to the end of the USSR and the fall of communism in 1991...
False Prophets, the First Seal of the Book the of Apocalypse
The Book of Apocalypse is the last book of the New Testament of the Bible that reveals the Seven Seals. Although many people are controversial to the Catholic Church´s doctrines, it is worth knowing its dogmas to take a position for or against it. In fact, it is necessary to say that The Apocalypse has been one of the most studied literary works of the mankind history thanks to its great quantity of symbols and its exclusively prophetic character. It lists the Seven Seals of human history from a Catholic point of view, equivalent to seven prophecies, respectively: wars, famine, disease, chaos … until with the Seventh Seal comes the End. The First Seal is represented through the first horseman of the Apocalypse, riding a white horse. This prophecy speaks of false preachers, false Christs and false prophets who deceive the masses. The truth is that the Catholic Church has been and is one of the most powerful institutions in the world. There have been times when the Word of God was the only provision valid and anyone who rebelled against the Catholic doctrines would be punished with the death. The Inquisition was brought about in 1184. It was the institution in charge of suppressing any heresy that arose against Catholic dogmas. It spread for centuries and to multiple territories, and it was not until 1965 that it completely went out. The Inquisition was the most terrible scourge of the Catholic Church. This one was silenced for centuries, since the historical ignorance and the weight of the Church as a social and political institution managed to silence the...
Colour and Psyche
You have just moved into a new apartment and your partner offers to paint the room in bright red? Does the idea not convince you? It is well known that this is the colour of strong feeling and life force. It would therefore be ideal as a stimulant for nights of passion, but it is right to rest well, since it has an effect that induce sleep. To achieve this end, it’s better to choose a blue or yellow pastel. Each colour has certain reactions and emotions…in fact; each of the colours that the human eye can see is electromagnetic radiation emitted by a particular wavelength of light. These are perceived by photoreceptors in the retina and reach the brain as electrochemical impulses. It appears that colours can be perceived even by the blind. The vibrations of the electromagnetic radiation would be well received through the skin. Colours influence our mood and our mind. But does it depend only on the objective characteristics of each colour? It seems not. The associations that certain colours trigger in us and connect them to certain concepts have been handed down through time long with the traditions and cultural values of the environment in which we grow up in. In Japan, for example the target does not have the same meaning as in the west, where the white colour symbolizes death. Often those who see the world from a certain viewpoint can also lead to their preferences for colours or colour combinations by their ideological beliefs. Red for example, has always been the general colour of social revolutions, the grouping of red and...
Pop art remains popular
Can you imagine Leonardo Da Vinci visiting an exhibition of Pop Art? The evolution of art is really incredible. We have gone from singular works of art to consumer products and the uniqueness of the work to its reproduction in series.
French Painters and the Realist Style of Painting
Before, they were known as romantic and they sought refuge in the idealization of nature and introspection, painting single men lost in the mountains or in the sea. The solitude and the transcendental were their favourite subjects. After the French Revolution (1848), their ideas were directed elsewhere: the painters and the writers found beauty in the details of everyday things. Thus, art left the political issues to focus on the social reality, making it crude or banal, but very realistic. Whatever gained value, even a funeral. The changes taking place in French society in the middle of the nineteenth century explain these new concerns: the bourgeoisie is the queen and poverty dominates everything. One of the most striking paintings was “The Burial at Ornans” (1851) by Gustave Courbet (see photo above). Here, the vision of reality is very objective; the horizontal lines of the landscape and the crowd dominate the painting and they break with the verticality of the cross and the depth of the hole in the foreground. The people are sorted by type of audience: the religious on the left, the men in the middle and the women on the right. The dog symbolizes the progression of the human being. The colours want to be as faithful to real life as they can and the atmosphere too, everything is very realistic. The painting by Jean-François Millet, “The Angelus” (1859-1860) is probably one of the best known. Salvador Dalí loved that painting, and he made many variants, two of which are in his home in Port Lligat in Catalonia Spain. Honoré Daumier is also an important artist of...
Cubism: fragmented reality
Who does not know of or seen Les Demoiselles d´Avignon? When the master Pablo Picasso painted it in 1907, it was considered the most emblematic work of a new artistic avant-garde movement: Cubism. Paul Cézanne was the father of Cubism, which is characterised by his geometric vision of the reality and the influence of primitivism. It is a landscape that becomes a jumble of squares and triangles, minimizing the details to be seen in several views of the same subject. There are no more Renaissance classic rules of the perspective: there is a decomposition of the space and there is no concern for detail, the palette of colours loses in sheen and its filled with brown, grey and beige tones; the collage technique appeared; their favourite subjects are the nudes, the objects and the urban scenes. “Les Demoiselles d´Avignon” is a good example to illustrate and understand the keys of Cubism. This is a group of five prostitutes of the Avinyó Street in Barcelona (in the Gothic quarter), represented among the curtains of a brothel. Some seem to have an African mask instead of a sweet face, because Picasso and other artists of the twentieth century were passionate about primitivism. The bodies have no feminine forms, but are more masculine, heavy and geometric. The theme of the nude is a classic, because it suggests women in the bathroom and it is, precisely, in the “The Turkish Bath” by Dominique Ingres, in which Picasso was inspired. But he gave a revolutionary performance. It is only in 1916 when this painting was exhibited at the Salon Table d´Antin. In 1939, the...
DrapArt – the International recycling art festival 09
The Drap Art Festival in Barcelona may make think the lovers of art in the revolutionary concept of the artist Marcel Duchamp: the ready made. It said that art work is something that already exists, as an everyday object or material, but exposed so that it becomes a unique creation and loses its original functionality. From Dec. 18th to Jan. 10th, the Drap Art Festival proposes a similar approach to Duchamp: recycle materials to create art. It is an excellent way to sensitize the public about the importance of recycling and a fun way to make life an art. “What a person considers junk, others see as treasure” says Tanja Grass, the festival organizer. To give a second chance to those objects and materials rather than trash them, can be very profitable for some whose imagination and creativity is inspired by anything. The creation power might do some jewellery from spoons and forks with amazing results! It may seem odd to call an art work a creation made from plastic or bottles when some crafts for children are very similar. But there is a big difference between a child handcraft and an art work: the intention that the artist puts into its project, the concept behind it. The metamorphosis of the insignificant into something desirable is really powerful. If you want to be surprised thanks to what the hands of some creative people can do, come to the DrapArt Festival. It promotes the creative recycling from 13 years ago. And the artists and visitors are increasingly numerous. During these two weeks, there will be several interactive activities: recycling workshops...
Are you sedentary or an adventurer?
“Travel” is one of the most searched words on Google. And no wonder, because, who does not like travelling? Now you imagine you are in a paradisiacal place, with an idyllic climate, other people and a different culture… Whether in 80 days like Jules Verne, on an Erasmus student exchange, on holidays, in exile or as an immigrant, travel always means the same: discover, share, learn, observe, adapt, imagine…and maybe come back. Travelling inspires everyone, so there are thousands of novels, songs and movies about it: it is often compared to life itself. Surely you must have been attracted by a strange land which you want to explore more than anything…do not forget your dreams! First, the idea arises because you see someone that has travelled solo to India. You would also like to live a similar experience! Suddenly, one day you think it is the right time because you feel ready and you are hungry for new adventures. There are many motives to encourage a person to go on an adventure: you may need to change your ideas, find yourself, learn a new language or even help your family. There are people who plan a cultural trip, or maybe an ecological, a religious or a luxurious trip to a warm or a cold country or to Disneyland with the kids, etc. The United States, Canada, UK, France and in the fifth place, Spain are the favourite countries to emigrate to. If you are going to Asia, be careful with the seasons and the climate. Whether by plane, boat, car, train, motorcycle or bicycle, you must organize your trip...
How to beat the stress of exams
For many of you, December means cold, holidays and family. For others, this word is synonymous with something very different: stress, study or exams. On December, many people become library rats, bookworms, hungry for pizza and photocopies. They are the eternal students. To achieve their goals, they are prepared to practice the worst habits, even when they know what is desirable and healthy to be effective and to be relaxed. Cortisol (the so-called hormone of stress) alters everything, and it can even destroy a lot of neurons. If you don’t want December to become a nightmare, take notes of these tips and surely everything will be fine. Trust yourself and preserve your passion, you´re not alone on this adventure! And remember, nothing is impossible. How many students know the recipe to avoid going crazy when they prepare for exams? And how many do the complete opposite because they say they cannot stand it? The Cortisol hormone is the culprit of so much fear and whose true function is to send glucose to the blood and to send quantities of energy to the muscles. It is assumed that its effect is positive, but faced with a situation of prolonged fear, and being the unique supplier of glucose, the hormone tries to melt everywhere, destroying tissues, muscle proteins and fatty acids. Because of that the students go totally crazy when they have got exams. Others prefer to become guinea pigs for the many pharmaceutical companies. They take tablets to regulate their sleep, a second one for concentration and yet another to have more energy: a cocktail of pills to improve their...
Pride comes before a fall
Snow White’s stepmother is the quintessential prototype of pride: she doesn’t accept that there is someone more beautiful than her. Pride is a deadly sin that is disguised behind many faces. It is considered the worst sin of all by its rejection of any criticism, failure, help or apology. To think you are superior than others can be very destructive indeed.
