Monday, November 12, 2007

art


A collaborative effort. Filius imperatricis pulcherrimae Africae occidentalis did Batman, I did the rest.

7 comments:

crystal said...

The four major world religions represented .... nice job :-)

Garpu said...

Very nice! Better than what I could do.

cowboyangel said...

Nice Greek monk, Batman.

Wait. . .

The four major world religions. Hah!

I think your word verification just called me an obscene name.

Mark said...

Do you still remember me, Frank and the other two who you helped. Have some tough questions. would you rather we go elsewhere? Congraulations on your marriage.

Liam said...

You're always welcome, guys -- though I am busy, so I might not be able to answer immediately.

Thanks for the congrats.

Jeff said...

I'm trying to decipher "The Liam Code" here...

The three faces drawn by you are basically identical, except that the Viking's nose points in the opposite direction from that of the monks... Filius drew "Batman", and "Batman" is the nickname for William... Hmmmm.. How to solve this mystery?

cowboyangel said...

Jeff, I think I can clear up some of your confusion. Filius does not connect the word "Batman" with the name "William." "William" is that weird beared guy with glasses who sometimes sleeps on the futon, which prevents Filius from using the computer in the living room. "Batman" is a super hero.

The Viking is facing East, though they generally traveled West on their "cultural exchange" missions. (Although to get to Siciliy, they definitely had to double-back to the East, but only after having traveled quite a distance to the West. And obviously, to the South.) This may mean that the Vikings reflected a certain Eurasian bent in their calm buddhistic manner of raping and pillaging. Or, it could be a modern reference to the professional football team from Minnesota that is looking towards the National Football conference Eastern division, anxious of the sports unit called the Dallas Cowboys, who, once again, will kick their ass in the playoffs. (Why a team from Dallas, Texas is categorized as being in the "East" in the NFL, playing in the same division as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, is an entirely different mystery.) Except that this football analogy doesn't really work in Liam's case, as he has turned his scholarly attention away from the most popular sport of our country for more esoteric sports in which tall men from Lithuania try to put a ball into a raised basket. So, I don't know what Liam's trying to convey with his Viking. The Greeek monk is facing West. Longing perhaps for that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics (and Greek and Syrian Orthodox), Yankees and Red Sox, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Or maybe the baklava's over on a table to the left.

The monk is facing West as well, obviously because he identifies with the West and its Judeo-Christian-Led Zeppelin heritage. Or perhaps because the barber who's about to trim his tonsure has shaky hands. Or maybe he following the gaze (spiritually as well as physically) of the Greek monk, watching tensely as the Greek monk eyes the last piece of baklava.

Hope that helps.