The art of gothic review

Review

After watching three episodes of the art of gothic I found it gave me a clearer insight on what is gothic horror, what the fascination with gothic was and what the gothic motifs are in greater detail.  also found the episodes very interesting and factual with lots of information on the different writers artists and poets who create gothic pieces throughout the centuries.

The art of gothic the midnight hour: liberty diversity and depravity

anonymous. (2013). Horace warpol and strawberry hill. Available: http://gaukartifact.com/2013/03/18/horace-walpole-and-strawberry-hill-stairway-to-a-thousand-horrors/. Last accessed 01/04/5

The first of the three episodes from the BBC four documentary , firstly introduced the audience to where gothic had originated from which was the Italians who used the word as a meaning to something that appeared bizarre or gloomy  or for something that did not come from the civilised world, the gothic language was seen as taboo and rejected for nearly three centuries. The term gothic also was another way to describe medieval architecture in Greece Italy and Rome. Churches for example were a piece of architecture which was to be considered gothic due to it portraying heaven and the warnings of hell.

The term gothic was used to interpret many different pieces of art and literature such as paintings, poems and novels, which  included elements of weirdness and terror. ' every English mans home is his castle' was a popular phrase spoken in gothic language.
Dark industries, science and Frankenstein  also allowed the British to speak about their fears and desires which relates back to the history of Britain

The episode then went on to talk about  1830 gothic novel by Horrice Warpol 'The Castle of Tranto tells a story of the evil lord being cursed by his ancestors ,the novel caused the audience's pulses to race and the fear towards gothic started to grow, the most important character in the novel was the castle itself, this caused the novel to become popular in the gothic genre.

The cause of the Bizarre 1830s novel was  Warpol himself, the Cambridge educated first prime minister was known for his gothic style building built on Strawberry hill in Twickenham , the medieval styled great white building can be located outside London on the countryside. The fact that warpol did not take gothic too seriously reflected in his medieval styled building . The Englishman was also known for being unusual , he appeared quite queer and had a passion for men, he was also known for an affair with his MP cousin Henry Conway.

The 18th century was known as ' the age of reason' powerful men where known for building houses with an architectural style which expressed there pride .Greece and Rome had now become masters of the empire , Stow house for example conveys the obsession with architecture. A 1970s lover of logic ,politician Cobel, also remodelled his home with columns and temples, in order to follow the fashion.

Cobel was a man proud of his Anglo-Saxon roots, he saw gothic temples as a political statement , an believed the architecture style would fuel aristocratic fashion. In order to convey the aristocratic power a false crumbling castle was built in 1747 in the Midlands, the love of ruins had become a cultural development.
 
Anonymous. (unknown). in our time. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y23j. Last accessed 01/04/15.

The episode finally went on to speak about the writers  which began to use gothic as a new approach to the natural world , in the 18th century the alps started to be admired, as did waterfalls and cliffs also this was soon named by Edmund Burke as the sublime which conveyed peoples fascination with fear and design to the natural world, this was interpreted in paintings which told a story and poetry such as Thomas Parnell 'a night piece of death'.
Graveyard poets soon became popular , these were writers looking for an inspiration, they did not find what they were looking for in the churches and resulted to the graveyards.

 



Thomas Chatterton
Writers of Britainica . (unknown). Thomas chatterton. Available: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/107990/Thomas-Chatterton. Last accessed 01/04/15 

During the mid centuries gothic expanded from being interpreted in architecture to language, paintings ad literature. Henry Fusilli grotesque painting has been channelled throughout the years. Lonely Thomas Chatterson who committed suicide by drinking arsenic age 17 was known for his obsession with the gothic and was recognised for his documents. William Beckford another writer was known for having an orgy on his 21st birthday this event encouraged him to write gothic novel Vathek.

Dangerous gothic novels started to become popular with young women,
therefore Jane Austen decided to write novel North Hanger abbey, a novel poking fun of gothic , the storyline is about a girl obsessed with gothic horror novels and later becomes a heroin.

James Gulray interpreted vampire style cartons which was another approach on gothic horror.

Matthew Lewis novel ' the Monk' was the novel which caused the most controversy committing scandals which could corrupt innocent people and also stating bad things which couldn't be used in any other gothic language , he was threatened to be persecuted.

anonymous. (20/10/14). the art of gothic . Available: http://portal.solent.ac.uk/library/library.aspx. Last accessed 01/04/15.

The art of gothic city and soul

Mary Shelley
Anonymous. (unknown). Mary Shelley. Available: http://www.biography.com/people/mary-shelley-9481497. Last accessed 01/04/15.

 

The second episode of the BBC 4 documentary firstly introduced the subject of gothic and used examples of science and technology to convey it. The question of science was is it to be considered the new gothic, and was soon included in paintings and novels such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein .

Writer Mary Shelley's mother Mary worstencraft died during childbirth and farther William was a thinker. Mary Shelley had wrote about the progress in her novel. The novel's storyline was about a scientist looking to pursue his dream making a monster out of decaying body parts, However when the monster is rejected it goes on a human killing spree, the question the reader asks themselves when reading the novel is who is the real monster the scientist or Frankenstein?
Mary Shelley's novel has still been popular through the 20th and the 21st century .

The episode then goes on to speak about the microscopic world and spiritual dimension. Many writers started to write novels about science particularly drugs such as opium, a novel written about the dangers of the drug soon became popular due to the use of gothic fascination.

Charles Dickens
Telegraph reporter. (2012). Charles Dickens statue to be erected against his dying wishes. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9773094/Charles-Dickens-statue-to-be-erected-against-his-dying-wishes.html. Last accessed 01/04/15. 

The episode then went on to explain the most terrifying gothic horror is the human mind, stating all the anxieties such as changes in society, industrial truma and urbanisation , fears of crime violence and poverty also. All these elements have been included in novels and films such as Sweeny Todd. Writer Charles Dickens the most popular writer of the age also included gothic in his novels and the nightmares which is known as London.

The episode then went on to mention the different medieval architecture such as the houses of parliament and buildings in Staffordshire in 1840 . The figure head Queen Victoria who was known for her obsession with death after the loss of prince Albert also became known for a new monument which was created as a memorial for him .

Medieval architecture started to expand railway stations, bridges and schools also started to show an element of gothic and the Victorian age. Thomas Crossland wanted to give something back to society and therefore create ST. Pancreas station.

The episode concluded by mentioning about the gothic style building with a resurrection wall used to heal Victorians minds . As the Victorian era came to a close Frankenstein, bleak house and revival all had come face to face.

anonymous. (30/10/14). art of gothic city and soul. Available: http://portal.solent.ac.uk/home.aspx. Last accessed 01/04/15.

The art of gothic- blood for sale

Bram Stoker
Anonymous. (unknown). Bram Stoker . Available: http://www.classic-literature.co.uk/bram-stoker/. Last accessed 01/04/15.

 

The third and final episode begins by comparing the gothic to ivy growing out of control, due to gothic infecting film books and novels,it is no longer compared to ivy and know known as to have gone viral. Dracula by Bram Stocker is the manager subject of the third episode  and the vampire virus such as Karl Marx novel titled 'Das Capital'. Without Karl Marx vampire ideology the episode explains gothic horror in terms of novels wouldn't be the same.


On 149 Oxford Street Maurice and company portrayed the gothic furniture style by William Maurice. The designer was the first Englishman to have read the Karl Max novel. His gothic style furniture what he had created however was too expensive for his ideal target audience.
William Maurice also introduced technology such as assesmbly work. 100 years later the machinery was changed into automated systems like humans being taken over by robots this was a metorphoric comparison.

The episode also went on to mention technology such as the increase in technology in terms of cars, the Kodak camer, typewriter and phoneograph and how these technical items related to the gothic . Such as the typewriter being used to track Dracula to his lair a novel which had now become global.
Oakley court a mansion owned by a politican became  popular setting for gothic horror movies such as Dracula, due to it being located near the gothic studios styled similar to Warpols strawberry hill house.

The heart of darkness was published two years after Dracula and also became popular with the gothic horror audience the novel which was written by Charles Marlow explored the topic of African slavery and the fear of truth.


Francis Bacon
Giovanni Dannato . (18/06/13). Franic Bacon predicted airplanes aumbarines and lasers in the 17th century. Available: https://colonyofcommodus.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/francis-bacon-predicted-airplanes-submarines-and-lasers-in-the-17th-century/. Last accessed 01/04/15.

The episode mention about he world war and how it can be considered as gothic in paintings for example which were created in the 20s' and 30's , which included abstract figures conveying war. The Irish is another topic which is explored throughout the last part of the episode it speaks about the Ireland being the earliest Victorian place, and also about Anglo Irishman Francis Bacon .

Francis Bacon lived in a house haunted by his father . Aged 12-13 Bacon and his grandfather break down on a country lane and rebels groups come towards them to get him , this was a sense of horror which he had never forgot. Francis bacon later created a painting to convey his gothic nightmare.

The episode finally concludes by speaking about modern day gothics and portraying themselves as a rebel like William Maurice and making themselves stand out . The episode also mentions about how Dracula would react to modern day technology such as the mobile phone.

anonymous. (03/11/14). art of gothic blood for sale. Available: http://portal.solent.ac.uk/home.aspx. Last accessed 01/04/15.