Regarding the chatroom activity of this week the group members discussed the development of online collogium and the presentations that had to be submitted by the 2nd of May.
The classmates respond to my call for the exhibition of their work in Second Life. I wouldn’t like to “stack” their work in an arrangementof a structured gallery due to various reasons. I believe that the lighted bulbs as shown in the pictures below- snapshots from Second Life can work in a simple and efficient way in exhibiting my classmates work and projects. By pointing on the lighted bulbs, labels of names or sticks Second Life links directly to the webpage of the selected classmates. This way my classmates work will be exposed virtually in Second Life and another virtual bond will tie as together beyond the fulfilment of this course.
I have finished the gold gilding of the ten icons and i am ready to start the step of Proplasmos – the name given to the ground colour layer, is considered to be the basis for all the discernible overlaying gradations. This ground layer covers the buckrams of the clothes and also the initial underpaint tone which covers faces and other parts of the body.
Back in 1463 on the island of Lesvos in Greece, above the village of Thermi on a hill, martyrdom took place. The year before Moameth the Second, with a powerful navy force, sieges the capital of the island Mitilini. Lesvos falls Constantinople (now known as Istanbul) in 1453 and the locals resist their personal dramas under the eyesight of a powerful ruler.
As in every comparison of this kind many tragedies begin. The beastly instincts of humans can grow gigantically and then the weak and unprotected are sacrificed like lamps in the fields. A billion dramas and a zillion tragedies can be unfolded during times of damnation. Do they all end with death? Does oblivion come?
The events that happened on the hill of Karyes of Thermi have not kept victims silent on the cold time of death. They have not been forgotten and they never will be, because they have not died and they will never die again. They were put to death at dawn on Tuesday of Diakenisimos in Easter Week and buried in the morning. It happened on the 9th of April in 1463. They died just for one day but they still live.
Two men and one young girl are Saints and Saints are not dead but they “walk” among us. Can we see them? Can we contact them? The answer is yes but first let us go back in time to the island of Lesvos in Thermi of Mitilini, on the hill of Karyes.
On the hill of karyes there was a monastery dedicated to Theotokos, the mother of Jesus Christ. When the Ottomans invaded Lesvos they didn’t set the monastery on fire at once. Their aim was to suppress the resistance of the inhabitants of Lesvos and a small monastery didn’t seem to be an obstacle of opposition. Many Christians had gone to the mountains and fought the Turks but the resistance was finally suppressed and Lesvos was conquered. Lesvos would remain under Turkish rule since 1912 when it passes again to Greek hands.
The Turks were enraged seeing the inhabitants of Lesvos trying to fight and resist. Their tactic not to entangle the church in their attempt to establish domination had changed. It is true that Christianity and the Orthodox Church are strong binding forces inside the Greek society and faith has inspired generations to stand national conflicts and other hazards.
The Turks decided to attack the church and the monastery of Karyes had been set as their target while they accused the monks of the monastery that they assisted the rebels that were hiding in the nearby mountains. A massacre would follow but God would be an observer. How did God react? Did God have a plan?
The Saints were victims of the worse death man can imagine. They are also warriors and athletes that have won the golden wreath of God.
“Who were these Godlike immortals that fooled death?” “Who was Saint Raphael?”” Who was Saint Nicolas?” “Who was Santa Irene”? , someone might ask.
Raphael was born in Ithaca and was given the name Georgios Laskarides. He was brought up with Christian values and good education. The grown up Raphael goes to famous Mystra a Byzantine state of Peloponnesus were he studies Medicine and Philosophy.He bonded friendly with the Byzantine emperor Constantine Paleologos too. The deep love for his country being in danger motivates him to join the army and so he becomes an army officer, ciliarco (commander of a thousand). He was sent to fight at the great battle of Varna in 1444 where 30000 crusaders mainly Polish and Hungarians took part but he didn’t arrive on time. The battle leaves almost half the Christian army dead. The crash by the 120000 Ottomans would lead to the fall of the “city of the world’sdesire” Constantinople. The news of the defeat disappoints Raphael who dedicates himself to Jesus in Serres of Macedonia at the monastery of Saint John the Baptist. After three years he will go to Athens were he will serve as the parish priest at the parish of St Demetrios in Loumbadari and then he will become a bishop at the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. His visit to Constantinople to congratulate his old friend Paleologos who was crowned emperor was a decisive point in his life. The emperor appreciates the qualifications and the education of his friend and keeps him by his side. Bishop Raphael will take part in a theological meeting in France. In France Raphael would meet his beloved deacon Nicolas. Nicolas was from Thessalonica and he was studying medicine in France. At the age of 27 young Nicolas was transformed by the Christian teachings and decided to leave his worldly life and follow Raphael.
The Gods will guide the steps of his children into Thrace. During the troubled times of the fall of Constantinople the events would resemble a falling domino. Constantine Paleologos dies and Constantinople is captured. The two Saints are chased along with many refugees who depart from Alexandroupolis port. Their final destination would be the island Lesvos. They reach the village Thermi as strangers but the village chief leads them on the hill of Karyes, to the small monastery of Virgin Mary where they find one monk named Rouvim. Saint Raphael becomes an abbot of the monastery and a small brotherhood is formed under his abbacy. Here they lived peacefully for nine years and nothing foretold what would happen at the end. Lesvos was next. The Ottomans invaded Lesvos in 1462
The macabre events would take place one year after the invasion and the Saints would wait for the wolves to tear their flesh in pieces. The chief of Thermi, Vasilios, his wife, their young daughter Irene and niece Eleni and the teacher Theodoros found themselves trapped at the monastery of Karyes during the terrible days of April in 1463.Oh Santa Irene, a twelve year old girl what kind of animals would take your life without sorrow?
“George was my first name. I have been martyred by the Turks. Firstly, they hit me with their clubs and threw me down paralyzed. They punctured me with spears, pulled my beard and drugged my body on the ground. Then they hung me on a tree and after they slaughtered me. Nicolaos came with me as a refugee and we martyred together, he didn’t withstand the martyrdom and died with syncope.”
These are the words of Saint Raphael that Vasiliki Ralli dreamed about and told the Abbot Iakovos. Vasiliki Ralli is not a person that lived in 1463. She is a woman that still lives in Lesvos. Abbot Iakovos was also abbot of Mitilini in our century. Vasiliki Ralli was the first that dreamed the indications of Saint Raphael in many occasions. That was the way that the Saints revealed their story to her and many other people. The real miracle of Thermi is a true revelation of our century. Its apocalyptical nature leaded to many other miracles experienced by individuals in many countries, mainly Greece and Cyprus where the martyr’s fame is so bright.
In a terrible dream Maria Dourgouna an inhabitant of Mitilini describes:
It was like I was in Karyes and I saw Saint Raphael with his pants (the one worn in old times) and naked above his waist. His hands were tied up behind with a rope. He was kneeling and above him were five savage men with eyes red by anger. The two of them hold a saw and they were slaughtering him through his mouth. When I saw them I was terrified and started crying. Then I heard a voice saying “You see the martyrdom they did to me? I martyred at Easter. At Easter you can glorify me. The ones that tortured me were caught, killed and thrown in a pit”.
Another devout woman reports the following dream:
“The place resembled Karyes. A tall and fat lady told me. You know who I am? I am the mother of Irene. My name is Maria. I was so glad that they made paraklisis at the place they burned my child! We suffered so much up here we came to hide. First, they started torturing Rinoula (Irene). They took another infant that was in my arms threw it down and kicked it to death in front of my eyes. Because I screamed and rushed to take the baby, they robbed me. While they were torturing my Rinoula, I couldn’t bear and had syncope. So I didn’t martyr but my husband suffered a lot” Rinoula was burned inside a large jar.
Virginia Adam reports:
“Lately at nights I hear talks outside my home. I was stepping outside but I saw nobody. One night I heard the talks again and looked out of the window. I saw two monks beside a neighbor’s wall having a conversation but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Staying for much time in this position I felt tired and went to bed. A priest presented himself coming out of the wall. He was young around twenty five years old, thin face and average height and his clothes were shining. He said. “I am Saint Nicolas, why you doubt? Come to show you where we sit”. He took me by the hand and showed me the way to Karyes. In a while I saw them both walking on the hill”.
The apparitions of the Saints and the other martyrs are shocking. Martyr Eleni and the teacher Theodoros appeared in people’s dreams too and described their end.
There were believers and disbelievers but the evidences of the investigation that took place were uncontradictable. The inhabitants in their narrations describe that Saint Raphael insisted on his existence.
The start of this revelation started in 1959. Angelos Rallis wanted to build a chapel on the ruins of an old church on Karyes hill. Vasiliki Ralli saw her uncle in her dreams rushing her to build a chapel there. The ruins of the monastery were forgotten inside the estate with olive trees of Angelos Rallis. After the killings and the destruction of the monastery only the skeletons of the martyrs and the apparitions of the Saints would explain the sanctity of the place. A cycle of dreams between the inhabitants started and the tombs of the martyrs were found with the indications of the Saints.
With the help of an archeologist and the authorities, Saint Raphael was found inside the ruins of the monastery. The jaw of the Saint was found away from the skull. It martyred the awful death of Saint Raphael. The others were found in the yard. Saint Raphael prophesized that the grave of Saint Nicolas would be found on a Monday, in the rain and so it happened. A lead seal was found near Saint Nicolas. On one side is Virgin Mary and on the other the Archangel Michael.
The old monastery was built on the ruins of another monastery that was destroyed by pirates in 1235. The grave of the superior mother of the nunnery (Igoumeni) Olimbia who suffered martyrdom was also found. On her skull were found three large nails. The inhabitants of Thermi had preserved a religious anniversary throughout centuries at this place, without knowing its meaning. Now everything was revealed. The monastery was rebuilt and now is again a female monastery. Investigations took place in 1917, by Turks who owned the estate. Many times a monk was seen walking having a censer in his hands. The locals heard bells or hymns wondering what the source was. The investigations stopped because with their own eyes they verified the supernatural origin.
Still this day, the apparitions of the Saints have not stopped. The three Saints appear to people in need and heal cancer and other incurable diseases. They heal the pain of body and soul. People glorify them turning them around (their icons) with banners and bells. Mirsini Dougouna remembers her dream: Twelve young men hold up Saint Raphael and one of them tells her: “For centuries we glorify him. The same glory you will make for him too. You will turn him around with banners and bells.
In the end we must try to answer the question. Does God have a plan? God had a plan for Saint Raphael, Nicolas and Irene. There must be a secret plan for everyone in life. Our eyes must be opened not to lose the sight of the passerby meanings. Attention and discernment.
The holly week is the most important period for the believer and also for inspiring an Iconographer. The communion and participation in the sanctuary of the Holly Week climax with the Feast of Feasts, the conquer of death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.Characteristic of the importance of the Resurrection for the Orthodox is the fact that Holy Pascha is also called in Greek “Lampra’, the brightest day of all.
The period of 40 days preceding Great Lent is a period of preparation and repentance, strengthening faith in Lord.
The participation in the liturgy – the communion with God is established in the the church, the house of God. In the church we receive the communion with our fellowmen and all become a community of everything created by God. The broken communion can be restored to a permanent communion with God and become Church, the Body of Christ and the House of Father in the Holly Spirit, in a blessed Kingdom.
As i suggested to my classmates, i could expose their workabove my land . This way i can contribute to this wonderfull group of artists and friends. I have bought an extra 512m virtual land in Second life just above my land. I was very lucky that i can own this piece of land now instead of renting it.
I have created some ojects for each classmate interested to have a working link to this web address and work in Second life. Every object can have the name of each artist written on. I have created 9 objects as an example for my idea. I am expecting my classmates to give me the web addresses that they want these objects to link.
My group had a wonderful dialogue focused on a Lev Manovich’s essay regarding the artist relation to web2.0. The ending remark of the essay highlighted the unexpected evolution of Web2.0. It is true that artistic expression in the concept of web2.0 still evolves and hold many surprises. However the expansion of the internet which is the core of web2.0 is a giant that might collapse like the tower of babel in the old testament. This was the ending remark in our chat.
In previous posts i mentioned the creation of 8 small traditional icons. By trial and error i realized that painting on a small icon is not the best approach so i created 10 wooden icons 30 x 40cm size drawing 10 selected holly figures.
We had our ordinary chat as a group again after the Easter break. The final assessment issues and the written essay that we have to submit were the most important matters of the dialogue.
I submitted also a short artist statement that we were asked to submit for the university catalogue and also a catalogue image representing our work.
The artist statement is the following:
Byzantine art is both glorious and humble and Digital Art is glorious and spectacular. My research focuses on these alienated forms of art with renowned representatives such as Photios Kontoglou and Bill Viola, looking for bonds. Concentrating on the liturgical and preaching aspects of Byzantine Art, I can visualize Byzantine Art through a digital prism.
My catalogue image is the one below
The image was altered using photoshop, acheiving this old look sepia tone effect. I decided to use a panorama photo and create a cross photo coming out of a black backround. The same catalogue image will be a poster that i will exhibit at the final show. This digital piece can be the ’spectacular” point of attraction for my work, showing the core element of my research which was the creation of a proskinitari. The poster will be a “marketing” tool since i don’t consider my work spectacular, but rather a humble and a honest attempt to find bonds between Byzantine and digital art.
A very important moment for my research is he Sanctification of the Proskinitari, devoted to the Saints, Raphael, Nikolaos and Irene. It is a moment that the Proskinitari becomes “officially” a sacred place.
I decided not to use my video camera to record the event as i was doing during the construction of the Proskinitari. Instead, i used an ordinary analog (film) photography camera to capture the moment as when i was a child.
The icons of the saints bear witness that man, “created in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26), becomes holy and godlike through the purification of himself as God’s living image. – http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sunday_of_Orthodoxy
St John of Damascus (+749), who defended proper veneration of the Icons wrote, ”I adore the creature created as I am, adopting creation freely….that He might elevate our nature and make us partakers of His divine nature.” In other words, by virtue of the fact that God became flesh, not only can an image be made of Him, but that by venerating or honouring the image, my honour and worship pass on to God who is the prototype of the image. There is then no question of the worship of the icon, as it is only the “vehicle” of the honour paid to Christ. http://www.stvladimirsphila.org/reflections/sundayoforthodoxy.html
Therefor the digital icon can be regarded as a “vehicle” of the honour paid to Christ and his Saints but it cannot be used as a liturgical icon in the Church.
The Camberwell is still in vacation and i am spending time working with the digital icon. I have finished the hair and beard of Saint Raphael. I am using a special set of charcoal brushes in Photoshop in order to acheive the same effect as the brush strokes on the faces of the Saints that were made with pencils and then scanned. With the use of my wacom tablet i have finally acheived the style that i wanted. The hands of the Saints are also very important parts besides the Saints faces. I have also painted the hands with the charcoal set of brushes in photoshop and made some corrections on the Saints clothes also.
I have used adobe illustrator and photoshop for the creation of the digital icon. I have to say that this icon cannot be used as a liturgical icon in a Church for sure. The traditional technique of Byzantine art is using only materials used centuries before.In a previous post i have explained the reasons why i haven’t installed a portable dvd player at the proskinitari. There is a maxim that says the purpose sanctifies the means but this is not enough. The worship of God is subjective for every person but if you want to be a member of a church, then the formal “rules” can guide you better than making your own.
As a matter of fact the formality in Orthodox church has been created centuries ago. People cannot go one Sunday in the church and see a digital icon on the templo of the church. They would be striked with an alien image, a digital one.
I beleive that the images captured in low resolution, 2Mpixels communicate the feel and the touch of the moment i capture even with not high fidelity lenses and tehnology. The previous images were processed with panorama factory, panoramic stitching software, and slightly altered when needed so that the photo could simulate the best way the reality of the moment but also the happenings in my heart.
Low resolution is also not “Spectacular” but fits properly for my style and the intentions of this research.
The pictures below are taken also from Saint Swzomenos. The first is a view from the tomb / cave of the Saint and the one below is an ancient fresco inside the cave. During Turkish rule sacriligious people have destroyed the frescos. The damage is obvious at the faces of the Saints and Virgin Mary.
Saint Swzomenos could see the eternity and feel the offers of the holly spirit in his humble cave.
Posted by chrysanthos 
Posted by chrysanthos 
Posted by chrysanthos 
