The Whispering Gallery

Join me in the Whispering Gallery for Scandinavian jul (you-lll) card art where artists are very good at making “spirits” (ahem) bright and visible! Are home, barn and mound spirits, not spooky enough for you? Just wait for the unsettling julbocken! Join me for some of the spookier side of Jul, coming up next.

Special FX and Music courtesy of www.freesound.org
https://freesound.org/people/ including: DBlover, Ihaksi, Walter_Odington, Soughtaftersounds, sphion, martats, EpicWizard, Kyster, ullsokk, Marcuspepsi, tryl, ThisIsMiniMe, esistnichtsoernst, kiddpark, dominictreis, neolein, danlucaz, mhtaylor67, LG, http://www.freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/

Episode Image Source: gracenuth.com/blog/lennarthelje Art by Lennart Helje, Swedish Illustrator

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Sugar skulls are considered folk art and said to have come from Southern Mexico—they are part of the celebration for Día de los Muertos in English: Day of the Dead. This is not the celebration of Halloween—in Mexico. 

The “day” of the dead is actually two days of remembering loved ones who have passed away and welcoming their spirits home. I feel like they’ve got this holiday down way better than I’ve ever celebrated Memorial Day! Color, sugar skulls, spirits, paper flowers, candles, good food and marigolds. It seems like a celebration of inclusivity bringing the living and the dead together.

Episode Art: Calavera de la Catrina (Skull of the Female Dandy), from the portfolio 36 Grabados: José Guadalupe Posada, published by Arsacio Vanegas, Mexico City, c. 1910, zinc etching, 34.5 x 23 cm. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:La_Calavera_Catrina#/media/File:Posada2.Catrina.jpeg

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Thank you to Free Sound and the following contributors to that sound library for making the music and background sound for this episode possible! 
https://freesound.org/people/ThisIsMiniMe/sounds/327406/
https://freesound.org/people/TheScriabin/sounds/404952/
https://freesound.org/people/taurindb/sounds/132124/
https://freesound.org/people/Cloud-10/sounds/562834/
https://freesound.org/people/TexasMusicForge/sounds/2687/
https://freesound.org/people/bone666138/sounds/198879/
https://freesound.org/people/zagi2/sounds/265615/
https://freesound.org/people/hantorio/sounds/121945/

Show Music by the Piccadilly Pipers.
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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

So who did Circe turn into pigs? What specialty of magic could have done that? Did she really live alone on an island? Find out next on the Whispering Gallery!

In the northern hemisphere the days are growing shorter, and the air, crisp as the snap of a Halloween apple, makes our cheeks ruddy—join me to finish our two parter about two hauntingly special, and magical women. Well more than one if we’re talking about the Oracle of Delphi–and the myths and stories surrounding Circe have identified her as a witch, an enchantress and even as a goddess.

There is a mountain of artwork about Circe from on the sides of pots/vases to oil paintings and yes the pre raphaelites took a stab at painting her. Her story has called to artists throughout history to be illustrated and you’ll see some of these pieces on instagram and others on Facebook on the Whispering Gallery. 

Look for artwork about Circe on the Whispering Gallery podcasts Facebook and Instagram pages!

Circe painted by Nicolas Régnier (1558/1591-1667), oil on canvas, height: 44 in; width: 53.1 in, private collection, Source/Photographer: Sotheby's Lot.37
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/.../File:Circe_by_Nicolas_R...

Thanks to the Internet Archive for the 78 RPM Music, and to FreeSound.
- La fille aux cheveux de lin, Bruyères, Tristan Risselin by Claude Debussy Publication date 1948 Topics 78 rpm, classical, instrumental, piano)
- His Master's Voice Language French; English Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Preludes, Book I - VIII. (… La fille aux cheveux de lin) Preludes, Book II - V. (… Bruyères) Tristan Risselin (piano) Recorded: 16 January 1947, Abbey Road studios, London Issued: 1948 (for export to Belgium) Format: coarse-groove, 78 rpm, 10” / 25 cm, electrical Catalogue number: JO 56 Matrices: 0EA 11575-1 / 0EA 11576-2

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Join me for more of the mysteries of the Oracle of Delphi, including some science about the vapors, and I attempt to sort out the multiple titles being thrown around including sybil, oracle, pythia and prophetess. 

Episode Image: Pytia, by Jacek Malczewski (1854-1929). Painting: oil on canvas (1917), height: 82.6 in; width: 43.3 in. Location: Collection National Museum in Kraków, Source/Photographer: culture.pl, source: Wikimedia Commons

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

This episode (Part 1) starts out with the Oracle of Delphi (from Greece) and some of the less known things about this "individual" and what she did that warranted such fame that has crossed the centuries. Was she simply extraordinarily gifted at prophecy? Look for the Whispering Gallery podcast on Facebook and Instagram. 

Episode Image: Pytia, by Jacek Malczewski (1854-1929). Painting: oil on canvas (1917), height: 82.6 in; width: 43.3 in. Location: Collection National Museum in Kraków, Source/Photographer: culture.pl, source: Wikimedia Commons

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Is that mummy brown on your palette? If you’re unsure, we can always check for DNA. May I invite you to turn your flashlight on? Welcome to the spooky cool (or rather, spooky ghoul) world of paranormal and unexplained art! 

Our creepy gallery of scary goodies include cursed paintings, uap phenomena, poisonous pigments, sea monsters, ghost stories, and other mysteries–frankly I don’t know if there’s enough sage to go around. But I don’t want to frighten you, before you hear the stories. Just be sure to keep your flashlights close–there’s no going back.  

Join the Whispering Gallery podcast for spine-tingling and hard-to-believe art stories from around the globe. Look for us on your favorite podcather and remember–to keep your flashlight close, and your spooky art stories closer while visiting the Whispering Gallery.

Sound Effects and Music from Free Sound:
Thunder: https://freesound.org/people/hantorio/sounds/121945/
Clockmaker Song: https://freesound.org/people/StephieQueen/sounds/587385/

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

In ancient Mesopotamia people didn’t just want to believe in ghosts, or yearn for an extraordinary encounter in a shadowy haunted building. They believed in ghosts. Ghosts were simply part of normal everyday life. They were to put it plainly— expected. Let's take a closer look at the first known drawing of a ghost--drawn in clay.

If a ghost were to become a problem or a nuisance, something would need to be done about it. In fact Irving Finkle author of The First Ghosts and curator at the British Museum likened the situation to needing to call the plumber. Got a clogged drain? You’d call a professional to help. Got a ghost? Who ya gonna call? The exorcism guy! And he came prepared, ready with a really well rounded guide with specifics on how-to-get-rid of ghosts with programmatic if this, then do this type of thing and kind of umbrella-like statements, to cover things. You don’t want to do a half-baked job when getting rid of a ghost. The guide, not as convenient as our phones, or even a book was written in cuneiform on clay tablets.

What does all of this have to do with art? From what I understand of all of the detailed instructions for the many situations that had to be considered in getting a ghost to leave–they weren’t all illustrated. But here’s an “if statement” — What if I told you that one of these clay tablets was really special, with the oldest known (3,500 years old) drawing of a miserable, sad man–a bearded ghost? Finkle gives the example that maybe the man had three wives and lost each of them. One could jump to the conclusion that he would follow a young woman to the underworld, thus the ritual that complemented the illustration that we’ll talk about in more depth.

First here’s the formal description of the piece:

Title: Tablet impressed with Mesopotamian ghost, side profile 
Artist: Master craftsperson
Date: 1,500 BCE
Geography: Ancient Babylon
Medium: Clay tablet
Dimensions: Fits in a person’s hand
Classification: Tablet
Location: British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG, UK (has not been displayed)
Acquired: 19th century, approximately half of the tablet is missing

Photo © British Museum, line drawing © James Fraser and Chris Cobb for The First Ghosts at https://news.artnet.com/.../oldest-ghost-british-museum...

Thanks to the audio sound artists at FreeSound for the accompanying sound/music.

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Listen to find a young scientist recording color while at the cusp of discovery, —a bilingual Swedish chemist adding a new but dangerous pigment to the game, —and we will put a well-intentioned pigment-based hypothesis to bed about the death of Napoleon Bonaparte—just a few of the unforgettable stories of pigments from our colorful past!

You’re listening to the Whispering Gallery podcast so keep your flashlight close, in case the lights go out! 

Thank you to the audio creators on Freesound for the music and sound FX!

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Dig up the disturbing story of the many desecrated mummies of ancient Egyptians, and their feline friends, who were meant to be undisturbed. It’s not just a scary story but the terrifying reality of Mummy Brown paint. “A few odd limbs…” The color: Mummy Brown has a seriously haunting story.

Fair Use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwXfvfPy6fc PBS special: King Tut Special posted by Darryl Kinson starting at right around four minutes into the video. 

The photo of Tutanchamun's death mask - This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. By Myk Reeve, December 26, 2002 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tutanchamun_Maske.jpg

Audio: Music and Sound FX credits: Fresound.org: TheoTer, Papanin Kasettratat, jepe009, szegvarti, Humanoid9000, breviceps

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Copyright 2022 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.

Yoshitoshi's 36 Ghost woodblock prints are the focus of this episode. I’ve read he wanted to create 100, but there are 36 Ghost woodblock prints and I’ve heard the “ghost” expression may not be an entirely accurate translation especially as you dig into the stories. There are some ghosts, but there are other “strange” things depicted including demons. (Ukiyo-e)

The image for this episode is from Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, ''The Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree'', October 1889. From the ''Thirty-six Ghosts'' series. 9.25" x 14.25". The print depicts the magical Kurozome, who has manifest as the spirit of the Komachi cherry tree. From http://www.japane

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Copyright 2021 Suzanne Nikolaisen. All Rights Reserved.