Monday, September 10, 2012

Documenting the Sublime, Leonardo da Vinci Anatomist, and Death Themed Nightclubs of Fin de Siècle Paris: This Week's Morbid Anatomy Presents at London's Last Tuesday Society


Tonight marks the beginning of Week Two of Morbid Anatomy Presents at London's Last Tuesday Society, and it is a very exciting one.

Tonight we will be hosting a screening and chat with Ronni Thomas, the mastermind behind The Midnight Archive (see above)--a web video series inspired by the exotic folk who revolve around the Observatory gallery space in Brooklyn; Mr. Thomas will joined be the series' music director and Real Tuesday Weld frontsman Stephen Coates. The following night, Tuesday, Martin Clayton--Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle--will be speaking about the material explored in his exhibition "Leonardo--Anatomist, the largest-ever exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical work, on view now through October 7 at Windsor Castle. On Wednesday, we will learn about the belief-defying death themed nightclubs which dotted the geography of fin de siècle Paris, such as the Cabaret du Néant (Tavern of the Dead) and Cabaret de L’Enfer, with Vadim Kosmos, gallery director for Viktor Wynd Fine Arts.

Come for the presentations, and stick around to sip some lovely Hendricks Gin and peruse my current exhibition "Ecstatic Raptures and Immaculate Corpses: Visions of Death Made Beautiful in Italy" on view through the end of the month.

More on all events below; and please note: all events will take place at The Last Tuesday Society, 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP (map here). Hope to see you at one or more of these terrific events!
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TONIGHT Monday 10th September 2012
"Documenting the Sublime: The Midnight Archive and its subjects" with Ronni Thomas and The Real Tuesday Weld
Doors at 6 pm, Show commences at 7 pm
An odd year ago - based on a series of lectures and events at the Brooklyn Observatory, filmmaker Ronni Thomas was inspired to document some of the institutions most unique and esoteric subjects and topics. Director and lecturer Ronni Thomas will present and discuss and screen some of his most memorable episodes as well as display some artifacts collected from the filming experience (including a hands on look at his private collection of diableries - 3d tissues of satan's daily life in hell). A soundtrack for the evening will be provided by Series composer and The Real Tuesday Weld frontman Stephen Coates.

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Tuesday 11th September 2012
Martin Clayton on Leonardo Da Vinci and Dissection
Doors at 6 pm, Show commences at 7 pm

Leonardo da Vinci is the archetype of the Renaissance man, but since his day he has been seen primarily as a painter who dabbled in the sciences. Leonardo would not have recognized this image: his scientific studies were as important to him as his art. Of all his investigations — which included optics, geology, botany and hydrodynamics — the field that engaged him most was human anatomy.
In the winter of 1507–08, Leonardo witnessed the peaceful demise of an old man in a hospital in Florence, and wrote in his notebook that he performed a dissection “to see the cause of so sweet a death”. He attributed it to a narrowing of the coronary vessels, and wrote the first clear description of atherosclerosis in medical history. He also described the pathology of cirrhosis of the man's liver, which he found to be “desiccated and like congealed bran both in colour and substance”.
The dissection of the old man marked the beginning of five years of intense anatomical investigation, and in 1510–11 Leonardo seems to have collaborated with Marcantonio della Torre, the professor of anatomy at the University of Pavia.

There is no sign that Leonardo attempted to collate his research for publication, and although the anatomical studies were mentioned by all Leonardo's early biographers, their dense and disorganized content was barely comprehended. Unpublished, the studies were effectively lost to the world.
The 150 surviving sheets of Leonardo's anatomical studies reached England in the seventeenth century and eventually made it into the Royal Collection, bound into an album with 450 of his more artistic drawings. But it was not until 1900 that they were finally published and understood. By then, their power to affect the progress of anatomical knowledge had long passed.
Martin Clayton is Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at The Royal Library, The Royal Collection, Windsor Castle.

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Wednesday 11th September 2012
Vadim Kosmos on Curious Cabarets of the Belle Epoque
Doors at 6 pm, Show commences at 7 pm
While we may all have seen Eugène Atget’s 1898 famous photograph of Cabaret de L’Enfer’s façade at 53 boulevard de Clichy, with its malevolent maw threatening to devour all who dared to step within its damnable interior. But how did this most macabre of cafés originate and what went on within? Tonight’s talk will illuminate the origins of Fin de Siecle Paris’ craze for morbid drinking dens including L’Enfer’s less well known, but no less sinister, sister establishments; Le Ciel, Neants and Truands.

Born in Istanbul of Ukrainian/French heritage – Screen writer, DJ and authority on French popular culture Vadim Kosmos is the Store manager of the Last Tuesday Society/‘Viktor Wynd’s Little Shop of Horrors’ and Gallery director for Viktor Wynd Fine Arts.
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And onward and upward in the weeks to come:
You can find out more--and order tickets--for all events, click here.
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