mythicart - Profile (original) (raw)

on 7 January 2005 (#5676420)

This community is devoted to the discussion, promotion, creation, & appreciation of mythic art.

Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are artists of one kind or another. The function of the artist is the mythologization of the environment and the world.
- Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth

We leave it to the seers, the shamans, the ascetics, the religious teachers, the artists among us to reach a higher state of awareness, from which they transcend our rigorous but routinely analyzing senses and become closer to the raw experience of nature that pours into the unconscious, the world of dreams, the source of myth.
-Diane Ackerman

A Natural History of the Senses

Joseph Campbell has said that artists are the 'shamans and myth-makers' of our modern world. Like Campbell, I believe in the artist as shaman, jouneying deep into uncharted inner worlds, then bringing back sensations and visions encountered in that mythic terrain.
- Brian Froud in

Good Faeries/Bad Faeries

This is first LiveJournal community (to my knowledge) entirely devoted to the discussion, promotion, creation, and appreciation of mythic art. "Mythic art" can be loosely defined as any art form inspired and informed by world mythology, legend, fairy tales, and folklore. Mythic art is not synonymous with fantasy art, and this community is dedicated specifically to mythic art, not fantasy art.

This is a place for artists of all levels of skill and experience to share their mythic work and to have it critiqued and discussed. Poetry, drawings, paintings, short stories, essays, collages, sculpture, photography, song lyrics, etc. are all welcomed as various media of mythic art. This community is intended not just for the creation of mythic art, but also for its appreciation and discussion, and so commenting is entirely welcome and, in fact, encouraged. It is also a place to share one's favorite mythic websites as well as mythic music and book recommendations. An additional goal of this community is to learn about mythology and culture through their expression in the arts.

Community Guidelines and Information:

  1. If you post a large image or a considerable amount of text, put said content behind an LJ cut. You could also display a thumbnail image which links to your full-size image at another location. Also, I realize not everyone owns a scanner or has regular access to one, but if you choose to display a photograph of your work, crop out any extraneous portions (e.g. your livingroom in the background, hands holding up the sketchbook, etc.).

  2. When you post your own poetry, visual art, short stories, etc., let us know how myth inspired you or how it wove its way into your work. Did you do any sort of research into your use of symbolism, the particular depiction of a mythological figure, etc., and if so, what did you discover? Did you find yourself utilizing that research or previous knowledge regarding myth? In what ways did you do so? Or, if you took a more intuitive approach, upon reflection of the finished piece, what mythic references have you made? How do you feel your chosen imagery relates to mythology and/or explores mythic themes? What inspired you? Is there a story behind it? Why do you find yourself drawing your subject, etc.? Does your piece accomplish what you hoped it would accomplish? How does it relate to mythology, legend, folklore, fairy-tales, etc.?
    You are, of course, not obligated to answer all of these questions, and in some instances the mythic themes or references in your piece may be quite obvious and so may not warrant too much of a verbal elaboration. But, I believe in most cases that additional knowledge about the artwork can only contribute to its appreciation, and that additional knowledge can also serve one of the purposes of this community: to learn about mythology and culture through their expression in the arts. Posting an image of a fairy and declaring "This is a fairy" is not enough! This request for information and further descriptions is not intended as a testing ground to prove the mythic nature of your work, it is a means of sparking interest and dialog.

  3. Please note that this is not a selling community. If your sole purpose in posting artwork here is to make people aware that there are only so many days left in your E-bay auction, etc., your post may be deleted. I realize that artists need to eat (I'm an artist myself, so I know from personal experience that artists are not immune to hunger), but this is not the proper venue for you to market your work. You may mention that your displayed piece is for sale in passing, but that should not be the primary purpose of your post!

  4. Critiques and comments on artwork, poetry, etc. are welcome as long as they are kept respectful. Also, keep in mind that criticisms tend to be a lot more helpful if you state why a certain aspect of the piece doesn't seem to work.

  5. Please show some courtesy towards other members of the community by posting with complete words and sentences (i.e. this is not Instant Messenger or cellphone text messaging, posting something on the lines of "OMG i luv ur icon!!!" is not acceptable and will only give others the impression that you lack maturity).

  6. Plagiarism and copyright violation will not be tolerated. Quotations from other sources are just fine as long as they are presented as such, which means that the original author and its original publication should be cited to the best of your ability.

  7. This community is intended for individuals of any spiritual and/or religious persuasion (or lack thereof) and that spirituality/religion/philosophy, etc. may very well have an impact upon their artwork. While disagreements on these matters may be inevitable, please remain respectful of others. This is not the appropriate place to bash another's beliefs or to engage in religious or political debate.

Posts which do not comply with these guidelines are likely to be deleted.
(Additional guidelines may be added if I feel that the need arises.)

* This community is moderated due to the fact that we were receiving a lot of submissions which did not comply with the guidelines and/or which were not truly relevant to the community's themes. Please do not take it personally if you submit an entry and it is is denied. It doesn't mean that I dislike your work or that it isn't valuable, it's just that at the moment, your entry is not well-suited to the community 's principles. You are more than welcome to edit the entry and resubmit it for further consideration. *

If you have any questions or concerns relating to this community, please contact the moderator, deerwoman.

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