BRIGHT RED PERIOD BLOOD

bright red

of the red of fresh raspberries
Bright Red is the title of performance artist Laurie Anderson’s sixth album, released by Warner Bros. in 1994.

period

the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon
A portion of time in the life of a person, nation, or civilization characterized by the same prevalent features or conditions
One of the set divisions of the day in a school allocated to a lesson or other activity
A length or portion of time
(ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games
time period: an amount of time; “a time period of 30 years”; “hastened the period of time of his recovery”; “Picasso’s blue period”

blood

Violence involving bloodshed
the fluid (red in vertebrates) that is pumped through the body by the heart and contains plasma, blood cells, and platelets; “blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and carries away waste products”; “the ancients believed that blood was the seat of the emotions”
The red liquid that circulates in the arteries and veins of humans and other vertebrate animals, carrying oxygen to and carbon dioxide from the tissues of the body
temperament or disposition; “a person of hot blood”
An internal bodily fluid, not necessarily red, that performs a similar function in invertebrates
smear with blood, as in a hunting initiation rite, where the face of a person is smeared with the blood of the kill

bright red period blood – Bright Red

Bright Red

Bright Red by Laurie Anderson
This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.

How do you make a pop song work without the safety net of melody? Rappers do it with hyperactive dance beats and lots of attitude, but Laurie Anderson does it by relaxing our defenses with her soothing telephone-operator voice, her hypnotic synth patterns, and droning organ washes. Once she has lured us into her aural lair, she trips us up with broken syntax and disconnected sentence fragments. Bright Red’s producer is Brian Eno, an astute choice, for no one does ambient backdrops better. By themselves, these atmospheric harmonies are mere background music, Anderson’s spoken monologues nothing more than bohemian stand-up comedy. When the two elements click, however, the result is some of the most original pop music around. As always, what saves Anderson from smug self-indulgence is her wicked sense of humor and her genuine sense of dread. –Geoffrey Himes

Munch, Edvard (1863-1944) – 1902 The Sin – Woman with Red Hair and Green Eyes (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City)

Color lithograph; Plate: 69.5 x 40 cm.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a turn-of-the-century Norwegian artist, best known for his extremely personal brand of Symbolism, which helped lay the foundations for and proved a lasting influence on the later Expressionist school of art.

Edvard Munch was born on December 12, 1863, in the small town of Loten, Norway, as the second of five children. His father was Christian Munch, a military doctor, and his mother Laura Cathrine Munch, née Bjolstad. Edvard had three sisters, Sophie, Laura and Inger, and one brother, Andreas. Although ostensibly middle class, the family had but modest means and often struggled financially.

In 1864, soon after Edvard’s birth, the family moved to Kristiania, the capital of Norway (the city would be renamed to "Christiania" in 1878 and again to "Oslo," its present name, in 1924). In 1868, Edvard’s mother died of consumption (tuberculosis) and her sister, Karen Bjolstad, took care for the children and the household upon herself. In 1877, Edvard’s elder sister Sophie also succumbed to tuberculosis. These two deaths greatly affected the future painter and echoes of the pain and despair he felt at the time would appear frequently in his work.

Although Munch was interested in painting since he was a boy, his family was not in love with the idea and urged him to acquire a more prestigious and profitable profession. In 1879, at the age of 16, he entered the Oslo Technical College with the idea of becoming an engineer. He pursued this field of study for little more than a year before deciding that his true calling was art and dropping out of the college. Soon thereafter, he enrolled for evening classes at the Royal Drawing School in Oslo. By 1881, he was studying there full-time.

Edvard Munch was a quick and able student. At the Royal Drawing School, he was considered one of the most gifted young artists of his day. In addition to his normal classes, Munch also began taking private lessons with Christian Krohg, an established artist and good friend. He also attended the open-air summer school of Frits Thaulow at Modum.

In 1883, Munch exhibited at the Oslo Autumn Exhibition for the first time. Over the next few years, he would become a regular participant.

Munch was exposed to a wide range of artistic influence during his formative period, which lasted from about 1880 to 1889. The painter often visited Kristiania’s (Oslo’s) rather modest National Gallery, and had an avid interest in contemporary art magazines. Like most of Northern, Eastern and Central Europe, Norway was considered culturally to be a provincial backwater and, like many of his colleagues and contemporaries, Munch traveled extensively to learn from both the rich painting traditions and the latest artistic developments of Europe’s enlightened West and South.

In 1885, the painter attended the World Exhibition at Antwerp and paid a brief visit to Paris, then considered the Mecca of contemporary art. Munch was certainly familiar with the work of the Impressionists, whose large exhibition in Paris he visited that year and again in 1888, when there was another such exhibition in Copenhagen. Certainly, a variety of influences can be seen in Munch’s work of the time, such as Maridalen by Oslo (1881), Self-Portrait (1881), Aunt Karen in the Rocking Chair (1883) and At the Coffee Table (1883). Conservative tastes reigned in Oslo at the time, and much of the painter’s work was poorly received by critics.

At home in Norway, the artist was part of a group of radical young intellectuals, which included both painters and writers and espoused a variety of political views, from anarchism to socialism to Marxism. Their ideas certainly influenced Munch’s own. However, the painter’s artistic focus would always remain on himself and his own subjective experiences, almost notoriously so. Thus, he often re-visited the tragic episode of his beloved sister’s sickness and death in such works as The Sick Child (1885-86) and Spring (1889).

This latter painting delighted the critics and paved the way, in 1889, for Munch’s first solo exhibition at Kristiania. That same year, he received a scholarship from the Norwegian government to study abroad. The artist traveled to Paris, where he enrolled at the art school of Leon Bonnat. He also attended the major exhibitions, where he became familiar with the works of the Post-Impressionists. His own canvases of the time show considerable Impressionist influence: witness Rue Lafayette (1890) or Moonlight over Oslo Fjord (1891), painted during a brief return to Norway. On the other hand, Night in St. Cloud, a dramatic and highly emotional work, has all the characteristic traits of Naturalism.

In 1892, Munch visited Berlin, where he had been invited to exhibit by the Berlin Artists’ Association. The painter’s work was received very poorly, and the exhibition was closed down after only a few days, as the critics howled in outrage. Undeterred, the

Church of St Dmitry on the Blood, Uglich, Russia

This church is a memorial for an infamous event in the history of Uglich. At his death in 1584, Ivan the Terrible left two sons, Fyodor, who was mentally handicapped, and Dimitri, an infant. Fyodor became Czar and because of his inability to rule Boris Godunov became his regent. Dimitri, a bright child, and his mother were exiled to Uglich and kept in captivity, living in a small palace within the Uglich Kremlin which at that time was a walled enclosure.

On May 15, 1591, eight year old Dimitri was found dead with a knife wound to his throat. Dimitri’s mother and her local supporters, summoned by the ringing of a church bell, naturally suspected murder and the regent’s agents and other Muscovites were killed immediately.

Boris sent soldiers to Uglich and the rebellion was quickly quelled with a number of people executed and most of the town sent off to exile in Siberia. Dimitri’s mother was sent to the monastery at Goritsy. The bell which sounded the alarm had its clapper removed and it was also exiled to Siberia. Boris Godunov’s official inquiry ruled that the Prince had been playing with knives, had suffered an epileptic seizure and had fallen on his own knife. Historians have supported both explanations of Dimitry’s death.

After Fyodor died Boris became Czar, ushering in a period of Russian History known as the "Time of Troubles" which persisted until the establishment of the Romanov dynasty in 1613. By the early 17th century Uglich had become a pilgrimage site and Dimitry had become a saint. A small wooden church was erected at the spot where he died.

The present memorial church was constructed in 1692. The church is currently on the tentative list for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site where it is described as follows:
"The Church of Prince Dimitri The temple of consists of the three parts: the altar, the double filament main section, the worship, refectory and vestibule with porch. The facade is decorated with intricate brickwork. This monument is one of the best known on the Volga river. More than hundred thousand people visit this cite every year. The wall paintings of the church were made by the group of artists from Rostov Velikii headed by P.I. Khlebnikov in 1787-1788. In the refectory and the main section, the worship, there are icons of 17-18 centuries painted by the best tzar’s icon painters. There are also some historical documents connected with the death of Prince Dimitri. The well known bell that had announced to Uglich the news of his death is also there.

The death of Dimitri and the subsequent reign of Boris Godunov inspired a narrative poem by Pushkin, which in turn was the basis for Mussorgsky’s opera "Boris Godunov"

The blue spangled domes and the bright red coloration of this small church make it a striking sight as one approaches Uglich on the river. Cruise ships anchor very close to the back side of the church. Frescoes inside the church depict both explanations of Dimitri’s death. The exiled bell has been restored and tour guides will gently ring it.

bright red period blood

You would be mistaken in thinking the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United was only something that has existed in recent times. Obviously there was considerable hype as United equalled and then overtook Liverpool’s previous record of 18 League titles, something the Merseyside club and its fans had cherished. And to lose it to your biggest rivals was something which was especially hard to palate. Liverpool fans, in turn counter by continually taunting United over the five European Cups they have won to United’s three. This is the latest sequel to a rivalry which began in 1894 when the two teams met for the first time in a game as important as any which have subsequently taken place – .and there have been some massive ones. It was a ‘Test Match’ which was to determine the status of both clubs. United, then Newton Heath had finished bottom of the First Division while Liverpool were champions of the Second Division having gone through the whole campaign unbeaten. Test Matches, which were more like today’s play offs, were introduced when the Football League was expanded to two divisions. They featured the bottom three clubs in the top flight playing the top three in the second tier. Liverpool won the initial meeting 2-0 to gain promotion whilst Newton Heath were relegated. It was only the briefest stay, however, as the Merseysiders were immediately relegated as the two teams met for the first time in a League fixture in 1895. Those first two League matches, played within three weeks of one another, also underlined how unpredictable the form book was, something which has invariably still been the case more than a century later. Liverpool won the first League meeting 7-1 which still to this day remains the record margin of victory between the two teams. In the return three weeks later, Newton Heath were no-hopers yet pulled off a 5-2 win.