Althouse: "It is a picture that seems at first to be quite beautiful."

२२ ऑक्टोबर, २०११

"It is a picture that seems at first to be quite beautiful."

"Only as the eye lingers do you fully realise its shocking context."

२१ टिप्पण्या:

Paddy O म्हणाले...: At first quite beautiful?!

Maybe I'm around a lot more pelicans. It's shocking right at first, and the sort of thing that has appeared in the news since at least the Exxon Valdez spill. It's almost a stock photo in its commonplace theme. Every other National Geographic has a picture like this.

Dare I say there is a wee bit of politics behind the prize?; २२/१०/११, ९:४९ AM
traditionalguy म्हणाले...: "It's an oil painting." Hilarious.; २२/१०/११, ९:५४ AM
Automatic_Wing म्हणाले...: I'm sure the birds were wishing they had run into a windmill instead.; २२/१०/११, १०:०१ AM
Levi Starks म्हणाले...: It's all about the light; २२/१०/११, १०:१५ AM
edutcher म्हणाले...: Of course, well-oiled pelicans are worse than dead people.

Paddy O said...

Dare I say there is a wee bit of politics behind the prize?

Your gift for the obvious is shattering.; २२/१०/११, १०:२८ AM
Freeman Hunt म्हणाले...: How would you not notice that the birds are covered with oil first?

It's the other way around. "Birds in oil! Ugh. Hmmmm. If you look at it for a while, it's almost beautiful."; २२/१०/११, १०:३२ AM
अनामित म्हणाले...: I think it's pretty clear to me that modern photography and environmentalism have a common root in Romanticism with all its tragic impulses, potential nihilism and extreme individualism.

Otherwise, nice composition and light.; २२/१०/११, १०:३३ AM
ndspinelli म्हणाले...: Slick.; २२/१०/११, १०:३४ AM
अनामित म्हणाले...: I also think there are some class and cultural issues that have to do with why some Britons treat environmentalism like a religion...; २२/१०/११, १०:३६ AM
mariner म्हणाले...: Freeman,

Many people look at the picture and don't even realize there are pelicans in it, until someone tells them.; २२/१०/११, १०:३८ AM
Paco Wové म्हणाले...: "...some Britons treat environmentalism like a religion..."

The English have always been kind of dotty with regards to animals.

If that's the kind of image of nature that you find "shocking", well, I suspect you don't get out in nature much.; २२/१०/११, ११:२९ AM
Cedarford म्हणाले...: 8 oiled pelicans vs. 42,000 US casualties in Iraq driven by need for Arab oil as much as for Neocon nation-building adventures.

Or, 8 oiled Pelicans vs. 12,000 dead birds a year on a California wind farm.; २२/१०/११, ११:५१ AM
अनामित म्हणाले...: Maybe it was ruined for me by having read the quote first, but I knew immediately what I was looking at.; २२/१०/११, ११:५१ AM
Tyrone Slothrop म्हणाले...: Pelicans should be marinated in clarified butter, not oil.

wv: wifyin-- what I'm doin' right now-- thank God for 802.11n!; २२/१०/११, १२:२५ PM
Chip S. म्हणाले...: Does art imitate wildlife, or does wildlife imitate art?; २२/१०/११, १२:५० PM
homo œconomicus म्हणाले...: http://img.chan4chan.com/img/2010-08-31/dd328c3cae77b006b576fa826ba20cf4.jpg; २२/१०/११, १:२३ PM
Roger J. म्हणाले...: Does anyone know the procedures for cleaning these birds up? Pelicans are quite large. How much hands on effort is required--Oh well, its a slow saturday here so I suppose I could research it.

I suspect our erstwhile commenter Beth from NOLA could tell us, but she hasnt been on lately.; २२/१०/११, १:२८ PM
Methadras म्हणाले...: Was HDR used?; २२/१०/११, १:४४ PM
David म्हणाले...: Is it safe to eat them yet?; २२/१०/११, ९:३८ PM
Paul Brinkley म्हणाले...: It is an interest group that seems at first to be quite thoughtful. Only as the mind lingers do you fully realise its dumb context.; २३/१०/११, १०:०० PM
Peter म्हणाले...: The real story of the BP oil spill is the rapidity with which nature broke down the oil and recovered.

The only narrative I've been able to find in the MSM is "Corporate perfidy." And while that's a true and legitimate story, it's not the only story. Or, in this case, even the most important story.; २४/१०/११, १०:३० AM