William Blake. The Flea. The Art of Gothic Documentary clip

00:02:53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdCssK0uGUc

Summary

TLDRThe passage discusses the conflict between modern science and human wonder, particularly through the art of William Blake. While science reveals the microscopic world, it seems to strip away the spiritual connection to life. Blake, responding to this loss, creates art that celebrates mystery and imagination. His painting 'A Ghost of a Flea' not only addresses themes of punishment but also critiques the coldness of scientific analysis by entwining it with gothic elements. Ultimately, as science delves into human identity, it raises profound questions about consciousness and the essence of the self.

Takeaways

  • 🧬 Modern science raises fears of diminishing human wonder.
  • 🎨 Blake's art defends spirituality against scientific reductionism.
  • 🦟 'A Ghost of a Flea' symbolizes revenge against rationalism.
  • 🔬 Blake combines scientific imagery with gothic elements.
  • 🤔 Science questions the nature of identity and the soul.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:02:53

    The emergence of modern science sparked fears that it undermined humanity's sense of wonder and spirituality, reducing the significance of divine elements in existence. This was exemplified in the year Frankenstein was published, when artist William Blake reacted against scientific rationalism by creating art that sought to restore the lost enchantment. Blake viewed art as a vital part of life, contrasting it sharply with the 'death' caused by science's relentless quest for explanation. His artwork 'A Ghost of a Flea' transforms a scientific observation of a flea into a gothic, surreal vision, embodying his belief that science, while informative, lacked depth and mystery. This artistic reclamation from science resonated with the gothic imagination, intertwining creativity with the mysteries of life. As scientific inquiry turned towards self-examination, it prompted profound philosophical questions about identity and the essence of consciousness - whether it signifies an immortal soul or merely complex biochemical interactions.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What was William Blake's view on science?

    Blake believed that science took away the spiritual dimension from life, referring to it as the 'tree of death'.

  • What inspired Blake's painting 'A Ghost of a Flea'?

    Blake was inspired by a microscopic image of a flea.

  • How does Blake's art contrast with modern science?

    His art adds mystery and emotion to scientific themes, opposing the analytical nature of modern science.

  • What themes does Blake explore in 'A Ghost of a Flea'?

    He explores punishment and the consequences of a vicious nature through a gothic lens.

  • What questions do scientists begin to ask about identity?

    Scientists question the nature of identity and whether consciousness is a sign of a soul or just chemical reactions.

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  • 00:00:02
    another great fear was that modern
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    science for all its miraculous
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    discoveries was actually destroying the
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    human capacity for wonder
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    mapping god out of the equation
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    powerful lenses laid bare a microscopic
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    world
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    diagrams left little space for the
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    spiritual dimension
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    in the same year that frankenstein was
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    published
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    the eccentric visionary william blake
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    created his own monster
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    painted on a tiny panel
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    i think it's his way of restoring to the
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    world something he believed science had
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    taken away
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    according to blake art was the tree of
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    life science was the tree of death and
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    yet he was perfectly capable of being
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    fascinated by the new information and
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    the new imagery being provided by
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    scientific discovery and this picture
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    this wonderful strange intense weird
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    picture was actually inspired by
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    blake's having seen a microscopic image
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    of
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    a flea
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    blake called this picture
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    a ghost of a flea
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    and it is itself while inspired by
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    science hardly scientific
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    it's the depiction of a man who'd been
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    turned into a flea as a form of
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    punishment
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    for having a vicious bloodthirsty nature
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    he's got a sting at the back
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    and he's got a bowl of blood in front
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    what i think is going on here is deadly
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    serious i think this is blake using his
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    gothic imagination to take revenge on
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    the scientific attitude he's taken an
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    image drawn from science and he's
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    re-enchanted it made it mysterious made
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    it weird made it gothic in fact the
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    image is just the sort of thing that you
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    might see carved into the choir stool of
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    a medieval church or carved into the
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    front of a church perhaps as a gargoyle
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    so blake has taken an image that's all
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    about explanation
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    all about
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    discourse science discovery
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    and he's made it
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    mysterious and strange
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    as science scrutinized the world around
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    us it inevitably turned its unflinching
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    gaze on the most intriguing subject of
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    all
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    ourselves
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    scientists began to question the very
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    nature of identity
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    who are we
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    is consciousness evidence of a soul
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    or simply the product of chemical
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    reactions in the brain
Tags
  • science
  • art
  • William Blake
  • consciousness
  • human identity
  • spirituality
  • gothic imagination
  • Frankenstein
  • microscopic world
  • mystery