Y2K and the Millennium Bug.

Every once in a while there comes along a theory,a fear (a feary, get it. bah I don’t have to fucking impress you) that the world will end. People apparently thought the world would end in 666 and again in 1666 also possibly according to my sources when researching Albrecht Durer they thought the world would end in 1500. The Jehovah’s Witnesses thought the world would end in 1914, they then predicted that it would occur in 1925 and again in 1975, they seem quite eager maybe their mothers didn’t love them. The last Apocalypse that didn’t happen was Y2K, year 2000, the Millennium Bug. 

The Millennium Bug was based around the fear that our new dependance on computers would be the end of us just because some bright soul didn’t program the computer’s dating capacity to exceed 1999. the feary (ooh it’s catching on) was most of our computers would think it was 1900. Estimates of the damage that could be caused range from global meltdown to minor irritation. Some people went as far as to take measures to prepare themselves for the collapse of civilisation. Looking back at when the clocks hands approached midnight on December 31st 1999. Friday became Saturday, December became January, 1999 became the year 2000 and nothing happened except some babysitters got paid too much. The Millennium Bug was a false alarm, an anticlimax, a disappointment? People seem strangely eager about the panic of the end of the world, okay it’s not every day but the end of the world seems to happen a hell of a lot.

So what does the future hold, how many more false alarms will we see before we see the real thing? the next apocalypse has already been set for 2012, the reason is a calendar ran out.

fingers crossed. 

this is what could have happened…

 

References:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/millennium_bug/countries/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y2K

William Blake & the Great Red Dragon.

William Blake (1757 – 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of both poetry and the visual arts of the Romantic Age. The Great Red Dragon Paintings are a series of watercolours, painted between 1805 and 1810. Blake was commissioned to create over a hundred paintings intended to illustrate books of the Bible. These paintings depict ‘The Great Red Dragon’ in various scenes from the Book of Revelation.

“And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”

(Rev. 12:3-4, KJV)

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun

 

“The poet, printmaker, and painter William Blake combined his literary and graphic skills in four provocative and disturbing images devoted to the Great Red Dragon. For this series—produced for his most faithful patron Thomas Butts, a government clerk—Blake drew on chapters 12 and 13 of the Book of Revelations, an apocalyptic text akin to the artist’s own prophetic writings.

In this narrative the Dragon, identified with Satan, schemes to seize the soon-to-be born Redeemer from his mother. Derived from the Virgin Mary of the Gospels, the figure known as the Woman Clothed with the Sun also stands for Israel and for the Church. Blake’s threatening Dragon displays powerful musculature as well as its monstrous tail, wings, and horned heads. Subsequent scenes reveal the failure of the Dragon’s plan but the emergence of new threats to mankind.”

Inscriptions: Above the image: “A Woman clothed with the sun, & the moon under her feet, and/upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and behold a great red dragon also.” Below the image at right: “Revns:ch:12th: v 4th:”

Below the image: “And the tail of the great red dragon drew the third part of the stars of/heaven, and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the/woman which was ready to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”

(the Brooklyn Museum)

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman clothed with the Sun

 

This image is similar to The Great Red Dragon and the Woman clothed in Sun but shown from a different viewpoint.

 

The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea

 

 

The Number of the Beast is 666

The character of the Great Red Dragon and these paintings play a prominent role in Thomas Harris’ Book ‘Red Dragon’ and the two film adaptations. The character of Francis Dolarhyde has an obsession with the painting ‘The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun’ he believes he is becoming the Dragon, he even goes to the effort of consuming the painting.

 

 

 

 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Red_Dragon_Paintings

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4368

Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer  (1471 –  1528) was a German painter, printmaker and theorist from Nuremberg famous for his series of fifteen Apocalyptic woodcuts which depicts scenes from the Book of Revelation and was published in 1498. It is possible that the publication of the woodcuts was in conjunction with the popular belief at the time that the Day of Judgement was coming in 1500. 

Albrecht Durer’s ‘Dragon with Seven heads’ shows the first of the two beasts, the False Messiah controlled by the second beast, the Lamb.

Albrecht Durer’s ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ depicts the White, Red, Black and Pale Horse ravaging the land.

Albrecht Durer’s ‘St. John Beholding Seven Candlesticks’ depicts the event of St. John being shown the events of Revelations by God.

Albrecht Durer’s ‘Woman of Babylon’ or ‘Whore of Babylon’ depicting the false idolisation of the first beast. also shows the decent of the four horses.

 

As well as Albrecht Durer’s woodcuts being interesting depictions of the Book of Revelations. The fact they are linked with a possible prediction of the world ending in 1500 just goes to show that the idea of the apocalypse is always a powerful one and that people are always predicting the end.

 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_(Dürer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Dürer

Progress 1

I am now about half way through my EMP, I have discovered some interesting things involving the end of the world however I need to kick the development side of my project up into gear. I have a great deal to do in terms of developing my focus within my research and where my animation is going to go. I also have more avenues of research and investigation that I would like to follow. Now is the time to put research and development side by side to ensure a productive and successful continuation. Here is a quick kind of checklist that shapes my intentions of the nest few weeks of my project…

 

1. I have started reading British Museum’s book ‘The Apocalypse and the Shape of Things to Come’, my god is it chunky I will need to knuckle down with that. It has already given me plenty of potentially helpful sources of research to investigate. Such as…

i. ‘The Name of the Rose’ by Umberto Eco

ii. Durer, an artist who created a series of woodcuts depicting the Apocalypse (I have already touched on his work but I should definitely look into the complete series).

iii. A polish artist Andrzej Dudek Durer who named himself the reincarnation of the Durer above, not knowing much on this artist he may turn out to be of no relevance. However as the original Durer created apocalyptic scenes Andrzej may give me a more modern artist’s view of the Apocalypse.

iv. There is a film which was  made in 1921 called ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ obviously worth looking into.

v. Apparently the poetry of Paul Celan in particular ‘Thread Suns’ may hold relevant links to the apocalypse and the Book of Revelations.

vi. Thomas Harris’ Novel ‘Red Dragon’ and the film adaptation involves a painting by William Blake in fact the title of the book refers to the beast itself.

vii. I should really look into more of William Blake’s water colour series on the apocalypse and the great dragon.

viii. The book has given me an interesting quote by T. S. Elliott “In my beginning, is my end”  may be of use.

I shall continue with my studying of this book, hopefully it will give me a lot more information about my chosen subject and enlighten me to the workings of the Book of Revelations and the end of the world.

 

2. I have only touched on the magazine ‘The End is Nigh’ so far only pointing it out as a source of information. I suspect that it holds a great deal of useful information and views on the end of the world. The issue I have managed to get my hands on includes an interview with Alan Moore the highly acclaimed Graphic Novelist who I am a big fan. I have recently read ‘The Watchmen’ and am in the process of reading ‘V for Vendetta’ both hold examples of society going to the dogs especially in V there are instances which sound very much like events that could herald the Apocalypse according to previous sources on religious views on the subject.  

 

3. I have looked at and pointed out potentially helpful existing animations. I need to scour these examples and any others I come across for scenes that could help the visuals and flow of my final animation. I may be a good idea to dissect select scenes from these and analyse them in detail to help me understand the processes of good animation. I should also try and get my hands on any making of documentaries of  these animations to help me.

 

4. I need to start planning my animations in detail, put pen to paper, make entries on my blog. So far I have mainly kept my ideas and developed them in my head. I need to write them down so that I can properly construct them into a working final piece.