Neuroscientific Exploration of Strange Relations: Between The Fantastic and the Paranormal

S.C. Hickman's avatarThe Dark Forest: Literature, Philosophy, and Digital Arts

Tzvetan Todorov in his classic study of the fantastic, The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre once defined it this way:

Which brings us to the very heart of the fantastic. In a world which is indeed our world, the one we know, a world without devils, sylphides, or vampires, there occurs an event which cannot be explained by the laws of this same familiar world. The person who experiences the event must opt for one of two possible solutions: either he is the victim of an illusion of the senses, of a product of the imagination – and laws of the world then remain what they are; or else the event has indeed taken place, it is an integral part of reality – but then this reality is controlled by laws unknown to us.1

The fantastic occupies the duration of this uncertainty. Once we choose one answer…

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From Spirit Park to Spirit Dark

Andrew Seal's avatarthechangingpalette

Spirit Dark after Guernica, in progress

Spirit Park

The evolution of today’s post:

The Pacific Spirit Regional Park in Vancouver is a beautiful jewel in our city, a place of peace and tranquility that I have posted about many times, and as recently as this week’s Photo Challenge from The Daily Post. On our last visit there one of my photos inspired me…

…to set up a number of sheets of newsprint on the studio wall and see where it took me with charcoal, crayon and paint.

     

I was happy that the image was progressing well and was close to being finished…

…and then yesterday morning came the news from Spain of the horrific terrorist attack killing and injuring countless innocent men, women and children from all over the world, enjoying a summer’s evening in Las Ramblas in Barcelona.  The images were heartbreaking, and one particularly…

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