AWalkonBrandonHill

HumanityandNatureintheCityofSlavery

Adecayingpieceofwoodunderaplanetreecaughtmyeye.

Choosing

Ithoughtofdecayandageingandlookedmoreclosely.

Itwasreddishandfullofholes.Itlaylikeacarcassamongstfallenleaves.

Itwasahabitat.Iwonderedwhoinhabiteditandwhenandhow

theycametoliveinit.

RoBnganddecaywasthepre‐condiDonofitshomeliness

Observinganddescribing

Thisisquitesmall,aboutfourincheslongandreddishincolour.Therearewhite,powderydepositswhichcouldbefungalgrowth.Itiswideratoneendandtaperstoapoint.

IfitwerepossibletostanditpoinDngupwards,itwouldlooklikenothingmoreexactlythana

termites’mound.

HowinteresDng,thataprocessofdecayandtheindustriousconstrucDonofseveralthousand

insectscanproducehabitatssosimilarinform!

Ques3oning

•  Whichkindoftreewasitonceapartof?Wasitaplanetree?

•  Whatisthesignificanceofplanetrees?•  Whatgaveititsredcolour?•  Howlongdidittake,fromfallingtotheground,forthewoodtobecomelikethis?

•  Howlongdoesittakeforapieceofwoodtorotdowncompletely?

•  Wholivesinitandwhendidtheyarrive?

Metaphysicalques3ons•  Howdopeopleinterveneinnature’sprogressfromnewgrowthtodyinganddecay?

•  Whydowefindmeaninginshapeseventhoughtheymayberandom?

•  DoesanyoneelsefindbeautyinroNennessanddecay?

•  WhatcanIlearnfromthisaboutlivinglifemorerichlyDllthedayIdie?

Stories:MyexisDngknowledge

IalreadyknowandloveJohnKeats’fascinaDonwiththebeautyandtransienceofnature

Melancholy

ShedwellswithBeauty—Beautythatmustdie;AndJoy,whosehandiseverathislipsBiddingadieu...

WelcomeJoyandWelcomeSorrowWELCOMEjoy,andwelcomesorrow...Cometo‐day,andcometo‐morrow,Idoloveyoubothtogether!Ilovetomarksadfacesinfairweather;Andhearamerrylaughamidthethunder;FairandfoulIlovetogether...Infantplayingwithaskull;Morningfair,andshipwreck'dhull...

KeatswasprofoundlyinfluencedbyShakespeare,whowovethethemeofdecayrichlyintothe

imageryofHamlet

‘there’s something ro1en in the state of Denmark!’

...andtouchedonitinother,lateplays...

Now bless thyself: thou me1est with things dying, I with things newborn

NewLearningIfyouGoogle‘roNenness’,aPunkwebsiteisthe

firsthit.DidthePunkmovementdrawonsomedeepinsDnctinpeopleforreconcilingourselvestodeathanddecay,orwasitjustareacDontoacomplacent20thCenturyculture

oforderandcontrol?

Orboth?

IfyouGoogle‘decay’,youfindaNewYorkBoyBandhascalleditself‘Decaydance’!Hereisoneoftheirt‐shirts.

Encounteringfundsofknowledge

ItcouldbemoreinteresDngforthisenquirytolookinto‘roNenwood’.GooglegivesnineopDons,mostlyonwoodtreatmentandrestoraDon,butalsooneon‘roNenwood

insects’.

Clearlythereareenthusiastsoutthere...

...includingthewritersofthis‘ElytraandAntenna’website:

“Thesepagesarededicatedtothoseenthusiastswhoseloveforbeetles,walkingsDcks,grasshoppers,manDds,andotherinvertebrateshasbroughtthemtorearingofthesealiencreaturessothattheycanenjoytheiranDcsandbeautyyearround.”

FemaleslayeggsinholesthattheyexcavateinoldroNenwood.LarvaefeedonthefungiandtakeaboutninemonthstoreachmaturitywhenfedroNenoak,beechandsomeotherhardwoods.

mediumstagbeetle

Thebig‘world‐view’quesDon

Whofindsbeautyindeath?

LearningRelaDonships!

Someonetellsmeabout...

TheExquisiteCorpse

Wikipedia:

Exquisitecorpse(alsoknownasexquisitecadaverorrota3ngcorpse)isamethodbywhichacollecDonofwordsorimagesiscollecDvelyassembled.EachcollaboratoraddstoacomposiDoninsequence,eitherbyfollowingarule(e.g."Theadjec@venounadverbverbtheadjec@venoun")orbybeingallowedtoseetheendofwhatthepreviouspersoncontributed.

Google:‘beautyofdeath’

GregorSchneider

“Thereisnothingperverseaboutadyingpersoninanartgallery...”(April2008)

Foryears,Ihaveadreamedofaroominwhichpeoplecandieinpeace.It'sasimpleroom:floodedwithlight,withawoodenfloor

Ihaverecreatedthisroom‐asanarDst,thatiswhatIdo‐andatthemoment,itisstandingrighthereinmystudio.Anyminuteitcouldbedismantled,putonaplaneandreinstalledanywhereintheworld,forsomeonenearingtheendoftheirdaysandwhowantstodieinahumaneandharmoniousenvironment.

"Iwanttodisplayapersondyingnaturally...orsomebodywhohasjustdied.Myaimistoshowthebeautyofdeath."

ReacDon!

I'mnotanaiveperson,butIdon'tthinkthereisanythingwrongorperverseaboutthisdream.Ithinkit'squiteinnocent.SoithasbeenratherashocktomethatforthelastweekIhavebeenreceivingdeaththreatsbyphoneandemail.

Whoandwhatisdecayinghere?

•  Withinafewdays,thousandsofarDclesappearedacrosstheworld...Inaway,Iamnotsurprisedthattheyhavetriggeredsomeabsolutelyhorrificimagesintheheadsofjournalistsandreaders.AndyetIamsDllastonishedbythenatureofthecommentsIreceived,anddisturbedbytheirvulgarityandviolence.IreceivedthreatsinmulDplelanguages,someofthemabsurd,someofthemseriouslythreatening.

•  SomeoneemailedtosuggestIshouldbe"slaughtered"andgiven"theJesustreatment".Someoneelseemailed:"Whydon'tyoukillyourmotherandshowhertouswhilehe's[sic]dying?"Anothertoldmemyartworkswere"degenerate".

TheBeautyofDeathbyKahlilGibran

Singofthepastasyoubeholdthedawnofhopeinmyeyes,for

Itsmagicmeaningisasoibeduponwhichmyheartrests.