Episode 30--What Tolkien's Visual Art Tells Us About His Creative Mind--John McQuillen and Holly Ordway
02/27/19 • 64 min
While Tolkien’s brilliance as a world-builder and storyteller is well-established, fewer people are aware of just how unique (and obsessive) his creative process was, or that he was a gifted visual artist. That is changing thanks to an unprecedented exhibition of Tolkien’s personal items, manuscripts and artworks, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth, currently on display at the Morgan Library in Manhattan.
John McQuillen, Assistant Curator at the Morgan Library, and Holly Ordway, author of the upcoming study Tolkien’s Modern Sources, join me to discuss the exhibition, which sheds light on Tolkien’s use of visual art to help him solidify his literary vision, the role his stories and artworks played in his family life, and (perhaps surprising to many who view Tolkien as a conservative fuddy-duddy) his willingness to draw on an eclectic range of sources, including distinctly modern ones, to enhance his creative expression.
Links
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth at the Morgan (view selected images from the exhibition) https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/tolkien
The exhibition book, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Maker-Middle-earth-Catherine-McIlwaine/dp/1851244859
Holly Ordway http://www.hollyordway.com/
Sheen Center for Thought & Culture https://www.sheencenter.org/
Past Tolkien-related episodes
Episode 15: Online Education with The Tolkien Professor—Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/podcast/index.cfm?id=15
Episode 16: Extremely Specific Middle-earth Q&A with The Tolkien Professor—Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/podcast/index.cfm?id=16
This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
While Tolkien’s brilliance as a world-builder and storyteller is well-established, fewer people are aware of just how unique (and obsessive) his creative process was, or that he was a gifted visual artist. That is changing thanks to an unprecedented exhibition of Tolkien’s personal items, manuscripts and artworks, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth, currently on display at the Morgan Library in Manhattan.
John McQuillen, Assistant Curator at the Morgan Library, and Holly Ordway, author of the upcoming study Tolkien’s Modern Sources, join me to discuss the exhibition, which sheds light on Tolkien’s use of visual art to help him solidify his literary vision, the role his stories and artworks played in his family life, and (perhaps surprising to many who view Tolkien as a conservative fuddy-duddy) his willingness to draw on an eclectic range of sources, including distinctly modern ones, to enhance his creative expression.
Links
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth at the Morgan (view selected images from the exhibition) https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/tolkien
The exhibition book, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth by Catherine McIlwaine https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Maker-Middle-earth-Catherine-McIlwaine/dp/1851244859
Holly Ordway http://www.hollyordway.com/
Sheen Center for Thought & Culture https://www.sheencenter.org/
Past Tolkien-related episodes
Episode 15: Online Education with The Tolkien Professor—Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/podcast/index.cfm?id=15
Episode 16: Extremely Specific Middle-earth Q&A with The Tolkien Professor—Corey Olsen https://www.catholicculture.org/podcast/index.cfm?id=16
This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
Previous Episode
Episode 29 - Catholic Feminism: Should We? - Abigail Rine Favale
Today there is more pressure than ever before on both women and men to embrace feminism. In her outstanding memoir, Into the Deep, Abigail Rine Favale gives a resonant account of her journey from an evangelical childhood to a Christian feminism which inevitably gave way to the secular, postmodern variety. This ideology gradually gutted her faith—a process interrupted by childbirth and a sudden and unexpected conversion to Catholicism.
We discuss the feasibility of Catholic feminism, the danger of interpreting Scripture and doctrine through a predetermined ideological hermeneutic, facile uses of the word "equality", the totalizing nature of all ideology, the role of intuition in the spiritual life, and more.
Links
Buy Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion using discount code “DEEP” for 40% off https://wipfandstock.com/into-the-deep.html
Recent articles by Abigail Rine Favale
“Confessions of a Feminist Heretic” http://churchlife.nd.edu/2019/01/11/confessions-of-a-feminist-heretic/
“Sex and Symbol” http://churchlife.nd.edu/2018/06/19/sex-and-symbol/
“Hildegard of Bingen’s Vital Contribution to the Concept of Woman” http://churchlife.nd.edu/2018/12/11/hildegard-of-bingens-vital-contribution-to-the-concept-of-woman/
Other articles
Dawn Eden, “Eve of Deconstruction: Feminism and John Paul II” https://www.catholicity.com/commentary/eden/03324.html
Thomas V. Mirus, “Should women be meek and mild like Mary?” https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1594
This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio
Next Episode
Episode 31 - Some Jazz You Should Hear
You may or may not know that I have a background in jazz piano (I wrote and performed the intro and outro music for this show, for example). In this album I introduce you to about ten of my very favorite jazz albums. This is an experimental solo episode, but don’t worry, we’ll be back to interviews next week.
Links
The main list:
Charlie Parker, “Parker’s Mood” (1948) (listen to this original version, not the overdubbed version from Clint Eastwood’s depressing film Bird!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wa7El-k3jQ
Best of the Savoy and Dial Master Takes (I mentioned the complete set in the episode but this is more approachable): https://www.amazon.com/Best-Complete-Savoy-Studio-Recordings/dp/B000067FUO/
“Koko”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrNwE6GI70
Erroll Garner, The Complete Concert by the Sea (1958): https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Concert-Sea-Erroll-Garner/dp/B00ZJ5QXDO/
“I’ll Remember April”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_aILGaLqyc
Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (1964): https://www.amazon.com/Getz-Gilberto-Stan/dp/B0000047CX/
“Desafinado”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So718wk426c
Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio, Smokin’ at the Half Note (1965): https://www.amazon.com/Smokin-At-Half-Note-Remastered/dp/B0006VXF4G/
“Unit 7”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D12_468jvNk
Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (1959): https://www.amazon.com/Kind-Blue-Miles-Davis/dp/B000002ADT/
“Blue in Green”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veDgWww1hIQ
Bill Evans’s liner notes: https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/bill-evans-kind-blue-liner-notes/
Bill Evans, Alone (1968): https://www.amazon.com/Alone-VME-Bill-Evans/dp/B00006C79A/
“Here’s That Rainy Day”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMa2VaV3Voo
Miles Davis, Nefertiti (1968): https://www.amazon.com/Nefertiti-Miles-Davis/dp/B003O5MODY/
“Nefertiti”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHBIfBex7Ig
Herbie Hancock, Speak Like a Child (1968): https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Like-Child-Herbie-Hancock/dp/B0007LLQ3W/
“Speak Like a Child”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTNLWi-xAkE
Chick Corea, Friends (1978): https://www.amazon.com/Friends-CHICK-COREA/dp/B01LVWGSGJ
"Waltz for Dave": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNdowVQ9nxE
Other albums mentioned:
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Bird and Diz (1950): https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Diz-Charlie-Parker/dp/B009R50YU0/
“Bloomdido”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MCGweQ8Oso
Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim, Elis & Tom (1974): https://www.amazon.com/Elis-Antonio-Carlos-Jobim-Regina/dp/B0017YWG2S
“Aguas de Março”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1tOV7y94DY
Miles Davis, Miles Smiles (1967): https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Smiles-Davis/dp/B016QE48TM/
“Footprints”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62p-CXrYmf4
Herbie Hancock et al., Tribute to Miles (1992): ht...
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