{"id":309,"date":"2008-05-11T20:03:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-12T00:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=309"},"modified":"2008-05-11T20:03:00","modified_gmt":"2008-05-12T00:03:00","slug":"to-the-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=309","title":{"rendered":"To the Reader"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"To<\/a>
<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

To the Reader (2008) <\/em><\/p>\n

[Click on the image above to see the view with binoculars.]<\/p>\n

The poems [in Flowers of Evil<\/a><\/em>] found a small but appreciative audience, but greater public attention was given to their subject matter. The principal themes of sex and death<\/a> were considered scandalous, and the book became a by-word for unwholesomeness among mainstream critics of the day<\/a>. Baudelaire, his publisher, and the printer were successfully prosecuted for creating an offense against public morals<\/a>. In the poem “Au lecteur” (“To the Reader”) that prefaces Les fleurs du mal<\/i>, Baudelaire<\/a> accuses his readers of hypocrisy<\/a> and of being as guilty of sins and lies as the poet.
—Language is a Virus<\/a><\/p>\n

Flowers of Evil<\/em> is perhaps the most influential book of poems of the nineteenth century. The title, like the poems themselves, establishes a dialectic between beauty and sin<\/a>. A flower usually evokes the beauty of innocence — of nature in fragile, expectant bloom<\/a>. But, the poet posits, is there not beauty as well in the excesses of nature<\/a>, in the ugly aspects of being, in an amoral life? Is not even — or especially — the freshest flower always on the verge of decay<\/a>? Baudelaire<\/a> adored lust, ennui<\/a>, and avarice. He opens his collection of poems with an address “To the Reader,” which announces both his own and his addressee’s propensity for falseness<\/a>: “You — hypocrite reader — my twin — my brother.” Within us all lie the flowers of evil<\/a>.
—ArtandCulture
<\/a><\/p>\n

~\/~<\/p>\n

From the “Flowers of Evil” series. Poem by Charles Baudelaire<\/a>. Translation by Robert Lowell<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Image made with Orca. Post-processed until it became both putrid<\/a> and sublime.<\/p>\n

Tags:<\/strong> fractal<\/a>, fractals<\/a>, fractal art<\/a>, digital art<\/a>, illustrated poetry<\/a>, charles baudelaire<\/a>, robert lowell<\/a>, to the reader<\/a>, putrid and sublime<\/a>, view with binoculars<\/a>, cruelanimal<\/a>, orbit trap<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To the Reader (2008) [Click on the image above to see the view with binoculars.] The poems [in Flowers of Evil] found a small but appreciative audience, but greater public attention was given to their subject matter. The principal themes of sex and death were considered scandalous, and the book became a by-word for unwholesomeness … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/TotheReader.jpg?fit=500%2C685","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":677,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=677","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":0},"title":"Fractal Land has seen the Light!","author":"Tim","date":"7 January, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at Orbit Trap we've been accused by some of being too \"preachy\".\u00a0 Maybe it's true.\u00a0 Consider this:\u00a0 A recent reader and veteran fractal artist, Marcos Napier, has credited Orbit Trap with helping him to usher in \"A New Era\" for his fractal artwork and his website, Fractalland.com. Somehow inspired\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/marcos.png?fit=472%2C485&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=10","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":1},"title":"Who am I and what is this?","author":"Tim","date":"31 July, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Everybody knows Terry, but what about me, Igor.I like fractals.I like words and pictures. Like Dick and Perry, together they form a third personality. Illustrated, illuminated, an alloy.I like machines that make pictures. Preferably ones with fewer buttons that enslave the computer, harnessing clever algorithms and making them do all\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=10#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":302,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=302","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":2},"title":"The Arabian Nights","author":"Tim","date":"14 April, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Sterli18.looJust like fractals, there is a special allure to the stories of The Arabian Nights.And also like fractals, I think that special quality that makes them attractive comes from their unique origin: fractals springing from a strange new area of mathematics; and The Arabian Nights, from the Middle East.I'm not\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":321,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=321","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":3},"title":"An "Our Ears Are Burning" Update","author":"cruelanimal","date":"19 June, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been experiencing hot flashes around the ears lately. I think a round-up of the latest buzz reactions to Orbit Trap might be in order.Let's start with Keith MacKay's most recent exercise in pouting:It looks like Orbit Trap is taking credit for ridding the Internet of the most recent calendar\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"My droogies will hear about this!!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/orbittrap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/malcolmOT.jpg?fit=500%2C322&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":384,"url":"http:\/\/orbittrap.ca\/?p=384","url_meta":{"origin":309,"position":4},"title":"Sharing the Love","author":"cruelanimal","date":"8 May, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"They love! They share! They share and love and share! Share, share, share! Love, love, love! [Image seen on FiveThirtyEight.] Somebody gets to be smart and somebody gets to be dumb. --Karl Rove Every now and then, it's fun to type \"orbit trap blog\" into Google. 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