2006 Archives - Page 3 of 12

Dante Murals at Saint Mary’s College, California

December 8, 2015 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

In 2006, artists Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva collaborated on a series of Dante-themed murals for the walls of Dante Hall, at Saint Mary’s College of California.

“The powerful imagery of Dante’s Divine Comedy is leaping off the page and onto the walls of Dante Hall, where artists are transforming the drab first-floor corridor with colorful murals of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.

“Shawny Anderson, associate dean of the School of Liberal Arts, proposed the project in 2005 for a class which never came to be, but the idea resonated with the school’s leaders.

“‘I always thought that the halls of the College should ‘sing’ of the authors they honor,’ Anderson says.” –Debra Holtz, “Visualizing Dante,” St. Mary’s College of California News

See Ellen Silva’s page here.

Avatar: the Last Airbender

December 8, 2015 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

In season two, episode 12, Avatar Aang and his friends Sokka, Katara, and Tof take a refugee couple across a deadly strip of land named “The Serpent’s Pass.” Before they start the path, they come upon an archway with the words “Abandon hope” inscribed on it.

The episode is available to watch here.

Contributed by Alex Sallade (University of Delaware)

Rice & Beans Orchestra: “Dante’s Inferno” (2006)

September 9, 2014 By Gretchen Williams '14

Disco group Rice & Beans Orchestra released album “Dante’s Inferno” in 2006, though it was originally made in 1976. The album is a disco interpretation of Dante’s Inferno: “a disco-era extravaganza inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy“.

Click here to listen to the first part of “Dante’s Inferno” on YouTube.

Umberto Eco, Sator arepo eccetera (2006)

September 28, 2013 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

In 2006, Umberto Eco published a short collection of playful literary experiments, including rewritings of some of the most famous passages of the Divine Comedy. In these rewritings, Eco reverses the meaning of each word, rendering an entirely new meaning to the whole. Here is one example, taken from the first verses of the Comedy:

“Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita,
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.”

Eco’s version:

“Al margin del ristar di vostra morte
mi persi in un deserto illuminato,
ritrovando le piazze più distorte.”

For more examples, see Cinzia Rosati’s review.

Murder By Death, In Bocca al Lupo (2006)

September 5, 2013 By Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall

In May 2006, Indiana-based indie-rock/rockabilly group Murder By Death released In Bocca al Lupo, a concept album influenced by Dante’s Comedy. Asked about the connection to Dante’s poem, band front man Adam Turla explained, “In Bocca is a collection of short stories and each song deals with the idea of sin in a different way.” Each track narrates the story of a different character, woven through a pastiche of musical styles and exploring various aspects of sin, death, and transgression.

Read Marisa Brown’s review of the album at AllMusic.com, and Adam Turla’s full interview with Bobby Gorman of ThePunkSite.com here.

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