Anamorphosis

Goodbye Jane, don't sleep forever
Come up again, lets take a walk
Let's go outside and play

We don't wanna take all your time
All the children sing
We don't wanna play with your mind
All the children sing

Goodbye Anne, I saw the pictures
I held your hand, and I kissed your stitches
I cried all night, today and tomorrow
The dye in your hair
And your black little fingers
Your blue lips crack in the sun

We don't wanna take all your time
All the children sing
We don't wanna play with your mind
All the children sing

Anamorphosis
I beg your pardon
Anamorphosis
Step into my garden
Anamorphosis
No retribution
Anamorphosis
My execution

Lyrics by:

Available on:
Unofficially released 2nd Seahorses album (3.24)

Details:
This track opens with some Led Zeppelin style drumming ('When The Levee Breaks').

Holbein's 'The Ambassadors' (1533). This painting represents three levels: the heavens (as portrayed by the astrolabe and other objects on the upper shelf), the living world (as evidenced by books and a musical instrument on the lower shelf), and death (signified by the skull). Among the clues to the figures' explorative associations are two globes (one terrestrial and one celestial), a quadrant, a torquetum, a polyhedral sundial and various textiles: the floor mosaic, based on a design from Westminster Abbey (the Cosmati pavement, before the High Altar), and the carpet on the upper shelf, which is most notably oriental. Jean de Dinteville, aged 29, French ambassador to England in 1533, is the figure on the left; on the right is Georges de Selve, aged 25, bishop of Lavaur, who acted on several occasions as ambassador to the Emperor, the Venetian Republic and the Holy See. The commonly accepted symbol of discord, a lute with a broken string, is included next to a hymnbook in Martin Luther's translation, hinting at strife between scholars and the clergy.

Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. 'Ana - morphosis' comes from the Greek words meaning 'formed again.' 'Leonardo's Eye' (c. 1485), by Leonardo da Vinci, is the earliest known example of perspective anamorphosis. Although there are no notes accompanying this drawing by Leonardo, he does refer to the mechanics of anamorphic drawing in his treatise on painting, "And if you were to paint this on a wall in front of which you can move freely, the effect would appear out of proportion to you because of the great difference OR and RQ [the intervals]. This happens because the eye is so close to the wall that the painting appears foreshortened. And if you wished to paint that, however, your perspective would have to be viewed through a single hole." There are two main types of anamorphosis: Perspective (oblique) and Mirror (catoptric). Examples of perspectival anamorphosis date to the early Renaissance (15th Century), whereas mirror anamorphosis (or catoptric anamorphosis) can be traced to the Baroque (17th century). John Squire has created several artworks of painted sheep's skulls, inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe; one of Squire's pieces is entitled, 'Try To See It From Every Point Of View', a lyric from Sophia, a John Squire solo track. Is this perhaps referring to Anamorphosis art, asking the viewer to look at the image in front of them in different ways ? Hans Holbein the Younger's (1497 - 1543) 'The Ambassadors', in which a distorted shape lies diagonally across the bottom of the frame, is perhaps the most famous example of anamorphosis art. The skull achieves its true shape if you position yourself at an oblique angle relative to the right side of the picture plane.

Top left: 'Try To See It From Every Point Of View', a photograph by John Squire which features in the debut LP collage.
Top right: The undistorted skull from Holbein's 'The Ambassadors'. There are two Memento mori skulls in the Holbein work; the other is a medallion on Jean de Dinteville's hat. The crucifix, just visible behind the curtain, encourages contemplation of Christ's ultimate sacrifice.
Middle: Andrea Pozzo's (1642 - 1709) painted ceiling (1685) in the Church of St. Ignazio. The ceiling and vault of the Church of St. Ignazio in Rome, painted by Pozzo, represented the pinnacle of illusion.
Bottom left: The illustionistic perspective of Pozzo's brilliant trompe-l'oeil dome at St. Ignazio is revealed by viewing it from the opposite end.
Bottom right: Oculus on the ceiling of the Spouses Chamber (1471 - 74), castle of San Giorgio in Mantua, Italy, by Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431 – 1506)

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