web02.fireside.fm Sat, 02 May 2026 16:11:37 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Mezzotint” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/mezzotint Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:00:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 11: Art is a Haunting Spirit https://www.weirdstudies.com/11 5073de4f-9f0e-4dd5-8a52-512c10ed2d60 Wed, 25 Apr 2018 10:00:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 11 Art is a Haunting Spirit full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel A discussion of M. R. James' ghost story "The Mezzotint" turns into a disquisition on the nature of art in the modern age. 1:15:55 yes M. R. James' "The Mezzotint" is one of the most fascinating, and most chilling, examples of the classic ghost story. In this episode, Phil and JF discover what this tale of haunted images and buried secrets tells us about the reality of ideas, the singularity of events, the virtual power of the symbol, and the enduring magic of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction. To accompany this episode, Phil recorded a full reading of the story. Listen to it here (http://www.weirdstudies.com/11a). REFERENCES M.R. James, "The Mezzotint" (http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/145) Robert Aickman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aickman), English author of "strange stories" Edgar Allan Poe, "The Oval Portrait" (https://poestories.com/read/ovalportrait) Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm) Marshall McLuhan, The Book of Probes (https://www.amazon.com/Book-Probes-Marshall-McLuhan/dp/1584232528) Clement Greenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clement_Greenberg), American art critic J.F. Martel, Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice (https://www.northatlanticbooks.com/shop/reclaiming-art-in-the-age-of-artifice/) Marcel Duchamps, Fountain (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573) Henri Bergson, Laughter (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4352) John Cage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cage), American composer David Lynch (director), Twin Peaks: The Return (http://www.sho.com/twin-peaks) Gilles Deleuze, [Difference and Repetition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DifferenceandRepetition) Vilhelm Hammershøi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelm_Hammersh%C3%B8i), Danish painter Sigmund Freud, [Beyond the Pleasure Principle](https://www.libraryofsocialscience.com/assets/pdf/freudbeyondthepleasureprinciple.pdf) Martin Heidegger, [What is Called Thinking?](https://www.amazon.com/Called-Thinking-Harper-Perennial-Thought/dp/006090528X/ref=sr11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524419879&sr=1-1&keywords=heidegger+what+is+called+thinking) Stanley Kubrick, [The Shining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheShining(film)) Ferruccio Busoni, Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music (https://archive.org/details/sketchofanewesth000125mbp) David Lynch on why you shouldn't watch films on your phone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKiIroiCvZ0) Nelson Goodman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Goodman), American philosopher Pablo Picasso, Guernica (https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp) Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-astonishing-power-of-the-master) Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings (http://www.harpercollins.ca/9780061627019/basic-writings) Phil Ford, "No One Understands You" (http://www.weirdstudies.com/articles/no-one-understands-you) M. R. James' "The Mezzotint" is one of the most fascinating, and most chilling, examples of the classic ghost story. In this episode, Phil and JF discover what this tale of haunted images and buried secrets tells us about the reality of ideas, the singularity of events, the virtual power of the symbol, and the enduring magic of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction.

To accompany this episode, Phil recorded a full reading of the story. Listen to it here.

REFERENCES

M.R. James, "The Mezzotint"
Robert Aickman, English author of "strange stories"
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Oval Portrait"
Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
Marshall McLuhan, The Book of Probes
Clement Greenberg, American art critic
J.F. Martel, Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice
Marcel Duchamps, Fountain
Henri Bergson, Laughter
John Cage, American composer
David Lynch (director), Twin Peaks: The Return
Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter
Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Martin Heidegger, What is Called Thinking?
Stanley Kubrick, [The Shining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining(film))_
Ferruccio Busoni, Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music
David Lynch on why you shouldn't watch films on your phone
Nelson Goodman, American philosopher
Pablo Picasso, Guernica
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings
Phil Ford, "No One Understands You"

]]> M. R. James' "The Mezzotint" is one of the most fascinating, and most chilling, examples of the classic ghost story. In this episode, Phil and JF discover what this tale of haunted images and buried secrets tells us about the reality of ideas, the singularity of events, the virtual power of the symbol, and the enduring magic of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction.

To accompany this episode, Phil recorded a full reading of the story. Listen to it here.

REFERENCES

M.R. James, "The Mezzotint"
Robert Aickman, English author of "strange stories"
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Oval Portrait"
Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
Marshall McLuhan, The Book of Probes
Clement Greenberg, American art critic
J.F. Martel, Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice
Marcel Duchamps, Fountain
Henri Bergson, Laughter
John Cage, American composer
David Lynch (director), Twin Peaks: The Return
Gilles Deleuze, Difference and Repetition
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Danish painter
Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Martin Heidegger, What is Called Thinking?
Stanley Kubrick, [The Shining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining(film))_
Ferruccio Busoni, Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music
David Lynch on why you shouldn't watch films on your phone
Nelson Goodman, American philosopher
Pablo Picasso, Guernica
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings
Phil Ford, "No One Understands You"

]]> Weird Stories: M. R. James' "The Mezzotint" https://www.weirdstudies.com/11a a91cbd41-8de2-411e-838a-78973caee39b Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:00:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel bonus Phil Ford and J. F. Martel An unabridged reading of M. R. James' classic ghost story, "The Mezzotint," read by Weird Studies co-host, Phil Ford. 27:34 yes M. R. James has been hailed as the unrivalled maser of the classic ghost tale, and his powers are at their zenith in "The Mezzotint," a story that first appeared in his 1904 collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. In it, James reimagines the Gothic trope of the haunted picture in a weird new light. The text, read here by co-host Phil Ford, serves as a springboard for Weird Studies episode 11, where we discuss the enduring power of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction. M. R. James has been hailed as the unrivalled maser of the classic ghost tale, and his powers are at their zenith in "The Mezzotint," a story that first appeared in his 1904 collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. In it, James reimagines the Gothic trope of the haunted picture in a weird new light. The text, read here by co-host Phil Ford, serves as a springboard for Weird Studies episode 11, where we discuss the enduring power of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction.

]]> M. R. James has been hailed as the unrivalled maser of the classic ghost tale, and his powers are at their zenith in "The Mezzotint," a story that first appeared in his 1904 collection, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary. In it, James reimagines the Gothic trope of the haunted picture in a weird new light. The text, read here by co-host Phil Ford, serves as a springboard for Weird Studies episode 11, where we discuss the enduring power of the art object in the age of mechanical reproduction.

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