Surrealism's Praying Mantis and Castrating Woman

Roger Caillois and Marxism: A Game Studies Perspective

“…Surrealists became obsessed with the praying mantis for its abilities to metamorphose from one state into another—the female mantis kills the male through decapitation while mating. This “devouring force” had clear sexual connotation, but for Caillois, it was evidence of a transformation of consciousness (Markus, 2000). Ruth Markus writes further thatThis pantheistic desire to destroy the boundaries between humanity and nature, to break down the walls of one’s self, to become nothing and thus unite with nature was described by Caillois as a yearning for the primordial, for a return to prebirth unconsciousness, to the state of existence that precedes awareness.…”

“…But, as Caillois observed, in order to be swallowed up in this way we must first lose our individuality; he therefore refers to it as a desire to eradicate individuality— désindividualiser. (2000, p. 34)The loss of self had a divine aim, which was translated into reaching for a higher state of being, a consciousness that presided over material reality, hence the sur real. The praying mantis became a lyrical metaphor (Frank, 2003, p. 67) for the way consciousness transforms from real into a dream and thus creating a superior world (Markus, 2000, p. 34).…”

“…But, as Caillois observed, in order to be swallowed up in this way we must first lose our individuality; he therefore refers to it as a desire to eradicate individuality— désindividualiser. (2000, p. 34)…”

The Moral Panics of Sexuality

“…), across all continents, and throughout all known human history (Elwin 1949;Lederer 1968;O'Flaherty 1980;Raitt 1980;Walker 1983). It has subsisted in Biblical stories (and indeed all major religious doctrine) (Raitt 1980), folk tales (Guzlow and Mitchell 1980;Herrera-Sobek 1980), poems (Hidalgo 2001;Paglia 1990), high and low art (Markus 2000), modern popular culture (Claydon 2007;Rudd 2008), modern and archaic science (Drenth 2004), bedtime stories (Girardot 1977), rituals (Eliade 1963), and much more (Rudd 2008;Walker 1983).…”

A Brief Note on Giacometti

“…2. But see the excellent discussion in Markus (2000) 3. Lehmbruck (his Standing Youth from 1913 is pictured here) attended the Düsseldorf Kunstgewerbeschule and Kunstakademie between 1895 and 1901, working with Karl Janssen and undergoing more or less classical training as a sculptor and pictorial artist.…”