Monday, September 22, 2014

Finistère mises-en-abymes


Not sure about how the plural works for that. Anyway, we are returned from a truly marvellous, wonderful and lovely trip, with many many experiences to reflect on and photos to edit, but just for the moment here are three separate instances of mise-en-abyme I found on three separate days out.  In fact they are only really just mise-en-abyme, since it seems to me that to create the true sense of mirrors reflecting mirrors and fractals disappearing into themselves ad infinitum they need to be to the power of three at least (an image within an image within an image), whereas these only really repeat once, but they were, as it were, naturally occurring, and once I'd found one I was looking out for others, and was happy to find a trio, so the infinitely repeating and dwindling pattern must be left to the imagination.

  • On a door in a wall as we walked the perimeter of the Kernéléhen peninsula, straight from the door at Kerbiriou,









  • and finally, and perhaps my favourite, a mail box replica of the house it belonged to on the beautiful Île de Batz just off the port of Roscoff, though if it had been mine I would have had to make a replica of the replica out of a matchbox or something.




I must find away to bring more mise-en-abyme into my life...

More anon.

12 comments:

The Crow said...

Delightful, leaves me delight-filled and smiling. Thank you for these.

Catalyst said...

That house in your final photo is wonderful.

christopher said...

(0) Thank you

Ellena said...

Would you also have corrected the color of the shutters on the mailbox?
Not only have I learned a new word, I will look out for one or
more mise-en-abymes around here.
Merci beaucoup, Lucy.

Fire Bird said...

enchanting! there's a kind of magic in these that speaks to the child in me...

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Fantastique!

Lucy said...

Thanks all. It's something all kids love, I think, then you forget about it. I was really happy to rediscover it, and it's worth keeping your eyes open for. I found it a while back on a sardine tin, and my excellent and clever Quimpérois friend Setu told me what it was called. The links tell you more.

Ellena, yes, the odd coloured shutters are a puzzle, perhaps they just didn't get round to colouring them all!

marja-leena said...

Ah, you do find the most magical places and sights, Lucy!

Ellena said...

Me again Lucy.
I looked at your last post again.
That first photo! Had you taken it from a different angle could it have been a mise-en-abyme or do I understand the word wrong?

Lucy said...

Thanks again.

Ellena, not sure, the door on the wall has a small (rather faded) plaque on it under the number showing a door in a wall, but the one on the plaque is open showing a cottage or chalet or something within, whereas the actual door in the photo is closed, so yes that one is a bit of a loose interpretation! In fact they all only really work at all I suppose because I've made the actual things into images, so they contain an image of a thing within its own image. Or something like that!

I understand the original idea, from heraldry, only required a miniature coat of arms within a coat of arms, not necessarily, I think, even a repeat of the the larger one. I had a look on Flickr last night for photos tagged with it, and while some showed multiple relfections of reflections disappearing into infinity, many were simple single images within images. Almost makes me want to go back and reactivate my Flickr account but I don't like the changes they've made.

Thanks for studying so carefully!

Fire Bird said...

There is of course the most glorious exposition of this phenomenon in Russel Hoban's The Mouse And His Child. It's the label on a dog food can in this case!

Crafty Green Poet said...

these are lovely, specially the mailbox in the last photo