Post by mehtastic on Oct 23, 2019 12:45:08 GMT -5
A new helpfile added to Armageddon recently called "Allanaki Art" states the following:
First of all, while this post (like all my posts here, really) is critical, it is not intended specifically to shit on the effort of Renenutet in writing the helpfile or the staff in general in discussing Allanaki art themes. I have no reason to believe they didn't set out to try to make the setting better-documented and more fleshed out. One of Armageddon's strengths is how thoroughly documented many things are, and I think this effort was made with good intentions.
The problem is that Allanak has always been a less cohesive setting. Whereas Tuluk was heavy on documentation, Allanak was left more open to interpretation. Many people focus on different things in Allanak that serve to define the city for them: the body pile in Meleth's Circle, the existence of places like the Arena, the Elementalist Quarter, and the Labyrinth, and the curious nature of Tektolnes' and the templars' power. And while some things in Allanak are consistent, many other things are not. One such inconsistency in Allanak has always been artwork.
Artwork in Allanak ranges from the surreal, demonic artwork on some walls here and there, to more Roman-Greco styled statues of historical figures, to the steel dragon statue that serves as a shrine of sorts for people to give devotions to. It also delves into tacky Cash Coolidge references in the art stall in the bazaar. So discussion of Allanaki art, and by extension the application of this new helpfile as the primary mode that art should exist around, blatantly fails to match up with what is actually visible in-game. Rather, the helpfile comes off as what staff wish art in Allanak was like, rather than what art in Allanak actually is. If the staff want Allanaki art to be like this, that's great for them, but the next step is to update the sights of Allanak to match with the helpfile.
There is art everywhere in Allanak. In contrast to the north, it frequently goes uncelebrated, yet still art inhabits a vital part of Naki life in a very Allanaki way. The steel dragon at the city’s gates and the carved face overlooking the bazaar are as much a part of the city’s life as the shops and buildings. If Tuluk subscribes to the aphorism that life reflects art, in Allanak art most assuredly reflects life. It is strange, brutal and sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous and often all of these at once.
While art varies with the artist, there are themes that are common. The sexualization of the hideous. The beauty of brutality. The dynamic tension of violence. These concepts are present not only in painting and sculptures, but in the decoration of useful items and in architecture. The carvings on building the odd use of scale in furniture and the sacrifice of comfort for form alongside songs celebrating the base and debased all embody the city’s artistic sensibilities.
Commissioned works of art including death masks, statues of beautiful people with the faces of beasts, or insectile bodies with human faces inhabit prominent places, including the floor of the arena.
Some of the wealthiest households and meeting places within the city have furniture that requires steps to sit at or on, and in other places tables require one of sit on the floor. Not as easy as it might be if you are wearing clothes not made for moving, bending or breathing in.
Notes:
Not all art will follow these dictates of course. But these are the characteristics that make art recognizably Naki.
While art varies with the artist, there are themes that are common. The sexualization of the hideous. The beauty of brutality. The dynamic tension of violence. These concepts are present not only in painting and sculptures, but in the decoration of useful items and in architecture. The carvings on building the odd use of scale in furniture and the sacrifice of comfort for form alongside songs celebrating the base and debased all embody the city’s artistic sensibilities.
Commissioned works of art including death masks, statues of beautiful people with the faces of beasts, or insectile bodies with human faces inhabit prominent places, including the floor of the arena.
Some of the wealthiest households and meeting places within the city have furniture that requires steps to sit at or on, and in other places tables require one of sit on the floor. Not as easy as it might be if you are wearing clothes not made for moving, bending or breathing in.
Notes:
Not all art will follow these dictates of course. But these are the characteristics that make art recognizably Naki.
First of all, while this post (like all my posts here, really) is critical, it is not intended specifically to shit on the effort of Renenutet in writing the helpfile or the staff in general in discussing Allanaki art themes. I have no reason to believe they didn't set out to try to make the setting better-documented and more fleshed out. One of Armageddon's strengths is how thoroughly documented many things are, and I think this effort was made with good intentions.
The problem is that Allanak has always been a less cohesive setting. Whereas Tuluk was heavy on documentation, Allanak was left more open to interpretation. Many people focus on different things in Allanak that serve to define the city for them: the body pile in Meleth's Circle, the existence of places like the Arena, the Elementalist Quarter, and the Labyrinth, and the curious nature of Tektolnes' and the templars' power. And while some things in Allanak are consistent, many other things are not. One such inconsistency in Allanak has always been artwork.
Artwork in Allanak ranges from the surreal, demonic artwork on some walls here and there, to more Roman-Greco styled statues of historical figures, to the steel dragon statue that serves as a shrine of sorts for people to give devotions to. It also delves into tacky Cash Coolidge references in the art stall in the bazaar. So discussion of Allanaki art, and by extension the application of this new helpfile as the primary mode that art should exist around, blatantly fails to match up with what is actually visible in-game. Rather, the helpfile comes off as what staff wish art in Allanak was like, rather than what art in Allanak actually is. If the staff want Allanaki art to be like this, that's great for them, but the next step is to update the sights of Allanak to match with the helpfile.
