House of Cards, Season 2, episode 13, 18:44 Title: Meeting Description: Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) meets his nemesis, Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney), in the basement of an opera house while Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is performed upstairs. After month of heavy intrigues and fierce positioning, these two shadowy figures face off at the end of a dim hallway as part of Frank’s final gambit for the presidency. Readers, please help us by supplying a caption for this image! As a reminder, the winning caption will be hand-drawn into the blank space below the image. The reader who supplies the winning caption will receive a signed print and be named an official collaborator for this piece. Submit captions below in the comments! Contest closes Saturday at noon (US, EST). Winner announced Sunday. Next piece up in one week! Keep tabs on the project and contest at the project website here, review the details of it at the previous post here, or see … Continue reading →

It was a very tight race this week, thanks to all who submitted! Congratulations to Rebecca, and since we had so many submissions, we’d like to acknowledge Anouk and Inesbruinsmablog as runners-up. (Rebecca: Email aestheticsforbirds@gmail.com with contact details for your prize.) House of Cards, Season 2 “Stronger than lover’s love is lover’s hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make.” – Medea, Euripides Title: Bathroom Description: An amazing image, embodying the delicate and complex relationship between Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire Underwood (Robin Wright). Frank learns that a general, whom he is now to honor at a public ceremony, raped his wife when the two attended college together. The viewpoint, we take as observers, is extraordinary. After we witness him commit a murder to keep his own secrets, we are reminded of Frank’s genuine loyalty, compassion, and humanity. Or is it merely a double standard? Next piece up tomorrow! Keep tabs on … Continue reading →

House of Cards, Season 2 Title: Bathroom Description: An amazing image, embodying the delicate and complex relationship between Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire Underwood (Robin Wright). Frank learns that a general, whom he is now to honor at a public ceremony, raped his wife when the two attended college together. The viewpoint, we take as observers, is extraordinary. After we witness him commit a murder to keep his own secrets, we are reminded of Frank’s genuine loyalty, compassion, and humanity. Or is it merely a double standard? And just for fun, here’s a draft image of the drawing in Reckhenrich’s studio: Readers, please help us by supplying a caption for this image! *Quote or not, we want to see anything that offers an interesting or clever twist on the image.* And as a reminder, the winning caption will be hand-drawn into the blank space below the image. The reader who supplies the winning … Continue reading →

A third winner! Congratulations to Anouk, who’s won for the second time, both times with short poems she composed for the image. House of Cards, Season 1 “Arms may be warmer than a coat Emptiness is too heavy to carry alone Our skin is the limit within which we live” Title: Tunnel Description: Conspiracy at its best. An empty space, literally underground. The lines of Harry Weese’s famous subway stations pull Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) together, while the pillar reveals the tenseness and separation between them. We are pulled so close in this frame that we experience ourselves as a third participant and conspirator. Next piece up tomorrow! Keep tabs on the project and contest at the project website here, or review the details of it at the previous post here.