Mark Culham
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markculham.bsky.social
Mark Culham
@markculham.bsky.social
560 followers 500 following 4.2K posts
Where the bee sucks, there suck I
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markculham.bsky.social
Rough notes on the visual language of silent films

A comic classic (Reader, he didn't fall in!)
Three cropped screenshots from the film No Blood Relation by Mikio Naruse showing a man by the harbour edge feigning that he is losing his balance and might fall in.
December 1, 2025 at 11:11 AM
markculham.bsky.social
It's working on plan A, but there's always plan B.

(It seems whatever 📷 I want is out there somewhere)
December 1, 2025 at 11:04 AM
markculham.bsky.social
I went there specifically on a sunny day to take some bad pictures of Ninian Comper's south facing window. Or some very good pictures of both the window and its outside protective mesh.
Stained glass window by Ninian Comper showing all the protective mesh on the outside of the window silhouetted by the sun. Three figures in three lights of the window with Mary & child central.
December 1, 2025 at 9:28 AM
markculham.bsky.social
Aha! I've been to the church but didn't notice the Cosmatesque mosaic but then that was before I explored the Holbein Ambassadors floor and its supposed relation to Westminster's Cosmati pavement.
Three mosaic floors, from Iron Acton in the quoted post, the floor in the painting by Holbein of The Ambassadors, and the Cosmati pavement at Westminster, all with similar Cosmati style mosaics of a big circle with four smaller circles interlocked around its circumference.
December 1, 2025 at 9:05 AM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli Black and white self-portrait holding his camera to the side of his face and using something shiny but not a mirror although his face, hands and camera are all sharp but there's extreme fluid bevelling going on around this central third of the photograph. At the top is a circle like a large drop of water. And then there are swirls and smudges.
November 30, 2025 at 9:27 PM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli A black and white photograph of a man and a woman sitting in a space that I'm not sure what it is. It could be a room that opens out onto a veranda all the way along, in which case the photographer is close to the dividing line and shows the man sitting in the inner part and a woman sitting in-between but leaning forward into the outer part. Her head is down, her forehead on her forearms that are resting on her knees. He is leaning back looking out. There's a cluttered table with cups I can see. Ah! There is someone else. Another woman cropped by the right edge. I can make out an arm and leg. She is sitting on the veranda and is facing the other woman. There's a couple of vacant chairs.
November 30, 2025 at 9:17 PM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli Black & white photographic portrait of a man, upper body, who has kind of slithered into frame or at least gives that appearance with his body posture, slightly bent to our left and slightly forward from the hips his head arched slightly back the other way, he looks downwards into the camera. The background is split in two by a diagonal line of a wooden frame that runs along behind his neck as we see it. Dark grey above and white below.
November 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Three late 15th century-ish carved examples of John the Baptist with a camel's head & neck between his legs.
The first is attributed to Jan Crocq followed by two British examples.
Three carved figures of the John the Baptist with a camels head dangling down on its neck between the legs.
November 30, 2025 at 8:03 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Hold it, flash, bang, wallop, what a picture
What a picture, what a photograph
Poor old soul, blimey what a joke
Hat blown off in a cloud of smoke
Clap hands, stamp your feet
Banging on the big bass drum
What a picture, what a picture
Um-tiddly-um-pum-um-pum-pum
Stick it in your family album
A detail from the photograph in the quoted post of a man on the beach with an old fashioned camera on a tripod pointing to wards a large open box on wheels where people maybe sitting to have their photograph taken. It's difficult to make out because it is a very small blurred detail.
November 30, 2025 at 7:29 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Two dangly camel heads between the legs from Ninian Comper to compare with Ightham Mote. If Comper had that figure in mind I can't see any other quote from it. I need to explore further.

1. 📷 @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social
St James, Stonehaven
2. 📷Glass Angel
St John the Baptist, Cardiff
3. As above
Three figures of John the Baptist in stained glass. Two by Ninian Comper and our Cologne example from the previous post all with camel heads similarly positioned between the legs, all part of the camel skin costume. Nothing else particularly similar between Comper's figures and the Cologne example.
November 30, 2025 at 6:41 PM
markculham.bsky.social
This is a bit of a find. John the Baptist with a camel's head dangling down between his legs. I don't know why I haven't explored this before because I can put my hands on another. I see c.1525, Cologne mentioned.

📷 Budby
Ightham Mote
Two details from a stained glass window showing the figure of John the Baptist and a detail of his bare legs with a camel's head dangling between them, which is part of his camel skin costume.
November 30, 2025 at 6:17 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Rough notes on the visual language of silent films

Random legs and wheels pass each other during a montage.
A black & white screenshot from the film No Blood Relation directed by Mikio Naruse of a man and a bicycle passing each other but we only see the legs and wheels.
November 30, 2025 at 1:06 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Rough notes on the visual language of silent films

Running away
&
Running after
Two black & white screenshots from the film No Blood Relation by Mikio Naruse. A man, our thief, is running away but his head is turned to look back. It's an exaggerated, comic, running pose that I wouldn't want to try unless I'm on soft ground. And below we see a group of men running in the same direction.
November 30, 2025 at 10:54 AM
markculham.bsky.social
Rough notes on the visual language of silent films

'Thief!'
&
The Thief
Two black & white screenshots from the film No Blood Relation by Mikio Naruse. A man with his hand to his mouth in the classic calling out pose and below another man turns his head with a surprised look to his eyes. He's the thief.
November 30, 2025 at 10:47 AM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli The photographer is just inside somewhere like an archway, looking through a gap out onto the street where we see a man walking past in full stride, and on the other side a white car. The gap is about a third of the photograph. On the right is a large black-shadowed half open door with a toothed edge to its top, and on the left a pile of dark-shadowed boxes.
November 30, 2025 at 9:33 AM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli A black & white close up photograph of Roland Kirk playing multiple instruments at the same time. Looks like three saxophones. We see from the top of his black glasses to the bottom of his Saxophones. The rest is black.
November 30, 2025 at 9:23 AM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Max Oettli A black and white photograph of the photographer's crossed legs resting on the arm or the sofa with the window as background showing a detail of the house opposite with two windows.
November 30, 2025 at 9:16 AM
markculham.bsky.social
This is a detail of Rubens' drawing for the engraving. There's no mistaking who is who. John, Mary and another woman following Jesus. It's important this is John for John is the comforter, the one who sees the beginning and the end of things, and yes, he cries, but not like this, seeking solace.
A detail from Rubens' drawing of his painting for the engraving showing John crying on Mary's shoulder. Mary is leaning away from him and looking up.
November 29, 2025 at 9:54 PM
markculham.bsky.social
At Peterhouse and to a lesser extent in Hedgeland's Halifax window Mary & John have been marginalised. Rubens has a neat trick. Although they are on the right they are central in being closest to us but they are also along with the horses opening up the centre and those faces at the back.
Painting by Rubens' of the crucifixion that's under discussion. There's a gap so we see two faces right at the back looking up at it all from their side.
November 29, 2025 at 9:40 PM
markculham.bsky.social
George Hedgeland's translation is as compact as the original. His changes, probably necessitated by the confines of the window. The man on the ladder would have been awkwardly placed behind a mullion. But he's added what looks like a contemplative John, so different to Rubens'. So who is John?
Stained glass window using Rubens' crucifixion the same as was used at Peterhouse. I've added an enlarged detail of the figure Hedgeland added to the side. It's a figure standing behind the cross of Jesus with their head slightly down as if in quite contemplation.
November 29, 2025 at 9:23 PM
markculham.bsky.social
At Peterhouse Rubens' Mary & John are bottom right. But the woman centre left is wearing Mary's colours. Let's say she's Mary then the person next to her could be John, the compassionate look, but that figure has got headgear so is probably a woman. The two figures by Rubens' Mary, but which one?
Stained glass crucifixion at Peterhouse, Cambridge plus two details of candidates for Mary and John. It's a large scale crucifixion scene as it also has the two thieves and a lot of bit parts.
November 29, 2025 at 9:05 PM
markculham.bsky.social
I'll go out on a limb. No where else does John cry on Mary's shoulder other than in Rubens' crucifixion. But in these two translations into stained glass it's been messed with so I don't know who's who, as if Rubens needed amending.

Stained glass 2x📷 @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 8:43 PM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Snowdon Photographed from my book I have cropped a bit off the top and the bottom. A black and white photograph of Tom Stoppard with a bike between his legs except it has no wheels. He has one foot down and one foot slightly up as if it is on a pedal but there are no pedals and there is no chain. His hands are gripping the handles on the handlebar, it has a handlebar. So, standing on one leg he is holding the bike as normal looking into the camera. Behind him we see two wheels, pedals and a chain being ridden past.
November 29, 2025 at 6:21 PM
markculham.bsky.social
📷 Snowdon A black & white photograph of Tom Stoppard sitting on the ground with his back to a wall of gravestones lined up forming a wall. His head is turned to our left but his eyes are looking into the camera. His left leg bent, his right leg is more outstretched such that his foot has partly left the frame. His right arm dangles down between his legs and his left hand grabs it by the elbow as if he's taking his pulse with his thumb on the inner side. He's still alive.
November 29, 2025 at 5:55 PM
markculham.bsky.social
Comparison of details from the stained glass and the engraving. The full image is of Paul on his back having fallen from his horse with other riders and horses disturbed by the event.
November 29, 2025 at 1:44 PM