“I am the Dragon and you call me insane? (…) Before Me you are a slug in the sun. You are privy to a great Becoming and you recognize nothing. You are an ant in the afterbirth. It is in your nature to do one thing correctly: before Me you rightly tremble. Fear is not what you owe (…) You owe Me awe.” – Thomas Harris, “Red Dragon”, 1981.
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” – Revelation 12, King James Version (KJV), 1611.
For us, the book of Revelation (the Apocalypse) is by far the most inspiring chapter of the whole Bible. Probably because it portrays the symbolic end of a cycle and beginning of a new one. An epiphanic moment of self-discovery after a demanding (inner) confrontation.
The promised land, the New Jerusalem reflects no more than a state of harmony and inner peace that is achieved in the end of that chaotic battle.
In that final chapter of the Bible, the image of the Red Dragon haunted us for a very long time…we wonder why we didn’t make a design of him before.
In modern culture, that Red Dragon conquered a special place thanks to Thomas Harris’ novels, starring the cannibal psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
His first book of that intense franchise, also called “Red Dragon” was adapted at least two times to the cinema – “Manhunter” in 1986 and “Red Dragon” in 2002- None of these shine in my collection as the “Silent of the Lambs” but that is a conversation for another time.
That adaptation from 2002 has a particularly interesting scene that excited our creativity. The main antagonist, Francis Dolarhyde (The Tooth Fairy), desperate to retain control of himself from the claws of the Red Dragon, visits the Brooklyn Museum to see William Blake’s original apocalyptic watercolor. In his attempts to destroy the Dragon he devours the painting right there.
The act of eating transcends the nutritional needs and it might have a symbolic relation to predatory behaviours, assuming control and inspiring fear and respect. Studies on cannibalism and devouring acts reveals that ego and narcissism are the central issue, allied to an extreme and pretentious desire to perform something extraordinary. In cases of schizophrenia, the same actions are a self-defense reaction to a perceived threat of destruction and this is probably the case of Dolarhyde when he eats the painting.
We guess we are running away from the topic now. This is a great source of info but for another design called “Chronos Complex”.
So, back on track, that same watercolor that is eaten by Dolarhyde, a masterpiece from William Blake is the main inspiration for this design.
Blake did different versions for this subject, I know at least four Red Dragons made by him. That could mean some kind of attraction to the character, which is not surprising due to the time he lived and the artistic influence of that epoque. Some say that those pictures were actually commissioned, however, due to the intensity and dramatic charisma attached to these figures, I strongly believe that he had a great pleasure painting them.
Many are the romantic artists (18th-19th century) that explore their personal impulses, their imagination through a symbolic way, far from the academic rules. Some creative romanticists, inspired by the ideals of the French revolution, used their artistic philosophy to rebel against the sober neoclassicism and logical thought that “poisoned” the arts and society. For that reason, the figure of Satan and other archetypes of “villains” are very common in their works, reflecting a different perspective from everything that was established; a very good example is the “Paradise Lost” from John Milton. I would say, some of those artists actually identify themselves with these fallen rebel spirits who fought against the authority in a courageous act of liberation.
For the first time in the history of the arts, Satan received a new, and more benign title as a savior, the true “light of the world”.
In the painting in question, It looks evident that Blake’s Red Dragon assumes the position of main character, unlike most of the representations of the same scene. It would not be surprising if Blake would say that was a self-portrait, a portrait of his own fantastic imagination conquering the rational spirit of that time.
Nowadays, the concept of imagination equals everything that is chaotic, we all know that the public school and the society in general tends to demote it, contrasting to the importance of logical thought. Even for the audience, we were not taught to culture our imagination, presuming that will not lead us anywhere in this squared and capitalist world.
As creators, as many of you, sometimes the outside world (such as the people on the internet or the people who visit our exhibitions) scare us with their ridiculous expectations, ready to crush you because you wont fit on their quadratic heads – That was just a outburst, hoping that you all could explore your imagination freely.
Psychologically speaking, this Red Dragon might be considered as an agent of chaos, the solidified heavy memories that deny our rebirth. Therefore, we may consider that strange triad of figures a personal conflict, where the dragon from the past attacks the virgin with pains of labor, which is the present who gives birth to the child that will be the future and the new self.
But despite his dreadful form, the dragon is also a creative impulse (as the color red), the active nemesis that confronts us in order to make us grow.
Through a Freudian perspective of this biblical narrative, we might have a slightly different direction, taking the dragon as a symbol of the Id, our immediate desires out of control. Looks like he’s dominating the entire scene, having the pregnant woman at his feet. He is not showing his face, suggesting that he could represent a projection of the unknown, our fears and doubts made flesh.
Just like the Devil in the Tarot, this dragon demands a process of moderation, calming our urges down.
In christian symbolic view, the woman is generally described as the church itself, the institution that defends the cristian faith against the dragon’s aggression. Knowing this, we fortify our opinion that the Red Dragon may find an interesting link to our artistic freedom and worship of personal imagination. He stands in opposition to the established traditions and dogmas with open wings, exhibiting his full splendor, liberating himself from these moral chains.
Unlike the description in the bible, our version doesn’t have seven heads, seven crowns or ten horns, etc. Because it sounds to me like a political metaphor to the seven nations or seven kings of that time, I didn’t take much time on that. For us, this Dragon has a strong connection to the arts in general and to the philosophy of the free mind.
We deny the prideful approach from Harris’ novel, the same way we deny most of the interpretations of the Revelation. It is well known that the Red Dragon is Satan, it is written explicitly in the Bible. However, what Satan did should be an inspiration for all of us, to defy a manipulative God, to defy the dogma and cheap morals.
He was accused of being prideful and arrogant and that was the cause of his fall; but we all know these kinds of accusations are pretty normal when someone rebels against the law.
As you unleash your own Dragon, be careful with his blazing force, making sure that you redirect his energy to the right direction. Otherwise he might consume everything in his passage.
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