THOUGHT FRAGMENTS

Meditations on A Game of Chess

April 18, 2022

Meditations

About two years ago, out of sheer boredom and also stemming from my other interests, I became infatuated with chess. I liked playing the game a normal amount, when it was with friends or my father or brother, but what was dearest to me was its history, cultural history to be exact, and its artistic value of different figure shapes and board designs, as well as the slight cultural differences and connotations of the lineups. Ornamental, abstract, humanoid chess pieces, western or eastern, I love them all.

As a matter of fact, I did not, and still do not care much about the game itself, about Soviet world champions or competitions or evaluations of IQ based on the capacity of a player. This view of the game seems painfully patriarchal to me. I remember someone I used to be close with thinking I was pretentious for gaining interest in this topic, probably because she thought I assumed it would make me smart, or rather look smart. While I of course enjoyed the feeling of overpowering someone in a game with a strategy I constructed myself, that was only a short rush of excitement.

Books about chess I’ve looked at and even bought only brush over the topic of the cultural significance of chess, and I find that to be very regretful. They specialize on the games, the championships that have been held, telling tales of the everlasting battle of men trying to overthrow each other as if they were in real combat. Depictions of the game in artwork, their origins spanning over hundreds of years and multiple cultures, are barely ever mentioned. Would they even care to think of them?

Of course, I admire the players' eagerness, their struggle to overthrow and triumph over another, but when there’s the possibility for connection laid bare in front of me, linking together over shared traditions across many societies represented by little figurines that more often than not I would expect to see in a glass cabinet rather than on a playing board, it is clear what appeals to me more.

I appreciate the creatives that try to bend and breach the “traditional” borders of chess. People who like to engage in play, rather than battle. Fairy chess, unorthodox chess. New things that are brought to the table. A piece of heritage does not have to be static.

That being said. I love unique piece designs that stimulate your imagination when playing chess!

Meditations on the Vampire Aesthetic

April 14, 2022

Meditations

Imagining a vampire, there is always one kind of archetype that comes to mind. Here are my reflections on it.

To me, a vampire is the most form of camp, you may even call it campire, that overlaps my own personal tastes. A vampire is a creature, genderless, that is on one hand, and more often than not, gracious, noble, and keeps its composure very well. On the other hand, once in a blue moon, when they are plagued by memories past, they ravage and destroy, be it themselves or others, the wound of a passed relationship, a love, reopens and completely throws them off kilter. Then, their emotions are raw, dramatic and pure, unlike of what you would expect of something, someone, centuries old. A display of emotions, refined and aged like fine wine, is immaculate. A vampire’s bite to the neck, of all things, inflicts just the right amount of pain to heighten the sense of ecstasy it conveys. One can only imagine the shivers that would run down one’s spine, not to mention what the vampire would feel in this intense moment?

Let us paint the scenery further – a gothic-style bedchamber, fitted with heavy, dark curtains, the furniture dark and antique, the chaiselongue lined with red velvet, a glass chalice on the bedside table filled with an ambiguous red liquid and the vampire in question thrown on a large canopy bed, dressed in fine cream-coloured robes, one weak flickering candle nestled in a holder revealing to the viewer luscious long hair and an ice-cold complexion. This vampire has abandoned the age-old tradition of resting in a coffin, and has embraced the comforts of a queen-size bed, and while they do not fancy sunlight, a candle flame is just fine. How many lovers has this vampire taken to bed along with them, how many heartbreaks did they go through on the chaiselongue? They certainly wouldn’t tell, but if you can find their treasured diary, many stories of desire and passion and ravaging torment and sorrow will await you – and death as well, certainly. This vampire likes to keep their own secrets.

A vampire’s melodrama has allure. It is deep, and dark, and sensual. Velveteen, blood, vintages, a vampire is reflected in its aesthetic itself. A vampire is a perfectly well-rounded being.