Scarlet and Black.....

Stendhal wrote an amazing novel entitled Le Rouge et le Noir (The Scarlet and the Black). In this novel he represents the separate groups in power by the color of their uniforms. The mask of each being suggested by the color. I see the two of these as acting in unison of power, Like the Black Collar and the firm hand of Fate, the Scarlet Glove. Please see the Pasolini movie Salò: le 120 giornate di Sodoma to understand the ruthless and heartless desires of power. When one gains power over another human what they do with that power is how they should be judged. I once printed two photographs of George Bataille; one in scarlet, the other in black. I thought it was fitting for Bataille to be represented by this fate, that he represented the dual grotesqueries of the military (the state) and the church. Two Systems of imposing social order. Bataille loved to point to the discrepancies and falsehoods in each. In the beginning of love I was asked what I thought love was. The answer I was told was "...love comes in the sharing of the mundane things." This was taken from the Kundera book Unbearable Lightness of Being. And how unbearable our being is when it is rotting in isolation. My response to this statement was a subtle agreement, but also recognizing what Bataille said loosely paraphrased..."In love, the most difficult task is to maintain happiness." It is difficult to remain in love when one is happy, people need conflicts to resolve.