Arts and Literature of the Twelve Colonies: Difference between revisions
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An unnamed [[Tattooed pilot|pilot]] has many tattoos on both upper arms, depicting a tiger and a dragon, among other things. | An unnamed [[Tattooed pilot|pilot]] has many tattoos on both upper arms, depicting a tiger and a dragon, among other things. | ||
[[Vireem]], specialist aboard [[Battlestar Pegasus (RDM)|Battlestar Pegasus]], has a complex tattoo on his shoulder ([[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]<ref>Visible on his left shoulder in the "little robot girl" sequence, apparently a Chinese-style dragon and a Chinese character over a spiral background that could be a galaxy.</ref>) | |||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
Revision as of 00:53, 27 February 2007
- This article discusses an aspect of the Re-imagined Series version of the Twelve Colonies. For information on the Original Series version, see The Twelve Colonies (TOS).
The Twelve Colonies, like most civilizations, have a rich historical record of arts and literature as well as other works. Their democratic republic gives its citizens many freedoms of expression in addition to freedom of the press. Colonials have paintings, abstract designs and a variety of musical traditions.
Additionally, many functional items produced on the Colonies adhere to an aesthetic, even at a cost to efficiency.
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Literature
Prose
Dark Day
Edward Prima is the author of the novel Dark Day.
Adama, who had Dark Day in his personal library on Galactica, gives it to Laura Roslin as a gift (Water). She says that she considers it to be "one of those classics I've never gotten around to reading." Given the context of their conversation, notably Roslin's reference to A Murder on Picon, it is likely a mystery.
Roslin returns the book, to Adama's consternation, after the prognosis of her illness sharply worsens (Flight of the Phoenix).
A Murder on Picon
A Murder on Picon is a mystery novel, apparently taking place on Picon.
Laura Roslin brought the book with her on the trip to Galactica prior to its decommissioning ceremonies (Miniseries, "Water").
Blood Runs at Midnight
A mystery novel given to William Adama by President Roslin as a gift (A Day in the Life).
Poetry
Kataris
Kataris was a Caprican poet[1]. Lt. Joe Palladino owns a bound edition of Kataris' poems and threatens Col. Saul Tigh with lines from one:
From the darkness you must fall
Failed and weak, to darkness all.
Kataris is quite well-known amongst Colonials. Kara Thrace recognizes the quotation, recalls from which piece it comes, and knows the poem's quality relative to his other works. D'anna Biers identifies Palladino's copy of one of Kataris' books on sight in a recording she is editing (Final Cut).
Periodicals
Visual Arts
Representationalist
Monclair
Monclair was a Colonial painter. One of his original paintings, a stylized depiction of the Cylon War, adorns William Adama's quarters on Galactica. He is apparently of considerable renown, given Gaius Baltar's impressed reaction to the piece (Bastille Day).
According to the book, Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, the painting hanging in Adama's quarters was actually made by additional art director Ken Rabehl.
Abstract
Kara Thrace
Between tours of duty, Kara Thrace was an enthusiastic painter. Karl Agathon is surprised to discover this side of her when they visit her apartment in Delphi (Valley of Darkness). Curiously, a specific design that Thrace has doodled as a child would be found more than two years later inside an ancient temple] of the Thirteenth Tribe, without Thrace or Helo understanding why she would be aware of the design (Rapture).
Tattoos
Kara Thrace[2] & Samuel Anders
- Instead of wearing wedding rings, Samuel Anders and Kara Thrace created tattoos on their arms that, when they embrace, form a unified circle with wings. The symbol for the colony of Caprica is also in view[3].
- Michael Trucco adds that it is their wedding band, but that this is never fully explained in the show.
- The matching tattoos are not real tattoos, but are applied by the makeup department.
Other
Felix Gaeta displays a tattoo of a rather large tiger during his interview with D'anna Biers (Final Cut). Gaeta indicated he was quite inebriated with ambrosia to minimize the pain of the tattoo.
Socinus has a tattoo of an Aries design on his right arm (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).[4]
An unnamed pilot has many tattoos on both upper arms, depicting a tiger and a dragon, among other things.
Vireem, specialist aboard Battlestar Pegasus, has a complex tattoo on his shoulder (Pegasus[5])
-
Gaeta's tiger tattoo. -
Socinus's tattoo. -
The unnamed tattooed pilot.
Sculpture
In addition to the Arrow of Apollo, the Delphi Museum of the Colonies contains a large collection of ancient pottery. Located in numerous display cases in the exhibit halls spanning the museum's levels, this large collection of vases, jars, pots and stone fragments form a rough outline of the Colonials' artistic history. Many of the artifacts and art pieces are quite elaborate and appear to be in the detailed Corinthian Style.
Music
Kara Thrace's Father[6]
Thrace's father was a pianist. His daughter kept recordings of some of his piano arrangements in her Delphi apartment (Valley of Darkness).[7]
Colonial Anthem
The Colonial anthem is heard as a short fanfare over the Viper flyby during Galactica's decommissioning ceremony. Its second, and longer, appearance is as background music for the rousing closing speech of D'anna Biers's documentary on the Colonial military (Final Cut).[8]
Aesthetics
Colonial aesthetics lead to an avoidance of right angles.
Octagons
Colonial printouts, photographs, videos and data discs are rarely rectangular; the corners are trimmed at 45 degree angles, creating snub rectangles, i.e octagons. The reasoning for this is likely based on their aversion to right angles, as rectangles are, particularly for paper, more efficient.
Hexagons
In the Re-imagined Series, hexagons feature significantly as dog tags, playing cards, glass bottles and many other objects. This likely reflects both the dislike of right angles and the simplicity of polygons over curved shapes.
Pentagons
While not a part of Colonial society per se, pentagons play a large part in the architecture of the lone Thirteenth Colony structure encountered by the Colonials thus far, the Temple of Five. Much like the Colonials, it appears at least the ancient members of the Thirteenth Tribe were also wary of right angles.
Architecture
Federal Period
This style was mix of older and newer trends, utilizing traditional stone facades along with glass and steel. This architecture was found throughout Caprica City, Delphi, and other unnamed Cities of Caprica prior to the Cylon attack.
Ancient Kobol
In "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I", Roslin looks at schematics for the City of the Gods on Kobol. Its buildings, such as the Temple, Forum, and the Opera House, were made of stone and range in shape and size, and resemble classical Greco-Roman architecture.
Later, the ruins of the Opera House are seen when Gaius Baltar and others crash-land nearby. The building was made of stone and utilized decorative columns and pillars. While there, Baltar has a vision which may have represented the original appearance of the Opera House before it fell into disrepair.
Polygonal Architecture
Many places and objects within Galactica reflect early aesthetic choices that eschew right-angular forms. Many corridors, including ship bulkhead doors, are hexagonal. CIC elements, particularly the Command & Control Center table, the tactical station table, and even the alignment of the displays of the DRADIS console, form a hexagonal appearance.
This aesthetic appears to have waned during the construction of more advanced battlestars such as Pegasus, which uses far fewer hexagonal shapes.[9]
References
- ↑ The name "Kataris" is probably a reference to the Roman poet Catullus.
- ↑ Actress Katee Sackhoff has a number of personal tattoos on her body. The crew uses various means to cover or block these tattoos from view during filming, but the results are not always perfect. See the article on Katee Sackhoff for details.
- ↑ In a TV Guide photoshoot video interview, Katee Sackhoff comments: "...the tattoos that Anders and Starbuck got when they got married and uh, it kinda looks like the Redwings sign doesn't it? Or logo, but its, um... when he's holding me the rings match up and it becomes one ring with two wings. So it's very cool there's some signs in there like the Caprica symbol and some space things and its all very intricate and very cool and the guys over at Twin Villain Tattoo down in Gastown designed it so we're all very excited about it."
- ↑ It is not yet known if the tattoo belongs to Alonso Oyarzun or if it is purely for the character of Socinus, as both the actor was born under the sign of Aries and the character is a colonist of Aerelon.
- ↑ Visible on his left shoulder in the "little robot girl" sequence, apparently a Chinese-style dragon and a Chinese character over a spiral background that could be a galaxy.
- ↑ Early biographies from the British TV network, Sky One, indicates the character's name as Dreilide Thrace. However, as his name has not been mentioned in series dialogue or other official works, this name is not canonical.
- ↑ According to Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary, the piece attributed to Thrace's father is actually Metamorphosis Five, composed by Philip Glass, from his 1989 album Solo Piano.
- ↑ In reality, this is the Original Series theme by Stu Phillips. For "Final Cut", the piece was specially re-arranged by Bear McCreary.
- ↑ The sets for Pegasus were purchased from a failed series pilot for a Lost in Space series remake. As such, the sets adhere to "earthly" rectangular design, and budget constraints for Battlestar Galactica likely limited any large modifications.