I don't play chess at all (I've no facility for, or patience with, board games), but I've loved chess sets since I was a child, when Through the Looking Glass was my favorite book on earth. To be honest, it's still right up there, which might explain why I was so attracted to these photographs, generously made available by the photographers through Flickr's Creative Commons.
All of these reminded me in various ways of Through the Looking Glass, a "children's story" of one child's nightmare that is pervaded by a certain vague menace as well as enough comedy to ensure that it will be read for as many generations of children as there are still to come...
These photographs all have in common that aspect of dreams of being absolutely and unquestionably there, charged with a faint inexplicable menace, and yet beautiful by dint of the imagination's capacity for reorganizing reality into art.
1. Chessboard. From Malaga, Andalusia by Dave Shea (Mezzoblue).
I fell in love with this photograph because I love the smooth-textured stone or stucco, the peach tones against the blue sky, the sharply incised angles, and the bricks of the pavement. The chessboard is the centerpiece that pulls it all together. I chose this photograph because it is so flat-out beautiful and so surreal---truly a dream image, though one Alice would never have conceived. Where---and who--are the players?
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2. There is something slightly disturbing or menacing about these massive, featureless white pieces (you can see the black ones in the background). They remind me of that favorite painting of mine, Chirico's "The Disquieting Muse" about which Sylvia Plath wrote one of my favorite poems. It's a "game in waiting," all right, and it's waiting for you.
A Game in Waiting by MK/Forklift.
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3. This one's definitely different. As one of my friends said, you can relate to these pawns. Aside from the subject matter, I have a particular love for this particular shade of dark blue-tinged metallic green---the color of jade, I suppose---that's just on the verge of teal but not quite there. This is the fun grown-up version of Alice's dream....Tankards for everyone!
"Beer Chessboard" by Ma Rui.
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4. I love this because of the cool angle and the people calmly eating and chatting in the background while the giant chess pieces quietly advance on them. "CHECKMATE." It's the 21st Century version of Alice's nightmare, complete with that surreal beauty of nightmares (the violet-red and blue lights, the colors, the intimations of corridors and halls where you won't ever have the chance to walk.
Big Game by Patrick Boury, a filmmaker. (Check the Flickr photo page to see some more amazing effects with light and color).
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5. This is Alice's dream on something a lot stronger than a cup of tea. The first is one of those pictures that's so perfect that you---by which I mean, "I"----really prefer not to know the explanation. The second is what you see if you look away for it for a second and then look back. Love these, the carving, the palm trees, and the sense they give of seeing something that I can't. The reddish tinge of the chessboard at their feet is particularly apropos, as is the resemblance of the pawns to intricately carved tombstones....
Chessboard (tagged but untitled) by Rabih (FlickrJunkie)
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Chessboard (tagged but untitled) by Rabih (FlickrJunkie)
I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the terms of the license. Please don't save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license (here).
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