Spelunking Into the World of Etymology

I'm intrigued by the meanings of words & where they came from. I'm been perusing the etymology books from the Harold Washington Library Center, and found some pretty neat things. My favorite of these word books so far is Word Nerd, by Barbara Ann Kipfer.

I've decided to sketch some of these findings. This week, in conjunction with Illustration Friday's topic, "Subterranean," I drew "Spelunking."

From Kipfer's Word Nerd: Spelunker: Cave explorer / speleologist. It comes from the Latin word for cave, 'spelunca.' (In Greek it's 'spelynx').

Songs:

Spelunking - Laura Veirs (YouTube)

The New Underground - Guster (iLike Pop-Up)

Tableau Vivants Bring Me Joie de Vivre

I love tableau vivants, people dressing up as paintings. I love trying to replicate the details of a well-known piece of art. That's why I am so excited about this music video, from a band called Hold Your Horses! The song is called "70 Million." It includes homages to Jacques-Louis David, René Magritte, & Sandro Botticelli, among others.



70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.
(Found via http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-03-05/music-video-recreates-famous-paintings-my-art-history-degree-finally-worth-something/)

Here are some of my past photograph & painting recreations.

Man Ray, Le Violon d'Ingres (Ingres' Violin), 1924.

Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World, 1948.

 Songs:

Man Ray - The Futureheads (Lala Pop-Up)

Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine - Brian Wilson (YouTube)

Venus - Shocking Blue (YouTube)

Rene And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War - Paul Simon (Spike.com, slightly NSFW)

How I Taught Myself To Scream - Los Campesinos! (YouTube)

Andy Warhol - David Bowie (YouTube)