tHE rOCK qUARTET iNSPIRATION
dEF. tERROIR: tHAT ELUSIVE "FINGER PRINT TASTE" OR SIGNATURE DERIVED FROM
THE NATIVE SOIL TYPE AND MICROCLIMATE CONDITIONS WHICH IDENTIFY THE LOCALITY
OR REGION FROM WHICH A WINE WAS CRAFTED. tERRIOR IS A DISTINCT QUALITY THAT GIVES A
WINE ITS ECOLOGICAL CHARACTER.
"tHE rOCK qUARTET" IS AN ECCENTRIC EXPERIMENT IN WHICH THE WINE MAKER RANDALL
GRAHM IS ARTIFICIALLY INFUSING TERROIR INTO A NEW WORLD WINE. tHE "CONTROL" IS
A RHONE WINE WHICH MR. GRAHM IS WORLD RHONENOWNED FOR. tHE THREE
VARIATIONS HAVE BEEN
FILTERED OVER AND MARRIED WITH SPECIALLY SELECTED MINERALS AND ROCKS FROM AROUND
THE WORLD. yOU WILL BE AMAZED AT THE DELICATE, YET TANGIVLE EFFECT RANDALL'S
PROCESS HAS IN ENHANCING THE ORIGINAL RHONE WINE.
iT IS MY GREAT HONOR TO CREATE WINE LABELS WHICH COMPLEMENT THIS BOLD ENDEAVOR.
aFTER MONTHS OF MEDITATION, RESEARCH, AND THOUGHT I CREATED THIS SERIES TO COMPLIMENT
THIS INTRIGUING PROJECT. fROM TIMES LONG AGO, WHEN THE OLD VINES WERE YOUNG, I OFFER
YOU FOUR ANCIENT MYTHS. lIKE THE VARIATIONS OF
WINE WITHIN THE BOTTLES, THREE INVOLVE ROCKS AND ALL FOUR ARE UNIQUE:
sISYPHUS: tHE CUNNING FOUNDER AND KING
OF CORINTH. cONDEMNED IN TARTARUS TO AN
ETERNITY OF ROLLING A HUGE STONE BOULDER UP A STEEP HILL ONLY TO HAVE IT ROLL DOWN AGAIN
UPON REACHING THE SUMMIT. dEPICTED HERE DURING HIS MANY REST BREAKS. wITH THE HUGE ROCK
RESTING UPON HIS BACK, SISYPHUS ENJOYS A GLASS OF TEMPORALLY IMPORTED BONNY DOON WINE.
tHE BOTTLE OF WHICH RESTS UPON A ROCK SCULPTURE NEAR BY.
aMATERASU: tHE GREAT SUN GODDESS OF
JAPAN. aNGRY AT HER BROTHER, SUSANOO, AMATERASU
HID HERSELF INSIDE A CAVE BEHIND A HUGE ROCK DOOR. tHE WORLD PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS.
eVENTUALLY COAXED OUT OF HER CAVE WITH RHYTHMIC MUSIC, SENSUAL DANCING, A MIRROR REFLECTING
HER BEAUTY, AND MANY CASES OF BONNY DOON WINE. aMATERASU IS DEPICTED HERE, EMERGING FROM
THE CAVE. tHE RISING SUN, WHICH APPEARS ON JAPAN'S NATIONAL FLAG IS ILLUSTRATED IN THE
BACKGROUND AS AMATERASU EMERGES FROM DARKNESS WITH WINE GLASS IN HAND.
mIKULA sELYANINOVICH:
tHE GREAT PEASANT HERO AND GREAT BOGATYR OF RUSSIA.
mIKULA WAS A PLOUGHMAN OF UNPARALLELED STRENGTH. dURING THE HARVESTING SEASON,
MIKULA WOULD WHISTLE AND
CALL TO HIS HORSE, WITH SUPERNATURAL SPEED, HIS WOODEN PLOUGH CREAKED AND
THE METAL PLOWSHARE CAST STONE AND RIP RAP ASIDE
GRATING THROUGH THE ROCKY SOIL. pRINCE VOL'GA SVYATOSLAVOVICH, HEARING OF THIS LEGEND
CHALLENGED TWENTY OF HIS KNIGHTS TO EQUAL MIKULA'S ABILITY. tHEY FAILED.
pRINCE VOL'GA MADE MIKULA LORD OF HIS THREE TOWNS AND SUPPLIED HIM WITH A
LIFETIME'S SUPPLY OF BONNY DOON WINE. MIKULA IS DEPICTED HERE, IN THE ROCKY
SOIL, HARVESTING A FIELD OF RYE AND ENJOYING A GLASS OF WINE.
eINHERJAR: tHE
ODIN WORSHIPPING WARRIORS OF NORSE MYTHOLOGY WHO BRAVELY
FELL IN BATTLE. iF A SLAIN VIKING EXHIBITED GREAT HONOR AND COURAGE DURING
COMBAT ODIN WOULD SEND FOURTH A VALKYRIE
TO COLLECT THEIR BODY. tAKEN OVER THE BIFROST BRIDGE, THEN BEFORE ODIN'S
SONS, HERMOD AND BALDER, THE EINHERJAR bENEATH THE THRONE OF ODIN, WAS PRAISED
FOR HIS VALOR. tHEY WERE THEN WELCOMED AT
THE GREAT ENTRANCE GATE OF VALHALLA. aT NIGHT THE GREAT WARRIORS DINE UPON A MAGNIFICENT BANQUET AND
IMBIBE BARRELS OF WINE IMPORTED FROM BONNY DOON VINEYARD. tHIS ILLUSTRATION SHOWS TWO
EINHERJAR TOASTING THEIR GOBLETS AND WINE BOTTLES OVER A GREAT FEAST BEFORE THEM.
tHESE IMAGES WILL BE PAINTED IN LARGE FORMAT UPON CANVAS. tHE TITLE OF "rOCK qUARTET"
HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO THE NATIVE FONT OF EACH RESPECTIVE CULTURE FROM WHICH THE
MYTHS DERIVE. wHEN FINALIZED, A COMPLETE NARRATION OF EACH MYTH WITH MUSICAL SCORE
WILL COMPLEMENT THE ENTIRE PROJECT.
mYTH AND LEGEND FROM PSYCHOLOGY AND HISTORY
- mATTHEW fLANSBURG 14 mAY 2003
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