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