WIXLIB

B22 ARTS & CULTURETUESDAY, NOVEMBER30, 2021Week 48,ARTS & CULTURE B33TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 30, 2021Week 48, 2021MPI/GETTY IMAGESpractices. These financial packages oftencame with strings attached or with thehopes of blocking the expansion of communism, but they nonetheless bestowed onAmerica its deserved reputation as the mostgenerous country in the history of the world.Even today, America continues to send itsmoney and its people to improve the livesof people around the globe.The damage inflicted at Pearl Harbor roused the sleeping giant. Drawing by Cmdr. Griffith Bailey Coale, Official U.S. Navy Combat Artist, 1944.RUSSELL LEE/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/GETTY IMAGESHISTORYYing and Yang by Sandra KuckOriginal artworks, canvas wraps,and prints of Award-winning oilpaintings now available atIn sp i re d O r i g i nal .Org/Store2022 NTD 8THInternationalChinese VocalCompetitionAn Event toRemember: TheConsequencesof Pearl HarborJEFF MINICKMany of the planes came inlow over the harbor thatSunday morning, unleashing their torpedoeson the moored ships anddropping their bombs on other vesselsor on aircraft parked wing to wing onairfields. As Navy Admiral William Furlong said of the first plane that passedover his ship, the pilot was so close that“I could have hit him with a spud.”In less than two hours, hundreds ofattacking airplanes marked with Japan’sRising Sun had inflicted a disastrous defeat on American military forces. Everybattleship in the harbor was damaged,two of them beyond all repair, includingthe USS Arizona, which to this day restsbeneath the waters. Overall, 19 shipsand over 300 aircraft were crippled ordestroyed, and over 2,400 sailors, soldiers, and civilians lost their lives.This year marks the 80th anniversaryof that surprise attack on Pearl Harborby the forces of imperial Japan.And that attack would change the faceof the world forever.The Sleeping GiantThere is no evidence that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor,said that he feared this act of war wouldawaken a sleeping giant. Yet he spentthe rest of Dec. 7 in what appeared tobe a deep depression while his staffcelebrated. He understood that a protracted war with America would endin Japan’s defeat.And that giant began rolling out ofbed on the very day of the attack. In thePreface to Gordon Prange’s “December7, 1941: The Day the Japanese AttackedPearl Harbor,” edited by Katherine Dillon and Donald Goldstein, we read ofa few military officers who failed to dotheir duty on that auspicious day. Thenin the editor’s introduction, they add:GOLDAWARDVOCAL.NTDTV.COMMerkin Hall -KMCREGISTERNEW YORK Sep. 2022 1-888-477-9228VOCAL＠GLOBALCOMPETITIONS.ORG(Left) The news ofthe bombing of PearlHarbor brought aswift reaction fromPresident Roosevelt,who delivered aspeech to Congress.(Below) A portraitof Japan’s Adm.Isoroku Yamamotoin 1934. Yamamotoplanned and directedthe attack on PearlHarbor in 1941.“But for everyone who failed, hundreds rose to the occasion, performing under fire the tasks for whichthey had been trained. One admiraland two battleship captains diedat their posts. Junior officers andenlisted men such as Ens. FrancisC. Flaherty and Chief Water TenderPeter Tomich gave their lives to savethe men in their charge. Two lieutenants of the Hawaiian Air Force gottheir planes up and shot down sevenJapanese aircraft between them.Mess Attendant Doris Miller seizeda machine gun and performed sovaliantly that he became the firstblack man to receive the Navy Cross.Untold numbers worked withoutpanic and without vainglory, simplybecause that was their job.”On Dec. 8, President Franklin Rooseveltappeared before Congress and openedhis address with these famous words:“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a datewhich will live in infamy, the UnitedStates was suddenly and deliberatelyattacked by naval and air forces of theEmpire of Japan.”He closed his short speech by askingCongress to declare that a state of warexisted between Japan and the UnitedStates.Three days later, Adolph Hitler declared war on the United States, in partbecause he believed that the Japaneseempire was unbeatable.Less than four years later, both Hitler’sThird Reich and the islands of Japan layprostrate, defeated and ruined.PUBLIC DOMAINHULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES(Above left) Recognition of the brave enlisted blacks helped pave the way forthe Civil Rights movement in the following decades. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz pinsa Navy Cross on Mess Attendant 2nd Class Doris Miller aboard the USS Enterprise at Pearl Harbor. Official U.S. Navy photograph.Meanwhile, technology and sciencebrought enormous changes to Americanculture and society. Space travel, earlycomputers, major advances in medicalcare, and all their ancillary advancementsgrew out of World War II and transformedAmerican lives.Global GenerosityIn addition to the boom of prosperity athome, by war’s end that seemingly catastrophic battle at Pearl Harbor had left theUnited States as the world’s greatest international power alongside the Soviet Union.And unlike communist Russia, whichfor over 40 years would oppress EasternEurope and part of Germany, Americanssought to repair the war-broken world. Thistime, there was no repeat of the isolationist response that had followed the WorldWar I. America sent vast sums of money tohelp rebuild Europe. It gave aid to its archfoes, Germany and Japan, so much so thatwithin 25 years both those former enemieshad become economic powerhouses.The United States also dispatched fundsand expertise to the new nations in Africaand Asia. Through various organizations,the best-known of which is the Peace Corps,Americans themselves traveled to thesedistant lands to help build schools and hospitals, to dig wells, and to improve agrarianAmerica Goes to WarHistorians continue to debate why ourmilitary was so poorly prepared to meetthis attack, whether that circumstancestemmed from negligence or was deliberate, but that question is beyond thescope of this article. What did happenwas that the sleeping giant awoke andwas transformed into a tiger.By the war’s end, as many as 16 millionAmerican men and women had servedin uniform. Soldiers, sailors, and airmenfought and died in faraway places thatmost Americans had never heard of, inbattles like Guadalcanal and Midway,Tarawa and Iwo Jima, the KasserinePass and the Po River Valley.Meanwhile, on the home front, American manufacturers pumped out enginesof war—ships, tanks, aircraft, equipment—at an unbelievable rate. By theend of the war, for example, the Navy hadgrown from 700 commissioned ships toover 6,000. With few exceptions, civiliansgot behind their troops, planted VictoryGardens on their property for extra food,tolerated gas rationing cards, and closelyfollowed accounts of the fighting in theirnewspapers and on the radio.Aftermath at HomeAmerica emerged from the war as theworld’s economic powerhouse.Within just a few years, the nationwent on a spending spree, buying everything from new cars to refrigerators,from televisions to homes. The G.I. Billhelped millions of ex-military men andwomen build homes, receive vocationaltraining, or go off to universities, withthe result that universities and collegesexpanded or were built at an incrediblerate. The subsequent “baby boom” ofthose years also meant the construction of vast numbers of elementary andsecondary schools.Victory in 1945 brought other sweeping cultural changes. Though many ofthe women who had worked in factories and offices married following thewar and raised families at home, a largenumber remained in the workplace.And blacks who had fought against theGermans and the Japanese came homeand fought for civil rights, eventuallybringing an end to the Jim Crow lawsof the South and winning equality inthe public square.Commemoration and a QuestionEven today, when time has blurred pastevents, when so many Americans onceagain have never heard of Leyte or the Kasserine Pass, and when some in our culturework to eradicate as much of our history asthey are able, most of us possess at leastsome minimal awareness of Pearl Harborand what happened on Dec. 7. Though thenames of many of the battles fought in thePacific might today bring blank looks fromthose who hear them, Pearl Harbor standsas a representative for all of them. Whenwe remember that event, we rememberthat far-flung war.We might also recollect that this horrificwar, fought around the world, led for betteror for worse to the emergence of our country as the greatest power and proponent ofliberty that the world had ever seen. Theblood of that Midwestern farm boy whodied on the sands of Okinawa was just oneof hundreds of thousands of such sacrificeson the altar of freedom.And finally, we might pause to considerour present situation. Eighty years ago,the Japanese prodded a sleeping giant.Americans rose to the occasion to defendtheir way of life and their liberties. But whatabout us today? Are we still capable of performing the deeds done by those men andwomen who roused themselves to go off towar, who devoted themselves to the causeof liberty? Do we still possess their love ofcountry and their determination to fightfor freedom?Let us hope this is the case.Jeff Minick has four children and a growingplatoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, hetaught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels,“Amanda Bell” and “Dust On Their Wings,”and two works of non-fiction, “Learning AsI Go” and “Movies Make The Man.” Today,he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. SeeJeffMinick.com to follow his blog.ShenYunShop.com TEL : 1.800.208.2384NOW HIRING: LIFESTYLE SECTIONSTRAVEL EDITORASSISTANT FOOD EDITORFOOD REPORTERThe Epoch Times is seeking an experienced travel editor.The Epoch Times is seeking an experienced assistant food editor.Types of stories include destinationguides, local profiles, deep-dive features,travel news, and tips for a general audience. Stories touch on a variety of topics,including history, culture, nature, arts,family, and culinary arts, in ways thatshowcase and awaken readers to thebeauty, wonder, and depth of heritageand tradition.Applicants should have exceptional editing, writing, and management skills;expansive culinary knowledge and expertise; and a passion for shining the spotlight on culinary traditions, heritage, andhome cooking.The Epoch Times is seeking experiencedfood writers to contribute feature articlesabout time-honored culinary traditionsand recipes, and the people and placesbehind them, from across the U.S. andaround the world.Full-TimeFor thefull The positionsare remote.Full-TimeFreelance and Full-TimeApplicants should have a passion for seeking out fascinating food stories; the abilityto develop them with original reporting andcareful research; and the skill to write in away that engages, informs, and inspires.Send résumé, cover letter, samples, and three references to features@epochtimes.com

4 ARTS & CULTUREB4Week 48,TUESDAY, NOVEMBER30, 2021ARTS & CULTURE B55Week 48, 2021TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 30, 2021ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE HISPANIC SOCIETY MUSEUM & LIBRARY“The Four Fatesof Man,”circa 1775,attributed toManuel Chili,known asCaspicara.“Death,” 7 inches by 4 5/8 inchesby 3 1/4 inches“Soul in Hell,” 7 inches by 5 3/4 inchesby 3 1/8 inches“Imagen de Vestir,” circa 1800, by an anonymous sculptor. Polychromedwood armature with embroidered mantle including sequins, foil, andmetal thread; 21 1/4 inches tall.“The Ecstasy of St. Mary Magdalene,”1692–1706, by Luisa Roldán. Polychromed terracotta; 12 inches by 17 1/2 inches by 9 7/8 inches.“Soul in Purgatory,” 6 5/8 inchesby 4 3/8 inches by 4 7/8 inchesSACRED ARTMade for the Devout:The Gloriously Colorful World of HispanicSacred SculpturesContinued from PageB1 1Believers Depicted in the SculpturesThe sacred sculptures of the Hispanicworld acted as instruments of faith: toinspire devotion. Lenaghan said thatthe sculptures were made for believersto engage with. They’re “part of a livingculture.”One of the ways the faithful engagedwith the art was to appear in the artworkitself. In the “Resurrection,” a jubilantgolden narrative sculptural relief bycelebrated Spanish sculptor Gil de Siloé, Christ has risen and stands in thecenter atop his tomb. To the right, he’sseen meeting disciples on the road toEmmaus. To the left, the three Maryscome looking for the resurrected Christ.Surrounding Christ’s tomb, soldiers arecollapsed in a deep slumber. Only one ofthese men bears witness to Christ’s miracle. He kneels in reverence—looking upat Christ in pious adoration. Lenaghanbelieves that de Siloé added the patron’slikeness to the reverent man, depictinghim as the captain of the soldiers, to recognize the patron’s strong faith.Believersdevelopedintimaterelationshipswith thesesublime,functionalpieces.(Left) “Mater Dolorosa,”or “Our Lady of Sorrows,”17th century, by ananonymous Mexicansculptor. Polychromedwood; 65 3/4 inches by26 inches, in the “GildedFigures: Wood and ClayMade Flesh” exhibitionat The Hispanic SocietyMuseum & Libraryin New York.(Right) “St. Louis ofFrance,” circa 1620, byJuan de Mesa. Carved,gilded, and polychromedwood; 70 inches by 353/8 inches by 29 1/2inches. Gallery of NicolásCortés.“Gil de Siloé was a very sophisticatedsculptor in how he organized the scenesacross the compositional picture planeto bring out the theological nuances anddetails that were appropriate to the context and the subject,” Lenaghan said.He added that the piece points to a verystrong understanding of theology, but tobe able to translate that into somethingthat works visually is another thing.Piously Decorating the StatuesOftentimes, sculptures by the samesculptor could ultimately appear verydifferent, due to the involvement of different artisans. Patrons often receivedtheir commissioned statues unpainted.It was up to them to arrange for a painterto embellish the works and make thepieces as lifelike as possible. For naturalistic appeal, they often embellished thesculptures with glass eyes, ivory teeth,and real eyelashes. In some cases, theworks were dressed in costumes.A few sculptors did oversee the painting of their pieces. For instance, royalsculptor Luisa Roldán’s brother-in-lawpainted her sculptures, resulting in aconsistent aesthetic to her works. Butonce a piece left her workshop, its colorand appearance could, and often did,change.Repainting pieces to align with popular sensibilities was a common practice.In the exhibition, a couple of Roldán’sterracotta sculptures demonstrate thispractice well. Lenaghan explained thatthese pieces of Roldán’s acquired a totally different look once they left theworkshop, and were transformed fromtheir original bright, high-keyed colorpalette to more sober hues.The Hispanic Society’s conservatorFontoira-Marzin spent the past 20 yearspatiently bringing the pieces back totheir original state. Thanks to FontoiraMarzin, visitors to the exhibition cannow enjoy the colors of Roldán’s terracottas close to her original intention.Suffering of the Martyrs,Suffering of the StatuesLook closely at some of the sculpturesin the exhibition and you can literallysee “the scars of their use,” Lenaghansaid. The piece “Blessing Christ Child”by Alonso Martínez has abrasions on itsneck and arms. Over the years, the statue of the naked Christ has been dressedin different costumes, causing the paintto wear away in those areas where theclothing was pulled on and off.The way the owners of the sculpturesoften altered them is fascinating. In theexhibition, Pedro de Mena’s beautifulbust of a man is sensitively renderedwith glass eyes, a trim mustache, anda slightly opened mouth. On closer inspection, one notices that his throathas been slit and he is aghast. His facial expression is full of shock anddespair. The bust is of St. Acisclus, aformer Roman soldier martyred inthe fourth century for staying true tohis faith.The bust was originally a fuller, moreevocative figure. An old photographshows the statue complete with forearms and a torso. Glass tears once felldown the man’s face, and much moreblood seeped from his neck. “Its original look made the point more emphati-“Soul in Heaven,” 6 7/8 inches by 43/8 inches by 4 7/8 inches.The Hispanic Society’sexhibition ‘Gilded Figures:Wood and Clay Made Flesh’cally about persevering in your faith inthe face of such suffering,” Lenaghansaid. He believes the figure was toneddown and reduced to a bust, perhapsin a nod to the busts of antiquity, tomake the sculpture more desirableto buyers.Another case where the sculpture hasbeen altered is that of a crucifixion. It’s apiece that completely puzzled Lenaghanas to who the sculptor was. In it, Christis on the cross and the Virgin Mary athis foot. The Hispanic Society bought itat an auction, with no time to make anattribution. He soon realized that theVirgin was by 19th-century Spanishsculptor Manuel González Santos, butthe crucifixion didn’t reflect the sculptor’s style at all. Lenaghan was stunnedwhen a friend strongly suggested thatthe work was by Pablo de Rojas, a major17th-century Spanish sculptor. “I wasstunned because it’s quite a coup to havea statue by Pablo de Rojas,” he said. Lenaghan now believes that the Virgin wasadded by an owner some 200 years later.Influence on the New WorldWhen the Spanish came to the NewWorld, religious sculptures were important in converting the indigenouspopulation to Catholicism. Whereverpossible, Spanish sculptors passed ontheir Western techniques to local sculptors, resulting in Latin American devotional works acquiring a Spanish style.For instance, two pieces in the exhibition—“St. Francis” and the “Mater Dolorosa”—were believed to be Spanishworks up until recently, when they werereattributed to Mexican artists.Sometimes Latin American artistsadapted the Spanish style, and thesculptures took on a distinctly localflair. For instance, in Spain gold wascommonly used as a ground, a baselayer on the sculptures to which paintwas applied. Artists would then scratchdesigns through parts of the paintedsurface to reveal the gold beneath. Someof the gold remained concealed underthe paint, which further enhanced thepaint pigments. Lenaghan explainedthat artists in Quito, Ecuador, used goldand silver grounds in their statues. Thispractice had existed in Spain, but theEcuadorian sculptors used it to moredramatic effect, frequently juxtaposingit with gold.Lenaghan explained that Quitowas the fourth largest city in the NewWorld—only Lima, Havana, and MexicoCity outstripped it. Part of Quito’s wealthcame from its numerous silver mines.The “Virgin of Quito” and “St. MichaelArchangel” are a couple of examples ofQuito workmanship in the exhibition,where both gold and silver groundswere used. The use of the silver groundin those pieces produced a heightenedintensity of the reds and blues, givingthe works an electric quality.One of the exhibition highlights is alsofrom Quito: “The Four Fates of Man,” attributed to Manuel Chili, better knownas Caspicara. It’s a particularly moving piece, explicitly taking the viewerthrough the various consequences ofleading an immoral life versus a virtuous one following holy precepts. Littleis known about the work; there are noknown sculptural forms like it.Caspicara may have had an approximate guide for the iconography and thetheological concept from Neapolitanwax figures showing souls in hell, Lenaghan explained. He’s impressed by thedetails on such a small set of figurinesthat speak to an incredibly talented anddeft touch.Lenaghan said: “As the 18th centurydevelops, and neoclassic canon and aesthetic begins to make inroads in Spain,there is more restraint and perhaps lessovert emotion in some statues. Butthe emotional importance of the subjects being depicted never leaves thestage because in this pre-modern world,I think sanctity comes through suffering.And so you measure holiness by howmuch you’ve suffered, and your commitment to your faith.”The exhibition “Gilded Figures: Woodand Clay Made Flesh” at The HispanicSociety Museum & Library in New Yorkruns through Jan. 9, 2022. To find outmore, visit HispanicSociety.org“The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine,” 1692–1706, byLuisa Roldán. Polychromed terracotta; 14 3/8 inches by 173/4 inches by 11 5/8 inches by 32 1/4 inches.12341. “St. Acisclus,” circa 1680, by Pedro de Mena. Polychromed and gildedwood; 19 3/4 inches by 16 5/8 inches by 8 1/2 inches.2. “St. Michael Archangel,” 1700–25, by an anonymous Ecuadorian sculptor.Polychromed and gilded wood; 51 inches tall.3. “Blessing Christ Child,” circa 1645, by Alonso Martínez (1612–1668)formerly attributed to Francisco de Ribas (1616–1679). Polychromed wood;31 1/2 inches by 10 7/8 inches (figure and pedestal).4. “Our Lady of the Apocalypse” or “Virgin of Quito,” 1700–25, by ananonymous Ecuadorian sculptor. Polychromed and gilded wood; 31 1/4inches by 11 1/2 inches by 16 3/8 inches (with wings).

B66 ARTS & CULTURETUESDAY, NOVEMBER30, 2021Week 48,The Secret of Captain Nemo in ‘TwentyThousand Leagues Under the Sea’PETRU OTOIU/SHUTTERSTOCKSEAN FITZPATRICKA man ofmystery:Captain Nemoat the portof Nantes,France.It’s been 150 years since the publication of aclassic story, one that lurks imperishably beneath the depths of the literary ocean. It maynot be a volume that most have read—more’sthe pity—yet most know of its existence, asthey might know of some deep-sea creature.At the very least, all know the name of itsnameless hero-villain, whose fame subsistsin his obscurity.The man’s secret is as inscrutable and impenetrable as the sea’s profundities, for somemysteries are only a pleasure when they remain unsolved, and the mystery of this manremains inviolate. Such is the mystique ofthe sea’s greatest fictional captain—a manwith no name that everyone knows as “Noone”—a man whose aura of benevolence andbrutality resembles the mystery of the seaitself. The man? Nemo.The Making of a Man of MysteryPierre-Jules Hetzel was Jules Verne’s editorand publisher—and, as such, responsible foraltering many aspects of Verne’s books. In thecase of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under theSea,” Verne originally wove a sensitive political situation around the 1870 novel’s centralcharacter. Verne created a Polish noble benton avenging the deaths of his family members during the Russian suppression of thePolish-Lithuanian insurrection known asthe January Uprising of 1863.Hetzel, fearing the book would affront theRussian Empire, which was an ally of France,demanded that aspect of the plot be removedor obscured. Despite the author’s objectionsto the ambiguity, the editor prevailed in orderto avoid a ban and retain marketability.The obscurity was brilliant, however, for itconcealed the controversy but not the cluesthat suggested it. What resulted was the irresistible identity and motivation of CaptainNemo, allowing him to remain true to hisname and not, as he himself says, what onewould call a civilized man. Instead, he’s ananonymous anomaly, undefiled even by thevoyeurism of civilized readers.Captain Among Captains“Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”is an epic that is not so much about the innumerable mysteries of the sea as it is aboutthe individual mystery of a man—a mysterywhich, even in its smallness, is far greaterthan any ocean. The exploration of the mysterious depths accentuates the deeper enigmaof the man who treads where no man hastrod. He is as silent as a fish, as solitary as anoyster, as strong as a current, and as violentas a storm.Here is Nemo; here is no man. Nemo isat once “Nemo,” Latin for “Nobody,” and atthe same time, in Greek, it means the manwho doles out what is due. Captain Nemo isthe quintessential tortured genius seekingrevenge. His madness is the source of bothmiracles and mayhem.Although no man, he is also an everyman. Itis part of the mystery of mankind to desire toexist where he cannot—where living is nearlydoomed. Though this suicidal tendency hasfathered heroes, there are places on this maninherited planet where no man may have hishome. The kingdom of Nemo is preeminentlyone of those sanctuaries.SMOKEHOUSE PICTURES/AMAZON STUDIOSFILM INSIGHTSWITH MARKJACKSONParadoxes and PuzzlesAgony and horror skulk behind this character, driving him like furnace fires to theextremity of forsaking dry land and the inhabitants of the earth. Nemo’s extremism isan element that muddies the waters of hispast because it frames him in endless paradoxes and puzzles.Nemo is a man who would be a fish. Heflees domination only to become a despot,imprisoning in the name of liberty. He givesup everything to inherit riches untold. Hedoles out death to spread the sea’s peace.Nemo is a mad mastermind, an ethicalcriminal, a villainous hero.PD-USNemo showing off his engine room to his “guest” Aronnax.PD-USFrontispiecefrom “TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderthe Sea.”Illustrated byÉdouard Riouin the 1871Hetzel edition.HoughtonLibrary,HarvardUniversity.The epic isnot so muchabout theinnumerablemysteries ofthe sea as itis about theindividualmystery of aman.Sean Fitzpatrickserves on the facultyof Gregory the GreatAcademy, a boardingschool in Elmhurst,Pa., where he teacheshumanities. Hiswritings on education,literature, and culturehave appeared in anumber of journals,including CrisisMagazine, CatholicExchange, andthe ImaginativeConservative.Captain Nemo may battleagainst the civilized world,but he also enjoys itscreations. Édouard Riou’sillustration featured in theHetzel edition.PD-USThe riddle of Nemo and his mysteriousnemesis is somehow more compelling thanmarvels of machine and monster. These phenomena only serve to illuminate the point oftrue interest—the marvel of the man. Whilereaders enjoy learning about the electronicpressure gauge of the “Nautilus,” it is only because Nemo is the teacher. While the 25-footshark enthralls readers, it is because Nemois battling it with a dagger in a diving suit.Sunken ships. The North Pole. Leviathans.Atlantis. Wonders every one, yet reduced towindows to simply peer through, compelledby an overpowering curiosity to gain furtherclarity into a withheld identity—for even suchwonders are eclipsed by the mystery of theman who is their monarch.A Man of the InfiniteThe questions concerning Captain Nemoare much like the impossible realm wherethis brilliant lunatic dwells, plots, and fumes,commanding the secrets of a secret world tosurvive and strike at his enemies.In him, the charisma of the sea spreadsbefore those who undertake the journey of20,000 leagues submerged beneath its surface aboard the “Nautilus”—and, of course,Captain Nemo does not disappoint. His isthe very voice of the sea, of the deep callingunto the deep:“The sea is everything. It covers seventenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath ispure and healthy. It is an immense desert,where man is never lonely, for he feels lifestirring on all sides. The sea is only the embodiment of a supernatural and wonderfulexistence. It is nothing but love and emotion;it is the Living Infinite.”Even though Captain Nemo will keep readers at arm’s length along every league of thevoyage—pounding at his pipe organ or piecing together his plot of war and revenge—henonetheless engages us in his aquatic adventure with an eagerness to exhibit the wondersof his kingdom. These creations and creatures Jules Verne’s famous scientific romanceproffers in abundance.Whether one will find Nemo hero or villainis uncertain. What is certain is that Nemo andhis mystery will not disappoint.Mark Jackson grew up in Spring Valley, N.Y., where he attended a Waldorfschool. At Williams College, his professors all suggested he write professionally. He acted

at the forefront of our minds—unless we’ve spent time in Latin America or the Iberian Peninsula, that is, Spain or Portugal. In the Hispanic world, sacred sculp-tures are polychromatic—colorfully painted. Each piece is purposefully in - fused with intense em