Editing The Arts (section)

==Rules about Representational Art==


That is one of the areas the books have contradicted themselves on more than a few times. Originally, the faith was described as completely aniconic- no images or sculptures of any thing unless you were a dynast, and even then only if you were a risk-taker or it was a special circumstance. The editions vary over whether it is very good or very bad to make an icon of the Immaculate Dragons.

As such, I'm making my own rules based on pieces from both editions and the other books, mixed with some classy Byzantine history lessons.

Slaves cannot make any representational art whatsoever. There is a catch pushed through the Deliberative and through the Order's orthodoxy cops, however, to make artisan-slaves retain full value- a slave that works under the instruction of a master is not considered to be making the art. Instead, they are the tools of the master, and can make what he would be allowed to make.

Peasants are allowed practically no representational art- animals, gods, monsters, landscapes and people are all prohibited by law and tradition. To make or even look at an image of any being or creature (which includes places clearly associated with creatures) is to venerate the being, and thus is improper worship. They may own representations of the Elemental Dragons, and can receive special dispensations from a monk or a dragonblood to own an image of the Empress or of their direct dragonblooded master. Such requests are granted as a matter of policy, assuming the image is properly respectful. Similarly, on religious festivals, they may be granted special dispensations to watch morality plays where actors take on the roles of gods or famous people, and they may be briefly shown statues or paintings of the patron deity of the day. Some very rare works of art are considered national treasures, and every peasant is considered to have dispensation to see them. This category is meant for large statues of the five immaculate dragons inside immaculate temples, but over the centuries, the rules have been twisted so that the upper classes use this loophole to put their art where the peasants might see it without worrying about a heresy charge.

Citizens are allowed to make no representational art, but have limited access to limited forms of representational art. However, the rules regarding landscapes and portraits are not enforced at all, and every citizen is considered to have full dispensation to watch all plays and performances that have the Order censorship board's seal of approval. Similar rules apply for paintings and statues. Basically, they can look at the art the monks approve- this means that if they can afford a patrician artist, citizens can have a painting of a boat in their office, or a picture of their wife and kids. They'll never see a picture of a man on a horse, or of a leviathan crashing down on a ship, but they can have some few dabs of color and talent in their lives. Also, one of the inalienable rights of citizenship is the right to see and make icons of the Immaculate Dragons as well as the Elemental ones. 

What this censorship also means is what citizens can't have is pornography, excessive violence or excitement in their art. This is one of the main drives behind the burgeoning literacy of the peasant classes- the only secure way to get a hold of exciting images is to read them, and so young boys buy your pulp novels and read it to their friends while they all jerk off or cheer or whatnot. Text isn't a representation, after all.

Patricians are prevented from having icons of any kind, but because they are considered to have the good sense to be able to distinguish a representation from an icon, they can make representational art that is not iconic. Therefore, they can make and own pretty much any kind of art, as long as it doesn't involve directly representing a god, monster or animal. The prohibition against representing or owning a representation of animals and monsters causes all kinds of problems for patrician artists and art collectors, for sure, but they've found tricks to get by. Patricians can also observe plays, operas, paintings and sculptures of gods, monsters and the like, with appropriate dragonblooded supervision. The core philosophical difference between Sodat's Imperialist Revival School and the young Turks is over what sort of stuff patricians are exposed to. The Imperial Revivalists focus on showing patricians the Immaculate Dragons in action against evil-looking hook-nosed Anathema and showing the Empress save the Realm in all sorts of fights, while the new bloods show gods, monsters and demons in all their horror and gory glory without making much of a moral point, bending the rules to best express their themes and motifs.

Dynasts are is a weird middle ground between Dragonbloods and patricians, as they are neither fish nor foul. They often live with the Host, and thus will see what the Host see, but they lack the enlightened minds of Princes of the Earth. The case law for what is blasphemy in their case is rare and confusing, and when it comes up, someone is usually truing to hurt an enemy.

Dragonbloods can make representational art of anything. They and they alone can make art including animals, demons and gods. However, they are duty-bound not to venerate any such beings, and it is up to the Order, the Empress and the Incorruptible Observers of Spiritual and Cultural Integrity (the Imperial Censors of the Thousand Scales) to decide what counts as appropriate and what doesn't. More leeway is granted for operas only dragonbloods and dynasts will ever see than for a statue intended for the citizens, say. Armor is a key example, since it is worn everywhere and seen by everyone from the troops through to the slaves- Devout and traditional dragonblooded use abstract images representing the elements or the houses on their armor, for example, while wild and hedonistic young rebels wear armors shaped to look like gryphons and manticores armors. Meanwhile, a helmet shaped like a wolf's head with glowing red eyes would get you arrested. 


So, to answer your actual question: As a Dragonblooded artist, Lady Cordellia can paint just about anything she wants. The basic day-today rules are:

* She needs to be very careful that when painting the Empress, the Immaculate Dragons and the Elemental Dragons, she shows proper respect and enlightenment. No parody or even realism here, only devotion.

* She can freely make landscapes and portraits, but she needs to show basic diligence in keeping peasants away from them altogether unless she has special dispensation from the Incorruptible Observers

* She can make works involving gods and animals, but she must be very careful, both in how she represents them and in who she lets see them. Such works could only be sold to another dragonblood, and only with the incorruptible Observer's approval.

I didn't realize this till just now, but in 2nd Ed, it seems that painting has been clearly moved out of the grasp of Performance and into the world of Craft. Now, the question is, which Craft? Obviously, painting is either a matter of Air (which already covers Calligraphy, certainly) or Wood (which covers flower-arranging and knitting). I'd allow a practioner of either Craft to paint, though stylistically it'd be different.