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@murmux3darts.bsky.social
Originally posted here: www.deviantart.com/ruanshu/art/...
#contortion #flexible #circus #wuxiang
ruanshu
@ruanshu.bsky.social
24 followers 55 following 32 posts
Sharing art from www.deviantart.com/ruanshu featuring the beautiful art of contortion!
![[Description] Maria S. Motoyama hangs suspended in the air by a pole attached to a device on top of her head. Her head and body are upright. Her torso is arched backwards.
Her left leg is extended forwards and slightly down, and her right leg is flexed behind her and aimed slightly up, like a gymnast's split. Her right leg is bent at the knee so that her toes can touch the pole above her which keeps her suspended in the air. Both of her feet are en pointe like a ballet dancer's feet.
Her right arm is extended to her right. Her left arm reaches far behind her. With her elbow bent 90°, her left hand touches her right calf. She is undressed save for a fishnet bodysuit over her arms and torso.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Text in previous post] The human system consists of bones, skeletal muscles, and joints, so the system model in mechanics is a typical flexible multi-body system.
The study on musculoskeletal multi-body dynamics mainly aims to determine muscle forces and joint moments together with the effect of their actions during human locomotion. Thus, it is a multi-disciplinary subject between dynamics and biomechanics.
Musculoskeletal multi-body models have seen successful applications in many fields, such as clinical research, sports engineering, military training, and ergonomics.
The simulation results of these models can provide important data for improving physical performances, reducing joint loading and energy consumption, preventing sports injuries, and accelerating rehabilitation processes.
In turn, the achievement of these human-related techniques provides the study of musculoskeletal dynamics with numerous new challenges.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreibebf4k6lvn4opa4oqexavecqimvjblxbhyiklu322t5mnf2d5p5y)
![[Description] Maria S. Motoyama hangs suspended in the air by a pole attached to a device on top of her head. Her head and body are upright. Her torso is arched backwards.
Her left leg is extended forwards and slightly down, and her right leg is flexed behind her and aimed slightly up, like a gymnast's split. Her right leg is bent at the knee so that her toes can touch the pole above her which keeps her suspended in the air. Both of her feet are en pointe like a ballet dancer's feet.
Her right arm is extended to her right. Her left arm reaches far behind her. With her elbow bent 90°, her left hand touches her right calf. She is completely undressed.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreiacdm2mruydtrt4yl6ks6d4qa75h336iflkxujp3ru7nt6jhqitam)
![[Description] Maria S. Motoyama hangs suspended in the air by a pole attached to a device on top of her head. Her head and body are upright. Her torso is arched backwards.
Her left leg is extended forwards and slightly down, and her right leg is flexed behind her and aimed slightly up, like a gymnast's split. Her right leg is bent at the knee so that her toes can touch the pole above her which keeps her suspended in the air. Both of her feet are en pointe like a ballet dancer's feet.
Her right arm is extended to her right. Her left arm reaches far behind her. With her elbow bent 90°, her left hand touches her right calf.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Caption]
Curriculum Vitae
Maria Sorako Motoyama
Entertainment Model
OBIA 1426.2001
Registry Loc/Date
BEYOND COLONY
22.02.2247
[Text] Abstract of Guo et al. (2022) "Advances in Mechanics, Advances in flexible multibody dynamics of human musculoskeletal systems": https://lxjz.cstam.org.cn/en/article/doi/10.6052/1000-0992-21-056](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreifln5vxdnkootuikpydjx5sp3q7xwv6j5hv2n43375p2fy2dgtpwq)
![[Description] Mounira El-Kamel sits on the floor, torso upright, legs opened at the thighs and knees bent such that her feet are near her hips. Her left leg is twisted at the hip in order to bring her lower leg on top of her thigh and her left foot in front of her stomach. Her hands lay on her left foot to keep it in place in a pointed position. She smiles at the viewer. A top hat and a cigarette in a holder are on the floor next to her.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreictcc3utmazi5zi7hy7wyzpu42kuyw4yx2ppledsafa2vaiuzzkja)
![[Description] Mounira El-Kamel sits on the floor, torso upright, legs opened at the thighs and knees bent such that her feet are near her hips. Her left leg is twisted at the hip in order to bring her lower leg on top of her thigh and her left foot in front of her stomach. Her hands lay on her left foot to keep it in place in a pointed position. She smiles at the viewer. A top hat and a cigarette in a holder are on the floor next to her.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Caption] Mounira el-Kamel (stage name Princess Elissa) an Algerian music-hall performer and informer for Free French and Allied agents ahead of Operation Torch in 1942. She was the sister of fellow artiste Mohamed el-Kamel and likely the subject of the song “Mounira”, sung by his associate Salim Halali.
[Text] Her introductions, in the first place, give her a definite social standing, and, like the male fixed agent, she is so connected with the life of the place as to seem quite a part of it—she is above suspicion in every way. It follows, given the type of woman who attracts men, that men talk to her far more than to members of their own sex; they find her companionship restful and soothing—especially the younger men—and are easily led on to talk of themselves, their hopes and their work.
They talk in all innocence, and are encouraged by the listener to talk always more and more; and, after a month, or two or three months, perhaps, there falls one sentence which is as a straw that marks the direction of the wind—and that sentence finds its way to Berlin, where it is card-indexed.
Acquaintance ripens to friendship; to the outer world’s sight two people talk of things that interest them, but in reality the spy, having completely won the confidence of the man she set out to make her victim, leads him to talk of his work in a manner that he would have deemed impossible when first he met this attractive woman. (William Le Queux, The German Spy System from Within)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreicmrop6sxjph6gjf6tce6u676ferduksxf64mpq7itv46ht6kq2j4)
![[Description] See image in reply
[Caption] An illustration of Cesare Scrollalanza, stage name of Viola Florio, playing the role of “Scapin”, a troublemaker skilled at evading the consequences of the pandemonium he wreaks. This performance will end with Scapin hiding away in a barrel, unbeknownst to his pursuers.
[Text] Simple representatives of the generic type are the merchant and the potecary in John Heywood’s interludes of The Weather and The Four PP. respectively. The generic type differs from the stock figure partly in source but mainly in definition. The stock figure tends to coalesce into a single perfect representative of each type: a Scapin, a Columbine, a Harlequin.
The generic type encourages multiplicity. The stock figure, such as the doctor from Bologna, often has a regional origin. From the region of his birth he usually derives physical or social idiosyncracies, for example, a dialect, an item of apparel, or a distinctive manner. As the stock figure develops, additional external features become attached to him.
Certain bits of stage business, quirks of personality, modes of dress, and style of playing, become his trade-marks. But the generic character seldom becomes fixed and traditional. Instead, he constantly undergoes change according to the demands of the story.
(Bernard Beckerman, Shakespeare at the Globe)
Death! that damn'd mountebank; but for the law
Now, I could kill the rascal: it cannot be,
His oil should have that virtue. Have not I
Known him a common rogue, come fidling in
To the osteria, with a tumbling whore,
And, when he has done all his forced tricks, been glad
Of a poor spoonful of dead wine, with flies in't?
(Ben Jonson, Volpone; Or, The Fox, Act 2 Scene 3)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreiazin3nz25dqb46yw2ibqg5yfejgk6udhrbj5wu4sjhjuawh2olk4)
![[Description] Turandot smiles as she sits in a triplefold pose: her feet and shins lay on the ground, her knees are bent, her torso is bent backwards in half until her upper back presses against her buttcheeks, and her chest and head rest on the ground between her legs. It's as though she is sitting on her own shoulder blades. Her arms are bent 90° so that she can support Tsagaan above her using her hands.
Tsagaan is standing on her hands on top of Turandot, their hands gripping each other tightly to maintain the balance. Tsagaan's upper body is face down, and her torso is arched backwards such that her legs hover above her head. She frowns as she holds an oil lamp using her feet. Aiyurug stands next to them, one hand on her hip, grinning as her other hand reaches with a lit candle towards the oil lamp.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Caption] A trio of contortionists, Tsagaan (upper left); Turandot (bottom left); and Aiyurug (right), performing an acrobatic routine during the reign of Buyantu Khan (1311–1320). They were servants of Temuchi, 11th son of Khubilai Khan and seneschal of Shangdu Palace.
[Text] Moreover,the drama rose to the dignity of an art. Previous to this the plays, generally dialogues by clowns, had been mostly interlarded in entertainments of acrobatics, dancing, and music.
Such performances took place frequently at the royal court and are described also in the writings of the Italian Marco Polo when he tells about the feast of the Grand Khan:
(A.E. Zucker, The Chinese Theater, 1925)
And when all have dined and the tables have been removed, then come in a great number of players and jugglers, adepts at all sorts of wonderful feats, and perform before the Emperor and the rest of the company, creating great diversion and mirth, so that everybody is full of laughter and enjoyment.
And when the performance is over, the company breaks up and every one goes to his quarters. (The Travels of Marco Polo, Book I, Chapter 13)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreihladtzjs4ipsdtlkd23ij536xup3frir2f42qzejcs6qerhzv57u)
![[Description] Andrea Atayde stands on her left leg, balancing on her toes. Her right leg is raised behind her in a standing split. Both of her feet are en pointe like a ballet dancer's feet.
She arches backwards and reaches her right hand up to grasp her right ankle. She holds her left arm outstretched in front of her and carries a ball in her hand.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreibkzuxw56kt5kcmwv4qkhjnwvrl5o6ke4x4mfpjmkv3arl5kqcjeu)
![[Description] Left figure: See image in reply; Right figure: A sculpture of a contortionist laying on their stomach with their legs raised and their feet pressed against the back of their head. Their hands are placed under their chin to help support their head in a backwards arch.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Captions] Rhythmic gymnast Andrea Atayde performing a ball routine whilst dressed up as a pok-ta-pok player prior to a demonstration game; Acrobatics and contortion performances are also recorded in Mesoamerican art such as this “Tlatilco acrobat”.
[Text] The general structural type is that of the platform pyramid, ascended by means of broad stairways leading up to vaulted chambers, whose walls are covered with sculptured figures and hieroglyphic inscriptions or vividly colored paintings resembling those of the Aztec codices.
The material is the white limestone of the country, cut into shapely blocks and set in ordinary mortar, the thicker walls being sometimes filled in with a composition of mortar and broken stone.
Each prominent structure is known to the natives under a distinct name. One of the most interesting is that denominated the ‘Tennis Court’ or ‘Gymnasium.’ It consists of two immense parallel walls, each 274 feet long and 30 feet thick, and standing 120 feet apart.
Both walls are covered with sculptures in bas-relief, and projecting from the centre of each, at the height of 20 feet from the ground, is set an immense sculptured ring of stone, representing two entwined serpents.
From contemporary Spanish descriptions it is almost certain that this was a courtyard, devoted to the playing of a favorite game, in which the effort was to send the ball through the stone ring fixed in the wall.
(The New International Encyclopædia, "Chichén-Itzá")](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreidhlwhjmm76ebal6ajtkidmqnupmeyobncml5tqenagjkaukm6yii)
![[Description] Chitrasena lays on the floor on her back with her legs folded at the knees and her arms bent 90°. She uses her hands to support Devasena in a difficult balance above her, in the position known in yoga as "Crow Pose". Devasena has her arms straight and her hands tightly gripping Chitrasena's hands directly below her. Her body is horizontal and face-down, and her knees are raised up to her chest.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreibbmmdsz54xnamzdw5f6bvtpaumtaya7jawqpu43iugu74yajhb4e)
![[Description] See image in reply
[Caption] An illustration of the Indian dancers Chithrasena and Devasena, said to have remained in the employ of Byzantine secretary Cyrus, nephew of Paul the Silentiary, performing in his holdings in the Forum of Constantine whilst their retinue returned to the Malabar Coast.
[Text] The subject is still in its experimental stage; but when the time comes for a universal recognition of Posture as a curative agent, the Medical Science of India will be able to claim the credit of having been the first to propound the theory. The medical works of the Hindus have from the earliest period recognised the influence of Posture in parturition, and described in detail the positions which women in labour should adopt.
A sage named Patanjala, the founder of the Yoga philosophy, who flourished about 200B.C.E, in his work called "Yoga Sutras," prescribes various Asanas or Postures for preventing and curing diseases to which ascetics and others practising abstract meditation and seeking seclusion from the world may be subject during the performance of physical austerities.
It will be clear from these facts that the Hindus were not ignorant of the wholesome effect of Posture. If Megasthenes, who wrote about India in 800B.C.E., or Hsuen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, who graphically describes his experiences of India in the 7th century C.E., were to rise from their graves and revisit the country, they would scarcely have occasion to alter their first impressions about the manners, customs, and the daily practices of the Hindus.
(Bhagvat Singh, "A Short History of Aryan Medical Science", Chapter V)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreihk6pwlbql2y5nwvxr52ruxmozqfz2usvckla5qvbkgft63agrsiq)
![[Description] Sosi Emeru sits on her knees with her lower body facing away from the viewer, and she has her torso twisted around 180° so that her upper body is facing towards the viewer. She leans forwards slightly so that she can comfortably place her hands on her ankles and support herself. She gazes at the viewer with a soft grin, holding a cloth in her mouth in order to help cover the front of her body.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreiat63tcmt4afth3alrq2lipwvye73x5z3uydjl2veatqjcq45rxam)
![[Description] Sosi Emeru sits on her knees with her lower body facing away from the viewer, and she has her torso twisted around 180° so that her upper body is facing towards the viewer.
She leans forwards slightly so that she can comfortably place her hands on her ankles and support herself. She gazes at the viewer with a soft grin, holding a cloth in her mouth in order to help cover the front of her body.
Alt text by CoefficientKiller
[Caption] Contortionist Sosi Emeru of Circus Abyssinia putting a unique twist on the infamous “Dance of the Seven Veils”, given no directions in Wilde’s script but which has been interpreted from belly-dancing to ballet to burlesque.
[Text]
HEROD
Do not rise, my wife, my queen, it will avail thee nothing.
I will not go within till she hath danced. Dance, Salomé, dance for me.
HERODIAS
Do not dance, my daughter.
SALOMÉ
I am ready, Tetrarch.
[Salomé dances the dance of the seven veils.]
(Oscar Wilde, "Salomé")](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreiclqj44iix2ftxvsdzhclbraolhxuwsqsfkh4ewyd3galnl5hgqi4)
![[Description] Rhodopis rests on her chest and elbows with her torso bent backwards such that her hips hover over her shoulders. Her straight legs, crossed at the ankles, rest on top of her head. She uses her hands to help support her legs. One foot is pointed, while the other is turned so that her sole is facing the viewer. She gives a smile and a wink to the viewer. (Alt text by CoefficientKiller)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreidcmzggz26kaeytr3z2xafnljvxodpuovfhg7bpfxei47qa4cvn4m)
![[Description] Rhodopis rests on her chest and elbows with her torso bent backwards such that her hips hover over her shoulders. Her straight legs, crossed at the ankles, rest on top of her head. She uses her hands to help support her legs. One foot is pointed, while the other is turned so that her sole is facing the viewer. She gives a smile and a wink to the viewer. (Alt text by CoefficientKiller)
[Caption] A fanciful illustration of the courtesan Rhodopis, whose story of a lost and regained slipper may form a kernel of the medieval legend of Cinderella.
[Body text] But with regard to the pyramids there is no complete agreement among either the inhabitants of the country or the historians; for according to some the kings mentioned above were the builders, according to others they were different kings; for instance, it is said that Armaeus built the largest, Amosis the second, and Inaros the third. 14 And this last pyramid, some say, is the tomb of the courtesan Rhodopis, for some of the nomarchs became her lovers, as the account goes, and out of their passion for her carried the building through to completion as a joint undertaking. (Diodorus Siculus Book I, Chapter 63)
"[Rhodopis] was the mistress of her brother Charaxus, who traded to the port of Naucratis with wine of Lesbos. [...] A story is told of her, that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals and carried it to Memphis; the eagle soaring over the head of the king, who was administering justice at the time, let the sandal fall into his lap. The king, struck with the shape of the sandal, and the singularity of the accident, sent over the country to discover the woman to whom it belonged. She was found in the city of Naucratis, and brought to the king, who made her his wife. (Strabo Book VII, Chapter 33)"
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/1C*.html
Art by https://www.deviantart.com/creamvoid](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2ijwm63uujkbvnhhdjcxltkj/bafkreifd252oojkkqr6yejc6zop7tlarct7vfufq6hrccvtnocmlha4ddm)