E.B. Hudspeth’s novel/art-book combination “The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black”
chronicles an artist/scientist as he “revives or brings to light again (aka
resurrect)” a dormant beauty inside humanity. With a horrific tale
complementing beautiful anatomical drawings of hybrid creatures, he invites us
to reconsider the boundaries (if any) between man & animal…between art & science. We appreciate E.B.Hudspeth taking the time to “bring to
light” the beauty in his art with this interview:
Motivations & Muses: Did a muse similar to Mary Shelly's affect you? Where you terrified by muses?
With The Modern Prometheus (1818), Mary Bryce Shelly grappled
with the themes of Science, Art, and Spirit. Her character Victor
Frankenstein, the infamous artist and scientist, pieced together materials from
cemeteries to create life via alchemy. In her prologue, she described how
her muse worked though her:
“My
imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images
that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie.
I saw-with shut eyes, but acute mental vision-I saw the pale student of
unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the
hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some
powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital
motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the
effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of
the world. His success would terrify the artist.” - Mary Shelly ~1818
EBH: No, it sounds like Shelly’s
muse would have terrified anyone. The whole thing came about as a simple
curiosity. I wanted to know how the anatomy of a winged human would work. It
was originally a study for a sculpture but then it turned into something more
comprehensive. The artwork came first. After I had a pretty clear idea of the
art direction, that’s when I worked on the story, focusing on the nineteenth
century. I wanted the artist to have believed in this work, not just a piece of
fantasy, to me, that’s where the heart of it is. You know immediately that who
ever drew this took it seriously and that provokes a pretty interesting
question.
The Process of Creation: Did the
process of making the book further evolve your own philosophy on art or
beauty?
Spencer Black learned a lot
about himself and humanity during his life, especially when he tried to produce
new forms. Did your views of art change as you realized your vision of the
book?
EBH: Yes, my views
on art are always changing and they change faster than I can improve as an
artist. I feel as though the more I learn, the more respect and appreciation I
gain and the more I need to improve. One thing I try not to take for granted in
art is the history of esthetics. Their origins, the centuries required to
refine them and then their tragic disappearance. There are curves and shapes
and line weights that can be lost if we don’t pay attention. Looking back into
the 19th century to research certain styles was a
wonderful thing to do and a little sad. I am proud of my penmanship but it is
nothing compared to the ornate flourish and decoration used commonly in
letters.
Art vs. the Artist: How much of E.B.
Hudspeth is reflected in the character Dr. Spencer Black?
We know Dr.
Black struggled to reveal dormant/recessive beauty to the
public. The below quote from Spencer seems to echo your
motivation:
"I hear them marvel at my work—my indignant science. I hear them call out
in fear of what they see. And there are some gentlemen who doubt what I will
tell them. They call me a liar and a charlatan or a quack. But in time the
methods of science that I now employ to convince people will surely set them
free—alas, this I cannot explain to the angry fools."
I assume you see beauty in
the horrific drawings you produced (I do); how do you respond to those who need
help seeing the beauty? Can you help “bring to light” awareness.
EBH: I am not sure
how much of myself comes out in a character. There are certainly going to be
things that I write that I am relating to personally. I think it’s common to
feel like there is something special and powerful within us that we have a
difficult time expressing. Dr. Black is giving
the world something that he feels is no less valuable than food, but they won’t
eat. I think this sense of rejection is something we all feel at some point in
life.
I wonder if beauty is only
in the eye of the beholder. I am not trying to convince anyone. We all love
different things and it would be terrible if we all agreed on what beauty was.
I personally love the shape and form of organic life. Every specimen is a
beautiful mystery, visually and intellectually.
I wanted the
artwork in the book to play out as a character. You never really sympathize
with Spencer Black until you see his drawings. It isn’t the context that makes
you understand him, it’s the sincerity.
There are things that artwork can do that other mediums cannot. The same is
true for the other mediums i.e., music, writing, dance, etc., they all have
their special traits.
Bounds of Humanity: Where does man begin and animal end?
There are real life analogues to the fictitious Spencer. Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) comes to mind. A dedicated, philosophical scientist with
outstanding artistic skills, he documented thousands of life forms and
published his beautiful plates in “Art Forms in Nature” (translated from German:
Kunstforman der Natur). But then his fascination with Art-Nature caused an
uproar when he tweaked his drawings of embryos in 1874.
The
setting in “The Resurrectionist” is ideal for redefining the nature of “man.”
The turn of the 19th century was rich with advances in evolutionary theory,
science, and even speculative fiction. Anatomists, philosophers, and scientists
ruminated on how far to extrapolate Darwin’s assertions. Most understood that
all vertebrates shared a common skeletal structure; but if animals and man were
connected in their development, was it not reasonable
to reconsider the existence of creatures termed mythological? Were
centaurs real? Harpies? Demons? Spencer
Black needed to know. You seemed to use him to lure us on this quest. So,
are there distinctions between man and animal?
EBH: To get
into the real scientific answers to this question you would need to ask someone
else, someone far more qualified. I am happy to offer my observations, whatever
they are worth. Your
question is where a lot of the story was able to breathe. The oceans, so vast
and mysterious and still unexplored… what lives in it? Today we entertain the
possibility of weird or imagined creatures living somewhere in the world, image
what it was like 150 years ago?
Anatomically, it is astounding what similarities occur in animals. The
bones following remarkably similar patterns, hands become wings, feet become
elongated lower legs etc. Eyes, teeth patterns, and reproductive systems all
follow predictable rules. Among all of the animals there are a great deal of
similarities. Scientists like Ernst Haeckel were amazing for their times. He
did doctor his own work, which isn’t uncommon, especially if you believe in the
work and its future—
competition was fierce, as I am sure it still is today.
The
nineteenth century was a good place to exploit the questions of what is the
true origin of man. A question that we still aren’t 100%. It’s that 1%
uncertainty where doctors like Spencer Black look for answers.
As far as distinctions, they exist in everything. This is how we
quantify our world, we measure and name and make distinctions—there is nothing wrong with this. The
danger is when we place values on everything.
More Art: Are there more resurrections in the
future (i.e. more horrors to shed light on)? Can we expect more history of
the Black family to be revealed?
EBH: I am working on a sequel.
It’s taking longer than I had hoped, but that’s only because I am very excited
about it and I want it to be right. There will be more about
the Black family. The first book was written and designed with a sequel in
mind.
The Bladewitch by Jason E. Thummel
