The fly. Hated, avoided, killed, disregarded, hunted. For most of us, our six-legged roommates don't exactly evoke particularly positive feelings. But that's unjustified! Flies are fascinating, high-performance organisms, and important to us.
This article is about our relationship with flies, their role in art, and why I have therefore given them a halo.
The fly in art and cultural history: a brief overview
Our art and cultural history is, in a sense, a mirror reflecting our human ways of thinking, acting, and expressing our opinions. Therefore, let's begin with a brief overview of our "fly culture.".
fly
After the god Myiagros proved rather unsuccessful in ridding the people of ancient Greece of flies, this task was assigned to the boss, Zeus. Whether he was more successful remains to be seen. In any case, I encountered a great many flies on my last family holiday in Greece.
It's interesting how the fly seems to have shown the father of the gods the limits of his power. This leads one to think that even a god is only human. Art historian Anna Degler writes that the fly has the ability to disrupt hierarchies (Degler A.: Parergon. Paderborn: Verlag Wilhelm Fink 2015). In any case, this suggests that flies weren't particularly popular in ancient Greece, given that gods were assigned to deal with them.
While Christianity logically included the fly in the family of God's creatures, it remained a "plague" and, in Christian art, served as a symbol of mortality, corruption, and sin. The word "Beelzebub," incidentally, describes the devil in the form of a fly—evil personified as the lord of the flies. The diabolical and the fly, so to speak, combined in one person. Not exactly a good starting point for a positive image.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the fashion developed of incorporating flies into paintings as realistically as possible, almost as an optical illusion (trompe-l'œil fly). As Peter Geimer describes (Geimer P.: Fliegen, ein Portrait. Berlin: Matthes Seitz 2018), this goes back to an anecdote from Italy. It tells of how a student of the painter Cimabue, without permission, painted a fly on one of his figures, which looked so real that the master, irritated, wanted to shoo it away with his hand.
During the Enlightenment and Classical periods, depictions of flies increased once again, this time using optical instruments from a scientific and anatomical perspective. Whether viewers at the time were fascinated or disgusted by these depictions remains an open question. In the Romantic era, we encounter a telling quote from Schopenhauer: "The fly should be taken as a symbol of impudence and brazen stupidity. For while all animals fear man above all else and flee from him at a distance, the fly lands on his nose."
In the 20th century, the fly appeared in art and culture, naturally including film. Kurt Neumann directed "The Fly" in 1958, followed by two sequels and a remake by David Cronenberg in 1986. The fly had become the main character, and in the science fiction horror genre, of course! In the early 21st century, its portrayal became more complex.
On the other hand, there were art projects like "The Fly Erika" by the artist duo Frank and Patrik Riklin (St. Gallen T Terms & Conditions latt: A fly now rests at the university. https://www.tTerms & Conditionslatt.ch/ostschweiz/eine-fliege-ruht-nun-an-der-uni-ld.658424 , last accessed 30.8.2022). They brought a fly with its own plane ticket to a wellness hotel, thus raising the question of the value of a fly.
So, to summarize: In our cultural and art history, the fly usually doesn't fare well. It symbolizes disrespect and contempt, is hunted, used as a means to an end, or, at best, as has been the case in many periods, ignored from a cultural-historical perspective. As just briefly mentioned, there are thankfully some initial attempts in art to bring the fly out of its shadowy corner and place it at the center of attention. We'll come back to my approach in this regard later.
The fly, a high performer
In Germany alone, there are over 3,000 species of flies. Although it's no secret and they can be regularly observed everywhere outdoors, given our cultural and historical conditioning, personal aversions, and prejudices, hardly anyone realizes that flies are absolute high performers. Through their "ecological services," behavior, and functions, they are not only useful but truly vital for us, our food production, and, of course, our ecosystems. But they are threatened, primarily by climate change and pesticides. Useful? Here are a few impressive examples:
According to studies from the British Isles, hoverflies are responsible for up to 50% of total pollination on average (Ollerton et al. (2012): Trends in Ecology & Evolution 27 (3): pp. 141-142). This is more than honey and wild bees combined. In addition, they possess numerous other beneficial properties.
The grey flesh fly (Sarcophaga carnaria), for example. Its larval stages can help determine the time of death in forensic medicine (Fakoorziba M. et al.: New record of Sarcophaga ruficornis, Fabricius, 1794 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from Iran, a flesh fly species of medical and forensic importance. In: Forensic Sci & Criminal Inves, Volume 3, No. 1, 2017, doi : 19080/JFSCI.2017.03.555602 ).
Greenbottle flies (Lucilia sericata) are reliable decomposers and disposers of carrion and excrement. They are important pollinators of umbellifers such as parsley, caraway, and fennel.
Many fly larvae diligently keep lice in check.
As part of the food chain and a food source, flies are indispensable for many birds and amphibians.
That alone is reason enough to see flies in a completely different, much more positive light.
Therefore, a change in the way we view the fly is also needed in cultural history. It more than deserves and needs to be in the spotlight for once. So, let's get to work.
The first sacred fly “Sancta Musca” in art and cultural history
Peter Geimer, whom I mentioned earlier, deals in his book "Flies, a Portrait" with, among other things, the art historical representation of the fly, especially in Christian art. Towards the end of his analysis, Geimer observes that despite the overall "holiness" of the artworks he examines, there is not a single one in which the fly is depicted with a halo.
This would have been sacrilege, according to Geimer. Isn't it time, then, for a "Sancta Musca," a "Holy Fly," in art? That would finally put the fly on equal footing with humans in art history, thus guaranteeing it the well-deserved attention, recognition, and crucial appreciation.
Sancta Musca. The Sacred Fly. Oil on gold leaf (15 x 20 cm)
Inspired and motivated by this, this small painting (20 x 15 cm) of a golden fly, created with oil paint on gold leaf, was created at the end of 2022. This first "sacred fly" in art and cultural history—or so I dare say—is, in turn, the basis and starting point for a whole series of reworkings and digital variations. The style of representation and the use of gold leaf are deliberately intended to icon art .
The idea for this originated during that aforementioned holiday in Greece, when I had the privilege of being a fascinated guest at an icon art hotspot in Crete. These are therefore my three "catalysts of holiness": the halo, the gold leaf, and the iconic representation.
And this is my contribution to helping us perceive the fly for what it is: fascinating and equal. It certainly won't care about the sanctity I've bestowed upon it, but it's meant to be a symbol for viewing with respect and interest those who are constantly around us (sometimes even in winter), namely the flies next to us on the wall.
My goal is to celebrate the fascination and beauty of insects and flies in a creative way, to inspire and encourage a new and different perception of these exciting and vital creatures through art. Perception leads to awareness, and awareness leads to change. Flies deserve and need our recognition and protection. Art can and must contribute to this! And now, here it is: the Sacred Fly.
Born in Lower Saxony in 1980, three aspects have always been particularly important in the Olschewski family: education, nature, and music/art. I initially studied conducting and piano in Hanover and Dublin. In addition, I have been and continue to be active as an educator and in educational management. My love for art and nature has never waned. Today, I try to combine both and thereby make a statement for (six-legged) life.
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