Every year around Saint Patrick’s Day, we delve into Irish folklore to feature alarming mythological beings from the Emerald Isles. Nothing has beaten the frolicsome (yet oddly troubling) leprechauns in terms of popularity, however last year’s post about the sluagh–an airborne host of dark spirits which come from the otherworld–was certainly much creepier. This year gets darker still (well, at least for some of us) as we explore the leannán sídhe, a dark temptress who preys on disaffected writers, artists, and creative folk! Argh! Seriously, did Irish mythmakers have a picture of me on the whiteboard when they came up with this stuff?
The leannán sídhe was thought of as a woman of the aos sídhe (the otherworld folk) who would assume mortal form as an inhumanly beautiful woman. She would take an artist or poet as a lover and offer them inspiration in exchange for love and devotion. With her wit, intelligence, and affection she would inspire their craft. With her supernatural beauty she would bind them to her and become their muse. Yet the relationship would become more and more oppressive and intense until the artist became consumed with obsession for her. Once the artist was besotted to the point of madness, the leannán sídhe would disappear. The abandoned mortal lover would suffer from intense despair and either pine to death or commit suicide. After the artist was dead, the leannán sídhe would reappear and take make off with the corpse which she would take back to her underground lair. There she would hang the body up from a hook on her ceiling and drain the artist’s blood into a huge red cauldron. This cauldron of blood was the source of her everlasting life, youth, and beauty.
Once we set aside the casual misogyny which floats atop the surface of this myth, it reveals its deeper meaning: the myth of the leannán sídhe evokes the artist’s primal fear of the contemporary art market where laughing art dealers, gallerists, and corporations drain the artist of their creative vitality and then profit from it. Better to labor away in poverty and anonymity then deal with these terrifying forces.
Argh! God help us!
Wait…ugh… this can’t be right! What is up with these fiendish Irish myths? Maybe next year I had better celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day by writing about something less frightening, bloody, or controversial—maybe Irish politics…
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March 16, 2015 at 11:47 AM
AManCalledDada
Indeed, the art vampires are a very real thing. Da-da was once a galleried artist, with his own solo show only six months away… then a gallery sold $10k of his works, neglected to pay Da-da for them and declared bankruptcy. Without any money to make any more artworks, Da-da had to cancel all future shows. And that was that. The surest way to stop art vampires is to not make art; the other way is to only make art to give away to friends. Or marry a very mean attorney.
Also, you may not believe Da-da, but he’s actually *seen* one of the sluagh. He has a witness. Thing flew through Da-da’s apartment. Can’t say Da-da’d like that honor again anytime soon.
March 17, 2015 at 10:31 AM
Wayne
Oh no! Poor Da-da! Your art-world story fills me with sadness (and some envy–gallerists haven’t even bothered to rob me). Do you have a second act planned? Is there a mean attorney waiting amorously for you? Or have you given up on the ineffable beauties of art because charlatans and crooked dealers have ruined it for you? Also, is your work available somewhere online for us to see?