Erixson had been involved in decor and costume sketches for ‘Aniara’, the opera, in 1959. Mima, as illustrated by Sven Erixson (1899-1970) to accompany an article written by Alfred Alvarez printed in ‘Dagens Nyheter’. Through Mima – a deity assuming the role of group-conscience to the voyagers, a device merging artificial intelligence with galactic wifi – a kind of electronic brain (using the terminology of a 1962 article in the Radio Times), a brain which ‘shows it all’, the occupants of the goldonda witness the destruction of Dourisburg, ‘the mighty town which once was Dourisburg’. It offers a prophetic foresight of what we all might expect from nuclear warfare and its aftermath. Having lost all ties to their past and with no hope of a future, their fears, bitterness and nostalgia set the mood for the poem. The 8,000 occupants realise that they are doomed to an endless journey to nowhere. Out of control and pulling away from the solar system towards outer space, Aniara is finally thrown onto a course pointing to the star system of Lyra, ‘and no change of direction could be thought of’. Graphic used to accompany the short ‘Radio Times’ resume of ‘Aniara’ broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in November 1962 (Copy at Ms.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |