Tom Fury features a series of images, reviews, essays, poems, and links that address a number of different topics.
Through all of this run a number of lines of thought or inquiry we might think of as “threads.” I once taught humanities courses that were sometimes organized by such threads, and making them explicit here might be useful here as well.
The Human Form
This thread looks at the iconography and expressive qualities of the human form. After all, how we see ourselves is perhaps the central focus of all of the humanities.
Many (but certainly not all) posts are of striking faces, or of bodies that more or less conform to what me might think of as a classical ideal. Other posts, however, focus on stages of life (such as elderly faces or bodies) or on challenges to preconceived notions of human beauty. These include faces and bodies of the sort that aren’t popularly or commercially regarded as “ideal,” but which possess a dignity or beauty that transcend this. Tom Fury especially welcomes submissions of such images, because all of us are beautiful.
The preponderance of posts are images of solitary humans, usually in iconic or symbolic aspects. This includes images of statuary, or photographic portraits of humans that evoke statuesque beauty.
A number of posts refer to athletic prowess, especially in the classical sense. Images of Olympians, dancers, gymnasts, and others who train their minds and bodies to heroic lengths form a significant portion of this thread.
Tom Fury is no prude. However, sexually explicit images (which some people would regard as pornographic) are not part of this study of the humanities and are therefore not featured on this site at all.
The Fantastic & The Macabre
This thread is about art that transcends normal human experience. This thread encompasses faerie tales, dark themes, mystical and magical elements, snippets from religio-supernatural traditions, and psychedelia.
Many of these posts concern thanatos, death, and decay, but not necessarily in a gruesome or frightening way. It is a strong thread in arts of all cultures to acknowledge that one day each of us will die. In fact, the human knowledge of the inevitability of our own demise is one of the most fundamental characteristics of being human. This includes stern sermons (“all is vanity”), somber reflections (the existential dilemma), and inspirational themes (“carpe diem.”)
Humanism and the Renaissance Tradition
This thread celebrates human love (phillia, eros, and agape), intellect, imagination, creativity, and accomplishments.This obviously encompasses a great many topics.
Most of the posts tagged with “science” or “examined life” are related to the incredible capacity of the human mind to apprehend the greater universe. Hamlet’s great reflection (“how infinite in faculty”) might be a good theme song for this thread.
Many of the images tagged as “places” are of mighty works of architecture and engineering, or of beautiful little gardens, shops, libraries, and streets that evoke the humanistic tradition.
The “human condition” posts cover a lot of ground. These posts concern sin and redemption, suffering and comfort, the collective and the individual. There are posts about family, about gender and sexuality, about religion and superstition. Humans are social creatures, so there are plenty of posts about politics and propaganda, with an emphasis on revolutionary themes.
Of course, the many “arts” posts are central to this thread. Science tells us how the universe works, but our arts and letters help us decide to what to make of what we learn.
More often than not, posts here are about what makes us human, and what makes us better humans than we might otherwise be.