Editorial / Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Editorial / Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Serpents, Eyes, Arrows
Serpents, Eyes, Arrows
In art, a body is recognised by what was done to it. Lucia holds her eyes. Sebastian stands full of arrows. Laocoön is still fighting the serpents. Three bodies, three attributes — and what happens to them when they move onto a screen.
In art, a body is recognised by what was done to it. Lucia holds her eyes. Sebastian stands full of arrows. Laocoön is still fighting the serpents. Three bodies, three attributes — and what happens to them when they move onto a screen.
Serpents, eyes, arrows: Snake, googly eyes, a cursor.
Serpents, eyes, arrows: Snake, googly eyes, a cursor.
I / Laocoön
I / Laocoön
SERPENTS
SERPENTS
SERPENTS
Laocoön, detail of the marble group.
Laocoön, detail of the marble group.
Laocoön was a Trojan priest who saw through the Greeks’ trick. With the wooden horse standing before the city, he warned the Trojans and threw a spear at it.
Then serpents came and coiled around him and his sons, silencing the warning for good. The Trojans read it as a sign from the gods that he had been wrong. They brought the horse inside.
One warning, one fatal misreading, and a story frozen in marble.
Laocoön was a Trojan priest who saw through the Greeks’ trick. With the wooden horse standing before the city, he warned the Trojans and threw a spear at it.
Then serpents came and coiled around him and his sons, silencing the warning for good. The Trojans read it as a sign from the gods that he had been wrong. They brought the horse inside.
One warning, one fatal misreading, and a story frozen in marble.
Laocoön was a Trojan priest who saw through the Greeks’ trick. With the wooden horse standing before the city, he warned the Trojans and threw a spear at it.
Then serpents came and coiled around him and his sons, silencing the warning for good. The Trojans read it as a sign from the gods that he had been wrong. They brought the horse inside.
One warning, one fatal misreading, and a story frozen in marble.
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”
Laocoön’s warning, as it is usually quoted. Virgil has it differently: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes — ‘I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts’ (Aeneid II.49).
Laocoön’s warning, as it is usually quoted. Virgil has it differently: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes — ‘I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts’ (Aeneid II.49).
Date
Date
Date
c. 40–20 BCE (debated)
c. 40–20 BCE (debated)
Material
Material
Material
Marble
Marble
Attributed to
Attributed to
Attributed to
Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus, as described by Pliny the Elder
Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus, as described by Pliny the Elder
Found
Found
Found
Rome, Esquiline Hill, January 1506
Rome, Esquiline Hill, January 1506
Now
Now
Now
Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
The hand and the serpent.
The hand and the serpent.
Snake: the serpent that grows by eating.
Snake: the serpent that grows by eating.
In the collage the serpents are a game. Green tiles from Snake crawl across the marble face, and the score keeps counting.
In the collage the serpents are a game. Green tiles from Snake crawl across the marble face, and the score keeps counting.
In the collage the serpents are a game. Green tiles from Snake crawl across the marble face, and the score keeps counting.
Laocoön. Animated collage, loop.
Laocoön. Animated collage, loop.
II / Lucia
II / Lucia
EYES
EYES
EYES
Cosimo Rosselli, Saint Lucy, c. 1470. Tempera on panel.
Cosimo Rosselli, Saint Lucy, c. 1470. Tempera on panel.
Lucia was born into a wealthy Roman family in Syracuse. Her father died early, and her mother wanted to marry her off — naturally, to a pagan. Lucia refused: she vowed to stay a virgin and gave her dowry to the poor.
A rejected suitor is a dangerous enemy. According to legend, he reported her to the authorities. The punishment had to be a spectacle: she was sentenced to a brothel, but the cart pulled by oxen would not move. They tried to burn her, but the fire would not catch. In the end she was killed with a sword.
Later, a legend about her eyes was added: that they were gouged out, and miraculously healed. She became the patron saint of the blind and of eyesight. Her name comes from lux, light.
Lucia was born into a wealthy Roman family in Syracuse. Her father died early, and her mother wanted to marry her off — naturally, to a pagan. Lucia refused: she vowed to stay a virgin and gave her dowry to the poor.
A rejected suitor is a dangerous enemy. According to legend, he reported her to the authorities. The punishment had to be a spectacle: she was sentenced to a brothel, but the cart pulled by oxen would not move. They tried to burn her, but the fire would not catch. In the end she was killed with a sword.
Later, a legend about her eyes was added: that they were gouged out, and miraculously healed. She became the patron saint of the blind and of eyesight. Her name comes from lux, light.
Lucia was born into a wealthy Roman family in Syracuse. Her father died early, and her mother wanted to marry her off — naturally, to a pagan. Lucia refused: she vowed to stay a virgin and gave her dowry to the poor.
A rejected suitor is a dangerous enemy. According to legend, he reported her to the authorities. The punishment had to be a spectacle: she was sentenced to a brothel, but the cart pulled by oxen would not move. They tried to burn her, but the fire would not catch. In the end she was killed with a sword.
Later, a legend about her eyes was added: that they were gouged out, and miraculously healed. She became the patron saint of the blind and of eyesight. Her name comes from lux, light.
Scene from the legend of Saint Lucia: the oxen cannot move her. Artist not identified.
Scene from the legend of Saint Lucia: the oxen cannot move her. Artist not identified.
On a stem, in a cup, on a plate: the eyes, always offered.
On a stem, in a cup, on a plate: the eyes, always offered.
On a stem, in a cup, on a plate: the eyes, always offered.
Surprisingly, the best-known Lucia tradition is not in Italy but in Sweden.
Surprisingly, the best-known Lucia tradition is not in Italy but in Sweden.
On 13 December, at the darkest time of the year, one girl wears a crown of candles and plays Lucia; the others follow her in white, carrying light.
On 13 December, at the darkest time of the year, one girl wears a crown of candles and plays Lucia; the others follow her in white, carrying light.
On 13 December, at the darkest time of the year, one girl wears a crown of candles and plays Lucia; the others follow her in white, carrying light.
Lucia crowns. Left: unidentified photograph. Right: Solveig Hedengran as Lucia, photographer not identified.
Lucia crowns. Left: unidentified photograph. Right: Solveig Hedengran as Lucia, photographer not identified.
And then: one googly eye, cloned.
And then: one googly eye, cloned.
In the collage the eyes are no longer on a plate. They are everywhere — googly, plastic, slightly ridiculous — and every one of them is looking.
In the collage the eyes are no longer on a plate. They are everywhere — googly, plastic, slightly ridiculous — and every one of them is looking.
In the collage the eyes are no longer on a plate. They are everywhere — googly, plastic, slightly ridiculous — and every one of them is looking.
Lucia. Animated collage, loop.
Lucia. Animated collage, loop.
III / Sebastian
III / Sebastian
ARROWS
ARROWS
ARROWS
Sebastian is one of the most famous saints of the Church. He was venerated as a martyr from the fourth century; as early as the seventh he was invoked against plague, and after the Black Death of 1348 he became its chief protector. Arrows had long stood for plague, sent from above.
According to legend, he was shot with arrows on the emperor’s orders — and survived. Later he was clubbed to death. The young martyr calmly receiving the arrows became one of the most reproduced images in art history.
Sebastian is one of the most famous saints of the Church. He was venerated as a martyr from the fourth century; as early as the seventh he was invoked against plague, and after the Black Death of 1348 he became its chief protector. Arrows had long stood for plague, sent from above.
According to legend, he was shot with arrows on the emperor’s orders — and survived. Later he was clubbed to death. The young martyr calmly receiving the arrows became one of the most reproduced images in art history.
Sebastian is one of the most famous saints of the Church. He was venerated as a martyr from the fourth century; as early as the seventh he was invoked against plague, and after the Black Death of 1348 he became its chief protector. Arrows had long stood for plague, sent from above.
According to legend, he was shot with arrows on the emperor’s orders — and survived. Later he was clubbed to death. The young martyr calmly receiving the arrows became one of the most reproduced images in art history.
Josse Lieferinxe, Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken, 1497–99. Oil on panel. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Josse Lieferinxe, Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken, 1497–99. Oil on panel. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Pietro Perugino, Saint Sebastian.
Pietro Perugino, Saint Sebastian.
From the fifteenth century, painters focused more and more on the beauty of his naked body, and the martyrdom took a back seat. In the sixteenth century, Giorgio Vasari wrote that Fra Bartolomeo’s Saint Sebastian had to be removed from San Marco in Florence: the friars learned in confession that it stirred sinful thoughts in women of the congregation.
From the fifteenth century, painters focused more and more on the beauty of his naked body, and the martyrdom took a back seat. In the sixteenth century, Giorgio Vasari wrote that Fra Bartolomeo’s Saint Sebastian had to be removed from San Marco in Florence: the friars learned in confession that it stirred sinful thoughts in women of the congregation.
From the fifteenth century, painters focused more and more on the beauty of his naked body, and the martyrdom took a back seat. In the sixteenth century, Giorgio Vasari wrote that Fra Bartolomeo’s Saint Sebastian had to be removed from San Marco in Florence: the friars learned in confession that it stirred sinful thoughts in women of the congregation.
By the twentieth century, Sebastian had become a queer icon — and, in the years of AIDS, once again a saint against plague.
By the twentieth century, Sebastian had become a queer icon — and, in the years of AIDS, once again a saint against plague.
Keith Haring, Saint Sebastian, 1984.
Keith Haring, Saint Sebastian, 1984.
Egon Schiele, poster for his exhibition at Galerie Arnot, Vienna, 1915.
Egon Schiele, poster for his exhibition at Galerie Arnot, Vienna, 1915.
Three later Sebastians
Three later Sebastians
Kishin Shinoyama, Yukio Mishima as St. Sebastian, 1968.
Kishin Shinoyama, Yukio Mishima as St. Sebastian, 1968.
Mishima. In Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima’s narrator is overwhelmed by a reproduction of Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian. In 1968 Mishima posed as the martyr himself, after Reni’s painting, pierced by arrows.
Mishima. In Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima’s narrator is overwhelmed by a reproduction of Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian. In 1968 Mishima posed as the martyr himself, after Reni’s painting, pierced by arrows.
Mishima. In Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima’s narrator is overwhelmed by a reproduction of Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian. In 1968 Mishima posed as the martyr himself, after Reni’s painting, pierced by arrows.
Muhammad Ali, Esquire, April 1968. Photograph: Carl Fischer.
Muhammad Ali, Esquire, April 1968. Photograph: Carl Fischer.
Ali. On the cover of Esquire in 1968, Muhammad Ali appears as Sebastian. By then he had been stripped of his titles for refusing, on religious grounds, to fight in Vietnam. The idea was the art director George Lois’s; the photograph is by Carl Fischer.
Ali. On the cover of Esquire in 1968, Muhammad Ali appears as Sebastian. By then he had been stripped of his titles for refusing, on religious grounds, to fight in Vietnam. The idea was the art director George Lois’s; the photograph is by Carl Fischer.
Ali. On the cover of Esquire in 1968, Muhammad Ali appears as Sebastian. By then he had been stripped of his titles for refusing, on religious grounds, to fight in Vietnam. The idea was the art director George Lois’s; the photograph is by Carl Fischer.
Damien Hirst, Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain, 2007.
Damien Hirst, Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain, 2007.
Hirst. In Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain (2007), Damien Hirst replaces the painted body with a bullock in formaldehyde, pierced with arrows and crossbow bolts. Suffering becomes an object, outside time. George Michael acquired the work in 2007.
Hirst. In Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain (2007), Damien Hirst replaces the painted body with a bullock in formaldehyde, pierced with arrows and crossbow bolts. Suffering becomes an object, outside time. George Michael acquired the work in 2007.
Hirst. In Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain (2007), Damien Hirst replaces the painted body with a bullock in formaldehyde, pierced with arrows and crossbow bolts. Suffering becomes an object, outside time. George Michael acquired the work in 2007.
On a screen, an arrow is a cursor.
On a screen, an arrow is a cursor.
Sebastian. Animated collage, loop.
Sebastian. Animated collage, loop.
Sebastian. Animated collage, loop.
IV / Out of the frame
IV / Out of the frame
SCREENS
SCREENS
SCREENS
From statue to monitor. Story video.
From statue to monitor. Story video.
Posters, pasted over each other. Video.
Posters, pasted over each other. Video.
Serpents, eyes, arrows. The attributes stay, only the medium changes: marble, tempera, a magazine cover, a game, a cursor. And the wound is still the way we recognise them.
Serpents, eyes, arrows. The attributes stay, only the medium changes: marble, tempera, a magazine cover, a game, a cursor. And the wound is still the way we recognise them.
Serpents, eyes, arrows. The attributes stay, only the medium changes: marble, tempera, a magazine cover, a game, a cursor. And the wound is still the way we recognise them.
Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Digital collage, animation. Research: art-historical references
Digital collage, animation. Research: art-historical references
2025
2025
© Liza Benesh
© Liza Benesh
About & contact ↗
About & contact ↗
Editorial / Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Serpents,
Eyes,
Arrows
Serpents, eyes, arrows: Snake, googly eyes, a cursor.
In art, a body is recognised by what was done to it. Lucia holds her eyes. Sebastian stands full of arrows. Laocoön is still fighting the serpents. Three bodies, three attributes — and what happens to them when they move onto a screen.
I
Laocoön
Serpents
II
Lucia
Eyes
III
Sebastian
Arrows
IV
Out of the frame
Screens
I / Laocoön
Serpents
Laocoön, detail of the marble group.
Laocoön was a Trojan priest who saw through the Greeks’ trick. With the wooden horse standing before the city, he warned the Trojans and threw a spear at it.
Then serpents came and coiled around him and his sons, silencing the warning for good. The Trojans read it as a sign from the gods that he had been wrong. They brought the horse inside.
One warning, one fatal misreading, and a story frozen in marble.
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”
Laocoön’s warning, as it is usually quoted.
⇄ What Virgil wrote
Laocoön
Marble group
Date
c. 40–20 BCE (debated)
Material
Marble
Attributed to
Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus, as described by Pliny the Elder
Found
Rome, Esquiline Hill, January 1506
Now
Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
The hand and the serpent.
Snake: the serpent that grows by eating.
In the collage the serpents are a game. Green tiles from Snake crawl across the marble face, and the score keeps counting.
Laocoön. Animated collage, loop.
● LOOP
II / Lucia
Eyes
Cosimo Rosselli, Saint Lucy, c. 1470. Tempera on panel.
Look at the jar.
I
The vow
Lucia was born into a wealthy Roman family in Syracuse. Her father died early, and her mother wanted to marry her off — naturally, to a pagan. Lucia refused: she vowed to stay a virgin and gave her dowry to the poor.
II
The spectacle
A rejected suitor is a dangerous enemy. According to legend, he reported her to the authorities. The punishment had to be a spectacle: she was sentenced to a brothel, but the cart pulled by oxen would not move. They tried to burn her, but the fire would not catch. In the end she was killed with a sword.
The oxen cannot move her. Scene from the legend; artist not identified.
III
The eyes
Later, a legend about her eyes was added: that they were gouged out, and miraculously healed. She became the patron saint of the blind and of eyesight.
Her name comes from lux, light.
On a stem, in a cup, on a plate: the eyes, always offered.
1 / 313
December
Surprisingly, the best-known Lucia tradition is not in Italy but in Sweden.
At the darkest time of the year, one girl wears a crown of candles and plays Lucia; the others follow her in white, carrying light.
Lucia crown. Unidentified photograph.
Solveig Hedengran as Lucia. Photographer not identified.
Lucia. Animated collage, loop.
● LOOP
And then: one googly eye, cloned.
In the collage the eyes are no longer on a plate. They are everywhere — googly, plastic, slightly ridiculous — and every one of them is looking.
III / Sebastian
Pietro Perugino, Saint Sebastian.
Sebastian is one of the most famous saints of the Church. He was venerated as a martyr from the fourth century; as early as the seventh he was invoked against plague, and after the Black Death of 1348 he became its chief protector.
Arrows had long stood for plague, sent from above.
Josse Lieferinxe, Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken, 1497–99. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
According to legend, he was shot with arrows on the emperor’s orders — and survived. Later he was clubbed to death. The young martyr calmly receiving the arrows became one of the most reproduced images in art history.
From the fifteenth century, painters focused more and more on the beauty of his naked body, and the martyrdom took a back seat. In the sixteenth century, Giorgio Vasari wrote that Fra Bartolomeo’s Saint Sebastian had to be removed from San Marco in Florence: the friars learned in confession that it stirred sinful thoughts in women of the congregation.
By the twentieth century, Sebastian had become a queer icon — and, in the years of AIDS, once again a saint against plague.
Keith Haring, Saint Sebastian, 1984.
Egon Schiele, poster for his exhibition at Galerie Arnot, Vienna, 1915.
Three later Sebastians
1968
Mishima
Kishin Shinoyama, Yukio Mishima as St. Sebastian, 1968.
In Confessions of a Mask, Yukio Mishima’s narrator is overwhelmed by a reproduction of Guido Reni’s Saint Sebastian. In 1968 Mishima posed as the martyr himself, after Reni’s painting, pierced by arrows.
1968
Ali
Muhammad Ali, Esquire, April 1968. Photograph: Carl Fischer.
On the cover of Esquire in 1968, Muhammad Ali appears as Sebastian. By then he had been stripped of his titles for refusing, on religious grounds, to fight in Vietnam. The idea was the art director George Lois’s; the photograph is by Carl Fischer.
2007
Hirst
Damien Hirst, Saint Sebastian, Exquisite Pain, 2007.
Hirst replaces the painted body with a bullock in formaldehyde, pierced with arrows and crossbow bolts. Suffering becomes an object, outside time. George Michael acquired the work in 2007.
On a screen, an arrow is a cursor.
Sebastian. Animated collage, loop.
● LOOP
IV / Out of the frame
Screens
From statue to monitor. Story video — the format this screen was made for.
Posters, pasted over each other. Video.
Lucia on a façade. Mock-up.
Serpents, eyes, arrows. The attributes stay, only the medium changes:
marble
I
tempera
II
a magazine cover
III
a game
I
a cursor
III
And the wound is still the way we recognise them.
Project
Laocoön, Lucia, Sebastian
Medium
Digital collage, animation. Research: art-historical references
Year
2025
Related project / 3D & collage
Laocoön & Co. →
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© Liza Benesh
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