Saturday 18 June 2011

The Green Man


This is a composite image I created in Photoshop to represent The Green Man. For me he is a representation of the natural world and his symbols can be found in many old religious buildings throughout the world. He is in the stories of King Arthur  and Robin Hood where is was known as Herne the Hunter or Horned God. The God of the forests, he may date back to the third Millennium BC and variations appear in North Africa and Asia. However he is most prevalent in Britain and Europe .
The beginnings of the Green Man is still a mystery and to me that is what makes him such a magical figure.
The Green Man is an image and an idea. It is an image of a human face associated with foliage, and it is an idea that makes real the connection between humanity and nature. The image personifies the idea.
But I believe that the real answer to the question of “who is the Green Man” may simply be that there is no single answer, that he is indeed an enigma, not to be solved but to continue to instil curiosity and wonder in current and future generations.

13 comments:

Montanagirl said...

Nice work!

TexWisGirl said...

he's rather intimidating there. i'd like to think he was a friendlier, tree-hugging kind of god. :)

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Wow, that is impressive. I think any child, well make that anyone seeing that while walking along would definitly be afraid to enter the spooky forest.

MadSnapper said...

i agree with texwisgirl, we can wish he was friendly looking, but you got it just right, all the god's in myths were just like this, scary and boogeyman types. it is excellent photography wise.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Wow! He must not be very happy with us and how we are taking care of things... Great work, Kev.

Bises,
Genie

ADRIAN said...

Very very good.

Andrew said...

very nice work!

Madalina Dascalu said...

nice idea :)

Gretchen said...

Just beautiful! The Green Man is the representation of the forest and the old gods. Everybody who loves nature and reveres the old ones knows this man well. Thanks for sharing it.

Unknown said...

Incredible work Kev!

S. Etole said...

interesting creation ...

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

I love the picture. Is it copywritten or is it ok for me to use it as a profile pic on a couple social sites?