Labyrinths

Modern takes on Greek labyrinth

In modern imagery, the labyrinth is often confused with the maze, in which one may become lost.

The myth of the labyrinth has in recent times transformed into a stage play by Ilinka Crvenkovska which explores notions of a man's ability to control his own fate. Theseus in an act of suicide is killed by the Minotaur, who is himself killed by the horrified townspeople.

The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges was entranced with the idea of the labyrinth, and used it extensively throughout his short stories. His modern literary use of the labyrinth has inspired a great many other authors in their own works (e.g. Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves). Additionally, Roger Zelazny's fantasy series The Chronicles of Amber features a labyrinth, called the Pattern, which grants those who walk it the power to move between parallel worlds.

The labyrinth is important subject in contemporary fine art too. Some remarkable examples from the 20th century: Piet Mondrian: Dam and Ocean (1915), Joan Miro: Labirynth (1923), Pablo Picasso: Minotauromachia (1935), M.C. Escher: Relativity (1953), Friedensreich Hundertwasser: Labyrinth (1957), Jean Dubuffet: Logological Cabinet (1970), Richard Long: Connemara sculpture (1971), Joe Tilson: Earth Maze (1975), Richard Fleischner: Chain Link Maze (1978), István Orosz: Atlantis Anamorphosis (2000), Dmitry Rakov: Labyrinth (2003):