Arms from the Sea
What kind of sea change in our ideals might we need to refashion our world for the better?
Lyle is a young man who hates his life in the State of Salt, a cultural and literal desert. He vandalizes a State icon, then swallows a poison pill that transports him not to death, but to a liminal realm—blue, aquatic, and wholly alien.
He’s rescued and shepherded by henchmen of the Polyp, god of the oceanic world they call “heaven.” A series of encounters unfolds between Lyle and the monstrous, seductive god, who gradually reveals his grandeur and mysterious purpose.
Lyle is horrified at first but soon finds himself falling for the Polyp, and the potent and bizarre creative potential he represents . . .
Whimsical and outlandish but also timely and dead serious, Arms from the Sea navigates allegorical realms of possibility, pointing to what it might mean to redeem a desolate world.
About Arms from the Sea
Q: Arms conjures a dystopian future, and the hope for a “sea change” appears in the form of the Polyp, the tentacled god of an oceanic heaven.
RS: The Polyp is perverse, yes. But he poses important questions. How are the ideals of a world established? What are the values of creation and destruction that are at work in our world, and what kind of higher power rules it? Is the higher power a conventional deity or the law of fang and claw? Is it quantum physics or trickle-down economics? If you were going to refashion our world from scratch, who would you put in charge? On what basis would decisions be made about whether creatures flourish or perish?
Q: You’re questioning our ideals.
RS: People know how to create degenerate societies, and I’ve made my little contribution with the State of Salt. The real question is: what would you replace it with, if you had the opportunity?
The Music
The Art
Project Cover, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on masonite, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 831. July 30, 1959. 23 7/8 x 24 in.
Book Plate, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on masonite, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 607. July 3, 1957. 24 x 24 in.
Album Cover, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 634. September 11, 1957. 25 3/4 x 22 in.
1. A Living Wheel, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 629. August 31, 1957. 25 3/4 x 22 in.
2. Behold the Sea, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Wand of the Genii. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 652. October 25, 1957. 25 3/4 x 21 in.
3. Your Only Chance, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Wand of the Genii. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 471. August 22, 1956. 28 x 29 in.
4. The Power to Change, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 615. July 31, 1957. 28 x 22 in.
5. Sweet Chemistry, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 489. September 28, 1956. 28 x 29 in.
6. Cold Currents, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 492. October 2, 1956. 28 1/8 x 21 7/8 in.
7. On the Sea Stack, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 616. August 1, 1957. 28 1/8 x 22 1/8 in.
8. Child of Mine, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Wand of the Genii. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 743. September 21, 1958. 25 7/8 x 22 in.
9. Something Greater, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled. Oil on paperboard, signed, dated and numbered. EVB 495. October 11, 1956. 28 x 29 1/2 in.
10. Give Me Strength, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein,
11. These Arms, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein,
Arms from the Sea in the TooFar Media App
The multimedia version of Arms from the Sea combines Rich’s novel with visionary paintings by Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, and hypnotic music and vocals by Orenda Fink.
Scan and download the TooFar Media App. Available on
iOS and Android.
Acclaim for Arms from the Sea
