David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.


31 May 2011

The Popeye Effect

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We've had a newspaper article lying around for some weeks, wondering if it was too late to post it here. It begins...
I KNOW nothing about art, but I know when a painting pulls the eyes out of my head and makes me stop and look at it. Same with footy. I know I'm seeing a great game when I forget everything else and start talking to the television set because no one else is in the room.

Losing your mind on a masterpiece
Martin Flanagan
The Age, 30 April 2011

read full article here

This morning we received from the Queensland Art Gallery|
Gallery of Modern Art an invitation to a Lecture and Morning Tea Viewing of the exhibition Surrealism: The Poetry of Dreams. Would that be morning tea a la Meret Openheim?


Meret Oppenheim
Le Déjeuner en Fourrure
1936

And sugar with that? One lump? Or a hundred and fifty-two?


Marcel Duchamp.
Why Not Sneeze Rose Sélavy?
1921/64.

On the front of the invitation, an image previously unknown to your correspondent. Aha! That Martin Flanagan article!


Victor Brauner
Sur le motif (Painted from nature)
1937
Collection: Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...

LOGOS/HA HA