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.


05 April 2014

Vale, The Announcement


We have recently received some fabulous printed announcements for exhibitions. 

From Heide Museum of Modern Art, a matt print (below) for EMILY FLOYD : FAR RAINBOW
   

click image to enlarge  
      
Regrettably, for those who appreciate and even collect such things, most commercial galleries no longer produce this material. Tightened belts plus the ease of digital distribution have combined to end the ritual print Announcement.  

Hear He, Hear Ye : 'Tis the End of Such as This.

There's an irony in this as the technology of print and paper production has, arguably, never been so high or so widely available.

For the moment, the state funded galleries and museums still 'go to print'. As well as the Heide-
Emily Floyd gift, other pin-ups currently adorning the offices of bLOGOS/HA HA are Stephen Bush Steenhuffel, from the Ian Potter Museum of Art; Brook Andrew DE ANIMA, Bendigo Art Gallery; Rod Moss Whitegate, Burrinja Gallery; and this ripper from the Art Gallery of South Australia for their exhibition Netsuke and Other Miniatures:

On the front of the AGSA folded card is a front view of a late 19th century Japanese okimono : Karako playing blindman's bluff.

That 'set' reminds us of another such Buddhist image, one we've shown here before: The Supreme Goddess as Void, with projection-space for image.    
        
On the back of the AGSA announcement card we regard the verso view.



detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ... 

LOGOS/HA HA