bLOGOS/HA HA: Read All About It : MEDIA BREAKTHROUGH

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.

01 March 2015

Read All About It : MEDIA BREAKTHROUGH

A few days ago we visited the scene below.

Theatre of the Actors of Regard

Being both meta- minded and keen appreciators of the disruptive French 'breakthrough' play, when we at bLOGOS/HA HA attend 'Waiting for The Times', we cannot but imagine the unseen reader there suddenly breaking through that 'fourth wall' to confront us.

Here are a few such instances, from Emile Zola's famous 13 January 1898 open letter J'accuse...! published on the front page of L'Aurore... to the 7 January 2015 shootings at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo :

13 January 1898, J'accuse...!

- wikipedia entry here

1900 - : the new century opens with breakthrough à la mode at The Times/Le Temps, La Libre Parole, La Liberté, Le Figaro, L'Autorité, L'Intransigeant, Le TAR, Le Grand National...

1901 - : Égalité and constant popular revolution.

Let's everyone practise the media breakthrough ...

as the meta- gets even better :

27 November 1960, Dimanche :

Yves Kline takes the newspaper breakthrough to a new level with his Leap into the Void presented to the world on the front page of his one-day Paris paper, Dimanche.

1978 : the tradition continues with the Reiser

cover of The Best Covers of Charlie Hebdo :

1978 : madder, meta-, other : a second collection of 1407 Charlie Hebdo covers we'd previously been spared. Cabu respects the breakthrough tradition, too.