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.


30 January 2015

LOGOS/HA HA : The Laughing Logos

  

 Laughing Christ, Noel Counihan, 1970
              
Lazarus is dead, they said. 
          
Jesus the Christ the Logos spoke thus unto him, 
saying : 
               "Arise, Sir Lazarus!"
       
Chorus :
Lazarus is dead, long live Lazarus! 
Lazarus is dead, long live Lazarus!
Lazarus is dead, long live Lazarus! 
Lazarus is dead, long live Lazarus!


Auferweckung des Lazarus, St. Maria in Kapitol, Koln
          
Jesus and Lazarus had a good laugh together...

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

LOGOS/HA HA
   
       
And now the TAR Chorus :
Art is dead, long live Art!
Art is dead, long live Art!
Art is dead, long live Art!
Art is dead, long live Art!


Kazimir Malevich, Suprematist Cross (Small Cross in Black over Red on White), 1920-27, Stedelijk Museum :  johan's photoblog
            
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA
       
     
        

28 January 2015

The Reign of La Langue

                            
Marie's words to Jeanne have long since reached the sea and returned into the various atmospheres. 

        Art is dead, Long live Art!
       
    Verbum mortuum est, dum vivat.
               
      
The great circulation of language continues. Below, a new reign falls upon the ground of all, and on those standing around; on the dog, too. 
         
             
In 1808, Théâtre des Acteurs de Regard proposed that this monument should be inscribed with a poem beginning
  'Passants, contemplez cette pyramide…'
  'Passers by, contemplate this pyramid...'  

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

  LOGOS/HA HA
     
...but it never eventuated.
         
A.B. is writing to chere Leontine : the fall of words align with the obelisk (atopped by the funerary vase intended to hold the bullet-pierced heart of Louis Desaix ...but it never eventuated) and with the rood tree, stripped and strung with the lines of the new langue : telegraph, telephone and electrification.
        
   
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something...

 LOGOS/HA HA
     
     
         

26 January 2015

The Tongue that Spoke the World into Being

        
La Langue, French, is both tongue and language

The Logos, from the Greek, refers variously to the Word of God, the Christ... and (also our) Speaking the World into Being

bLOGOS/HA HA is all of the above plus burps and blots and laughs and farts and dribbles and
         
1904 : words of Marie, script, flowing to the see


   
to observe the life cycle - Bonne Fete - of her friend Miss Jeanne at the House of the Water Castle (Villa du chateau d'eau), Bort.
                   

click to enlarge  
                       .  .  .  .
     
Today is variously known in Australia as Australia Day and Invasion Day. 

"It was like a church turned inside out." 

Christine recounting her experience of Uluru
         
                       .  .  .  .
     
In the Beginning 

               the circle

               the sun bright and looking out 
               and the moon often inward
               both within

Then the Terrible Twos when

               one day the circle stuck it's tongue out
               stuck it out so far 
               it went all the way round

Now the sun and moon inside and out

               such fun to see the rivers run...


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

LOGOS/HA HA
   
 
       

25 January 2015

Australia Day Honours previewed : Sir Duke to Take The A Train

       
When The Duke toured Australia in January 1970, we were there to see and hear him, up the back at Festival Hall, Melbourne.

Now comes the unexpectedly wonderful news that Prime Minister Tony Abbott is to make The Duke a Knight of Australia.

Arise, Sir Duke!

Music is a world within itself 
With a language we all understand 
With an equal opportunity 
For all to sing, dance and clap their hands 
But just because a record has a groove 
Don't make it in the groove 
But you can tell right away at letter A 
When the people start to move 

They can feel it all over 
They can feel it all over people 
They can feel it all over 
They can feel it all over people
 

click below to play

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

 LOGOS/HA HA
       
       
                 

24 January 2015

WASTE NOT

   
Heapster reading Harold Mitchell's Time to recycle Australia's economy in The Age today, looks up at last year's FIAPCE Values poster and nods. 
Oh yeah!
         

click image to enlarge  
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA
     
   
          

23 January 2015

Taking mind for a walk ] after Paul Klee (

      
lineage

nib pen and ink
paper and white out  
ex-postal pre-digital rubber stamp

scanner
         
click image to enlarge  
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something...
          
 LOGOS/HA HA

21 January 2015


Today, our postman delivered this postcard. 



It shows a portrait of the distinguished veteran postman Le Père Huguenin, as photographed by the Robert Brothers of Le Locle for Theatre of the Actors of Regard.  

The verso postmarks indicate the card was first sent in 1903, from Le Locle, to the writer's dear son in Germany : Cher fils Gustave...

Huguenin the intermediary fixes his gaze. To his right, he holds a small rectangular parcel; to his left, from his shoulder, he suspends a large rectangular deliveries box.


click image to enlarge  
We have no record of the messager-facteur who first delivered this postcard; or what, if anything, was made of the meta- moment the card's imagery provided.

What we can add is this early photo portrait of Le Père Huguenin. Already practising his intense regard, he was known then as Le Bébé Huguenin. 
     


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

LOGOS/HA HA


           

19 January 2015

The Image Not Made by Human Hands

   
It's the last week for Eikōn: Icons of the Orthodox Christian World at the Ballarat Art Gallery. 
       
Of particular interest to bLOGOS/HA HA, given the present turmoil at the meeting points of Islam's blasphemy proscription and the West's ideal of free expression, is this image of this image of the Christ.
      
'The Image Not Made by Human Hands’, also known as ‘The Mandylion’, or ‘The Holy Face of Edessa’ (Russia, 17th century), egg tempera and gesso on linen over wood, 30.8 x 25.7 cm, (Private Collection, Sydney).

So too, the accompanying gallery wall text. Notes were made : "The existence of this image was the primary argument for the Divine Sanction of images...".
       
    
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the name "Veronica" comes from the Latin vera, meaning "true" or "Truthful", and the Greek eikon, meaning "image"; the Veil of Veronica was therefore largely regarded in medieval times as the "true image", the truthful representation of Jesus, preceding the Shroud of Turin. (Wikipedia)
         
Albrecht Dürer, Sudarium of St Veronica supported by two angels, an engraving (British Museum)
        
What about blasphemy by web bots? Is that possible? The nuances get so angels-on-a-pin-head weird. 

Here's what happened as we transferred this Portable Network Graphic of The Image Not Made by Human Hands to Google Chrome Photos in order to upload it to bLOGOS/HA HA. The bots sent in their Facial Recognition engineers :
   


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

LOGOS/HA HA


           

18 January 2015

Double Act


The Masked Mesmer and model at the local TAR - always a great Saturday night out.
         
courtesy Theatre of the Actors of Regard  
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA
      
     
           

16 January 2015

sketch comedie

   
"Who did you say you were, again?"

click image to enlarge 
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
           
LOGOS/HA HA


     
P.S.  clue matrix here 
    

15 January 2015

déjà vu :

       
A man of Middle Eastern Appearance walks into this Modern Western Office of bLOGOS/HA HA.

He says, I Am the Logos, the Word of God. 

He asks to speak to the Editor.


image courtesy Theatre of the Actors of Regard  
Next thing we know, He and our staff are splashed (like an Oil Painting) across the latest cover of 
God Speaks To Modern Man.
               

  
This, on the same day that Charlie Hebdo publishes again; one week after eleven of their company and two police (later, elsewhere, five others) were murdered in their Paris office by Islamic extremists.
          
     
Above, editorial staff of Charlie Hebdo work on the new issue in the offices of French newspaper Liberation (photo AFP/Bertrand Guay) and below, Charlie Hebdo staff at the launch of the new issue.
       
     
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
   
LOGOS/HA HA