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.


10 November 2009

The Immured

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The heap bought seven glossy 8x10s from an ephemera street stall in Rome in 1988. A stamp on the back of one indicates they are by Berlin photojournalist Joachim G. Jung.



They witness the building of the Berlin Wall.


( click the image to enlarge it )

First, barbed wire. Men with guns, glasses and a camera. A dog.



1961_Soldier with binoculars

Each photo has a typed text pasted on the back, presumably by the photographer, to further describe the scene. This is the one on the photo above, dated 28 September 1961.


( click the image to enlarge it )

1961_building the wall_400w

An officer with a gun. Wreckage, workers, watchers.


( click the image to enlarge it )
A sign points to the unavailable.



Eye level. A boy on a bike gets a better view.

1961_soldier hiding with mirror to blind_sRGB_400w

A soldier hides behind a sign of the cross. It is documented elsewhere that mirrors were used to deflect the sun in attempt to blind the cameras of the West.



Immured in Regard
-----------------------
we, through an aperture,
regard the back of a woman
who, through an aperture,
regards the back of a man
(with bayonet and gun)
who, through an aperture,

1961_woman looks through wall at guard_sRGB_400w
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something . . .

LOGOS/HA HA