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.


07 November 2009

The Running Jumping & Standing Still Blog

.
The final day of the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne is Stakes Day, also known as Family Day. (Everything aka Everything Else.)

The Judges have called for a photo. Our final exhibit, in this sequence through recent days, is an ink blotter from the USA.



Travelling blotter salesman Willy Loman gets talking to petrol monkey Johnnie Bouma. You should advertise, he says. It really works. Give folks something they need - people can always use a good blotter - and they'll remember you, right. They'll come back. He shows Johnnie his catalog of images. What about something funny, Johnnie? Sure, why not, says Johnnie. What about this one - a monkey on a boomer. Get it, Johnnie? Boomer, Johnnie Bouma. Sure, why not, says Johnnie.



What of the original image? As the signature shows, it is by Lawson Wood.
Painter, illustrator and designer: Lawson Wood was born on 23 August 1878 in Highgate, London to a family in which watercolor painting had been a tradition for two generations. He was the grandson of the architectural artist L.J. Wood RI and eldest son of the landscape painter Pinhorn Wood. He studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art, Heatherley's School of Fine Art and attended classes at Frank Calderon's School of Animal Painting...
( full article here )


verbing to a Void
--------------------
jumping to a Conclusion
arriving at a Judgment
drawing to a Close
coming to a Stop

2009.11.06_Johnnie Bouma_illustration_sRGB_400
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something . . .

LOGOS/HA HA