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 December 2010

Bring me the head of the viewer

.
In the latest edition of The Monthly, a bookmark.
Advertisement for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria
Gustave Moreau and the Eternal Feminine.

The headline on this bookmark, above Moreau's head of Salome :
"Bring me the head of John the Baptist"

And on the other side :
From Salome to sirens, be seduced by the femmes fatales of Gustave Moreau

What the...?!

2010_NGV advert_Bring me head John Baptist_sRGB_342

Flicking through the weekend papers...

this intriguing image in The Australian, to accompany (with little relevance) a P.J. O'Rourke article about politeness.



Bring me the head of Francis Bacon
as decapipicted by Lucien Freud

One of the bLOGOS/HA HA tags is The Golden Guillotine
This refers specifically, but not exclusively, to the fine art practice of placing a golden frame around an image. An alluring bait... look in there... SNAP!

Bring me the head of the viewer
Still looking at (SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!) this image in The Australian...



Those gloves! I recognise those gloves!!

Too late, the white-gloved handler realises the golden guillotine has him, too, in its deadly frame.

Bring me the head of ...


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

LOGOS/HA HA