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.


26 November 2011

ENJOY THE IMPERATIVE!

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Some say the National Gallery of Victoria has little interest in contemporary art.

Perhaps the recent run of full page advertisements in the Weekend Age are an attempt by that institution 'to be seen to be' engaged.

This is from today's paper :

2011.11.26_NCV advert_TAR_ 'visitor enjoying'_400
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...

LOGOS/HA HA

But why does the first line of the promotional image caption say

Visitor enjoying

First : why "visitor"?
Second : why "enjoying"?

What we at bLOGOS/HA HA enjoy about this image is knowing a little more about what is actually happening : knowing that the dewdrops are suspended on strings, though this is not apparent in the advertisement; knowing that the 'visitor' is actually a member of T.A.R. (Theatre of the Actors of Regard) and is not so much visiting as performing; knowing that a fuller depiction of the scene would show the actor's braces are suspending, front and back, a meta pair of dependent-arising ideograms over his naked loins; knowing, too, the cloud of thoughts that bubble forth...

2011.11.26_TAR performer with ideogram sandwich billboard at NGV_sRGB_400

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

LOGOS/HA HA