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.
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Theatre of the Actors of Regard alerts us to the latest tableau of GV at the NGV :
He has no doubt about the painting's impact on visitors. ''It has tremendous wall power,'' he says.
Benches have been placed in front of it to encourage people to lose themselves in the work. ''There is the potential for abstraction to have a spiritual quality,'' he says.
Global crisis brings modernist 'old master' to the NGV
Robin Usher / THE AGE
4 January 2012
( click here to read the article )
Gerard Vaughan admires Scully's Queen of the Night. Photo: Penny Stephens
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
