bLOGOS/HA HA: NGV RENEWS BANS

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.

21 April 2012

NGV RENEWS BANS

Dear Gerard Vaughan

regarding Manifestations of Now
regarding The role of art in 21st century Australia
regarding Fred Williams : INFINITE HORIZONS
regarding NGV

At NGV Studio on Thursday evening I participated (with Hossein Valamanesh and Nikos Papastergiadis) in the well-attended public forum 'The role of art in 21st century Australia'. This was part of the Manifestations of Now program.

I stayed in Melbourne overnight, to visit your Fred Williams exhibition the following day.

You will recall our previous communications in 2004 when
free pencil movement protested against your NGV regulation that banned all sketching and note-making.

fpm : the morning protest outside NGV Internationalclick image to enlarge

fpm: from the afternoon sketch-in at NGV International
& NGV Australia
For those interested in further information about the 2004 protests and their results : click here

Yesterday morning I arrived at NGV Ticket Sales and there encountered your banning notice of all photography, sketching and note making (or as you spin it note taking) by attendees of the Fred Williams exhibition. This in Fred's home town, no less. Grrrrr!

I informed the ticket seller that I intended to sketch in the exhibition! Who then sold me the ticket and told me no-sketching. Thank you. Thank you.

Once inside, it didn't take long for the first of your courteous enforcers to request CEASE AND DESIST. Thank you. I am aware of the prohibition but I intend to continue sketching. I am now also protesting at the return of this ridiculous limitation. I gave my name and asked that Gerard Vaughan be immediately informed that this someone is sketching! Walkie talkie to head the officer set off, and I continued to sketch to sketch to sketch

Over the next hour this was rehearsed several more times with other security personnel. After each exchange a bystander would approach with bemused astonishment. One said, But there's no other gallery in the world that prohibits sketching and writing!? Write to Director Gerard Vaughan, I suggested.

Eventually, two senior staff arrived. Hello hello. Hello. They said what they were obliged to say, including the PRIORITY of Terms of Agreements signed by one or more of the lenders to this National Galery of Australia Touring Exhibition OVER any-say-in-the-matter by the would-be-good-if-we-could NGV; and I put it that the whole farce was Kafka bullshit. They did allow that if one were to use an iPad instead of a pen and paper that would be acceptable. Grrrrr!

To progress things a bit, I made a FORMAL STATEMENT : stated NAME; acknowledged PRESENT PROHIBITED ACTION; acknowledged INTENTION TO CONTINUE PRESENT PROHIBITED ACTION; acknowledged INTENTION TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO CONSIDER SIMILAR ACTION; requested that GERARD VAUGHAN be immediately informed of PRESENT SITUATION, he being THE OFFICIAL who had previously AGREED to get rid of these UNENFORCEABLE BULLSHIT RULES that MAKE A MOCKERY of the NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA. They went off, and I continued to sketch to sketch to sketch

One later returned. Gerard knows of this situation, she told me, he was informed from the start. No message though, Gerard?
She said WE are are now in communication with the National Gallery of Australia. She informed me that someone would be keeping an eye on me. That the security staff had been instructed about the situation and as it seemed I had no intention to damage the artworks - I DO SO SWEAR NOT TO SO DO - the NGV would allow me, in the present circumstance, to continue to sketch. That this temporary toleration applied only to me and that everyone else would still be requested not to sketch, not to make notes. Smiles shared, hands shaken. She went off, and I continued to sketch to sketch to sketch

What a madness!

Gerard, you relayed no message and made no intervention when you might have, when I was within your building. When free pencil movement publicised and protested against your NGV no-sketching no-note-making rules in 2004 you convened an urgent meeting of the Trustees and rewrote those rules. Already I am hearing from individuals who propose to take their own sketch and note gear with them to this splendid Fred Williams home town exhibition. Perhaps it's time for another mass sketch-in?

PT
free pencil movement