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.


09 October 2013

Re. ] non-Self (-simhilarity

          
Previously, we considered the consequences of perverse stasis, exemplified by the (now standard) static display of Marcel Duchamp's not-turning Bicycle Wheel, 1913.

To see the wheel turning was very soothing, very comforting, a sort of opening of avenues on other things than material life of every day. I liked the idea of having a bicycle wheel in my studio. I enjoyed looking at it just as I enjoy looking at the flames dancing in a fireplace. It was like having a fireplace in my studio, the movement of the wheel reminded me of the movement of the flames.

- Marcel Duchamp : Arturo Schwartz, The Complete works of Marcel Duchamp, London: Thames and Hudson, 1969, p.442
    
Reinventing the Wheel: the Readymade Century
     

Monash University Museum of Art

Caulfield campus

3 October – 14 December 2013

Presented in association with the Melbourne Festival


The revolution of the Bicycle Wheel was not so much (about) The Object as (about) the turning of the object. And not so much the turning of the object as the turning of the mind in concert with the mere and sufficient turning of the wheel.


click image to enlarge        
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
 
LOGOS/HA HA

Today, in an exercise of Self-simulation...



No, we didn't mean self-stimulation! Try again...

Today, in an exercise of Self-simulation 
so-called Self-simulation : first locate the Self !
let us observe the turning mind observing the turning mind.  

To begin, observe something. For instance, what could be a better representative something than...

The Field 
National Gallery of Victoria, 1968
  

image via The Bulletin, 12 October 1968                                        

l-r : on floor, Nigel Lendon Slab construction 11; Eric Shirley Encore; Tony McGillick Polaris; Vernon Treweeke Ultrascope 5; Col Jordan Daedalus series 6 and on floor Knossos II; Dick Watkins October; Robert Rooney Kind-hearted kitchen-garden IV; two visible exhibition visitors: 
      
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
 
LOGOS/HA HA
            
Now, while maintaining that observation, observe your...
       
post-Field non-Self-simhilarity
   

 Mandelbrot animation of The Field 
 based on a static number of iterations per pixel
 where each pixel simulates :
          
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
 
LOGOS/HA HA