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.


17 March 2015

Dear Diary

       
Yesterday a quick trip to Melbourne. 
       

   
Conversation with Mr D for several hours - art, Australia, history, everything. Then to ACCA for Juliana Engberg in conversation with the artist designer bookseller and curator of NEW15 Matt Hinkley and three of the artists in that exhibition: Ash Kilmartin, George Egerton-Warburton, Kate Newby.
       
This is the last of Juliana's NEW@ACCA series. Over the period of her ACCA directorship, these annual presentations have formally introduced about 100 artists, she said. In April, Juliana will take on her own NEW role as Programme Director for the European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017. 
        
We remember when Juliana arrived at the Ewing & George Paton Galleries as the NEW assistant there. Here's Juliana with Christine (on the ladder) installing Daylesford Embroidered Banners, 1984.


    
'A day for little things, no doubt, but who would dare despise it?' (Zechariah 3:1-4:14)
     
NEW15 artist Kate Newby's contribution includes some 'pocket sculptures' (below) which she has given to the curator and her fellow artists, to be returned at the exhibition's conclusion with some reckoning of their play in the world over that time.
         

            
Ash Kilmartin showed me her Kate Newby pocket sculpture collection, held in trust, including a silver cast hairpin, along with some similar size findings and devisings of her own : Matt has divined here a distinctive zeitgeist sensibility. These we regarded and discussed. 

click image to enlarge 
 detail
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