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.


20 April 2015

The Charge of the Light Regard ( To the G! )

       
"The first electric lights were lamps, dazzling bright electric discharges of several hundred candle power, struck, between carbon electrodes fed by batteries. The arc lamp was invented by Humphry Davy in 1807, but was too bright for households and was only used to light public places once a reliable electric generator had been developed by Gramme in Paris in 1871.
     
In Melbourne, the most notable floodlit event was a footy game at the MCG on 6th August, 1879 between Collingwood Artillery and East Melbourne. In that year, the incandescent lamp was invented separately by Swan and Edison, and gave a much less bright light of about 16 candle power, suitable for domestic use."
       
Trevor McAllister : Electric junk
Ockams Razor / ABC Radio National 4 July 2010

Engraving of a football match played under electric lights at the MCG, printed in the Illustrated Australian News, 1879
       
sandyhill writes at austadiums :

1) The drawing shows the first football match under electric lights between Collingwood Artillery (not to be confused with the later Collingwood FC) and East Melbourne, playing in 1879.

2) Its also the exact ground (known as Richmond Paddock) where the sport of Australian Football first started in 1858 - not inside the MCG, but next to it on its northern side - basically where the exterior of the new Northern Stand now is.

3) The original reversible Northern Stand is seen on the right hand side. As football was not allowed on the MCG until 1882, the stands ingenious reversible design allowed the seats to face the cricket ground in Summer and the football ground in Winter. However, by the time it burned down in 1883 to be replaced (refer to photo of the replacement stand on the first post above), football was played on the MCG itself, and no longer on Richmond Paddock.

4) Finally, if you can, note the packed crowd. A near capacity 12,000 attended this match - at a time when football crowds (any code) never exceeded 2,000 in the UK, or anywhere else.

Light Show
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
16 April - 5 July 2015


Theatre of the Actors of Regard  
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something...

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