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.


22 May 2015

Mu regard

    
A couple of images appear to have drifted together here of late : painters of black - mindful of lineage and of emptiness, or not - and regard(ers) of same.

         
The first image is from here :
Sceptical Buddhism > Buddhism & art > Buddhism and art: modes of enquiry and awakening. 2006.
- an introductory talk on Buddhism and art given to undergraduate students as part of a course on the relationship between philosophical ideas and art practice.
The caption given there to the image is :

Fukushima Keido – in the act of painting Mu 1989

The caption given here to the image is :

detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA
      
There, the image is placed after the image with this caption
       
Ad Reinhardt Black Painting No. 34 1964, oil on canvas

and before the image with this caption

Jackson Pollock at work 1950 (photo by Hans Namuth)
            
Here, the second image is this, from here :


                       
The caption given by the National Library of Australia catalog to this image is :
             
Bob Dyer painting a board on a jetty, 23 November 1962 
[picture] / John Mulligan

The caption given here to this image is :
          
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA