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.


31 July 2015

ROBERT MACPHERSON : THE PAINTER'S REACH


      they have
      gone to GOMA droving 
      and we don't know where they are 
           
As well as The drover invitation card from the University of Queensland Art Museum, we recently received another invitation from Queensland (below), from the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA).
    
ROBERT MACPHERSON
THE PAINTER'S REACH
     

          
bLOGOS/HA HA sent one of our award winning journalists
to attend the opening, the lectures and the special guided tour by
The Drovers of TAR.

       The TAR guide is there, awaiting in demand,
      TAR book held firmly in his Hand Space hand;
      He fixes on an Actor with a look of lonely lack,
      Exactly what he's waiting for : "TAR here, Jack!"

       - from Songs of the Open Road 
        (The Drovers of TAR)
          

         
The Painter's Reach is a 40 year survey curated by longtime MacPherson expert Ingrid Periz. For those familiar with the art of Robert MacPherson there are lots of old favourites. 

 The early, sufficient, mark-making mark-regarding themes and variations.... 
                  
Robert MacPherson
SCALE FROM THE TOOL, 1976
            
studio c.1977 with SARAH'S MERLES - photo David Goulter

soon spill out from the artist's paint encrusted studio ...
                    

Robert MacPherson, 
SCALE FROM THE TOOL (SABCO) 1976
         
... in liberated, worldly play.
              

Robert MacPherson
MAYFAIR : XMAS (WILDFIRE RED) FOR MRS PRETTY 2001-2002

'Speaking of CHERRY PICKERS...' (LOGOS/HA HA) :
from QAGOMA Facebook comes this image of THREE MEN and a SPIRIT LEVEL high in a CHERRY PICKER installing the 156 panels of "CHITTERS: A WHEELBARROW FOR RICHARD, 156 PAINTINGS, 156 SIGNS" 1999-2000
                 

                 
Then t/here's our looking at the/se painted words, printed words, pixilated words.
Robert MacPherson
4 PAINTINGS (NAMING) RED CENTRE DEAD CENTRE IN MEMORY OF D.P. 1993-2001

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

LOGOS/HA HA        
        
Looking without, and reading, and perhaps even looking within.


Robert, MacPherson
LITTLE PICTURES FOR THE POOR, 1983
          
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...

LOGOS/HA HA 
         
             
...........................................................
Displayed in a long red wall vitrine are various other MacPherson productions, not so obviously or primarily of The Painter's Reach: his correspondence with fellow artists is as much a measure of The Postal System's Reach. This pair of gloves, with a clearly franked postage stamp on each finger and the receiver's address written under the thumbs, are part of a recent gift to GOMA of around 13,000 items of MacPherson correspondence.
         

Robert MacPherson, 1982

...........................................................

I SING ON THE CAKE 

Topping the show off, QAGOMA has recently acquired this grand opera by Robert MacPherson and his eternally 10 year old alter-ego Robert Pene :
               
1000 FROG POEMS: 1000 BOSS DROVERS ("YELLOW LEAF FALLING") FOR H.S. 1996–2014



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

LOGOS/HA HA