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.


27 November 2016

THIS LOOKING THING


Another postcard recently received. From P&S at Spare Room 33
(Opening soon : LAWRENCE WEINER : EARLY WORKS)
   
On the picture side, a circle amid rectangle(s), the West Australian artist Howard Taylor's Day time moon (1997). Plus, a bonus Australia Post orange banding P.O.em


       
On the verso, Peter quotes Howard Taylor :
         

          
The day before this THIS LOOKING THING moon pointer arrived we posted here an image of ("Bring me...) the sculpted behead of Paul Signac on a Block, as Daruma Muralist, as circle and square, as rounded and rect....

Bust of Paul Signac (1863-1935), 1935 
by Jan and Joël Martel (Nantes 1896 – 1966 Paris)

At the same time, we encountered this article at Hyperallergic:

At the Montreal Biennial, Lessons in How to Look

Across the city, many works by the 55 artists participating in the 2016 Biennale Montréal deal with the possibilities, limitations, and consequences of spectacle and spectatorship.

Luis Jacob's high pedestalled headless HAND SPACE guillotine-gazer abregardist hugely tickled our fancy. Paricularly, when combined with the reverso bust of Paul Signac.

All just too ]----(plosively funny for words. lots of lollies!


  Luis Jacob, “Sphinx” (2015)               Theatre of the Actors of Regard
              
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something... 
         
 LOGOS/HA HA