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.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), Stevie Wonder (1970)
A recent FIAPCE acquisition is this card by Ben; and by Philip Corner.
Initially, Ben Vautier produced the card with its printed declaration, author's stage name and date.
JE SIGNE TOUT
BEN 1960
At some stage, Fluxus co-founder Philip Corner has then signed the card with his own given name and added the red seal of his Korean pseudonym Gwan Pok, meaning 'Contemplating Waterfall.' To complete the formalities, and his cheeky Fluxus uberclaim, he has penciled it as a unique edition, 1/1.
Theatre of the Autograph(er)s of Regard
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
LOGOS/HA HA
Another Fool King, another fine consequence :
Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta, or “Great Charter.” The document, essentially a peace treaty between John and his barons, guaranteed that the king would respect feudal rights and privileges, uphold the freedom of the church, and maintain the nation’s laws. Although more a reactionary than a progressive document in its day, the Magna Carta was seen as a cornerstone in the development of democratic England by later generations.
John was enthroned as king of England following the death of his brother, King Richard the Lion-Hearted, in 1199. King John’s reign was characterized by failure. He lost the duchy of Normandy to the French king and taxed the English nobility heavily to pay for his foreign misadventures. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III and sold church offices to build up the depleted royal coffers. Following the defeat of a campaign to regain Normandy in 1214, Stephen Langton, the archbishop of Canterbury, called on the disgruntled barons to demand a charter of liberties from the king.
In 1215, the barons rose up in rebellion against the king’s abuse of feudal law and custom. John, faced with a superior force, had no choice but to give in to their demands. Earlier kings of England had granted concessions to their feudal barons, but these charters were vaguely worded and issued voluntarily. The document drawn up for John in June 1215, however, forced the king to make specific guarantees of the rights and privileges of his barons and the freedom of the church. On June 15, 1215, John met the barons at Runnymede on the Thames and set his seal to the Articles of the Barons, which after minor revision was formally issued as the Magna Carta.
- June 15 : This Day In History
The four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (British Library copies, top left and bottom right, Salisbury Cathedral copy, top right, Lincoln Cathedral copy, bottom left), reunited in London for the anniversary.
King John's 800-year-old seal at the base of The British Library's Canterbury Magna Carta
Another Fool King, another fine consequence :
'Untitled Document'
sealed on this day
another day
FIAPCE, 1973
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
LOGOS/HA HA
(Untitled Document)
Common words get weird together sometimes :
PARTY ROOM SPILL MOTION
This morning's attempt by 'a few disaffected back benchers' to challenge the party leadership of Prime Minister Tony Abbott has failed. The vote (about whether or not to vote) for a LEADERSHIP SPILL was defeated 61-39.
And so the STAGGERING PERFORMANCE of Abbott & Co. continues a while longer...
From our small collection of Charlie Hebdo, this extraordinary 1975 re-imagining of the Ouroboros symbol by Cabu - CHIRAC SEES THE END OF THE TUNNEL - seems equally applicable today.
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something...
LOGOS/HA HA
I, the Entity ] vertical, yellow deep (
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
... and upon these Rocks you will build a Museum of Regard.
Harvey Nininger
The Father of Modern Meteoritics
signed this photograph of his own meteoric regard.
Theatre of the Actors of Regard
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
Statement of Withdrawal from 19th Biennale of Sydney
26 February 2014
We are five of the 41 artists - Libia Castro, Ólafur Ólafsson, Charlie Sofo, Gabrielle de Vietri and Ahmet Öğüt - who signed a letter to the Board of the Biennale of Sydney in relation to their founding sponsor, Transfield.
We make this statement in light of Transfield’s expanding management of Manus Island and Nauru immigration detention centres. We act in the wake of the death of Reza Berati from inside Manus Island detention centre on February 17. We are in urgent political circumstances with a government that is stepping up their warfare on the world’s most vulnerable people daily.
We have received indications from the Board of the Biennale and Transfield that there will be no movement on their involvement in this issue. In our letter to the Board we asked for action and engagement, but we are told that the issue is too complex, and that the financial agreements are too important to re-negotiate.
And so we make this statement from a critical juncture of political urgency and artistic autonomy.
This is a statement of our withdrawal from the 19th Biennale of Sydney.
We have revoked our works, cancelled our public events and relinquished our artists’ fees. While we have sought ways to address our strong opposition to Australia’s mandatory detention policy as participants of the Biennale, we have decided that withdrawal is our most constructive choice. We do not accept the platform that Transfield provides via the Biennale for critique. We see our participation in the Biennale as an active link in a chain of associations that leads to the abuse of human rights. For us, this is undeniable and indefensible.
Our withdrawal is one action in a multiplicity of others, already enacted and soon to be carried out in and around the Biennale. We do not propose to know the exact ethical, strategic or effective action to end mandatory detention, but we act on conscience and we act with hope.
We have chosen to redirect our energies into multiple forms of action: discussions, workshops, publications, exhibitions and works that will continue to fuel this debate in the public sphere. In this, we stand with our local and international communities that are calling for the closure of Australia’s offshore detention facilities. We ask for their active support in keeping this issue at the forefront of our minds, in the warmest part of our hearts, in the most urgent of discussions and in the most bold of actions, until the detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru close.
We withdraw to send a message to the Biennale urging them, again, to act ethically and transparently. To send a message to Transfield that we will not add value to their brand and its inhumane enterprise. Finally, and most importantly, we withdraw to send a message to the Australian Government that we do not accept their unethical policy against asylum seekers.
We ask that the Biennale of Sydney acknowledge the absence of our work from the exhibition. As the Biennale has offered to provide a platform and support for our dissent, we request that our withdrawal be registered on the Biennale website and signposted at the physical site of our projects. In the pervasive silence that the Government enforces around this issue, we will not let this action be unnoticed.
We act in solidarity with all those who are working towards a better future for asylum seekers. We hope that others will join us.
Libia Castro
Ólafur Ólafsson
Charlie Sofo
Gabrielle de Vietri
Ahmet Öğüt
Contact: 2014workinggroup@gmail.com
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
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LOGOS/HA HA
Primarily for the Friday night footy (unbeaten Cats vs unbeaten BOMBERS) as art appears to appear at every turn...
COLOURS ON!
We are walking up Franklin Street on the way to the game and... there's an exhibition opening. It's by HA HA (Regan Tamanui), one of Melbourne's best known street artists, recently returned from New Zealand. 'METAMORPHOSIS' at Dark Horse Experiment. Really enjoyed it.
Below, some snaps of Metamorphosis, the mural. More such at The Unreal Adventures of HA HA where he describes this work as the seed of life, which he links to the wikipedia site Flower of Life.
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
As one who appreciates the theatre of supporting evidence - something because... and ...to be seen to be done - there was much here to enjoy. The open room of work strewn stencils. Masks as masks, indeed!
Tape remains and first squirts...
THE CATS WON !
Walking back from the game we take a path through a new Docklands arcade. In front of us there's a young (10-12) BOMBERS supporter. On his red-on-black jumper stripe an impressive collection of Essendon team signatures.
Now, on our right, there's a smart new artwork by Melbourne artist Emily Floyd. We the football homeward push quickly past, too fast to read the text. The young BOMBER gently pads, taps and raps his hand on each next coloured metal thing. Each drum|ming produces a different sound. We note the composition and the performance with amused delight. Incidental Art Music_Melbourne.
Emily Floyd
New Ways of Thinking, 2012
We note also in that passing place the suspended projection-space ideograms of dependent-arising.
click image to enlarge
Each awaits its signage overlay and passage of eye drum|mers.
All as ever.
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
The first Question and Answer of the Catholic Catechism ] as learned by your correspondent (
Q: Who made the wOrld?
A: God made the wOrld.
This signed and dated ball, it looks so profoundly familiar.
Pass this on...
The naked man-ox of Wicklow (who is being given a round object by another man), from Gerald of Wales's Topographia Hibernica, England (Lincoln?), c. 1196 - c. 1223 (British Library)
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A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
click image to enlarge
