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.


23 January 2012

Re. some French stamps

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We don't have a philatelist among our staff but we do all take an interest in the contents of the IN TRAY. For stamps and their arrangements, it is our French correspondents who delight us most often. Here are just a few recently received.

The first is by the artist Ben (Ben Vautier). A gentle mind sharpener in the French manner, is it not. Not a bill of post - there are other stamps for that.



Under Ben's stamp are two 2008 definitive 'Head of Marianne'. Designed and engraved by Yves Beaujard, these are also known as 'Marianne and Europe'.

Two more...

2011.12_two french stamps_Dali & Excoffon_sRGB_FLAT_400

At the top is another version of 'Head of Marianne', designed for La Poste by Salvador Dali, 1979. (There's an interesting website here with a history of Frances's 'Head of Marianne' stamps, including the one above by Dali and another by Jean Cocteau, from 1937.)

The stamp beneath Dali's is from 1977, by the French font designer Roger Excoffon.

Fonts by Excoffon : Chambord (1945), Banco (1951), Mistral (1953), Choc (1955), Diane (1956), Calypso (1958), Antique Olive (1962–66).

These two stamps, with their free-flowing calligraphy in common, have obviously been brought together by a thoughtful, creative and generous sender.

As if to emphasise, this morning these arrived. One celebrates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the other, a meta stamp, celebrates the French Republic's JOURNEE DU TIMBRE.

2012.01_journey of stamps_two French stamps_sRGB_400

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15 January 2012

Chamber of Regard

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We're watching Gordon Liu in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Shaw Brothers, 1978)...



A Praise to Master Drum View Practitioners :

2012.02_drumstick view practitioner _ Chamber of Regard_ sRGB_400

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09 January 2012

Regardism Movement Popular In Europe

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Cheers to J.A. for alerting bLOGOS/HA HA to the performance by Theatre of the Actors of Regard at the opening of Dynamics of Painting (Kunstruimte 09, Groningen, The Netherlands).




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05 January 2012

Tremendous Wall Flower

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Theatre of the Actors of Regard alerts us to the latest tableau of GV at the NGV :
He has no doubt about the painting's impact on visitors. ''It has tremendous wall power,'' he says.

Benches have been placed in front of it to encourage people to lose themselves in the work. ''There is the potential for abstraction to have a spiritual quality,'' he says.

Global crisis brings modernist 'old master' to the NGV
Robin Usher / THE AGE
4 January 2012
( click here to read the article )


Gerard Vaughan admires Scully's Queen of the Night. Photo: Penny Stephens
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01 January 2012

Update Now

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HAPPY NEW GREGORIAN YEAR

2012.01.01_New Years Day_NEW MASKS FOR OLD_sRGB_400
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28 December 2011

Re. things that are interesting to look at

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Reviewing the year's local art scene, art critic for THE AGE Robert Nelson distinguishes between...
Since the publication of Nicolas Bourriaud's Relational Aesthetics in 1998, you can sense the terms of artistic interest and prestige slowly changing. Instead of seeing art as the product of a unique individual author, relational art prefers the idea of works springing up in dialogue with the user, referring to the social context that artists share...
and reckons...
Alas, the problems with relational art are as big as the theory that supports it. There was once a time when artists immersed themselves in a medium and satisfyingly concentrated on poetic invention within it. As artists abandon the techniques and discipline of a medium and see their role as social facilitators and theorists, they have less and less chance to make a contribution to visual language. They tend not to come up with things that are interesting to look at.

Reflecting on art's paradoxes
Robert Nelson / THE AGE
28 December 2011
( click here to read full article )
The red emphases are by bLOGOS/HA HA

You (who RN nominates as the subject : see paragraph 1 above) may or may not regard these as things that are interesting to look at.

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24 December 2011

SEASONS GREETINGS

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De Chirico & C0
Wish All Our Museum Clients
A MERRY METAPHYSICAL CHRISTMAS

May The Supreme Goddess As Void,
with projection-space for image,
Full-Fill Your Every Wish
List

2011.12.24_Merry Metaphysical Christmas_de C & Co_sRGB_400
The New Director Eyes The Field : image courtesy De Chirico & Co/FIAPCE

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20 December 2011

Dear Highly Recommended Website

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Kim Jong-Il The Dear Leader is Dead.

Here's the NYTimes report:
Kim Jong-il, North Korean Dictator, Dies
New York Times
CHOE SANG-HUN and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: December 19, 2011

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader who realized his family’s dream of turning his starving, isolated country into a nuclear-weapons power even as it sank further into despotism, died on Saturday of a heart attack while traveling on his train, according to an announcement Monday by the country’s state-run media.

read full article here
The NYTimes article also pictures Kim Jung-Il as The Great Regarder, greatly regarded by his dear people.


Korean Central News Agency, via European Pressphoto Agency

In this regard, bLOGOS/HA HA is grateful to Mitch at Pharmaikon for alerting us to the following Dear Website (click here) :


the dear leader liked to look at things.
updated every other day
and sometimes on the weekends too.

Here's their December 14 update:
looking at a persimmon tree

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06 December 2011

THIS OFFICE TEMPORARILY UNATTENDED

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Our editorial and technical teams are taking an end of year break. Some will follow the sea to its source, others the clouds to theirs.

Be assured we'll keep an eye on things. If someone sees something you'll be the second to know.

SEASONS GREETINGS
TO OUR READERS & REGARDERS
FROM THE STAFF OF bLOGOS/HA HA


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04 December 2011

ABC Classic FM : Classic 100 - 20th Century

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ABC Classic FM runs a Top 100 listeners' poll each year. For 2011 it was Classic 100 - 20th Century.



Each listener could enter 1-10 votes of equal value for their favourite piece(s) of 20th century music.

The final result was announced yesterday. The top 100 can be seen here. Below is the top 1o.

10. PROKOFIEV - Romeo and Juliet Op.64

9. STRAVINSKY - Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)

8. ORFF - Carmina Burana

7. BARBER - Adagio For Strings

6, RODRIGO - Concierto de Aranjuez

5. RACHMANINOV - Piano Concerto No. 2

4. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS - The Lark Ascending

3. GERSHWIN - Rhapsody in Blue

2. HOLST - The Planets

1. ELGAR - Cello Concerto in E minor Op.85

It's not what this office expected. (As mentioned before, we have the Edition Peters score of John Cage's 4' 33" pinned high on the wall here. Apparently 4'33" came in at #121. No other Cage composition made the top 200.)

Our two bobs worth went to...

1. John CAGE - 4 '33"

2. Arnold SCHOENBERG - Pierrot Lunaire

3. Olivier MESSIAEN - Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus

4. Jimi HENDRIX - Third Stone from the Sun

5. Frank ZAPPA - 200 Motels

6. Karlheinz STOCKHAUSEN - Klavierstucke (1-X1)

7. Steve REICH - Come Out

8. Miles DAVIS - Kind of Blue

9. Conlon NANCARROW - Player Piano Studies

10. Philip GLASS - Einstein on the Beach

We celebrate the result with wild tambour and parfums mélodieux. BOUM! BOUM!


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