I’ve been following a sumo tournament on NHK, a Japanese television station supplied through SKY. At the top level there are only six of these sumo tournaments per year. They start on a Sunday and finish on the Sunday fifteen days later. Bouts are held during the day, and end promptly at 6 pm. When the spectators approve of a wrestler they throw their seat cushions into the ring something that seemed to amuse me greatly.
The Sumo tradition, is thought to be a couple of thousand years old. The referees dress in the style of Shinto priests. I tried to photograph a referee from the television image but didn’t manage on this occasion.
Tidying Up
Over the last few days I’ve been going through my clothes, discarding some, and looking at better ways to store the rest. In the back of one of my cupboards I found this tie or belt hanger that I had bought years ago. I always liked it more to look at than to use. If anything, I like it more and more. I gave up using it some time ago.
I’m going to make a print this photo so that I can live with it for a few days. To see if it’s a keeper.
The Auckland Art Gallery is presenting the 3rd Auckland Triennal so I’m off to Auckland this afternoon to attend a couple of openings.
There are 35 artists from more than 20 countries, who it states in the publicity, will address the condition of turbulence – the complex and unpredictable times in which we live.
Ill let you know what I think, when I return in a few days.
P.S. Thank you to Julian for sending me an e-mail example of the encroachment of the word ‘groundbreaking‘ into art writing. This time from an Australian gallery.
No more than 2 months ago I heard on local radio an ad for the Govett-Brewster that used the adjective ‘groundbreaking’. Then I saw it in an Adam Gallery e-mail. And a day or two ago I saw it in print somewhere else, put it aside but can’t find it at the moment.
Cutting edge has been the artspeak favourite for some time, but I can imagine groundbreaking taking over. It has more gravitas although just how many groundbreaking shows there can be at one time I’m sceptical about. Still that won’t deter the copywriters.
Other shifts have been the change from ’emerging artists’ to ‘new artists’ to ‘new generation.’ New Generation is a phrase that will stick for a while I think. The Arts Foundation are using it, and we just had a show here at the Govett-Brewster for New Generation artists, although Peter Madden was in it and he was born in 1966 which I would have thought was pushing it a bit.
These phrases all raise interesting questions eg could an ’emerging artist’ be a 60 yr old whose career was coming on stream. Similarly could a ‘new artist’ be someone who was older.
I’m waiting for some shows for ‘receeding artists’.
There have been many visitors in town because of the Tom Kreisler opening on Saturday night. (see posting below) Went to the after-after match party which for me is staying up late. Bed somewhere around 3.30 Sunday morning, hence no blog yesterday!
Noise control came to the party, not because of me I hope. Certainly, on the front page of the Taranaki Daily News this morning, there were no photos of Peter Peryer being forcibly restrained by members of the Riot Squad.
One highlight conversation I had was with Wystan Curnow, and it was about Buick Dynaflows. He told me that Ray Charles uses the word Dynaflow in one of his songs. I need conversations like this, where there is cross-connection, it’s brainfood.
I missed out on the opportunity to ask Wystan if it’s true that he is named after W.H.Auden, (Wystan Hugh Auden). I heard this many years ago and I’ve never asked him. I hope it’s true.
I’m sorry that over this weekend, someone wasn’t employed to make a documentary of this event, or at the very minimum, even if it had been done in the most rudimentary manner, take some photos. I would like to be able to link you to a page that showed you snaps (preferably flattering) of who was there. Oscars New Plymouth style.
Saturday afternoon I cleared out surplus spectacle cases and laid them on a table so that guests here as result of the Kreisler opening, could help themselves. I fetched a camera but I don’t think that this image below passes, but all the same, I was surprised that I was still burrowing into this territory because I thought that Matisse 2005 had solved it. I’d written up the theorem so to speak.
It was a time when I felt a connection with Surrealism in general and Dali in particular and when I came to have a new respect for him. There were others too of course, I mean no disrepect to their achievements. Miro I come to appreciate increasingly, for example. Arp as ever, Calder’s kinetics. And seeing two El Greco works in Spain in the late 90’s changed my thinking somehow. They had power and it was raw.
Here are some photos from the last 18 months.
The one at the top is the spectacle cases, Saturday evening. I bit mannered I feel. Matisse is better. After Dali 2005/06 I still think is too interesting to consign to the dustbin.
After Dali 2005/06
