France

London 2

Still no comments...oh well. It is a good thing that we are writing this primarily as an aide memoire.

So, what did we do the last two days...oh yes, we made out second visit to the Tate Modern, we did two sessions of about five hours each session just doing the permanwent collections floor 5 and 3. We also saw floor 2, the recent acquisitions, but they did not take so long, as they were mostly installations, a lot of space taken up with rather vapid one idea art in many cases. Can't really think now of anything worthwhile in the new acquisitions..oh yes, some good post modernist photography, slcik huge colour things if you like that sort of stuff..

But of course, plenty of good stuff elsewhere, Caro's highlight still the Rothko room, which I reackon also is fantastic. Also a lot of good Joseph Beuys, including the brilliant sleds escaping from the Bus and a huge sculpture of an elk struck by lightning (the elk represented by an aluminium ironing board...the lighting seemd to be a huge thin pyramid of fat...we liked the Anish Kapoor sculpture of half an eggshape painteda brilliant glossy tone that reflected a thin line of light...teamed with Barnett Newman Zipper paintings....Jackson Pollocks very good too. I also dug the Picabia room, had not seen any of them beofre, and they were all really good and subversive.

The Surrealist collection in general is great of course, many famous works. We saw a few surrealist films...even today Chien Andalou gets a crowd laughing..Caro started laughing and then everybody joined in...I think they were not sure if it was supposed to be taken seriously or not...it was the scene with the run away coffin and all the bourgeois dignitaries following at a full gallop.It was made in 1924, and like all good art, still rings the right bells today, although  it may be playing some different bells in the Carillon..

The building is a bit drear, an old power station on the Thames, and it needs some superb huge public sculpture I reckon to lift the facade.Even colour on the exterior would help.

( I must say that the Europeans are in very drear mode in cothing at present...wherever we have been Caro stands out like a psychedelic Christmas tree, as did the Outsiders in Paris, particualrly Gunther, who people kept asking if they could photograph him!He was drawing up in Montmartre, and attracted all the crowds, really pissing off the local footpath artists apparently! It was great to see Barry Humphries as Edna Everage on Parkinson on Sunday night, really taking the mickey out of those stupid Sloanish tarts Trinnie and Susannah who, like every other drongo in Europe were wearing black.He said it felt like a dreary funeral with them sitting in a row.Edna of course was wearing the same sort of clothes that Caro has on now...ouch she just hit me...I'll have a bruise there....Edna confessed to having an affair with a short artist the first time she was in France on the Cote D'Azur, and held up a picture he gave her...it was NGV's Weeping Woman, with a blue rinse and butterfly sunglasses.)

In the Tate..lovely Giacomettis, good Frannie Bacon triptych, the red background reworking of the figures at the Base of the Cross..works tremendously in the flesh, such a glowing warmth contrasting with the agony of the figures (teamed with Louise Bourgeois...many of the artists had a partner designed to show themes rather than chronological developments..therefore Monet  Waterlillies with Pollock and Rothko..perhaps a bit less subtle than the Pompidou attempt to do the same thing, but it still worked I think).Also a full room of hip Guerrilla Girls stuff.Good Derains...also IO was pleased to see a rehabilitation of Dubuffet...there were at least six of his works, and plenty of good wall text...something that was not the case when we vistied the Tate last time.I guess his day has come...which is great for Outsider Art too!We also saw some good de Chirico's of course, including the Paitners Family, which is the model ofr Orange's Imants Tillers, currently on show in Canberra. Strangely enough, at the British Museum today I realised that de Chrico got his perspective and drapery of the female figure from the figure of Demeter in the Elgin marbles from the Eastern Pediment.

We have seen so much art...which we not allowed to photograph, that I am afraid I have struck a mental block about what we actually did see...I will have to update this blog at some stage with the catalogue in hand...

Last night we went to the theatre, to see Ben Johnson's Alchemist, a jolly good farce, which to me seems more French than English (although it actually had Will Shakespeare acting in its first performance). The actors were Ian Richardson (of "You might say that...but I could not possibly say that" fame, and two younger poms who were fantastic at accents, it was done in modern style, with Subtle wearing a headband and beads and fondling a crystal etc...)Most enjoyable.

Today, the British Museum all day, very sore feet again, and we only did the Greek Roman Egyptian and a tiny bit of medieaval (Sutton Hoo and the Vandals and Visigoths.I particualrly like this period of history because of the great influence of the famous tribe of Alans.)My favourits remain the Assyrian Lion Hunting frieze, which is a bit tough on the lions, but looks like fun if you don't like lions.(and who does?, nasty biting things). For the same reason I love the cat mummies and the bull mummies. Bulls don't bite much I understand, but they can give you a nasty gore, as we saw in Manet's Bull fight picture.Of course we liked the gold and jewellery, those were the days when you did not have to be a drug dealer or decrepit old has been to wear gold.I am also keen on the Grand Death Pit of Ur, and have decided to have one myself, to be situated under my 80 foot cast stainless Steel statue. The trouble is that Caro will not drink poison, but the way she is going she will drop off way before me and I can just keep her body in fridge until I am ready to chuck her in the pit with all the Gallery staff and other necessites for the afterlife.

I must chuckle when I consider that stainless steel of the highest available grade will last for 100,000 years in the open air. This makes people like Ramesees and Sargon seem fleeting followers of frippery as ephemeral as baseball cards .

The British Museum is pretty damn good as you all know, and certainly holds hundreds of thousamds of things that you don't see anywhere else, and when the things are not uncommon in their form, they are uncommon in the quality of their decoration and manufacture...things like the Portland Vase.(.and many of the red figured vases from 5th century BC Athens., which I really liked from my archaeology days, Caro).

So, tonight, we go out for a cheap feed now, and than back to our hotel for some needed foot rest.Speaking of food, as you know, this is not an area in which the poms excel and this vist has done nothing to change my opinion on that score, but we did find a good place in Frommers called the Cork and Bottle in Leicester Sqare that offered the best value and quality so far. It was very like the old Johnnie Wlakers in Sydney, and the same sort of food with Australian and NZ wines if you wanted. I had a mammoth Lancashire Black Pubbing and Garlic Potato stack with cabbage which was actually bloody good, and Caro had Shepherd's Pie which tasted like a very good home made one with garlic mash. We shared a bowl of reasonable home made hokey pokey icecream which, like the first courses, was so huge that we could not eat one each. Caro , a stickler for honesty, has reminded me that I did in fact have a starter of a large bowl of pea soup, which was also very good.

Must also mention the terrific afternoon tea at the British Museum, quite dear, about 8 pounds each, but first rate, cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches and two huge raisin scones with clotted cream and jam, we had earl gray and darjeeling tea. This is why it is now 9.30 at night and we do not need to eat even yet!

See youse A and C

Untitled Comment

11:01 PM, 28/9/2006 .. Posted by janda

Greetings Earthlings,
Glad to see you're still able to find enough art to amuse you in London. I must say that I'mp articularly taken with the Pompidou here but I think it use a few more Rothkos, following Mother England's good example. I need to see more Latthew Barney stuff I feel and nowhere outside of England can teach me anything useful. I wish I could have gone to see the Tate Modern, along aith other parts of England too, it's right at the top of my things I'd like to see once I can tear myself away from Paris list. We've been very careful and haven't hired any bicycle since we've been here but it is true that our feet get a bit weary which we try and cover up by resting in internet cafes pretneding to be faithful correspondents. Ali and I are hoping to do the Sarte thing tomorrow, either that or go to Disney land, we can't decide which one would be more cosmically damaging. I hope you love the rest of your stay in London and we look forward to comparing belt notches of famous art works when we see you.
Much love, Jane xoxoxo

Untitled Comment

5:16 PM, 29/9/2006 .. Posted by janda

\'ello youse two. It\'s mighty grand to \'ere you\'re \'aving a merry ol\' time of it in the mother land and what not. \'ope the fact that it\'s full of bloomin\' english folk isn\'t getting youse down too much eh?
<br>Well, cheerio then and may the fleas be expelled by your stench!