‘ … “She thinks she’s Isabel fucking Archer. But she doesn’t know what it’s like round here. …”’.[1]  ‘She joined me on the roof, standing right beside me, and we watched the work on the Krishna statue up ahead. … “Who’s Isabel Archer?” I said. Radhika crossed her arms loosely and exhaled, and I felt … More ‘ … “She thinks she’s Isabel fucking Archer”. How women ‘end up’ in male novels. A new masterpiece by Sunjeev Sahota (2021) ‘China Room’

‘… far from being spontaneous studies modelled from life, these bodies were made up from a limited number of pieces [translation of abattis, which is more strictly translated as giblets] put together in a diverse range of ways’.[1] We are so used to the lies that idealise the human body in art,  life and the … More ‘… far from being spontaneous studies modelled from life, these bodies were made up from a limited number of pieces put together in a diverse range of ways’. We are so used to the lies that idealise the human body in art, life and the links we make between art and life that we forget just why Rodin’s practice as a sculptor matters so much. On visiting the 2021 exhibition at the Tate Modern and reading the brilliant catalogue by Nabila Abdel Nabi, Chloé Ariot, & Achim Borchadt-Hume (editors) ‘The Making of Rodin: The EY Exhibition’.

‘… even Picasso couldn’t (sic.) escape from his Moorish Spanish makeup ie (sic.) you keep young by having young lovers. It probably works, though I prefer Oscar’s remark that those whom the Gods love grow young.”’.[1] Drawn into life from the dark in an exhibition of early Craxton and a new biography by Ian Collins ‘John … More ‘… even Picasso couldn’t (sic.) escape from his Moorish Spanish makeup ie (sic.) you keep young by having young lovers. It probably works, though I prefer Oscar’s remark that those whom the Gods love grow young.”’. Drawn into life from the dark in an exhibition of early Craxton and a new biography by Ian Collins ‘John Craxton: Art & Life’

Steve apologises (because he knows how smart Eleanor is and that she will notice) that he can’t even finish his couplets off in this poem but – she will forgive. All our love. Every bell will sing in its own tone Low songs of joy to Eleanor alone. Each tone in concert makes its own … More Our dear friend Eleanor is 21 on the 29th of May 2021. Geoff and Steve pay homage to that friend and look forward to seeing her with her Mum and Dad on her birthday night at the Mumbai Lounge in York.

A queer approach to sexual preference labelling in art-history I am rescuing these pieces from the Open University blog where they were written before they become obsolete there. This is not because of their quality which isn’t great. I a sense they are obsolete. However, I have just seen a wonderful exhibition on Craxton’s early … More An old blog recollected: A queer approach to sexual preference labelling in art-history

‘I have never understood why the word feminine is considered to be a compliment to one’s sex if one is a woman, but has a derogatory meaning when applied to anything else. …/ There is a whole range of formal perception belonging to feminine experience. So many ideas spring from an inside response to form; … More ‘I have never understood why the word feminine is considered to be a compliment to one’s sex if one is a woman, but has a derogatory meaning when applied to anything else’. Sex and the genderqueer in Barbara Hepworth. Reflecting on the current Hepworth retrospective at The Hepworth Museum Wakefield  and a new biography by the Museum’s curator: Eleanor Clayton ‘Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life’

‘I tend not to like conclusions, and have a sense that it is best if the end is left rather open. …/…/ I am not sure this is quite the book I set out to write’. (p. 15) The limits of knowledge and expression as exploted in Martin Kemp’s (2021) ‘Visions of Heaven: Dante and … More ‘I tend not to like conclusions, and have a sense that it is best if the end is left rather open. …/…/ I am not sure this is quite the book I set out to write’. The limits of knowledge and expression as exploted in Martin Kemp’s (2021) ‘Visions of Heaven: Dante and the Art Of Divine Light’

‘… the ambiguous sensate body emerges as the primary subject of painting, …. It is intimately connected to that of the beholder, conjoined with our own in a wave or circuit of sensual response’ .[1] An invitation to ‘enjoy immediate access to his fleshy body’:[2] in a bold take on Giorgione’s erotic figures and dislocated … More ‘… the ambiguous sensate body emerges as the primary subject of painting, …. It is intimately connected to that of the beholder, conjoined with our own in a wave or circuit of sensual response’. An invitation to ‘enjoy immediate access to his fleshy body’: in a bold take on Giorgione’s erotic figures and dislocated landscapes in Tom Nichol’s (2020) ‘Giorgione’s Ambiguity (Renaissance Lives series)’.

‘For if we look on the nature of elemental and mixed things, we know they cannot suffer any change of one kind or quality into another without the struggle of contrarieties’ [1] Understanding the life of John Milton (up to 1642) through the lens of Nicholas McDowell’s (2021) Poet of Revolution Princeton, NJ & Oxford, Princeton University … More REVISED VERSION:‘For if we look on the nature of elemental and mixed things, we know they cannot suffer any change of one kind or quality into another without the struggle of contrarieties’. Understanding the life of John Milton (up to 1642) through the lens of Nicholas McDowell’s (2021) ‘Poet of Revolution’

‘It is a breath-turn, a caesura. / … / And I think you see the diaspora happening and want this staying still and this moment of the turn of the breath’.[1] ‘ “…. The collector ‘stills’ his fate. …” / writes Walter Benjamin’.[2] Stilling the noisy passage of dispersion. Reflecting on Edmund De Waal’s (2021) … More ‘It is a breath-turn, a caesura. / … / And I think you see the diaspora happening and want this staying still and this moment of the turn of the breath’. ‘ “…. The collector ‘stills’ his fate. …” / writes Walter Benjamin’. Stilling the noisy passage of dispersion. Reflecting on Edmund De Waal’s (2021) ‘Letters To Camondo’

‘Is that how you look at paintings? I asked. Do you take them purely on their own terms, or are you looking for signs of the hand that created them? It’s both and you know it, she said’.[1] The hand of the auteur in art and issues in the control of queered sexuality and life-choice. … More ‘Is that how you look at paintings? I asked. Do you take them purely on their own terms, or are you looking for signs of the hand that created them? It’s both and you know it, she said’. The hand of the auteur in art and issues in the control of queered sexuality and life-choice. Reflecting on Niven Govinden’s (2021) ‘Diary of a Film’