‘… ; she knew it was everything not to die alone, not to be taken brutally, by force. …/ … What could she give him now? She knew what he would want from her: that stillness might grow to peace. Not still: held’.[1] Only when we are held do we know that our stillness is … More ‘… ; she knew it was everything not to die alone, not to be taken brutally, by force. …/ … What could she give him now? She knew what he would want from her: that stillness might grow to peace. Not still: held’. This blog attempts to explain what we materialists owe to Anne Michaels (2023) ‘Held’.

Drawing from Life for a portrait artist is rarely about ‘struggling for a likeness’ according to David Hockney – what a person is  ‘like’, the ways of understanding what a person is like and how we show what a person is like each change, and, as each does so, interact with and change each other … More My visit to the National Portrait Gallery’s (NPG) exhibition Drawing from Life on Tuesday 22nd November and reading of the catalogue, Sarah Howgate [ed.] (2023) ‘David Hockney: drawing from life’.

‘I close my eyes, just for a moment, and I think about tomorrow. / And the days afterward. / And what it’ll mean to step through a home, in a brand-new place, where my people aren’t’.[1] This is a blog about the emergent meanings of family, home and the endurance of relationships in a global … More This is a blog about the emergent meanings of family, home and the endurance of relationships in a global multicultural queer world where those categories no longer have a simple meaning. It discusses Bryan Washington (2023) ‘Family Meal’.

What does Johny Pitts mean by Visibilty (a little book with a big message published by the Tate Gallery in 2022). My title This book is only 48 pages including the front pages / copyrights / and list of picture captions at the end. It’s message is huge. Let’s take one – by no means … More Are you sure you see what is there?

“Everything I had willingly drawn was female. But here, through these coal-mine drawings, I discovered the male figure and the qualities of the figure in action. As a sculptor I had previously believed only in static forms, that is, forms in repose”.[1] Henry Moore said this when talking to James Sweeney in 1947. It suggests … More “Everything I had willingly drawn was female. But here, through these coal-mine drawings, I discovered the male figure and the qualities of the figure in action”. How a concern with sex / gender manifest itself in Moore’s mining drawings. This blog looks at Chris Owen (2022) ‘Drawing In The Dark: Henry Moore’s Coalmining Commission’.