Steve_Bamlett_blog

‘We are all Narcissus, we are all monstrous, in that we are trapped between various ways of seeing and being seen’.[1] A foundation for a queer left cultural commentary and history of ideas in art and  writing. Some books cannot be praised enough. This is a blog on Matt Colquhoun (2023) Narcissus in Bloom: An … More ‘We are all Narcissus, we are all monstrous, in that we are trapped between various ways of seeing and being seen’. Some books cannot be praised enough. This is a blog on Matt Colquhoun (2023) ‘Narcissus in Bloom: An Alternative History of the Selfie’. @xenogothic

‘“You mustn’t allow yourself to think like that … even when you’re depressed. And is everything really so bad?” She adopted a light tone’.[1]The saddest art is that in which you can only ‘allow yourself to think’ the worst. A blog on John Broderick (1985) The Rose Tree London, Marion Boyars Publishers. Irish history is … More ‘“You mustn’t allow yourself to think like that … even when you’re depressed. And is everything really so bad?” She adopted a light tone’. A blog on John Broderick (1985) ‘The Rose Tree’.

“It’s Sodom, darling, worth committing to memory’.[1] In this story a person who is thought to look as if they are ‘on the lam’ (on the run from the law) learns some of the ways a fugitive may run and hide from a society that otherwise criminalises and/or pathologises them.[2] This sometimes means a choice … More “It’s Sodom, darling, worth committing to memory”. This is a blog on Justin Torres (2023) ‘Blackouts’.

‘… ; 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’.