Bankside Engraving & Tate Modern

There's generally something new  for London Tate Members to enjoy each month either at Tate Modern or Britain - after a quick stop-off at Bankside Gallery to enjoy seeing the finesse  of various engravers with the Society of Wood Engravers exhibition I moved on to Tate Modern.

Bankside Gallery on Southbank 

It really is amazing the character that wood engraving offers some of the architectural renditions capture something that paintings and photos don't quite get.

The exhibition I'd not seen before was 'The Image as Burden' works from a long career  by the South African born artist Marlene Dumas.

Dumas who mediates her work via photography has confronted various issues through her work including those of race and eroticism.

I enjoyed Room 4 most of this extensive show mainly I think because of the use of colour, I found her work Martha (Sigmund's Wife) 1984 reminiscent of some of the Chapman brother's work, it was shown next to a picture of Marlene's grandmother (also called Martha).

As I've taken an interest in Phil Spector I was intrigued by the two images of him in room 13 - almost heartbreaking in the story they tell (('To Know him is to love him' shows him avec wig).

Another picture that resonated with me for the rather banal reason that it reminded me of the Laughing Cavalier was Dead Girl (2002) in room 11.

Having enjoyed finding out about Marlene's work I would not say that I'd fallen in love with her imagery  and perspective- but do go and see it.

All who enter here will see a lot of Dumas' work 

Other stuff there

As well as the Dumas I noted a film project of some crumbling sugar - Oil and Sugar #2 by Kader Attia.



Having said that  the thing I liked even more (which connects with the Black and White work of David Batchelor  I'd seen at the Whitechapel Gallery) was Urban Alphabet (1955-61) by  the master Italian photographer Alfredo Camisa.

This week's favourite - Urban Alphabet (1955-61) by  Alfredo Camisa

[Macca Footnote

Seems sad that so many people are upset by Paul McCartney's recent collaborations - don't really understand why people should get worked up by the idea it's not new for him to work with others - it's getting almost like Bob D plugging in.]

Debbie and Chris - A golden couple in photo' and spotting Paul Morley

yesterday I was delighted to learn that the Chris Stein exhibition of photographs taken by him was actually still on (extended until tomorrow) - wow what a great show it was lots of glorious pictures accompanied by text that retold the stories.

Now on until Sunday 8th

The show at Somerset House is curated handsomely and as Debbie notes Chris does have a great eye behind the camera - many of the punctures have more than a tinge of sadness as there are quite a few characters who have not survived but there is also a careless innocence and creative excitement.

As well as giving the pictures room to breathe the show has some great music and I did feel like bopping about as I went from picture to picture.

My personal favourite?   Well it's got to be the Debbie cooking in the burnt out flat - I suppose the image and words brought the epoch to life and the photo' looked like an edit floor  cutting dodgy film Noir.

Historic Somerset House - Where Britain once administered its Empire  from.

Paul Morley

While I was in town, just by the Aldwych I spotted Paul Morley- Paul was an influential figure within the music business in the 1980's a sort of semi- cerebral version of Pete Waterman, arch publicist and PR man for record label (those were the days)  ZTT - I'm not sure what drives him but hew does give a slightly  intimidating aura (not noticeably here though).

Blimey! it's Paul Morley 

Plato's Cave

Next week's Philosophy session is about Plato's cave so I've done a little research..

It seems that  one of the really  big events in early Philosophy (actually of all time) is the idea of Plato's Cave, surprisingly it remains current around 2,500 years after it's first outing and has interpretations that include those that see it as a call to a deity and a justification for the veneration of philosophers.

The story is in The Republic and is outlined here, I will though paraphrase some of what I have found out about the concept.

Socrates is the device that Plato uses to narrate the story, Socrates tells Glaucon (a young follower of Socrates and actually Plato's older brother) about a group of prisoners who are chained in a cave and as if in a simple cinema the chained prisoners can see only shadows of the outside world as fire casts the image on the cave wall.

One of the prisoners escapes and gets out when he comes back and explains that he now knows what really causes the shadows
The remaining prisoners end up killing the returnee because he told them that things that turn their existence upside down.

One interpretation of this is that it means is that people are afraid of anything different, or perhaps even the truth.

An analysis of the story can be that the people in the cave are everyday people who think they are seeing real things when they are only seeing the shadows of things. The Philosopher turns from the senses and begins to investigate the realm of ideas. The realm of appearance only contains opinion and error. Knowledge is only possible in the realm of ideas. The Philosopher does not remain in the world of ideas, but comes back to his fellow men and tries to show them that the world of truth awaits them if they will only listen to him and follow him.

Would such change be un-remarked on in Ancient Greece?

Back at Philosophy and Ealing - Why no local media?

After several days laying low I felt sufficiently close to being alive to make it to the Philosophy class on Thursday- it was worthwhile but as might be expected the plan seems to be going more slowly than we might have hoped.

Any history of Philosophy is contested

The look at the Pre-Socratics indicated how early Greek Philosophers had sought to find a single unifying 'element' be it fire (Heraclitus) or water (Thales)  - what I felt having read that the history was  put together from 'fragments' was that the significant thing was that the move was being made to find rational descriptions.

Also history from a time when the literate where a tiny elite is not without ambiguity often ideas might be taken and re-appropriated or subtleties may be lost.

Next week we're looking at Plato, and  Knowledge versus Opinion which I think could be controversial!

Local News

The other week I was discussing with Victor how little 'space' there is now to have an exchange of ideas  about our locality - from being a hand full of papers to one has happened over a relatively short time.

Any discussion about where we live focuses on profit and this removes the human from change, plans are about providing more housing but the idea of this is generally about exploiting an opportunity for profit

The Ealing Gazette used to have an office in West Ealing, this then became Hammersmith I see that the postal address is now Guildford- what is the interest of Trinity Mirror Southern (the paper's owners)  in Ealing?

How might the issue be addressed the hyper local is one possibility but it does not connect to the mass as one might wish.

All around us is change - but who asks us about it?