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Showing posts from May 15, 2005

Gawain in the Wilderness

Mony klyf he ouerclambe in contrayez straunge, Fer floten fro his frendez fremedly he rydez. At vche warþe oþer water þer þe wy3e passed He fonde a foo hym byfore, bot ferly hit were, And þat so foule and so felle þat fe3t hym byhode. So mony meruayl bi mount þer þe mon fyndez, Hit were to tore for to telle of þe tenþe dole. Sumwhyle wyth wormez he werrez, and with wolues als, Sumwhyle wyth wodwos, þat woned in þe knarrez, Boþe wyth bullez and berez, and borez oþerquyle, And etaynez, þat hym anelede of þe he3e felle; from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight . Many a cliff did he climb in that unknown land, where afar from his friends he rode as a stranger. Never did he come to a stream or a ford but he found a foe before him, and that one so marvellous, so foul and fell, that it behoved him to fight. So many wonders did that knight behold, that it were too long to tell the tenth part of them. Sometimes he fought with dragons and wolves; sometimes with wild men that dwelt in t

The Art of Ed Kienholz

From the Guardian Arts Pages, here . "In his Conceptual Tableaux, made in the 1960s, Kienholz wrote details of proposed works, each accompanied by a brass plaque, that would eventually be realised if a buyer came up with the cash. The Black Leather Chair, from 1966: This is a tableau about the Negro in America. The piece is simply a black leather chair completely covered in a block of lucite plastic and mounted on a suitable base. On the left side is a tunnel in the plastic where the viewer can reach in and touch one small portion of the chair. "It is possible that I will never be able to make this tableau as I do not have the chair in my possession at this time. It is stored in an attic in Texas and is the property of a Negro family there. I am told by a friend that although the family is reluctant to part with it, he will be able to get it for me some time in the future. "The leather on the chair is made from the skin of his great-grandfather". Some wor