Wednesday 26 November 2008

Headquarters

NOTICE:

Lord Lloyd Ugo attended headquarters yesterday between 1740 and 2030. He had with him a back of mixed nuts and he sat by the log fire.

Die alte Battersea Brücke: Nocturne-Blau und Gold

Tuesday 25 November 2008

A few words from George....

'Mark Twain's Joan, skirted to the ground, and with as many petticoats as Noah's wife in a toy ark, is an attempt to combine Bayard with Esther Summerson from Bleak House into an unimpeachable American school teacher in armour'

Preface, Saint Joan, George Bernard Shaw, 1924.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Joan with Broken Sword?


Found at the end of Hove Lawns, Joan has been swordless for some years now guarding the entrance to Albermarle Mansions. I had initially mistaken her for a waif with a swallow clutched to her chest - perhaps reminding me of Wilde's Unhappy Prince. Of course on closer inspection she does indeed appear to be the Joan, albeit sentimentalised with Victorian nipped in waist and armour.
Anyone know how she came to be here?

Public Fun

At Headquarters:

Bomb

In Bomb hairdressers off Sydney Street:

Saturday 15 November 2008

ONWARD!

Charles was beheaded on Tuesday 30 January 1649,[31][32][33]though at the time the new year did not occur until March, so his death is often recorded as occurring in 1648.[34] At the execution it is reputed that he wore two cotton shirts as to prevent the cold weather causing any noticeable shivers that the crowd could have mistaken for fear or weakness. He put his head on the block after saying a prayer and signalled the executioner when he was ready; he was then beheaded with one clean stroke. His last words were, "We shall go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be."[3]

Philip Henry records that moments after the execution, a moan was heard from the assembled crowd, some of whom then dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood, thus starting the cult of the Martyr King. However, no other eyewitness source, including Samuel Pepys, records this. Henry's account was written during the Restoration, some 12 years after the event though Henry was 19 when the King was executed and he and his family were Royalist propaganda writers.[1]

The executioner was masked, and there is some debate over his identity. It is known that the Commissioners approached Richard Brandon, the common Hangman of London, but that he refused, and contemporary sources do not generally identify him as the King's headsman. Ellis's Historical Inquiries, however, names him as the executioner, contending that he stated so before dying. It is possible he relented and agreed to undertake the commission, but there are others who have been identified. An Irishman named Gunning is widely believed to have beheaded Charles, and a plaque naming him as the executioner is on show in the Kings Head pub in Galway, Ireland. William Hewlett was convicted of regicide after the Restoration.[35] In 1661, two people identified as "Dayborne and Bickerstaffe" were arrested but then discharged. Henry Walker, a revolutionary journalist, or his brother William, were suspected but never charged. Various local legends around England name local worthies. An examination performed in 1813 at Windsor suggests that the execution was done by an experienced headsman.

It was common practice for the head of a traitor to be held up and exhibited to the crowd with the words "Behold the head of a traitor!" Although Charles's head was exhibited, the words were not used. In an unprecedented gesture, one of the revolutionary leaders, Oliver Cromwell, allowed the King's head to be sewn back onto his body so the family could pay its respects. Charles was buried in private on the night of 7 February 1649, inside the Henry VIII vault in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The royal retainers Sir Thomas Herbert, Capt. Anthony Mildmay, Sir Henry Firebrace, William Levett Esq. and Abraham Dowcett (sometimes spelled Dowsett) conveyed the King's body to Windsor.[36][37] The King's son, King Charles II, later planned an elaborate royal mausoleum, but it was never built.Ten days after Charles's execution, a memoir purporting to be from Charles's hand appeared for sale. This book, the Eikon Basilike (Greek: the "Royal Portrait"), contained an apologia for royal policies, and it proved an effective piece of royalist propaganda. William Levett, Charles's groom of the bedchamber, who accompanied Charles on the day of his execution, swore that he had personally witnessed the King writing the Eikon Basilike.[38] John Cooke published the speech he would have delivered if Charles had entered a plea, while Parliament commissioned John Milton to write a rejoinder, the Eikonoklastes ("The Iconoclast"), but the response made little headway against the pathos of the royalist book.[39]Various prodigies were recorded in the contemporary popular press in relation to the execution - a beached whale at Dover died within an hour of the King; a falling star appeared that night over Whitehall; a man who had said that the King deserved to die had his eyes pecked out by crows.

Verso

WEWANTTOSINGTHELOVEOFDANGERTHEHABITOFENERGYANDRASHNESS
THEESSENTIALELEMENTSOFOURPOETRYWILLBECOURAGEAUDACITYANDREVOLT
LITERATUREHASUPTONOWMAGNIFIEDPENSIVEIMMOBILITYECSTASYANDSLUMBERWEWANTTOEXALTMOVEMENTSFEVERISHSLEEPNESSESTHEDOUBLEMARCHTHEPERILOUSLEAPTHESLAPANDTHEBLOWWITHTHEFIST
WEDECLARETHATTHESPLENDOUROFTHEWORLDHASBEENENRICHEDBYANNEWBEAUTYOFSPEEDARACINGAUTOMOBILEWITHITSBONNETADORNEDWITHGREATTUBESLIKESERPENTSWITHEXPLOSIVEBREATH...AROARINGMOTORCARWHICHSEEMSTORUNONMACHINEGUNFIREISMOREBEAUTIFULTHENTHEVICTORYOFSAMOTHRACE
WEWANTTOSINGTHEMANATTHEWHEELTHEIDEALAXISOFWHICHCROSSESTHEEARTHITSELFHURLEDALONGITSORBIT
POETMUSTSPENDHIMSELFWITHWARMTHGLAMOURANDPRODIGALITYTOINCREASETHEENTHUSIASTICFERVOUROFTHEPRIMORDIALELEMENTS
BEAUTYEXISTSONLYINTHESTRUGGLE.THEREISNOMASTERPIECETHATHASNOTANAGGRESSIVECHARACTERPOETRYMUSTBEAVIOLENTASSAULTONTHEFORCESOFTHEUNKNOWNTOFORCETHEMTOBOWBEFOREMAN
WEARETHEPROMONTORYOFTHECENTURIESWHATISTHEUSEOFLOOKINGBEHINDATTHEMOMENTWHENWEMUSTOPENTHEMYSTERIOUSSHUTTERSOFTHEIMPOSSIBLETIMEANDDPACEDIEDYESTERDAYWEAREALREADYLIVINGTHEABSOLUTESINCEWEHAVEALREADYCREATEDETERNALOMNIPRESENTSPEED
WEWANTTOGLORIFYWARTHEONLYCUREFORTHEWORLDMILITARISMPATRIOTISMTHEDSTRUCTIVEGESTURESOFTHEANARCHISTSTHEBEAUTIFULIDEASWHICHKILLANDTHECONTEMPTFORWOMEN
WEWANTTODEMILISHMUSEUMSANDLIBRARIESFIGHTMORALITYFEMINISMANDANDALLUTILITARIANCOWARDICE
WEWILLSINGOFTHEGREATCROWDSAGITATEDBYWORKPLEASUREANDREVOLTTHEMULTICOLOUREDANDPOLYPHONICSURFOFREVOLUTIONSINMODERNCAPITALSTHENOCTURNALVIBRATIONOFTHARSENALSANDTHEWORKSHOPSBENEATHTHEIRTHEIRVIOLENTELECTRICMOONSTHEGLUTTONOUSRAILWAYSTATIONSDEVOURINGSMOKINGSERPENTSFACTORIESSUSPENDEDFROMTHECLOUDSBYTHETHREADOFTHEIRSMOKEBRIDGESWITHTHELEAPOFGYMNASTSFLUNGACROSSTHEDIABOLICCUTLERYOFSUNNYRIVERSADVENTUROUSSTEAMERSSNIFFINGTHEHORIZONGREATBREASTEDLOCOMOTIVESPUFFINGONTHERAISLIKEENORMOUSSTEELHORSESWITHLONGTUBESFORBRIDLEANDTHEGLIDINGFLIGHTOFAEROPLANESWHOSEPROPELLERSOUNDSLIKETHEFLAPPINGOFAFLAGANDTHEAPPLAUSEOFENTHUSIASTICCROWDS

Thursday 13 November 2008

FORGIVE
MY IGNORANCE,
BUT IS NOT EVERYTHING
NOMINAL? (...)

Wednesday 12 November 2008

Photograph: Suicide by Edouard Manet, a painting on canvas, 1881 (38 x46 cm)

Monday 10 November 2008

Media has Brighton Biennial Blinkers

I had an interesting discussion with Jon Gilhooly today. He'd been wondering, and I'm inclined to too now, why the current Photo Biennial is receiving so little coverage in the national media considering its significance, breath, the quality and poignency of much of what is being presented. See Lisa Barnard's work in Lewis as just one example.

The Capa photo thing at The Barbican currently is receiving lots of attention. Folkestone Triennial seemed to capture the critics' attentions. Why is this being overlooked? My thought is that perhaps there is a need for Brighton (and surrounds) to be seen as fluffy, a zone for light entertainment, harmless, not the possible political hot-bed (that I sense it genuinely is) or location for artistic practice of a more problematic nature.

We should be careful through 'tiktoc' not to add strength to this tendency by art critics and others in high places. It is not a bad thing as Chris Manley pointed out in his article in our first edition to live in a town where creativity is encouraged. I'm glad that my offsping are having the chance to grow up in a place like this. So some polluted stinking river surrounded by 'dark satanic mill' and factory never cut its way through Brighton, which potentially upsets those who like to fetishise all that. Even then Shoreham Harbour ought to satisfy that hunger, and hey, there's plenty of poverty down here too or does that not match the desired image? Maybe the views and actions of Brightonians deserve to be taken as seriously as those from anywhere else.

Sunday 9 November 2008

{painting}

...lives by the companionship and expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer, it dies by the same token."

Mark Rothko
Contemporary representative of the institution of culture

Saturday 8 November 2008

Information regarding first edition

The Doomsbury Set's publication "tiktoc" has been printed as planned on the significant date we chose: 7th November.

The writing is something, a pleasure to read. I for one, and excuse the patronising tone, feel proud to be associated with all of the writers.

More precisely thanks to:

a) those we approached and who, as a result, considered contributing,
b) those we approached, who actually contributed,
c) the man who led on editing, is responsible completely for the typographic approach and collaborated with me on graphic design and layout No. 01 (Mr. Huw Bartlett),
d) (Soon to be sacked) No. 02 (Ms. Emilia Telese) for the invention of useful terms such as Non-endorsed and Un-endorsed art,
c) Maplins (for comfort in times of stress),
b) Mail Boxes (for incredibly fast, efficient, quality work),
a) Halifax PLC (for fooling us into thinking we matter).

Note: Where design appears poor (or the layout shite) be aware that, unlike the plethora of other examples around town (Brighton, UK), here it is done deliberately, but NOT in an ironic or witty way either. Partly we hope to provide material for budding students of graphics design, on what not to do. On the other hand by chance you will notice instances of quality, edited text, correct application of colour theory principles, composition schemes, the golden mean, paragraphs packed full of correctly spelt words and utilising the notion of grammar, employment of typography rules and so on...

Watch this space for developments.

We are still awaiting the outcome of a funding application. No: frank admission: We are still working on completing a funding application form. Donations welcome. Purchase a few at: http://www.lulu.com/content/4808807

Publishing of the next edition will take place on another key date probably 30th January. To propose a contribution e-mail doomsbury@mocksim.co.uk

We've applied for an ISSN.

Micheál O'Connell (no. 003)

£!

Edition 1 is now available
Ed

Friday 7 November 2008

Taster

Translated quick from German using some free on-line tool:

'Photo-RAM-blow: Photo portraits from a photo studio in Barcelona' is at the right time at the correct place. The photo portraits are on the market and geradazu on the market place also, because the gallery Crane Kalman is appropriate in a Kiez as similarly as `read for Ramblas' of Barcelona. heiЯt, a Kiez of tourists overcrowded and of an idea Street bessesen Life'. both kцnnten much tacky appear with buying, mode and `- if one through the pseudo glamour looks. And in such a way it goes with the topic of this Austellungs. The fame longing, the longing after Berьhmtheit and in such a way entrench themselves in perfidiously however verfuehrischer gloss. (Do not forget as send such kitsch is in the today's time particularly for the moment with the Chavs - hopefully it is not a short-lived fashion… however gegenwдrtig it gives an end in view. In any case we are zuwartend) But est another topic gives that is to be treated here: one could say over this gallery and also this Austellung - here it spukt! -, Tunes, is probably because of it that those photo portraits here are issued mostly the sixties, are all SchwarzweiЯaufnahmen and is naturally nostalgically and somewhat sadly their nature after. But the photos are troubled reasons from Geisten several. With Crane Kalman one finds a room to the rear, around eineges than the Hauptaustellungsraum is smaller, which one kцnnte describes like a spirit chamber. The area is closely, the Wдnde dark red painted to 19 and it looks like a Kuriositдtenkabinett or a miracle chamber. Century. Here the small Portrдtbilder aufhдngen and now really begins the Freak show. Thus, leave us with the Ballesteros Sisters, about to 1960 ' s begin - Bikini dressed Schlangerfrauen Kabarret duo, (or better said ‚Bikini dressed Schlangermaedels - you can be no more than six or seven years old.) One does not have to say it here gives anything honestly erotic over this picture - both Mдdels their Wьrde protect due to its notionless Berufsausьbung - however into 'political korrekt' the political GroЯwetterlage today one hopes it gives no tension adjusters or Kдufer with diseased to fantasien and one surprises whether the lacquer already off is! Now, as more nдchster on the list: different photos of shop window dolls - fund mansion of mannequin, about 1960 ' s - here are mostly completely typical photos - of the kind those, which describes most Leuter wьrden as spooky. Someone that has a genuine diseased fear of shop window dolls - tja - these pictures should be best avoided - except for probably an exception. This exceptional case shows a shop window doll entirely different from the others - a mдnnliche person from wood is majority, trдgt a whistle on the left hand and sits with ьbergeschlagenen legs in a Lehnstuhl resembles a Mцbelstьck directly from the GDR time. This photo surely kцnnte a record covering of the volume power station its. To make far - there are pictures of 'glamor Girls' Vedetta Series, about 1960 ' s - again Bikini dressed ladies however this times significantly much more Burlesque. Many of these woman photos have a particularly dark Qualitдt - a certain 'Italian Dunkelheit', as one say kцnnte. It is with difficulty recordable, but there is nevertheless a dьstere and erdrьckende Atmosphдre circles these women. Opposite two hairdresser salon advertisement photo - Hair salon publicity (soon) and Hair salon publicity, (again) circe 1960 ' S. those are the typical before afterwards pictures of a man with and without its Toupet - are those are quaint, schrullig and are unexpected without pathos. The wedding picture Bride and Groom is probable (nevertheless once more - about 1960 ' s) usually the deeply moving and most. The 'Pдrchen' seem young and innocenceful out, stand side by side soul-calmly and natively however nearly berьhrungslos. This einfьhlsames pair fame do not aim at - it looks only in such a way, as if they long-look for a prospectful however quiet future together. And isn't that somewhat actually wuenderschoen? 'Ah, bless! '- there your unmarried aunt, your granny and her old friend Mr. Kundera say wьrden - 'is not in the true sense of the word the indeed admirable? - Wait however times! - which that is called really? - Someone laughs in the rьckseitigen row - isn't that kitsch in pure culture? And if not, thus the simple question rises - which they make here? And also - which makes someone in these Austellung here? 'As soon is kitsch is recognised for the lie it is, it moves into the context OF non kitsch, thus losing its authoritarian power and becoming as touching as any more other humanly weakness'1 How does one in such a way say - fame and wealth alone do not make glьcklich - however perhaps a little kitsch to briefly look at can the purpose really erfьllen…? Glossary and quotations: Tacky: Gotten in a bad state, tasteless, kitschig. Pseudo glamour: Mцchtegern - gloss, auffдlliger gloss. Chavs (ugs): Proleten with more funds than insight, which tasteless newenrich. Freak show: A Monstrositдtenschau. special ekliges Phдnomen in Brighton culture in the today's time. Spooky (ugs): Gruslig, gruselig, terribly. Burlesque: Burlesk, possenhaft. Admirable: Admirablly, bewundernswьrdig. Ah, bless! (ugs): An English phrase as дhnlich as “as sьЯ! “. A mode word too hдufig more used - it often can sound ьbermдЯig sьЯ and formalful somewhat. ____________________________ 1.Milan Kundera, the unertrдgliche ease of the Seins (Harper and Row 1984).

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Thursday 6 November 2008

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