Art And History

Posted on Oct 21, 2021 by TanGental

This post went missing in action yesterday, thanks WP. If you’ve seen it already, please move on. If not, please enjoy…

The bit of London I inhabit is still, at heart a village. Back in the mid 19th Century Dickens retired Mr Pickwick to the village, which explains a few street and house names. Amongst Mr Pickwick’s leisurely pleasures, he visits the Picture Gallery which today prides itself on being designed by Sir John Soane who gave us the monumental Bank of England and is the oldest public picture gallery in the UK.

Today Dog and I wandered through its ground in search of a coffee and a shortcut. The autumn colours, set against the old London brick building kind of drew out my phone and I began taking pictures from different angles.

When I came on these there lumps, like giant fossilised stools from an enormous extinct type of humungous rabbit. Kicking away the leaves, I found a descriptor of what the sculptor had in mind.

And then a story board telling me about the artist and his use of ex glacier granite lumps…

I’m often dumbfounded by art, certain that there’s a conceit I should be getting if only I was clever enough, or maybe if I sneaked up on it and caught it unawares.

I was pondering these lofty questions, unsure how to obtain a deeper understanding of the eternal contradictions inherent in this brain-stone interface, when I realised Dog had added his own unique critique with a short sharp burst of uri-coating.

He cuts through to the essence does Dog, reducing public outside art to three categories.

The ignored

The sniffed

The marked.

He marked it. High praise indeed.

About TanGental

My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline. I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy. I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere. These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
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17 Responses to Art And History

  1. Olivia says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    Thank you for sharing!

    Like

  2. Jennifer Barricklow says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I don’t think you give yourself nearly enough credit as a cultured person. You recognized right away what the sculptor was getting at! 😉

    Like

  3. Annette Rochelle Aben says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 4:13 pm

    I shall always follow Dog’s lead! He has never steered me wrong.

    Like

  4. Peter's pondering says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    Obviously the artist has never enjoyed walking with a dog!

    Like

  5. L.K. Latham says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 8:44 pm

    Looks like a delightful day!

    Like

  6. John W. Howell says:
    Oct 21, 2021 at 10:17 pm

    Dog knows. Too bad he can’t hold a martini and go to a few parties. He would enlighten a few of the effete.

    Like

  7. willowdot21 says:
    Oct 22, 2021 at 9:55 am

    You do live in a lovely part of London, our youngest and wife lived there before they moved to the burbs to have their boys. It always was a lovely place to visit.
    As for art I think dog know best, what does it mean when he leaves a deposit?

    Liked by 1 person

  8. willowdot21 says:
    Oct 22, 2021 at 9:56 am

    Thank you for replacing this I was very miffed by WP.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. noelleg44 says:
    Oct 22, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    I thought the rocks looked like turtles with amazing carapaces! But leave it to Dog to get to the heart of the matter. What a nice walk. Your Brits have amazing old places to visit. Here old might be 100 years – almost not worth noting.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. trifflepudling says:
    Oct 22, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    I think of it as a small town rather than village – especially in terms of amenities! Most villages ain’t got nuffink these days. Our one local shop is the petrol station.
    I think the fact that those rocks are erratics is more interesting than the funny lines chiselled on them. Not art.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. insearchofitall says:
    Oct 26, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    Dogs know how to put things in proper perspective.

    Liked by 1 person

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