British Museum, 31st January 2020

Following is not a review (see Guardian for that) or a precis but rather some notes jotted down on my phone detailing thoughts that came to me during and following the visit:

Virgil 

History & Tragedy 

Zeus is ‘vibing’ (said my son) 

Leda 

Rage and redemption 

Penelope the ideal wife – tom’s first film 

River Styx – dip 

Dead hector 

Eleanor Antin judgement of Paris  – https://www.artforum.com/interviews/eleanor-antin-discusses-her-recent-photographic-series-20824

 

 

Clytemnestra 

The final piece may mention gods from other cultures ?? 

Clay 

Motivated perception 

1:

Entity – emergent entity, not formed, a glitchy moment, never developed fully, so no material, no mass but information exists 

leads to conversation 

A: You can’t put me under a microscope and inspect me 

B: What can you do? Can you do special things

A: I’m here aren’t I? But I don’t take up space. You can see me but it’s not easy, you’ve lost the knack. I live on the edge of your imagination 

B: Are you a god 

A: Haha, Perhaps I am 

2:

A person who is a negative / ‘I never fully developed’ 

3:

Virgil and Tristram Shandy are planning a duel (maybe over the protagonist?). She laments, ‘One is quite dead and the other literally a figment of someone’s imagination’. Nevertheless, she tells them it’s illegal and what’s more, utterly out of fashion nowadays. And in any case, she’s not a thing, an object to be won, or to die for. But they take no notice.

Tristam Shandy (I only know of this book but have not read it) -apparently includes various blank pages and dots and squiggles – see where I talked about making the book with different materials, therefore, an idea to hold on to.  (Penultimate bullet point)

4: 

Use BOW A1 in an installation on its own – leave alone now

5: Penelope the perfect wife

Tom’s first film? Perhaps  – still undecided there

6: Some responses to the title cutting suggest a reading of ‘self-harm’ – while I am interested in the idea of a society doing itself enormous harm as I believe the West currently is, it seems there are connotations which don’t work for me there. I had unconsciously started referring to it in my head as ‘Script‘ for a moment… I may allow myself to follow that intention through. Letting it sit with me.  The underlying idea remains ‘the cut’ but I think Script can contain that

Possible statement: an entanglement of historical and contemporary possibilities – (out of which novel relationships emerge ??) 

Thought: Tautology is an insecurity (See Barthes’)