This is Propaganda by Tino Sehgal

THIS IS PROPAGANDA 


British-born, Berlin-based artist Tino Sehgal turns art storage on its head. Why? As performative work – executed not by Sehgal himself but by his trained ‘interpreters’ – it is completely immaterial. Unlike other artists in this field, Sehgal also stipulates that no record whatsoever remains of the work – no photos, no recordings, no press releases; only the experience. That rule even extends to institutional sales agreements of his piece – a sale like that of This is Propaganda, which Tate bought in 2005, is verbally executed. The artist, the buyer, a lawyer and a notary are present; all rules and regulations around the piece are committed to a designated person’s memory. So This is Propaganda (which sees a gallery guard singing “This is propaganda, you know, you know, this is propaganda, Tino Sehgal, This is propaganda, 2002” to every visitor who enters the space) exists only in the mind. Imagine that.


Fascinating- modern art, concept art, is art about the creative process or is "art" the outcome?

I don't know, but I do know artists themselves are interesting.

(Courtesy BBC website.)

Afterwards by Thomas Hardy

When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay, 
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings, 
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say, 
'He was a man who used to notice such things'? 

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink, 
The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight 
Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think, 
'To him this must have been a familiar sight.' 

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm, 
When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn, 
One may say, 'He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm, 
But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.' 

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door, 
Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees 
Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more, 
'He was one who had an eye for such mysteries'? 

And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom 
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings, 
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell's boom, 
'He hears it not now, but used to notice such things'?




Read this as a schoolboy in England. Had a wonderful youth traversing Hardy's "Wessex".
As a kid in school, the poet's desire to be remembered struck me as an idea I could grasp. Alot of poetry , back then, was a foreign land for which I did not have a passport.

Mik's Halifax (2014) B

Here is a sight for sore eyes on a damp day. One of my favourite burger spots in Halifax; A new addition to our city and the developments at the top of Larry Uteck. I believe Boom Burger started in PEI and this is their first foray into an off island location. Naturally, great fries, too.

Mik's Halifax (nov.2014) A

So many people love the autumn season (Fall, in North America) especially because of the beautiful colours in the foliage in our northern latitudes. If you live or travel on streets with leaves that go through this annual parade you are blessed.

However, I have always felt that there is a special mood in the days after the peak of the colours have passed, but not all the leaves have fallen off yet. The streets have that sheen to them that I love.

Here are a couple of examples. Sorry that they are not high quality photos; they were taken from my car in Halifax with my cell phone, (mobile!)

The Great War

I always wondered why it was named the "Great" War. Yes, I am aware that at the time (by autumn 1914) people thought that it would be over soon, (laughably, it was believed that 'The Boys' would be home by Christmas, and this was going to be the war to end all wars.
How wrong could they have been.

Not only was it the first of many wars in that century, it was the world - Society and culture -- that ended and was never quite the same again.

Too many Empires ended  without what would nowadays be la belled "an exit strategy"; Those old empires fell apart and the replacements were founded on illogical old ideas.

Look at the problems of the last 50 years, they all have their roots in the debris of 1918.

July 14

I know today is Bastille Day, Vive La France !
However, the date is an auspicious one in my young life - 48 years ago today, I landed at JFK for the first time. An almost penniless student, I had saved (from the previous summer's job) enough for a student charter flight. It cost 60 pounds return.
I landed in the middle of a heat wave; I was awe-struck by Manhattan. The fabulous sunsets everyone is talking about in the news this week ("Manhattanhenge") was on display that week way back then.

A major milestone in my growing up: I spent 14 days alone in the big apple.

Witches and the Law

Do you  sometimes wonder why the newspapers stopped reporting about witches and their "evil" acts? Well, long ago, the thought crossed my mind.

Nowadays, I think about witches when I see articles referring to a person 'coming out of the closet'  or referring to an actor or news-worthy personality as being 'a black actor' or 'a black cab driver in Halifax'

The main reasons we get few articles about witches is simply that no-one cares about witches anymore. The laws against witches remain on the statute books in a couple of countries (you  can check Google for yourself,) but mostly the Acts refer to "pretending to be a witch"; nonetheless, we have moved on from the Seventeenth Century, and concentrate on other matters. We do not talk about witches  in our daily lives any longer.

I believe a person's sexuality or skin colour is irrelevant to the discussion that is being reported. Why raise it. Why are we obsessing about these elements of an individual's make up.

I would hope that we focus on a person's interesting traits and what motivates them, rather than what goes on in their bedrooms or how they define themselves on the census forms.

Of course, there will be times when these factors are relevant in the news - especially as they relate to hate crimes or spiteful acts, but the "news" of someone saying they are Gay should not be newsworthy of itself. I simply want people to be happy with their chosen partner, and to be able to marry them if they wish. As well, to only describe their skin colour if it relates to them being picked on  because of it.