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31 December 2013

Christmas books

The Richard Long book is more for looking at and thinking about, an overview of his art, and the Prunella Clough book is more for detailed reading, an investigation of her life and work.

Coincidentally Richard Long was talking about walking on "Something Understood" (Radio 4). I didn't write down what he said, and on going back to the programme on the BBC iPlayer ... it had disappeared ... but thank heaven for the internet, someone had written down his words; all it needed was a bit of repunctuation so they might read the way I heard them -

A straight term[?] I walk: Walking as an idea.
A thousand miles in a thousand days: Walking as symmetry.
A stone placed at every mile across Ireland: Walking as sculpture.
A dry walk between one shower and the next: Walking as measurement.
White light walk: Walking as colour.
Thirty seven camp fires: Walking as happiness.


As for the other book, I opened it at random and flipped to the start of the next chapter, catching a few words in passing -
...no question that she enjoyed the stimulus of an active social life ... 

And choosing more, during the reading -
... an eye for the overlooked and unconsidered ... fascination with the meeting of sky and land ...a sense of atmosphere ... 'wind and weather' imbued her art in the even grey light of an overcast day ....

I'm trying to "see more" by, before reading, looking hard at the pictures, then checking to see what the author adds to my looking.

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