Ned Ludd on tue 23 jul 02
Philip Poburka wrote:
> I have always touched 'Art' or Sculpture or other
in Galleries or
> Museums, as per my judgement to do so, and
sometimes it has made the
> folks nervous.
>
> If at 'Shows' or the like, I allways ask if I
may...
>
> One time, I caressed a ceramic sculptural piece,
inn a Gallery, and I
> KNEW it was a mite 'unstable', to say the least,
and as I were walking
> away, it evidently did the half-gainer off the
> pedestal...'Cuhhh-RASH!!!"
Talking about Cuhhh-RASH!!!, Phil, I'm reminded of my time
in Moscow, Russia, 1989, a year before state communism went
to hell in a handbasket and democracy - and the Mafiya -
were unbound. On a visit to the Pushkin Museum I was
awestruck by a magnificent (that's an understatement)
unglazed earthenware jar almost as tall as me, dating from neolithic
times.
It had probably been used for grain storage in the dawn of
man's presence on the steppes.
It was _so_ beautiful. I was mesmerized.
Enthralled, I stared longingly at the great pot. There was
no glass barrier! It stood before me a few feet away,
tangible, inviting... and I was
filled with an growing urge to FEEL it.
I looked around: there was no hands-off sign. Well maybe
there was a sign in
cyrillic, but that obviously did not apply
to Englishmen.
I looked around again: no guard!
Well, just a babushka dozing in a chair.
.. the coast was clear! Or so I thought.
I leaned... reached... touched it.. gently, firmly, reverently. It
touched me back.... Oh sacred moment....halleluja!
The babushka exploded. She sprang from her chair, raging like a
damsel forty years sprightlier! I recoiled unsteadily.
And then, to our horror, the thousands-years-old jar,
it....
it...
it.... it did not fall over. Nope. Just stood there. ;-)
But I TOUCHED the great Pot from the dawn of humanity and
they can't ever take that away from me, no sir!
Ned
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd on thu 25 jul 02
Bejahzus, Ned! You know how to raise a girl's blood pressure levels!!
As a matter of fact, very old artefacts ARE on occasion prone to fall apart,
even without anyone actually touching them. The environmental influences -
especially fluctuating heat and humidity levels - are not always what we
would expect and our cultural heritage is sometimes kept in far from ideal
conditions.
Ask any custodian of historic collections and they will have their favourite
tale to tell about self-distructing artefacts.
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
Home of The International Potters' Path
8 Marine Crescent, Criccieth LL52 0EA, Wales, UK
Tel: (++44) 01766-423570
http://www.the-coa.org.uk
> I looked around again: no guard!
> Well, just a babushka dozing in a chair.
>
> .. the coast was clear! Or so I thought.
>
> I leaned... reached... touched it.. gently, firmly, reverently. It
> touched me back.... Oh sacred moment....halleluja!
>
> The babushka exploded. She sprang from her chair, raging like a
> damsel forty years sprightlier! I recoiled unsteadily.
> And then, to our horror, the thousands-years-old jar,
> it....
>
> it...
>
> it.... it did not fall over. Nope. Just stood there. ;-)
>
> But I TOUCHED the great Pot from the dawn of humanity and
> they can't ever take that away from me, no sir!
>
>
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