... the Line Broke & ...

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In the light of having received my M2-Systems™ Subsystem 2 Journal: the shiny beauty pictured above atop its equally shiny slip case, I was going to meander into some abstractions involving Paul Klee and his '...taking a line for a walk...' approach to the production of his art, which subsequently became the mantra of many of us who went to art college in the seventies, particularly: although as that is the only decade in which I attended art school, that may well be a slightly partial view of things. The pictured tome is at present unsullied, and indeed unmarked by gesture: a bit like the dreaded white void of a blank canvas, screaming out for its first marks, however unstructured they might be. I'm hanging back, but I think I will adopt the measured approach of making the first stigmata on its pristine 100gsm, fountain pen-friendly paper with stamp and ink: a more formalised and considered vandalism with which to break the tyranny of the field.

As to the eventual content creation/discovery/recording implied by the author's rather deliberately diffuse manifesto - included in the journal's opening pages:  a Zen Master's gently assertive approach if ever there was one, that remains to be seen. Once the first marks are made, they will themselves determine the course to be followed. As to Klee's 'taking...' I was thinking particularly about the third section of the journal, the first two being 1) Memory, 2) Reason; and 3) Imagination, which consists of numerous pages ruled in various grid forms, which seem to my eye to be inviting exactly the notion of '...taking a line for walk...' We'll see: keep you posted...

Addendum: Who can tell me the derivation of the title of this post?

Comments

  1. Anonymous18 August 2024 at 08:40

    What immediately came to me is the clapping song, recorded by numerous acts over the years, which in turn is derived I believe from a much earlier childrens song. Probably way off beam from where you are coming from but there you go! Steve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sideways18 August 2024 at 11:47

      Spot, on Steve: I was thinking of the 1965 version by Shirley Ellis: the girls in my class at Junior School used to stand at the back of the classroom and sing it, accompanied by that little hand jive thing...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18 August 2024 at 14:33

      To be brutally honest I can't stand it, no matter what the version! Unfortunately it is one of those 'ear worms' that once it's there you can't get away from it! Hey ho.

      Delete

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