(“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself”)
Blue Laocoon is an alternative subtitle for this blog, because it sounds similar to B’s first mocktail – that she had on a recent holiday – and because it nicely summarises recent events experienced by the present author; look up a laocoon if you’re unsure (as I was when I first came across the word (describing Scrooge in ‘A Christmas Carol’, no less))
“Most people get a fair amount of fun out of their lives, but on balance life is suffering, and only the very young or the very foolish imagine otherwise.”
I start with the art, and the Venice Biennale, because my folk are off there soon and I’m well jel. I really want them to take me some pictures of the refugee boat docked there, not just because it’s refugee week and that this exhibit has caused lots of controversy, but also because I think it’s a pretty important – and beautiful – thing to be on show, so should be lauded, not criticised.
The actual title of this blog post is the title of this year’s exhibition, curated by Ralph Rugoff and, according to this quarter’s TATE magazine “is a phrase that has long been mistakenly cited as an ancient Chinese curse invoking periods of turmoil – apt for our uncertain times.”
“Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible.”
Talking of which, lest we forget that the league was won by Manchester City. I wrote last time about Pep and his class – http://jonathangreenbank.com/index.php/2019/04/28/homage-to-a-catalonian/ – something not always shown by the fans of his oppositions. That last day of the season was fraught, driving home as we were from a wonderful event in the home of A. A. Milne, wondering what was happening at Wembley… we can be proud and positive for the future.
“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
The upcoming events, thought, were inevitable and had – sadly – been coming. The signs – the magpies – had been there for a while.
“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
On a day out, To see some old football shirts, I proudly took pics of the little guy with a Morrissey poster, for his excellent new album (more of which later) that was somewhat surprisingly placed at our local train station. Little did I know that, the following week, someone should be so upset at the display of said advert that he’d get them all taken down in disgust, and I began to question not just my fandom of the said celebrity but also the freedom of speech I this country and the priorities of certain citizens and organisations. Whoever becomes our new leader is inheriting a messy place: ‘England, your England’ remains relevant today…
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
Talking of trains, a lovely moment came at Lime Street, when people were making their feelings and frustrations known… it explained a lot and was fully justified given other events.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
To conquer something means to recognise and overcome the facts, and not everyone can do that. Meanwhile, battles are being fought constantly and some people go through some serious stuff without letting others know. I acknowledge that other problems – without said struggles – are unimportant. But still I write, and will let others tell their own stories in which ever way they feel most comfortable.
“Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness.”
We were very lucky to enjoy a wonderful holiday in Crete with some great people, sights, food and drink… and reading.
The real highlights were the swimming, the sunshine, the beers, the butcher, Michael, the birthday drinks, the sunsets, the cocktail bar, the seaside lunches and entertaining meals and the quiet moments in rock pools and churches that said so much.
It’s funny that someone saw a photo of my traditional composition (beach towel, reading matter, beverage of choice) and said it would be impossible for me to have read something whilst away. I did actually manage to read a lot of George Orwell: enough to absorb his style of writing and to concur with many of his political views as well as to acknowledge his quotes enough to embed them in this article to nicely complement my comments on life as we know it. I found his style so articulate, so eloquent; sincere and concise but factual and detailed. I’ve never really thought about focusing on one writer, apart from the excellent Roberto Saviano whose equally fascinating collection of essays ‘Beauty and the Inferno’ also accompanied us to the island of Zorba the Greek (which we watched on our return: not what we expected, but hugely enjoyable)
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
I particularly loved Orwell’s essays on the state of England seventy years ago, because what he said wasn’t too far away from what would be true today; similarly, his ideas about miners in Northern towns rang true with this year’s GCSE exam Language Paper 2 exam plus, to reiterate, his political stance is not too similar to my own at present, even if many disagreed with it at the time. Even Morrissey, whose ideas I don’t necessarily always agree with, shouldn’t be censored.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Talking of reading, this quote links nicely to my being nominated as a judge on the reading for empathy book panel. It’s quite an accolade and involves reading several texts which promote empathy; I’m flattered and proud and looking forward to it.
“The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection.”
“In the face of pain there are no heroes.”
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
There are lots of things I could say about these quotes, but won’t. Trials and tragedies happen for everyone; life’s never easy. Misinformation and fake news can make things worse, too… sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
Various events and bits of news at home meant that the irrelevance of random people achieving some things melted into insignificance and actual life took over for a long time.
As the great Forrest Gump said, that’s all I have to say about that.
“Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.”
Escapes could be found, thankfully, online or in the dojo, which is kind of the point of the recently released series of Black Mirror and Cobra Kai. Both of these offered more of the same as earlier series – an escape using technology, or a nostalgic trip to childhood – but with extra discussion points this time, and both were highly enjoyable. I also fully engaged with The Virtues, another excellent series, though not always comfortable viewing… get on it.
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims, but accomplices.”
I’ve discussed the current political situation already, so will just say that whatever happens in the next few weeks, at least we’ve got the new series of Stranger Things and Gomorrah to distract us. The latter has started with three incredibly tense episodes, all of which had fantastic endings.
It’s also festival season, and lots of new music to act as the soundtrack to our lives: many went to see the Spice Girls’ reunion, Take That etc… we, however, well we listened with intent and enjoyment to the new stuff by Richard Hawley, The National and Morrissey (him again) whilst marvelling at the fact that that band I used to do all the artwork for are preparing to support THE ROLLING STONES at the Metlife Stadium, new Jersey… a quick look on StubHub reveals that tickets are currently going for $200 each, which is a far cry from having them perform in the school hall for excitable y10s.
Instead, we look forward to quick trips to Manchester for performances of the new Amelie and Back To The Future musicals… ho, hum.
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing”
We began with art and we end with art, somewhat serendipitously given that it’s nine years ago this week that I had my eyes lasered and therefore began seeing things differently.
I was excited for several months for the Keith Haring retrospective at Tate Liverpool and was not disappointed; indeed, I was elated that I could take my little boy to see it and whilst – as my old tutor, also there early on the first day, predicted – he was a bit bored after the first room, the bright lights big city style of the paintings and posters on show did engage him for long enough that I was able to spend long enough there to be whisked back to 2001 and our trip to NYC.
Retracing the steps of Haring, Basquiat et al back then – pre 9/11 – the city – the world – was a different place, and only some of Orwell’s comments and predictions had come true. We went to the Pop Shop and read up on what had happened twenty odd years precious in that neck of the woods.
Haring, himself was quite an outspoken artist but his childlike images were often overlooked without people getting the full message. I love the simplicity of some of the quite complicated statements he made, and that they’re now adorning the walls of an institution like Tate when all he wanted to do was really make murals with groups of kids.
“The whole beauty of the drawings were that they were so simple. They told a story that you could see from a moving train and you could get it.” (Keith Haring, 1989)
I also love the bus installation on the ground floor, El Autobus by Sol Calero, because Elijah absolutely loved pretending to drive it and it gives me the perfect excuse and carrot to keep going back there over the summer.
“Art lives through the imaginations of the peple who are seeing it. Without that contact, there is no art.” (Keith Haring, March 1984)
It’s not all bad, then… still lots of cause for optimism.