This Space

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Breaking the rules

There was something slightly illicit about browsing the British Library's Breaking the Rules exhibition subtitled The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900 – 1937. It was, I later realised, because someone had turned the lights out. Many of the artefacts - such as scores by Schoenberg - are protected by the gloom of the vault. It's like you shouldn't really be there. Those that weren't in the dark included one of Joyce's notebooks for Finnegans Wake, a first edition of Ulysses and an edition of Bataille's Acéphale magazine. I was particularly pleased to see these. But, generally, I'm not one for exhibitions. I have no patience just too stand and look. And as I hurried around the space, I couldn't help but sing along with our very own avant garde.

By the way, if you're in the area, next Monday evening (3rd of December), the library hosts a debate What happened to the Avant Garde? lead by AS Byatt and Gabriel Josipovici.
at 7:38 pm
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2 comments:

  1. Daniel Pritchard2:25 pm

    Hey I was just at the exhibit last week! I thought it was great, really interesting stuff, especially the El Lizzitsky works. Did you pick up the book on futurist typography? I really enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Stephen Mitchelmore2:38 pm

    I didn't pick up that book, no. Would've been good to have a catalogue. Don't think there was one though.

    ReplyDelete

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