I was going to deal with the Met and AFAM together but…
I spent another whole day (Sep10) surfing the corridors of the Met in NYC. Again, it was wonderful and again disappointingly, I only covered so little of it. This time however, my camera died and all I have to show is a couple of photos of paintings by Surrealist, Yves Tanguy. So this is my Yves Tanguy story.
Many years ago (truly) a friend challenged me to depict his favourite poem, “The House of Yves Tanguy” by French Poet Andre Breton (1939). I had visions of bright stars lying scattered like sequins on a velvety dark "night" – more Vincent Van Gogh style – and had not been able to conceptualise beyond that. A little bit corny and not really textile arty! Clearly I had not seen any work by Tanguy!
The Met however gave me a real buzz. This was my opportunity to see up close & personal, Tanguy’s amazing surrealist pieces. Described as some of the strangest paintings ever created, my preconceived ideas were challenged! So after some thought, I’ve taken up my challenge, again - something decorative; something stimulating; something remote. Mind you, there isn’t a whole lot to show for this revival in interest at the moment other than these photos and the odd bit of surfing to discover what surrealism is all about (and what Breton was on about). Isn’t it rather odd that Breton, author of automatic writing (writing without deliberate thought) requires, if indeed I am to finish above mentioned challenge, so much research and careful thought!
