10/08/2010

Source Frieze



Went specifically to study this today, at the British Museum, in the Mesopotamian rooms (click to have a good look). An altar frieze, from the Eye Temple at Tell Brak (north eastern Syria), dated 3300–3000BC. It's a piece I've returned to many times over the past four years and really has been a perennial reference point, then catalyst for recent work. 



Find it interesting how something can register, firstly without motive or known application. Just because it makes sense intuitively. I wanted to photograph it as carefully as possible, in the circumstance, in order to sort of bank it. Why does it speak? Something about it being a physical image. Something about the innate colour of material. Something about resistance and variance of form making its own drawing.

3 comments:

marie said...

yes it's pretty perfect.

Peter Nencini said...

Just looked at your blog. Consistently so well imaged and I like very much your inkwork.

Kate Jinx said...

Really incredible. Tiny details, colours.