To forgive is human: to err is divine:

Greetings Rangers,

in SA we are not yet Lone Rangers, isolated in our homes or indeed upon our gainly steeds, but it’s looking increasingly like we may face that eventuality once again, perhaps soon. Chilly winter winds are bringing all sorts of conditions with them this season and as I write, NSW teeters at crisis point while Victoria is firmly contained and locked up in their own suffering.  By the time you read this the situation will have changed – fingers and toes crossed, let’s hope for the better. For all.

 

 

To forgive is human: to err is divine:

Thinking I was well on the way to divine status, especially given my long, errant and tedious relationship with all beasts technological, when out of nowhere there appeared a squeak, a dim flicker, an alert of a very minor presence which seemed to suggest there could be something for me in the revisiting of  this quotation: I might discover for instance, provenance, who wrote it. (Alexander Pope: an Essay on Criticism) My mistake is perceived. I am outed. Sigh. Well, we all make them (husbands/male partners excepted, of course).

 

 

This week the all too human condition of error-making has taken up my head space. Really! Just how many mistakes can one person make in a single painting? Neck too long, foot too forward, no bottom worth mentioning, the blue won’t do what I want it to and there’s always a dead-line. Grrrrr.  In addition, but we are still in the pantheon of error-making, I have also been thinking about public error and how currently it is so easy, inadvertently, to do the wrong thing and to be called out for it. Then, on the flip side, you find yourself berating others in the same manner that you were berated and about which you became huffy, for acting in ways that have suddenly become publicly unacceptable and risky but which were not so long ago, perfectly acceptable public behaviours. In the supermarket line I find myself discretely shifting forward and further away from the person standing behind me and who now feels much too close. Then, stupidly, while shopping, it is me leaning forward across in front of someone to reach for a particular brand of very healthy, non-fattening, sugarless, health-giving and completely chocolate free food item that I have felt the need to desire and purchase.  I am going to burka up, adopt a mask, keep others safe. The reaching habits of 60+years are extremely hard to break!

 

However, at Gallery 1

We remain irrepressibly divine and forgive you when you forget to socially distance. Don’t beat yourself up. We expect slip ups (no doubt, I will lead the way!)and we know you don’t mean to. It’s a mistake. Everybody makes them. Once realised, we know you apologise and remedy the situation so it’s all OK. And if it begins to be not-OK by State decree: no huggy-huggies or kissy-kissies on the cheeky cheekies,  then we will sic the sanitizer fairy on to you PDQ!!!! ….and also on to me and to David the Chair as well!

 

 

By the way, Banksy says to maintain social distance and mask up on public transport!

I’m not going to talk about the life drawing on TV. Boring as. An overall concensus – not just my own opinion. Model poses were good though. They did show one guy’s willy, even though I didn’t think they would.

 

Gallery News:

The monthly Committee Meeting took place face to face, this Wednesday. As there were no 70th birthdays this month it was all pretty mundane stuff but it was agreed there would be no Opening night for SALA 2020. The Unley High School Phoenix Exhibition at the end of the year will still take place in the Gallery barring State directions to the contrary while in the interim we will figure out how to best present it for the students and their families given the probable restriction of numbers still being active.

Pieces for the SALA Timology theme will still hang in the Gallery space where you can see them but they will also be on-line for your pleasure and for sale for your karma .

The Gallery is also working towards a pop-up shop immediately following SALA. This will be a mini version of the TWIsTED market event in terms of the type of goods for sale. A large number of stalls would mean too many people on the site at once so we are unable to  attempt a TWIsTED event.  The aim is to keep the goods on sale in the Gallery for 1 month. Planning is in early stages so we will keep you updated about this on all the Gallery One media platforms.

 

 

 

 

I have read this week’s book the right way round – I saw the film first. I find I develop fixed perceptions about a book as I read and then, when I see the film of the work, I am frequently disappointed. Much better to see the film first and then read the book. Atonement by Ian McEwen is this week’s book and very much in keeping with the “ERRing” theme. As suggested by the title there is a mistake which must be atoned for – but I’m not telling.

The work is in 4 parts, all separated by years in time. If you are not the type of reader who thralls to the psychological thought processes of characters, do not be deterred by Part 1. The writing is excellent but dense and I suspect owes much to Virginia Woolf. There are 5 or 6 important incidents which you will need up your sleeve for the rest of the book but if the writing becomes too slow for you it’s OK to skim and read on. Part 2 adopts a stronger narrative movement and McEwen produces one of the best pieces of writing about the impact of war as it happens and its effects upon the ordinary foot soldier that I have ever read. Gripping, heart-wrenching stuff.  Part 3 is still concerned with WWII but offers perspective from the home front. Do not skim read Part 4!

It is unusual to find that a work of 4 parts ultimately hinges on one solitary sentence. I heard Ian McEwen speak at a Writers’ Week a few years ago and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy – he’s also an excellent writer. I have replaced the book on the Gallery One bookshelf so one lucky reader will collect it. Enjoy.

Fare well in these times – you are all divine as well as human!!!

 

Photo Credits

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels Fingers crossed

Photo by George Becker from Pexels 1+1=3

Photo by Felix Koutchinski on Unsplash Forgiveness

Photo by C.Valdez on Unsplash Koalas hugging