HEAVEN AND EARTH

I’ve never really read the papers much. Occasionally I’ll buy the Guardian on the weekend, mainly cos I like the design and all its supplements with nice photography – plus I like to think of myself as a bit of lefty and even though I barely read the thing, carrying it back from the newsagents gives me a certain, trivial sense of left wing empowerment!

I can safely say that for no other reason than sheer ignorance, I have never even glanced at a copy of the Independent. Despite this, I have now been to see three art exhibitions and drank loads of free wine, courtesy of the Independent Readers Club – all thanks to my good friend Emma Downing, who is an absolute oracle of free art and booze.

Last night I was invited to a private view of the current Richard Long exhibition at the Tate Britain, Heaven and Earth . I wasn’t familiar with Richard Long’s work, but I can now highly recommend it. The idea that art can be a simple walk through a landscape spoke wisdom to me. Here’s a short passage taken from the exhibition guide, by Richard Long on his own work;

“My art is in the nature of things

I like the idea of making something from nothing

I can walk all day and sleep all night following an idea

I use the land without the need of ownership

My talent as an artist is to walk across a moor or place a stone on the ground

My work is about movement and stillness, the walking and the stopping places, it can be either passing or leaving a mark

I use intuition and chance, body and mind, time and space

I use the world as I find it

The beautiful photographs of Long’s natural sculptures are complimented by hand-rendered quotes, explaining the process in a few simple words. Unfortunately, we were evicted at closing time, before I could have a proper look at the art books which accompany each separate piece of work. A quick glimpse however, left a burning inspiration, to go out into the rugged wilderness and start to play with the land. Maybe I will.

Smitherz