#560 Self-portrait (1923)

In the 1920s, the bowler
hat was everywhere. But
here, no sign of it. Still
some years to go before
it featured in his work,
appearing first as a de-
tective's derby, then
falling silent. Some de-
cades later returned, a
burst of energy, 50 or
60 times over the final
years — excluding that
flash mob assemblage
outside the window in
Golconda. A process by
which the anonymity of
the headgear become the
identifying component of
the Mr. Everyman persona
& of which, each time it app-
eared, the painter noted ceci
n'est pas un autoportrait.

#559 L'éternité (2)

Dante, Christ, &
a wheel of butter
in the middle. I
doubt that any of
these would keep
me happy for
eternity, not unless
there was something 
else to go with them.

Though I must admit
I sense something 
miraculous in the
line-up. Given that
the two busts are
somewhat crusty
with age, how does
the butter manage
to stay so fresh?

#558 Le Chant des Sirènes

Now that he has reached
the beach, he no longer
needs the candle to show
the way. The sea has called
to him — no, not the sea,
but the dwellers on some
islands situated in it. Un-
able to be seen, only barely
able to be heard; but the
song has resonances that
float above the water. Soon
he will look for a boat he
can hire, to take him close
to the source of the song.
Will take that green leaf he 
has brought with him on 
his journey from the interior
in the hope he will have a
funeral casket to lay it on.

#557 The Rights of Man (2)

So many internal refer-
ences — that euphonium
on fire; a meteorite, though
not suspended but resting
on the ground; a cloaked
cicerone; the seaside wall.

& that just a sample of what
the nooks & crannies of the
creative mind may contain. 
Not strictly bricolage; more a
selection from what lies be-
hind the world around. Not

often everyday things, but
when they are, are taken out
of context, made fresh. Is
patently obvious that man — 
or woman — has the right to 
ignore copyright should they

choose to do so. Change the
surroundings to new & often 
personal worlds. Replace the
signatures. Call the familiar
by another name. Raise the
bowler hat. Salute the clouds. 

#556 Dawn in the Antipodes

If a statement appears monstrous 
but you do not know that it is false, 
listen, but do not question its vera-
city. What misleads us is the inevit-

ability of connecting the text to the 
drawing. It is not enough that the 
drawing of the pipe so closely re-
sembles a pipe. The letters are but 

the image of letters. Never by word 
or action notice the defects of another — 
naïve handwriting, the absence of any
other trace of the artist's presence. The 

story interrupted at every sentence. It 
reveals discourse's ambiguous power 
to deny. To take any sentence from 
the mouth of another person, before 

he has time to utter it, is the height 
of ill-breeding. To paint is not to af-
firm. Perhaps a swipe of a rag will
soon erase the drawing & the text .

Sources:
This Is Not a Pipe, by Michel Foucault
The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette (1860), by Florence Hartley

#555 Parmi les Bosquets légers

A final resting place for your loved 
one with maximal light in mind
begins with a fellowship meal pre-
pared by members of the church —
there may even be coffee & cake &
fast reliable bitcoin transactions 
available. It is a hub for learning
amongst local shops, with white 

bottle-brush flowers on bare  
branches in spring & several road-
side attractions nearby creating a
unique composition that offers a
serene & grounding presence. The 
location is perfect. To keep it so, 
machine wash cold with like colors 
on gentle once the event has passed.

#554 Les Deux Soeurs (1925)

The name the same as the
few years earlier de Chirico. 
Different subjects, though the
two pairs have a commonality. 

Both portrayed as if for visual 
merchandising — which is 
what they inherently are. The 
one — the implied mannequins — 

for dresses. The other for acc-
essories, as if for scarves, or 
necklaces. That's the macro 
view. The micro? Two sisters —

are they really? The de Chirico 
pair are differently colored, 
une rouge, une blanc. One 
fairly featureless — bald, eye-



less; the other with hair & 
mask-like features, dark open-
ings that might serve as eyes. 
Enigmatic, like a major part of 

the painter's work, & nothing
sisterly-seeming about them. 
Then the Magritte . . .Closing 
the eyes. As simple an act. That

is what Amiri Baraka wrote 
years later, about a totally
different subject. Are these
sisters? Or could they both

be Magritte's muse, his wife
Georgette? Quite possibly so.
But more simply, a question to 
be asked but never answered.

#553 Le Double Vue

He is standing in front of
a forest. He is wearing a
bowler hat, holding a rose
in his hand. Those aspects
have been used before, but 
not necessarily all three to-
gether. He sees only what 
is in front of him. The other 
is standing behind him, the
forest obscured or, at best,
on the periphery of their vis-
ion. Sees mainly the clothing,
the bowler hat, the coat, e-
nough to recognize who it is 
in front of them. The rose held
up near the right ear they have
never seen before. That is the
aspect they will remember.

#552 The Invisible World

The door left open

offers no way out.

#551 Le Regard Mental (2)

Is said: they don’t build houses now in
the way we remember they did. 

Is said: people involuntarily move 
their eyes when retrieving an image 
from memory. 

Is said: what is that circular object in 
the background — a ceiling light or a
white bowler hat? 

Is said: the mind plays tricks, but that
looks like Mr. Behoover & his Hung-
arian friend close by the object. 

Is said: they’re so small, which means,
even allowing for perspective, the house 
in the foreground must be enormous.

Is said: the mind’s gaze defaults to
a masculine paradigm.

#550 Le Regard Mental

Look at 
the build-
                 ing. Think. How do I
                 reach the roof? & which 
                                                         roof should
                                                         I aim for? & 
                  if I do 
                  reach 
               a roof, will the entire 
               structure remain up-
               right or will it tumble 
                                                      over
                                                      once 
                                my weight threatens 
                                to send it off balance? 
                                Houses upon houses
                                in this one spot. How 
     is the rest of the street likely to look?