#570 L'âge des merveilles

First, the assumption. No, not
that of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
but it is possible that one or other
of the two women depicted here
may be her. Underscored by the 
fact that the one looking out of 
the painting has had her whole 
reproductive area replaced by 

clockwork allows for the pos-
sibility of a birth being brought 
about by a mechanical assembly 
line with no human intervention. 
Then the second assumption, that
both women are the same, down 
to the last cog, even if the other
can't be seen face on, this time a

mirror image, unlike that later 
painting, La Reproduction Interdite. 
& the easel that supports the pain-
ting within the painting shares a
commonality with the clockwork 
of the models but is coming apart.
That it can still support the pain-
ting is a small miracle. That it is

falling to pieces may also presage 
some further deterioration in all
the paricipants in the painting. Ex-
cept for the desert in that painting 
on the easel which is still fresh, 
awaiting the delivery of the fish 
or bird that will eventually be fly-
ing above it in a later incarnation. 

#569 La Bonne Foi (3)

 


This is not a pipe but a must-
ache that has become somewhat 
misaligned in his climb out of 
the abyss. Not that you would 
know where he's been or what 
he's been through. Ever the well-
dressed Mr. Everyman, ready 
for work in the CBD. No flecks 

of paint to indicate an alternate 
occupation, no tension in the eyes
to reflect the poisonous flowers
that he so recently saw. & what
perfumes were present in his
travails unable to be identified
because his nose is hidden. So
much to be taken in good faith.

#568 Donna (1923)

As if merged with a saraswati
veena, an instrument named

after the Hindu goddess of
learning & the arts, & then

both her & her surrounds
painted in primary colors. An

impressive conglomeration that
surely deserves a more striking

name than Donna.

#567 The Art of Conversation (1963)

In this split & drifting space, strange 
bonds are knit. In a landscape of batt-
ling giants or of the beginning of the 
world, two tiny persons are speaking.
The art of conversation consists in the 

exercise of two fine qualities — never 
interrupt any one who is speaking; &
overlook the deficiencies of others 
when conversing with them. Men, at 
last reduced to silence, commune with

the signification of things, allow them-
selves to be touched by enigmatic, in-
sistent words that come from elsewhere.
Words are not bound directly to other 
pictorial elements. They are merely in-

scriptions on blobs & shapes. But in 
this context, words do not replace mis-
sing objects, occupy no hollow spaces.
A lady of true refinement will always
give your words candid consideration.

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

#566 The Empty Picture Frame

The wall is empty apart from
an empty picture frame. Ex-
cept. The frame is not empty— 
or so it seems. Contains a slice 
of wall, but not the wall that
surrounds it, that it hangs up

on. Instead an exceptionally 
detailed rendition of rendered
brick that seems out of place
inside a house, but could be
most any part of the exterior
cladding. Carefully transported

& hung above the wainscoting.
The outside inside, the invis-
ible made visible. What need
of the signature that rests in
the upper righthand corner
to know whose work this is?

#565 L'Invitée

He slept badly. Woke half-
way through the night &,
though no one had asked
him to, threw the window
out the window. It hung



there, waiting for more
instructions. He had no-
thing further to add, just
wondered why the room
had suddenly become cold.

#564 Dawn in the Antipodes (2)

If you accept at first, & any unforeseen
event keeps you from fulfilling your 
engagement, write a second note, this 
in naïve handwriting, neither precisely 
the work's title nor one of its pictorial 

elements. If circumstances render it 
necessary to write, it may be sent with
perfect propriety an hour before the 
time appointed. But this is still only 
the least of the ambiguities. There are 

two pipes. Or rather must we not say, 
two drawings of the same pipe? It is 
well to carry in your pocket a small
pincushion, &, having unfolded it, to 
pin it at the belt, else it will be very apt

to slip down, if your dress is of silk or
satin. This "lower" pipe is wedged 
solidly in a space of visible reference 
points. On the other hand, the higher 
pipe lacks coordinates. If, by the 

carelessness or awkwardness of your 
neighbors or the servants,  the pipe 
floats behind the painting & the easel, 
more gigantic than it appears, then 
let it pass without any further notice.

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

#563 Dialogue Revealed by the Wind

A wind, a cold wind has come
Arthur Miller: The Crucible
"Nakedness has a way of showing
itself," she said. "If not the wind, then
some other act of nature. Though is it
natural that we should be standing
here, headless, legless, words that
usually describe some condition of
drunkeness? & is standing the right
word to use when we have nothing
left to really let us stand?" The other
two might have nodded in agree-
ment, had they not been beheaded 
& now had nothing left to nod with.

#562 Waking Windows

(A Tom Beckett Title)


Judging by the size of the
promotional photos, Palehound 
& Cut Worms are the headline
acts at this year's final WW music, 
art, comedy, food, & drink festival 
in Winooski, Vermont. Elsewhere
someone asks: "What is a paw-
paw?" while they're enjoying
drag queen hour which includes
getting their face painted. & over-
seas, at the European Parliament,
#TheLightsStayOn, a photo ex-
hibition presenting powerful 
stories of people from Ukraine,
draws inspiration from René 
Magritte’s L’état de veille (The 
Waking State), where glowing 
windows appear in the sky 
among drifting clouds. So, to 
stop Windows waking up from 
sleep on its own, the last band 
will wrap up around 10 p.m.

Three poems from Series Magritte at YouTube

via The Continental Review





Read by Miia Toivio & with graphics by Marko Niemi

#561 La Clef de Songes

We dance. Either by
moon- or candlelight.

We dance, The snow be-
gins to fall. I put on my

bowler hat, you make sure
your shoes are on tight.

We dance, on the ceiling,
treat the snow as if it were

the sands of the desert &
we under acacia trees.

We dance until a thunder-
storm comes hammering

along. I eat an egg. You
drink a glass of water.

We dream.