#202 Perspective: David's Madame Récamier (2)

Assume a life-
line in reverse.

Death comes first.
Before that, head-

stone, interment,
mourning crowd,

laying out, the prep-
aration of the body.

Move forwards.
Miss Marx. Pass

through two
revolutions, a liberal

monarchy, literary
salons. Chateaubriand,

Mme de Staël amongst
the names. Napoleon.

Bring in Ingres, who
uses Magritte's posed

figure as basis for
La Grande Odalisque.

Which influences
David. Who does not

finish his painting
of Madame Récamier.

Was pissed when told
that someone else was

getting the commission.
But starts it anyway.

#201 The Master of the Revels

In Il Casanova di Federico
Fellini, a giant head of Venus
begins to emerge from the
Grand Canal. Set in the
rural French countryside,
the factory by the side of
the lake is small; but still
lives undergo critical changes
as water & land are con-
taminated. The head rises
creakily to eye level & a
cable breaks. I have an idea
that the ideal drop is equal
to the length of your leg. In
his infancy Pindar was fed
honey by bees as an augury
of supreme eloquence. The
crowd cheers as the master
of the revels extols the
goddess of love. Learn
to control that one footed
wobble & you'll find things
a whole lot easier. This page
contains notes I have been
collecting on walking the slack
wire. Much of it is contradictory.

#200 The Fountain of Youth

Last seen in
the Pyrenees.

Perched on a
peak. Small in

context but
omnipotent.

Now wraps its
wings around

a reed. Petrified.
Monumental.