#482 High Level Meetings

Certainly the river in the distance confirms that this is up a mountain. & the shadowy figures in the cave are recognizable from their starring roles in many paintings. But the painter who made them famous also caused them to be regarded as typecast; & now, in the years after his passing, their income stream has almost dried up.

Which is where a bit of creative accounting comes in. Get together in some out of the way place. Bring a friend, someone they have previously appeared with but whose bejeweled androgyny still guarantees work in these non-binary times, & who can easily pass as an agent or manager. Then claim inflated expenses when they list this interaction on their tax forms, describing it as a high level meeting.

#481 René Magritte et Le Barbare

The only way to capture Fantômas is to enter his dreams. — René Magritte

The Luftwaffe's first bombing 
run on London; & Magritte's 
first one-man show in that city 
shut down by it. Several pain-
tings destroyed, including Le

Barbare, one of Magritte's many 
homages to Fantômas. This photo 
all that is left to remember it by,
could easily be titled Fantômas et
son doppelgänger, two masters of

the magical, one able to vanish
at will, the other able to make
the invisible visible. Both wear the
formal costume of the magician:
one is disappearing before our 

eyes, of his own accord. The other 
large as life, but wondering if he
will have the strength to make the
barbarians he can't see coming 
disappear before they can arrive.

#480 Les Ombres

Oh how the
shadow of

the pipe falls
behind every-

thing it comes
in contact with.

Except. This is
not a shadow.

#479 The Banquet (2)

Elsewhere it was September
when trees rose behind the
sun; & the guests watching


from the balcony applauded
the striking nature of the call
to dinner provided by their hosts.

#478 The Harvest

I wasn't around to know
which painting was done
first — this one, or Les Bon 
Jours de Monsieur Ingres.
It's the same model; & she 
is either resting after a long 
day holding up her ewer, 
or she is deep in sleep in 
preparation for the days
to come. I'll leave the de-
fining detective work to 
others, just remind the reader 
of the water pouring from 
that ewer with only the 
background fields to soak 
it up. Suggest that, based
on the lushness of those  
fields, the standing came 
before the lying down.

#477 La Fleche de Zenon

At this point in time
the rock is not falling
or hovering or travel-
ing in a straight line
between two points.

At this point in time
the waves are not
crashing on the shore,
the clouds are still, &
the moon has stopped

orbiting the Earth. At
any point in time, says
Zeno, an arrow is not
moving to where it is
going or where it is not.

No time elapses; so how
can it move? It is already
here, so how can it move
here? At this point in
time I am watching the

movement of a painting
that does not move &
yet it moves this viewer
even though, at this point
in time, the viewer is

motionless.

#476 Olympia

Is that a pangolin that I
see before me? A Manet
woman re-sited au plein air,
still au naturel, with no
accoutrements. On a towel
on a hill overlooking the
sea. The hand that delicately 
covered the nether regions 
replaced by a scaly animal 
that seems quite happy to
breathe in the local aromas. 
It's a simple scene, but with 
sharp edges to cut open the 
Impressionists & lay bare
some of their prejudices — 
racism, classism, a need for 
objects to wear a token of their 
ownership, a conceit that 
flowers will conceal all flaws.

#475 Le Bouchon d'Épouvant

 

Product found on page 728 of the WoodChuck Norris catalog. Alt Item. For External Use Only Labels .

High quality example sentences with "for external use only" in context are available from reliable sources.

Need to translate "for external use only" to Swahili?

Mustard oil was only permitted to be sold for use as a therapeutic massage oil, which is why bottles at Indian grocery stores are labeled "For External Use Only."

Find for external use only stock images in HD in the Shutterstock collection.

A feminine deodorant spray shall bear the following statement: Caution. For external use only. Spray at least 8 inches from skin. Do not apply to broken, irritated, or itching skin.

This bidet is intended for external use only.

While petroleum jelly has many benefits, it should be for external use only. Do not eat or insert petroleum jelly.

FDA reminds the public that hand sanitizer is for external use only.

People can technically use Vaseline as a sexual lubricant. It is a nontoxic substance that is safe for external use only.

Many cosmetics & medicines come in small packed boxes, many of which have the words 'For external use only. '

Gold & Body Paint 25ml For External Use Only.

A painter converted his pillbox into a Bowler hat. He forgot to remove the for external use only label.

The process of creation in the artwork is not finalized for external use only.

This product is for external use only. Please avoid ingestion by children & keep it away from high temperature & fire.

#474 Les Adieux

 

Great Gatsbys! A Renoir on
the grass, alas. & too much
incorporated in the painting
to contain it all. Things escape,
many of those the appurtances
of a dandy — wine glass, rose to
carry in the teeth, some etchings
to come up & look at sometime.

Some things held on to — hat to
keep the sun out, or keep the tan
from overflowing, & gloves to
stroke the mustache with. &,
OMG, brogues that exactly
match the color of the frame.

#473 Le regard intérieur

 

Exotic birds perch on the veins 
of a leaf. Such beauty in them,
but they are so small — or maybe
the leaf is large, larger than the
trees below the window. The
birds do not appear to be hungry.
The leaf is intact. & there seems
to be plenty of water to go round. 
A fairly full glass balances on the
ledge. & should the glass fall 
there is still that river nearby, 
within flying distance, even if 
the outside is outside their view.

#472 Le Prisonnier

It's probably something I
learnt from — copied from? —
Magritte, the giving of titles
that bear no relation to the
item in question, whether it
be poem or painting. Here 
he lines up abstract shapes, 
inserts a table — not of con-
tents but rather something 
you'd find in a hallway — & 
parks them in front of a barely-
discernable background that
would later be developed
across the years into what
would come to be described 
as a typical Magritte land-
scape, then titles the painting
with a name that apparently
has no resemblance to what is
going on within its confines. 
Ernst describes it as a collage 
painted by hand. I'd agree: 
but also see in it a statement 
of future intent — never be im-
prisoned by the fear of change.