pete mcgovern

Photographers get a subject thrown in whenever they shack up with someone, and little did Georgia O'Keeffe suspect when posing for the earlier of these portraits that she would have had to endure sitting endlessly for Alfred Steiglitz from early on in their relationship and for many decades to come.  It's a wonder she ever got time to pick up a paint brush and arguably become more famous than him. There are a lot of interesting photographs of her on the web by other people throughout her life but the interest in those is largely for their snapshot value, and while many are super-interesting (such as her on a motorbike, and her in colour!) only Steiglitz actually knocked out the goods in terms of photographic art. Photographers that have made their partner their subject have two motives; the pleasure of being with and looking carefully at their loved one and combining that with the determination to make a picture worthy of both their love for them and also for the medium of

When I saw this house-plant in Wilko today the rhythms stopped me in my tracks and made me think of the painter Georgia O'Keeffe .  So another plant purchase then. 

I woke up with what I can only describe as excitement-hangover.  By evening I had just about recovered enough to actually unpack the painting by artist  Gill Gathercole .

3 seasons, 34 half-hour episodes, and this is the final shot, a slow zoom in on the two main characters, Gus Cruickshank and Mickey Dobbs, in Netflix series ' Love '.  In case anyone decides to watch I won't say what's happening but when Mickey starts laughing, it's sooooOoooo good, a little moment of perfection.

I'd recommend buying a painting. And if you get it delivered by post, you might get home late from work and find it's arrived unexpectedly a day early and there's a big, carefully wrapped box that's been left in your shed. And then you get really, really excited.

previously: inter-railing around Finland

I emailed Andres Serrano yesterday but it bounced, seems his mailbox is full. Probably of hate mail. His recurring question; how we can be frail flesh and yet remain divine beings before god? This morgue series; I have no doubt he was minded of the crucified Christ when he saw these hands. Those little marks of blood in particular, the limpid curl of the fingers. Serrano's photograph (with the recording power of a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera) shows exactly what dead penetrated flesh looks like. The real is framed for contemplation. And if your heart has not yet quite turned to stone then grief and tears for both this unknowable victim of violence and the slain Jesus, the man, the son of god, is perhaps not a unreasonable response. The playwright Bernard Shaw famously said he'd give up all the great paintings of Christ for just one snapshot.  I think this Serrano photograph may be as close as it gets.  And here endeth today's lecture.   

One of the 10 new things;  going to a Sunday morning church service at St Peter's.

The print copy of my hedge book arrived here today. First time I've seen it. (Thanks  Jess  for sorting the return after the judging.) Nice job by blurb.com

I'm half way through season two, eeking it out, a couple of half-hour episodes per evening to make the three season run last a fortnight. Last night, Gus arrived at Mickey's and while since the start they have been mis-matched and roller-coasterly on/off something meaningful seems to be starting to happen. She stands close to him as he comes in the door and out of the blue as they walk into the room talking about ordering food she does a random funny little happy dance move thing, something she's never done before. I'm guessing it wasn't improv but hard to imagine how it was laid down at the script-writing stage. Anyway, it's amazing  : D    In response Gus pulls her to him and kisses her - and for the first time for them both it's suddenly  the real thing .