Dreaming of Freedom

Mike and I walked along the waterlogged path to the FitzWilliam - I just can’t get enough of the place. I can get enough of this rain though. It’s been raining for about a week now and today the river was high and muddy. Parts of the river bank near the boat houses were flooded which added a touch of excitement to the walk. We got to the Fitz in time to hear Edward Furse and Craig White playing the cello and piano. They played some wonderful music by Dvorak and Chopin which made for divine listening. There is nothing as nice as to stand in Gallery 3 on a Sunday afternoon listening to the music and imagining the people in the portraits hearing it and what thoughts and feelings it would stir in them. Afterwards Mike and I sat on a bench discussing the problems of mass manipulation if in the hands of the mass media and the giant corporations - we felt like teenagers again - knowing all the answers!

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This morning I cycled into the centre past the rowers on the river. It’s the most energising thing to see people enthusiastically trying to bump each other while their supporters on the banks yell advice. Despite the wet changeable weather the rowers stoically rowed all day and where still at it when I got back. I went to the FitzWilliam to see the Sargent, Sickert & Spencer exhibition. It was extremely interesting as I had no idea at the range of work Sargent did, having only really known about Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose and Study of a Sicilian Peasant – both of which I am convinced are two of the best paintings I have ever seen. Not being a particular fan of Sickert or Spencer I wandered into the room behind and discovered some great sculptures. There was a nice Madonna and Child by William Reid Dick and some little pieces by Henry Moore but my absolute favourite was the Prodigal Son by Austin Wright. Wright has captured something so well and with so much expression that’s it’s quite unbelievable. You find yourself scrutinizing the piece trying to work out just why you get this overwhelming sense of the story and yet you just can’t see any facial expressions at all. It’s as if he has worked some magic and somehow you see through the rough metal all the shame; the guilt; the plea for forgiveness; the reassuring forgiveness given; the age old need for blessings to be bestowed and received and the strength of the father. So much is captured in the tiny piece in the same way a poem captures something and holds it still so we can examine it.

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K and I are in London and have just been to the V&A to see the Decode: Digital Design Sensations exhibtion. I was very impressed by the stuff on display and had great fun throwing my arms about which most of the exhibts seemed to demand. Despite it being digital art it had a gentle calmness that left you feeling invigorated rather than drained. Either I am becoming more tolerant to machines or they are becoming easier to be around. Also contrary to expectations there was a very natural feel to the digital art - outside there was a huge portrait of flowers continually growing by Daniel Brown and to enter the exhibition you had to walk through Dune - some fablous electronic reeds that lit up magically when they sensed you by Daan Roosegaarde. Inside the dark depths of the exhibition there was a lovely tree by Simon Heijdens that moved in response to the wind outside the V&A.

I really liked everything but lingered in front of the mirror that created a ghostly photo of the person in front of it and the blank canvas that allowed you to splatter digital paint on it by moving your arms around. There was also a radiohead video by Aaron Koblin that caused a few people to stop and ask if that was what their kids were listening to. K’s favourite was the weave mirror by Daniel Rozin. The peice had a lovely sound attached to it and really reminded me of the birds at the ex-abattoir in Madrid although I’m not sure why apart from the gentle feeling you got from it.

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I cycled along the tow path into Cambridge just for fun today and it’s so much nicer when you’re not on your way to work. I went to the FitzWilliam to go to the lunchtime concert. Today Samuel Queen was singing and Stephen Rose was playing the piano. Queen has a wonderful voice that stirs you up inside and lifts that part inside your chest that only music can get to - the audience sat transfixed by the sheer beauty of the singing. Afterwards I just wandered around the medieval/early modern art part of the museum until the religious aspect got too much for me and then I ventured out into the rain which is always a bit of a dampener to come out into. This afternoon I’ve been enjoying the luxury of doing nothing - in preparation for the next week’s work.

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I braved the wind and the rain yesterday to go to the lovely warm colourful FitzWilliam with Jolien and Nils. We wandered around for an hour or so in the delicious atmosphere chatting to other visitors about the paintings and appreciating every minute of the place. After a quick drink in The Anchor we went to King’s College chapel to listen to the sublime music at Evensong. We sat out in the ante-chapel and had a most particular experience there in the slightly chilly church. Sitting on the wrong side of the rood screen we were taken hundreds of years back to a time when the laity sat away from the grace of the alter. Through the archway we could see the flickering lights and the lucky people who got to be closer to God. We could hear the signing perfectly but the voices weren’t half as clear and we heard the odd word but out there in the cold you could imagine how it must have been for the medieval laity unable to have a direct relationship with God. It really struck me how revolutionary it would have been when the Protestants started to change that. It’s a really interesting experience and well worth a visit. Evensong happens most nights from 5.30 and you can enter the chapel from 5.15. It’s free and open to everyone.

Today in the bright glare of the sun we cycled to Grantchester to visit Chris’s little cottage and have lunch at The Rupert Brooke - where the food is pretty good but the seating policy a little odd. We cycled back in the dusk to the CB1 cafe where we drank delicious lattes and warmed up.

Tomorrow there is a talk at 7.30pm in the Kennedy Room in the The Cambridge Union by Ariane Sherine talking about The Atheist Bus Campaign and The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas. It’s organized by Cambridge University Atheist and Agnostic Society but non-members are welcome although they may be asked to pay a couple of pounds entrance fee. For anyone planning to attended a few events - life membership to the group is only £10.

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I arrived back in Sweden yesterday morning and Keyvan and I wandered straight up to the library to check out the art by Pushwagner on display there. After a rest, some soup and a nice cup of a tea in the art museum cafe we had a look round the photos and the latest exhibition (It’s a wonderful world) in the adjoining Konsthallen. After which we walked down through the grey streets to Haga where I met up with Cheri and we went off to munch more soup in Cafe Kringlan. K and I are now back in Haga at our favourite Grappolino’s where we’re reading Erich Fromm - Beyond The Chains Of Illusion.

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The last few days have been full of art and music. I finally got Emi’s cd and have been listening to it all evening. Emi rocks. Check out her latest tracks on Fairtilizer. I spent some time looking at Paul Neale’s pictures - you’d never know from his troubled paintings he was an amazing wit.
Then to add a bit of joy to my own life I went out and brought a guitar. A week of practicing on Tim’s left handed one probably did me no end of good but I felt it was time to splash out. The tips of my fingers are numb and this makes typing a real problem so I’m hoping the sacrifice of my nerve endings is worth it in the end.

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The weekend passed under grey skies but no rain. Friday I spent with Jolien, Vassessa and Nicole in the Fort St George. On Saturday I convinced Jolien to come to the FitzWilliam with me and we managed to go on a free tour of the Darwin exhibition. On Sunday my neighbour, Jolien and I all went to Jesus College to look at the sculpture and the church before winding up in the Copper Kettle for a drink. Then it was back to work yesterday with aching fingertips because I decided to take up playing the guitar on Sunday night. Tim’s guitar is left handed so I’m learning it all the wrong way round but I can almost play a couple of notes although moving between the notes quickly and gracefully is really hard. Today the sun is shinning and after work I’m off to the Peace Cafe’s book club to discuss John Berger From A to X and then to the Free Press to meet up with the humanists.

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I was in the Archelology and Anthropology museum the other day and say some fabulous art work tucked away in a corner upstairs. There were some Ceramic Cast Hugs by Bonnie Kemske and a sound and movement device entitled Vox Theremin by Micheal Markert. Worth popping in to have a look at the art and the museum in general. It’s open Tuesday - Saturday 10:30am - 4:30pm and admission is free.

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I went to hear Chris Sarjeant and Benedict Taylor at the FitzWilliam on Sunday. The Sunday music concerts are really nice - nothing quite like sitting in an art gallery listening to gentle music. Sargeant and Taylor are folk musicians and some of their stuff was very sad and thoughtful but none the less great to listen to.

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