Fascinating stuff. And there was the change in reading in the West just before printing. There is a mini thesis by Ivan Illich about early 12thC Hugh of St Victor; 'In the Vineyard of the Text' available online. 'We' did not know 'silent reading'; it had to be re-invented. Illich wonders if we are reaching the end of the 'bookish era' that followed. I am impressed by the survival of icons (I guess we use the term a bit loosely these days). I worked in what is now N Macedonia at the end of the 90s and was impressed by the continuing role of icons, whose design and painting had come very late because of the isolation and peaked at the end of 18th and beginning of 19thC. Wood block you show to be well suited for this representation and to my mind has a durable future!
I wonder if Illich would have been fond of audiobooks! Likewise Phillip, I do hope there will be a renewed interest in the making of icons over here in the West. I think we have a lot of catching up to do especially in Britain since Henry the VIII white washing of walls. I think the woodblock may be a good way for people to have original artworks in their house, and it suits the Saints lives. I am not too fond of the cheap reproductions of icons that are mass produced, they lack the panache of the handmade. Cheap is not always best.
Illich delared himself 'irremediably bookish' and I guess I am the same. I read, I make notes and still buy 2nd hand books, and think about handing them on. He just noted, like George Steiner, an inflection point in history, a different era. I feel sad at times for the loss of communal spaces for reading, and the ready access to otherwise unaffordable texts.
I guess there are authentic religious icons retained as family heirlooms, but when I met icons in N. Macedonia they were heirlooms in collective space, more in old churches which were places of pilgrimage. I can imagine your high value prints on the walls of collective spaces, available for reference. Just a thought: to my mind it does not have to be only Christian spaces, but following Paul Kingsnorth's lead, we have some serious names in this part of the world, Mungo, St Serf and his Robin, and the mysterious St Ninian.
I think it was Socrates or Aristotle who made the claim of something along the lines of reading is terrible as we no longer take the time to remember to stories and are able to speak them orally. I think the big concern for story telling is if parents stop reading to their children.
It is important for both I feel, as the home is communal space for the family and friends that visit. Art is investment of sorts and a mutual support. There are some exciting saints in the line up for Paul's series, the next one I am working on currently is great!
Fascinating stuff. And there was the change in reading in the West just before printing. There is a mini thesis by Ivan Illich about early 12thC Hugh of St Victor; 'In the Vineyard of the Text' available online. 'We' did not know 'silent reading'; it had to be re-invented. Illich wonders if we are reaching the end of the 'bookish era' that followed. I am impressed by the survival of icons (I guess we use the term a bit loosely these days). I worked in what is now N Macedonia at the end of the 90s and was impressed by the continuing role of icons, whose design and painting had come very late because of the isolation and peaked at the end of 18th and beginning of 19thC. Wood block you show to be well suited for this representation and to my mind has a durable future!
I wonder if Illich would have been fond of audiobooks! Likewise Phillip, I do hope there will be a renewed interest in the making of icons over here in the West. I think we have a lot of catching up to do especially in Britain since Henry the VIII white washing of walls. I think the woodblock may be a good way for people to have original artworks in their house, and it suits the Saints lives. I am not too fond of the cheap reproductions of icons that are mass produced, they lack the panache of the handmade. Cheap is not always best.
Illich delared himself 'irremediably bookish' and I guess I am the same. I read, I make notes and still buy 2nd hand books, and think about handing them on. He just noted, like George Steiner, an inflection point in history, a different era. I feel sad at times for the loss of communal spaces for reading, and the ready access to otherwise unaffordable texts.
I guess there are authentic religious icons retained as family heirlooms, but when I met icons in N. Macedonia they were heirlooms in collective space, more in old churches which were places of pilgrimage. I can imagine your high value prints on the walls of collective spaces, available for reference. Just a thought: to my mind it does not have to be only Christian spaces, but following Paul Kingsnorth's lead, we have some serious names in this part of the world, Mungo, St Serf and his Robin, and the mysterious St Ninian.
I think it was Socrates or Aristotle who made the claim of something along the lines of reading is terrible as we no longer take the time to remember to stories and are able to speak them orally. I think the big concern for story telling is if parents stop reading to their children.
It is important for both I feel, as the home is communal space for the family and friends that visit. Art is investment of sorts and a mutual support. There are some exciting saints in the line up for Paul's series, the next one I am working on currently is great!