Not my finest hour

[alexsarll]

Oh dear. Came home from the park to change my jacket and brush my teeth prior to Poptimism, sat on the edge of my bed to empty out my pockets - and instantly fell asleep, in the process knocking over all manner of stuff. Whether we blame that on the jumbo bottle of pink plonk I had at the picnic, or how hard it was sleeping in last week's heat, that one has to go in the file marked FAIL.
On the plus side, after waking up at 1am and deciding against going down for the last half hour, I did manage to get back to sleep until, well, now. Which should mean I'm pretty well caught up.

Has anybody been to the orientalism exhibition at the Tate? I'm in two minds about going; I love the reproductions I've seen of some of the pictures, but factor in both the hideous lighting that place has at present (which I may have mentioned once or twice before), and my unease with the likely ideological framework*, as well as my general tendency to find single-theme or -artist exhibitions a little prone to diminishing returns...

For Salman Rushdie to demand the censorship of a book - defamatory or not, it just looks bad, doesn't it?

Hypothetical terror plot, inspired by the summer attire of Britain's less salubrious subjects, which I think is just outside the realms of possibility and too silly to use in a thriller, and so offer for consideration here: could someone disguise sufficient explosives as the crud under their toenails to do any damage? Possibly concealing the detonator separately in the guise of bellybutton fluff.

*"Orientalism is more than just a bad book. It is a bad book that legitimates bad politics. It is a great wedge of dishonesty that has begat a great mountain of ignorance. It is a treason of the clerks, an intellectual fraud that justifies bigotry and hatred."

Comments

[offensive-mango.livejournal.com]

I've seen the Orientalism exhibit and I thought it was absolutely wonderful. The ideological framework you think will be there is not really there as much as you think it will be, iyswim.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Well, that's a start, definitely. But what about the lighting? The last few times I've been in their permanent collection, everything above a certain height or size has been drowned in glare, and it's really hard to find a position where you can get a decent look - and in a big bustling special exhibition, I imagine it'd be even harder.

[offensive-mango.livejournal.com]

I didn't think about the lighting at the time, but I remember it being actually rather dark. The first room may have been fairly bright, but the later rooms definitely are subtly lit. There is one room in the middle that's in total darkness that chronicles the journeys of some rich Western folk to the "East," and I don't remember being overcome by the light when I went into the next room (which, as I recall, covers the subject of the harem, and does it really well).

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, this does sound good. Thank you for your assistance!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I went today and found that, so long as I didn't pay too much attention to the placards, it was rather good. The screen in the harem room is, as you say, very well done.

[ultraruby.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I'm glad you got home ok. I was a bit worried.

(I might also have written 'LOVE' on the back of your neck in marker pen. Sorry sorry sorry!)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

It's OK, so far as I can tell that one's pretty much gone, though my hands still bear faint traces of 'horribly pretentious'...