I found this oblong white moth while walking on Hampstead Heath Extension a little more than a week ago. I'm not familiar with it and I can't seem to readily identify it online.
It's a mystery -- admittedly a rather plain one. I think its elongated shape caught my eye more than anything else. Anybody know what it is?
I returned to the Tate Britain yesterday to see the Ithell Colquhoun exhibit, a sort of companion to the Edward Burra show I saw a few days ago. I didn't enjoy Colquhoun's art as much. She was an occultist and experimented with methods of painting that were supposed to channel the subconscious or universal rhythms or whatever -- some of them seemed frankly gimmicky to me. What she often wound up with were compositions akin to Rorschach blots. Even her earlier, more representative works of flowers or mythological scenes were weirdly fleshy and unappealing, I thought.
Here's one little work I did like, "Diagrams of Love: Marriage of Eyes" from 1940-42.
From the museum I walked up to Westminster and caught the tube back home again.
Not much else of note happened yesterday. I spent the morning reading Guy Trebay's memoir of life in New York in the '70s, "Do Something." I'm enjoying his stories about life in a world of artsy decrepitude during the years of "Ford to City: Drop Dead." In one sentence I read yesterday he used a word I don't recall ever seeing before: "Mostly these are places that, like the city itself, are slumping toward desuetude."
From Oxford Languages: (Desuetude: noun (formal), a state of disuse. "The docks fell into desuetude.")
Speaking of books, I enjoyed this article in The New York Times about a man who habitually kept a list of all the books he'd read over the years -- almost 3,600 of them. When I was young I kept book lists of my own, usually in the back of my paper journals, and in 2003 or so I started keeping one on my computer. It's up to about 830 books now. I occasionally consult it if I can't remember an author or title or (rarely) if I'm not sure I've already read a certain book. In one of my lamest blog posts, in 2008, I published the whole thing. (It was much shorter then.) It's kind of a silly habit but it's interesting to look back and see how many of those books I do or don't remember.
Dave and I are off on an adventure today -- a very brief one. We both need a change of scenery and thought it would be nice to get away. So I'll be coming to you tomorrow from somewhere other than London! Stay tuned!
It's interesting how strong the surrealist movement was and how she als has a little Miro influence in there.
ReplyDeleteI think book lists are a good idea
My 'Book of Books Read' started in about 1972 or 3 a year or so after I started working as a library assistant. The girls I was working with were all older than me and had worked in the library for several years and all had these A-Z books of books they had read - so of course I had to start one too. It's now very tatty with pages taped in and lots of tape holding the cover together.
ReplyDeleteI would be lost without it but It would take me a day to count how many books I've read in the last 50 years but it must be many thousands!
PS. Think your moth might be a Common Footman. My book says it feeds on thistle flowers.
DeleteI think you have a Buff Footman moth, found across Southern England...generally on chalk Downland, so not too far off on Hampstead Heath
ReplyDeleteWell now I'm wondering how many books I've read in my lifetime and there's no way to find out.
ReplyDeleteI have a small a-z book and list all my recent read books by authors, it's small enough to fit into a bag, I carry it with me everywhere.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? Listing books you have read? Why would anyone do that? Creeps me out.
ReplyDelete"Desuetude". Thanks for bringing that one to my attention; and making me laugh - for reasons I'll keep to myself.
Hope your adventure will live up to expectation; even better, exceed it.
U
I don't think that making a list of the books you have read is at all silly. Each book represents hours of your life and each one will have given you something different or just plain annoyance in the case of a few books. Somewhere different tomorrow? I am thinking Slough or Swindon, Stevenage or Solihull.
ReplyDeleteThe Scottish Highlands are nice at this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteI use a Kindle now to read books, and it warns me that I've already downloaded a book if I try to download it again. Yes, it's happened a couple of times. I kind of wish I'd kept a book list. I did keep a film list for many years. I wish I'd kept that up.
I think your moth is a Common footman - huge eyes! I wish I'd listed the books I've read, but I was too disorganised/busy for that, and there's no point starting now!
ReplyDeleteNo clue on the moth. Colquhoun never did anything for me personally. I find her work turns me off. Desuetude is a new word for me, one which I will quickly forget. Can’t wait to read about your adventure.
ReplyDeleteDesuetude is a word I understand but can't say. I think keeping lists of books may be like keeping a written journal. If you like it you do it. If you can't fathom why people do it, you don't. I'm in the second group. I think it's makers vs. curators.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to finding out where you and Dave are going. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I have gotten the same book twice only to realize it part way in that I've already read it. I wish I had kept some sort of list but at this point, it is too late to start one. I have always written my name on the first page of every book I've read since sometime in my 20's so if my name becomes collectible someday, there is a lot of books out there with it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for expanding my vocabulary. I love learning new words and expressions, although I can't see that I will be able to drop that one into conversation any time soon.
ReplyDeleteThat "Diagrams of Love: Marriage of Eyes"is, um, interesting.
ReplyDeleteSafe, fun travels.
I mostly use Goodreads to keep track of books I've read, but every now & then I'll pick one up & realize that I've read it before but it was so long ago that I don't have a record of it. In any case, I probably wouldn't remember half of it so why not read it again? Ha!
ReplyDeleteMy library keeps a history on my account of books that I have checked out. I haven't figured out how to sort it, though. I would like to be able to sort by author but it is just organized by check out date. I will forget if I have already read a book and want to use it to check for that but then I have to scan and scan and scan down the whole list. There must be an easier way.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful getaway!!
I think Hank may keep a list of books he's read. And that list, if it exists, would stretch from here to London.
ReplyDeleteMan, I hope you and Dave have a great time. You need and deserve that.
I sort of have a list just not one list but the many I have published on my blog usually every three months the books I read during that time with a little synopsis and sometimes what I thought about it. Lately though my quarterly book reports aren't so regular. I suppose I could go back and make one comprehensive list using a keyword search but it would only include those books I've read since I starting doing the reports.
ReplyDeleteA mystery outing!
I can't wait to see where you are off to this time. Hopefully it's someplace the opposite of desuetude. (I don't recall seeing that word before either.). I don't know the name of that skinny moth. It's an interesting find.
ReplyDeleteAfter visiting the Tate Britain I tend to walk up to Westminster too. It's a pretty walk along the river.
Once in a while I kept a book list. I wish I'd continued with book lists.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen an elongated solid white moth. It is very distinctive with large eyes. The only white moths I see are gathered around an outside light at night and they are much smaller in comparison and more oval.
ReplyDeleteI love the art in your photo. The symmetry, colors, simple lines and title are outstanding.
Enjoy your adventure. It sounds like just the ticket.
I have no idea of how many books I've read, and even more importantly, how many books I started reading, only to quit part way through:)
ReplyDeleteHope you guys have a great adventure! Looking forward to the photos.
Have a good time! That temp=hottest ever.
ReplyDeleteThat's a new one on me, too! I don't like what you shared of her work nearly so much as I liked Burra's (but then, I tend to be a bit more of a realist art-wise.) I keep a book list and have since late 1990s or early 2000s. (I used to do it as a kid/teen and wish I still had that list!) It's amazing how often I refer to it!
ReplyDelete