Silence is Golden?

Poussin equated his art with silence, taciturn images and silent things. I don’t know if it’s me but I’ve been struck by the near-silence that has greeted the outrageous attack on two of his paintings in one of the most prestigious galleries in the world. Actually, I don’t think it’s just me. Bob Duggan at Big Pink observed yesterday: “I’ve read as much as I could about the attack, but details remain scarce, especially about the attacker.” Of course there have been reactions from concerned bloggers like me and Art History News, and newspaper bloggers like Jonathan Jones who really went over the top in his reaction- maybe silence might have been golden here. Meanwhile today Art Watch comment, in a hard-hitting article on the Observer’s “almost exclusive coverage” of the event.

I’m a bit puzzled myself as to why more information isn’t forthcoming, especially about the perpetrator of the crime. Unfortunately nobody in the room understood French, so no clues as to the nature of his diatribe or motivation. The National Gallery itself has been very tight-lipped about the incident; they’ve only issued one terse press release –see previous post-, which borders on silence itself. They will have to speak soon, especially with the debate about security implications that is brewing. The NG clearly have reasons for playing down this attack; but in the age of the World Wide Web, information should be more readily available, not veiled in silence, especially when it concerns cultural treasures in public collections.

Comments

[H Niyazi]

There is likely to be legal follow up - in which case it would be best to not publish certain details of the case. The fellow who inflicted this damage will likely be assessed towards his psychological state. If he has a medical history pertinent to the investigation that will need to be factored in.

That artworks are objects of reverence that seem to get deferential treatment at the expense of other social issues are something that can spark exactly such an attack.

Only by better understanding the nature of the types of persons that can perpetrate these attacks can galleries better equip themselves to spot these individuals and deal with them appropriately.

H

[David Packwood]

Hi H, Thanks for the comment.

I know, I know, about the legal dimension.

I think it's also to do with Poussin himself. He's not that well known and JJ is right about his art being "off the beaten track", not that well-known.Perish the thought, but if it had been Turner or some other popular artist, it would have been all over the papers. We'll wait patiently for developments.

[Alberti's Window]

Hear, hear!