The man whose name is lost

I'm on a mission: to reassure the spirit of the man whose name is lost that even though we don't know what to call him, he is not forgotten.

His label reads 'Limestone stelophorous statue of a man whose name is lost, 18th Dynasty, about 1400 BC, Provenance unknown'.

I came across him while wandering (i.e. lost) in the British Museum, and I would probably struggle to find him again, but that doesn't matter. Nameless man, consider yourself remembered.

Great Minds and Exploding Heads

 

A happy World Philosophy Day was had by all at the Edinburgh Bookshop last week. And in amongst the serious discussions of philosophy there was also an experiment to see if jumping high can make your head explode. Research is ongoing...

Grayson Perry and an invitation

 This week I visited the Grayson Perry exhibition in Edinburgh and fell in love with a ship.

It's Perry's 2011 The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman and in the label he writes:

'It is a monument to all the anonymous craftsmen and craftswomen who have made all the wonders of civilisations all around the world... This cast-iron coffin in the form of a ship is encrusted with casts of objects from all over the world that are part of the British Museum's collection. The bottles hanging from the ship are filled with liquid, which represents the blood, sweat and tears of the men and women who made all these artefacts... Whenever we visit a museum, we make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the unknown craftsman.' 

That was a highlight of last week, and next week's highlight will be, naturally, the launch of Great Minds: 2500 Years of Thinkers and Philosophy* at the Edinburgh Bookshop on Thursday 16 November from 6:00-7:00. Free tickets are available here. Hope to see you there!

*Not such a non sequitur as you might think - Grayson Perry gets a mention on page 53 of Great Minds!  

Great Minds Book Launch

 

It's World Philosophy Day on the 16th November and if you're in range, come celebrate that and the launch of Great Minds - 2500 Years of Thinkers and Philosophy with Joan Haig and Joan Lennon at the Edinburgh Bookshop 6-7 pm. (Visit www.edinburghbookshop.com/events to book your place - we hope to see you there!)