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sparkyblizz · 10 months ago

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Sherlock Gnomes: The Movie About Gnome Johnlock (No, Really)

I really genuinely like this movie and its predecessor, Gnomeo and Juliet, and I call them cinematic masterpieces. While they may be silly movies, they're also charming, have a great soundtrack, and the sequel has a surprisingly impactful story, I feel. In regards to the title of this post, the plot of the film revolves around the dynamic of the two main partnerships—Juliet and Gnomeo, and Sherlock and Watson. Their relationships are even paralleled, as Juliet has become neglectful of her partner in the face of her newfound responsibilities, just as Sherlock has become neglectful of his partner in the face of his work. A very important part of this movie is both of these people (or rather, gnomes) must learn that they've made their partners feel underappreciated, and they must fix things and make amends. I'm not kidding.

This movie begins with the human characters, Mr Capulet and Miss Montague moving into their new house in London. the previous leaders of each garden, Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury name Gnomeo and Juliet the new leaders of this new garden. Juliet now takes on the responsibility of getting the garden ready. the conflict with our main couple is set up pretty early, when Gnomeo tries to obtain a Cupid's Arrow Orchid (the flower they both tried to get in the first movie, both put their hands on, and had their love at first sight moment over) and Juliet is mad at him. This is when this exchange occurs:

GNOMEO: Unbelievable! What do you care more about, the garden or me?

JULIET: Oh, you're being ridiculous!

GNOMEO: That is not an answer.

JULIET: The garden can't wait and you can!

Immediately after this, they discover that all the other gnomes have been kidnapped, and this is when they meet our other leads, Sherlock Gnomes and Dr Watson. Sherlock believes Moriarty, an ornamental mascot for a pie company, is responsible, even though Watson and Sherlock saw him get destroyed. Sherlock believe's he's lived, and the clues are his calling cards.

Throughout this movie, we see Sherlock belittle and disregard Watson, as well as being curt and dismissive to everyone. You also see that Sherlock's general lack of care or tact means that Watson has to clean up after him, apologising for him and being the more friendly of the two. This is especially exemplified when we are introduced to the Empress Dowager Pom-Pom, who Sherlock offended, and Watson sent a bouquet of orchids as an apology gift, but as he wasn't the one that offended her, they are not forgiven.

During their investigation, our two pairs split up, Gnomeo siding with Watson, who wants to go investigate the museum, while Sherlock wants to go meditate at the modern art gallery so he can crack the latest clue, and Juliet agrees with him. Gnomeo runs off, upset with Juliet, and when Sherlock shows no care, Watson lets out a wistful sigh, saying, "Sherlock Gnomes," and assures Juliet that he will go after Gnomeo, which leads to this exchange between the two at the museum:

WATSON: Look, I know you're angry.

GNOMEO: How would you feel? It's like she doesn't even care about me!

WATSON: A partner who takes you for granted. Can't think of what that's like.

GNOMEO: I don't know how you put up with that gnome.

WATSON: If we had six months, I'd list all his faults. But despite them, he is a brilliant detective. We all have our good and bad sides. Sherlock, Miss Juliet... me.

GNOMEO: D'you know what, mate? You're right. I shouldn't have left her. I need to go back. I need to make this right.

This is obviously a very good example of the parallels between the two relationship conflicts and shows us how Watson feels underappreciated, just like Gnomeo. In the next scene, Gnomeo is kidnapped by one of the gargoyles that kidnapped the others, and Watson falls from a great height, and you hear a smashing noise. Juliet lets out a cry, and this is the first scene you see Sherlock show emotion. His eyes widen, he looks horrified and saddened. He whispers "Watson" in disbelief. Crucially, Juliet is behind him, and cannot see his face. She is crying, and for the first time, he shows a gentleness, softly urging her to keep going with him. I think this is especially important because this is the first time we've seen him show care towards anyone, and we see he truly cares about his partner.

In the next scene, Sherlock is trying to keep up his composure, not acknowledging the events that have just happened, instead focusing on the case, which leads to this interaction:

JULIET: Gnomeo got taken. He is gone! And Watson just got smashed. Why aren't you sad or angry?

Once again, she is stood behind Sherlock, unable to see his face, as we can see he's struggling to keep face, his expressions wavering.

SHERLOCK: Sadness and anger will not help me save one single gnome. Emotion is the enemy of logic.

JULIET: That is not an answer.

SHERLOCK: The case can't wait. You can.

This is a parallel to the earlier argument between Juliet and Gnomeo, where she has her words parroted back to her, and realises how in the wrong she was. She leaves, and we once again see Sherlock look saddened. He's clearly a man that hides his emotions and doesn't want to be seen as vulnerable.

I did want to note that part of the ballad I Need You to Turn To by Elton John plays over a scene of Sherlock and Juliet in the gallery, each ruminating on their sadness, in which the lyrics heard are:

And I wonder sometimes and I know I'm unkind, but I need you to turn to when I act so blind

And I need you to turn to when I lose control

You're my guardian angel that keeps out the cold

Which I think is fitting lyric choice for two people who lost their partners in different ways, struggling to cope with it, knowing that they've not treated them the way they should.

Another thing that makes this movie great to me is Irene, Sherlock's ex-fiancee, who is voiced by MARY J. BLIGE. She is mad at Sherlock for ending their engagement in a letter. She is a doll, and she sings Stronger Than I Ever Was, a Mary J. Blige song, to Sherlock and Juliet, and this song is a banger. I was obsessed with it, and when I was binge reading a fanfiction series over 2-3 days, I listened to this song on repeat. (Said fanfiction series is called Phantoms and Mirages, a series on AO3 that is about Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies and is a Simon Blackquill/Bobby Fulbright fic series. This will mean nothing to you if you're not an AA fan, but this movie and this pairing are inextricably linked for me, as it was looking this movie up on tumblr that led me to this fanfiction. But I digress.) Irene throws Sherlock and Juliet out, and Juliet storms back into the doll museum that Irene is the boss of. Irene proceeds to sling passive-aggressive insults at the gnome, thinking that she's Sherlock's new girlfriend, which leads to this exchange:

JULIET: Sherlock didn't "choose" me.

IRENE: And he never will. With Sherlock, work always comes first. There's always another case to crack, another mystery to solve, another backyard of gnomes to rescue.

This shows that there's precedent to Sherlock's neglect of the people he's close to. I also want to add this interaction, after Juliet talks about how wonderful and caring Gnomeo is:

IRENE: A man doesn't make you strong.

JULIET: You're right, a man doesn't make you strong. But the right partner can make you stronger. But I've let mine down, and now I need to make it right.

This convinces Irene, who hands over the clue that Sherlock and Juliet came for, and she requests that Juliet come back to tell her about saving the day, cementing their newfound friendship. Love these ladies, queens, I tell you! I also want to note that there is a poem on the final clue (the clues are cards with an M on them, for reference): "You already know it's all about you. What is the pattern in the final clue?"

Another great thing to note is that the final clue leads them to Traitor's Gate, which Sherlock says is where he and Watson solved their first case. This is amazingly poetic, as once they enter Traitor's Gate, they discover Watson, who survived.

SHERLOCK: Show youurself, Moriarty!

WATSON: No, Sherlock. Not Moriarty.

JULIET: Watson?

SHERLOCK: But... that's impossible.

WATSON: Not impossible. Merely improbable. [Here he holds up the calling card with an M on it, and turns it upside down.] It wasn't an M. It was a W, for Watson. But I knew you'd miss that, because it had to do with me.

Watson revealed that he did not intend to hurt the gnomes, and apologises to Juliet, saying it was only to challenge his partner. He enlisted the help of his friends from Traitor's Gate, the gargoyles, for his plan.

WATSON: Miss Juliet, I am sorry I had to involve your garden. But this was the only way to get through to Sherlock.

SHERLOCK: You did all this? But why?

WATSON: Because we used to be a team. Sherlock and Watson, friends, partners in crime-solving. But over time, you stopped respecting me. The only ornament you respected was Moriarty. There was only one way I could prove myself to you: I had to pretend to be Moriarty. I orchestrated this game. I challenged you to a battle of wits.

SHERLOCK: And you won. You beat me.

WATSON: That's all I wanted to hear. And now you and I are finished. Maybe you'll treat your next partner a little better.

The gargoyles turn on Watson, imprisoning him, Sherlock, and Juliet on a boat, and it is revealed that Moriarty really is alive and sent the gargoyles to deceive Watson. He took the gnomes and plans to have them smashed by way of the counterweights of a bridge crushing them as the bridge moves to make way for the boat Sherlock, Watson, and Juliet are trapped on.

MORIARTY: In that moment I saw how I could finally bring you down, Sherlock. I saw how you treated Watson. Poor old miserabubble Watson. He looked so sad. So I thought, I'll use that. I sent the gargoyles to you, Watson, and they let you think you were in charge. As if! You know what your problem is, Watson? You're too nice, too trusting.

I think it's ingenious that Moriarty saw the failings of his nemesis and the mistreatment of his partner and orchestrated this plan to take advantage of it. Poetic. This leads to this next exchange:

SHERLOCK: So, Watson, on a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think this is going?

WATSON: I never meant for any gnome to get hurt. You know that.

JULIET: Hey, knock it off, both of you. Watson screwed up, but you did, too.

SHERLOCK: What did I do?

JULIET: The same thing I did. We took our best friends for granted, we stopped listening. They were the last thing we were thinking about and they should've been the first. [She leaves.]

SHERLOCK: I suppose somewhere within that haystack of emotional twaddle there may lie a thin needle of truth.

WATSON: One last case.

SHERLOCK: One last case.

Juliet's speech to me is one of my favourite things about this movie, and how even though Sherlock is still putting on his facade and not being vulnerable or showing his emotions, he manages to somewhat acknowledge her point.

Juliet and Gnomeo are reunited, and as they go to deal with the gargoyles, we get this next interaction that's important to me.

SHERLOCK: I'll draw his fire, you rescue the gnomes.

WATSON: You trust me to save the gnomes?

SHERLOCK: Well, of course. You're Watson.

Previously, Sherlock has saddled Watson with the dirtier work, even using him as a punching bag to practice his fighting moves on (albeit Watson was wearing padding). Now, this shows growth, in him acknowledging Watson's worth, and showing him respect again.

Moriarty next threatens to throw his hat at the drone Watson, Juliet, and Gnomeo are on, and Sherlock, next to him, knocks into him to stop him, but the hat still knocks into the drone, causing it to fall out of the air. Moriarty then steps on Sherlock's leg, injuring him, and goes to finish the job. Moriarty knocks Watson off the bridge, and as he holds on with one hand, Moriarty steps on his fingers, trying to get him to let go. Sherlock tries to come to his aid, albeit being unable to walk, begging Moriarty not to hurt Watson. He throws himself at Moriarty, knocking them both off the bridge as Watson cries out his name, and uses his cane, which has a grappling hook function, to catch his partner as Moriarty falls into the river below.

WATSON: You'd give your life for me?

SHERLOCK: Of course.

WATSON: Because you're the sworn protector of London's garden gnomes.

SHERLOCK: No. Because we are the sworn protectors of London's garden gnomes. Watson and Sherlock, partners and friends. And I promise to treat my partner a lot better. That is, of course, if you'll have me back. [He holds out his hand.]

WATSON: Watson and Sherlock. I rather like the sound of that. [He takes Sherlock's hand.]

I love the noble self-sacrifice or attempted self-sacrifice as a trope, it often makes me emotional, and I love this reconciliation. Sherlock pledges to treat Watson better, if Watson will give him a second chance, and he will. After this, Watson and Sherlock and Gnomeo and Juliet are paralleled, Gnomeo and Juliet standing hand in hand, and Sherlock with one hand on Watson's shoulder and the other on Watson's cane, for support for his injured leg.

The last scene of the movie is in the garden in spring, as Lady Bluebury and Lord Redbrick proclaim Gnomeo and Juliet the new leaders of the garden. Irene shows up, slaying, makes a minor passive-aggressive comment to Sherlock while greeting Watson happily, and Sherlock acknowledges that he deserves that. Sherlock and Watson say that Juliet and Gnomeo have a 0% chance of breaking up, and as they turn to leave, Sherlock puts an arm around Watson for support once more, and Watson puts his arm around Sherlock once more, and they walk off together as the movie fades to black.

This was mostly a plot summary, or rather, a character arc summary, but I just think the movie speaks for itself, and that it's genuinely amazing that the relationship between these two incarnations of famous characters is compared with the relationship of the romantic leads, and that they both have the same lesson to learn. To me, even though it is canonically platonic and can obviously be read as platonic and still be just as powerful, I feel like you can also analyse this through a romantic lens, which is one of the things I love about this movie. But ultimately, the story of this movie and of Juliet and Sherlock having to learn the error of their ways and to respect and appreciate their partners is just wonderful to me.

#sparkyblizz speaks #random rants #sherlock gnomes #long post #long as hell post #aa5 spoilers #dual destinies spoilers #the title of the fic series mentioned might spoil someone for the game so jic

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thesearenotphotographs · 2 months ago

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Pom Pom Squad Street Fighter Tournament at Barcade

Full gallery can be found on my website

On Monday, October 21st, Pom Pom Squad held a record release party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a unique twist: participants could sign up to fight each other in the game “Street Fighter” with two winners heading home with prizes. Why the arcade game Street Fighter? A song from the forthcoming album, Mirror Starts Moving Without Me shares the same title and is naturally about fighting.

The event kicked off at 6PM at the now two decade old original location of Barcade on Union Avenue. Mirror Starts Moving Without Me played in the bar while people took turns beating each other up via the game until two winners were declared and received vinyl copies of the new album (which comes out via City Slang Records tomorrow), and all other attendees received Pom Pom Squad stickers and could enter to win tickets to the forthcoming sold out record release show at Mercury Lounge on the album release day.

I attended the party on Monday night and images from the fun event can be found this gallery on my website. If you’re in NYC and missed out on tickets to the PPS concert on October 25th, the band will also be playing Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 4, 2025.

#Pom Pom Squad #Barcade #tournament #Street Fighter #video games #arcade #Mia Berrin #McKinley Dixon

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alollinglaughingcat · 2 years ago

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i have so many kittens rn its silly so i made a gallery of some (some!) of my cats' ages XD

Frito is a bottlefed kitten I just picked up today, alongside their three siblings, Cheeto, Dorito, and Lay. They're 3 weeks old

Maya is a stray kitten my mom found outside three days ago, and she's a bit older than a month old, around 5-6 weeks old

Checkers is my long-term foster kitten, whom I've had since she was 2 months old, and she's now 8 months old about. I also fostered her sister, California, for a month. Checkers had a bad reaction to fluids (or the needle was contaminated) that caused her skin to split open, and she's got a few months left of healing to go!

Mac n Cheese is my wobbly syndrome cat, whom I've had since she was 6 weeks old and I swore was still under a year but she's actually a month over at 1 year, 1 month! :O time flies!!! my baby's so fat now!

Gizmo, not pictured, is another cat I have, who's about 2 years and a half now. Very smart and knows sit, high five, and spin! :) My mom also found him as a stray, same age as Maya, and he gave all my cats (and me) ringworm lmao

Princington and Battle Axel were two cats I also had who are now deceased and they were the same age, only about a week apart, and would both be 3 and a half years by now (Prince died at 1 year, Axel at ~2)

Tweetie aka Sweetie aka Angel is a cat I've had since childhood, so I can't remember her exact age. She was born on my grandma's farm, and we took her and Tommy aka Mustard (now deceased) when they were weaned off their mom, so about the 5-6 week mark

Sheldon is another cat I have, big fatto, and my mom fostered him since he was a bottle baby and kept him because he had anger issues and she feared no one would take him and he'd get euth'ed. He's about 9-11 years, I'm not sure of when he came into the picture even though I remember him as a kitten

Shadow is our old boy, somewhere in the 14-16 year old range. His ears are all fucked cause he got something like a hematoma in them and blood burst. He's a good boy but hell at the vet, so since the ears aren't lethal/painful, we didn't do much past give him meds for infection and clean his ears. He has a sister named Macaroni who is very chill and does not look as old as Shadow does lol

Also had a cat named Princess and another named Misty before them, but only faded memories :)

I had hamsters (Digger, Gumball) and guinea pigs (Marvin, Sweetflower) previously as well, had a rabbit (Cookie Dough aka NumNum) briefly, and currently have one some-months old hamster named Buster who loves biting people, and two gerbils, Gemini aged 1 year and Mama Virgo a few months older. Gemini had a sister named Libra that previously mentioned California ate. My mom also has ducks, chickens, and guineas

and not to mention our dogs! Shaggy is like a 4 months old sheep-a-doodle, then Adrian the mini pom is like 10 years old, Rocky the Shih Tzu is 12-14 years old, and Sonny the mutt is pushing 19 years old! We previously had a pom named Destiny who died at like 15 and PP aka Penelope the German Shephard mix who died young at 10 years old because of arthritis/other conditions

its going to be so strange going from so many animals to 2-3 cats, 3 critters when i move for college lol

#random #cats #kittens #kitties #foster kittens #wobbly cat syndrome #old cats #cat ages

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the-astral-express-archive · 2 months ago

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Honkai: Star Rail | Pom-Pom Gallery Stickers: Annals of Pinecany's Mappou Age (2/2)

#Honkai Star Rail #Character Artworks #Pom-Pom Gallery #Stickers #PNGs #Caelus #Robin #Stelle #Mr Reca #Boothill #Dan Heng #Slumbernana Monkey

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itzpris15634 · 6 months ago

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I want to eat Vinnie Oh oh another question if you don't mind about your human au. This one is about relationships, just in general. I'm not sure how to phrase it exactly but basically what social circles exist in your human au - who knows who and who is maybe friends with who? Likeeee for example I'm assuming Zoe's circle is the rest of the humanized pets, Madam Pom, Gail (ig, I mean she is her sister so idk if that counts), Blythe (+ maybe her friends?), another guess is maybe Digby (🤤) or perhaps other guys he dated like Philippe (y'know, the dog mime?). Just kinda a question about who each of them know and are close/r to. It doesn't have to involve only the main characters if you have any circles like that, like maybe there are some side characters who have their own circles that don't involve any of them directly or at all likeeeee idk perhaps Bazil, Mitzi and Scout are all close friends (those are literally just the first names that came to my mind).

Long story short, who mingles with whom?

Vinnie yum yum *nom*

Okay so there’s the obvious Main 7, and then Blythe’s friend group (Sue, Jasper, Youngmee)

I’ll start by elaborating on what you mentioned with Zoe.

Indeed, other than the Main 7, she frequently talks to Madame Pom. Though since Pomela is almost always traveling its usually only by phone/video call. But if Zoe has time she’ll go to Paris to visit her. Soooo I think she'd have a friend group there too. Which brings back my headcanon that Zoe is learning French, with Pomela's help. I imagine she introduced Zoe to that French friend group so she can engage in actual conversation and put her learnings to use. As for guys she dated... wellllll. Like she won't hang with them as frequently as her other groups, but she's on good terms with some of them like Digby or Philippe as you mentioned.

...Aight that's a lot about Zoe haha. Next!

Sunil! Again, Main 7. There's his co-workers at the pharmacy whom he'll chat with sometimes on slow days at work. There's also Scarletta, Tootsie, and Shivers- his bandmates. Which- I wanna get into the backstory of how he got in there but I fear it might be too long so I'll save it for another post.

Lots of Minka's paintings are on display at some art galleries, and so she's a little bit acquainted with the critics who talk about her art. Genghis, being one of them. In fact he's the one she likes talking with most frequently, even if it’s not for art reasons. She just thinks he’s neat!

Pepper doesn't get around much. They frequent a few clubs, and are a little familiar with the staff there. But not much. I guess the closest friend they have outside of the main 7 there's Mitzi who she likes to borrow perfumes from.

(o yeah i'm gonna start using she/they on Pepper now. anyway)

Vinnie, like Pepper, doesn't have much of a social circle outside of the 7. Sure there's all the wonderful actors and dancers he gets to work with for shows, but that's just what they are. Co-workers. Acquaintances, sure. But not super close friends.

Penny (i'm desperate for the right color for her can someone give me an html tutorial or smth pls) Well, there’s the Sweet Delights people- Buttercream, Sugar, Youngmee, Christie. And as I've said before in our DMs, she has a backstory with Scarletta. They were childhood friends, until Penny moved away. Which left Scarletta all alone, so she had to toughen up and stay strong. Then when Scarletta moves to Downtown to start Hazy Summers and sees Penny there... well. Yeah. They had a few things to fix, but overall are on better terms now.

Russell is fairly sociable. The main 7, the co-workers at the prosecutor's office. And of course, the Duchess of Lancashire Lane Fanclub hehe. I guess, according to the cameos in that episode, Scout, Tootsie, Digby, and Mary Frances are in that club too. As such, Russell knows them. They all fangirl over the hot Duke have intellectual discussions about the show's themes and story, and all the most interesting plot twists there are. A cup of hot tea to go along with it.

I reallyyyy want to mention Athena here so here I go- She’s a defense attorney, to rival him being prosecutor. Russell wants to make sure criminals get justice, but Athena is really good at her job so that frustrates him. But they’re not really friends. Like, sure he talks with her in between court sessions even if only to bicker with her.

OKay that's the main 7. As for others? I have a few ideas.

Delilah is acquainted with many people in the industry. She travels around the world to work with different companies and magazines. One of these is Tres Blasé. ...I'll get to the point. I like imagining her being friends with Mona and Tangier. Tangier, well, I suppose it'd be a one-sided thing. Like Tangier would go "Wow! We're friends! I'm so lucky to have you, 'Lilah." And Delilah, already a little bit wary of him just goes "Yes yes yes. Friends, or whatever..."

Poor little Nutmeg is very sheltered, and most of her friends were picked out for her by her parents. She doesn't really like them. Sometimes she likes sneaking out. Which is how she met Youngmee! They have a sisterly dynamic going on and its cute and wholesome, and a nice break for Nutmeg from her Lonely Rich Kid life.

Poppy Pawsley and Scout both work for the Biskits. Poppy is Eliza's secretary, ad Scout is Fisher's sssppyyyy..... uh secretary also. Nothing else at all. Yeah.

Oh hey we're back to Madame Pomela again. She knows Shahrukh. As a friend, boyfriend, or just co-worker- my mind switches it up sometimes but she does know him! She decided one day she'd expand her work, trying out acting in a movie. And then she meets Shahrukh there and yeaaaah.

Alrighty thas all I got for now.

#asks

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jinsei-pika-pika · 11 months ago

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「芸術新潮」2月号　特集「会田誠が考える新しい美術の教科書」

現代美術家・会田誠。自身の作品《MONUMENT FOR NOTHING - にほんのまつり》（部分）の前で。 Courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery

――「芸術新潮」の編集部から、「新しい美術の教科書をつくりませんか？」というオファーを受けた時はどう思われましたか？

会田　おもしろい企画だと思いました。迷うことなく、「やります」と返事をしました。でも落ち着いて考えると、これはなかなか難しいお題だな、とも思いましたね。僕には息子がいて、最近の美術の教科書は実際に見ていたのですが、僕らの時代の教科書と��べると、ずっと良い方向へ進化していると思っていました。僕が何か提案しても、それはもう今の教科書に出ていますけど、ということになりそうで……。

――それで、どのように内容を構想していったのでしょうか？

会田　結果的には、ずばり言ってしまえば、「ドクメンタ」的現代美術の紹介が中心になりました。ドクメンタは、ドイツの田舎町カッセルで4～5年に一度開催されている芸術祭です。つまりは「社会派アート」というようなことになるわけですが、日本の一般社会から、あるいは美術の世界からも比較的無視されがちなジャンルかなと思って、そのあたりを多く紹介することになりました。とはいえ、僕個人が社会派アートが大好き！というわけではありません。ドクメンタには、2002年に1回行ったことがあるだけです。ナイジェリアのキュレーター、オクウィ・エンヴェゾーが欧州人以外で初めて芸術監督をつとめた時でしたが、すべての作品が社会正義を訴えるような、ドクメンタとしてもちょっと極端な回だったようです。「これが芸術？　社会科の発表会じゃないんだから」と、僕はその時は反発しました。しかし僕の作品も、もともとは絵画中心だったものがそうではない形式の作品も増えていって、この20��ほどで、ドクメンタ的な美術もやはりいいなと思うようになりました。第一印象で嫌いだった人がだんだん好きになっていくような感じでしょうか。美術の教科書であれば、まずは「形」と「色」、というのが当然のことだし、僕もそう思っているのですが、今回の教科書では、あえて「形」と「色」については何も語っていません。そして「絵画」と「彫刻」についても、それ自体をテーマとしてはほとんど扱わずに、ドクメンタ的な、社会に拡張してゆく美術を中心に紹介することになりました。

――教科書の「1時間目」のテーマは、「美術に政治を持ち込もう！」ですね。

会田　いちばん最初に出てくる図版が、酒井抱一の《四季花鳥図屏風》です。我ながら節操がなくて笑ってしまいますが、僕はまるで日本絵画大好き人間のような感じで、「死ぬまでにこの目で見たい日本の絵100」という「BRUTUS」の特集を監修していたりするのに、いきなり否定材料として抱一の絵を出しています。日本美術の特徴のひとつに「花鳥風月」があって、それにはいい面もありますが、裏返すと悪い点も抱えている。また、それに続いて、フランス革命と並走して近代芸術が生まれていった、という話になりますが、それも若い頃に��、反発して、「オレたちは西洋と同じようにしなくていいんだぜ」と心の中で吠えるために調べていたことでした。立ち位置ひとつで全否定から全肯定に変わったり、出だしから、僕自身の矛盾した姿をそのままさらけ出すことになりました。

――会田さんが教科書すべてを執筆するのではなく、ゲストの執筆者も何人か招いています。フェミニスト・アートについては岡田裕子さんが執筆したり、課外授業として、卯城竜太さん（Chim↑Pom from Smappa!group）と松田修さんの対談があったり、他の美術家の方々にも登場してもらっています。

会田　僕がすべて書くのでは読者もおもしろくないだろうし、僕が不得意なジャンルもありますから。ゲスト執筆者を招待したのはうまくいったと思います。

――掲載作品は、どのように選んでいったのでしょうか？

会田　ほとんどは僕の頭の中から、つまり記憶にあるものから引っ張り出してきています。ただ、「美術から性のいろいろを学ぼう！」というパートでは、X（旧ツイッター）で呼びかけて教えてもらいました。性にはややこしい側面があって、男女が恋愛して結婚して子供を産む、というだけではない部分がある。それを考えるのに、最初に僕の頭に浮かんだのは男性作家の作品が多かったので、なるべく男女半々にしたいと思って、「現代美術で、女性アーティストで、みずからの性を題材にしている人は誰でしょうか」とXで質問を投げかけました。そこで教えてもらった名前を検索して、作品を見たりしましたね。ただ、この教科書全体で言うと、使いたかった図版で使えなかったものがいくつかあったのは残念でした。使用許諾や使用料の問題などで……。

――「3時間目」の「美術でバカ♡万歳！」というパートがとても楽しいです。

会田　乱暴なカテゴリーで、冗談で許していただけたら、というコーナーです（笑）。アブラモビッチみたいに命がけでバカをやっている人と、泉太郎さんや僕のような、ちょっとひねくれた白けた笑いのものを、「バカ♡」のひとことでまとめるのもひどいなと思いつつ（笑）。

――これについては、詳しくは誌面をご覧いただくことにしましょう。今回の教科書は、今私たちが生きている、この時代のアートとはどういうものなのか、それを知るための最高のガイドブックになったと思います。

会田　現代美術のとっつきにくい部分の入口づくりとしては、これ以上やさしくはならないだろう、というぐらい、やさしいものになったと思います。僕はそういう語りは割合得意なほうで、でも一方で、あまりオタク性がないというか、知識の奥の細道に分け入っていくような癖がないんですよね。作家ならではの偏ったこだわりさえも、あんまりないのかもしれない。

――会田さんの作品に通底しているのは、「アートとは何か？」という問いかけが常にあることだと思います。今回の「芸術新潮」の「新しい美術の教科書」特集も、「アートとは？」と考えていくための恰好のテキストになりました。美術部で今デッサンのトレーニングに励んでいるような生徒たちに、ぜひ読んでもらいたいです。

会田　そうなんですよね。仕方がないのかもしれないけれど、日本の美術大学へ入るための勉強は、やはり「実技」が中心です。日本の美大は、入ってからも、「作品をつくることが社会に対するアピールなんだ！」と熱く語って教える先生は少ないのではないかと思います。だから、そういう作家になる人は、海外留学を経験してから、というパターンが実際に多いです。深いところで言うと、そもそも日本語がそういうものに向いていない抒情的な言葉なのかもしれず、だから美大の教授が悪いのだとか、そんな単純な問題ではないのかもしれません。この教科書には、そういうものを補えるような読物になってくれたらいいな、という思いも込めています。

#会田誠 #Makoto Aida #Art #Geijutsu Shincyo #芸術新潮 #2024 #美術

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