Henry Moore in Beijing

I count myself lucky to have seen the Henry Moore Exhibition in Beihai Park, Beijing, in 2000.

Many years before, I wrote this poem about a Henry Moore statue in the grounds of Kenwood House. It couldn't have happened in Beijing, with all the guards around! Even at Kenwood House, they have surrounded the sculpture with a secure enclosure, which diminishes the artistic impact.

 
The poem was first published in ACUMEN magazine.

PODPIS

The Henry Moore is well located

Within the grounds of Kenwood House:

An imposing sculpture, a work of ages,

But soon we mark the dribbling doodles

Trickle down the sculpture's base

(At two corners sniffing noses,

At two corners lifted legs).

The dogs approach it more than people,

For our gaze is drawn, distracted,

By the random art and patterns

Of four renewed and subtly varied

Rivulets of canine piss.

These signatures are surely statements,

Messages for Man to read

About aspiration v. perception,

And the interface of Art and Space.

Australia, 1947-1948