Understanding sunflower seeds

Catch-up. Filtering 100+ e-mails. A quick comment on the COS blog. Booked a hire car for busines trip later in the week. The afternoon passed quickly – yet not sure how. Mr Straus had enquired whether he could drop by with his new partner in business and life, Ms J, and arrived for a coffee and conversation in the garden.

Most notable for me today was the late and repeated Imagine television program on the Chinese artists WeiWei. His childhood as a member of a “black” family (ostracised by the cultural revolution) and living underground. Rebellion and emigration to New York. Returning to China after the Tienanmen massacre and becoming part of the new avant garde. It gave me a much better understanding of the sunflower exhibition at the Tate Modern that I visited, and also left me feeling slightly cheated, that I had not been able to walk upon the seeds, touch them, feel them, bury in them as initial visitors had been able to. I could not touch or gaze closely at an individual seed in my hand. Because of safety concerns.

Now of course I could buy 100 on e-bay at £118, but the magic has gone.