Title: Starling

Author: Elizabeth Knox

In: Sport 28: Autumn 2002

Publication details: Fergus Barrowman, March 2002, Wellington

Part of: Sport

Conditions of use

Share:

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Sport 28: Autumn 2002

March 1976

page 120

March 1976

What a reaction! In History, Greenlees was saying that in the churches after the French Revolution there were no longer any statues because of the idolbreakers, the iconoclasts. I found that I had my hands over my ears. I can't stand that word ‘iconoclast’. That's what Dad says he is when he tells you what you shouldn't like, or be interested in. Like Lord of the Rings. It can't be good because everyone likes it. He's still trying to give Mary things to read. He gave her the words of some opera he was playing last night, or songs, Mahler anyway. He said, ‘Here—you're interested in German’, and she said, scornful, that it was Sara who was studying German.
Mr Dean in Art History—when we were looking at Chagall. He wanted us to talk about it. No one was saying anything. I like Chagall. One of the paintings was of a calf inside a white cow—it always gives me a lump in my throat. Mr Dean got mad at us and started to go on about our lack of understanding of fantasy: ‘The only common denominator between child and man.’ I was offended. So I stopped writing down what he was saying and put my pen down. And he said, ‘Have I offended you?’ And I said, ‘No, I was listening.’ I was listening, so it wasn't a lie. I was thinking that I could tell him about fantasy. Why do they do that? They go to give you something, an art work or an opera or Marcel Proust, and the moment you don't put out your hand they hit you with it.