DOWNLOAD - Syd's Notebooks PDF

[Syd'sSexy]

Well, at least you didn't go bald...

[henno]

thank you very much for your genorosity Theresa...!!

these are excellent keep sakes...

[mrlimbo]

Many many thanks , this is really great

[Syd'sSexy]

You're welcome! Hey Mr. Limbo...fancy seeing you here!

[J Ed]

for years there was a rumour he was working on a History of Art
that was the answer to whats syd doing now, aside from puttering about in the garden and going out for a bit of a stroll
so this may be the closest we get to ever seeing this History

[the doctor]

That is very Generous of you Syd'sSexy to do that for the Forum,and it's
nice that it didn't fall into the hands of a private collector who would have locked it away in a vault,or museum etc;

Cheers,Doc

[zag]

I´d like to thank you too

[Keith Jordan]

3017 people have downloaded this up to now!! Thanks again for sharing this with the community! Your spirit is excellent, SydsSexy!!

[King Offa]

Yeah, thanks a lot SS , it certainly is generous of you to share the notebooks. Since the auction, it seems like the best place to get a glimpse of Barrett´s stuff is on ebay. It is a relief that the sharks didn´t get hold of all his stuff. I like the contrasts between the cover and the content of his notepads, it´s very funny. It is possible that he sometimes took a trip to one of the local libraries. But I think, that most of the time he was too restless to sit in public and concentrate for a longer period of time. I agree with you SS, the notes are probably just something he took from one of his own art books. It is simply just a list of the main artists, sculptors and architects from the early Renaissance until the Expressionism. All the dates marks the birth/death of each artist. Appart from the 20th century, where each year marks the birth of a new movement. I´ve noticed that in one of his other files, he picked a few different names from the 16th, 17th and the 18th century. Contemporary art is completely absent among his notes.

[Syd'sSexy]

You are welcome everyone! I wish they did have more "content," but I knew that when I bought them. It's just a little piece of Syd and tiny smidge of his life that's mine!

There is one seller on ebay that was at the auction. I think his name is "tracsuk" or something like that. It's obvious he scarfed up Syd's art supplies and a lot of his books in order to make a monstrous profit. He's been parceling out the art supplies one brush and paint tube one at a time....kinda pisses me off, but I guess you have to expect that some vultures are just in it for the money.

You won't see the notebooks I purchased on ebay, I can guarantee you that!

I wish like hell I had bought that floral still life from his Camberwell days. It still pisses me off that I chickened out on that once in a lifetime opportunity...

[King Offa]

Contemporary art is completely absent among his notes.

Actually that isn´t completely true.
I just remembered that he had a thing in one of his scrapbooks about the Turner Prize nominees 2005(one of the candidates a former Camberwell student) and of Ding Yi. SS, did you have a closer look at his scrapbooks at the auction, the pictures available on the net are not clear enough. Do you remember what any of the small clips were about?

[Syd'sSexy]

Contemporary art is completely absent among his notes.

Actually that isn´t completely true.
I just remembered that he had a thing in one of his scrapbooks about the Turner Prize nominees 2005(one of the candidates a former Camberwell student) and of Ding Yi. SS, did you have a closer look at his scrapbooks at the auction, the pictures available on the net are not clear enough. Do you remember what any of the small clips were about?

I saw and perused all of them. The security guard at Cheffin's was an older chap, and at first appeared cold and rigid, but I softened him up and was able to basically examine and touch everything I wanted to. I think he would have let me inside the roped off areas had I asked.

Anyway, the one scrapbook that had "construction paper" pages was merely a compilation of clippings and photos pasted on the pages. There were no notes or editorial written on any of the pages. It was kind of cool to see what diverse topics piqued Syd's interest in his later years. There were some sports clippings from the Olympics, that picture of Victoria Beckham, some environmental articles...

It was actually quite amusing to me that the notebook was pretty primitively assembled. Syd slobbered paste on many of the pages, and it was obvious that he needed to sharpen his scissors. Perhaps it is true that his eyesight was failing, but I found the entire process priceless, nonetheless.

I would have loved to have purchased all of the notebooks and scrapbooks, keeping the collection together. I actually ended up bidding on many of the auctioned items, including the Christmas tree, all of the note/scrapbooks, 2 of his artworks, and the dictionary for which he made the collage cover. Unfortunately, I REALLY wanted that floral still life, but it was one of the last items to be auctioned. I was afraid if I "shot my wad" so to speak, that I would not be able to bid on it, so I let many of the other items go. Unfortunately, after the bids for the painting exceeded 7,000 pounds, I was pretty much done. I should have gone for it though, I just would have had a skimpy Christmas. Well, hindsight is 20/20, but dammit I should have had the balls to bid higher. I will always regret it!

[jwm224]

I think Syd was a very organized individual. I really find his dressers interesting... Did he have an obsession with wooden furniture or are these his works of art? I'd guess he built them and painted them, by the picture of tools and off-centered screws in the Auction pics. He at least built some of the pieces... He had to have painted the pieces he did buy; this is evident in his color choices and really evident in his painted stereo and speakers. I'd be interested to know how much they go for. They should all be in an art museum. The exhibit should be open to the public. His furniture almost reminds me of a room, which might be found in the Andy Warhol museum—next to the foil balloon room. Very impressive, Syd…

[Syd'sSexy]

I don't know if anyone on this forum went to Syd's house to preview it while it was for sale. I didn't (obviously), but when I did visit Cambridge before the auction, I just had to peek in the windows. I also saw the clips from the BBC. He had a very interesting use of color...to say the least. You could even venture to say that he created a childlike and almost cheerful environment for himself. In the front room, which he used as a studio, he used a minimum of three different paint colors. One of the baseboards was partially painted bright orange. I guess he didn't like that color (or ran out....)

All of the bureaus/dressers were purchased and painted. No two were alike, and he often painted the drawers a different color from the top and sides. One was even a bright yellow. A friend of mine purchased the bureau that had the drawers painted the alternate red and silver colors. That was very reminiscent of how he painted the floorboards in his flat prior to the Madcap Laughs photos. He did put his "personal touch" on every piece of furniture except for one bookshelf which was auctioned and untouched.

The same friend also purchased one of Syd's cupboards. Syd had made it himself and had modified the front so that the doors were shorter than the rest of the structure. My friend who bought it hypothesized that he used this cupboard to set his painting supplies on and cut the doors off so that he wouldn't stub his toes...very functional, eh?

That one hippo knob affixed to one of the doors in the house started a craze. Someone viewing the house stole it (scum sucking pig dog), but nevertheless, there was a rash of purchases of the identical knob from several retailers in the States. I bought a bunch of them and sent several to friends in the UK and one to a friend in Australia.

[King Offa]

Don´t worry about the "floral still life" SS,
I think you can be very pleased with your notebooks.

His scrapbooks actually makes me sad. I think he made them in the very last year of his life. His sister said somewhere that he used to get tired and that it made him very frustrated. The creative process had always been his way of "breathing", staying alive. His compulsion to create didn´t go away just because he was ill. His "last" painting "Still life with bottles", is showing a bit more concentration and a more steady hand. It looks like he made an effort with this painting, perhaps he was planning to give it to his sister.