journeytothend

the brochure for journey to the podium is out and looks good – my text contribution is below and this means that the project is almost over apart from the evaluation form which is one of today’s jobs. A link to the brochure. http://www.essexlegacy.org/about/essex-cultural-olympiad/journey-to-the-podium/
Boccia
Les Bicknell works with the book; a form that enables the dissemination of ideas to many yet simultaneously gives an individual a personal connection to those ideas through the ‘object’ held in the hand. He set out to connect the audience to the experience of Boccia and went onto make a piece with a functionality that mirrors the initial simplicity of the sport; but when handled reveals the complexity and gamesmanship which is embedded within the game play.

deaddownatsnape

nuca has been a week of admin and meetings alongside organising and researching various powerpoint presentations for upcoming ba and ma sessions.
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/017-catalogue-conversations
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/from-idea-to-outcome-feb-23
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/014-finishedness-feb-23
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/013-professional-practice-statements-for-march-19th-moved-to-feb-23
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/011-professional-practice-placements-feb-23
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/audience-feb-23
swandown at snape was a wonderful example of how not to present an idea with both Kötting and Sinclair telling us what to think about their work in an incompetent boorish fashion – truly a ‘boys club’ moment. it prompted me to think another pilgrimage more majestically documented through film which encompassed all Sinclair suggested his own trip encompassed but didn’t – that of Aldeburgh films http://www.aldeburghfilms.com/ film of Laurence Edwards http://www.laurenceedwardssculpture.com/ 3 large sculptures where transported on water from butley creak to snape maltings
the theme of death has been continuous throughout the week with a road kill dear providing Sunday lunch as well as anatomy lesson while taking it apart. The bird came from a walk on Saturday through the reed beds at walberswick.

metalnoh

another faster than sound triumph and another new genre created – metal-noh (as in death metal and Japanese noh play) the evening had the wonderfully restrained voice of Hungarian death metal vocalist Attila Csihar - this was combined with wind sounds by saxophonist Cathal Roche, accordionist Clive Bell who also had an exceptional range of wind instruments and electro-acoustic improviser David Toop. it also featured a kind of primordial-natural-beat-box sound created by Phil Minton - poor visuals - more visceral mud was needed – the walk back to the car across the marshes was most excellent and i managed to add to the collection of landscapes at night images. next week at snape malting as part of taking the waters we’ve got tickets to Swandown by Andrew Kötting and Iain Sinclair. looking forward to it already.

http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/events/place-swandown

bigbookdelivery

well I’ve finally delivered the big book – an emotional mixture of loss and pleasure. I always talk to students when they are thinking about selling work to ask if they have learnt all they need to from the work. i have lived with the idea for around 6 months and physically for about 3 weeks – the box it all sits in for a week and the solution for moving it around – straps and wheels for only a day so there is a mixture of emotions – anyway - firstsite looked most excellent in the snow and the new show by steve claydon is spectacular – two things to stay with me – one is the smell of bees wax and the second is his curation of carl andre’s equivalent sculpture and paintings of constables clouds. http://www.firstsite.uk.net/

http://www.firstsite.uk.net/page/the-big-book?preview

thebigbookforfirstsite

the ‘big book’ for firstsite is finished. the book is actually 10 individual books that discover the why, how, what and ‘what if’ that is firstsite. there is actually an eleventh book which is never mentioned in any of the print or the manual that is to be sent out to schools - it’s there as a question. the big book is to be used in the education department as a tool to access and explore the collection, the building and temporary exhibitions. i look forward to delivering it tomorrow.

scalfpresentations

thursday saw the first day of me as unit tutor for Award Specific Unit 4 and Self Negotiated Unit 3 on the textile ma at norwich! – it was a day of presentations the links are below.
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/formulating-a-learning-agreement-briefing-for-asu-4
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/what-is-a-journal-for-asu-4
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/briefing-project-proposal
meanwhile - year one students from the textiles course at nuca are participating in their first ever external exhibition at CRAFTCO at 40a High Street Southwold Suffolk IP18 6AE - 01502 723 211. the show will run from Saturday 04/02/12 until 27/02/12.
it should be a good show – the students have developed a range of work based on the theme of scarves. there are scarves that you can wear and scarves that need a space on a wall!
the exhibition showcases the diversity of creative practice on the course and the range of skills that year one students have developed over a relatively short space of time.

assessingstuffandmaking

assessments at camberwell yesterday – spent the day looking at some solid work which should lead to exciting outcomes for the final exhibition
some student blogs to check out
http://chrisgibsonart.blogspot.com/
http://margaret-cooter.blogspot.com/
http://karenapps.weebly.com/
then off to the jerwood space to see formed thoughts – which had some interesting work by glithero and then onto tacita deans piece for the turbine hall. the most exciting piece in the space downstairs was the stop frame motion film of the large holes they are digging for the new galleries. meanwhile at home working on the box for the firstsite large book which i think is going to be most fabulous and then tomorrow night its the private view of the journey to the podium – only have to get through watching the artist tonight and the MA briefings at nuca tomorrow.