choosingbooks

a busy week ahead with 4 days at NUA and then the Friday and Saturday at turn the page at the Forum in Norwich http://turnthepage.org.uk/ spent the past 2 hours gathering together and deciding which books to put on the table - already looking forward to it.

communicatingthingnessofthings

A positive and full day teaching at Camberwell - full-on seminar workshops in the morning that looked at two key aspects of being a creative person - the idea and role of context, the way in which objects are mediated through systems - the session looks at Susan Vogel and her exhibition around the net, followed closely by looking at the role of audience in one's practice. Developing a diagram that explores where you are and where you want to be - building a map for you to follow.
The show in the Camberwell Space is called Thingness: The Collection. It presents a curated selection of the Camberwell Collection. Objects that originate from a circulating collection used by the London County Council, later the ILEA for educational purposes and circulated in schools between 1951 - 1976. The catalogue has some interesting starting points to consider around the meaning of materiality and my interest at the moment in how objects hold the history of their use and the people who worked with them.
After lunch it was time to consider the role of the catalogue both as an object at this moment in our history and specifically its role within the final show - as ever it was interesting to present all the catalogues that have emerged from the course since 1986 onwards and to spend time discussing the politics, intentions and desires of the particular groups and to examine the narratives that explain why the catalogue looks like it does. For me its also about remembering the conversations and people who made the work, how they have taught me so many things over the years and to think about where they are now. The catalogue as an idea still has a particular meaning for the students of Book Art and their understanding of the physical object in relationship to the role and function of the on-line digital 'catalogue'.
Managed to see Matthew Derbyshire at The Bloomberg Space - a fascinating commentary on museology beautifully crafted and presented. I must of been communicating something today as I was presented by religious material on 3 different occasions - my favourite to add to my collection. 

brutalandbeautiful

A must see – Black Watch by the National Theater of Scotland – saw it finally after not managing to get tickets to see it at the Barbican in 2011. Norwich Festival held it in the sports center at the UEA campus – (they have a climbing wall in the cafe!) – the history of the regiment choreographed through costume - magnificent - emerging from a pool of blood that is a pool table becoming a truck - it is as good as they say. brutal, spectacular, harrowing, beautiful and important.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Watch_(play)

The turn the page flyer/leaflet is out – it looks good and it promises to be an interesting day with an eclectic mix of people showing a range of work. http://turnthepage.org.uk/

aflurryofactivity

A flurry of activity – 3 alumni students of the Book Arts course at Camberwell have been interviewed by the University of the Arts about their Arts Council Funded project - Collective Investigations http://blogs.arts.ac.uk/camberwell/2013/04/11/ma-book-arts-alumni-receive-arts-council-grant/ there are some really positive comments about their time at Camberwell and what will be an interesting bookwork.

My work has been accepted for the Impact 8 Artists Book Event in Dundee. The piece is a bookwork titled ‘The Weight of Invisibility’. http://www.conf.dundee.ac.uk/impact8/papers-panels/

I’m showing work as an invited exhibitor at turn the page book fair in Norwich. I think that I’ll use it as a space to show some of the work I’m making for unpicking and rebinding. http://unpickingandrebinding.blogspot.co.uk/

Its nice to see images of the work of ex Camberwell students being used to promote the event. http://turnthepage.org.uk/ 

inandoutdeath

a quick trip in and out to see The eternal smile presented by Verk produksjoner from Norway http://www.spillfestival.com/performance/the-eternal-smile/  an event as part of spill at the Barbican.  http://www.spillfestival.com/ Based on Pär Lagerkvist’s novel the work was a startling and disturbing meditation on death and the dead – wonderful. Transported to DADA, absurdist theatre and the turbulent times that the work comes from.

Meanwhile 35 days to go before year 3 students at NUA finish their studies. Yesterdays sessions were around ambition and digital presence, alongside curating the final show with a team of students who are working on it with great professionalism.

moreshowsandsometutorials

an interesting group tutorial with students at Camberwell -  highlights of a really good discussion were ideas around display and a works relationship to potential audience(s) - managed to get to the Serpentine Gallery to see Fishel and Weise bolder balanced on top of a bolder which was a bolded balanced on top of a bolder – a little underwhelming, although it was big I have seen more spectacular examples in nature so.......... but the show in the gallery was wondrous – Rosemarie Trockel - an exhibition full of invention and ideas. Ranging from artist books, textile explorations of the minimal canvas, large scale ceramic pieces and an area of curated vitrines which were displayed to hold many narratives. http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2011/03/rosemarie_trockel_a_cosmos.html  A must see. Pae White at the South London Gallery http://www.southlondongallery.org/page/pae-white-too-much-night-again was a spectacular extravaganza of yarn but its initial impressive position was unable to provide extended viewing, unlike Rosemarie Trockel. But the lamb broth was good!  

showdisplaythegoodandthebad

A couple of days in London to see in the beginning was the end, an immersive site specific theatre piece. Held in abandoned spaces under Somerset House the work was a labyrinthine broken narrative exploring exploration, science, invention and global trade in scientific ideas, very good with some moments of darkness interspersed with naked wit.

Some visual recommendations – Schwitters at the Tate was meaningful and often beautiful http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/schwitters-britain but not Lichtenstein which was just very bad. .... some of the worst sculptures I have ever seen. The real joy is the Merce Cunningham the dance projection in the oil tanks http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tanks-tate-modern/eventseries/tanks-art-action. Běla Kolářová  at Raven Row was superb – http://www.ravenrow.org/current/bela_kolarova/ intricate collections of small objects and wonderful photographs that show collections of objects - the whole display is delicate and thoughtful. Bernadette Corporation at the ICA presented an interesting way of doing things. An overview of how a group of people got together, using fashion as a model along with corporate language to disseminate ideas, strangely it felt like punk would of looked like if it had of started in the 90s. http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=35536  An odd but vast number of eccentric puppets at the curve gallery by Geoffrey Farmer: The Surgeon and the Photographer http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=14389. Finally a 360 projection by Charles Atlas at the Bloomberg space that dances with a wonderful rhythm within the space whilst meditating on the power and abject beauty of global capitalism http://www.bloombergspace.com/artists/current/charles-atlas-2/