lessreallyismore

the latest faster than sound at snape has three parts – Variable 4 a sound piece that is determined by atmospheric conditions – soundtrap V a piece in a wonderful building in iken and Soundfields - Fixing Point a countryside walk, devised by Blast Theory and Clark that uses gps tracking to set off fragments of a narrative that you listen to on headphones whilst walking in a wood – it was an interesting experience – the content of which made sense in terms the action of walking in the woods whilst having a fractured narrative about the missing in Ireland in one’s head.
meanwhile the visual art experience at snape has been improved - work has been taken away leaving evidence of a recent presence - it provides an interesting intellectual and aesthetic experience that talks about potential and possibility.

bocciabocciaboccialatinforball

a day spent with a world ranking Boccia player yesterday was most excellent. Dan is ranked 14th in the world and lives a life that is rigorously dedicated to bettering that http://www.bentleysboccia.com/bocciahomepage.html – i started to understand the role of strategy in relation to the absolute idea of rules. it really is quite a cruel game and i hope to have something of this in the bookwork i plan to make. thoughts on trajectory, movement of spheres, rules, repetition and motivation are in my head. i now have to look at the notes, drawings, diagrams, photographs and video made during the day to make sense of the movement within the game.

makingandassessing

a busy week of making – both for the Kilkenny Arts Festival in Ireland and the Sunderland book project – i have finally finished the edition which centres around the idea of the scribe and transposition. the project gave me the opportunity to reconnect with the work of the Bede. it uses folding and digital printing alongside the handwritten to explore the idea of the scribe, the next stage after life and the labyrinth of thinking involved in developing understanding.
meanwhile assessments at nuca and camberwell have been exciting – there are some excellent students with wonderful work this year - really looking forward to both shows.

i am in the middle of creating a workshop for the peer assisted learning scheme (pals) at nuca around the development of a publication of a booklet to help the pals support the cohort of students who come to nuca next year.

mid-termpresentationsatcamberwell

mid-term presentations at Camberwell – work is shown without the maker contextualising it with an introduction. a raw yet intriguingly empowering experience for the student. yesterday's session was so good that i wish it had been recorded. we had the whole range of the book experience on display – starting with the kindle ending with the body as book, book without physical presence. in between there were codex books and book objects which alluded to other forms of reading including the map and the newspaper –wonderful. we even discussed the deconstruction and destruction of the book – most excellent. anybody watching would have had a real insight to the full range of what the book art course encompasses and celebrates on the Book Art Course at Camberwell.

awonderfulweekendoftheatre

a wonderful weekend of theatre – Nicked by Richard Marsh was truly wonderful – although because of its subject matter – the experience that is the coalition - one was never sure whether to laugh or cry – it was a powerful experience to see it on the night that the AV vote was announced – if you get the opportunity go and see. a quick note on the music (Paul Harvard) and choreography (Alistair David) – like a grown up pantomime – a mixture of 80s electro pop, believable grime rapping, the tango and morris dancing – excellent. Incoming a new play by Andrew Motion was an emotional roller coaster but could possibly of benefitted from rearrange the various sections – the third, with the boy becoming the first as it seemed to lose momentum - still go and see and be moved - as part of the Genesis Studio Programme there were a number of staged readings – i managed to see/hear Sonderkommando and A Thousand Miles of History - both well written pieces - the reading is a really interesting stage in the creation of a theatre piece – you get a real sense of the stage craft of the actors and enables you to project how the work could be presented in a finished state. i am looking forward to seeing how these two plays get to be produced.

on another thread i remember watching the century of the self and feeling as if all my paranoid conspiracy theories were upheld so I have to recommend Adam Curtis’s new series that is coming up - All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace - it begins on BBC2 on 23 May at 9pm

go to his blog to see and hear a much needed alternative to what we currently call information http://adamcurtisfilms.blogspot.com/ and see all his work.

imageoftheworkcouldbecomethework

it was interesting to work with level 3 textile students at nuca yesterday – delivered a presentation with breakout sessions about pricing their work for the retail space we are creating this year as part of the final show alongside the idea of working freelance – the general feedback was that the course and nuca deliver the tools to enable students to develop a practice, make connections and ultimately a living which felt good http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/the-beginning-pricing
just written a powerpoint presentation for the briefing session on monday with level 2 - its the start of thinking about assessments and feels like real beginning of the end and the start of summer http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/year-2-assessment-briefing
folding again today in the garden has led to a number of sculptural bookworks that will feed into the work for the Kilkenny Arts Festival – started to think about the idea that the image of the work could become the work.
looking forward to the high tide festival this weekend - http://www.hightide.org.uk/ off to see nicked tonight - a new musical about the coalition.

sculpturalhaiku

this week i’ve been reading Greard Smyth; The Fullness of Time; New and Selected Poems for the Kilkenny Arts Festival and developing an approach to making work - i’ve been really enjoying them and have decided to concentrate on his new work – not wanting to illustrate the words i’ve looking at a way of creating a body of work that in some way captures the individual poems and would work as a set – starting off as quick sketches the pieces are becoming a sort of sculptural haiku - dense and loaded with meaning

tomorrow i'm giving a presentation on powerpoint using powerpoint for year 1 students on the textile course at nuca - this morning i'm draw to the fact that Nelson Mandela did not use powerpoint to inspire a nation but they have to give to a presentation about their work next week and powerpoint will service the occasion!
meanwhile the book show at studio 75 – prosperos books has been and gone – check here to see images - http://blog.situ.org.uk/2011/04/29/prosperos-library-preview/