itistrueifyouseeit

Continuing to explore ai - creating images for a presentation about materiasl text promps around cavemen operating textile equipment look disturbingly like jehovah's witness literature. Meanwhile a day in London to obsentricaly have a sauna but dropped into the Barbican to see an extraordinary amount of plywood in Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum's exhibition and the Whitechapel to see one of my all time important artists Lygia Clark. Her approach to art making has informed my own approach to running workshops. I connected my way of thinking about bookmaking to her relationship to audience. You get to hold and operate replicas of her Bichos series, just don't sit on the plyth while you do it or you will be told off - great way to encourage audience's especially when you have paid £15:00 to get in. The extraordinary Archive of Dissent by Peter Kennard is free and alone worth the visit. Onto screens - finally got to see the beautiful Perfect Day - so thoughtful.

oldoldoldandart

7 days in Rome ....... where to start - for some reason I had never been so an extensive tour of the top tourist locations were on the list - with the exception of the Coliseum and St Peters in the Vatican (pay to go in the lift) I would not recommend them - mainly due to the mass of tourists and no thank you I do not want to buy a selfi-stick - or maybe I should get one.....

A few of the truly extraordinary experiences off the so called beaten track include....The mummified monks at Santa Maria della Concezione, the dazzling crypt under Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, the view at night of and from Giuseppe Garibaldi's mausoleum, the walk from and tasting deep fried artichoke for the first time. Also managed to see some exceptional contemporary art in the most extravagant settings - both the buildings and the amount of staff on hand in what were often deserted spaces. The Macro has two sites - both fascinating - one in a deserted meat market which had disturbing (in a good way) work by Michael Fliri http://www.michaelfliri.com/ The other is in a converted Perone factory - it had an eclectic show about time, highlighting work that was familiar but by Italian artists - it was also showing work by william kentridge of his Rome project - but the highlight was the bizarre toilets - fantastic https://vimeo.com/18862925

The Maxi has to be experienced - a truly challehging version of where and how art should be displayed but it often it just got in the way. Zaha Hadid's building has the greatest spaces and I know I will find myself talking about it for some time but I'm unsure if it works as a display space for art or maybe the tension it creates is the point - It had thoughtful work which focused on current issues in Turkey - the use of textiles was extensive - special mention to work of Gülşah Kılıç http://tersyontersyon.blogspot.co.uk/ a mock radical coat and the films of Burak Delier https://burakdelier.wordpress.com/. especially songs of the possessed and Crisis and Control. There was also a show by Jimmie Durham which was fantastically jolly hung within a room with challenging windows and floor and also a show from a firm of radical designers from the 70s called SuperStudio -  some far out (in a good way) ideas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstudio - it also has a great buffet lunch on Saturday. spent 20 minutes trying to find the Gavin Brown experience space and then we did and it was closed! - see last photo and the excellent signage - back to work

iloveparisinthespring

A weekend of stuff - forest fringe at the place - last seen at Spill in an all male production of Wuthering Heights from the perspective of the horses - death and hope, loss and joy explored by two naked guys fighting and playing in a sea of dust looking at the space between hope and fear - raw. Paris was sunny and full of opportunities. First up Trisha Donnelly http://www.airdeparis.com/artists/trisha-donnelly/trisha.htm - my new go-to sublime artist - truly beautiful videos of maybe landscape before it became - climate as disaster and change all oddly juxtaposed - reminiscent of the appearance of our daily screens. Daniel Buren at kamel mennour was magnificent all marble lines filling two rooms. Pliure. Prologue at the Gulbenkian http://www.gulbenkian-paris.org was a really beautiful essay on the book. Working with an eclectic collection of sources in featured a book text performed 'ninja like' by lighting flouresent text with a tourch in a blacked out room. Films referencing books, medieval statues, artists books all lit and displayed exquisitely. The Palais du Tokoyo  http://www.palaisdetokyo.com was a riot of activity and as always a place that delivers the opportunity to be surprised. The high light was a show titled Le Bord des Mondes - an exhibition that asked can one make work that isn't art? Setting out to challenge Duchamps premise in today's world.

It included some familiar faces from TED lectures, the science world and outsider art. everybody has to know about L.A S.A.P.E - an evangelists for good clothes Sapeurs - A Short Documentary by GUINNESS (2014) Charlie Le mindy's extraordinary hair styles http://charlielemindu.com the film of Pierre Gagnaire preparing food was mesmerising https://vimeo.com/user3338106/vod_pages and who knew about game of states? Anyway my favourite artist statement was from Tomas Saraceno who apparently 'lives in and beyond planet earth' I might use this in my next artist statement.