Wednesday, 26 June 2019

seeingthelight


has the world gone mad - or is it just sad? found this at Peterborough train station - it is a real thing - anyway another way of dealing with the public is trust - which was much in evidence at the free, un-gated festival in Lowestoft.
First light was a thing - Talvin Singh at 4:00 in the morning - playing in the dawn sunrise was very special but Circadian by Rosie Lee was the real highlight - it consisted of 24 on the hour 10 minute pieces. Each time it was the same movement and sound but the dancers were different, the age of the dancers grew throughout the 24 hours. I think I managed to see about 10 ish - it was tremendously moving - the security of similarity enabled the mind to be flooded with ideas about life, rhythms, death. The poignancy of the subtle differences of the dancers movements brought tears to the eyes. The piece growing and changing with each iteration.
The sound was so haunting Isaac Lee-Kronick who was there the whole time playing live was a star.
The film will be great - I hope there is a version where  all the dancers blend into each other over a 10 minute period. The exhibition Print Matters in Poland organised by Majka Dokudowicz and Mariusz Gorzelak at the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Art and Design, Wrocław has just closed - I had a piece in the show as it was made up of work from The University of the West of England's collection
Meanwhile on the way to New Designers to hang the NUA Textile Design stand - there is always a sense of full-onness when attending - so many hopes and dreams crushed into such a small hot space.

Thursday, 20 June 2019

itsthattimeoftheyear


well the second exhibition I have been part of this season is finished - the Textile Design BA show at NUA looks good - some great bold images and detailed material manipulation - it opens on Monday night, although I will be at New Designers putting up the third show. Meanwhile plans for the forth, the Book Art MA at Camberwell are underway. We start building next Tuesday. This time of year is full of possibilities.
Having a week in a hotel in Barnsley meant that I caught up with all the latest Netflix offerings - Always be my Maybe - surprise, it all come right in the end............ Murder Mystery - fun, of a kind............

Sunday, 16 June 2019

itsbeenalongweek


well - its been a full week in Barnsley - hanging the third year show and assessing all three years of the MA for the Open College of the Arts. It's always a full on experience but highly enjoyable with tight deadlines. Meeting people whose lives you have been linked with for 3 years for the first time in the flesh is a wondrously odd experience - it is one of the joys of the job, connecting with the familiar. 4 mini collections of images - hanging, close ups, the work and the private view. looking forward to East Anglia after the dress code and the delicacies on offer in the market - what and whose pets have they chopped up?

Tuesday, 4 June 2019

theaterchangesyou


a weekend of theater - Pulse in Ipswich was full of possibilities - it is such a life affirming experience to watch young people getting on with it. For me the stage is a space where human vulnerability is turned upside down. https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/pulse-festival/  For years I preferred cinema where I didn't have to worry about people in front of me but through attending festivals like Pulse (where I saw 24 shows in 2 days) I have come to realise that the human exchange is the point - the fear of failure or more like the sharing of humanity is all part of the experience. It is still on and I recommend trusting the organisers China Plate and Wolsey Theater in Ipswich https://www.chinaplatetheatre.com/projects and dropping in to see something that will change you https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/
Whitecube in Bermondsey has Sarah Morris paintings but the film Finite and Infinite Games (2017), was the highlight for me - so much so I will be returning. Titled after novel by James P. Carse, the film was shot in Herzog & de Meuron’s extraordinary Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg. Polymath Alexander Kluge is in it and is somebody I have to find out more about.
Teaching wise I am in the glorious storm of assessing, hanging, exhibitions, lists and general problem solving. It's a great time to be alive - I love this time of year, of decision making and possibilities for the future.

Monday, 27 May 2019

newspacesandnewwork


In between the busy time of assessing and creating exhibitions as part of my teaching duties I've been working on the second iteration of knowwhere, the miniature space within the studio. This is a series of works based on the structures that support works within museums. Meanwhile some exhibitions - Mike Nelson's poignant display at Tate Britain  https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/mike-nelson  Joanna Piotrowska's extraordinary photographs at Tate Britian https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/joanna-piotrowska Kate Coopers formidable videos at the Hayward https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/interview-artist-kate-cooper Us https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/ was truly disturbing, a dark tale of slavery and oppression in a capitalist world. Catch 22 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5056196/was another study of capitalism, another form of control. Less than a week to go to Pulse at The Wolsey in Ipswich - so much theatre in two days - scratch day and suitcase day are upon us  https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/brochures/pulse-festival-2019/ suitcase day is such a great idea - having to bring all props for the show on public transport in a suitcase.

Saturday, 18 May 2019

calmingfrenchnessandsomemore





My paper/presentation at turn the page symposium  https://www.turnthepage.org.uk/  seemed to go well - it was a little rambling as I attempted to cram 27 years of thinking about book art and bookness into 40 minutes. It was great to be surrounded by like minded people and listen to inspiring presentations - Maria White speaking about the idea of collecting was absorbing and Kate Farley's thoughts about reading patterns has got me thinking!
I recently went to the extraordinary Chateau la Coste https://chateau-la-coste.com/en/walk/ a space of splendid calm where art wine and architecture are surrounded by ancient Provence landscape. The work of Tadao Ando is particularly special. After staying at imprints http://imprints-galerie.com/ in Crest  where the market is so wonderfully French - if you boiled down all of Frenchness you would get this place A quick trip to Marseilles is always a bonus and in the railway sidings I noticed this building.
It's that time of year when several festivals are in full swing - at Aldeburgh Festival I saw Bastard Assignments https://bastardassignments.com/  who make experimental sound performative work - Neo Hulcker's piece crackles was excellent. At Norfolk and Norwich Festival Shon Dale-Jones of http://www.hoipolloi.org.uk/  has been performing a trilogy which demonstrates his wondrous storytelling skills. I'm looking forward to Pulse at the Wolsey in a couple of weeks https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/pulse-festival/  Meanwhile it's also that time when assessments are about to kick in - so far a day of reading reflective thinking and professional practice thoughts has been informative.

Thursday, 16 May 2019

turnthepagetalkingandsomethinking

the nicest comment so far has been that my rambling pluralistic presentation contained nothing controversial but was inclusive and allowed people to realize that its okay - relax - play. this is a link to the presentation given at the Turn The Page Symposium in Norwich @ttpABF - https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/ttp-2019-les-b-with-links