21/11/11

Dylan Thomas' writing shed.

19/11/11

"Images detached from every aspect of life merge into a common stream, and the former unity of life is lost forever. Apprehended in a partial way, reality unfolds in a new generality as a pseudo-world apart, solely as an object of contemplation. The tendency toward the specialization of images-of-the-world finds its highest expression in the world of the autonomous image, where deceit deceives itself. The spectacle in its generality is a concrete inversion of life, and, as such, the autonomous movement of non-life."
-Guy Debord

“What speaks to us is seemingly is always the big event, the untoward, the extraordinary; the front page splash, the banner headlines. Railway trains only begin to exist when they are derailed, and the more passengers that are killed, the more the trains exist. Aeroplanes achieve existence only when they are hijacked. The one and only destiny of motor-cars is to drive into plane trees. The daily papers talk of everything except the daily.”
-Georges Perec

Time for a rest

I thought it was a clock because of time + everything that's happened. But it's not. It's me + my short journeys and challenges + false starts. Stopping + starting. Hesitating. Wanting to do everything + be everywhere all at once.

+ when I go away and don't worry about all of the bad stuff or tiring stuff + can explore all of these things at once, but in a way that makes sense to me.
Then everything will be okay.

Studio update 16/11/11

Jane says documenting and recording.
Find something on a rootle, and document it. And have both. And then move on.
She says there will be connections between the things that I like, that circle around the currently undefineable subject matter.

Studio update 16/11/11

Jane says documenting and recording.
Find something on a rootle, and document it. And have both. And then move on.
She says there will be connections between the things that I like, that circle around the currently undefineable subject matter.

Platform P- Fuller summary

My experience of Platform P was a varied one, as I took on so many roles for the performance weekend. Not only was I an artist exhibiting within the hotel, but I was also one of very few who was also assisting and invigilating throughout. Because of this, my experience of showing art, and being a part of my artwork turned out not to be the most important or difficult part of the weekend for me, in fact it barely came into it, which is perhaps a shame as I had hoped it would be an exciting opportunity for me, and also a learning experience. Though I think it still was the latter.

Firstly, the experience of invigilating; sadly not an excellent one for me, and hopefully not what you would usually expect to get from invigilating- or I’m sure nobody would do it! Unfortunately, the room that I was watching was not only housing my work, but also that of two other artists; one whose work I knew very well, fellow student and artist Kensa Rescorla, the other I had not encountered before that Saturday morning , and didn’t even know their surname, let alone how to explain their work to curious viewers. The artist in question was also not present at the hotel over the weekend, and I felt that as their work was something that very much had to be manipulated, that the person minding it really needed to know how the artist wanted this done- which nobody seemed to. I felt, as an artist, that this was an issue, knowing how particular I am about my own work. Without wanting to deliberately criticize the artist, I did feel that the work could have been greatly improved with minimal alteration- and these could be made just by confirming with the artist what they actually wanted, rather than just guessing. Or perhaps I'm being presumptuous, and it was executed exactly as the artist wanted. If so...

Of course, it was also a very long and tiring day- I believe the rooms opened at about 11am, and didn’t close until 6pm. Having to be present for the entire day also limited how much of the show I was able to view- A quick whizz around to try and see most of the rooms before I was summoned back was the best I could manage. Finally, when the hotel rooms closed up for the night I was free... to go off and assist performers. Actually, this was a much more interesting and pleasant experience, especially as both of the artists that I was assisting were incredibly friendly and polite, and a pleasure to be around.

The first was Nicola Canavan, who’s very beautiful performance in the ballroom included a bit of piercing, so for health and safety reasons I was required to clean up afterwards. This aside, my part was very minimal- making sure all of the props arrived, holding things, running around a b it. But it was actually a really nice experience after the long day I’d had, having people talk to me as an equal, and being able to enjoy myself. I was also able to watch the whole performance, which was a pleasure.

After that in the evening, Didge and I were working in shifts ushering for the fascinating Francesca Steele as she performed one-to-ones in her hotel room. This was a very interesting thing to do, and actually felt like performance itself. The artist wanted the corridor outside her room to be hushed and dark, and as the ‘clients’ arrived for their performance they were seated, reassured if necessary, and then ushered into the room in silence. Francesca was very specific about how we were to address the visitors, and having also witnessed her one-to-one in the room, I can see very well how this procedure contributed to the whole experience. To look at the performance from a curatorial standpoint, you could see very much how Francesca was deliberately curating it in this way in order to have maximum impact, and also realness from her piece. Another artist who was absolutely lovely to work with.

It was a mixed weekend that left me very drained, and not feeling very much like an artist, which was a pity. But I am very new to the game, and though I can’t guarantee that my experiences will improve, I can certainly learn what to expect, and what I’m not happy to work with.

Amended sneaky toolkit

Didge's preparations made me realise that I've left out all of the important stuff. Please find below a more appropriate sneaker's toolkit.

False glasses
Knitted finger disguise
Electrical tape
One wooden peg
Disguised eraser
Hotel showercap
Copy of Under Milk Wood
Notebook
Paper circles, tags and post-it notes
The Big Sneak Documentary Book
Sonic Screwdriver
Dictaphone with D.I.Y strap
Two bandit masks; one home made, one slightly stolen
One single serving of each coffee and tea
Bright orange camera
Generic black bag
One very ordinary black biro

I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I'm had to dress smartly, and it's generally something that I deliberately avoid, so this has been tricky. But this evening, right at the back of my wardrobe, there it was... a blouse! Slight change to option 4, here is option 6, and I think the most appropriate.
Except that in a blog that Didge just posted I was left to consider that perhaps looking like human ambience isn't the most important thing, but adopting a real persona, in this case that of a detective is more important. And now I just don't know.
Big Sneak tomorrow, I'd better make some decisions soon.

The Big Sneak

AND
The Kit:
One very ordinary black biro
-(The kind you tuck into shirt pockets)
One very ordinary black dictaphone
-(Which will be tied around my neck and secreted beneath my shirt nonetheless)
One very ordinary lined notebook
One bright orange camera
-(Which will be secreted...somewhere)

To question the habitual. But that’s just it, we’re habituated to it. We don’t question it, it doesn’t question us, it doesn’t seem to pose a problem, we live it without thinking, as if carried within it neither questions nor answers, as if it weren’t the bearer of any information. This is no longer even conditioning, it’s anaesthesia. We sleep through our lives in a dreamless sleep. But where is our life. Where is our body. Where is our space?

-Georges Perec

Documentary artefact of the preparation (and the event) of the Big Sneak.

We haven't done it yet, but I feel like the preparation and considerations are becoming more important and exciting possibly than the actualisation.
I said to Didge earlier; Maybe is partly performance, but also a research project. We are off out gathering and preparing and collecting and exploring and laughing and being silly because we can. And that's interesting.
And at the end I shall have this book that will tell me all about it. And the other journies that we go on, will they follow this same template?

The Big Sneak- Preparation

How to look inconspicuous in a hotel?

#1
Casual. Unnoticable in a usual public space, not memorable. However, in thehotel environment will I be noticed and look out of place? Possibly too casual and therefore could arouse suspicion. Benefits: Comfort, movement; if I need to move fast or hide in a small space, this ensemble makes that possible.
#2
Smart-casual. Possibly working a job with no strict dress-code, but smart enough. Staying at hotel for conference/meeting? An unusual outfit though, and might be too memorable. Benefits: potentially mistakable for business-person.
#3
Semi-formal. Could be going to a party or a function, which would give me reason for staying in the hotel. Unusual dress, however easy to make up lies about my presence in the hotel. Cons: Does not allow for easy movement, quite memorable. Moderately expensive.
#4
Smart-slob. Possibly less noticeable than smart-casual, and easy to move around in. Neutral colours, more likely to 'blend in', and move about unnoticed. Benefits: Comfortable, probably suits my demeanor more than the others. A good choice.
#5
Super-slob. Just rolled out of bed and looking for breakfast. Very very very casual. Pros: Very easy to pretend that I'm staying in the hotel. Cons: Very very noticeable, especially in the plush surroundings. Might raise suspicion, and if I'm questioned about where/why I'm staying I'll need a darn good lie.

What does everyone else think?

Neil Rose talks about Come to Ours

Didge Dowley: I really enjoyed coming on Sunday, I thought it was a really lovely experience actually.

Neil Rose: I’m glad you liked it.

D: I think it gave a whole different perspective on how you view art, which BAS7 doesn’t do.

Jess Young: I think all of the things that we’ve looked at that Come to Ours do has a very different feel to a lot of BAS7 and a lot of other fringe activities- more intimate, less rigid.

N: That was our overriding desire with all of these activities. We specifically made these 6 activities because we’re coming from a place where all of us involved in Come to Ours; Neil Rose, Rachel Dobbs, Hannah Jones, Mark James, Chris Green, Bryony Gillard, Beth Richards, essentially have all had experience of just landing in cities for things exactly like BAS7. So we were like ‘how do we assist people who don’t know the city, to navigate the city? How do we assist them in achieving those things that they need?’ So video takeaway for sure is based on supplying places to go and eat- endorsing places where it’s okay to go and eat, by just having a curated program of films in there. Also Low Profile’s badge project is about identifying 5 pubs that it’s okay to go and drink in.

J: So the Come to Ours program is like a tour guide?

N: Pretty much yeah, to Plymouth. And it is about welcoming people to Plymouth, and assisting them while they’re there. In this kind of art way.

D: Have you had lots of visitors come, tourist that have come specifically o see the British Art Show that have come across Come to Ours?

N: I think the video takeaway may be the most successful for that. Obviously it’s very hard to count audience figures to takeaways... the badge project as well, it’s surprising, you see people... I’m tuned in to seeing these badges. You see builders walking around with like four badges. We have had people turn up at our door, and when they come we make them a cup of tea.. Even between tea and cake events... if somebody turns up we make them a cup of tea. It’s really nice to offer that window into Plymouth’s art world for anyone that wants to have a look really.

J: There’s been a lot of talk about BAS7’s accessibility, about going into a gallery, these places being quite an intimidating thing, so especially the Fireplace Gallery is a very different look at what a gallery space can be, and inviting people to view art in a really different, more familiar atmosphere.

N: We’ve obviously adhered to a certain level of convention for a gallery... it was really important to us to get the vinyl lettering... And you know, it’s totally unnecessary...

J: But that’s really nice, it’s sort of tongue-in-cheek

N: Absolutely... and you do know that everybody who was invited to submit for an open call has stayed in our house, and that was really important to us as well. And that’s important that they would understand the domestic nature of the gallery... Make works that directly respond to that. So all the works are really small scale...

D: Intimate. That’s what I found, intimate and warm. So for me it really did tick a box that I’ve not experienced art in such an environment before.
So are you hoping to carry it on?

N: We’ve tried to have meetings to discuss the future of Come to Ours, and none of us at the moment are certain. We do need to have a bit of a comedown. But me and Hannah are making a commitment to continue the Fireplace Gallery in some way- but we need time to work it out.. Because obviously this part of it has been funded, so how to make it sustainable, and self-sustainable, whereas while we’re not interested in making a profit, or taking a profit, we do need to not be investing our own money into ensuring that it happens.
So we’re having meetings with other artist-led spaces to discuss with them and talk about the potential future of it. But we’re definitely going to do it... It just for sure wouldn’t be as regular.

D: Do you know if there are other people in other cities where the British Art Show has been that have done something similar to what you guys are doing?

N: I have no idea, but the whole artist led activity is not a new thing. In South Brent (one c???), were opening their house to people and having full on events. And that was going on for a number of years, and they only stopped when they moved to Devon, and then they took that collective and moved it to a different... (?) Experiencing art in people’s houses I think is a very traditional method of experiencing art. Collectives frequently will allow people into their houses to see work, so maybe this is something that’s been forgotten possibly, in the formalised nature of today’s art.

D: I should think a lot of people don’t believe they can see art in people’s houses; aren’t even aware of the fact that they can. They recognise the fact that they can go to a museum or art gallery, but probably wouldn’t go because they don’t want to... But this whole world, this underground world of houses...

N: It’s a similar experience to some of the streets in London. There are galleries in the street, essentially someone’s house, and you ring on the door... It’s the same thing. But absolutely, you have to know about it really. You have to be initiated. Esoteric, that’s the word.

J: Has this been something that you’ve worked with before- These people people/ideas about Plymouth?

N: Yeah... I mean the group of us have never worked together before, but we’ve become very good friends. But Bryony brought us all together... Was like ‘look guys, do you want to meet up, and we’ll discuss... do stuff for the Fringe.’ Because she knew British Art Show was coming before British Art Show was coming. And she knew, rather shrewdly, that if we all came together that we’d have much more weight in getting a collective Arts Council funding. We couldn’t have done any of it without the money. Well, we had a b-plan, but that was a much more scaled down version of it. But we didn’t need the b-plan.

D: How long did it take to prepare?

N: A year and a half

D: So you were a year and a half ahead of going for the funding... Planning ahead?

N: within the city I think we were 6-8 months ahead of most people.

J: Is that just because you knew about BAS7?

N: Pretty much... maybe we did have a bit of a sly insider. But also, Photo Now, and... a year before it came we had a meeting with all of the Plymouth arts groups., and we just sat down and said ‘this thing’s coming, what do we do?’; And we all just decided that we would just do our own things- there’s no point in making a collective Fringe chair.. Because Plymouth’s too small for that. So if we just did all our activities then people would just find it. There’s no reason for us to waste further money trying to promote these things in a collective way. But that’s also why me and Rachel made the website, the Fringe website, as a self-maintaining Fringe resource.

J: What about the Plymouth Aural Survey?

N: That was kind of a one-shot thing. So me and Donna Howard stood in the city centre for 7 hours, and we stopped anyone who was wearing headphones, asked them a series of relatively stupid questions, just to get them into the mode of a survey, and recorded 20 seconds of what they were listening to. And it kind of just is what it is basically. You could view it in many different ways; as a bit of a mapping project, as a weirdly voyeuristic project... But ultimately it is just mapping of people moving through the city centre based on what they’re listening to.

J: I think voyeuristic is great, because in a lot of ways that’s what Come to Ours is about... Peeping into what you do.

N: Into the hidden-ness... But in a welcoming way. I think that’s key to it all- this notion of welcoming people into a city. Actually a city that none of us in Come to Ours are from, but have all chosen to work in, and are all very fond of this city. And I think that’s an interesting thing in itself because there may not have been a generation of artists who have got to our age, or our point in our careers who have stayed in Plymouth before. So they get to our point and they go to London, or they go to Bristol, you know, we’re choosing to stay here.

J: Make it a happening place.

N: So there’s why there’s this whole massive change, because it’s not just us, there are lots of other people as well at a similar point in their careers who are still here, who haven’t moved out. And that’s why we’re getting this quite large, more recent flux of art activity.

D: With your help

N: With everybody’s help- everybody works together. And that’s the thing, that’s really nice. That’s why maybe some of the more official venues, official committees potentially aren’t delivering what they should be. And that’s why all of us, artist led groups have come together and are working together, because all we have... our interest is in ensuring that art happens in Plymouth. We’re not interested... Because we don’t need to do that whole ‘I’m a star’, because that stuff comes from the more official committees.

J: Could you tell us a bit about A Circle? (Which has now finished)

N: A Circle was curated by Beth Richards and Bryony Gillard. They curated an exhibition of female artists primarily in performative mediums. And what they were keen not to do was generate a show based on performance, but on performative actions. So there’s quite a lot of video work, drawings, sound stuff.

D: You had a stage in there...

N: there was a stage... at the stage at 1:30 every day, Selena Taylor, wherever she was in the world would get on her laptop, they would connect via Skype, and she’d sing a song. Every day she sang the same song. So if she was on a bus, she’d have to get her laptop out...

Platform P at the Duke

So Platform P is over with for another year... (?), and what an interesting weekend it's been.
Unfortunately, help invigilator-wise was very thin on the ground, so I was locked up in my hotel room (that I was not staying in)for the near entirety of the event. From what I gather though, having taken a lightening-quick tour of the other rooms, it was a varied and unique show. I was able to make the most of the performances on the Saturday evening which was fantastic, and certainly the most exciting part of the event, and I had the pleasure of seeing some really interesting pieces- my highlight being the fascinating Francesca Steele's one-on-one, who, with Didge, I was also ushering for; an experience in itself.
I was unable to take any photographs myself, but fortunately for me somebody else did, and I've managed to get my hands on a couple of my piece.




That's all for now. I'll see if I can work on a fuller review/description of the show; all in good time. For now there are (always) things to be getting on with.

"THE BIG SNEAK"

We are detectives
We tell lies
We are in disguise
We can hide
We are harmless
We will notice everything
We will note everything
We won't be sussed
We are sneaky



didgedowley.blogspot.com

Artist statement for Platform P

I am currently studying in my second year of BA Fine Art at Plymouth College of Art. My interests are in wild open spaces, the sea, and collecting objects from the places that I spend time in. For this piece I am bringing to the Duke of Cornwall Hotel my own suitcases that come with me when I travel, and objects and mementos that have been found on the way, or come about as a result of the journey or destination. In doing so I am inviting the viewer into my own private rituals, and an intimate exploration of my process as an artist. These objects are selected on the basis of my personal preferences; for beauty, for usefulness, or uniqueness; and I feel that there is a connection between them all other than myself- the thing that makes me drawn to them. I consider this collection my ‘nomadic studio’ that travels with me and feeds into what I do in my practice, both in and out of the studio.
The work that is made from these experiences varies, but the predominant theme is probably that of intuitiveness, and feeling satisfied by what comes from this process. By removing these items, or taking ‘souvenirs’ from their original surroundings, I am able to take traces of place with me that can continue to inspire my practice even when the place is long left behind.
There is a performative aspect to this piece, in my returning to my belongings and altering or engaging with them in some way; in owning them.

Studio update 02/11/11

Bas Jan Ader; Broken Fall (Organic) (1971)

Bas Jan Ader was a curious Dutch artist about who still relatively little is known, even by those who were close to him in his lifetime. He left behind a small body of unusual and gentle work before he disappeared at sea in 1975, aged 33, and only really gained any popularity 20 years or so after his death. His most famous body of work is probably in his 'falling' films; short film (or performance?) pieces that record the simple action of falling, in varying surrounding and situations. Of those, the film that I am most interested in is Broken Fall (Organic).

As they all are, this is a short film piece, about 2 minutes, and consists of Ader clinging to a high branch in a tree directly above a stream. You watch him struggle and kick, and swing his body as he tries desperately to hold on and keep himself strong and stable. But he gives up. A minute in, he stops struggling and allows himself to just succumb to gravity, and to his own weakness. You watch his joints loosen, and his body becomes long and fluid as he relaxes. And you wait for him to fall. It is a short film, but in those last 30 seconds you, as the viewer actually will him to fall, will him to end it. But he doesn't do that either. He doesn't struggle, but he doesn't let go, he just waits and accepts what is happening to him, passive.

As you watch you feel the sense of inevitability; the branch will break, or he will let go; the sense of hopelessness, and powerlessness against forces beyond your control. It's not exactly defeat, but you do feel something; his acceptance for what he can't fight, or won't fight; the predictability of everything if you just allow things to follow their natural course. In this quiet and quite introspective film- I think on Ader's part and also on the viewer's- you can physically see this man's exploration of the relationship between his body and its surroundings; with the place that it inhabits.

Of course, he eventually falls as we knew he would, and the film ends thus. There is no sound, no text apart from the short title at the beginning, nothing fancy about this film- just a single continuous shot of Ader. And that’s all you need to really take something from it- just being able to watch him as he subjects his body to this mistreatment. There is also nothing glamorous about this piece, or about his body or the way he moves. But there is certainly a melancholic elegance; a quiet thoughtfulness that continues on through his other falling pieces, and indeed throughout his work in general, and the feeling that it’s okay to be powerless, because that’s all we can be really.

Studio update 01/11/11

On Place

Place. Dean, T. Millar, J. (2005) Thames and Hudson.

Jeremy Millar: So how can artists begin to deal with it as a subject then, this thing that is so unknowable?

Tacita Dean: Because they can work in a way that is associative and non-verbal. They can use media and techniques that can describe a place tangentially, for example with sound or narrative, or through history or invention. The artist can evoke a place that will always only exist as a memory of another place in the mind of the viewer, because I think you need to have visited a place before you can really know it, and then only you will know it in that way. That is why place is so personal and intangible, but at the same time universally understood.