13/02/2012

To the moon...

The Lobby; WITH Christmas lights

Necessary to complete the tale; stumbling across a twilight tinsel-town in the deep, dark South.

The MOON

(Roud, S (2003) Superstitions of Britain and Ireland. London: Penguin)

Moon: bowing to

One of the most widespread practices on seeing the new moon was to bow or curtsey to it:

When living, a few years ago, in Ayrshire, our housekeep use to make obeisance several times to the new moon when she observed it, looking very solemn the while. And when I asked her why she did so, she replied that by doing she would be sure to get a present before the next moon appeared. She wished me (then a very young girl) to do so too, and when I told her it was all nonsense, she ‘fired up’ and said her mother had done so, and she would continue to do so. I rather think this is no uncommon practice, for our previous servant did the same thing, and neither of them was older than about forty or fifty.
                                                Ayrshire Scotsman (27 Dec. 1889)

The form of the obeisance varies considerably – bowing or curtseying are by far the most common, but nodding, raising the hat, and kissing the hand are also reported. The number of stipulated times can also be any odd number from one to nine. This bowing motif is very often combined with other elements of ‘new moon’ belief, such as making a wish or reciting a rhyme to divine future partners (see below), but the most common direct result of paying one’s respect is that you will get a present, or find something nice, before the next new moon:

It was a prevalent belief that if a person catching the first glimpse of new moon were to instantly stand still, kiss their hand three times to the moon, and bow to it, that they would find something of value before that moon was out.
                                                Western Scotland Napier (1879)

Moon: moonlight dangerous

The supposed connection between the moon and insanity, encapsulated in the word ‘lunacy’, has a very long history, and is now a cliché of popular culture. Nevertheless, many people, even in relatively recent times, took the idea quite seriously:

Two instances have been recorded between 1961 and 1963 of the effect of the full moon on persons suffering from mental illness. In both cases the symptoms of the patient – acute depression in one, restlessness and agitation in the other – were said by other members of the family to become more marked at the time of the full moon.
                                                Cambridgeshire Porter (1969)

Moonlight also featured in a range of other beliefs – always with a negative and dangerous reputation. Humans sleeping in moonlight were said to be, at best, subject to bad luck and bad dreams, and at worst prone to stammering, blindness, paralysis, and idiocy. To avoid this fate, some children were taught a protective rhyme:

Very few mothers will suffer the full moon to shine in at the bedroom windows when their children have retired to rest; for the popular opinion is, that her rays will cause the sleepers to lose their senses. Should children observe the moon looking into their rooms, they are taught to endeavour to avert her influence by repeating the words:

I see the moon
The moon sees me
God bless the priest
That christened me.
                                                Lancashire Harland & Wilkinson (1873)

Moon: pointing at

A relatively widely reported nineteenth-century superstition prohibited any pointing at the moon, on the basic grounds of being disrespectful:

A lady, upwards of seventy years of age, informs me that when a child on a visit to her uncle at Ashburton, she was severely scolded by one of the servants, for pointing her finger at the moon. The act was considered very wicked, being an insult; and no one knew what evil instances it might call down.
                                                Devon Devonshire Assoc. (1879)

Moon: seen through glass

One of the two major superstitions regarding how or where the new moon is first seen dictates that it is very bad luck to see it through glass:

Many Cambridgeshire people still consider it unlucky to see a  new moon for the first time through glass, although few, if any, now go to the length of taking the precautions to avoid doping so which their grandparents, in many instances, took. An elderly Cambridge man recalled in 1958 that when he used to stay with his grandmother in Ely when he was a boy, he remembers being told by her to stand by an open kitchen window to warn her of an appearance of a new moon so that she could join him and see it from the doorstep and not through a window.
                                                Cambridgeshire Porter (1969)

The penalty for ignoring this interdiction is usually cited as generally ‘very bad luck’, but some informants specified that the results would be that you would ‘break glass’ during that moon. Less common, but still reported in significant numbers, was the idea that it was also unlucky to see the moon ‘through trees’.

If the moon you see
Neither through glass or tree
It shall be a lucky moon to thee.
                                                Jersey Folk-Lore (1914)

It is not entirely clear why viewing through glass was counted as so significant, although similar prohibitions were reported, much less commonly, in other contexts. It was believed, for example, that it was bad luck to see a funeral through a window, and that what is seen through glass is not permissible as evidence in court. The only clue which emerges from the mass of references to the new-moon belief is an impression, and it is no more than that, that it is somehow disrespectful to the moon not to see it face to face.

All information sourced from:
Roud, S (2003) Superstitions of Britain and Ireland. London: Penguin

13/02/2012

11/02/2012

Research begins; Thank you, Mum!

BAFA201 Assessment

JY: So if I start with what’s on the wall. Where I was coming from, I think especially from about half way through when I kind of had my eureka moment, I wanted to bring a lot of places that are always on my mind, that I have connections to through family or associations, I wanted to bring them all together- I think that’s sort of the overriding desire in my life. So the point I’ve reached now, I made these prints... I want to talk about them because they’re the point where I feel that my work has started to do what I want it to. And I made these by combining these dioramas that I made; two of which are kind of imaginary spaces that I think probably have more of a fantasy kind of element. That one was made before we did The Big Walk; it was kind of in anticipation of that, so these are sort of more psychic places. And then also this one was 6 real places, and the prints are made by combining these places. It’s this sort of amalgamation of imagined, and remembered places. Into something that’s sort of tangible, and makes it a bit less troubling... which I think is the key focus of this. So I made those... And I think what I like about those as well is the huge amount of process that’s gone into them; because they’re just these flat little pieces and even if that’s not evident to an audience, I know how much has gone into them, and they kind of hold all of this stuff for me.

Also, throughout this whole thing I’ve been doing a lot of writing and making imagery, and I wanted to experiment with producing a book, or presenting information in a different way. I like the idea that I could make something that could be reproduced and shared, but is still kind of cryptic. So I could give away a tiny bit of myself at a time. In that sense it’s been kind of cathartic without actually having to share too much of myself, still keep some secrets. So I’ve done that, and I’ve been doing that throughout as well; keeping stuff as I go along, so I have these large books, and this is the starting point really or that book, and keeping this journal/artefact from when I went to Laugharne. I don’t know if you know laugharne, but it’s in Wales, and it’s where Dylan Thomas lived and worked for the last few years of his life. I think Dylan Thomas has been a great presence in my work since... always; the way he talks about place and memory, I really admire him as an artist. So I kind of made my pilgrimage there and documented it. We also did The Big Sneak, which was kind of a performance, experimenting with duration, and obviously we did The Big Walk as well, and The Clock, so we’ve tried to do an event every month. So playing with ways to share information in ways other than just making things that could be construed as simply ‘pretty’. Telling stories I think has been an overriding thing... Telling stories and sharing stories.

I’ve already told you about the models, but they were again about bringing places together, and I like that I could carry them over into print, rather than them just being what they are... But I also liked using this material, making something that wasn’t just flat... that you could step into and inhabit. I like that I could make something that’s quite playful and quite cute, 

but that means something.

ED: In terms of contextualising your work, other artists... writers?

JY: Obviously Dylan Thomas. There’s a writer who you probably won’t have heard of called Stephen Vickery, not only because I think he’s a great writer, but he died a couple of years ago, and before that made these handmade volumes that he gave to his friends- he was never published in his lifetime- so he died and they put these volumes together into this book, which is just photocopies... and they’re mixed with... he was a visual artist as well. So I found that really inspiring how his writings were shown. I’ve been really interested in Tacita Dean as well; I think her work is quite sort of delicate, mysteries... In a lot of way ephemeral, the way she tells stories and creates these narratives. I really liked her, and got to see her piece in the Turbine Hall last week which was really interesting, though I think it was more about process rather than the context of it... I’ve read George Perec, Species of Spaces, which I thought was great, the way he talks about place again, that really fascinates me. Obviously Psychogeography, Mythogeography, what it means to inhabit a space. I was thinking a lot about places of significance, especially towards the beginning; what it is that qualifies a place of significance, so like Tim Cresswell; the way he defines places. Oh! I went to see Bridgette Ashton, she did the show at the Arts Centre which I really liked- she did the Cave Proposals. So these sort of false places... in the same way Charles Avery at BAS7, this ongoing narrative of lies... I really enjoy that. And I’ve been going to a lot of artist talks as well, and interviewing artists. So we sat in on the George Shaw interview, and Francesca Steele, Neil Rose. It’s been really great actually; I’ve felt like I’ve really been able to throw myself into it.

ED: Have you tried to pinpoint your development? How would you see it in connection o what you did last year? If you say ‘well I really enjoy being busy’, and we can see that you’re terribly engaged, but how would you identify that development? What has it gone towards?

JY: I think everything that I’ve done has broadened my vision, which I didn’t really have last year. I’ve also felt compared to last year, and my previous work that I’ve felt much more grounded, beginning to learn about the context of my work, my place... Not comparing myself to other artists, but positioning myself. It’s not something that I’m decided on, but it’s something that I’ve started to think about, whereas before I definitely did not. Doing a lot more writing, I’ve been keeping a blog, which has been for reflections, reviews, critiques of shows, all of that kind of thing really. I think just using as many platforms as possible to reflect and develop has been really important.

ED: I’ve asked you this before, and I’m asking again because maybe something has changed; can you tell me how you see the thing that you’ve put on the wall... That side of it, and that side of it... Maybe there is no side anymore....?

JY: I think there is less now!¬ I think the real turning point was when I spoke to you in that tutorial... Obviously this is the way that I work and you always see that... And I think before you pretty much spelled it out to me I didn’t realise how important it was. I think there’s still a distinction between the two, but I also think it’s very important, especially at the moment, that they’re running alongside each other. Now, I still haven’t drawn a line under it, and it’s still something that I’m working out. So I want my process to be evident. And I think when I took it down for that time, and then put it back up, I realised what an intense thing it was, and realised how important this way of working was. So there is a distinction, but it’s kind of squidgy at the moment... I don’t know if that really answers your question?

ED: I have a different opinion about it, but that doesn’t matter!

JY: I can’t remember if it was in the feedback, or if somebody just asked me, but somebody talked a lot about my process, and it kind of hit home again how important it was...

ED: I can’t help seeing it as an art piece... It is a process, and I was excited when you put it back up, and it was like *pfft, nothing* which made clear to me that it’s so in your hands.

JY: I don’t want to dismiss it as *just* a process... I think process as art maybe.

JJ: How do you select what’s on the wall, and what’s in the pile?

JY: I think that’s instinctual. The pieces that seem the most essential, not by any definable criteria, just because...

ED: Does it work like your writing? You write poems, which to me is something rather different to just... If you’re writing poetry then words come together differently than in another text...

JY: I think it’s probably the same thing. That’s what feels right... resonates in the right way. But beyond that I’m not sure I can really explain.

JJ: In some ways I think if you define it too much it loses the magic.

ED: Exactly. Because I’m always excited with you, by what’s happening in the fringes, the periphery. Because you could say, well that’s just a stack, but as that stack is it part of the same thing, including that painting there. So you get those blurry parts of it.

JJ: And the frames?

JY: I... liked them... I think aesthetically that had something to do with it. But I felt that these were finished pieces and I wanted to present them as such.

JJ: I really like the fact that there are sort of almost the same images next to it, but that hasn’t made the frame, and then you start to play spot the different, and begin to notice the other layering.

JY: ‘What does that one have that that doesn’t?’

JJ: It’s sort of a slow unfolding isn’t it?

ED: I find it also interesting that initially in your first presentation there were those little things, and now for me it’s just one big piece, and it almost tried to crystallise into something, and doesn’t really... which is a really nice movement, fantastic dynamics. And I think that might be something you could explore further. So there’s also the crystallisation, so it’s like ‘oh there’s a painting, but it’s stuck behind stuff’, so it doesn’t really get the placing that it usually would, pristine on a wall. And I think that is the kind of dynamic you could explore. And another thing is, if I look at this... I’m currently reading Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84, he’s a Japanese writer who’s really fascinating, it’s sort of a play with 1984 of George Orwell, and it is talking about this parallel world where there are two moons, one of which is not this beautiful round moon, but it’s sort of a rock floating in the sky, so I keep seeing this in your work. I think that that is something that might be to explore, what comes out of there, tried to be ‘proper artwork’, but in the end, *this* is the artwork. Have you been through all of your cards?

JY: I think I’ve been through all of the ones I want to talk about. Obviously in the first month or two I was looking at something quite different, which I realised early on wasn’t quite nourishing enough. I was thinking about place in a very different way; sort of trying to find one place... It wasn’t enough; I couldn’t really get involved with it.

ED: What is it that you want to do yourself? How do you envisage your development further?

JY: I don’t know. Find whatever I’m looking for. Some kind of resolution... I can’t see where I’m going I’m afraid.

JJ: Is that a problem?

JY: No.

ED: Well then that’s okay, don’t see that as a problem. I think that is something we moved away form really radically, about anyone here making such a statement that would box you in. So if this is a process, and this is your way of working, and you’ve found out that this is your way of working, then that’s it.

JY: That’s the thing, I mean, I always want to make art, and as long as I’ve always got something to make art about then I just keep plodding on.

ED: Well we’ve witnessed that, you continuously working.

JJ: But we’ve also witnessed you making art without... Even though it’s still undefined, you seem to have a more clear direction rather than.... There was a lot of spreading out at the beginning.

JY: I feel quite happy now, I feel at peace.

JJ: There seems to be less flailing around. It seemed to make you anxious.

JY: It made me very anxious! I don’t know if it comes across, but I feel that what I’m doing now is much more concise. There is definite direction, and even though it seems a bit sprawling...

ED: But it’s not really sprawling. If I keep looking at that wall, then I just see, okay it can give the impression of being sprawling, but there’s a lot of construction going on there, like the cards and boxes; they’re clearly put in a specific way, and I can also see how that falls sort of automatically out of your hands- that’s the exact reason that you were capable of putting it up quite quickly, it comes naturally in your hands and your thinking. Whereas the things that are still there in the stack weren’t at all... But that kind of framing is. I can see how that’s connected, and playing with the double image. So I think it’s really exciting.

JY: I feel excited.

ED: What you can say about your contribution to your piece in the lobby?

JY: I’m really excited about that as well! I’m really happy. I told you we did that thing, sort of as another test of endurance, and what we were capable of, you know what we did – a really *really* long walk – and I think it kind of had this strange effect on all of us, and we went away and thought about it for a couple of months, and came back and made this. And I said to the others, I don’t really feel ownership of what’s mine. Again, it’s telling a story, it’s like one of these books or whatever, it’s just a way of sharing, in a vague kind of way, what we did. But I think it’s very different to what’s going on in here, this work is very sort of melancholic, and nostalgic, and weeping alone in the dark, and what’s out there is a celebration of this thing that we did, and feeling really excited. I think it’s good that they’re sort of running in tandem with each other. Even though they’re different, I don’t really feel like they’re separate things, and that I’m being kind of schizophrenic about it...

JJ: And The Big Sneak, that wasn’t about this at all...

JY: A weird little ditty of its own. It was just a laugh!

JJ: A very different flavour, and sense, but the same intensity, the same seriousness, but completely different outlooks.

JY: I think that’s the way that I seem to be working at the moment. So I have this thing going the whole time, and every now and then I go off on a little adventure. I think it’s like Mr. Ben. He has his normal life, and then...

ED: Mr. Ben?

JY: It was this really great cartoon, a long time ago. Every episode he went to a costume shop and tried on a costume and went on this adventure, through the changing room back in time or whatever. So I’m Mr. Ben, and my life carries on as usual, but every now and then I go to the costume shop and have a little adventure, and then it’s back to the real world.

ED: It’s really interesting to see how you and Didge and Kensa sort of go through this similar process, developing a very distinct style, which has all to do with just taking on board who you are. What your art can be, and that it doesn’t even need to distinctly look like anything else that’s around, but that is your own specific way of making art, and that’s really a joy to see.

JY: I think I mentioned in my self evaluation- It’s something, more than last year, that we’ve been working a lot closer... obviously we did the collaboration with the Lobby, but just working within the same space, and we email a lot, so we’re working very closely, and it’s been a really great experience having this thing to bounce off of. Having these artists that work in a very different way to my own, and intentions are very different to my own, but working in this way... It’s been amazing actually, I think it’s really changed me as an artist.

ED: Well, as I said, nothing to worry about. Carry on!

_______________________________________________

I didn't speak as clearly or as concisely as I think I could of. I feel that if my tutors didn't know my work so well (a blessing), then I would have given a poor description of it, and depended too much on their background knowledge, and their questions which prompted me to further explain where I was coming from.

Things to work on for next time.

However, once again, I did feel convinced by my work, and excited and proud to share it.