ARTISTS TALKING

Choice blogs June/July 2010: Andrew Bryant selects Vanessa Bartlett

Vanessa Bartlett’s blog Group Therapy explores artists whose discourse crosses in some way with the discourse around ‘mental health’. That these discourses converge in contemporary practices like curating reflects an interest in ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ – both the individual's and the society’s. Art’s praxis failed, according to Adorno, when art declared itself autonomous, and yet this is also a position of privilege because, to paraphrase Jean Genet, art never has the good or bad fortune to be tested in the world. The Victorian ‘asylum’ was just that: a place where people could go to seek asylum when the world became too much. In a solution-focused society, is art an asylum too, a place where you can reflect, question, or just free-associate?

Go to Vanessa Bartlett's blog Group Therapy

Choice blogs May/June 2010: Isaac Munoz selects Tamarin Norwood

Who said that thinking in colour itself can be the representation of the infinite? Or more precisely, that differentiation does not appear. I came back to that thought when I read Tamarin Norwood's blog What the matter is.

Let’s have in mind that the grammar of things is there to be played with, not to engage with daily life problems, but just with the problems of the containers of knowledge, which actually is a daily life addiction. I enjoyed Tamarin’s writing, a sort of concrete exercise that ridiculises the properties of objects, the pencil, the biro, the stapler. There is a feeling that her blog is there just to spend time explaining time. It becomes a self-referred and indexical dialogue. She states that the act of finding the way of her practice is her practice (who cares then!). It sounds redundant even when I try to write about it, but it is because these kinds of banal dialogues about their own structure tend to be a black hole that absorbs their interpretation toward the same structure. And there we have a container for knowledge. It seems that Tamarind opens a space for a dialogue about dialogue.

Digging historically we have traces of this kind of writing in the development of semiotics, concrete poetry, post-structuralism, a sort of deconstruction with a background that sounded very political and now artificial, a criticism to the 'regime'. Which regime? The blog is very personal, and it also reminds me of Yves Michaud when he states that the world is so beautiful today.

I chose Tamarin’s blog because it is a platform to keep thinking about the possibilities to reconfigure reality, like a bracket or lapse of time to be aware of how I am experiencing generalities.

Isaac Muñoz is Artist beneficiary of the Foreign Study Program from the National Fund for Culture and Arts (Mexico), and of Fundacion/Coleccion Jumex.

What the matter is

www.metapong.org

www.isaacster.wordpress.com

Choice blogs April/May 2010: Jewellery and Visual Artist Hazel Evans selects Becky Hunter's Diary of an Art Historian

To sell or not to sell your soul, that is the question...

Someone recently told me that (in their opinion) to be a commercial artist would be to sell your soul, as art should only be for art's sake. Needless to say this person was in full time employment and was not trying to make a living as a professional artist either! In response to this person's bold statement, I found that the blog, Diary of an Art Historian, by Becky Hunter, brings to the surface the continuing question of lifestyle choices as an artist. Hunter says “I sometimes feel as if I'm betraying myself in some way by focusing on how to earn a living rather than on creative flow”. An honest declaration that hits the paintbrush on the bristles about how many artists compromise their creativity in order to make a living.

Determined never to be a 'hobby time' artist I have learned that earning a living as a creative person also involves getting skilled in business, being a multi-tasking extraordinaire, as well finding time to get in the 'creative zone', and this is something that many artists find challenging. Hunter raises questions about finding professional direction and even gives a handy link to making a start on a business plan.

Hunter's blog blends accounts of her progress in further education studying an MA in History of Art with engaging documentation of her own work and studies from drawings to “Yesterday I took my cardboard grid out for a walk through the nature reserve near my flat”. This appeals to me as I enjoy the journey into my own work through the written word, historical reference and humour mixed with a touch of glamour and magic. Finding time to follow my creative flow is not always easy but I enjoy what I do, and that is the question!

Hazel Evans is a Jewellery and Visual Artist

www.hazelcollections.com

www.hazelevans.co.uk

Choice blogs March/April 2010: Laura Morrison selects Paul Connealy's blog 'Shopputting'

Paul Conneally’s Shopputting blog caught my attention for the comedy touch he adopts when it comes to poetic, soft-core guerrilla tactics. Whatever Conneally engages with, he does so within the law (almost... I am sure there is some anti-trespassing law that he is breaking by depositing goods in shops).

Still, his is an authority-tickling, uncomfortable hand-holding humour which is expanded upon in his other blog and collaborative project Invigilator: Digbeth, whereby Conneally and his colleagues benignly 'invigilate' the street.

Both of these projects/interventions fill in a gap that we didn’t want to be reminded was there.  As with most ideologies/institutions whose practices suit us, our complicity is cringeful to acknowledge, especially when you are shopping. I wonder how people feel when they walk out of a shop with something ‘free’.  Embarrassed and defiant? Weird! Connelly’s goods carry the slogan “Shopputting, Another Way of Giving”.

I feel like he tows a line between institutional critique and a saucy curiosity in people. ‘Giving something of himself – along with ‘the finger’ perhaps.’

Laura Morrison is an artist living in London. Her most recent exhibition was 'Meet Pamela' at  Project Space Leeds. For a review of the show go here.

Choice blogs February/March 2010: Paul Stone selects Gemma Hadley’s ‘Pretty Vacant’

'Pretty Vacant’ bills itself as “a touring visual arts exhibition featuring the best in brand new fine art and craft by students and recent graduates”. Over the last year they have staged temporary exhibitions in a number of empty shops and other buildings. Reading this blog makes me recall my own beginnings as I moved from ‘artist’ to ‘artist/organiser/whatever-else-was-necessary’ in setting up exhibitions in similar venues in Newcastle upon Tyne.

I’m often asked advice on ‘how we did it’ back then (the late 1990s!) and although my memory’s not failing yet, one thing I regret now is that the documentation of those temporary projects I was involved in ranges from pretty scant to non existent. There’s a few slides sitting in a box file but nothing that provides the same level of documentation as this blog. We were simply too focused on the end product rather than on how we arrived there.

What I think this blog gets across so well is the practicalities (and sometimes problems) that need to be considered in the process of setting up a self-organised project in a temporary venue. As featured regularly in a-n there are many such projects currently underway across the UK, and even the government is now supporting some of them in our recession-hit town centres. Month-by-month this blog provides a useful resource for those thinking of embarking on a similar undertaking, highlighting both the positive outcomes as well as potential pitfalls.

Paul Stone is a Director of Vane gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, and an artist.

Go to Pretty Vacant »

Go to Vane gallery »

Subscribers may also be interested in the article Artists in empty shops in which Dan Thompson from The Revolutionary Arts Group reveals how artists are once again making use of empty spaces as a means to kick-start both the cultural and economic well being of town centres, and suggests seven steps to enable this area of practice to flourish.

Choice blogs December 2009 / January 2010: Christine Lobb selects Emily Speed

"I’d like to celebrate the impending first birthday of Emily Speed’s blog Getting Paid, started on 16th January 2009.

It is easy to relate to Emily’s concerns and frustrations at the art world – badly paid residencies, unpaid internships etc - but I am also interested in the way her blog serves as her motivational tool as well as providing documentary evidence that she has been ‘working’, whether in the form of researching, reading or thinking.  I often find myself hit by a twinge of guilt - 'what have I been doing?' - when I haven't made anything for ages; Emily's blog provides a valuable record of all the other things that constitute an artist's practice.

Christine Lobb is an artist at the Meltdown Studios in Ramsgate and a Careers Officer at the University of the Arts London.

Go to Emily Speed's blog »

Choice blogs October / November 2009: Artist and Editor of Hit and Miss, Josie Faure Walker selects Richard Taylor’s 'Stating/Showing'.

Inspecting his work from a distance rather than ruminating over its personal significance (like many of the other blogs), Richard Taylor’s meticulous Stating/Showing raises the question of presentation as work in itself, unusual within the conventionally neat system of production and end product slotted into gallery spot.

The blog includes working manifestos for works as yet unmade as Richard discovers his intentions through writing, adding prompts back to himself, (“...another device will therefore have to be crafted in order to unwind the tape, to give the illusion that it is unwinding itself....”). Using an artist's blog as a public sketchbook to record, reorder and initiate ideas – that’s useful. Why haven’t I started mine?!

Josie Faure Walker is an artist and Editor of Hit and Miss »

Go to Richard's blog »

Choice blogs September 2009: Sara Schnadt selects 'My Residency in Banff, Alberta, Canada' by Veronique Chance

What I like about Veronique’s blog is the candid description she gives of the challenges of developing a project that is both a creative and technical challenge for herself as an artist, and being produced in an entirely new context (another country). Having had this experience myself for my own work, I appreciate the ongoing log of her problem solving, how she adjusts her expectations, how she works with local staff, and ultimately how the project is a triumph.

Details of the residency’s organic and lovely community and valuable creative dialogue are much appreciated. As is her articulation of her desire to be an artist first, and a new media practitioner within this broader context.

Sara Schnadt is an artist and Webmaster of the Chicago Artists Resource »

Applications for the Banff residency close in November. Go to the Banff Centre website to apply.

Go to Veronique Chance's blog »

Choice blogs August 2009: Sarah Rowles, Director Q-Art London, selects Jennifer Brooks and Emily Speed

Whilst many bloggers reflect on their own work, Emily writes about “…some of the issues facing all artists … trying to make a living out of this business.” When I began my degree I was struck by the hit and miss nature of 'succeeding' (if this means making a living, I am not sure). It seems that irrespective of merit, success in the art world is often about who you know. I interviewed commercial gallerists and set up an all-inclusive artists’ forum, Q-Art London, to try and combat this.

Jennifer Brooks asks in her blog Finding my Practice what 'true practice' is and if there is such a thing. She has even posted a survey online in an attempt to find out.  I wonder if there is a link between this type of insecurity and the lack of time to 'find oneself' as an artist because of the constant pressure to define ones practice in order to gain grants, exhibitions and funding.

Does the increasing professionalisation of the art world and the necessity of getting funding for projects, as Emily points out throughout her blog, have an affect on the kind of work artists produce?

Go to Q-Art London »

Go to Jennifer Brooks' blog »

Go to Emily Speed's blog »

Choice blogs July 2009: Rosalind Davis selected by Matt Roberts, Director of Matt Roberts Arts

A relative novice to the Blogosphere Rosalind Davis' Blog illustrates an artist tentatively using the medium as a tool for self-critique, laying out her feelings about her work as it develops. Beyond the life of this project her blog exists as a living portfolio, as we, the reader are offered a window into the ideas that lay behind each piece as she juggles the pressures of life, work, and artistic ambition.

Rosalind's posts become more frequent as the process becomes more natural to her, and we gain an insight into how her work has been shaped by the community around her, as well as learning of her 'aristocratic' legacy, and adept climbing skills. Overall we see a picture of a talented and committed artist, making difficult practice-based and career decisions, whilst trying to remain financially stable, and a functioning person.

A narrative I'm sure we can all empathise with.

Go to Matt Roberts Arts »

Go to Rosalind Davis' blog »

Choice blogs June 2009, Holly Darton selected by Manick Govinda, director of ArtsAdmin and an a-n Board Member

Holly Darton’s blog is a great example of an artist reflecting on her practice and the state of transition she finds herself in; having worked collaboratively with Ben Connors for many years, parting ways, developing a new collaborative relationship with Jenny Hunt, re-locating to a studio in the village where she grew up, getting funding.  It also shows an artist articulating her ambitions, struggles, and goals and putting to bed her past work.  Holly is not a regular blogger and resists the pressure to update for the sake of updating.  One really senses the struggle and the challenges of being a visual and performance artist and her endeavours to straddle both camps and finding a unifying aesthetic.

Go to Holly's blog »

Choice blogs May 2009, Miss B's Salons selected by Emilia Telese, practicing artist and Artists Networks Coordinator.

Funny, relevant and responsive, NAN award winning Miss B's Salons is a great blog to keep your finger on the pulse of current debates amongst artists, from censorship to totalitarianism, and is always done with a refreshing sense of humour - check out the hilarious Fascist architecture headgear!

Go to Miss B's Salons »

Miss B's Salons was awarded a NAN Go and See bursary in March 2009. To read more about NAN including other NAN blogs go here »

Choice blogs April 2009: Rosemarie Shirley, Online Editor for Interface, selects Alison Kershaw.

One of the things I love about this blog is its name: I don't know about community but I know what I like. I can certainly relate to its sentiment, and recognize its relation to the messy, complicated, exhausting, exciting, fascinating place where “art” meets “community”. Working in and with “communities” is all about the process and Alison Kershaw’s interest in and openness to this process makes inspiring reading.

Read Alison Kershaw's blog here »

Choice blogs March 2009: Kirstie Beaven, Exhibitions Editor at Tate Online, selects two blogs.

‘Swimming Home’ by Paul Clark because, says Kirstie, "This project stuck in my mind long after the work and the blog finished - both the landscape and the interventions. Though I was a little bit disappointed to find out they were wearing wetsuits," and ‘Alex Pearl is not in the Antarctic’ as, "Apart from the pleasure of the images accompanying each post, this plugs in to the anxiety of the social side of art. And makes you laugh too."

Go to Swimming home »

Go to Alex Pearl is not in the Antarctic »

Choice blogs February 2009: Rob Turner selects Rachel Howfield (Massey).

I have not seen her work, but a ‘Jacob Marley/ Scrooge’ feel of looking at, or being shown someone from an external position is evoked by her descriptions and visuals.

On another level this blog is a reflection of all our own domestic lives, I am forced to look at my own role as a husband and how I support my wife’s career (who is not an artist) but the issues are the same.

Serious, but the blog is light and very entertaining.

Go to Rachel's blog »

Rob Turner has four blogs:
Go to Anaver job in 'Staffy-cher' but arm from saaaaf london »
Go to What is the importance of history? »
Go to 'Wise Medicine Men' and the role of the artist? »
Go to Zen and the Art of Mosaic Madness »

Choice blogs January 2009: Inez Schrader selects Caroline Wright's Inishlacken Project.

Despite her concerns on retrospective blogging The Inishlacken Project by Caroline Wright is my current blog choice. Reading it I felt the rythmn of the piece changing as she relaxed into the island, her direction and inspiration. Having spent a freezing, winter weekend exploring the desolate expanse of Rannoch Moors and Loch Rannoch in Scotland, I can understand the many layers of inspiration which present themselves when all ones senses are engaged.

Unfortunately the results of her inspiration I gather, will only be seen next year as I see from her website that she plans to show at the Redhouse Arts Centre in USA. Too far for me I’m afraid.

Caroline, for what it’s worth, in my experience, blogs such as these, refresh and strengthen memories, not the reverse.

Go to Caroline's blog »
Go to Inez's blog »

Choice blogs December 2008: Jane Ponsford  selects Susan Diab's blog Making art politically

Many of the projects which appear on the Artists Talking pages (my own included) deal with life very obliquely and so it is good to read Susan Diab discussing her role at Fabrica, engaging with Hirschhorn's work 'The Incommensurable Banner', artwork not just concerned with issues but as she puts it, filled with 'justified outrage'.

Susan's work is on show at Fabrica in Brighton until 16 November.

Choice blogs November 2009: Alex Pearl selects AirSpace Gallery.

This is what he had to say about it: "Perversely I've chosen a blog which is the opposite of the usual self-serving navel-gazing that most of us produce. Airspace Gallery is the story of two young artists trying (and succeeding) to do something worthwhile in Stoke-on-Trent. I have a tear in my eye.

First published: a-n.co.uk September 2008