http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Artothlon, Summer 2009 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:30:58 +0000 a-n rss generator a-n The Artists Information Company and contributors edit@a-n.co.uk technical@a-n.co.uk http://www.a-n.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 So what does one pack for seven weeks in an unknown city where you expect to eat, sleep and make art? Apart from knickers and t-shirts, my list, so far, is as follows: * kg graphite powder * a small amount of aluminium powder - like half a jam jar - a little goes a long way * graphite crayons * small stanley knife * camera * a couple of posh frocks * one pair of whore heels (all I own) * copydex That's as far as I've got.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Decided to include this catapult in my luggage. I hope I'll be using it for artistic purposes, and not just for getting from A to B... trying to source a bike right now. And trying to source a laptop is proving to be a non-starter, so I hope Vilnius has lots of internet cafes and that my team mates are better equipped than I.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Flnally got the flight details, but not before a panicky email and phone call to Vilnius. Damn luggage restrictions mean having to decide between, say graphite powder or knickers... (the graphite powder won). It's as exciting as can be - though I can't quite get my head around leaving my two 17 year olds in the house for seven weeks. A long list of poeple are on alert to watch out for For Sale signs, fire, or the arrival of any large sound systems... Details from Vilnius are as follows, cut and pasted. Not thrilled about the copyright issue and I wasn't aware that there was cash involved for work made - but I'll know more when I get there. Contract is still being negotiated with TV, but the main points are these:   1. Not to be late for the filming.   2. Filming is 4-5 hours a day, two-three days a week are non-filming.   3. You cannot take part in any other reality show until at least 2010.   4. The artworks you will make should, according to other reality shows, belong to producer, but it is still being discussed with producer, and will be presented to you in contract. Most probably the contract will be ready when you are in Vilnius, so it is still a question of discussion and negotiotion.Other details:      1. The sum of money for the artworks will be revealed each week, and may vary depending on your performance.   2. You will get food two times a day, and dormitory is free. Transportation in connection with Art-o-thlon activities is covered, if you are keen on exploring Vilnius or Lithuania, you should bring some more money. As well money for any other personal expenses.   3. Internet is provided to your dormitory rooms.   4. All action should take place in Vilnius, with a few possible exeptions.   5. Bring your towel and bedding (if possible).6. Please bring your own instruments for creating art (cameras, laptops, any specials tools you use). The maps, attached, have significant spots on them, but I've no idea what they represent... An hour, now to relax and begin the book on Lithuanian customs and etiquette that I picked up yesterday in Stanfords map shop. Their site acknowledges both Vilnius and Linz as 2009 European Capitals of Culture. Yay!... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 My studiomate Lawrence is driving me to Gatwick in the morning, so today is my last chance to unpack and re-pack my suitcase and carry on luggage again. The problem is, I'm wondering if I should take another reel of reflective tape and my battery operated laser (as well as the two I'm taking with me that have been adapted to mains-only?) And I need to lose weight, not add more... Read my two guidebooks alread, including one on customs and etiquette and scoured the internet. Claire pointed out last night that it's important to go with an open mind and no preconceptions. She's right, of course, so today I'm going to knock research on the head and cycle over to the Richard Long retrospective and Classified at the Tate. And then to the Hannah Barry Gallery in Peckham for a short while this evening, to say Cheerio to Peckham - after cooking something nice for the boys...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Vilnius Academy of Arts Dormitory: 2.45pm, local time It rains a lot in Vilnius in the summer, and that's exactly what it's doing now. After breakfast at 11am in the dungeon-like restaurant who have the contract to feed us we're wondering how we'll manage it for seven weeks - soup, curd cheese pancakes and sour cream were delicious, but a bit heavy when all you want is tea and toast. After making our way back to the dormitory, I think it's quiet, post-travelling time. Who's us? Next to me on his own laptop, non-wi-fi, like mine, is Pavel, German, Berlin-trained, currently living in the Czech Republic. Lovely chap, smokes like a loon, painter. On the sofa to my right, reading about static electronics is Justin: he makes moving things and seem, so far, to be able to make and repair anything. Working in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Florida, just spent five days in Glasgow. He brought many tool bits with him. Erro lives and teaches in Tallin in Estonia, comes from New York, performance artist. He brought two ancient cats with him from NYC to Estonia. That's committment. Nathan and Tom, who's from Brooklyn but napping (I can't for the life of me find him online) applied together, having collaborated before. A girl from Portugal is coming today, another from Moscow is set to arrive as soon as her visa is sorted and that completes the "foreign" contingent. The Lithuanian artists will all be here by Tuesday and that's when we start filming. While I'm pretty sure I'm the eldest in years, I think I'm the youngest in training - which is a fantastic place to be - learning from everyone else. After being picked up from the airport by the lovely Paulius, who waved a banana for recognition, we ate and then went on to a party in Vilnius' new loft area - ex-factory spaces which, having been squatted in the past, are now being bought up by architects and the like, with artist studios and loft living spaces. It felt like many parties in Hackney, Shoreditch or Deptford, but much fresher, loads grimier and with way, way more charge and energy. <p> Artists playing music is often not good, and it wasn't, but the place was packed and the beer was cheap - equivalent to around £1.20 a sizeable bottle of beer.  We didn't last long beyond one in the morning (knackered) but apparently the cops turned up around four, to shut the joint down. I took some pics, video and recorded some sound with my phone, but of course, this laptop isn't, as Justin pointed out, bluetooth enabled. I won't go anywhere without my camera again. Tried to find it online for a link and a pic, but other than the fact that it involved a very rickety warehouse lift, I've not got much to go on. Now off to see a man about a bike.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Dorm, ten minutes before breakfast. We went into Uzipis last night, en famille. Uzipis was declared a seperate republic but artists who lived there, in 1997 or so. Here's their constitution.Needless to say, there are now developers signs around. As it was ever thus, the world over. We watched a couple of pagan metal bands in this fantastic little outside venue and stage, right by the Uzipis Kavine (cafe) and the river, which gurgles like something from a fairytale. Lithuanian rasberry vodka had to be tried, and while it's a cross between mouthwash and cough medicine, it's strangely moreish. Andrea arrived yesterday from Faro in Portugal. She's in her last year at art school, after taking a year out to work on a nationwide arts project involving artists from all over Portugal. She was one of them.  Here's Brooklyn Tom. He's looking for playing fields around Vilnius. After breakfast we went to a flea market and I got an old 70s soviet bike for 90 litas. As Erro said, it's built to withstand a nuclear war. Lithuania's first female president was inaugurated today and we caught a glimpse of the ceremony - complete with snipers and, apparently, knights in armour. On our way to Lithuania's first ever Art Fair, we passed a housing estate that won the Order of Lenin in the 70s for excellence is design. Everything is reachable within 15 minutes from anywhere in the suburb. Right by the gorgeous forest and just as gorgeou TV Tower. . Paulius grew up there and told us that the flats were given to rural people to encourage them into the countryside. And when the Olympics went to Moscow, alcoholics and neer-do-wells were re-located to another estate around Vilnius. Thanks Moscow. Interesting chat with Nate on the way up the stairs on the business of Art Fairs. He pointed out that while they're obviously about galleries selling stuff, they can also be quite supportive to young artists, offering residencies and funding, allowing more interesting stuff to be made. Nate thinks art should be funded much more. I said I didn't think I agreed with that, since with funding, you've got to dance to someone else's agenda. He countered that that's always going to be the case, and that good artists can negotiate that and make something interesting out of that negotiation. Point taken.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Introduced to the producers and the poeple who are working on the project at the university today. Nathan wore the radio mask that Justin made this morning. They decided that Nate had a face for radio so they made one. They told us that, because of the last minute change of producer, that details were being finalised and that weºre being filmed tomorrow meeting Anna, whoºs coming from Moscow. Then weºll meet the Lithuanian artists who are in the project with us. The first assignmentºs on Saturday. Renate is our "Mother" who will facilitate for us with the production team. After a post«meeting beer-coffee chat with her, we tried out the catapult with a few things and played the first ever Wiffle Hurling game in Vilnius. Probably. Itºs one of Tomºs games ' he invents them. Sports as art. www.aesthletics.org We went to the launch of a new show at the CAC, the contemporary arts centre. Itºs a great building ' and the shows have loads of space ' and the curation is excellent. Lots of Japanese people there for the Big in Japan show.  Hereºs Andreiaª www.myspace.com/andreiafilipe         ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Any way you look at it, having a cameraman and sound man catching your every move is horrible. Especially when we're sitting around trying to say hello to Anna, who's just off a really terrible flight from Moscow.  They did the intro footage today - in different locations (mine was on the Fluxus Bridge) with us, in first person, talking to camera about ourselves. What is your art like, what do you want to get out of the project, what kind of human are you - were just some of the questions we were prompted with. Yoiks. It finished with a shot of us all holding hands around some big metal pipe structure, as the camera panned around us. It doen't get much cheesier than that. How we play Monday's press conference is up to us, but the team were happy for us to do one of Tom's games - maybe inviting the press to join in. Justin's pushing for a pool party and I must be seen as the journalist of the piece, since I've been designated with the job of introducing all the non-Lithuanian artists to the assembled reporters and photographers. I'll draft something in the next day or two. Who, by the way, we still haven't met. It's the question we ask more than any other and we never get a straight answer. Nate continued to wear the radiohead today, as it's developing into a critique of media and control. We've gotten into trouble with the supervisor at the dorm for dismantling the radio - even though it hadn't been working. Paulius had to deal with the flack so Justin whizzed it all back into place - AND got it to work.We might be a bunch of twit artists, but we're good people. If we were a jewellry heist team, he'd be the one hunched over a combination lock and devising the explosives. I want him on my team - trouble is, so does everyone else. We might have to hire him out by the hour...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 I was undecided about whether to put on record the conversation I had with a young Byelorussian I met last night. But after this and this came to my attention, I feel bound to add this story to the whole sorry UK immigration shame. He'd promised to try and find us some more Soviet bikes (he's a bike punk) so I invited him to join us for our traditional Lithuanian dinner. This guy in his mid-20s is studying here in order to keep away from Belarus - during the protests after the President was re-elected with 80 per cent of the vote, my lad was arrested and spent 10 days in jail. He's been avoiding the Byelorussian KGB ever since. It's only 40km away from Vilnius, but it's like (according to another young Byelorussian who's staying in our dormitory), a different world. A dictator state: the young people are desperate to leave and make a life for themselves in the 21st Century as there is, for now, little sign of change. He tells us that a pal of his, same age, is a trained designer and wants to get some experience abroad. He has a job offer from someone in London who he knows, who vouches for him and will pay for his flights and his accomodation and generally ensure that this ambitious young man is looked after while in London. It cost him £100 to apply for the visa. This is, for Byelorussians, is a phenomenal amount of money - a month's average salary. He was turned down, with no reason given and no return of the £100. He's stuffed. And all he wants to do is go develop his skills and make a better life for himself. It stinks, doesn't it.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Staring at an empty browser window is never good for the soul, so I've de-camped to this excellent little internet cafe round the corner.  After the filming session yesterday it all seems to be getting even odder than it was before. We still haven't met the Lithuanian artists, the "home team", and with no assignment until Saturday, we have nothing to do for three more days. We're getting tetchy - not with each other - but to get working.  A couple of the guys thought it'd be good to get some publicity going so we're going to set up a session to draw each other and use the results as publicity for the project.  They've set up a facebook group too.  A group of us took a long walk around the city this morning, to a) find an electric components shop and b) find the city beach by the river. We found both, eventually.  It's an interesting time to be in Vilnius. The city's changing rapidly and radically, and the pic I took on a bike ride illustrates this - a mix of medieval Old Town in the foreground, corporate capitalist shiny tower blocks to the right and soviet-era apartments in the backround.  If we can capture a sense of that energy in our work, we'll be rockin.   ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 So we find out this evening that we're meeting the Lithuanian artists tomorrow. All eight of them. And then they move in with us. We're wondering - do we take shots of vodka? or flowers? or both? Meanwhile, the TV company's PR team are very taken with our facebook group. At the moment, our PR seems much more pro-active than the TV company's. We're planning a glamour shot for facebook. It might be my only chance to get out my whore heels.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 So today's the big day. We may be doing some aesthletics morning exercises, once everyone's up. A few who went out on the town last night met one of the Lithuanian artists, mid 20s, very nice, lives in Vilnius, hopes she can stay with us. We think we get the contracts today. The original idea, thought up by two Miga and Vylnas. They're pretty prominent in their fields - we've not met Vylnas yet but for sure, Miga's got integrity. He's planning a project on migration, involving travelling across Europe in RVs, down to Linz (where Emily is). God, I'd love to be involved with that. But like I mentioned before, the original team are no longer in charge. There was, thanks to (apparently) absurd restrictions put on the original producer by the TV company, a last-minute walk-out and the runner-up producer brought in with his own team. Hence the vague plans,  non-appearance of contracts and general all-round uncertainty. The new guys that we met the other day, I think their portfolio is the usual run-of-the-mill reality tv shows, with an emphasis on FREAK. Talking of contracts, we're worried. We all signed up to do an arts/TV project. Dining out on being on a Lithuanian reality TV show for artists at home before the event isn't the same as being in Lithuania and realising, en famille, that we're being turned over to a production team that intend to put out a "REALITY TV SHOW" involving weirdo artists. We've talked about it, and we all think that the most important thing about the project for each of us is collaborating with each other and the Lithuanians. In fact, we'd be pretty happy all round if the teams were to rotate so we all got a chance to work with each other. That's happened already - Justin and Nat on their radiohead, thinking up ideas together and playing wiffle hurling in the park, some random play and lots and lots of documenting... We're all agreed that we have to stick together to keep some control over what we do. The production team are talking about monetary fines, for example, if we don't do as we're told. We think they can go jump in the River Neris. Can we be in control or have we been naive?... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 A bunch of us are just back from the flea market, and we're ready to help Paulius carry some old furniture from the dorm to the studios. We ain't just the talent - we're talented labourers, too. I've always wanted long hair.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 The good news is, all our Lithuanian artist friends are great. And Miga has organised for us to present our work to each other at the Contemporary Art Centre, the CAC, tomorrow afternoon. The bad news is, we're very worried, now, about what we've let ourselves in for. For a start, we had bought flowers, vodka and pickles to welcome our eight fellow artists. Ten turned up - which didn't seem to make any sense. It got more bewildering when the director put us all into the studio with the sofas and started calling out names. This was in Lithuanian, but Renate, our facilitator, whispered a translation for us. He called out two men, then a woman. Then he announced that the remaining seven people had to find bananas - if they found one, they'd be in - otherwise they were out. It became apparent that the crude foil packages that looked like giant Hershey kisses on the floor were key to this. Some had bananas, some had sweetcorn cobs. Devela, who the lads had met in the bar the night before, was not in. Aukse, who had a banana, decided she didn't think she wanted to be in this show any more, and gave her banana to Romeo, who'd found only sweetcorns. Each of them then had to say something about themselves, on camera. It was excruciating - we squirmed, and so did they. Whoever updated our facebook page got it right - it was totally disrespectful to the artists. Turns out that these guys had only recieved an email the day before, telling them to be at the studio at the alotted time. They had no idea what was going to happen after that. There's more. The director spoke to the remaining Lithuanian artists while we looked on and they told us, later, that he said they all should stay in the dorm - because they want to film us there. As far as we're concerned, that's just NOT going to happen. It's not what we signed up for. What's more, most of them don't want to, and why would they? As it happens, our communal area can barely accomodate us as it is. They were also told that the project goes on till the 7 September. Er, no it doesn't. We've all made arrangements to be back home at the beginning of September. Strangely, only me and Tom were miked up, but the filming only stopped half way through our barbeque. Right now, none of us are kicking our heels with joy - and neither are our new Lithuanian friends, who, it appears, are even more guinea pigs than we are. It all reinforces our concern that the new producers aren't concerned with making a show about art, which is what we came here for, but intend to go for sensationalism - of the most crummy kind.  Let's just say, we're considering our options.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Eero just now: "How many performance artists does it take to change a lightbulb?" "I don't know, I left."... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 A few people in the group had decided some days ago that it'd be good to do a bit of a show and tell - informal presentations of our work, to each other. It's a little intimidating when you're only a student, like me, Andi and Ania, but as Eero pointed out, it's good professional practice - and it gets easier, the more experienced you become. The Lithuanian artists are up for it and the production crew are delighted. This afternoon at the CAC, at two. Yesterday was very much a day off while we each ruminated. The crew called a meeting at our studio, with wine and copious smoking, to discuss the project, our concerns and, of course, the contracts. I think we, the artists, are pretty much agreed that we wanted to do this project in order to: a) make art b) to work collaboratively and c) to explore the idea of making art, on TV, with a mainstream audience. We also concur that, as Tom pointed out last night, the "reality" bit is fine - as long as the intention is to make a show that is about making art - not some cheap, sensationalist nonsense. For example, through the business of working together and competing against each other, there will, inevitably, be emotion, conflict and drama. And that's fine. And, we reckon, that's going to be much more interesting than any contrivance created by the director to provoke these responses. He pointed out that the show has to appeal to the mainstream Lithuanian audience - which won't switch on to a programme about contemporary art unless it's geared to a "reality format" - for example, the elimination that we were all so cross about. Nat suggested that we can not and should not "dumb down" for the director's purposes. What's more, we think he should have more faith in his potential audience. We learned two more things. The show is going to be aired on a Thursday night at 10pm on the national television station. This is primetime and the Lithuanian artists are impressed. The show has a host, whose name escapes me, who is, apparently very well known in Lithuania. An arts academy graduate, he has produced pop bands and is generally known for being extremely controversial. A Lithuanian Howard Stern? All in all, the purpose of this meeting was to throw water on the fire, as the director said. If we're hostile, we'll clam up and that isn't likely to make good telly. We hope they're not cynical - now they have to prove it. After the meet we went to the CAC to chat. Kornelija's pal Elisa was there - her band, Zimbabwe, is (or has been, they've just disbanded) Lithuania's only all-girl punk band. We'll be looking at the contract this morning.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Oh yeah - I almost forgot: the TV commercial is done. We don't know if it's been aired yet, but here it is... There are three bikes in the dorm hallway this morning instead of the usual one. Some of the Lithuanian artists have moved in. It'll be interesting to see how this changes the dynamic of our group. Meanwhile, many are sleeping, Saulius is prepping for his presentation while Nat and Justin play chequers.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 In the middle of discussing the contract - which is, in English, eight pages long. Mantas showed us the host - the pop producer, Egmontas Bzeskas. Apparently he's hugely popular and will be a big pull. Here is some of his work. Enjoy. With the secure knowledge that you are far, far away.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 The wifi at the CAC is stronger than back at the dorm, so the Lithuanian baby death metal footage has only just been uploaded now. Aren't they wonderful?  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 The wifi at the CAC is stronger than back at the dorm, so the Lithuanian baby death metal footage has only just been uploaded now. Aren't they wonderful? I'm starting to collect web addresses for Lithuanian artists but so far, Saulius' isn't quite finished, Monica and Tadas don't have one.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Damn internet still wasn't working last night but I had to get this down there and then. Uploaded the morning after, and split into sections that A-N‘s system can manage. I can only add that because sweet Monica (one of the Lithuanian artists) had moved into the room adjoining mine - and locked the shared door while my bag was in my room - locking me OUT. The others had gone to the lake but Eero showed me the footage that he'd taken of the evening's unfolding. It's golddust.  More: I've had an email back from Eve, a pal of mine who has worked for years in reality TV. She said this: "No I have never seen a contract where you can fine contributors. Basically even if they sign a release form, they can pull out anytime they like. Then it's a moot point whether you can show their contribution up to the point they pulled out. It depends on whether they say they would be damaged by the broadcast... But from point of view of the producer, you have very little power to make contributors behave. Never heard of a contract where you fine people."I'm half on my way to the airport and half thinking this could be such fun. But whatever happens, I'll try to stick with the rest of the group. Solidarity is key. Continued on next post...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Continued from last post... Where to begin?The agenda was to present our work to each other in an relaxed, informal setting. I'd intended to write about the practice of all the other artists on the project. I'd have mentioned that I now realise why we're always being reminded at college of the importance of critical selection when presenting one's work. I might have mentioned the heat of the day, the laws of Powerpoint and the fact that we did it for THREE AND A HALF HOURS. I'd certainly have talked about how genuinely useful I found it to hear the other artists talk about their work. But frankly, that all fades into insignificance, compared to what happened next.We'd spent all morning talking with each other about the contract. The damned contract. The bit we all object to - including the Lithuanian artists who are now staying with us - is the clause that says we must "unconditionally" do whatever the producers say we should do. And, of course, the clause that says if we don't, we get fined. Yes, fined. Proper money.  Of course we understand the importance of having us commit to the project - after all, TV crew and kit cost big bucks. But the memory of the, frankly, crass "elimination" business of the Lithuanian artists a couple of days ago is still rattling like a caged rat in our collective memory. So anyway. Zilvinas Lilas, the author of the project, alongside Miga, had arrived off the plane from Cologne where he'd just finished teaching the summer semester. Zilvinas is an art-maker of some repute. Having worked in "the trenches" (as he describes it), painting cells for Disney for some years, he got a teaching job and has been building up his artistic practice ever since.Given that he'd been the author of the original project, and one of the main players who'd interviewed us, we were keen to meet him. The project we'd signed up to was one that, while being a reality TV show, had shown a commitment to rigour and critical enquiry. We'd been hoping that he'd be able to re-assure us that while they'd sold the idea to the TV company, he and Miga would still be able to ensure that if we put our professional (or emergent) reputations on the line for this show, we wouldn't be subjected to some sort of humiliating Reality TV nightmare. Continued on next post...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Continued from last post... He did. Without making any promises, he was, he said, being completely honest with us and told us that after a big and very long meeting with the production crew this morning, his concerns had been resolved and that he thought the balance was about right. And that we should all try to watch Donatus the director's award-winning film, The Bug Trainer. I got the distinct feeling that the TV people had just been a bit, well, cack-handed with us.  Okay - that's fine. Zilvinas got down to brass tacks. He wanted to amend the contract, until we were happy, there and then. The producer Tadas had arrived and between around 20 of us, we managed to sort out our issues. On the question of "unconditional" obedience to the production team plus being fined for not doing so, Nathaniel came up with a solution that was elegant beyond belief. He suggested that the real problem for us was a concern that our professional integrity could be undermined. Could we include a clause that allowed us to leave at any time, if any of us felt that that was the case?Tadus was happy with this, as long as the previous clause about unconditional obedience was left in - after all, from their point of view, that's about not wasting valuable crew'n'kit time. This was a massive - MASSIVE relief. So we done it and dusted it and he agreed that Brooklyn Tom could have an electronic version to email to a lawyer in the States, if we could have it back on the table in the morning, signed, ready for the press conference on Tuesday. It felt like we were finally on board, that the conflict had been doused and that all our concerns about the motives of the TV people had been worked out. So to beer, smoke, talking about ANYTHING other than contracts and art - two words I figured I never wanted to hear again. We're all cool, we're all, we think, on board. We go to eat, we're planning a film club, we're all happy and laughing and eating soup. Then Zilvinas leaves to finally catch up with his kids, and guess what. Continued on next post...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Continued from last post... Donatus the director shows up - with Jonas, the big BIG head of something-or-other and Donatus' boss. I watch them having a chat with the departing Zilvinas for several minutes. Then they plonk themselves in the middle of the table and Donatus announces, with a straight face......that he wants us to sign the contract NOW. If we don't, we're out. He wants to start filming tomorrow. Are we in? Or out?Let's just say, words were said. And for the most part, it wasn't polite and it wasn't pretty. He objected to our words and said he'd just been joking. And given that we were so interested in rigour and competition, how did we feel about the format changing to one of elimination, during the course of the seven weeks?I've lost the will to live at this stage, and I can't give you a report of the full discussion without doing damage to my emotional health, but inevitably some of it reverted to Lithuanian as the local artists tried to get their views heard in their own language. We'd been happy and up for it, we'd been knocked down again and for what? Kornelya reckoned that she'd talked to other, not so verbal, artists who had still been confused, and so had invited Donatus to come and "clarify" matters. Well he did so, like, as Romeo says, an elephant in a china shop. And did Zilvinas know all along that this is what they’d planned to do? If so, what had the previous four hours been about? Are they listening to us at all?Some of us have been emotionally packing for home for the last 24 - 48 hours. One or two of us have been, I suspect, physically packing. The to-ing and fro-ing is exhausting. A group have gone off to swim in the lake. The rest of us are back at the dorm, betting on who can get eliminated first. More later.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 We have to meet the production team in half an hour and my contract isn't signed. Here are the things I need to consider: * The project we signed up for seems to have changed irrevocably, due to the last minute change in producer * I honestly and truely think I can learn something really valuable from working with Eero, Nathaniel, Tom, Pavel, Justin, Ania and Andi * The academic side of it, the Edu-thlon lectures, are still due to take place on Wednesdays - which could be really good * The living conditions are pretty cramped and basic. We have two mugs, between around 12 of us, and that's only because I bought them- and breakfast is sugar puffs, co-co pop type stuff or long life croissants, filled with asti spumante flavouring (I've been avoiding talking about these details until now) * I genuinely like all the people - the artists - that I could be working with. We've gotten on great in the last eight days, and that's really saying something (I normally have a pretty low tolerance threshold in confined spaces) * There are a lot of very heavy smokers in this very confined space * There are also a fair number of pretty heavy drinkers - and I'm a complete push-over * I honestly and truely think I can learn something really valuable from working with Eero, Nathaniel, Tom, Pavel, Justin, Ania and Andi * The attitude of the directors worries me. They talk about art a lot - and how they're leaving the "art" to us and so on and so on - so the pressure will really be on. I mean, you're looking at making something happen, every week, for even weeks, that you can stand next to and defend in front of a jury of critics and the Lithuanian public * The contract appears to contain, in UK and US legal eyes, utter nonsense And did I mention? * I honestly and truely think I can learn something really valuable from working with Eero, Nathaniel, Tom, Pavel, Justin, Ania and Andi. At worst, I'll have stories to tell for ever.No - at worst, you'll be sending food packages to me in some Baltic jail. We're having that "Are you in? Are you in?" exchange. What the hell.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 The signing's done and I got offside to the Museum for some quiet and some shade. The trip was worth it, if only for The Vilnius Market Square Pole of Shame. Tomorrow's the Press Conference. We've chosen a spot by the river. It'll be, as Tom says, very fin-de-siecle. I spent some time there, reading, this afternoon until we got rained off. I've just started reading Moral Clarity, by Susan Neiman and I think it'll take me a long time. I've been charged with the task of introducing the away team - so I'm writing this as a dress rehearsal. Eero is a performance artist. He  makes art that brings people together using art, science and technology. He's an American and right now, he works and teaches in Tallin, Estonia. Ania Shastakova is a recent graduate who works primarily with photography and video. She also likes to splice existing YouTube content to make new work. Pavel Forman is a painter. He's German but he currently lives in the Czech Republic. He's a big strong guy and he make big, strong paintings. Man paintings. Andreia Filipe is a final year student. She makes big work, often on walls of buildings. She also likes to use Chinese plastic toys and bright colours in her work.She's from Faro in Portugal. Tom Russotti runs the Aesthletics Institute, which merges sports and art by creating new sports - which pretty much everyone can play - even me. We had the inaugural Vilnius Wiffle Hurling match last week and we've worked with Tom to invent a number of new games while we've been here. He live in Brooklyn, New York. I'm Fiona Flynn and I'm a first year student. I try to make art that expresses an optimistic outlook and I use all sorts of media to do that. I'm also a teacher, a journalist, a mother of twin boys and I live in London. Justin Tyler Tate makes kinetic and interactive objects and installations. He's a technical genius and if we were a band of jewelry thieves, he'd be the one hacking into the safe. Sometimes he does little performances on the quiet, too. He's a Floridan who lives currently in Nova Scotia, Canada. ................ The sad news is that Nat's bailing out and going home. He was pretty uncomfortable with it from the start, I think, and I suppose the cons ended up outweighing the pros for him. He was really concerned that the project had lost the critical aspect that had been sold to us. Last night's performance from the director and TV company boss can't have helped, as he said he'd decided to stay. What a shame.  I think the rest of us are just going to have a good time, do some stuff together and see what happens. Shame. Not least since I was hoping to read at least some of his book: The Blurring of Art and Life, by Allan Kaprow. Ah well.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Press conference this morning. By being in the main drag of the river, rather than at the edge, we managed to commit to the river as an idea. It created a scene for the press and keep a distance from them. Performative. There were around 20 journalists. It was all pretty absurd - see the pictures - but the translator said it was by far the most surreal press conference she'd ever been to, which is a measure of success, I suppose. Then to the TV studio. It's in an old soviet building but the studios are well-equipped. We were briefed by Donatus. There are now 12 of us: Romeo dropped out, asked to come back in then dropped out again, the second Monica decided she'd rather learn French over the summer and Mantas, who I never got to know, has disappeared. Nat flew home this morning and they tried to pressurise Eero into signing the contract before the press conference. He refused and they relented, thank God.  Rafal is in, as is Monica (the first one), Andrus, Tadas and Saulius. I really need to talk about them and their art practice, I just haven't had time, so far. So given that they were originally meant to have 16, it's still undecided whether they will make the numbers up or leave it at 12 people. And we're filming tomorrow. There are four white square boards with white paper on the ground, lots of different types of materials and a couple of workhops in the bowels of the building which we can have prior access to. The plan is that we will be put into teams, in front of the studio audience, and invited to make some work. We'll have an hour to discuss it and plan it, and then an hour to make it. We can do some prep in the workshops and studios, prior to the show, but we won't know which teams we're in so we can only prep our own ideas, which will then have to feed in to the group. There's more than one of us thinking "I have no goddamn idea", but there are two approaches we can take. Either, we brainstorm together and come up with some ideas as a group, or we leave it till the appointed hour, working only by ourselves, and embrace the pressure. I can buy that, but because this is a TV show and we're perfoming, we should try to make it as performative as we can, to be mannered. I think. I don't know how it'll play out - a group of us had pizza late afternoon, so I'm missing dinner to write this and spend some time reading. I also need to phone  home. A late-night swim in the lake last night had me sleep like a baby, but I'm still dog-tired.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Awake early. A short pep talk from Claire on the phone last night who said: when in doubt, draw. So I've had a few thoughts about that. I figured that rather than try to sleep with building work noises outside, I'd try and articulate to myself, once again, why it is that I'm here. 1. Reality TV has a bad name among many. But the idea of trying to make art, in the context of a reality TV show, is interesting, because TV is what people watch - me included. Reality TV is a massive part of our culture - there is never a shortage of people who want to appear on them (even when they are cynically set up to make people look daft or silly). It has to be a medium worth exploring. 2. Lithuania is an interesting country. On the one hand, it's very old - with a huge medieval history - and on the other, it's very young, only around 17 years since independence from the soviet union. The nation is ambitious, energetic, and it's changing rapidly. Guidebooks published even just two years ago have proved pretty out-of-date with regard to changes in some aspects of culture. There's a manufacturing base, an educated workforce and there's money. Not evenly spread of course, but it's there. There maybe 50% discount signs in the Armani shop window, with an international recession on, but the point is, there IS an Armani shop window.  The Contemporary Arts Centre is a classy building that shows work that has been carefully chosen and curated with care. 3. There's an academic programme of lectures - which could be really interesting. Given that my own emerging practice is about trying to express an optimism for the future and the connections that we all share, it's not a bad place to spend time thinking about that. Time to make another cup of tea. Who knows how it'll go today but hey, if it goes badly, it's only a reality TV show. I'll live to tell the tale.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Can. Barely. Speak. So. Tired. And in a rush a I'm up later than usual and have to be at the studio - ie our studio, not the TV studio - for 11 which is in an hour. Very briefly. The show was a hoot. I'm thrilled to be in the team I'm in - Andrus, a 25 year old Lithuanian, whose body work includes a 400 foot high string of helium filled balloons, one of my favourite pieces of work from the presentations the other day, and Ania, our Moscovite, who is a fan of and has collaborated with Oliver Laric, an ex-Chelsea student whose work I came across some months ago at the Seventeen Gallery, down the road from my studio. I think he's fantastic. The work we made in an hour in the TV studio was pretty awful - but the process, working together under pressure and being performative, was good fun. And with a week to prep for the next one, I think we might come up with something more rigorous. Probably a bit of a school exercise, maybe, but fun anyway. I'll post the link to the show when I have time to get it. It airs at 10pm (8pm UK time) on Thursday. Tonight we have our first lecture, "Art and Education may turn Revolutionary" by Hubertus von Amelunxen. This is him (sorry 'bout the cut n paste): "One of the most well-known contemporary philosophers of photography. At present he is rector of the European School of Visual Arts and professor at the Canadian Center for Architecture and the European Graduate School in Switzerland. Hubertus von Amelunxen worked at the Muthesius Hochschule for Art, where he founded a Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies. He is also founder of the International School of New Media in Lubeck. Hubertus von Amelunxen has published a few books about the history of photography and trends in contemporary photography, he is also actively involved in the supervision of international exhibitions." One of the great things about living with different nationals is picking up bits and pieces from our languages. I talk too quickly and use way too many idiomatic phrases to be easily understood, but Monica is keen to learn them. She has learned the various meaning of "bollocks", "the dogs bollocks" and what it is to be "bollocksed". Also when it's appropriate to respond to something with "big swinging mickeys". I'm hoping very much that on my return, having hung out with Justin and Tom, I'll be able to trip out "douchebag" without sounding self-concious or contrived. I'll add pics later.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Once again, I'd like to be able to talk about the work - and once again, other stuff's getting in the way. Until five minutes ago, it looked like everything was going fine. In the last five minutes I've had a massive bomb thrown my way. I can't tell you more, right now.  The lecture was good. Really good. The academic who delivered it is going to email me  PDF of the paper and I'll put it online. I need more sleep. The workmen outside my window start at 6am sharp every morning.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Our project is on task, we're really pleased with the idea, with both its form and how we intend to execute it. I'll talk about it more after tomorrow night. I hadn't mentioned till now, but we'd been talking about a film club for some time - and I figured that if we didn't commit, it'd never happen and then it'd be time to come home. So we've decided to commit to Saturday night. I've done a flyer and we'll show a film - dunno which one yet - with a digital projector on to the wall of the studio - and hope people will come to see. And I found popping corn in the Maxima supermarket at the Akropolis this morning - the first really big shopping mall in Lithuania. We were hoping to go to a bar to watch the screening - but no, we're being picked up to go to the studio to watch it there.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 There's been much guff talked between us and the crew about the balance between an arts residency and "reality" tv over the last week and a half. Watching the screening last night - and then being filmed lived as the results rolled in (or maybe trickled, they reckoned they didn't know how many public votes there were). The camera can record facts - and then it constructs another kind of reality. Facts can be juggled and manipulated to make up someone else's idea of what the story is or should be. So work that was made in the studio the other night was represented in a way that fitted someone else's viewpoint. This is nothing new, but interesting to watch when you are the subject. The edit is a powerful thing. I will be wearing my whore heels in a bar tonight, launching a fictional new product on an unsuspecting public. And my mum's suggesting I get wax ear plugs to cut out those 6am builders.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 A quick note to show that I haven't disappeared - it feels like I'm just not contributing to this blog in the same way that I'd set out to do - for all sorts of reasons. Film club tonight. It might be a one off, but it's got to be worth a shot. Not entirely sure what we're showing yet -we have a couple of options, but the important thing is to have an event that's hopefully entertaining, comfy and most of all, free.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Some early thoughts on collaboration. Had a chat with Eero last night -we were talking about brainstorming and how, if you're used to it, it's easy to not realise that many people haven't been taught the basics - you know, every idea is heard, none are criticised, you're safe to be as outlandish or far-fetched as it comes and so on. He explained how so much valuable time can be wasted with 'this probably seems like a stupid idea' or 'you're probably not going to like this' - sound familiar? I've done much brainstorming over the years, in professional situations where I'm brainstorming ideas alongside people I don't know. I'm used to it. But Eero pointed out that art is different, since when you offer up an idea, you're offering up something quite deep inside of you - it's a little bit of your soul, really. So it's important that people feel safe. He stressed to me the importance of getting to know the people you're working with - so that you can trust  each other, before any brainstorming on projects can begin.  If I've learned one thing this week, it's that it's easy to assume too much - and that proper time needs to be spent between you, to feel comfortable and familiar and safe with the people you're working with. Eero's done much collaborative art work over the years and I think there's an awful lot to learn from him - and from the experience of this project. I also learned today that the KGB really did some nasty stuff. I knew this in the abstract, but the KGB museum in Vilnius really does knock the hard facts into your head. A free organ concert in the baroque St Casimir Church this lunchtime was packed, with people standing and sitting on the floors once the pews were full up. Uplifting.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Watch the second Artothlon TV commercial. We only got it this afternoon - it looks more erotic than life really is... Ania and I were having a private discussion in my room and in comes Skirmatas, the cameraman, asking for some footage.  We said no for nearly ten minutes and he looked like he was going to cry - and be sacked if he didn't get any to take back to the TV people. So we gave him some lezzie action - thinking it wouldn't be used. It was. I'm not sure whether this puts the TV production people up in my estimation or not. But the whole thing is as camp as Christmas. It was mashed potato (and pork) this evening for dinner and it was a joy.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 TV studios this afternoon and this evening. Some teams are stronger than others, for sure, and I think the key to that has been to be really clear about how they have decided to work together - either by doing their own thing and bringing it together, or by concentrating on building their team.  The point is, always, to be clear about your team goals. Sounds like management-speak but it makes complete sense. A bunch of us went to see off the winners on their balloon trip yesterday evening, only to find that two of them were still working and had handed their flights over to others. One of the others had work to do too, so I jumped at the chance to hitch a ride. Never taken a balloon ride before and it was GLORIOUS.We landed in a field by a small family's homestead - and the look of wonder on the seven year old daughter's face was a joy. She was very shy, so I didn't catch it in a picture.    ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Sometimes, the things that can really tire you out are the ones you least expect. Hence the recent silence - sorry 'bout that. And I don't have long... once Saulius has finished his freelance work, we're off to some forest by some suburbs (of soviet-era apartments) to play with lasers. We'd been out in town till four this morning to find out what their limitations and capabilities are, and we want to try and find somewhere with less light so that the lasers are stronger. Work is being made. Justin, Eero and Monica are getting right in to confronting a few local controversies, like  homophobia, which I can only stand back and marvel at. It's what I'd thought about before I arrived, but they have the combination of artistic and technical experience and a strong team connection. Their work this week was a performance, in private (you could look through the window) where they were to spend 20 hours together, communicating by any means other than using speech. Documentation was a minute-or-so video (as Eero said, who would want to see any more than that?) and a huge print of a polaroid they took of the three of them touching tongues. It was fabulous - not least because it emphasised the importance of the experience of learning to connect with people who you don't know well and gaining something very strong and intimate as a result. It's the basis, surely, for making very strong work. And of course, editing documentation is crucial. I observe and try to learn. It's easy to think of documentation as an afterthought, but so much gets missed that way. But then... When Saulius and I were playing with lasers last night, should we have made more effort to record the process of what we were doing, or was it more important to just get on with the job in hand? More on next immediate post...run out of space...  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Continued from last post... Tom's team did a performance that articulated the US outsider artist Henry Darger. One of the jurors suggested it had been done before (what hasn't?) but Rafal had never performed anything before and he did the whole thing. They won the audience votes this week and got the prize. (A massage. Each.) Pavel tattooed a stencil of the face of the host (art student turned pop producer) on to belly pork and invited him to eat it at a set table in the studio. Pop will eat itself, etc. They also took an unpopular public sculpture and covered it in a popular free newspaper called "15 minutes" - to the annoyance of the local police, the entertainment of onlookers and, of course, the delight of the camera crew. My team, sadly, was the runt pup of the week. We invented a new brand, a product. It was a drink, we named it after a play on the Lithuanian word for possibility (Galimbe: switch the light on), and the strapline was that with this product, you can do anything if you want to, or not - it's up to you. Of course, there's nothing in the product - it's 20 per cent packaging, 80 per cent you. It reminded me of Omid Dhajili's story about Beckett in The Times not long ago. Anyway, the jurors - and presumeably the viewers - felt that  this was lost on them - we came last. There's more to say on the project in general - the resources, which can be fantastic if you have the wherewithal to ask for them, the relationship between reality TV and making art and the attitudes of the jurors who have been picked to talk about what we do. But these will have to come when I have more time. There was a local dispute in my team, too. It didn't involve me directly, but, after a cry to me for help from one of these very young people, I tried to keep it from the damn cameras who were sniffing around like terriers down a rabbit hole. And in my attempt to protect, the camera focused on me. Horrible. Anyway, there have been some team changes and I don't want to go through that again. It was an utterly exhausting week - a real head-f**k. I very nearly came home in despair but for the support and understanding of the group - the artists who I'm living with. I've been asked to be involved with making a book of the project. I think there's a good one to be written about collaboration - using this project as a hook and narrative. Eero's the man to write it. We're going to talk to the man with the money next week. It's another good reason to stay on. ps Gotta go with Saulius to a laser company and then the forest, so pics will have to come later...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 A few notes on language: It's impressive to watch people switch from one language to another in conversation. Pretty much everyone on this project speaks from native or fluent to at least functional English - which is a relief for a mono-linguist like me. It's just so embarrassing not to be able to communicate in another language. Commonly, people will communicate in English, or revert to Russian if it's a common language, switch to Lithuanian for chit chat. Some people appear to be more comfortable speaking English than they really are and will rely on others to translate for them. I'd probably end up doing the same, if I had more than my own, English, sadly lacking as it is in clarity. Despite there being three Americans on this project, it became clear that I was the native English speaker who is most difficult to understand. I speak very quickly by habit, for a start (I know this already). More interestingly, (I hadn't realised this) I use, without thinking, a lot of idiomatic words and expressions that just don't make any sense to someone who isn't familiar with them. Americans don't. Having begun to write this, I should now give some examples, but I can't actually think of any. I'll have to start taking notes. So is idiomatic language a bad thing? Is it insular and exclusive, keeping out anyone who isn't in the know? (There you go, there's one.) I think of Cadogan, Greenwich and Southwark and it makes me shudder (yep, Tom asked me yesterday if I knew the South-Wark cyclists - and I can remember mis-pronouncing it when I first arrived in London and thinking what a poncy thing it was to have words that are pronounced completely differently to how they're spelt). Words and expressions can be such a simple pleasure. But I need to think before I speak (as it was ever thus). On the look-out for locations today - both of my team-mates are away (for a baptism and a wedding). Was delighted to find the Viva Esperanto mark. Esperanto was invented in the 19th Century by Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof, a Pole of Lithuanian Jewish descent. He was saddened by the constant arguing between Poles, Germans and Belarussians and figured that a common world language could help people to communicate. So it was popular round these parts. And hated by Nazis and Stalinists because of its anti-nationalistic tendencies. So Esperantists were up there with Jews, Roma, homosexuals and partisans (Lithuanian nationalists) on the Nazi/Stalinist hate lists.      ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Tonight we (Saulius and I, Andrus if he's back) will draw a line of light through a location in the city. I found the spot on a tip from Anja Westerfroelke - an artist from Linz who, with Marie Francoise Stewart Ebel from Brussels, is here for the project "ON SITE in Vilnius" in a recently-vacated prison. One part of this prison is a domed church that the Soviets converted into a sort of three storey activity centre for the prison. At the top, you're standing at the apex of this baroque dome. It's about to be returned to some nuns and Anja has mapped the interior. The work, which looks like a huge sewing pattern, is moving through the building from being draped and hung to being folded in order to be packed away. We're using the laser beams I brought with me and some special, highly technical and very flat glass disc mirrors that we've rented from Geola, a laser and holographic firm in the city whose details I acquired before I left home - just in case. The mirrors come from Belarus and they're gorgeous - we've been playing "catch the beam" with one that I borrowed, all weekend. We were asked to respond to history and memory in the city. After that it's open. Our location is a passage that leads from a street to a park. There's a car park for a diplomatic apartment block on the one side, an ancient decrepit warehouse complete with Dickensian wooden lean-to shack on the other. It leads to a small area of trees and parkland which, at the other end, houses that odd Soviet underground toilet block. The shack is shelter to an old man who started to grumble when we sketched out some ideas last night - God knows what he'll make of the TV crew, magic arm clamps and (hopefully) several people milling around for a few hours that'll hit him tonight. Our task is to draw this line through the location, to make this line work, to acknowledge these buildings and to be strong enough at the end of this passage to turn a corner and beam up to the sky. The beam will, of course, refract and get larger the further it goes, though these mirrors will help to minimise that (the compact mirrors that we began experimenting with last week didn't work so well). For sure, we're working very much at verb level, but the process ahead of us has me wondering how Richard Wilson might approach it. Maybe we pierce the carpark, taking the beam in to it, along the inside and out again.  The director Donatus will be there with a steadycam and we have rented magic arm clamps to hold our mirrors. Fantastic to have access to such resources without worrying about the money. For the first time, I'm really beginning to feel like, however simple it is, I've started to do what I came to do. And that's very exciting. Relaxed in Kernave, yesterday evening. Here are some pics.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Three things that happened today: 1. Just now at dinner, the new boy, Darius (filmmaker) was practicing his English. It's not strong but he likes to make the effort. He says - Fiona - that's a beautiful name. Do you think so? Says I. Oh yes, he says. I know a Fiona - Hollywood. Oh - what's her name, says me. He says the name of a film but I can't catch with the pronunciation. She is very beautiful, says Darius. I look puzzled, since I didn't catch the name. Monica (who could pass for Angelina Jolie) asks him again for the film or the actress. It's Shrek. You are beautiful too, he says. On the inside. He was all set to carry on this line of discussion but I asked Monica to ask him to stop right there. Eero decided to move all the knives. 2. I'm writing, a few people are having lunch in the communal area (lounge would be too strong a word) and a Lithuanian folk singing competition is on the TV. Andreia's talking on the phone in the backround. The ads come on and Justin shouts to Andreia to pipe down as we can't hear the ad. It's the ad for Artothlon and we're all on it. Who could have imagined that a few months ago. 3. Saulius parks his car at a 30 degree angle - always. It's embarrasingly bad. This morning at the laser firm, I can't bear to walk out of it jutting that far into the road. He gives me the key and I park his car. We meet Donatus the director - sorry about that, I say, I was just parking Saulius' car. Why? It was sticking out into the middle of the road. Donatus is puzzled, and asks - is that an English thing, to be concerned with how a car is parked?  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Saulius and I are relatively happy with the work - though it's a hard thing to document - the light is very fine.It looked absolutely beautiful at times; each time the light reflected off a mirror, it refracted very slightly so that by the fourth angle, it was very soft - and had divided itself into threads of light within the one main beam. Lovely. Maybe we should have had a smoke machine there. I had wondered about it, but it seemed to me that that could, if we weren't careful, be a bit showy and begin to detract from the very simple thing that we were trying to do - that is, to draw a line, using laser light technology, through two opposing buildings, connecting them using the line but driving the line through from one end of the location to the other. What was really excellent about this project was that a good few people turned up to see what we did and they really interacted with the line. It was good to see the line build as we placed the mirrors, and to discover how the line worked and changed in response.  We didn't get to take the line up to the sky which we'd wanted to do, but we'd always been clear that it was an experimental piece of work for us with no dress rehearsal. Eero began to make a fire to generate some smoke - just as my lasers gave up (and now no longer function). We'd decided to rely on batteries and while the 9V ones we'd used over the weekend had been fine - Sony ones - the batteries which the crew brought for us gave up almost immediately and the lasers started to play up - I'd hardly used before I came here but they'd been as good as gold all weekend. We all know that brand matters with batteries. But remember - it really DOES matter. What's interesting about this for me is that while, because we didn't complete the work and get superb documentation, the TV show will see it as a failure. I don't and neither does Saulius. We did most of what we wanted to do, people got involved and engaged with the work, we watched the line change and we changed the space - as a bonus, the people in the TV crew had never seen this small but atmospheric part of the city before. I thought this morning of Catherine Yass' High Wire project - her tight-rope walker only began to walk out - he never completed it as intended because it was too windy on the day. But the work still stands proud.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Just spoken to Jim, my laser man back at home. Why on earth didn't I call him before? My lasers are almost certainly ruined, he says, thanks to using 9V batteries - they're only able to tolerate 3V. Another couple of important lessons learned. Always check, don't assume.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 The broadband is dicky, much has happened and I haven't been able to record it. But here's yesterday's sequence of events. First thing, Tom bailed. Slipped away in the night with his whiffle hurling bats. Everyone very sad. Massage vouchers, a prize left over from last week's show, were still hanging around so they decided to make it a girlie event - yet again I got a bit of a prize I hadn't won. Poetic justice. Skirmatas, the cameraman, came along - low point when he came into the massage room when each of us was lying face down under a towel. I asked him to leave. Grim mood all day. The assignment is one hundred litas. At the sculpture park the day before - no, I haven't even been able to talk about the sculpture park experience - Kornelya had given each team a hundred lita note. Except Justin's team who had better things to do than visit a sculpture park, despite being put under a lot of pressure by Kornelia. open bracket More positively, we've asked for a day to do some workshops, a talk, make some work, at the Technology museum - a fantastic ex-energy station with all the plant still in situ. I'd gone the other day and found trays and trays of Lithuanian and Cyrillic type blocks alongside a magnificent printing press. Just imagine what you'd do with those. Great location, great stuff in there, it'd make fantastic footage. It took a long while for them to pick up on this but finally, they've bitten. We've also asked for a day at the Observatory. There's one eighty km away and apparently it's fantastic. close bracket The grim mood continued all day - collaboration isn't working for many but there is, underneath the grimmness, a sense that the only thing keeping our pulses beating is the delicate web of solidarity between us. The screening of the show. This is where we have to watch it at the TV studio, then for the last ten minutes the cameras turn on us and Egmontas, the host. They film us responding to the audience votes and announce the prize and, officially, the next week's assignment. It's always horrible. The show has been edited better this week, though inexplicably, they're still showing hot air balloon footage and the Ania scene. It's not like we haven't given them masses of action. Egmontas the host isn't there, we don't know why. Some technician has placed a number of bananas on each table. Of course, some people start putting these in their bags, so he puts more bananas out. This hasn't happened before. One of the reporters does the host thing and we all get up and leave, without a word. We leave the building and walk home. It feels sublime. It's the first thing we've all been able to do together, in block solidarity. Apparently they were intending that we vote one or some of us off with the bananas. I mean, really. pics and skirmantas story later.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Half past ten, Saulius has arrived after giving blood this morning and Justin, Eero and Monica are dumpster diving downstairs. I go help them bring stuff up - hula hoops, a toy fire engine - a printer. Monica is beside herself with joy, she found an ornate old bathroom ceramic sink. She has a plan. Justin's taken cameras and phones so he and Ania can edit the footage from last night. The mood has changed and everyone's on form - even those who are usually pretty glum. I think interesting things could really start happening now. We're in this together. Anyone who's reading this will have realised that what I'm writing here is highly selective and edited in the knowledge that it is public. I've taken to sending occasional emails to a small group, i'm intending to do this more as a means of documenting and not losing details. If you'd like to be added to this list, do email me - it'll only be people I know. Off to the flea market on my bike. Others are looking for something big. more later. oh - still haven't told the skirmantas story.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 We all met at yesterday at five. I mean, us, the artists. Agreed that this couldn't go on - but we were invited here to do work, we want to do it, we can if they let us get on with it - and we take footage and edit it and give it to them. Then we can show how making art works - not the tedious footage they've been showing. Much discussion - is it that they don't know, or just don't care? I know for certain that I don't want any more microphones stuck in my face asking me ČWhat do you feel about art?Č We agreed that we were up for doing an event at the studio, invite people, show some films, do some workshops and performances - I had a great one lined up - though a few thought having a party and calling it art was unconvincing. The studio is a wonderful place - and it needs love. It's an light, airy monastery building that's about to be given back to the Franciscans. The TV people had not responded to text messages or phone calls - but they announced a meeting at seven at the studio. We didn't know what was going to happen but we knew we didn't want to be on a game show any more. Donatus, the director, took the floor. With ČinfoČ, he said. They've done some eliminations. Everyone's been eliminated, except for Pavel, Tadas and Darius. Pavel's in Denmark, of course, and Tadas and Darius don't speak. The ruse is that we broke our contracts by walking out, the night before. Though everyone had done that. We are each given a short termination of contract paper - with Jonas'  name on it. Jonas is the number three at the TV station - very young, pencil moustache, rolled up jacket sleeves - crashed our dinner weeks ago with the grace of an elephant in a china shop - as they say round these parts. Our flights have been reserved and - this is absolutely true - there's a camera set up next door for us to speak, directly to camera, one by one. The Lithuanian artists are expected to leave the dorm immediately. Of course, this doesn't happen. Kornelya comes over to me to try to discuss a flight on Monday. Continued next post...... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 continued from last post... We phone Zilnas, Eero was expecting to do a lecture - paid - on the Wednesday - he'd been booked, after someone else dropped out. Zilnas is out of town but agrees to get on to Kornelya to find out wtf is going on. Meanwhile, Paulius is frantically trying to retrieve kit - laptops, cameras and tripods. IHaving spent four weeks dancing to someone else's tune, 'm not up for being harrassed. I have a bit of work on the laptop - and Justin has almost the whole memory used up on his. I say to Paulius - lovely Paulius - that I'm not trying to make his life difficult, I've always been helpful. No you haven't, he says. Your blog, it started off alright, but it hasn't been helpful at all. It went from being quite objective to being really subjective and negative. He then went on to pretty much accuse me of wanting to steal it. Unpleasant, to say the least. Hmm. I think it's been extremely clean - immaculate, even, Too clean. I've edited what I've written with an acute sensitivity in the knowledge that it's being read by people that I'm working with - the crew. But I didn't come here to write propaganda for the Lithuanian TV industry. Speaking of which, it doesn't bode well for the twenty thousand litas book. More later.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Paulius has arrived. My stuff is now off the laptop. He wants the Sim cards back - they have under a fiver's worth of credit. The milk has run out. I'm off to the CAC for some breakfast.  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Spent some time looking at Eero's work on Facebook: when you're there, tap in Tukk and you'll find it. He finds pictures that people have uploaded and Photoshop's Tukk into  them, sends them to the owners of the photos and sees if they like them. Most people do. I like the idea of this virtual itinerant character visiting virtual places all over the world and making new virtual friends. An important part of it is taking time to make relationships with the people whose photos he intervenes in, he says. Also looked at the page of the Polymer factory in Tallin.There's an ancient printing press there - a functioning one, with lots and lots of the cyrillic type that I loved so much in the Technology factory here. They have a sauna made from old windows, workshops - it looks great. Used to make plastic toys in the daytime and sex toys at night, on the quiet. The old people who used to work there all came to a big perfomance party there - called the Homecoming. Another project is Migrating Realities - Miga's been working on it for a while and in September, a group of people are going to travel, across three borders, ending up in Linz. I'm interested in migration. There's a part of me that'd be happy to take the bus back to London, I see them through Peckham and down the Camberwell New Road on their way to Victoria all the time.... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034 Holding post - just for info. I'm home - decided I needed a break and some time to get my domestic stuff back in line. I'll write about the project, what went right, what went wrong, in a day or two when I have the energy to construct sentences again, properly. Then I'll be able to tell you about Interpol looking for Tom, the paranoia, the  mis-information and the other funny and frightening bits I've not written about in this public forum. Hopefully, some sort of analysis about the business of working with public money and the conflicts of having many players with different agendas. I've started to collate archive material (emails, pics, videos). There's definitely work to be done with all this - after a decent break. Maybe you'll see it at some point, with me behind a microphone in a room above some pub in Peckham. Back in a few days. Justin, Eero and Ania are furiously sifting through footage. Here's some to be getting on with. Best of Tom Best of Rafal The moment we walked out of a dismal reality TV show Error show Lithuania a simple condom demonstration The moment we get fired Where I would be now if I hadn't come home - in Paulius' flat Best of Paulius And a slice of history: Radiohead's exit interview  ... Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/544034