ARTISTS TALKING

# 27 [23 February 2009]

this is how it feels!!

# 26 [23 February 2009]

this is how it feels!!

# 25 [15 February 2009]

Trying to get everyone together is quite a task. Everyone is busy all the time, myself included. Friday evening I got a big piece of cheese and some bread and set up a laptop with the photos taken by Shaw&Shaw and an interesting piece of writing that has come my way about the I dont know about community networks etc show…..(more please!) As I made the tea, the texts and calls started to roll in as it seems for various reasons that Friday 13th was jinxed and so the meeting ended up between just Jil and I - which was fine. We talked about collective consciousness and what that might mean and whether individuals are enabled by some overall natural support mechanism, whether we influence that through democracy…or if its out of our control. I managed to get through most of the cheese myself!
I had a lovely exchange of e.mails on Friday with Jo Lewington, still in India, who had come up with a title for her work “Father on the right, Mother on the left” which gives a whole new layer to the work, a film made with workers in a factory.
As the works begin to gather a life around them, – they’ve been seen and commented upon which changes in a way some of the understanding of it, I am trying to think again about the practicality of the works coming together and what will it all say then. Here the ideas within the project are emerging . Something is taking shape, the relationship between the works – and the individual pieces – Trying to think is the operative word - I feel like I'm on  a steep curve - like I should be on top of it, but something else keeps unfolding - I love it. Time to think however,is at a premium at the moment.
Yesterday, to clear the mind I tried to go sailing at the  Debdale club (run by the local council just in case you suddenly got the wrong image) – but the lake is still frozen, with bits of old cars and planks on it and it has a big fence around it so that no one drowns.

# 24 [2 February 2009]

A mixed bag of people – students, artists, community arts practitioners, curators, academics, community workers and volunteers and one person from the Transport network piled onto community transport minibus, driven by Mark - thanks Mark. They were given a whistle stop tour of the route and the artworks. Architectural critic Phil Griffin was on board to make the journey more entertaining and informative about Manchester’s varied regeneration with added historical and contemporary anecdotes.

Cultural Tourism. Was there any connection between the lives of the people on the bus and the lives of the community centres. Questions were asked about the centres and I know that some people were certainly on the lookout for opportunities to create stronger connections between their own work in the arts or academia and wider society. Perhaps learning about the places would increase their own cultural capital? One passenger from Manchester International Festival had just arrived in Manchester and found the tour a good way to get an overall view of the city – visiting neighbourhoods she’d never have known about otherwise and she told me that taking part in something small and obscure(!) like this was where she would really learn about the city and what artists were doing out there.

Cilla Baines from the long established and very successful Community Arts North West wanted to replicate the idea of a tour, one that would re -visit key sites and places where community arts projects around Manchester have occurred, recognising the historical significance of that area of practice to the city.

At each place, the tour group created more interest in the work itself from passers by. The fact of 15 or so people crowding around the art works drew people over, like a mini version of the art world generally I guess – what are they looking at, it must be something important?. People asked questions about the work – what was it for, what was it about – the usual questions. Particularly in Wythenshawe – a suburb that was built on the principals of a garden city – and detached from the rest of Manchester by the M56 – someone asked – so is this about Wythenshawe? Well not exactly, but then again yes…the people represented on Joe Richardson’s socio-organi-gram of CN4M and it’s environs 2008 may well have an effect in this isolated, yet self contained community and he's showing how they connect with others.

At any rate Joe’s piece may have had more relevance than the chainsaw carved tree trunk of two birds on a log that it had replaced  two weeks earlier – and despite a few cracks in one of the fragile gold leafed pasting tables, where presumably someone had leaned a little too hard on the work, no further damage was reported to any of the works. And unlike the carved log, we didn’t put a cordon around anything!

# 23 [2 February 2009]

The exhibition for two weeks in community settings came to and end last weekend.
The time went so quickly that I didn’t have enough chances to stay in all of the venues to see the work in place and gauge how people responded, so I am reliant on feedback coming from the venues and individuals - If anyone did manage to see anything, do let me know - contact me via one-and-all.org.

What I’ve been doing is as I understand it quite different. Its not been about engaging people in the process of making art – so it goes against all the rules of community arts or participatory projects that these venues are familiar with and have come to expect. I didn’t leave a whole lot of information to read about the work – just some basic info about the project and a few lines to explain each artists approach - perhaps the kind of thing you'd find in a gallery. The map/guide had more text and some context. So the idea of an “experiment” was an apt one. How would people respond to a piece of contemporary art appearing in their places (though they are public places too) and importantly how would a contemporary art audience react to the work in those places. The works weren't site specific either. But certainly the sites added something to the work I believe.

What was I trying to do? On the one hand, the aesthetic experience of the places seemed an untapped issue. How did community practice (lets use that term instead of regeneration) actually look and feel. And what would placing these art works in those contexts do to the meaning of the work. And would the work mean anything to the people passing by - do we perhaps do people a dis-credit by assuming they need to be spoonfed their culture? Perhaps people are more sophisticated than some may like to think..

# 22 [14 January 2009]

Arriving at the Town Hall I cant believe the amount of equipment and furtniture that Hafsah has single handedly moved from the top floor studio to the sculpture Hall. We set to work creating blackout for the windows. By the time the work is set up the following day I am delighted with the result. Hafsah’s vision of a domestic transformation is complete, though she hasnt been able to try out the completed work till now. As a viewer I am transported to the participants living rooms whilst surrounded by the forefathers and the array of Capitalists with whose money Manchester was built. The range of subjects covered by the talking heads is wide and far reaching. Culture in its richest senses – the experience of all of us mediated by television and our own circumstances in relation to it… Cultural soup for the soul! Plus an old friend of mine, Craig, unbeknown to me has become a participant and his natural TV presence is so engaging and funny that I end up watching for ages. Back to the black out!

Logisticaly this is the trickiest piece to look after – needing to be switched on at 9 and then off and of course the heat generated by all those Tvs is quite significant! All were PT tested, I just hope they don’t fail…..all are old fashioned analogue Tvs and everyone is switching over to digital now so Hafsah had no trouble getting donations as technology and time moves on.

The last work to be installed is Andrew’s board game ‘The Connections” It looks like monopoly with all kinds of detailed and delicate playing pieces precariously balanced. Its shown in Hulme at the Zion Health and Resource centre. Tucked away in a corner of the reception. The game is a bit of a let down and so what you are left with is a slightly impenetrable and confusing but colourful conundrum….

# 21 [14 January 2009]

Risky....

Looking at these works requires a shift of perceptions. Like when you look at an optical illusion.. I keep thinking how they will be in the gallery – certainly Joe and William have been considering this. Both have experience of working in community settings. William has created his construction with the space in mind and will change the configuration of the elements for the gallery. Joe’s piece will be the same and so he’s risking having to re-make if there is damage. But something tells me that the work will survive…When we arrived to reccy last week, there was a wooden sculpture of two birds, carved from an old tree stump. The staff of the centre had put a cordon around it – one of those silver post and thick black cordon tape things they have to heard people through customs had been arranged closely around the sculpture. I do hope they don’t put that around Joe’s work- but then again perhaps it would add something…

# 20 [14 January 2009]

Duct Tape or Gaffa Tape - you decide.. 

I’m in Hurpurhey district centre – B+M stores, Wilkinsons, Mac Donalds, Asda, Subway. A freezing cold day, bitter wind. I rush about from shop to shop and the Primark scandals come back to mind, the cheap goods, the busy shoppers collars up against the bland wind tunnels, out on a Sunday in this rather bleak precinct bring me down to earth. The library seemed like an oasis of enlightenment and education compared to this – and thank goodness for it…. I find a roll of B+M duct tape for £1 which will have to do for now….

text  from Joe “aiming to get to the Forum for 4.30 see you there still?”
Now I’m driving down the motorway. Wythenshawe is cut off from the rest of Manchester in that way. Joe told me yesterday that when he’s worked there before he has found people much easier to engage than in the city centre. He says theres a stronger sense of community identity in this self contained place. The precinct is similar to that in Harpurhey – a bleak set of building blocks and big cheap stores.

The Forum is the centre of community facilities . Its like entering a shopping centre, but instead whats on offer are leisure, education and health facilities. Its open late for a Sunday because theres a dancing competition in the public hall. Joe and Jai are here setting up Joe’s work which consists of a set of three gold pasting tables. A long roll of lining paper holds the diagrams that they’ve been perfecting for three days, and on top is a partially unrolled sumptuous red paper roll, as if about to obliterate the lining paper. Kids in sequins with doting parents run through the space, music and applause can be heard from the hall. A few people wander over to puzzle at what we are taking photos of. We find an easel for the interpretation. No title yet for this one though….

Sitting in the centre of the concourse, with the mosaiced floor beneath it and various other art works dotted about in the distance, I actually think this piece works quite well – it almost disappears into the overall setting, but like Jil’s it requires close attention. The security guards are always around to keep an eye on things. Who knows what will happen to such a delicate work. Joe doesn’t hold much hope for it lasting till Thursday and Jai is dreading having to start again on the labour intensive production if it gets grafittied or damaged.

# 19 [14 January 2009]

Art - where's it bin?

 ‘All dun ere, u still cmin down” said the text from William – I reply “can you hang on be there in 20 mins”

Hastily finishing up with Jil at the church, I hot foot it past B of The Bang again through to East Manchester and the modern North City Library. Approaching from a different road this time, I get a proper view of the photo voltaic cels that cover a whole south facing side of the building.
Williams sculptural “monument / water feature”, made with dustbins is sitting like a beacon in the centre of the foyer. The workings are all on view – wires disappear into the ground, there are coloured lights and tinkling water from the umbrella like fountains contained inside the bins. The lids are secured with bungees, colour coded with the lights inside.

Like the stoics they honour, they seem solid, friendly and full of hope. As we are looking at them, a family enter the library; a small girl runs up to one of the bins and extends her arms around it as if to hug it. What a reaction!

As I’m writing now I’m thinking again why the choice of the library was a good one. The library staff have put up the in formation about the building to fit in with our exhibition. It’s a building that creates its own energy – the solar panels etc are all returning energy to the grid and a counter on the wall records how much is being saved. So the work should raise some awareness around the sustainability networks purposes.

A text from Hafsah – “gaffa tape - can u get some?” 

# 18 [14 January 2009]

placing work in a church...

At St Lukes, where I work anyway, I could print out and mount some interpretation for the venues. The reality of placing one piece of work in each venue is here!

With a set of six paintings, or a dvd on a domestic screen, its one thing. Both these formats fit in well, they are at least a form that the non-arts audience can relate to – and I think the two spaces so far are good.
Jil Moore’s glass triptych is being placed in the church. I found a small old drop leaf table which Jil wanted to use, as people would have to stoop a little to examine the works. The objects are made up of found glass elements; bowls, jars and ornaments which together create a kind of futuristic architectural model. Inside these transparent constructions are found translucent photographs showing images of individuals during the rush hour. In one piece, a small boy with his rucksack is contained in a small glass bubble, floating in water. As condensation gathers in the container a micro climate is formed and the boy is carried around the bowl imperceptibly. The work stands on a mirror  tile surface, reflecting the viewer and creating light and reflections. It’s a piece that demands close examination. Yet from the entrance to the church it looks like part of the church furniture – some sort of chalice or over-sized holy water containers sitting together in a cluster, part of some ancient religious ceremony. It was an unexpected result of placing this work here.
Rachel, someone who attends St Lukes Art Project (one of my other projects) liked the work – when I talked about what the idea behind it was, she said “Yeah, its really good – but only some people who might think about things in that way, you know, being part of something bigger, but a lot of people just go to town and do their shopping”