ARTISTS TALKING

# 1 [1 September 2009]

9 days to go

I have mixed feelings about how helpful this bank holiday has been in helping me to prepare for the quickly approaching Art Week in Riihimaki.  Part of me wants to do whatever a normal 24 year old does at these times (see friends and drink beer).  And then i realise that in 9 days i'll be in Finland, as an artist, doing my best to be composed and professional.  

The bank holiday got off to a slow start work wise as i caught up on sleep following my recent trip to Berlin.  I attempted to write my paper for the seminar, something, anything.  nothing came out so i stalled by reading the work of others i admired.  still nothing, this upset me.  i read Roland Barthes, Carl Andre, Anni Albers, Eva Hesse, Richard Long and Sol LeWitt and searched through old sketchbooks to rediscover the things that inspired me last year during the Masters.

"Conceptual Artists were intuitive rather than rational.  In other words, to discover their idea - the main idea, the instigator or whatever it is - a leap of faith or a leap of aesthetics had to be made otherwise it was just another rational step.  To avoid a rational step, intuition is important"

Sol LeWitt, Art Monthly Issue 164 March 1993

Today, Tuesday, was better because i had an extra day off work, and a better mentality.  I imagine that everything that i had been reading finally sunk in and made sense.  I went to the studio for a very structured day of working, mostly writing.  The studio was beautiful and calm, why hadn't i come here sooner?  To my amazement 2500 words came out, discussing my concerns and processes, and new ideas came out too, completely unexpected.  My paper is about the traces left behind as a town changes, and how i respond to these.  As the work is going to be site responsive, i don't feel that i can write the whole seminar now - but at least i have something.  I felt like an artist today;  not an "outreach officer", or a sleepy 24 year old, and i look forward to feeling like an artist for a whole two weeks when im in Finland.  I think its going to be okay now. 

# 2 [3 September 2009]

Edwina has sent me an image of one of the possible sites for my installation / performance (see right).  Every glimpse that i get of Finland is precious because i have no idea what the landscape is going to be like.  I imagine the colours to be muted, and for there to be strong lines - this picture would confirm that theory.  It could just be that i seek out muted linear sites and there are plenty of other things going on around me, just i don't notice them.  Im excited about this site, with its non-colour and utilitarian aesthetic.  I wonder what i will do there...?

This is beginning to feel real now.

My application was also accepted to take part in the "Urban Spaces" workshop led by Lisa Torell, an Artist from Sweden who asks her workshop participants to consider "in between places" that are often overlooked, such as footpaths or overgrown verges.  This workshop is part of the Art Week and will act as a useful catalyst i think in producing my own installations, i am also very much looking forward to working with a group of people that i don't know yet, to make art up against a time limit, and have meetings and crits.  It will be like those tentative first weeks of Art School all over again where everybody is very sensitive and excited at the same time.

# 3 [4 September 2009]

I've had a very productive afternoon doing all of the little jobs ready for Finland - its just the big jobs that are left now such as tightening up my Seminar paper.

I had a sneak preview of the NUCA MA Show today, its always motivational to look at other people's work and to see the effort that is put into the exhibition.  It was my MA Show this time last year, im not sure how i feel about that, slightly disjointed from the student experience which i loved so much, whilst also knowing that im ready to go it alone.  I suppose like many artists, i just crave contact with other like-minded people and value the dialogues that can happen as a result of it.

# 4 [7 September 2009]

Packing:

sketchbook, pencil case (pencils, pens, scissors, pencil sharpeners), masking tape, big digital camera, small digital camera, holga camera, single use cameras, "Non Places" by Marc Auge, "Lines" by Tim Ingold, "Deleuze & Guattari for Architects" by Andrew Ballantyne, laptop.

# 5 [10 September 2009]

I am so over familiar with Stansted airport now, it is a frequented non-place for me - i even have a routine when i go there which involves a flit around the perfume shop, a visit to WH Smiths to buy Harpers Bazaar and a sit down at Pret with an over-hot cup of tea.  I wrote down some thoughts on non places whilst i waited for my gate number to come up on the screen and observed people who worked in this non place every day, also going to Pret for an over-hot cup of tea during their breaks.  Is it a non-place for them too?

After pretending that my hand luggage weighed less that 10kg (rather than 14kg), i found a window seat on the plane, and a couple sat next to me;  

Man: "Are you from Finland?"

Sam: "No, im from England, Norwich..."

Man: "Oh, you are just very quiet - i thought you were Finnish"

The flight was about 2hrs 30 minutes and the sun set as the plane flew over the coast of Finland, whispers of thin cloud illuminated magenta and the ground below was in shadow, apart from a mass of amazing lakes and networks of wide rivers below which shone up at us like mirrors.

Edwina met me at the airport and i was fed jaffa cakes and chocolate on our way to Riihimaki.  The journey took about 1 hour and we ended with a tour of Riihimaki by street light, the train station, shopping mall, roundabouts where some public sculptures have already been installed, the high street and the empty building where i will be working.

It is Thursday morning now and we are just leaving to head into town for a press meeting at 10am - i can't wait to see Finland in daylight. 

# 6 [10 September 2009]

We had a press meeting at 10am in the old power station which is acting as the center for the Art Week.  Most of the meeting was in Finnish, so i didn't understand much, but was too busy being in awe of this huge space.  I was introduced to the group and met Sirpa and Satu, and then said a few words about what i was hoping to do here, bearing in mind that i had been in Finland for less that 12 hours at this point.  Afterwards a lady came up to speak to me, she was really enthusiastic about my line drawing and performance, which was touching, afterwards Edwina told me that she was from the press, and somehow i found that even more touching.

At 2.30pm we got the key to the space where i will be working.  This was the first time that Edwina or myself had been into the space, and we explored the rooms with enthusiasm.  There is one main space, with smaller rooms off of it, and some stairs that don't lead anywhere.  I said the space felt like a hospital because it was incredibly clean and subtle in its colour - mostly blues and grays, Edwina said that this is typical Finnish.  I believe that that space used to be an insurance firm or something similar, there are marks on the floor where the desks used to be, and scratches on the floor from where someone used to sit on their swivel office chair.  I liked these quiet traces of a previous use very much, my favorites were some dusty, grubby marks on the wall where some pictures or certificates had previously hung.  These traces are very much what my graphite line drawings are inspired by; the subtle traces that humans leave on architecture as the result of repetitive activity.  

At 5pm we went to a flea market / 2nd hand shop / junk yard.  I dont know how i had previously survived as an Artist without it - everything i ever needed was here, and everything that i didn't was too; doors, sinks, window frames, glass, sewing machines, bits of metal, mirrors, shoelaces, sledges, skis, crockery, spinning wheels... Im pretty sure that i will be visiting again.

We rounded the day off by going to a private view in the next town, at Hyvinkaan Taidemuseo where there was a retrospective of Jani Leinonen's drawings, paintings and interventions (although he is only 31).  It felt very much like Pop Art and was concerned with consumer culture - i liked his interventions the most, for example his Art Supermarket and a project where he painted over old pictures the public had found in their attics, making them into contemporary works of art and selling them on for a lot of euro's.  

I am in the right frame of mind to make my own work now - there is plenty to do, and have the Opening Party to look forward to tomorrow.

# 7 [11 September 2009]

"Good Morning, we're in the press!"  I wish i could understand Finnish - my first press appearance, and i don't understand it! (we'll ask Markku to translate later). 

Today is effectively a studio day before my first Performance tomorrow evening, not only my first performance here, but my first performance ever.  I need to think carefully about how to conduct myself - what do i wear?  do i speak to the visitors?  what happens if people look bored? etc etc.  We are hoping to set a video camera up to film my drawing, and link it to a live feed on a laptop or tv.  The reason for this is to capture the detail of my drawing, which the audience won't be able to see.  Even if we cannot arrange the live feed in time, i will atleast have a video.  (this should please Victoria, who has been encouraging me to do a video piece since my Plaza work last August).  

We didn't make it down to the shop unit today, but we sourced some materials and Edwina found me some huge sheets of perspex in her garage - i will attach these to the wall, work on them with paint and polyfiller and then score my line on top of these additional surfaces.  Im not sure how to arrange the perspex sheets yet, but they will be sympathetic to the traces in the space.

At 3.30pm the students who are joining us for the week arrived, they are from Glasgow School of Art and will be taking part in Lisa Torell's Urban Spaces workshop with us. We quickly made our way over to the power station where the Art Week was opening.  I was called to the front with the other Artists, and again was oblivious to what was being said.  The event was very social, and we spoke to a lot of people, the Art community here is very close.

At 6pm we then went to the Art Museum in Riihimaki where a national exhibition of recycled art was opening, the theme ties into the Art Week well.  I have noticed that Finnish exhibition openings have very long speeches, by several people - but apparently this is normal, and the formal thing to do.  I spoke to Lloyd, who is Satu's husband - he teaches English here.  We compared the differences between the Finnish and British art systems... in Finland, even quite established Artists have to pay for an exhibition space (1500/2000 euros), Lloyd was surprised to hear that in Britain, Artists get paid a fee to exhibit in a show, and when they are installing, making work or doing workshops, there is a standard fee that they can expect to be paid.  Im finding it very interesting to learn about these differences... we have little reason to complain in Britain really.  

Tomorrow i need to install my perspex pieces, paint surfaces, and set up the video camera, and ofcourse... perform my drawing! (wow!)

# 8 [13 September 2009]

Yesterday i performed my line drawing for the first time.  I was anxious about this because it is usually quite a private activity in the studio, that only those who have a deep understanding of my practice have witnessed. 

At 6pm a sizable crowd gathered and i was due to start.  Should i say something first?  Should i round everyone together?  They all seemed quite happy chatting - so i decided just to start without making a scene.  The noise was penetrating as the sharp graphite nib of the pencil scored along the canvas, and it soon caught everyone's attention. Some people sat in a semi circle around me on the floor, near the tv monitor (Liam set up a video camera on the drawing and hooked it up to a live feed on a tv monitor, so the audience could see the detail of the drawing). Although i had my back to everyone because i was drawing, i was aware of movement and activity behind me - i could recognise people out of the corner of my eye, and they were taking photos and films on their small digital cameras.  To my surprise, a man came up very close to me, and took quick photos with a huge camera and big flash, it was clear that he was from the press.  The performance was generating more of a reaction that i had expected.

I drew for an hour and became more relaxed in my rhythm, and so did the audience - they all seemed very calm around me.  Despite me thinking that they would get bored of this repetitive activity, most of them stayed for the full hour.

My arm ached, i could feel blisters developing on my palm, my body swayed from side to side as i drew the full length of the line, and i got a stitch.  It hurt when i sharpened the pencils, and their nibs kept breaking.  So much dust was produced.  I had forgotten what a physical activity this drawing was, i became bored, but very determined and tired.  Sometimes i would draw slowly and then i got fed up, so went really quickly for a short amount of time, until the nib broke again.  The pencil made a sharp scraping sound on the fabric and perspex, a different sound each way, left to right, or right to left.

I found myself deep in thought as drew, thoughts about what the drawing meant and represented came into my head, and i wish i could had written them down for the seminar.  I could also hear people in the background talking about the drawing, and what it meant for them, or what it looked like.

At 7pm, the performance ended and i took down the ruler and fabric.  Everyone crowded round the remaining drawing on the wall with curiosity and took photos, and the room was filled with conversation and energy.

I was exhausted, but very pleased the audience had responded so well.

# 9 [15 September 2009]

Feeling pretty exhausted after Saturday's performance, i had a day off Sunday.

Monday, and back into full, busy and intense routines of working again.  It was the first day of Lisa Torell's "Urban Spaces" workshop.  What was i expecting?  To put myself into someone else's hands and to enjoy being navigated, to work with others and have dialogues reminiscent of Art School crits.  There are 10 participants and Lisa asked us to identify some "non places" in which to work.  Edwina, who lives in Riihimaki spoke about an abandoned area underneath the fly-over so Lisa set us some parameters around the site to focus us.  The three words that we have to think about and make work in response to are:

Time, Moment and Routine

I spent some time walking around the area, but wanted to sit down and go through notes in my sketchbook, extracting words that had previously been useful; crossover, touching, separating, joining, crack, crease, cut...

I didn't realise it at the time, but i had settled in my non-place here.  A grassy mound linking the two stretches of road, with no real purpose.  I liked sitting here because i could see activity on both of the roads and have always liked it when two cars, one on the lower road, and one on the fly over cross the bridge at the same moment.

I was also aware of a clunking sound made by cars driving over a strip of metal on the bridge, this reminded my of my line drawing performance, where the join in my perspex created a new sound for the pencil to score over.  

The nature of the workshop lends itself to performance because we have a very short time to work in, and limited materials.  Today, Tuesday is the day for resolving some of these ideas, and we have until 2pm to work, and then will present something to the group.  So far i have two ideas:

Moment:  recreate my line drawing on the pavement of the bridge, over the fracture in the surface.  (on paper, or directly onto the pavement?)

Routine: Running up and down the bridge, left to right, right to left for 1 hour - the same amount of time that i spent on Saturday's performance.  Running is a routine for many people, it helps me get mentally into the right place to make work, and like the drawing, it has a physical and exhausting effect on my body.

I thought that "Time" would be the easiest word to work with, but i still don't have an idea for this word.  Perhaps its too big?  We have alot of time today to work on our thoughts, so something should come.

We are meeting at 10am and have a new text to read, Lisa said that we should think about the beginning and end of a work, which is something that i have been thinking about in relation to my line drawing, especially performance.  

# 10 [16 September 2009]

Tuesday - Day 2 of the Workshop (Presentations, Performances and Crit)

We had until 2pm to work on our "performances" and to think about how we might document them.  The first exercise that i did was to draw across the crack in the road, onto paper every time a car/bike/pedestrian passed me on the bridge.  I sat on the pavement for an hour making this drawing, it acted as a record of traffic, and different drawings made at different times would give different results. The end result was fine, but not strong enough to be my "performance piece".  I enjoyed working in a public place where passers-by could glimpse me, but not understand what was going on.

The piece that i will carry forward as my Performance will be my running idea.  I will run up and down the bridge in Riihimaki for one hour.  I see it as a large version of my line drawing, where my body is the pencil and the road is the ruler.  Like the line drawing, this activity will have an exhausting effect on my body, and my rhythm will change throughout the performance.  At first i will be uneasy until i find my pace, then have fast and slow moments, sometimes i will feel determined, other times, tired.  I have never run for an hour before, so im not sure how my body will fair - but it doesn't really matter if i cannot run towards the end, i will continue walking.

The activity of running across the bridge is not abnormal, if people were to glance me doing this performance, they would not think anything of it - but if they were to see me running this short distance repetitively - then they would think it was it was strange.

"If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all." 
— John Cage

I have recently discovered that my new phone has a video function, it is very low-tech, but i would like to record the performance on here.  I would position the camera at one point on the bridge, and just record the rhythm of my feet as they ran/walked past - the intervals of when the viewer saw my feet would vary depending on my pace at that time.  

The crit lasted from 2pm til 6pm, everybody gave a "trailer" of their performances and we discussed them and talked about the documentation and life span of each.  We had only been introduced to this "non place" a day ago, and everybody had come up with something different, inventive, curious or moving.  We now need to consider how we present our performances to the public, and will be working together in the Project Space today (Wednesday) to pull together our extensive documentation, produce and exhibition and perhaps a catalogue.