ARTISTS TALKING

# 36 [19 August 2010]

One-woman show

I have been doing some research on the Internet in-between shifts at work looking at one-woman shows. I found many female comedians on You Tube, however I found the most funny performances by drag acts particularly Anna Conda who like most drag artists mime to songs and dance around a bit, which is exactly what I’m looking for! I particularly liked this piece a spin on the famous Tiffany track, I think were alone now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LURFNo94daE 

I love the simple stage set design with the focus on the performer. Why is it so funny watching men dressed as women prancing around like children? I know why, because its ‘funny’ something you rarely see in the art world. To get some feedback on my first draft for my performance ‘The Event’ I have sent a rough script to some of my friends to see what they think and get references to other peoples work. One of my friends suggested looking at Miss World speeches which again I had a right laugh watching videos on You Tube of these beautiful women talking absolute nonsense all in aid of saving the children and ending world poverty. Reading through my script I have been developing my foreign accent, which has improved since watching videos of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Ivana Trump, I think I will call myself Miss Eventé. I booked a tour for next week at the Cornerhouse with Amy Rudolph around the Unrealised Potential exhibition, which will be ideal to research her hosting skills please follow link to show info:

http://www.cornerhouse.org/events/info.aspx?ID=1752&page=0

I have visited the show already so I am interested to compare and contrast the experience of being led through the space by someone else. My initial feelings of the exhibition was that it looked well designed although it felt like a series of deconstructed parts and that something was missing. Maybe this was because a different artist made the proposal for the exhibition on level 2. I do think that knowing before I entered the space that tours were planned to happen on this particular floor influenced my experience of it.

If anyone has any suggestions of artists to look at, and tips on hostessing skills please let me know, thanks again Andrew for your comments.

# 35 [9 August 2010]

Event Culture

My intervention work is a reaction to large-scale organised events, which this country is saturated with particularly art events such as the Liverpool Biennial, Manchester International Art Festival, and Frieze Art Fair. Such events predominantly show established high profile International contemporary artists who make these stages seem unattainable to new and emerging artists like myself. It seems that in this day and age we are only allowed or controlled to engage with each other in public by attending official cultural events. I am tired of seeing the same art and artists doing the circuit and see the potential of down sizing, which can create an intimate experience between the artist and the viewer. In my work I want to create my own mini event which pushes back to the organized art ‘spectacle’ by showing myself as un-spectacular.

The phenomenon of Tate Modern with its record-breaking visitor numbers could be criticised for creating a shopping mall like viewing experience of art. This way of funneling people through the space could be considered similar to an airport experience fills me with anxiety and concerns me whether people are capable of engaging with anything for longer than two minutes. The Tate Modern aim is to give the audience an ‘experience’ when they visit. However, are they merely just creating shallow encounters or a real opportunity for people to connect on a deeper level with art? The experience is a fleeting moment and once passed can feel like it never actually happened. As an artist this is an ongoing challenge and motivation for my work.

At the 2010 International Arts Festival in Manchester, Marina Abramovic curated a group show of Live Art and led a group initiation before entering the space at the Whitworth gallery. I attended this event and felt the most effective part of the performance was the group initiation which lasted around an hour, this involved the audience wearing white lab coats then sitting with around 200 people and being taken through a series of actions. For example we all had to drink a small cup of water in 7 minutes, another action required sitting in front of the person next to you and staring into their eyes for 5 minutes. The aim of the performance was to slow people down, bring them into the moment, make the audience more aware of their surroundings.

# 34 [30 July 2010]

Am I being too safe?

Here I go again questioning my proposed balloon arch, am I being too safe with this? Am I trying to fit in too much with the rest of the group? Deep down I want to do something live but I also worry that I wont have a presence in the show for 3 months, again I question, does this really matter? The strength in my work is having a live presence and using myself as material in a temporary situation. I could simply do a live piece on the opening night and repeat it intermittently over the 3-month period say once a week. I guess how long and when will depend on the nature of the work. I really struggle making proposals 2/3 months in advance of actually realising the work as it always changes. I feel really strongly that I do not want to show video documentation and that I want to use the energy and situation of an opening night. These feelings of worry are part of my process when I make live work, fear of looking stupid and crossing the line of the ‘status quo’ fills me with anxiety but also drives my work. I sense that the group would rather I showed a video or an object as they are easier to curate which I feel is the wrong attitude.

This week I have been doing some research on the Internet looking for images, which represent ‘celebrations’ and ‘parties’ this is helping me build a picture of how I want my mini event to look. I feel that the balloon drop idea is what I want to go with and to start building the performance around this. I need to consider if I want my event to look like an informal party or more corporate looking? Could I somehow combine the two aesthetics? I really like the structure of a corporate stand, which has two or three elements such as a display board, poster stand and plinth. These objects would be easy to move around the space and place next to the balloon net. On the Internet I found information about Liverpool’s sister cities, whatever that really means? They are Cologne, Germany and Shanghai, China. From this research I am eager to have an ‘International’ flavour to my performance. On a-n website I have been reading the visual arts research paper titled ‘Biennial and citywide events’ and I particularly enjoyed Jan Verwoert piece ‘Forget the national: Perform the International in the key of the local (and vice versa)!’ (http://www.a-n.co.uk/research/topic/471538) When I think of 'events' I also consider this to be birthday parties, weddings, a dinner party, and meeting up with friends. However I am aware of how large-scale events are taking over our city spaces for example last year we had the ‘International Arts Festival’ in Manchester, the following month, ‘Spanish weekend’ and after this was the Jazz Festival. 

# 33 [22 July 2010]

Liverpool JMU MA Fine Art Show

This week we had a meeting about our upcoming MA show which will be happening in September. The exhibition will be different to the usual degree show were the work is separated out into individual spaces, all the work will be curated in the gallery space. My assessment performance and video piece ‘Departures’ will not be appropriate for the exhibition so I need to produce a new piece of work. This has been stressing me out a bit even though I know that this is the cycle of being an artist I just feel a bit miffed that myself and one other artist on the course will need to make new work. It just feels a bit strange that we have been assessed and finished our MA although the final show wont be until September. The gallery was originally designed to be a shop so at the far end the walls are made of glass and is an unusually long space. My concern at the moment is that there is a lot of video and smaller object based work, which I feel that the high ceilings may swallow up. The show will be on for 3 months to coincide with the Liverpool Biennial, which is an amazing opportunity, however as the duration is so long makes it problematic to make live work for it. I have been thinking about doing a balloon drop and treat the opening night of the show as a mini event, which I would compare. I have been researching balloon drops and have found some images of different designs and formations of which I particularly like the balloon arch. I like the fact that balloons are used for celebrations and make an immediate visual impact. The balloon arch would be straightforward to design and install, although as time passes they will start to deflate which I am intrigued to see what they will look like after three months. I see the deflation of the balloons as marking the passing of time and symbolizing the end of the party.

# 32 [13 July 2010]

Gallery tour script ideas

*Speak in a computerized voice

Meet & greet visitors take them inside

We all face the window and wave to people

Please take your shoes off

Archway placed around glass door

Room is lit red with a toy dog in the corner

Brief introduction to space

Lead visitors to the Kitchen

Tell a story about an artist who has made food in the kitchen

Fan myself

Enter back into gallery space

Lead visitors to adjacent door in the wall

Enter into the dark space with a light

Close the door

Turn light off

Play sound of fireworks

Exit door back into gallery

Start moving objects around in the space in a ‘feng shui’ way

Lead visitors to the ladder

Take them up to the bedroom

Dissected rabbit placed on the table

Which we ignore

Tell a story about an artist who has slept in the bedroom

Lead visitors down the ladder back into the gallery space

We all break fortune cookies and read our fortunes out

Lead visitors to the exit

Wave goodbye

So far you have been my favourite group

*Balloon archways/print of Chinese archways placed around all doorways

Wardrobe ideas

Red hat with scarf attached to the side

Hair tied back

Red & black make-up

Chinese dress

Slippers/Heels?

Holding a fan

# 31 [30 June 2010]

Planning ahead

Since finishing my MA in Fine Art at Liverpool John Moores University I am trying to plan ahead what projects and opportunities to apply for. I recently started a part-time job at Radleys at the Trafford centre for some regular money and to simply work in the ‘real’ world, which gives me balance in my life. I had really underestimated how working sporadically on arts education projects was stressing me out not being able to manage my finances from one month to the next, although now I feel I have a bit more control over the books. I enjoy the retail experience and find it fascinating watching and interacting with the customer and the product, which I see as a kind of dance/performance. I didn't get selected for Hazard this year, which I was bit disappointed about although I was aware that the work I proposed didn't exactly fit the theme of the event. I have just submitted an application for a three week residency at The Royal Standard in Liverpool which I am really excited about as it will offer the time, space and support to develop a project which I specifically want to realise in Liverpool. Fingers crossed for this one if you are interested in applying follow the link below:

http://www.the-royal-standard.com/events/

I had a meeting with Phil Davenport last week to discuss ideas for our two-week residency at The Chinese Arts Centre in November, 2010. Phil had also participated in the residency at the 501 Artspace in Chongqing and this opportunity is a chance for us both to develop some new work in response to our experience of working in China. We discussed two ideas the first was to have a loose theme called ‘Translation’ and we would individually make work and collaborate on a piece together. Our second idea was to collaborate on one piece a tour of the gallery that incorporates references to money and food, which were the two main influences on us from the trip. The gallery is an unusual space that houses a living and bedroom area, which is built into the gallery and is accessible by a ladder. There is a door in the opposing wall, which opens into an oddly shaped small storeroom. The gallery has another entrance from the street a door made of glass allowing a window into the gallery space.

Although my residency finished in February at the 501 Artspace I am still feeling the influence and inspiration the trip has had on my work, which I want to continue to document until it comes to a natural end. 

# 30 [25 June 2010]

Departures

Airports represent the ultimate non-place, a space where temporarily nobody knows me and I know no one else. The airport architecturally and psychologically offers a release from the daily routine entering into a streamline of time and space, with the function of simply getting you from one place to the next. In my final piece I have combined using a live art presence with video and the context has been inspired by film footage I shot of a plane being prepared for take off at Hong Kong airport; which I see ­­­­­­­as a visual metaphor for my underlying anxiety of being an artist, portraying feelings of not making it, not taking off, and never reaching my destination. I have used the video as the framework for my performance and experimented with editing the material playing with the speed, duration and sequencing of the time line. I have explored actions that are influenced by the video which compliment and disrupt the image. It is my intention to disturb the unfolding of time and to involve the audience dissolving the fourth wall and bringing people directly into the work.

I have used the Cuban song ‘Guantanamera’ in my performance, which played when I was filming at Hong Kong airport although I was unaware of the songs origins although I assumed it maybe Mexican, Spanish or Cuban. The lyrics to the song have different interpretations. However, I am interested in how the words in the chorus are referred to as ‘guajira’ (the Cuban rhythm) a rhythmic structure rather than the words being a literal translation of something. Whilst researching the song I found many versions, even a cover performed by the 1960’s Liverpool band, Jerry & the Pacemakers. I have used ‘Guantanamera’ as it is a cheerful song which reminds me of summer holidays, it is also a trace material from my experience of going to China. In my final MA asessment piece I want to take the audience on a journey, yet leave them with a sense of never being taken anywhere.

Video documentation of performance: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj0yBcJOgLA 

Departures performance script

Departure Lounge

People sitting in seats/standing

I come out of door

Place CD player on table

Press play

Start dance with back turned to the audience

Turn and dance singing Guantanamera into fake banana

Get on knees

Close eyes and wink

During music break put leis’s around people’s necks

Continue singing and dancing

Finish with back turned to audience

Stop CD

Turn direct people into the room with plastic bananas

Entering room

I lead people into room

Direct people to seats using bananas

Shut electronic blinds 

Play video

I stand behind the audience 

Video fades out

I leave the room

Video whites out playing Guantanamera

# 29 [15 June 2010]

A Wandering Practice

As my work is site and context specific I like to quickly engage with people and place by creating verbal and visual dialogues to start the process. To experience a place I simply move through a space by walking, observing and feeling my surroundings. I gather visual material by recording sound, taking digital images and video to accumulate research about a new environment. This way of working could be interpreted as a Wandering Practice, which is open to arriving with little or no expectations, the possibility of getting lost, or finding out something I didn't already know. This way of working has been difficult for me to communicate as it is only now that I am realising how significant ‘wandering’ is in my work. To physically move I have to let go of pre-determined outcomes, forced to feel my way in a new environment and to experience what is right in front of me.

My practice has greatly benefited from moving around the country and travelling abroad which has taught me how cultural differences and alternative readings of work is a good thing this has made me feel more confident about the work I made in China, were I made solo performance pieces, collaborated with artists and culminated in a final performance titled ‘New Arrivals’ at the 501 Artspace. My working method of performing on the street is an unusual practice in China as most work is shown as part of an organised event. In my work I like to encourage some form of physical participation and create a balance of tension and humour which artist Zhou Bin, commented in his interview as ‘being very British, a far softer approach compared to some Chinese Live Art’.

I have disseminated my experience of working in China by presenting my work on the Internet by using video, blogging and social networking sites, which is a new way of working for me and a process that I have continued in my practice. Maintaining a blog allows a space for me to verbally and visually reflect on the work I have made and greatly compliments a wandering practice where the work is temporary in nature.

# 28 [2 June 2010]

Performance & Live Art/Intervention

When I introduce myself as a performance or live artist to people I am always met with assumptions that I must sing, dance or act really well which is not the case although I am becoming more interested in these expectations of ‘performing’ and have been using them in my work. I have become aware the power the presence of the artist can have over an audience in a presentation situation be that in the form of the artist talk or the display of work at an event. Although I am fully versed in the context of why I make my work it does not fill me with much confidence in the build up to my performances. However I use my natural awkwardness and anxiety of performing to create tension, which is very real and not acted out.

Joshua Sofaer questions, what is live art? he goes onto say that 'at its most fundamental, Live Art is when an artist chooses to make work directly in front of the audience in space and time. So instead of making an object and leaving it for the audience to encounter in their own time, Live Art comes into being at the actual moment of encounter between artist and spectator. The artist sets up a situation in which the audience experiences the work in a particular space and time, and the notion of ‘presence’ is key to the concerns of the work.' (www.joshuasofaer.com)

With few galleries representing artists and a small circuit of live art platform events I like to take the opportunity to make my work in the public realm. Working in public offers unpredictable situations, which I find exciting and the ideal place to engage accidental audiences. My interventions could be interpreted as political acts although this is not my intention the work is always context and situation specific. My drive is to take ownership of my work so I can take control as to where and how it is shown in public if this is taken as being ‘political’ then so be it. It is important for me to feel free to intervene myself when I like as this is the only act that gives me a true sense of autonomy from the institution and the art market. 

# 27 [24 May 2010]

Application for Hazard done

Greenroom & hAb will be hosting Hazard MMX a series of intervention-based performance work across the city of Manchester on Saturday 17^th July. I was interested in applying early on in the month for this but was struggling with what to propose, however after my previous piece ‘Giddyup I’ I could see the potential for developing the project further. In my work I have been using events and situations as frameworks for a performance, could I develop my giant ‘I’ into an event? My initial idea was to have my own travelling private view outside different arts venues around Manchester. My giant yellow ‘I’ would act as a visual focus for each private view, which would be placed on a surface outside each gallery and I could use other props such as colourful bunting and play music. This work is reminiscent of my leaving party private view ‘New Arrivals’ at the 501 Artspace in Chongqing which when I think back to it gives me confidence to take risks and encourages me to make myself look a bit ridiculous. I am also interested in using my online social networks to advertise and get people involved with the mini event. I have been thinking more about the conceptual ideas behind the giant yellow ‘I’ which on the surface may seem really egocentric to do such a thing, although don't all artists have to have a sense of their own ego to make and show work? The most interesting thing for me that has come out of this project is how ‘I’ cannot be physically constantly carried around on it’s own, you need other people to help you and interact with ‘I’ to help it on it’s way. So the physical act of carrying ‘I’ parallels the artist’s way trying to show work in arts venues, which without the support of others cannot progress. I like the fact that I am taking my own destiny into my hands and making my own show for myself with the support of accidental/invited audiences, friends and hopefully the Greenroom, however if the work doesn't get selected I can make the project happen myself.