ARTISTS TALKING

# 70 [20 June 2011]

this will be my last post on this blog most probs...  i'm off to artists talking soon!!!however i thought i'd close off this blog with some of the events of the last few weeks....

the degree show was installed and opened to hundreds of people... the audiance seemed to enjoy interacting with my work!!! just before the Private view we had a prize giving in which i received 2 prizes:

the Emma Jessie Phipps Award for the Most Outstanding Student of 2011 which was amazing to receive!!! the second prize i recieved was The Lombard Method Graduate Prize which consists of a residency and a show in the Lombard Method (http://www.thelombardmethod.org/) studios and project space in digbeth!!!

really pleased to receive both!!!

the show was then open for 7 days and recieved loads of visitors all of whom had lovely thing to say about the show. course director John Wigley made this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Nx0jzdY78&feature=feedu which shows a good selection of work that was on show!!!

then today the shows came down and we recieved our degree results... I finished with 1st so am very pleased!!!

would like to take a moment to say thanks to everybody who has helped me out over the last few years (theres a lot of you) and would also like to thank Richard Taylor for reading and commenting on this blog over the past year and hope all the other bloggers on here have had rewarding degree show seasons!!!  

# 69 [24 May 2011]

degree show install is in full swing...

the 4 www.skype.com accounts are set-up and connected (been having some fun with that around the building!!!), 1 of my 4 nodes is fully installed, 1 is roughtly in place, 1 is going up tomorrow and the final 1 and the diagrams are going up next week!!!

i cant help thinking that i only need two objects to show that the work is more about a proposal and possibilities as opposed to being a resolved thing... but i'll wait until everthing is installed and running before i make a decision about that!!!

some other things are / have been going on as well... yesterday i had an AHRC funding interview (never been more nervous) and tomorrow we're receiving the degree show catalogues which is really exciting as the proofs looked great!!!

attached are some images of work in progress on the install... hope everyone else's installs (or shows if there open already) are going well!!!

# 68 [11 May 2011]

and thats almost it.

workshops are closed (although i made the most of them today; re-print of the 4 diagrams for the Temp. DA/LL Network, and i made 6 more of the perspex markers for marking the internet and the physical), the exhibition build starts next week, and the install goes on for 10 days after that. today also saw my last tutorial and yesterday saw us sign off the proofs of the degree show catalogue (was mighty pleased with my page - cheers go out to connar o'keeth for the photograph!!!!)

still have a million things to do...

some finishing touches to do to the Temp. DA/LL Network Nodes which i'll squeeze into my lunch breaks during the build, i've been shortlisted for an AHRC block grant for the MA Digital Arts in Performance program and have an interview for that, i need to open 4 SKYPE accounts which will again be squeezed into lunch breaks, also need to empty the studios tomorrow and have so much stuff to get out of there its unbeliveable, and then hand in my professional practice folder in on friday... HECTIC

and thats not mentioning the performances i'm programming for bunting:littleblackflags:gardenparty so far featuring Flowlosopha and Sickboy aka SMUT with more acts to follow...

also i would like to mention Louise Draper and just say R.I.P. you are missed.

# 67 [28 April 2011]

been busy with paperwork and various forms of writing for and about the degree show work and have FINALLY decided on the full title for it and have filled out a 5 page (front and back) risk assement...

anyway its called Temp. DA/LL Network and is made up of Data Collection and Distribution Architecture Nodes and diagrams (not prints) i am quite pleased with the word NODE in particular!!!

i also thought i'd pop in some quotes i've hunted down which are fairly relevent to the work...

Nomads chart their courses by strange stars, which might be luminous clusters of data in cyberspace, or perhaps hallucinations. Lay down a map of the land; over that, set a map of political change; over that a map of the Net, especially the counter-Net with its emphasis on clandestine information flow and logistics – and finally, over all, the 1:1 map of the creative imagination, aesthetics, values. The resultant grid comes to life, animated by unexpected eddies and surges of energy, coagulations of light, secret tunnels, surprises. [1]

[1] Bey, H; T.A.Z: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism (2^nd ED); pp.105-106; Autonomedia; Brooklyn, NY; 1985, 1991, 2003.

[2] Raqs Media Collective; Dreams and Disguises, As Usual; pp79; in Seepage; pp.72-87; Sternberg Press; New York, NY; 2010.

# 66 [19 April 2011]

first blog post in a huge amount of time (i'm fairly sure i've been having withdrawal symptoms!!!) just been so busy...

i'm working on the final draft of the degree show catalogue and should be sending it to the printers to get our first proof through this week which is very exciting!!!

whilst being sat in front of the computer for such extended periods of time i've started work on a series of drawings of grids and am going to make a piece of writing to go with them then the packages will be appearing on the editions page of my website i guess (www.ryan-hughes.co.uk/editions) they sort of cover a lot of ground for me content wise inc:

-the grid/net/web

-architectural facades

-graphic equalisers (musical)

-landscape

-sculptural forms

-maps

and a few other things which i'll discuss in the writting which goes with them...anyhoo see the pic for now!!!

been talking to a lot of performers with regards to them doing something aound Bunting:LittleBlackFlags:GardenParty @ the showborough house sculpture garden as well which i think is going to be really exciting!!! more info when there is some!!!

I had a failed entry to the leamington spa museum and art gallery open but you win some and lose some i guess... in hind sight the work i entered open/info.comm.exh1 didn't actually sit within there definition of art anyway...

looking forward to getting back into the studio - the degree show is worringly close!!!

# 65 [5 April 2011]

there have been some updates @ www.ryan-hughes.co.uk have a look if you've got 5 mins spare!!! new work, new works-in-proress, C.V. update, slight reformat/design to some pages...

been really busy making today as well - will post again later in the week with some visual updates

# 64 [4 April 2011]

Yesterday I installed Bunting:LittleBlackFlags:GardenParty at showborough house sculpture garden. Once it was installed and I started reading over my notes on the work and began to write a descriptive text for the work I decided that I need to program some performances/events in the space. I'm thinking about cooking a BBQ with local meat (and obv's a veggie option) and supplying ale from a local brewary. I also want to get some poets and musicians to perform.... but a lot needs discussing and thinking through before any of this happens... (pics attached)

I've been printing and binding editions of Marking the Internet and the Physical (SOURCE). (script) I'm now on 7 out of 10... (pics soon)

And today I've been working on DIGITAL/PHYSICAL.NETWORKEDARCHITECTURE for the degree show. I attached 2 of the shelves and decided to run sycilican (spelling???) around the edges of the joins. I also put MacBooks onto the shelves so I could start to get an idea of how they would look. And spent a lot of time doing maths for various things. (pics attached)

Tomorrow I'm building a second plinth for a piece I'm working on and am planning on contacting some New Media companies for advice on setting up automated text message services. (pics soon maybe)... we've also got an end of course group photograph lined up (all 83 of us)  

# 63 [28 March 2011]

11 days with no blogging!!! some sort of personal record there??? anyway...what an 11 days its been!!!

working @ fierce festival has taken up a good chunk of time. last sunday i was installing james webbs "prayer" @ the old library in the custard factory. i worked on the quarentine installation "a soliders song" @ moor st station and with shelia ghelani @ trove... the festival was really well received and was a great experiance!!! recommended for visiting in the future...

uni's getting hectic as well... had various degree show meetings and tutorials. had to do a presentation / artists talk on wednesday which was an awsome experiance...i think it went well. wednesday was also the day i got my degree show materials delivered and have been working with them since... things are really starting to take shape (see pic's)!!!

today i did a photoshoot and installed some work as a test for the degree show, tomorrows full of tutorials

and on sunday i'm off to install bunting: little black flags at showbourough house sculpture garden

busy.

# 62 [17 March 2011]

i printed and framed the photograph of flowlosopha and have been working out how to fill the balloons with gas and how to keep it in there whilst i block it with the ipod... i was planning on elastic bands but cable ties seem to be doing a much more efficient job. i've been thinking about an edition which might be produced for the work...i'm thinking about vinyl dubplates or whitelabels...poss... i've also been thinking about a way User X2:minimal.communication/aesthetic/production.exh can become more participatory or prehaps have a workshop built into it... but i'm gonna have to speak more with flowlosopha i think!!!

i ordered all the material for networked architecture today as well thanks to homebase's buy now pay later system... it feels good knowing i have a little longer to build the work than the week i was gonna have post loan day!!! 

had another meeting at vivid for fierce festival and my first shift with them is this coming weekend...really looking forward to the festival...

# 61 [14 March 2011]

so during last week i didn't get the network finished...i got the flu...again. Better now than in a few weeks though!!! i did get a few things done however... i met with prof. gregory sporton to discuss the MA Digital Arts in Performance program (for which i handed in my application form today). I also went to the 2nd week of the sonic arts workshop at leamington spa museum and art gallery... i missed the 1st week of it due to the dreaded flu and although i didn't manage to make a piece of work whilst there i did learn how to make tape loops - look out for work with tape loops coming soon!!!

i finally got the photoshoot with flowlosopha for user:x2/minimal.communication/aesthetic/production.exh done, which feels good...

today i got on with some problem solving on the sculptural part of my degree show piece (it now stands without wabbling dangerously; see pic's), i've also started thinking about graphic elements to screenprint on to my plans that go with this work but more on that soon... going to try and get the network for this fully constructed this week as well

my work for fierce festival starts this weekend as well with 2 installs on sunday, then a fairly solid weeks activity... looking forward to seeing it all!!!