10pm

What a difference a day makes!

I saw my supervisor today and it feels like things are falling into place. I need to do some planning before I can talk about plans but for now I can say I have a vision for action.

Also yesterday I attended an amazing lecture by the wonderful Dr. Nicola Foster.

http://www.researchcatalogue.net/profile/?person=3…

She said original art but set precedence. It must link to the tradition and then add something new. Because of this it may or may not be accepted. Whilst at university we have the opportunity to explain this link and the new thing we have added.

It makes me feel happy about this line of research I have arrived at.

Last night was also the launch of Gallery Soup’s new venue at 243 Holdenhurst Rd.

www.gallerysoup.com

I have work in the show and hopefully I will have better work in the next show on the 9th March.

There are plans to go to Documenta 13 at the end of may which collides with BH13, I need to sort this out.

Tomorrow I am at The Gallery and working all weekend. Monday will be my planning day. I can’t wait. Things are happening!!!!!!

7.30am wake up and plan what I will do for my black painting for peer critiques on Wednesday, wonder what the others will look like and whether I will show them at Gallery Soup
8.00am dream about how Urban Sculpture Garden will look
9.12am finally roll out of bed and realise that I have to be at Gallery Soup at 10am to install work, frantically gather materials and fixings, make coffee for flash and jump on my bike
9.43am left the house to cycle to Holdenhurst Rd
10.14am arrive at Gallery Soup – it’s closed
10.16am post package as promised, buy postcard for Bella’s project
10.20am still no sign of Jonathan, cycle to Uni for research and Turkey sessions at The Gallery
11am receive reply to the snotty email I sent at mid-night, it’s pleasantly respectful, wave of guilt at being so assertive
11.10am after peppermint tea (I’ve have been banned for coffee after letting it slip that I dreamt of being an art leprechaun) settle into research on Edward de Bono whilst simultaneously researching the Situationists)
12.09pm get some nice calming tomato soup from the canteen
12.30pm begin Turkey art stories – my turn. Only a handful of us present. Thinking about it I wished I planned projects to make the most out of them rather than just making, exhibition and making again. Hopefully I can apply planning for MA to my work after the course.
1.30pm call Hannah back about writing a reference for her
1.42pm must leave to go back to Gallery Soup
2.15pm finally arrive at Gallery Soup
2.30pm start to work out what and how I am showing in this exhibition
3.30pm decide that I should clean the windows.
4pm buy squidgy
4.40pm sit looking at my work and wondering
5pm tea break, still no work
6pm try to make work, play instead
7pm Tomasz arrives, Jonathan is also here. Argue about work, try out different things, and argue again
7.45pm Tomasz and Jonathan go to get food. I finish putting up my work.
7.58pm the guys are back more discussion about what is art
8.00pm I think I’m finished here
8.15pm still not finished, Jonathan has installed his work. Tomasz is measuring. I think I’m done for today.
8.30pm after further debate and insisting that Jonathan not risk his life to adjust the lighting I cycle home
9pm bath and stew (after)
9.30pm I get an email from Simon Lee-Dicker from OSR Projects with the image from the Long Lunch – so happy!!!
10pm a-n not working
10.20pm decide to do a word doc and upload tomorrow. 

There are many things in my head right now. Topsy Turvy exhibition on Wednesday, curating BH13 Urban Sculpture Garden, schools workshops, the mystery of Cafe Obscura, peer critiques and of course the thing that should be at the center of my focus; my MA.

There are things going on there that I need to deal with. I’m mostly demotivated, a little angry a little insulted. At the same time I can see that I have my finger in many pies; curating, investigating, planning, organising and trying to do a bit of reading. Am I subconsciously aware that I may be unfocused? Who should I turn to for guidance?

I tried to take a few days off, I got lost on Portland high up in the hills. I’ve tried to cycle lots too to keep me healthy; body and spirit but today there was a big blooper when I lost the key for my bike lock.

Tomorrow I’m going to Gallery Soup to install work for the show on Wednesday. It’s a kind of back up plan for the black paintings project I have initiated. The installation will involve tearing up lots of paper which will relieve some tension I hope but it puts me right back where I started again in October 2010.

Maybe that’s what’s up, I’m not into that work. I made it. I didn’t like it. Other people did. I thought it had been anailated from existance but somehow it has come back to haunt me. Why do people like it? Why am I so wound up? Why am I so busy doing stuff for free? I feel so undervalued I want to scream.

Maybe I should go and make that black painting whilst I am in the mood to black things out.

The sliding scale for art and craft could tilt so much that there’s so little craft that, it is so very fuller of art that it makes you wonder; how did this appear in the world?

How did it arrive into my presence, and then, what caused it to be surrounded by whiteness; to be revered?

Who made the decisions; so that I am confronted with the presence of something that is almost nothing at all? It is so empty it only has the things it absolutely needs to exist.

Why is it here, now? In these surroundings, in this place in this existence and today?

This is not for you to know, maybe. This, maybe, cannot be found out, resolved, answered but possibly accepted or acknowledged.

it shall not be affected with notice of, or put upon enquiry as to, the right of any person

ní bheidh sí faoi admhálacht maidir le fógra i dtaobh, ná inchurtha faoi fhiosrú i dtaobh, cearta aon duine

it is not for acknowledgement with regards to notices, to put under examination on the whole, the rights of any person..

Accept or admit the existence or truth of.

Information and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.

# mealladh = disappointment(n)



Yesterday was the Art School Galleries of the Future Conference at AUCB.

In the morning I was working in the cloakroom which was a great opportunity to meet the speakers and delegates. One of the most interesting characters of the day was Professor Richard Demarco. When he arrived there was a lot of hugs and shrieks of delight, but I just took the coats and looked on as his adoring fans flocked to him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Demarco

Later, in the lecture theatre I’d sat with diligence and respect whilst the learned and experienced art school gallery managers shared their practices and observations with us. It was a great insight into current state of affairs but I’d missed a lot of it because I was working.

Then just before lunch I had a chance to sneak in and get a seat. Mr Demarco got up. I’d been told about him by Ronnie on Friday. His eyes were bright and wide as he made his way over and back across the floor. He spoke directly to the audience with the love of a grandfather. he spoke of his conversations with Bueys his love on Edinburgh and it’s castle and festival. He was funny. Every other line was a dry witty remark, but at the base of it he wanted to drive home a message. Stuff could happen, if we want it to. In fact whatever we wanted could happen if we work together.

The day continued, I caught glimpses of projects in Plymouth and Newcastle as well as a commercial gallery based in York who were aligned with York St John. They’d taken a different approach and hung Dali prints in their gallery/cafe which seemed to encourage investment in the work of the artists who were based at the 40 studio spaces which were also on site.

Plymouth College of Art

http://gallery.plymouthart.ac.uk/about.php

Gallery North

http://gn.northumbria.ac.uk/

Bar Lane Studios

http://www.barlanestudios.com/gallery.php

After the formalities there was a reception in The Gallery we cracked open the wine. Most people had left by now because of travel arrangements but Mr Demarco was still there, chatting with everyone, complimenting the curator, saying how great everyone was. By now we’d had a visit from the caretakers shaking their keys so I made an effort to arrange taxi’s and see that everyone was escorted to their cars.

Being an intern at The Gallery at AUCB has been great, but seeing how all these other galleries value interns has made me realise it’s worth out there. Their programmes are generally on the side of avant-garde. The gallery managers and the curators they work with are interested in pushing things and the incentive is education. In the main they sit in the marketing dept. This means that they are usually about creating a credible reputation for the art school there are connected to to attract new students.

What I managed to catch on Saturday was a tiny slice of the range of art school galleries in the UK. And according to Demarco were decades behind those in the US. As an artist this has opened up the idea of working with these potential venues research for presenting research based work.