IN/OUT STUDIO

Nicola Smith Response #4

Hello Michael,

I would be happy to assist with getting the audience to tweet at the event. I’m pleased that you like the idea of publishing the emails, although as part of the process all correspondence may not be intelligent or on track. I guess that’s what makes it interesting? or else it could just be seen as a controlled way of marketing the event.

I agree not to publish before we meet. There is still so much to discuss. For example when I blog I just do it for myself and try not the judge it too much. Am I writing as the official 11 11 11 reporter? Is the blog simply a diary from the days activity? Could the blog be open to a number of participants in the project such as the performers, yourself, the documentors, and the audience?

Just putting a few thoughts out there. I am free Wednesday night or Friday morning or lunchtime.

Let me know when you are free

All the best

Nicola

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Hello

I don’t think your the 11 11 11 reporter – you are part of something slightky bigger – but you are a very public face of this process – outside the walls of the event –

In away everything produced following 11 11 11 will be edited and made for a web site – your communicating within several bubbles – the ether of the web – the stoic existence of 140 characters – for tweet – not sure it is stoic in general – but the precision of the 140 I really enjoy – one of the processes I am interested in putting into place is that we exchange tools – so you might end up with a camera in your hands – experience filming – how wold your brain and eye edit – would the framing and editing of material be influenced and informed by the writing systems you under go as a blogger –

Text will also be made real – on paper and employed as a process of mapping existence – throughout the space –

Presently I want to leave it as performers performing and fellows documenting – but this is a present structure and is flexible to expand and contract – a structure enables for a fluid interaction with change if not stuck to as a ridged pattern –

We begin and see where t takes us – I am sure some of the artists will engage with a blog or two – but lets see if we can all work together to begin – i was thinking that if we established a blog on something like blogger – 11 11 11 – inremembrance – manchester – would this then feed into your other systems of AN and NWNW – But 11 11 11 – has its own platform dedicated to the event – friday would be good for me – lets keep circulating thinking on emails – developing ideas – we can then meet and ignite some action – get real with the ideas we begin during the week – is it just the time of lunch you have – do you work in the city?

Thanks

michael

Michael Mayhew Response #3

Nicola

I just sent you a reply without writing anything –

Fantastic that it is fantastic

No wi-fi in the building

I suggets all blog updates will go onto the project archive – following the project – we are using hash – eleveneleveneleven

this is run by Nicki hobday – we have an idea for tweet use during the day – lets chat about this – we have a specific aim and objective to engage with people and you could assist with this – it is a writing project –

With the use of the blog – and any public engagement about 11 11 11 – it is important to frame the project –

please see website

It is a made in art event

It is currated by Michael Mayhew

It is being hosted by Platt Chapel

It is funded through arts Council England –

Artists names should be used where required

If links can be used to peoples sites – this should be done –

All your text would I hope be open for us to re produce on the in remembrance of 11 11 11 –

I am now going to go to your second email and respond to that

If you want to meet up this week – we can

Thanks Michael

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Cool –

Lets hope our email correspondence has some intelligence about it –

I like the idea of transparency

if we are able to keep it on track –

Use of tweets

we are wanting to gather peoples memories using tweets –

In a 140 chracters please tell us of a memory of someone . . . (this needs a little more clarity – but I’m gettingt here)

This text will be written on the wall of the chapel throughout the day.

What we are doing is constantly creating an installation thoughout the day – this will later become In Loving memory – I am working on the writng side of this documentation – and so I imagine text being a pattern and structure of the remains of what was once present –

I would like to meet before a blog goes up –

so we have a clarity of discourse about the project as a whole –

The aims and objectives are very clear – and 11 11 11 is part of a bigger vision for me and made in art –

Many thanks in advance

Michael

Nicola Smith Response #2

Hello Michael,

I intend to start the project blog this week to start getting information out there about the project. I will use your press release as the intro and a brief outline of the structure although I am aware this will develop and change. I want to have transparency about the application process for the documentation part of the piece and would like to publish our email correspondence on the blog. I just think having access to this would be an interesting take on ‘documentation’ and a good starting point for the blog. How do you feel about this?

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Nicola

Hi

hang fire

longer conversation

but yes

in principle

will have more chat when I get on line – later

many thanks for the up up and go

talk soon

michael

Michael Mayhew Response #1

Dear Nicola,

I am pleased to inform you that we would like to invite you to engage with us for The Practicalities of Documentation.

The aim of this over lapping project is to generate a discourse and enquiry into the processes and actualities of documentation within performance practice.

We plan to bring people together for 10th November.

We will then document 11 performances on 11th November as part of 11 11 11 – in remembrance – Manchester.

This material will be then employed to generate a sound and visual installation immediately following – in remembrance –

I am keen to know more about how you aim to blog in the chapel.

Also what equipment you will be employing –

The material of any of the performances you capture, as part of in remembrance will be later employed to generate an on-line archive for 11 11 11 – We ask that you make available this material before leaving Manchester, enabling the project to generate the planned archive.

The material of any of the performances you capture, as part of in remembrance must be accessible to the project and to the artists whose work it originally was.

The documentation of artists work is at times a contentious issue this situation will challenge issues of ownership and rights to the material remaining following the performance moment.

It will request open and generous negotiation and dialogue from all engaging with this project.

If you can confirm engaging with the above than please inform me of your arrival time into Manchester.

10th November

We begin at 10.00am

Platt Chapel

Wilmslow Road

Manchester

M14 5LL

We will go on till 4.00pm.

We will meet the artists and aim to eat in my studio around 6.00pm.

11th November.

We will aim to begin and set up for 9.00am

You will work in a series of rota’s which will be organised with you on the 10th, depending on work that you wish to follow and develop a relationship with.

If you need more information please don’t hesitate in contacting me.

Regards

Michael Mayhew

www.inremembrance.org.uk

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Hello Michael,

This is fantastic news, I am happy to accept your invitation. I intend to blog on site over the two days if possible at set intervals say every 2/3 hours. I have a laptop and I wanted to find out if there is wi-fi at the church? If not I could borrow a dongle. I will set-up a new project blog on a-n artist talking and also publish on Newworknetwork website. Links to the blogs are accessible to the public although I feel it would be great if it could also be listed on the project archive.

Do you or the project have a twitter account? This is a quick and dynamic platform to comment on the event. As a back up if there is no access to the Internet or in conjunction with it I could use my phone to continually tweet and get the audience/participants to tweet over the two days. Currently I have a twitter account and have 600 followers, which I could use.

I live in Manchester so it will be easy for me to get to Platt Chapel.

I look forward to hearing from you

Kind Regards

Nicola Smith

Application process for The Practicalities of Documentation, 10/11/11 Michael Mayhew, 168 Platt Chapel, Manchester.

http://www.inremembrance.org.uk/

This exchange of insights, skills, knowledge, experiences, reflections on the issues and actuality of the documentation of performance practice is part of.

This exchange invites 11 participants to engage with 4 professional artists who use their art form to document ‘the living moment’.

Using the disciplines of writing, photography, video and sound, participants will work for a day exploring the practicalities of documentation, investigating the systems needed to fully document the ephemeral work of 11 performance artists work that will be performed on the 11th, as part of the performance event, 11 11 11, In Remembrance, Manchester.

This documented material will then be immediately utilised in the generation of a 4-hour installation – In Loving Memory.

State what area of documentation you are interested to pursue; photography, video, writing, sound. Please send 500 words informing us what you have done that is relative to this situation and what you believe you can bring to this situation. Within the text inform us what you believe to be the core of the documentation of performance art.

THE DEADLINE HAS PASSED

MY APPLICATION

I am a Manchester based visual artist who makes work in response to the context of my surroundings and use different mediums such as live art intervention, performance, sound and video. For the past two years I have been blogging about my practice on a-n, artist talking and Newworknetwork websites respectively. I have found the process of writing a blog has given me a space to reflect on ideas and an independent way of creating a legacy for my work. I initially started publishing a blog out of pure frustration, struggling with support on my MA course and wanting to find my own voice rather than an academic style of correspondence. During my MA staff were quite dismissive of performance work and live art micro events preferring object based/film work.

My performance and video work has been shown at live art micro events at the Bluecoat in Liverpool, Greenroom in Manchester, and at the Arnolfini, Bristol. I have worked internationally most recently I re-performed The Eventé for The Night of the Arts 2011, at Gallery Jangva in Helsinki. I participated in a four-week artist residency in Chongqing China in 2010. I have documented all my projects on my blog, published videos on You Tube and used social media platforms to promote the work. I do feel there is a lack of accessible information out there about live art practice, which is why I believe that it is really important to keep blogging.

I feel I can bring my energy and experience of being an artist and struggling myself with the documentation of work. I have used different media such as video, sound and photography to record performances although I feel blogging can bring all these elements together and continue reaching diverse audiences after the event. How do you blog an 11hour event? Can a blog be an artwork or is it simply documentation? I think it can be both however for me the core of the documentation of performance art is for artists to be able to learn from it, re-use the material and to keep reaching wider audiences.