Thursday, 24 January 2008
Friday, 11 January 2008
Visit to North Prospect & Plymouth Arts Centre
20/12/07
Off to meet Danny Simmonds, Youth Works Programme Co-ordinator for Groundwork...
Ray & I enjoyed a long (and slightly circuitious) walk from The Millfields upto the neighbourhood house Danny works in North Prospect. It was great to meet her and hear about the local centres and groups she works with in the area. In partnership with these organisations she supports youth activities/projects that take place on the estate every day/evening (sports/internet cafes etc)
It was interesting to hear her talk about territories and how many of the young people she knew chose to keep quite local and tight to their neighbouring streets - we chatted about borders and the challenge of stepping out of familiar/safe thresholds/zones.
The houses surrounding the neighbourhood office were just like the one my Gran lived in, in a place called Bearwood (Black Country) - 1920-30s council housing - felt a bit like a trip down memory lane.
Actually on that memory tip, Danny started telling us about a forthcoming youth and community project called 'Swilly at War' about the areas WWII experience. (Swilly, it transpires, was what the area was originally called. The name was changed apparently in an attempt to break away from the negative reputation it had got. That feels like a rather surface attempt at solving a serious situation - but to be fair I havn't asked any local folk what they think about this re-naming process)
ANYWAY - the Swilly at War project looks to be action packed with lots of opportunities for cross-generational contact and chat. Activities will include building an Anderson shelter, a 'digging for victory' allotment project and a youth drama project (which Anne Tillett has since told me a little about - more in later update). Danny also took Ray and I to one of the local community centres (3 Spirit?) and we briefly met a group working on carnival props and costumes for a forthcoming festive celebration. Really nice to get a flavour of the area and Danny's Groundwork activities in North Prospect.
I then nipped off to have lunch with Paula Orrell at the Plymouth Arts Centre where that afternoon G-work staff were invited for a tour of the Barbara Holub and Anna Best exhibitions.
So more on that - here is a copy of the invitation text that was emailed to all Groundwork staff:
"An open invitation to you, your friends/family and local GW collaborative partners to come on a tour of Plymouth Art Centre's latest exhibition with drinks afterwards in their restaurant - on Thursday 20th Dec at 3:30pm.
Paula and Caroline from the Arts Centre will take GW staff and their guests around the new shows by artists in residence Anna Best and Barbara Holub who have both created work in response to their visits to Plymouth over the past year.
(The tour will last about 30 minutes - more info below)
The Arts Centre have also offered Groundworks a few cinema tickets (for any film in Jan/Feb) - so the first 3 folk to RSVP to this invite will get 2 free cinema tickets (better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!)
It would be great to see u there! Really hope you can join us. These artists are making work about public space and local environments which many of you might find interesting.
Further Info about the exhibiting artists:
Over the last year artists Anna Best & Barbara Holub have been working on a residency programme at Plymouth Arts Centre, travelling back and forth from the city developing new ideas and works. Exploring the walled and inaccessible areas of the city the artists have been talking with local residents, planning departments, working with local artists and researching the history of the city.
Anna Best presents a new film Buddleia which responds to Plymouth's urban and marine landscapes, exploring the imperial nature of the city. The artist is interested in the surreal in everday experience and this film marks a new direction for her as she is better known for making live events in public contexts.
Barbara Holub's work addresses anthropological concerns and she explores social and personal identities through visual art and architecture. She has been spending time in Plymouth looking at the city's regeneration process. Her new work 'More Opportunities' relates to a city in search of a new identity. As an artist and architect she has spent time talking to local people, planning departments and exploring the areas of significant change such as Devonport.
http://www.plymouthac.org.uk/
PAC - 38 Looe Street - PL4 0EB"
OK so that's the background - it being so close to Christmas we had a few cancellations but it was nice to be joined by Alex, Anne, Karin & Ray and Paula generously laid on wine and mince pies and introduced us to PAC and took us around the works. Check out the pics :)
I was really struck by Anna Best's Buddleia film, it was captivating. The Wall, the wailing women looking out to sea, the masked fencers duelling. It suggested a whole raft of personal and collective narratives and it seemed to welcome multiple readings into the cities past and present - as a trading port, military base, a city both accessible and inaccessible (that Wall!) and an area undergoing the wrench/shift of change and massive redevelopment. I especially enjoyed the fencing elements in the work for v personal reasons as a few months previously I incorporated a section of fencing in one of my own video works (Run Away Bride - I'd filmed Jean & Isaac at St. Pauls Sports Centre - see pic). On this occasion i was exploring physical/sculptural and psychological concerns around tension, restraint, release...
Anyway back to the show!
Barbara Holub's white textile banner work 'More Opportunities' was a thought provoking installation. The banner was tied to the outside of the arts centre itself - like a giant sheet stretching over the facade and covering the gallery window. A closer viewing revealed the words More Opportunities (white text on a white background) sewn onto it. A blank canvas upon which to state our needs? A giant truce flag (surely not!)? Could this be marking some kind of cease fire? A minimalist union/protest banner? I reflected on its contrast to the brightly coloured trade union banners I had been researching. And the critical mass of members taking to the streets to declare collective union. Inside the gallery a video of the banner being carried up Looe Street by a small group of 'protestors' was being projected on a loop. Anne commented on the steep incline of the hill in the video, and after several viewings, thinking of the protestors as forever marching upwards. I thought about how this action might have played out if it were filmed on one of Plymouth's main shopping streets. It would, no doubt, have resulted in quite a different video work, possibly at odds with the artist's intention. But I'm always curious about potential responses of shoppers and/or unprepared passers by when making interventions in urban 'public' space.
Anyway that's enough of my ramblings and personal reflections for tonight!
It was interesting to hear her talk about territories and how many of the young people she knew chose to keep quite local and tight to their neighbouring streets - we chatted about borders and the challenge of stepping out of familiar/safe thresholds/zones.
The houses surrounding the neighbourhood office were just like the one my Gran lived in, in a place called Bearwood (Black Country) - 1920-30s council housing - felt a bit like a trip down memory lane.
Actually on that memory tip, Danny started telling us about a forthcoming youth and community project called 'Swilly at War' about the areas WWII experience. (Swilly, it transpires, was what the area was originally called. The name was changed apparently in an attempt to break away from the negative reputation it had got. That feels like a rather surface attempt at solving a serious situation - but to be fair I havn't asked any local folk what they think about this re-naming process)
ANYWAY - the Swilly at War project looks to be action packed with lots of opportunities for cross-generational contact and chat. Activities will include building an Anderson shelter, a 'digging for victory' allotment project and a youth drama project (which Anne Tillett has since told me a little about - more in later update). Danny also took Ray and I to one of the local community centres (3 Spirit?) and we briefly met a group working on carnival props and costumes for a forthcoming festive celebration. Really nice to get a flavour of the area and Danny's Groundwork activities in North Prospect.
I then nipped off to have lunch with Paula Orrell at the Plymouth Arts Centre where that afternoon G-work staff were invited for a tour of the Barbara Holub and Anna Best exhibitions.
So more on that - here is a copy of the invitation text that was emailed to all Groundwork staff:
"An open invitation to you, your friends/family and local GW collaborative partners to come on a tour of Plymouth Art Centre's latest exhibition with drinks afterwards in their restaurant - on Thursday 20th Dec at 3:30pm.
Paula and Caroline from the Arts Centre will take GW staff and their guests around the new shows by artists in residence Anna Best and Barbara Holub who have both created work in response to their visits to Plymouth over the past year.
(The tour will last about 30 minutes - more info below)
The Arts Centre have also offered Groundworks a few cinema tickets (for any film in Jan/Feb) - so the first 3 folk to RSVP to this invite will get 2 free cinema tickets (better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!)
It would be great to see u there! Really hope you can join us. These artists are making work about public space and local environments which many of you might find interesting.
Further Info about the exhibiting artists:
Over the last year artists Anna Best & Barbara Holub have been working on a residency programme at Plymouth Arts Centre, travelling back and forth from the city developing new ideas and works. Exploring the walled and inaccessible areas of the city the artists have been talking with local residents, planning departments, working with local artists and researching the history of the city.
Anna Best presents a new film Buddleia which responds to Plymouth's urban and marine landscapes, exploring the imperial nature of the city. The artist is interested in the surreal in everday experience and this film marks a new direction for her as she is better known for making live events in public contexts.
Barbara Holub's work addresses anthropological concerns and she explores social and personal identities through visual art and architecture. She has been spending time in Plymouth looking at the city's regeneration process. Her new work 'More Opportunities' relates to a city in search of a new identity. As an artist and architect she has spent time talking to local people, planning departments and exploring the areas of significant change such as Devonport.
http://www.plymouthac.org.uk/
PAC - 38 Looe Street - PL4 0EB"
OK so that's the background - it being so close to Christmas we had a few cancellations but it was nice to be joined by Alex, Anne, Karin & Ray and Paula generously laid on wine and mince pies and introduced us to PAC and took us around the works. Check out the pics :)
I was really struck by Anna Best's Buddleia film, it was captivating. The Wall, the wailing women looking out to sea, the masked fencers duelling. It suggested a whole raft of personal and collective narratives and it seemed to welcome multiple readings into the cities past and present - as a trading port, military base, a city both accessible and inaccessible (that Wall!) and an area undergoing the wrench/shift of change and massive redevelopment. I especially enjoyed the fencing elements in the work for v personal reasons as a few months previously I incorporated a section of fencing in one of my own video works (Run Away Bride - I'd filmed Jean & Isaac at St. Pauls Sports Centre - see pic). On this occasion i was exploring physical/sculptural and psychological concerns around tension, restraint, release...
Anyway back to the show!
Barbara Holub's white textile banner work 'More Opportunities' was a thought provoking installation. The banner was tied to the outside of the arts centre itself - like a giant sheet stretching over the facade and covering the gallery window. A closer viewing revealed the words More Opportunities (white text on a white background) sewn onto it. A blank canvas upon which to state our needs? A giant truce flag (surely not!)? Could this be marking some kind of cease fire? A minimalist union/protest banner? I reflected on its contrast to the brightly coloured trade union banners I had been researching. And the critical mass of members taking to the streets to declare collective union. Inside the gallery a video of the banner being carried up Looe Street by a small group of 'protestors' was being projected on a loop. Anne commented on the steep incline of the hill in the video, and after several viewings, thinking of the protestors as forever marching upwards. I thought about how this action might have played out if it were filmed on one of Plymouth's main shopping streets. It would, no doubt, have resulted in quite a different video work, possibly at odds with the artist's intention. But I'm always curious about potential responses of shoppers and/or unprepared passers by when making interventions in urban 'public' space.
Anyway that's enough of my ramblings and personal reflections for tonight!
PASW - Spike Island, Bristol
11/12/07
Polly, Ray & I attended:
Public Art South West network event:
'How was it for you? The legacy for artists of PROJECT - engaging artists in the built environment'
If you are curious take a peek at:
http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/archive/project/index.php
http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/pasw/index.html
I enjoyed Patricia MacKinnon-Day's presentation - where she illustrated a year long artist residency she undertook at a shipyard in Liverpool. I liked the way she described getting to know the yard workers and teasing out the clues of the site through physical and psychological investigations - I like the detective feel to this approach and being curious about people and place. She had some beautiful images of a small team of people planting metres of small flowering plants within the track furrows at the yard..
We were sad that Tim Knowles was unable to present that day. He was lead artist at Canon's Marsh (Bristol Harbourside) curating and commissioning a series of public art works - I havn't seen these works mind you! Should investigate. Anyway Tim was going to talk about his current project on Plymouth Waterfront - we got to see some images and the host/chair did his best to go through some notes Tim had sent him - but we'll hear more on the local Plymouth grapevine soon no doubt..
Polly, Ray & I attended:
Public Art South West network event:
'How was it for you? The legacy for artists of PROJECT - engaging artists in the built environment'
If you are curious take a peek at:
http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/archive/project/index.php
http://www.publicartonline.org.uk/pasw/index.html
I enjoyed Patricia MacKinnon-Day's presentation - where she illustrated a year long artist residency she undertook at a shipyard in Liverpool. I liked the way she described getting to know the yard workers and teasing out the clues of the site through physical and psychological investigations - I like the detective feel to this approach and being curious about people and place. She had some beautiful images of a small team of people planting metres of small flowering plants within the track furrows at the yard..
We were sad that Tim Knowles was unable to present that day. He was lead artist at Canon's Marsh (Bristol Harbourside) curating and commissioning a series of public art works - I havn't seen these works mind you! Should investigate. Anyway Tim was going to talk about his current project on Plymouth Waterfront - we got to see some images and the host/chair did his best to go through some notes Tim had sent him - but we'll hear more on the local Plymouth grapevine soon no doubt..
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Other antics...
02/12/07
To give you an idea of other creative projects I'm currently engaged in I thought I'd mention:
'The Performance Re-enactment Society', a Darkside Live Art event @ Arnolfini, Bristol
I developed this event with Tom Marshman, in collaboration with live art archivists Bex Carrington and Julian Warren, costume designer Pam Tait and director/research fellow Paul Clarke. Here's the blurb from the Arnolfini brochure to give you a flavour of the event:
"Bristol-based artists Tom Marshman (Spaghetti Club) and Clare Thornton are on a mission to breathe new life into your memories of performance through re-enactment and 'tableaux vivants'. Bring your performance memories between 4pm-8pm when they will be on hand to make them come to life once more before capturing them forever in a photograph. Return at 8pm for a glass of wine and look through this unique collection of images created over the course of the day. All the photographs will be collected in an album and added to Arnolfini's archive"
We met some wonderful folk that day who generously shared their memories of performances or live gigs they had seen from the past 40 years. As diverse as a fight at a Little Richard concert at the Colston Hall, to Yoko Ono's 'cut piece'. Each memory deposited with us was recorded via a detailed questionnaire/interview, the participant could choose from wracks of costumes and props to help re-create the action/scene and once the moment was set a polaroid and digital photo taken.
The event was supported by Theatre Bristol and New Work Network and 3 artists (Michael Pinchbeck, Tim Jeeves & Calum F. Kerr) received NWN bursaries to attend and participate in the gig. Michael has written a blog about his experiences and reflections upon the event.
Please visit:
http://performancereenactmentsociety.blogspot.com/
Also
check out the documentation (photos):
www.whiteboxphoto.com/prs
Its worth mentioning perhaps that I work part time as a research project assistant in the Live Art Archives at the Department of Drama, University of Bristol. I'm really interested in the documentation of performance/liveness and ways that ephemeral art experiences are recorded/captured, remembered/re-enacted.
Currently on the bookshelf: 'History Will Repeat Itself: Strategies of re-enactment in contemporary (media) art and performance'
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
PCAD Exhibition Opening
28/11/07
I'd mentioned in an earlier log that Rachel & Hannah had been updating me on the exhibition/residency programme they curate for Viewpoint Gallery, Plymouth College of Art & Design. I was really excited to hear about the work of Dutch artist Robin Van't Haar, who had been in residence for 2 weeks developing his ongoing 'City Scripts' public art project.
check out:
http://www.cityscripts.com/engels/index.html
http://viewpoint.pcad.ac.uk
Robin spent his time in Plymouth recording the everyday behaviour of people using public spaces. He observed day-to-day city life and that of the immediate college environment, presenting the results of his research in the gallery through photography, installation and a web log. In the Gallery programme Robin speaks of his interest in the way people move and behave in (semi) public space and how in certain places people start moving unconsciously in a kind of group choreography. Observing the way people move in these contexts offers a new perspective and/or way of experiencing the nature of that place.
Personally I'm very interested in the body as a sculptural, social and political agent and was really struck by one of Robin's photos in the brochure. It shows two business men, dressed identically in suit/tie and macks, both walking in step down a street, hands glasped behind their backs. The photo captures their moving in unison - a kind of choreography of the everyday with the 'dancers' in this piece being two business men dressed in the costume of commerce. It made me think about Erving Goffman's 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life' - Goffman describes the character of 'Preedy', an Englishman holidaying in Spain, to illustrate how we are continuously assuming/performing roles in our everyday public and private lives. Right now u can tell I'm performing 'arty' Preedy. I'm off for a swim shortly and then i'll be performing 'sporty' Preedy...
ANYWAY! As we'd been talking about re-thinking notions of what public art might be within the context of Groundwork and particularly the role of temporary creative interventions in public space, I thought it'd be nice to forward information of this exhibition opening to staff. Its interesting to consider how one presents public art related works in a gallery context too. This evening offered an opportunity to see and respond to some artwork together and a chance to meet members of the Groundwork team socially away from the office (with free wine which always sweetens any invitation!)
So happily that evening I was joined by Alex, Colin, Jocella, Ray and Rupert. Robin spoke a little about the work he produced in Plymouth over the two weeks and we chatted and sipped away on a few glasses of red with our kindly hosts :) A very nice vibe.
I'd mentioned in an earlier log that Rachel & Hannah had been updating me on the exhibition/residency programme they curate for Viewpoint Gallery, Plymouth College of Art & Design. I was really excited to hear about the work of Dutch artist Robin Van't Haar, who had been in residence for 2 weeks developing his ongoing 'City Scripts' public art project.
check out:
http://www.cityscripts.com/engels/index.html
http://viewpoint.pcad.ac.uk
Robin spent his time in Plymouth recording the everyday behaviour of people using public spaces. He observed day-to-day city life and that of the immediate college environment, presenting the results of his research in the gallery through photography, installation and a web log. In the Gallery programme Robin speaks of his interest in the way people move and behave in (semi) public space and how in certain places people start moving unconsciously in a kind of group choreography. Observing the way people move in these contexts offers a new perspective and/or way of experiencing the nature of that place.
Personally I'm very interested in the body as a sculptural, social and political agent and was really struck by one of Robin's photos in the brochure. It shows two business men, dressed identically in suit/tie and macks, both walking in step down a street, hands glasped behind their backs. The photo captures their moving in unison - a kind of choreography of the everyday with the 'dancers' in this piece being two business men dressed in the costume of commerce. It made me think about Erving Goffman's 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life' - Goffman describes the character of 'Preedy', an Englishman holidaying in Spain, to illustrate how we are continuously assuming/performing roles in our everyday public and private lives. Right now u can tell I'm performing 'arty' Preedy. I'm off for a swim shortly and then i'll be performing 'sporty' Preedy...
ANYWAY! As we'd been talking about re-thinking notions of what public art might be within the context of Groundwork and particularly the role of temporary creative interventions in public space, I thought it'd be nice to forward information of this exhibition opening to staff. Its interesting to consider how one presents public art related works in a gallery context too. This evening offered an opportunity to see and respond to some artwork together and a chance to meet members of the Groundwork team socially away from the office (with free wine which always sweetens any invitation!)
So happily that evening I was joined by Alex, Colin, Jocella, Ray and Rupert. Robin spoke a little about the work he produced in Plymouth over the two weeks and we chatted and sipped away on a few glasses of red with our kindly hosts :) A very nice vibe.
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