A lot has happened over the past week or so, and most of it, but not all, has been good. I won’t dwell on some of the not-so-good parts. Having said that, at the time of writing this the internet was down….
The weekend was very good. Matt Roberts had come down for one-to-one sessions with artists at Art Space, and to give two evening talks. Feedback from everyone I have spoken to so far has been extremely positive, even though most people (including me) have been reminded in some way of the work they have still to do!
I installed the exhibition at Art Space on Monday, and mostly it went well. I had to make some adjustments to one of the pieces at the last moment, which meant that it didn’t work quite as intended. I have no-one to blame but myself for this – I didn’t allow for a contingency in the installation time. Ordinarily I would have taken the piece away altogether, but there is a strong element of experimentation involved.
Also on Monday evening I hosted a crit group. This was organised by arc – the Artist Resource Centre based at Aspex. A dozen artists, some of whom I met for the first time, came to look at and to discuss the work. This was an interesting exercise. I hadn’t expected everyone to like the work (I never do), and I had wondered how many would grasp the concepts. It don’t consider it to be the most accessible work, but there was much encouraging feedback, and many were prepared to engage. Bizarrely though, on leaving, one participant said that he loved the work, but that he thought I was being a little disingenuous. That simply isn’t true. There is no benefit to me in having a crit group and playing that sort of game.
I took a call from a picture editor at the local news while I was out and about on Tuesday. They wanted some pictures of the works from the exhibition. I said I thought I would be surprised if they went with it, but I managed to get back to the studio in time to send in some images. I’ll pick up a paper today and see. Could be interesting….
I found out that my blog on A-N was again in the top ten. This was a pleasant surprise, not least because there are several others that I find infinitely more interesting than mine. Speaking of arc, they forwarded a link to their blog which mentions my installation in the arc space at Aspex. I think I must have missed this first time around. They are currently showing ‘Deliverance’ by Mike Bartlett and two others. I also heard that Morph Plinth arrived eventually at Sluice Art Fair. I don’t know as yet where else it turned up (there was talk of it being smuggled into Frieze and an embassy), but I’ll let you know if I find out.
David Minton’s comment about my drawing ‘Reliquary of Conceits’ at the Salon 2011 exhibition in Vyner Street made my day.
Lastly, yesterday and today, I have participatory/discussion sessions with blind and visually-impaired people at the exhibition. This is to form a part of the research for my current strand of work, and the primary reason for the exhibition. I am very excited about this, and thrilled that people are prepared to travel to take part.
