When I’m at a loss for hope, inspiration or general confidence in the idea of being an artist I go and delve into the minds of those academics who have gone through the selection process to have their musings published in a contemporary art journal. Today I was not disappointed. In the summer edition of Afterall, published by Central St Martins College of Art and Design I came across Francis McKee’s essay on Minerva Cuevas.
Human undertanding and the relationship with animals is explored as a way of viewing the work of Cuevas. I’ve read it twice today and I can’t say how overjoyed I was to find references for commodity and consuming, museums and ideas of presentation, social unrest, camera obscura and the work of Ayn Rand; all of which have been floating around my head for the past year or so.
I’m so excited by this discovery I don’t have the discipline to make sense of it in a blog post. All of the strands of reference that contribute to the beginnings of my understanding are floating like single stands of a web floating in the breeze, expectant of a venue to create. I feel that this essay is a strand that has attached itself and now I can begin to weave my web. From here I can spiral outwards.
I’ve sorted out some of what needs sorting out but for yet another day I have avoided art. I think I need to plan my days better or I will continue to fritter my time away.
I should go to the sea more.
I had a meeting with Carly from marketing today about doing schools workshops at AUCB on a regular basis. Violet at the Gallery has already got me booked in for a session in October when I come back from Estonia.
I’m glad I will be putting my skills and experience to use. It’s already making me feel valued even though it’s just a date in the diary for the moment.
I also made an appointment with my supervisor for next week which is timely and will give me a deadline for preparing a plan of work for the residency.
It’s been all paperwork and meetings today, not very creative but these things must happen I guess.
I’m not a morning person. It’s not my fault. I went to bed at 11.30pm and stayed awake playing an unwritten film of the drawing with light workshop I’m hoping to do on 20th October.
Then my mind wandered to performing in Tallinn. Only 19 days and I will be there. I arrive on 27th and perform on 29th so I was hoping to have a fairly clear idea for what I will do. I sent Sandra an email last night and she says I should develop the work on site. A lot has changed she says. The place is a constant state of flux so I shouldn’t be to precise about how I see it happening.
I played around today and made a film that my partner can’t watch for more than 30 seconds because he says its creepy. He says he doesn’t like the tune I’m humming. It’s sounds familiar he says but he doesn’t know it. Here I go again, my supervisor says I like to upset people with my work – maybe i do. I like that he finds it creepy. Nobody else has seen it so I might post it on the MA group and see what my fellow students think.
Actually I think I need to do it again because I’m not in the shot properly. It’s shouldn’t take long and now that I’ve tidied the room a bit there should be less hassle.
Also today I made some simple Cyanotypes. I was impatient and rinses them before they were fully developed.
I was pretty productive today when I decided to accept that I’m just not a morning person. I spent some time watching art21 on you-tube and found this artist who make portable performances. This is what I have to do for Estonia.
http://www.youtube.com/user/art21org#p/u/2/3z49YCl…
