‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’…. is not only exactly how I feel at the moment, but also what looks like a great looking exhibition opening in Manchester next week. Will have to find the time to make a trip over there.
I feel like I’m doing a long distance residency at the moment, as I’ve spent so many of my days working ( as in paid work) just so that I can afford to make my own work. Fortunately, I have constant access to the internet, so I’m emailing left right and centre to a) interested parties at Leasowe Development trust b) staff at LTD to keep them informed on what I’m up to ….and c) Local media – to try to get them down to the event we are having there on 5 August ( to which I still haven’t thought up a workshop theme)
In the meantime…if there is any meantime, I’ve been working on new ideas…. I’m layering mass produced texts, with contrasting images on the reverse side. It still needs more thought – especially on how to bind them together, but I took some test shots last night to see how it will look.
Interesting that my last post had sparked so many responses – directly from the blog or by personal email and discussion. I was going to respond to everyone individually, but I needed to think things through. I seem to have made a 90 degree turn around since having a moan about the a-n ‘Trade off survey’ as mentioned in my blog #14 and I wanted to go off and think about why.
I do envy Kate Murdoch for taking an entire year off to concentrate solely on her work. Me – I’m just taking some time off from the exhibition frenzy, I don’t know how long for.
I don’t think I will go back to the competition circus. I also think I will continue to avoid the hastily put together exhibitions organised by disparate groups of artists just for the sake of exhibiting. It is a really good feeling just doing things for myself.
I made a conscious decision this year to not enter any gallery, entrance fee, ‘competition’ type exhibitions. I felt that I wasn’t getting anything out of them, I was producing work for them that I wouldn’t normally make and having it hung in a way that I didn’t want it hung.
I wanted to concentrate on developing a line of work that encompasses the transitional state of the physical journey I am making.
All well and good.
Then, when I was leaving work last night, I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen in a while. He expressed concern – asking if I was still making any work as he hadn’t seen anything of mine in any of the above mentioned exhibitions.
I was quite taken aback, as I felt that I had not only produced more work and had achieved more this year than I’d ever done …. but was seen as a bit of a failure as apparently, the measure of ‘success’ is gauged by a visibility in these ‘Opens’?
Is this really the case?
Things are starting to move at the centre now , due to the intervention of Naomi Horlock – an art educator who I’ve worked with on several occasions and who had initially introduced me to LDT. She is very good at drumming up support and getting loads of people involved in things.
I only found out about her involvement when I just queried the amount of activity on LDT’s facebook page. Almost since it was set up ( whenever that was) no news was posted, it was all very blah and forgettable. Then suddenly over the weekend, a pile of information started appearing, such as the great food in the cafe …AND a big family event that will happen on 5 August.
This is fantastic news and It makes me feel that I’m now looking forward to not only working on some activities, but will actually be able to talk to lots of people about my work.
Speaking of face book….
Another event was quickly arranged by artist Birgit Deubner , to support the job cuts at Tate Liverpool. https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/242364512448441 There had been a lot of press activity over the last few days about the cuts, which seems weird as we’d all known about it for months. I even mentioned it in my ‘ funding for international travel and exchange’ blog quite a while ago.
I was working yesterday ( again on overtime) so I was able to watch the activity from the front desk…
It is great that people came out to support us, especially as we had such horrendous weather yesterday… but will the powers that be turn round and say – oh sorry – we decided not to cut your funding? I doubt it.
Had a nice day at the centre yesterday with Carolyn. With the Library being closed, it was predictably very quiet, but then, we were warned about that.
I wonder how other residencies fare ? Looking through some of the blogs, artists tend to talk about their work and how it is going – which is good, but I’m curious to know how many people actually visit residencies hosted in art centres and studios?
Does it matter if no one visits?
