Art Lab at Dean Clough had our festive party which had a different format to usual. Usually I programme 3-4 speakers/presentators with Q&A each but for the social festive party I invited everyone to bring a bottle/dish and some art that they had made or were inspired by. Lots of people brought their own work and we had a great time finding out about their work more informally then stand-up presentations. Robert Donald brought The Man Who Planted Trees (1987) which is stunning https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvYh8ar3tc
Some feedback after the evening included maybe this relaxed/social format is something to incorporate regularly. Food for thought!
I went to the opening of the WI-FI Road to Recovery exhibition and had a couple of conversations with the artists. I was thinking afterwards about how important layout and seating is conducive or not to dialogue and how some set ups are more inviting than others. Comfortable and moving seating is important (comfort being entirely subjective… hard chairs are better than nothing and indoors in the warmth is a massive bonus). I was also thinking about the role of food and drinks and in this context of recovery how prevalent alcohol is at exhibitions and events.
The work is very much about silenced voices and evidently how impactful having a platform can be. Something that is easily taken for granted here/by me.
Sense-Perception: Sculpture, Drawing & the Influence of Classicism Conference
29 November, Henry Moore Institute Leeds
…ontological categories…
…thematic classification…
…radically non-unified…
…heterogeneous elements within the series…
…archetypal categorisation…
…classical aesthetics as categorisation (Greek)…
…gallery as container…
…naming as principally curatorial…
…mock museological taxonomy…
..compress complex narrative of meaning…
…art is androgynous…
…rather than an abstract feminist gesture…
…perpetual… perceptual… inversion…
I collected my Cap Stories work from Elland Library today as they are closed for refurbishment and the exhibition came down.
The work had stayed pretty intact with only minor deterioration which was impressive.
The next Cap Stories project I’ll be working on is with Magic Rock Brewery in Huddersfield which is very exciting! Dialogue will underpin this project and inform the sculpture and drawings I make and I’ll also be running a family-orientated workshop all in collaboration with Huddersfield Literature Festival and Lindley Children’s Bookshop. Exciting times! I think it’s going to be like a mini residency there, certainly how I would like to view it.
Dwell Time delivered a workshop at HOOT today. We had some great conversations which ranged from the weather and what we were having for tea tonight to suicide. Reflecting on how we as a team run workshops and connect with participants, we tend to put ourselves in the ‘participant’ category and as peers. Things I tend to say:
- Here are some ideas/techniques. I like them for these reasons.
- There’s no right or wrong way to do it.
- Make it your own and let the materials ‘speak’ to you / suggest things.
- Expect the unexpected.
