Fruition
Apologies for the long absence since my last diary post! A combination of two things have conspired to this neglect – childrens summer holidays (say no more) and completing major commission work for the Victoriana: The Art of Revival exhibition that opened last weekend. This exhibition is the most significant I have had the priveledge to be invited to partake in. To be exhibiting alongside artists such as Paula Rego, Yinka Shonibare, Grayson Perry, and Mat Collishaw is a bit unbelievable. I mean I have books about these guys on my studio shelves!
They took two of my existing pieces for the exhibition and then commissioned me to do a site specific installation for a small room. This is what I have been working on diligentlly for the best part of a year but considerably more frantically in the last couple of months as it was installed in the actual space. The piece is called Nightingale’s Nest and plays with the ideas of Victorian innocence, purity and concealment of sexual expression.
I’m delighted with how the piece finally came together. Throughout the process I kept in mind my mentors advice of being ambitious. I basically figured with this opportunity it was a case of go big or go home!
Now that the work is complete (and kids back at school I have space to breathe again and so will be arranging my second mentoring meeting with Danielle Arnaud soon.
If you would like to visit the Victoriana exhibition it is on for the next 3 months at The Guildhall Art Gallery in London.
Video tour of Victoriana:The Art Of Revival
Gallery Representation
I don’t deny it – I would love gallery representation. The right gallery of course. In true lonely hearts column style the list of qualities I look for in a gallery partnership are as follows:
1. A gallery that is pro-active with their artists – pushing them to continue to stretch themselves.
2. A gallery operating outside of market constraints and trends. Not stocking work just “because it sells”
3. A gallery that actively engages and interacts with the contemporary art world.
4. A gallery that explores collaborations with institutes and venues outside of its own gallery walls.
5. A gallery that is progresive and happy to take risks.
Finding this partnership has been a kind of Holy Grail in my mind. I’ve seen it as something that will be the important next step in my career. Talking to Danielle in my first mentoring session has not made me change my mind about the importance of the correct representation but she did make me consider the timing of it. She pointed out that representation can be restricting and that if my practice is currently in an exploratory phase it may be better to stay independent.
I think the idea of gallery representation brings security and a sense of validation however it is interesting to consider benefits of the alternative.
DIY Art Education
One of the questions I raised with Danielle Arnaud in my mentoring meeting was her thoughts on my absence of art education. My background educaton is actually in psychology – I obtained a PhD in social psychology at Southampton Univeristy about 15 years ago.
We concluded that I may well benefit from doing an MA at some stage but that it would probably be preferably to wait a few years till family commitments would enable it to be easier to study at a major institution in London.
In the meantime I will continue with my self education. I really enjoy researching and learning so this is something I have felt quite capable of doing over the last 5 years working as an artist. I thought I would share some of the things I currently do alongside some of the things that Danielle recommended in the hope it may be useful to others currently following a similar path.
1. Read/study LOTS. This has been my main form of educating myself in the arts. I read a lot of books! This is no hardship as it has become my favourite pastime. I will always have an artbook in my bag wherever I go (as well as my notebook/sketchbook!) as well as by my bed and will tend to spend my evenings readings rather than watching a film. I have a self imposed rule to always have two books on the go at once – a fiction book that is (or maybe in the future will) inspiring my practice, and an art book on either a particular artist, or an aspect of art history. I also subscribe to an art magazine such as Art Review or Frieze that I vary each year however I would say I find these less uesful.
2. Attend Shows. An essential one but one that I dont do as much as I would like. What I have done to try and enable more visits to shows in London is to arrange after school childcare every Tuesday so I have one day a week I am free to travel to London.
3. Attend Talks. This was one of Danielles top recommendations. Athough I will always take the opportunity of attending talks nearby I think I need to make more effort to travel for relevant talks.
4. Blogs/apps for reviews and info. Along with an artbook and my notebook, the other thing I would rarely be seen without is some form of device with internet connectivity! I’m lost without it. I really feel the internet is one of the easiest ways of feeling you are staying in touch with your art peer groups and current artworld activites especially if you are feeling detached geography wise. I follow many blogs in my Feedly reader – some from individual artists but the ones most useful in terms of keeping abreast of current art exhibitions I find are sites like: Contemporary Art Daily and this is tomorrow. There are also some great free apps on the ipad to self educate yourself with such as AGNSW Contemporary which lets you explore artists and artworks from their collection with high quality images, video interviews and audio commentaries from curators.
I definitely spend as much time studying art history / keeping abreast of current art as I do making my own. I believe the one is essential to improving the quality of the other whether that is done in a traditional institution setting or in your own living room.
Swimming over the edge of the reef.
Ive been continuing to reflect on that simple but important lesson I mentioned last week. The more I think on it the more it makes sense and excites me. As artists we have the opportunity to push the boundaries, to take the risks. To play it safe is such a waste.
I think we should aim to be out of our depth. To feel the rush when leaning over the cliff edge. I am making a commitment to my work to always ask how it could be pushed further, what can I do with it that will take me into new territory?
I read a quote by G.K. Chesterton which I think sums up the choice we have in approaching our work as artists.
“The Traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see”
