A short blog this week. A time to reflect. A time to remember all those innocents who died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. All those lost children who will never paint a picture, kick a football, laugh, cry, be hugged, be loved.
So my rejections from the ‘Timespan’ residency, the ‘Standpoint Futures’ residency and my proposal for the ‘Christmas Truce Commission’ with Birmingham City Council seem quite insignificant.
I leave you with the poem which I wrote in Australia formed as I walked past the war memorial in Melbourne as the Last Post sounded and the Australian flag was lowered. This was part was part of the proposal for the Birmingham commission, a resurrection piece inspired by that moment and the work of Douglas Gordon who had a large exhibition in Melbourne at the same time.
so the post of the last sounded
all fall down (down, down deeper and down)
and did that smart hat roll-ed blue starred blanket
cold comfort(farm) in newish of time,
for them there laid black down under
in said plunder of maggots ‘n’ men
so all’s that youth nevered grow’d old
in hell’s own earth now fractured by forgotten
and the longness of forever by surrounded
these gardens of eden’s sweet sent, via
dark fella’s door, licked black ‘n’ blue dead
and endless this flame such never be quenched.
The title of this weeks blog to be read in your best James Alexander Gordon voice please….
As two Premiership (or maybe Championship) artists went head to head this week on Wednesday’s mainstream television, Grayson Perry Utd winning clearly by 3 goals to nil over Brothers Chapman Athletic on style, presentation and brush handling; I wonder if the viewers were interested in the ART? As for me, that was a boring nil, nil draw, but hey, that’s the old cynic in me.
As for me, wallowing down in the Conference League North, it was a miserable defeat this week, Galleries Utd taking a comfortable 2 – 0 win home with them. Of course I will not name the two galleries (one a local Arts Group Gallery, the other a college gallery in the south of England) that, let us say, that found my work unacceptable, but I would like to make a little comment on this. The local small galley in a local small town was looking for a print exhibition. As part of and exhibition I had last year entitled ‘Suppression’ I made a series of large woodcuts to stand alone, but also used in the paintings for the show (an example shown above). Not liked! Are they that bad and controversial? The college gallery, a fairly small white cube. The paintings above plus two accompanying videos, from the new BOUND series of work, consummately rejected. Not good, and not controversial enough?
Well, my attitude is be positive, if galleries won’t show the work, find alternative site specific venues. I’ll let you know how I get on.
As Mr Jones begins the roller-coaster ride into the next election worrying about the ‘Mansion Tax’, I’ll try not to express contempt. As part of the large company of artists contemplating whether they can pay the next months rent for their studio, I’ll try to keep things in proportion….unlike Mr Jones…. get a smaller house mate!!
It is still all quiet on the ‘Eastern Front’ concerning residencies and exhibitions. However, as I thought, every artist and his/her dog must be applying for each residency posted… just received an email from Arts-Timespan in Sutherland (that’s right in the glorious highlands of Scotland) concerning the Paradigm North Residency (two months through the harsh northern winter).Quote: ‘We received a large number of applications and the quality of work and ideas shared with us has been very high across the board. However, this has meant it has taken us longer than planned to give the selection process the necessary time and attention.’
I await three other residencies and two exhibition proposals I think!!……sometimes I forget what I have applied for… two many senior moments these days I can tell you.
Above image: new photographic work from original painting for the ‘BOUND’ series entitled ‘Bound Man’.
