Collaborations can be a bit of a minefield and you can never be sure if things will ever work out. I’ve had some good, and not so good experiences in the past, with some artists that I don’t even want to look at again, never mind work with!
I could probably write a series of blogs on some of the worst – the ones with massive egos and demanding attitudes……….. But I’ll just log it down to experience and keep this post to a nice experience, I was briefly involved in.
A few months ago, I was given a large music sheet to put down in my garden in the hope that I could collect bird poo on it. It was one of several sheets the artist Kerry Morrison used for her project : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21082873
Mine was a bit of a disaster though, as the birds just didn’t want to know. I think while it was down, not a single bird entered the garden, despite putting down a variety of treats for them. Maybe they were just too suspicious of this large ( 8′ x 4′) sheet of paper suddenly appearing? One day I left it while I went out and it had started to rain. When I collected it, it had turned soggy and covered in mud, even ripping as I picked it up. I felt hugely embarrassed about my failure to do even this simple task.
So I didn’t give it back, even though I knew the event was looming.
It was only two days ago that I suddenly felt guilty and told Kerry what a mess mine was. She sent me a link :http://natureexposed.tumblr.com/post/40847767658/out-in-the-elements-the-elements-the-rain-it and I felt so relieved! Mine wasn’t the only mess up.
I was talking to her today and she was feeling apprehensive about the performance. She told me that she was used to working on her own and felt slightly nervous about someone ‘taking over’ and turning her bird poop into music.
Fortunately, it turned out really well. Of course, I’ll probably never know if there were any screaming sessions or tantrums beforehand, but to me, as merely an observer, it seemed to be really successful.
Although this post isn’t about my work, I feel that we all influenced by what we do, who we talk to and who we work with. Maybe this experience with trigger some ideas for a future project for me. I hope so anyway.
