Northumbria University

During a tutorial today I had two opposing opinions: one was to not show the blog at all, while the other was to show it in either the same room, or the room next door (to the projected installation). Both of these, while giving me things to think about, are different to what I actually want to do, which is to show it, but in a room, in a different part of the building.

I think that, if it wasn’t shown at all, then how would it have any importance within the whole concept? similarly to if they were shown alongside each other, then how would the actual artwork have importance?

While they couldn’t have been created without each other, I want to see if they can exist on their own, without trying to place a hierarchy on either.

Although this blog is situated in a public arena, the thought of projecting it makes me nervous. How is it that the mere act of enlarging it does this? Is it because, while I sit here typing, it is really only to myself; I don’t expect others to read it, yet by projecting it, I will know they are. Scary.

Group Show “All Art Is, Is Rhythm”…….

AV Festival 2010…….

“I wish I could play the harp; not a burnt one though”

Perhaps drawing on the current tendency for exhibiting shows as “artist rooms,” the Hatton Gallery allows each of its spaces to occupy, and focus on, an individual artist in this new group show. The statement “art is nothing more than rhythm” made by Kurt Schwittes in 1926 marked the conception of the show, which takes on the themes of energy and sound.

We initially step in to a teddy bear wonderland created by Charlemagne Palestine; soft toys are arranged in patterns and lines as they “watch” projections of the artist playing the carillon. Our focus, however, is on this assembly of bears which are intended to absorb our human energy and transmit it into the gallery space like sponges. A fascinating idea, which slowly turns to the uncanny if too long is spent there.

We move on to a beautiful room of broken and burnt harps by Rhodri Davies, which are hung by fishing wire (evocative of the strings) and played by the wind produced by fans in the ceiling. Strongly influenced by the auto-destructive art of Gustav Metzger, an interference and destruction of sound is created. The human is taken out of the equation and these instruments are able to operate autonomously.

Next is Sky Wheels by Alec Finlay, a field of sixteen model wind turbines featuring poems by the artist on their kinetic blades. The blades however, remain static, unable to perform their usual function and resisting the original purpose. The piece adjacent, by Felix Hess is an installation of 500 small paper vanes which respond to any subtle air flow in the room. A differing response to Finaly’s work, they create a sensitive yet lively beauty where the artists hand does not dictate the work. Hess strives to highlight something that would usually go unnoticed, but this kinetic sculpture creates a sensitive and continuous change of pattern.

Pe Lang’s series of thermocromatic paintings are produced by an input of thermal energy to the canvas which alters its molecular structure and slowly changes its colour. While I was there, unfortunately I saw no change in the paintings; I am unsure as to whether this was due to the immense subtlety of the change, or whether the mass of fans and air conditioning needed for the other pieces affected this work.

Liliane Lijn’s work represents the world as energy. Her copper wire installations use light and motion to transform themselves and each time we move we see a different image, from solid to void, opaque to transparent, formal to organic.

Sculptural objects are brought to life by electrical, mechanical and human energy, uniting technology with the forces of nature.

Machines for seeing modify perception.

Rather than one long projection, or one shorter piece put on a loop, would it be better to make a series of still projections…10 or 15 minutes in length? This way, different viewpoints can be achieved; some shots could be close up and others may be zoomed out in order to get the sense of the original structure; while eliminating the mechanical pan.

If I film a new sheet within a new section of the installation each day then does it become like the daily practice of the blog posts?

Making connections between the two…..

The final presentation of the work will hopefully be seen as incredibly simple, but the complexity will be contained within the text- typed on the blog, pierced on the paper and projected onto the wall.

Another day of playing with projection….

How dark the room is will be important: a black room suggests cinema, a film, yet this is not what I am creating. So should the room be lighter? How light can it be before the paper qualities are totally lost? I think perhaps the walls could be painted grey in order to achieve some level of contrast. The space I have chosen for the projection does work quite well, but I think that it would benefit from a curtain of some sort to block out the small amount of light entering from the adjacent space.

Size is also vital: Should it be the size of a wall or kept to scale? The issue with the original installation was that it wasn’t immersing enough- the space above and below was too distracting- would this happen with the surrounding wall space around the projection? I think that I prefer it to fill the wall, but I have a tutorial in the morning where my tutor may have other ideas….