After the movement and sounds of Carnival this bank holiday, it is very calm and still at my studio this morning. As I questioned in my last blog, is movement fundamental to my work? Well the people that ‘matter’ have singled out a still from a video of 007 using a hula hoop as being their fave for a publicity shot, so I should take that as confirmation of the importance of movement. Advice from my established artist friend and the comment by Richard Taylor have only strengthened my nerve as to the dichotomy (a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different) between stillness and movement. In this case the action and glamour of the fictional 007 versus the rather staid desk bound office existence that my father actually experienced. The exploration of the preconceptions we have of close family members is new to me, my subjects have been up to now mostly at least once removed from my personal life. But here one person is a relative and the other a far off fictional character. I will have to not fall into the trap of concentrating too much on the glamour of Bond and leave room for the mundane day to day of 60s office culture, with all its lack of movement. The purchase of an ‘Empire aristocrat’ typewriter has helped to bridge the gap between the office and the spy world, as it looks like a piece of espionage equipment when in its case.
