Paris Residency 2008

25.10.08

I have been busy with my videoing and writing for a new performance piece. Paris gives me so much energy and at the same time the peace and calmness to get a lot of work done.

In the beginning of the month I received news that I had been selected for a residency in Denmark in the Skaw which is on the coast at the very top. A small town famous for a group later called the Golden painters that used to live in an art colony there in the 19^th century and whose paintings are famous for the very special light.

I am going to create a video and work on some sculptures and will probably be adding to my blog if I don’t get too distracted by the scenery.

On the 22 October I went to the VIP at the Art Elycee and afterwards went to the FIAC private view.

I have never been inside the Grand Palais where the FIAC was held and it is quite a fantastic structure on the inside and I wondered if this was how it had felt to be inside the Crystal palace.

But unfortunately here ended all my wonder as the art was the same old hash, the only two things that sticks out was the two clear plastic skeletons that was grasping each other in a dance and an English woman taking offence of a gallery showing pornographic film and images, declaring vociferously that this should not be allowed.

Summed up, much sameness and a popularity for the theme of death.

Paris Friday 17

I have been working on a site specific installation with a video performance element which can be interactively participated in by an audience for the last 1 ^½ year.

Getting permissions to film in a specific place has proved a real headache and extremely time consuming in admin.

When I was at Cite Internationale des Arts last year the director called several times on my behalf and was told that in practice the administration was positive about the project but could I sent the proposal again which I did five times both in English and French, I never had an answer.

So today decided to do something drastic about getting the permission and took the train out of Paris to the town and landed on the administration unannounced.

This is of cause a desperate measure I would not recommend to anyone especially not in France, however, this must have been my lucky day as after having been passed from one non English speaking person to an other with as much grasp of English as I have of French to a third that decided that her English was better than my French and she eventually called the organiser and made an appointment for me in the afternoon.

I arrived for the appointment and a very nice man said, but yes he remembered my proposal from last year but I must understand that they had had a lot of problems at the time and seemingly though that I might be an other person that could cast the place in a wrong light.

So I watched as he went though lots of files to find my proposal, which I was surprised that they had kept, I was also surprised that he knew my name as I at no time had been asked or offered it.

After an hour of explaining that it was not my intention with my performance to cast a derogatory light on the place and that that in no way could it be misinterpreted he smiled and said I had his permission but now I had to apply to the ministerie service departemental de l’architecture.

He must have seen the desperation spread over my face, so found the address and gave me a name of a contact person, he also told me what to write and that I could mention that he had given permission and finished of with that this person did not speak or read English.

However, I know a person at my embassy here in Paris that may help with the translation.

On the way back to Paris on the top floor of the double-decker train I started to think about the practicalities such as people that had to be engaged, costs, making a solid budget and if the French department gives the OK then the biggest hurdle of all will be getting funding from the Arts Council.

Paris Blog 13.10.08

The weather has been absolutely stunning since I arrived and it must be at least in the mitt 20 eths

The Indian summer inspired me for a walk though the sculpture garden that is on the left bank along the Seine towards Jardin des Plantes, where I spent an enjoyable hour taking photos of dead vegetation. Not that it wasn’t lush with interesting and colourful blooming plants and being a garden enthusiast there were several unusual examples I would have liked to add to my collection.

On the way back I noticed a young nun walking along the bank of the Seine quickly and purposefully, it was quite captivating.

In the evening I went to the Pompidou Centre to see a special exhibition on the works of George Rouault hung in counterpoint to those of the Fauves at the beginning of the display of the Modern collection. It was enlightening but not especially remarkable.

14.10.2008

My studio is very peaceful with dulcent tones of the harp and piano entering from other studios but not so as to disturb but rather they inspired me to get down to writing a pressing proposal on a Berlin residency which by three I felt I had executed rather successfully and then rewarded myself with a trip to Montmatre and an exhibition at the Renan Scheffer museum for La vie de Romantique which had a special exhibition of Ingres sketches.

If you have seen the main house before with all the George Sand and Chopin memorabilia then this is also a special exhibition that I would recommend that you give a miss unless you are fond of small very rough sketches. Last year they had a brilliant exhibition of Henner gorgeous paintings of women.

In the evening I went to a private view at Gallerie Polad-Harduin which is known for its challenging exhibitions of Raw Art. I have previously been to some really fascinating offerings from this gallery but I was not too fascinated by the sameness of these paintings in grey tones of men contemplating their attribute.

Blog Paris 2008Cite Internationale des Arts

I am back at Cite des Internationale des Arts for a second residency. Last year I had a three months residency awarded to me by the Danish Arts Council and after the success of the residency I am back for more, hopefully.

I am naturally here to create a specific project, which has to do with performance and video but I am always open for unexpected opportunities and have already created two short videos from the unexpected.

I have also spent some time looking at what galleries are offering this year and it is quite dismal.

Last year I thought that there was a lot of talent going on in Paris and this time it is the reverse.

Of cause, last year I came with no preconceived ideas or expectations, so I naturally expected quality not ‘Shit’ as e.g. is Marian Goodman gallery’s offering.

An exhibition that primarily consists of a big room hung with very large glossy photos of different forms of animal manure. The only interesting point was to watch well dressed couples of the ‘art loving public’ actually seriously considering each offering…is it art….no it is SHIT! It isn’t as if it is either original or offensive it is just banal, it is sad that such a big world known gallery owner obviously have run out of good artists or just lost it.

However, if you are in Paris this month I can recommend Musee d’Orsays special exhibition Le Mystere et l’Eclat tracing the development of the use of pastels.

If I hadn’t had a free museum card I would not have bothered as I am not that interested in painting techniques not being a painter but this was a most enjoyable revelation.

It was extremely well documented with mostly excellent examples by both well known and lesser known artists from the 18^th-20^th century. The paintings showed an unexpected vibrancy and passion and opened a new light to this medium.

There was one more special exhibitions but those I would recommend that you give a miss as they are at least in my opinion is a waste of life’s precious commodity ‘time’.

I am referring to Picasso’s sketches inspired by Manet’s le Déjeuner sur les l’herbe.

Picasso was a great artist and has left a very interesting legacy but one or two of those sketches next to Manet’s would have sufficed to illustrate. I feel the curator is grasping at straws to draw a crowd under false pretences of great art.

I have no pictures yet of what I am working on but you will find a few from the short artist film I created last year called Paris Residues.

It could be a dream, fragmented and unreal and yet with glimmers of that which seems real. Quite post expressionistic.