Okay!! Enough procrastination and distraction, I miss the process of posting here and therefore resolve to prioritise it and do it more regularly.
I am not someone who ‘hits the ground running’. Travelling by steamship would suit me perfectly. Arriving in London on Wednesday afternoon and going to Frieze on Thursday and Friday left me feeling quite stunned and lacking in critical faculties. I am fortunate to have a (Frieze) VIP friend and accompanied him to Thursday’s breakfast viewings. Walking around Frieze itself, after my friend took his afternoon flight, I found it difficult to connect with much of what I saw. It felt as though more space had been given to the upcoming galleries which is good, and there seemed to be noticeably fewer of the more established galleries –especially those from the US and the continent. The conversation between AA Bronson and Helen Molesworth was pleasantly informal, issues of the ambitions, responsibilities, and activities of both artists and curators were discussed with references to the particular social, cultural, and sexual context of the 80s. In the light of my own practice it was good to be reminded of my history and its trajectory.
Perhaps the cosiness of smokey grey walls and thick carpet combined with the heady perfume of old money made Frieze Masters a soothing and somewhat intoxicating experience. I find it awkward, and almost embarrassing, to accept how much I enjoy it. Art (the object) in itself cannot be elitist, the culture that grows up around it (or that even produced it) absolutely can be. I like beautiful things, and to my eye, these were plentiful at Masters. Allowing myself to wallow in the wonderfulness of the art, suspending my anxieties about their prices and provenances was lovely. Ever the (middle class, and now middle aged) socialist I left feeling even more convinced about the importance of national museums and the accessibility of their collections.
What are my references, my ambitions for my practice? While running this morning the image of a tightrope walker came to mind. It seems an interesting image, especially in terms of balance. I like that it is balance that enables the tightrope walker to accomplish what is essentially a hermetic activity: the essential balance is achieved within the already defined parameters of the event – which may or may not be in balance with anything beyond the tightrope walker’s own sphere. This is not say that tightrope walking does not serve as a more than useful metaphor, rather that it does so because it is to itself something of a closed circuit. Could it be a similar kind of balance that I seek in my work? Is it a somehow comparable kind of balance that exists in pieces that I am satisfied with?
The potentially over academic nature of my work for the Take a Walk on the Wild Side course is perhaps going to be held in check, in balance, by what seem to be increasingly camp and theatrical elements that I want to introduce.
Some what ironically in regard to my opening sentence it is now Tuesday evening. I began writing this post late morning on Sunday. I feel that if I do not upload it now it will feel too out dated and irrelevant by time I next sit at my computer.
The sense that I need to focus my time and energy is growing in urgency! I want to focus on my own work (which I am doing through the course at Mejan), my part-time teaching, and my work with Tim. In addition there is the Institute of Artistic Research. These activities will all benefit from me being able to invest more of myself in them. And they are after all things that I believe in and enjoy doing!
