Hello there,
Life and so forth meant a hectic time last week. Therefore no blog posts here until now.
I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep but I hope to add another post or two to make up for it this week.
Where I am I in current time with Useful Tactics?
I’ve decided to rethink the project slightly as some of the pictures are more like statements than slogans. Perhaps I should do further research into slogans and the etymology of the word. (Some might say I should’ve done that in the first place).
On a walk a yesterday morning I thought more about that afore mentioned geocaching idea. I keep coming back to working out the development for an app that generates slogans that depict historical moments for a specific area. Like a digital graffiti that’s educational.
Back to the catching up of previous weeks.
So then, I’m up to Week 4
What happened between Friday 22nd – Thursday 28th July? Oh yeah I spent the best part of the week cleaning my flat for an inspection whilst listening to the news.
Friday 29th July 2016 – Slogans Project Week 4
Wowzers I’ve consistently posted work for four weeks in a row. Bit of a first. Surprising how doing a project like this, being disciplined in making sure I have work to post every day, can do wonders for my brain and self esteem.
Enough of that. Back to the job in hand.
This week in news and so forth. It’s still all sad, bad and precarious.
So then a slogan for Friday 22nd July 2016
Slogan 22 Breaking News: Another Shit Thing Happened
Another shit thing has happened, this time in Munich.
This time it was a far right fan of Anders Behring Breivik who rampaged over the city on that Friday afternoon and evening.
On to Slogan 23 I Have Lost Sight Of How I Used To Be
I’m tired again. The news is sad again.
I’ve forgotten who I am again.
This is what I wrote on Saturday. It’s not that I don’t care. I do care very much. That’s pretty much the reason behind this whole project. I just felt rather worn down that day.
That whole worn down feeling is a running theme I’m afraid.
Slogan 24 for Sunday 24th July 2016
Happiness Is An Overwhelming Concept Sometimes
On that day I wrote the following:
I’m not sad.
This isn’t about being sad.
I’m really quite good.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be. I should feel more floored right now but I don’t. The World is totally fucked but I’m reasonably chirpy. Incongruent, my natural disposition isn’t perky. I’m friendly enough, not impolite. I don’t like the phrase but I’m a glass half empty type. I’m good with that.
Instead I like thinking about how to fill the glass. Is that problem solving? I like thinking, then I think too much. That’s the main issue/problem.
Regardless, I feel pretty ok. Not depressed. And then I worry that I’m not upset which is a whole other issue/problem. Which is what this slogan is about.
Also being sad is where my best work comes from. So yeah it’s great being happy but then I can’t make good stuff. *sigh* OMG it’s soooooo difficult being an artist sometimes… you wouldn’t understand thoooooough.
Obviously I jest. Obviously I have to take the piss out of myself for expressing that statement about making good work when I’m sad.
Hi ho.
Monday 25th July 2016
Slogan 25 Don’t Be A Hoarder
The real influence on this piece was that I had a flat inspection first thing the next day. I spent what spare time I had over the past fortnight cleaning my flat from top to bottom. I threw out a satisfying amount of kipple.
This lead me to think about how the same could be done in other walks of life, in industry, teaching and in particular politics.
Tuesday 26th July
More dreadful events in World news.
Slogan 26 Shooting Shooting Bombing Shooting
Fairly self explanatory.
I didn’t publish this next one. It’s a variation in colour. Please anyone who reads this, I would like an opinion on which picture colour way works best. Please do feel free to comment.
Alternative Slogan 26 Shooting Shooting Bombing Shooting
Wednesday 27th July
Slogan 28 We Are Nothing And Should Be Everything
From the Karl Marx quote.
….and the Manic Street Preachers’ song.
I just sorta feel like we, the people need to remember this. This doesn’t get pointed out nearly enough.
Thursday 28th July
I wrote a lot for this next one on the original blog so I’m gonna copy it again.
Slogan 28 The Sadness Will Last Forever
This week on Radio 4 the Book of the Week is Bernadette Murphy’s Van Gogh’s Ear: The True Story. After listening to today’s episode I was prompted to do a quick internet search on Mr Vincent. During this search I learnt that Theo, Vincent’s younger brother (in case you didn’t know), reported that Vincent’s last words were “The sadness will last forever.”
More words to fit the World.
I also found out that Vincent was only 37 when he shot himself, that is took about 29 hours for him to die of that self inflicted wound.
Sadder still Theo, who was only 33, died about six months after his brother. He declined quite rapidly. He had dementia paralytica, a nasty syphilitic infection of the brain.
At the time it was noted that the cause of death was listed as dementia paralytica caused by “heredity, chronic disease, overwork, sadness”.
Another slogan to come later and can be seen on this blog http://slogansarenotanewdevice.tumblr.com
In my personal/professional life I’ve had a trying week, or last couple of days. Today especially has been particularly exhausting. After a bit of a meditate all this crap has done is given me an idea and theme for next week. A kind of story in slogans.
More on all of that coming up.
Back to present day (14/09/16).
Rereading that week it seems that I was feeling tired even then and “worn down” yet still happy that I was achieving something.
That’s useful to remember as today I am just worn down. Lightly beaten by external influences.
I’m quite pleased with the work on Week 5 and am looking forward to posting it here.
Thank you for reading,
Jenny
