Posts Tagged ‘Rant’

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Practical Reflection

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011
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David Altmejd | The Selby

Although I’ve been making and creating for a few years it’s only now that I have started to feel that I have a grasp on what it is that I’m doing. I was in something of a limbo state upon finishing my undergraduate degree having been offered no ‘professional practice’ as is so common place on such courses today. It has only since undertaking further study in the last couple of years that I finally been able to start to make some sense of what it is that I’m doing

Having had something of a manic finished to 2010 I’ve had myself a quite few weeks over the winter now enabling me to give a lot of thought to my practice. I was so busy making, curating and installing, amongst other things, throughout the last six months that I have neglected to give my practice the proper thought that it demands.

I have been reading some new books, magazines, blogs, and artist interviews recently as I draw my focus back to my practice. I have been try to identify those themes which are important to my practice. One of these which is key is the idea of repetition.

The idea of repetition is evident in many of my works from my drawings through to my installations. It is the process of creating these works that is repetitive, which in three dimensional works, more often than not, results in multiple objects. This process serves two functions, one for me as the artist and the other for my audience. It becomes meditative over time as I repeatedly engage with the same actions over and over again whilst at the same time the repetition is visible through the final outcome enabling the spectator to become cognisant of the energy that I dedicate to my practice.

A key issue which I also strive to comment upon within my work is the fragmentary, fractured nature of our society. There appears to be a Romantic notion that we are all united in the world today whether globally, nationally, or even hyper-locally. These Romantic ideas are based upon fragile, barely tangible, often abstract bonds that link us together with one another and my criticism of this has been present within my work for the last eighteen months or so. The presence of this discourse is always abstract but normally alluded to through the titles of works such as Blossom: The Space Between Us. Ideas relating to the fragmentary are often manifested in the materials I make use of, and their juxtaposition against one another.

I have heard a number of my recent works described as being ‘malevolent’ and ‘abject’. I have had an interest in the grotesque for sometime now. I have slowly been teasing some of these issues out within my work as I start to understand the ways in which they can e used as tools to help convey the ideas that I’m am trying to explore through my practice. I’m currently undertaking some more in depth research into the notions of the uncanny, the abject, and the grotesque. I hope that a greater understanding of the way in which these theories operate will help me to explode my practice, complementing and fuelling the practical process that I’m already deeply engaged with.

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2010: Highlights

Friday, December 31st, 2010
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Well 2010 has been and gone and it feels like it has flown by which is partly because I’ve been working my socks off. It has definitely been a good year. In fact I might go so far as to say it has been a great year!

In December 2009 I had my work selected for inclusion in a programme of exhibitions in London throughout 2010 so I had already set myself up for a good year. I was a little apprehensive about the two exhibitions that I was due to take part in as the work slected was Blossom: The Space Between Us which is not a small piece. Fortunately I found a man with a suitable sized van and there were no hiccups. I managed to attend the Private Views for both the exhibitions at the AVA Gallery, East London, In March, and at Acquire the Arts in Battersea in June. I realise that I’m probably biased but I thought both shows looked great and there was some wonderful work on display such as the bright and bold paintings by Kako Peco (pictured above).

The Curator, Antria Pelekanou, did a wonderful job and also managed to produce the ‘A Moving Exhibition’ book which documented the exhibitions and featured my work alongside 99 other artists from around the world who took part in the series of exhibitions. This was also the first time that my work had been featured in a book of this kind too so needless to say I was rather excitable upon it’s release.

Another instance that gave me reason to get excited was my being short-listed for the Fringe MK painting prize in May. It’s not that often that I enter competitions like this as I normally find that the entry requirements are normally a little too restrictive. However, I contacted the Fringe MK team before submitting my application and was delighted to find that their approach to ‘painting’ is very open minded. Unfortunately I didn’t make the final selection on this occasion but my work was featured in the catalogue.

Cut-Click Cardiff: Exhibition Installation from Sp:ke Dennis on Vimeo.

As well as taking part in a range of exhibitions this year I also turned my hand to curating on occasions. The first of these was during August. I managed to negotiate with the Milkwood Gallery to bring the Cut-Click Mail Art project to Cardiff. It was rather an epic task hanging the work as there was so much of it but it was a fantastic experience.

I’m not really sure what prompted me to produce the time lapse video of the installation (above) but I’m glad I did as it’s a really nice record of the experience. It’s defintely prompted me to think about the ways in which I document my activities in future. The response to the video was great, it has had over 6000 views so far and the feedback has been really positive so expect more of this in future.

During the summer I also submitted my first proposal for a site specific installation to the Stairwell Gallery in Durham which to my delight was accepted. I made a scouting trip up to the North East late in August to check out the space and assess the best way to install the work. In my mind the installation should have been straight forward but of course in practice it was something of a logistical nightmare as I was hanging the work over a stairwell and so had double the height from the floor to reach. Fortunately I had a long weekend and fantastic team supporting me at Empty Shop HQ which enabled me to complete the installation on time. You can see some pictures here that will give you an idea of what the installation entailed. It was an arduous task but one of the most satisfying experiences I have had this year.

This installation is actually still hanging in the Stairwell Gallery during January so if you happen to be passing through the North East of England do pop your head into experience it.

Photograph by Naomi Calvert: http://naomicalvert.co.uk

One of the most ambitious projects I undertook this year was the Peculiar Pleasures exhibition in Cardiff. The project was conceived way back around the spring time and took until November to be realised. Having developed the concept, issued a call for artworks and secured a venue the exhibition finally opened on the 3 November with a performance by Parisian performance artist Arianne Foks. Her performance Now I wanna Be Your Frog (pictured) went down a storm and it was wonderful to still hear people talking about it weeks afterwards.

It was hard work ensuring all the work arrived in time for the exhibition as some of it had to be imported from the USA and Puerto Rico whilst other works were delivered from London and Edinburgh. I was absolutely delighted at the result though and absolutely gob-smacked by the turn out at the private view. As I’ve said it was a hell of a lot of hard work and having opened the show I swore that was the last time I was going to undertake such an ambitious project in my spare time. Of course, I have had a month or so to let the dust settle and I’ve already found myself thinking about the next project.

Of course if you missed Peculiar Pleasures you can still grab yourself a copy of the exhibition catalogue right here. It features exhibition photos and work by some of the UKs finest illustrators.

2010 was the year I got back to basics and started drawing again and I finished the year with an exhibition with Manchester Modernist Society which featured some of my Mindspace drawings. It was a lovely little exhibition featuring some fantastic drawings. It was a great opportunity to get back to Manchester for the first time in quite a while.

Well those were some of the highlights of my 2010 and I was involved with plenty of other projects which saw my work on display in a host of the UKs major cities. You can find details of all I’ve been up to on my exhibitions pages or buried within my blog.

It’s been a truly fantastic year and if 2011 is even half as action packed then it will be a good year. My main ambition for 2011, my resolution if you like, is to exhibit my work in Europe. I’m keeping an eye out for suitable opportunities but I’m very aware that logistical problems could make it difficult to transport some of my work all that way. Watch this space!

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A Peculiarly Pleasurable Curatorial Experience

Monday, November 22nd, 2010
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Photograph by Naomi Calvert: http://naomicalvert.co.uk

Well it’s been almost a week since the Peculiar Pleasures exhibition closed and so I though I’d take the time to reflect upon what was really my first proper curatorial experience. I’ve hung shows before but this was the first exhibition I have seen through from conception to conclusion. It has been both exhilarating and frustrating at times but over all it has been a great experience.

I never envisaged the project growing to such proportions. A call for artworks was issued over the summer following which well over one hundred submissions were recieved from all corners of the globe. Being aware that I needed to cast an objective eye over the submissions in order to make the final selection for the exhibition I convened a small selection panel consisting of myself and two colleagues; one an illustrator and one a fine artist.

Selecting work for the exhibition certainly was an interesting process. It was clear to see which artists had given some real consideration to the themes outlined in the call for work and so deciding upon our initial long list was relatively easy. In addition to those who had failed to fully understand, or thoroughly read the call, it was actually quite incredible how many artists had failed to adhere to the rather simple submission guidelines that I provided:

- Up to 3 images of your work (which should be saved as .jpg or .pdf files and be no larger than 1mb).
- A statement which identifies and contextualises your work (minimum 50 words).
- Relevant specifications of your work (media, dimesions, etc.)

I received all sorts of file types from compressed .rar files to 35mb .tif files as well as links to on-line portfolios. Many of these submissions were disregarded straight away as a result of this. We simply did not have the time to sit down and file these works or wade through someone’s website to see if they had created anything suitable. Fortunately the overall standard of work submitted was excellent. After much deliberation the successful artists were contacted and I awaited the delivery of their artwork with bubbling excitement.

Having exhibited at venues across the UK myself I am aware of the risk one takes in using the postal service or couriers to deliver artworks therefore it was it was quite surprising at the number of exhibitors that put their trust in these services given the ‘relatively’ short amount of time that it would have taken to deliver the work in person. Even more surprising; shocking even, was the lack of protection the works were provided with for their journey. One work in particular was wrapped in nothing more than a sheet of bubblewrap and a paper bag from a high street shoe shop! (upon informing the artist that the glass had broken in transit she exclaimed ” but I spent ‘ages’ wrapping that!”)

Incredibly however, the work, for the most part, all arrived safe and sound in Cardiff having travelled from all corners of the UK and as far afield as Puerto Rico. There were three breakages which fortunately were only to the glass/frames rather than the work itself and having sourced suiable new frames and glass to rectify the damage done in transit the show was all ready to hang on time. I was really pleased to have collated a body of work that really reflected the exhibitions title and I must admit I was like a big kid at Christmas unpacking all the Peculiar Pleasures that had been delivered.

Having hung the show the final thing left for me to do was collect our Parisian artist Arianne Foks from the airport ready for her performance at the exhibition opening. I was slightly nervous about hosting Arianne for her visit as the whole Peculiar Pleasures project was unfunded and she had paid her own way over to Cardiff to take part in the exhibition. Fortunately some good food and wine, a whistle-stop tour around the city, and a packed gallery for her wonderful performance ensured that she had a enjoyable visit.

The exhibition opening actually exceeded all my expectations. The turn out was fantastic with a good contingent from Cardiff’s local art scene and some new faces too as well as one or two rather illustrious visitors. It was fantastic to meet a number of the UK based artists on the evening who had made the trip to Cardiff from the north of England, the south coast and London too.

The lovely ladies of Milkwood informed me that there was a wonderful amount of traffic through the gallery during the exhibition period. I hope that much of that might have resulted from my persistent emails, tweets and other status updates.

All that is left for me now is to return some of the unsold work to the artists and complete the documentation of the project.

I’ve already made a note of all those things that I would approach slightly differently should I undertake another project like this. However, I’m not sure how quickly I will rush into such projects as it was a hell of a lot more work than I had anticipated which on top of my own practice, exhibitions, and work commitments has left me in need of some serious hibernation. That said, it was an absolutely fantastic experience and I’m thrilled to have met some absolutely wonderful artists as a result of it. Hopefully the conversations that have resulted from this exhibition will continue and lead to more wonderful, peculiar, and pleasurable projects in future.

Peculiar Pleasures took place at the Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff, from the 3 – 16 November 2010. Pictures of the event can be viewed on-line in this Flickr set.

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Futile Relentless Existence

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
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This existence feels futile. We potter around with our dreams of grandeur, assigning great importance to ultimately meaningless activities and pursuits. None of these things really matter; not art, music, sport, culture, funding cuts, sustainability, elections, corporate takeovers, material possessions,…

All that matters is that we exist. If you’re able to attain a comfortable level of existence then bully for you!

Then why do I have this urge to do what I do? To create works of ‘art’. Why do I pursue these ends so exhaustively. This need to have my work (myself?) acknowledged disgusts me but I can’t help myself. I constantly feel an urge to drop out; to leave this life behind; to unplug myself from society. Just to exist; me and the world.

Those, sometimes Romantic, tales of the last Crofters living up by Ardnamurchan appeals so much despite the ridiculously hard work in doing nothing more than living. I’m fully aware that the gulf between my Romanticised view of such a life and it’s reality is huge but I yearn for that closeness to nature.

“I must stay alone and know that I am alone to contemplate and feel nature in full; I have to surrender myself to what encircles me, I have to merge with my clouds and rocks in order to be what I am.” - Caspar David Friedrich

The Romantic artists of yesteryear make more sense to me than any contemporary artist or critic that I have read recently. The Enlightenment and it’s search for truths has had it’s time, it’s morphed, mutated and no longer exists in the form that history has assigned it. Instead I find myself riled by this current obsession with social responsibility. The idea that as artists we should be creating work for the masses is absurd.

(NB: A new term is needed as the term ‘artist’ is about as useful as an impact activated parachute in this day in age).

Once upon a time the Enlightenment prescribed ideas of conformity. These days such ideas are dressed up in officious literature and unnecessary paperwork trying to fit us all into boxes. I’m not rebelling I just detest the idea of conforming to such meaningless and futile rules. These meaningless constraints which some would try and impose upon us just result in sycophantic work which tells us nothing that we don’t already know. They recycle our world and throw it back at us.

I’m certainly not accusing of every living artist of bowing to such pressure but I have seen too much of it in too short a space of time. There are no rules to what we do as artists and so I will continue to explore, within my work, that which cannot be quantified or measured.

My search for that ethereal Whole is futile, relentless but it is necessary for me to be what I am.

*image: Caspar David Freidrich – Wanderer Above the Sea of Mist

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Professionalism in Art

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
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Following a call for artworks that I came across I was invited to exhibit my work as a part of a local exhibition a couple of weeks ago. I received an clearly written, and relatively articulate, email at 16:25 on a Sunday afternoon notifying me of my selection which stated that I needed to respond by midnight, meet at the exhibition space at 2.00pm the following day and be ready to hang my work on the Tuesday.

I had been off , taking some time out, enjoying some hedonistic adventures across the river over the weekend in question and I arrived home at about 11:00pm on the Sunday; just in time to respond to the exhibition organisers email. In my reply I stated that the 2:00pm meeting was somewhat problematic for me as I already had meetings scheduled and asked if there was any other time, earlier or later, that I could come and meet them to have a look at the space. The following text is the response I received copied in it’s entirety:

“3 o’clock at the very latest – it closes quite early and I have to be at a meeting later on.”

I replied and reiterated the problem I had with the small window of opportunity that was to be given to look at the space at such short notice. Again I have copied the organisers response in it’s entirety without any cropping or editing:

“? You need to come see your space, bring your work 2moro”

It was at this point I felt it was in my best interest to withdraw myself from any further involvement in this exhibition. I did so with a clearly written email and wished the organiser all the best with the project.

Now I have no problem getting myself into gear for such projects at short notice like this, but I would have expected more flexibility from those involved, especially when considering that the organisers acknowledged some the difficulties with their demands in the initial email they sent. However, it is clear from the first reply I received (above) that they were not willing to show the same flexibility that they were requesting from the artists that they had invited to exhibit. What’s even more frustrating about this whole situation is that I had emailed them a week or so earlier and asked them for some further information about the project. I didn’t receive a reply.

It was this lack of communication and professional conduct that led me to withdraw from the project. Having resisted the urge to write an angry ranting blog post in the hours following this situation I have had the time to reflect upon events. I can appreciate that the intentions in organising this exhibition were all good. However, I do not want to involve myself in projects that I feel may have a detrimental affect on my reputation as an artist. If the levels of professionalism that were displayed in these initial correspondences were an indication of the way in which this project was to be executed then it was clear that it was not the sort of project that I wanted to be involved with. I’m not of the opinion that any opportunity to exhibit my work is a good opportunity.

Unfortunately this approach to organising local exhibitions seems to be becoming more common place. At least that is my experience of the situation. Many of these exhibitions appear to be organised by young artists/recent graduates and so I am a little uncomfortable in criticising their efforts as their enthusiasm is admirable.

To any passionate young artists/curators who stumble across this grumbling little post can I just ask that you conduct yourself in a professional manner, take the time to step back from your plans, just for a moment, to ensure that you’re executing the project to the highest possible standard. High professional standards, or lack thereof, will be reflected in the final outcomes of your projects. Ultimately they will reflect upon you, and those artists participating in your exhibitions and the impact could be lasting.

*Front Post Image: Contemplation -Art Critic by Steve Greaves

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What is Illustration

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
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*image: Amelia Johnstone

Peculiar Pleasures, the exhibition of illustration that I’m coordinating and curating in November this year came about as a result of much discussion with my illustrator friends after I asked them ‘What is illustration?’. The conversation went around, and around, and around, and I still we couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer. I thought it might be a good idea to share some of the thoughts and questions I had here. If you’re reading this then feel free to comment and contribute your thoughts on the matter.

Traditionally illustration is associated with drawing but that’s not to say that illustration ‘is’ drawing or that drawing’ is’ illustration. For example, work that exhibited as a part of the Jerwood Drawing Prize would not normally be considered to be Illustration but it is of course drawing.

*image: George Charman - Ruin 2 (Jerwood Drawing Prize Runner Up 2009)

On the other hand I have come across a lot of drawing for the sake of drawing that seems to pose under the guise of Illustration as an apparent attempt to elevate it’s status. The best way to describe these works would be to suggest that they tend to be drawings that are presented without context. Those illustrators whom I discussed this with put a lot of emphasis on ‘context’ stating that they felt Illustration is visual art in context. That is, it is work that relates to, or references, something outside of itself whether a book, a poem, an experience, or an idea. However, this clearly isn’t a satisfactory definition of Illustration as context is something that should be inherent within all works of art. My own work Blossom: The Space Between Us for example, although wholly abstract illustrates ideas that I had. It’s not work about nothing.

The dictionary definition of Illustration suggests that Illustration is either the act of clarifying something or the pictoral decoration of text. I feel have to ignore the latter, pejorative definition, as it pigeon holes a whole branch of art in a way which is rather outdated today as was exemplified by students exhibiting in the Illustration Degree Show by Cardiff School of Art & Design this summer.

Students had clearly been encouraged to push the boundaries of Illustration. Of course, there was the drawing, collage and painting with references to narrative that is regularly associated with the subject, but there was also more challenging work such as an abstract installation artworks housed within a shed, a painted bicycle and sound pieces. Many of these works would have sat equally as comfortably within an exhibition of Fine Art as they would have in a Illustration show.

*image: Damien Hirst - The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Flipping that around of course  there are Fine Art works that we could hold up as examples of contemporary illustration such as Damien Hirst’s ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’. For anyone who has had the chance to experience this work in person it is very clear for us see the Artist’s thinking behind the work. It is an example of a work of Fine Art that clearly illustrates it’s title, which in turn we can assume to be an idea, notion, or concept that the artist had. This is a more clear example of the boundaries being blurred than the more romantic abstract example of my own work I gave earlier but the general point I’m getting is the same. That is that all art illustrates something no matter how ethereal or vague that idea is.

This just kept bringing us back around in circles and no matter how much we’ve discuseds it we’ve still not satisfactorily managed to define Illustration. Can anyone give me a satisfactory definiation or is it to be one of those words, like ‘Art’, that eludes a fixed definition. I’ve rambled on enough but if anyone has any thoughts on the matter I’d love to hear them…

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Artistic Logistics

Thursday, June 10th, 2010
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Creative Industries | Arts

Monday, May 31st, 2010
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Social Commentators

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
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The Art & Craft Debate Revisited

Sunday, December 13th, 2009
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Following recent events in my peroxide addled world I have found myself looking back to the Art & Craft debate as I examine ways in which to push my practice forward. For those of you unaware, the Art & Craft debate arose at the beginning of the twentieth century as the Fine Arts moved away from figuration and started to enter deeper realms of abstraction and conceptual ideas within the arts grew in popularity – well that’s it very very briefly. There has been a lot written about it so if you want to know about the more subtle nuances of the debate I suggest you go and do some research.


Now back to the crafts and my own practice! I have found myself getting involved in numerous ‘craft’ type activities over the last year or so which all came to a head last week. I have enjoyed making and creating various objects as a part of these projects but I have been put in a position where I am now reflecting upon these actions and with hindsight I can not see any intellectual value in these pursuits. Of course there are skill-sets involved, but I have learned nothing that I did not know previously as I had quite a ‘creative’ upbringing with plenty of opportunities to make and do; perhaps I was spoiled in this respect; and although I have gained plenty of personal satisfaction from these projects, it has been something of a quick fix. Such work is in stark contrast to my arts practice. There is no intellectual or emotional engagement in such projects and so the satisfaction gained from such work is short lived especially in comparison to my Fine Art work.

As such I have taken the decision to cease engagement with such projects as I feel that they have become something of a distraction from my Fine Art practice. I have removed the craft galleries from my website as I do not want such work to distract from and dilute my portfolio. It has been a period of flux for me since finishing my studies and now is the time to sharpen my focus and push forward with that which means the most to me.

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