East Africa

I am back from my trip in East Africa now. Sad.

Xhibit 2011. Core Gallery.

Books in Bronze: Friday 13

 Friday 13 must be a good day for burning books!

This was my first attempt at bronze casting and I am pleased - oh, so pleased - with the results: the detail, the colours, the mutilation!

Fired books. A cake.

 

I have recently been experimenting with a different way of firing my books. I am not displeased with the results, I have to say. This one, above,  must the most beautiful fired book I have produced so far.

Experiment continues...

The Lives of Other's: Miroslav Tichy @ Wilkinson Gallery

Miroslav Tichy's work is shown at Wilkinson Gallery at the moment. (Press release here)

1. Being John Malkovich.  It is disturbing, how close one gets to "being Miroslav Tichy" when walking the show. Apparently, Tichy photographed those images for himself. Thus the honesty of voyeuristic experience in them. The images look like stolen moments, quick ones, where there is no time to set up the camera. Just the moment. A glimpse of nudity. A glimpse of smile. A glimpse of a shoe.
The photos do not look precious - one could find them on the basement floor, gnawed by mice, flooded, marked with age and surroundings. A discarded collection. One of those albums or photo boxes I get from house clearances.
2. Would one photo be enough? No. This show is a book - one page does not make a book ( I do know somebody who would most certainly ague otherwise :-) The images flow from one into another and build up a the whole. Page by page, photo by photo, around the perimeter of the gallery.
3. The Lives of Others is a wonderful German film about surveillance in East Germany.

Spot the difference: Clarisse d’Arcimoles vs. Irina Werning vs zefrank

Irina's Werning (top) work is featured in today's Sunday Times Magazine.   Clarisse d’Arcimoles showed a few months ago at Degree Art. Can you spot a trend? Can you spot the difference?
Also, here is zefrank.com project young me/ now me.

Fired books. Drawing. Miraculous transfiguration.

Drawing with book ash. Miraculous transfiguration: from book to cloud.

The shambles of art and religion at ICA

Art and Religion

6 April 2011

£12 / £11 concessions / £10 ICA Members

Art historian James Elkins states that contemporary art is deeply suspicious of faith yet welcoming of spirituality and the sublime. After centuries of a close and symbiotic relationship between art and religion what has happened in recent times to so change the way artists’ work might deal with religion? Why does it seem more controversial for a contemporary artist to explore their faith rather than critique religion? Art used to be commissioned largely for religious places but what kinds of artists are approached now? Work inspired by the faith of the artist is often found in outsider art, how is this accepted and understood in the context of contemporary art more widely?
In the lead up to Easter weekend we look at the relationship between religion and contemporary art in an evening of discussion featuring Mark Dean, artist and Church of England curate, Fabienne Audeoud artist and writer, James Brett founder of the Museum of Everything and chaired by Brian Dillon UK editor of Cabinet magazine and a research fellow at the University of Kent.

James Brett (of The Museum of Everything) - in effect - saved the event. He was so well prepared, funny, knowledgeable and - of course - professional. His slideshow and talk about religion in outsider art were illuminating.  Mark Dean did have things to say too, but he spent too much time trying to justify his own belief in God. (why?) Oh - and Fabienne Audeoud simply did not have a good day. She was so preoccupied with her own experience and her own understanding of religion, that she did not really have time to put art into equation too.

African art does not exist.

Religion is only what the words in the bible say.

What is spirituality? (with 10 mins remaining to the end of the talk)

Working with passion: Atsuo Okamoto and Eleanor Vonne Brown

Passion is infectious!

 

 Atsuo Okamoto has got a  "Forest" at the Chelsea College of Art parade ground - a stunning display of his stone carvings. 

“Stone keeps huge memories inside, since the planet came into existence. I feel that stone is the most romantic and intellectual object on the earth.” 

I ran into him a few times at Chelsea foundry recently. He is happy to talk and he is curious. As a result, I have already been to Camberwell foundry with a few new ideas, that I feel so... hm...  passionate about.

 Eleanor Vonne Brown runs X Marks the Bökship, which is a publishing project space for independent publishers. She gave us a talk about publishing, editioning, projects, fairs, etc. I did not realize how much was out there!
Revolver Publishing
Print Matters Interest Group
Byam Shaw Library of Art
 etc.
So refreshing to listen to somebody dripping with knowledge and joy about what they do! Bags of inspiration!