SCENES OF CRIME

When I grow up I'm going to be a famous artist and make loads of money - in the mean time I clean two nights a week at a solicitors office to help eke out the meagre grant. At said solicitors, my 'boss' commissioned a local artist to produce some paintings which were completed and hung around the building in time for for an open evening - they had recently expanded and wanted to drum up business. Above left, is a sample of one of those paintings (again, B.M. would be proud).

I stood before them speechless (there's a first) - not due to their intrigue or beauty but for being so god damn awful.

'Do you like them' said 'boss'.

'They contain such detail' is all I could reply.

Out of earshot of 'boss', the receptionist asked 'DO you like them?' and united in honesty by our lowly status ( mine more than hers because I clean bogs) I said 'No, there horrendous', 'look on the bright side' I added, 'at least the one in reception hangs BEHIND your head'.

During opening night and maybe in an effort to elevate himself in the ranks of sophistication, 'boss' was overheard to tell someone 'I collect art you know' and led the man over to one of  his pride and joys. I don't know what the chaps reaction to them was, this wasn't a serious art lovers audience after all. Maybe he had no opinion of them, or worse, maybe he liked them too.

Some interesting issues arose from all of this. Should the public be subjected to anothers choice of art, be it public, community, corporate, site specific, land art etc...

You could argue 'live and let live' or the fact that we already face a daily bombardment of imagery through advertising - what difference does a few paintings make?.

Had the the potential client disliked the work as much as I did would it have tainted his view of 'bosses' company?

How much of art is propaganda ?

Is ALL art propaganda ?

If the audience on opening night HAD been gallery goers how far up the sophistication ladder would 'boss' be then.

At the opening as I wandered amongst the crowd I admit I felt a tad smug at my dislike of the paintings - because I know better - and my rank up that ladder is momentarily higher than 'bosses'. And that's when I felt the twinges of pretentiousness that I ultimately fight against and yet quietly embrace. And that's when I got back to cleaning the toilets.

  

'CLOSING PARTY' PSL

Project Space Leeds is a gallery space occupying the ground floor of a high rise office block on Leeds city water front.

I went to the closing party for the '195 miles' exhibition last Saturday - are closing parties a new thing ?. Anyway it was a clever marketing ploy to grab audience attention a second time. Worked on me because I missed the opening and although I promised myself a visit before it ended I hadn't and it would probably passed me by had another party not been in the offering.

Office block as a gallery space - does it work ?

In this case, yes. Situated on the ground floor ( handy for the smokers to pop in and out), the space is wide and high and  two walls are top to bottom glass letting in plenty of natural light. Situated in a white collar area of the city the PSL is within easy walking distance of the train station and buses and has ample parking.

Having never been to an opening party let alone a closing one, I took my lad 'J' along. Up till now his only experiance of an alternative gallery space has been a Graff wall so I thought it an ideal opportunity to gauge his virgin reaction.

His first responce was to  the laid back atmosphere, kids running about, artists still putting finishing touches to work etc...

The second suprised him -' people here aren't at all pretentious' (cheers son).

The third also suprised him - 'You mean I dont have to pay for this drink ?'.

Forthly he liked the overall space and site.

Concluding he wondered whether the first and second had been influenced by the third - he has a point there. You would be reluctant to revisit a place with bad vibes, or worse, no vibes so atmosphere is very important and if it takes a few glasses of wine to achieve then so be it.

We both enjoyed the interaction with Pippa Halles piece - swopping a personal item of your own for anything Halle had on display  - I did particulary well out of that one and exchanged my business card for a £20 'T' shirt (Bridget would be proud).

Got chatting to a playwrite who was admiring a collaborative piece in action, by Matt + Ross and Dave Ronalds ( see photos above). He'd come with friends but they had taken one look at Matt, Ross and Ronalds work - which I admit, wasn't very appealing when not up and running - thought it a pretentious pile of wires and left. What a pity they didnt hang around to see it working, it was quite hypnotic.

We were still chatting as gallery staff ushered us out at close ( never been thrown out of a gallery before ) so the lad and I wobbled off home contemplating the pleasant afternoon we'd spent - the lad still amazed at how laid back it was.

Conversation overheard during the party as A and B inspect a sculpture -

A - What is it ?

B - What do you want it to be ?

A - I dont know but I think every modern kitchen should have one.  

SHOWFLAT

www.showflat.org/oliver_macdonald.phpRead about Oliver Macdonalds' involvement with 'SHOWFLAT'-an interesting concept to showing your artwork from home. Go to the blog page and read 'my SHOWFLAT experiance' by London based artist Gail Burton.
SHOWFLAT do all the planning, marketing, arranging space, hanging of work - they even host the opening party. (Image party plan with an exhibition thrown in).

The practicalities are great and I should imagine opening night is an intimate but laidback affair, but I'm not sure I'd fancy visitors traipsing round my sanctuary in the cold light of day

http://www.showflat.org/oliver_macdonald.php

I'LL BE BACK

In response to the nest going missing ( I still suspect the park keeper) - Im going to hit the park with these little fellas made out of empty egg shells ( I knew I'd find a use for them).
If you find one, give it a home - maybe send me a photo of it in its new space.

Thanks

ART IN THE PARK

I'd made a rather large birds nest out of willow during a workshop taken by London based artist Oliver MacDonald. Besides taking up precious space, it looked out of place hanging in the studio-but what do you do with a 5ft bird nest? I don't have a garden let alone a tree to hang it in- unlike my local (Hyde) Park in Leeds-an abundance of trees crying out for adornment. It was the perfect opportunity for a spot of Guerrilla art, not only allowing me to reclaim the studio but a chance to gauge audience reaction to art outside of the traditional gallery space.

So armed with string and scissors and with the help of my lad 'J', it was off to the park with it to find a suitable tree. We found one right in the middle where the paths cross and the constant stream of student traffic is heavy. I purposely chose a tree near a bench so l could observe at leisure and not like a stalker from the bushes.

Using the string we hoisted the nest into its new spot and tied it securely- just high enough to peep inside on tiptoe at the dozens of empty egg shells I've been collecting since summer (don't ask me why). I attatched  a label inviting people to comment in this blog on the work or send a photo of themselves with the piece.

The lad and l sat a while admiring our handy work and checking reactions. Some stopped in their tracks bemused, some took an intrigued glance and one or two looked down right scared (how big IS that bird) but all in all it raised a few smiles and didnt look out of place. I was fair buzzing by the time l left the park and looking forward to some feedback.

 That was last Thursday- by Friday the nest had flown, gone with nothing more than a scattering of empty egg shell as evidence  it had ever been there.

Now if students (lets say) have hijacked it and its hanging in the corner of some bedsit somewhere, l dont mind so much- as long as someones getting something from it but..... if a jobs worth park keeper has dumped it in a skip, l shall be less pleased.

If you have the nest or know of its whereabouts, please drop a line or send a pic- tell me what you think to it. What is it doing now???

If, Mr park keeper you've trashed it, l hope you sleep at night-you've destroyed a potential home to a lot of birds.

Watch this space- lm already hatching (get it) my next plan- Badmother will be back.