Another week has gone by, moving
steadily closer to something worth talking about. My dissertation is now
finished and printed, new work is being generated and a few ideas relating to
isthisit? are slowly being finalised and thought about. Oh and I also had some
time to play a new videogame and watch a film or two. How very exciting, let’s
begin.
Let’s start with new work, or old work
manifested. I ordered a few of the products that would finalise one of the
Royalty Free artworks; the jigsaw puzzle utilising a blockchain stock photo alongside
the acrylic case. They both arrived, I screwed it to the wall and it looks
good. Kind of what I imagined, so potentially a waste of money or perhaps it
had to be real. At least now I can submit the piece to things.
My dissertation as published book
arrived, which I’m very happy about. I’m hoping that this, instead of the badly
made book on Litecoin that was a part of the installation from last year, can
go alongside the installation when it’s shown again. As it’s actually only 6000
words or so, taking about 10-20 minutes to read, it shouldn’t be too bad.
I’m still thinking about how to turn
this text into a video piece. I originally would have liked to make an
incredibly well shot and edited video, watching a person go about their day,
doing different activities, whilst occasionally talking to the AI in their
phone. This is still something I’m interested in, although I was thinking how
it wasn’t really me that kind of work. I do found footage, I do a voice coming
from the background. So I think I may begin bringing together a bunch of
content, whilst refining the script for actual text and eventually sending it
off for someone to read. Then eventually thinking about install and everything
else. This outcome seems a lot more likely, and a lot more me. Let’s see what
happens during the week I guess.
Next up, my interview with Marilyn was
finally published for her online project VIDEOHOOKUPS, it’s a fair few months
old now, originally chatting in September or so of last year, but it’s up here
if you’d like to take a read - videohook-ups.com/2018/01/15/interview-with-bob-bicknell-knight/
Another week, another fake painting. I
do like these, and after going on so many studio visits you slowly realise that
the majority of artists do have a solid body of work that they work on, the stereotype
being that painters are increasingly prolific. Anyway, perhaps this will become
a series of prints, false images, false studios. Maybe I should push the
hyperreality of the works, making it less realistic and moving to the sickly
smooth animated versions of a studio? I’m thinking about Jemma Egan’s supposed ‘studio’
that is very much not her studio, that kind of uber-nuss perhaps.
I also began to think about a new
piece, although very much in line with my current art making. That is, vinyl on
MDF, which is pretty great. In this new work it’s a layer of MDF, vinyl
attached on top, then a layer of clear acrylic, then this is screwed into,
bolted together by big bolts and lay onto a computer wheelie stand, alongside a
USB attachment. This becomes a bug of some sort on the floor, around A4 in size
and a few cms of the floor. The vinyl in this case is a mixture of imagery that
I’m currently thinking about; Seasteading, AI robots, 3D printed guns,
hospitals going under, drones and drone warfare, cryptocurrency and an overabundance
of waste topped off by a smiling child overlooking it all. The work is an
amalgamation of all this, with the world overrun with satellites and the
smiling, future generation, looking at all of this and smiling, too occupied by
YouTube drama to care. I enjoy it as a reflection of the internet, or what’s
within the screen of this acrylic sheen. Like a bug scurrying across the floor.
Anyway, that’s a new piece that will be ‘completed’ during the week.
I’m finally getting around to
visualising the post 9/11 piece, that sees a print on vinyl attached to MDF of
all the windows desktops post 9/11, with all the dates changed to 9/11. I’m
very happy with how it looks, well over a metre in length. That will be going
in the show next week.
I think that’s it for new work, I’m
still working on the composition of the piece using the wire frame and I’m
still waiting for the physical bitcoins to arrive, alongside a Donald Trump inauguration
coin. These will be half buried in sand in a plastic tub, submerged in the
future and being looked at by the past in a way. I’ve been watching these
YouTube videos of a first person camera walking through various locations
around the world. One of the more interesting ones is the Highline in New York.
A former railroad in NYC converted into an elevated park, attracting millions
of visitors a year. I like this video, wandering through at a brisk space,
taking around half an hour to walk the 1.45 mile stretch, dodging tourists,
seeing a TV show being filmed, photo shoots, cyclists, people chatting, art
being installed. Everything and nothing is happening. This is just a normal day
in this gentrified, beautiful space. It’s new and exciting. I’m not sure if the
coins and this video go together, but I like this video nonetheless and want to
potentially do something with it. It’s here in the meantime - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41pbOJE&t=1535s
And I think that’s everything for my
own work. Kind of a slow week I guess, I’ve been waking up a little later than
I’d like. I’m not sure why…
Anyway, next up, stuff with isthisit?
is happening. Launching tomorrow on the site is an exhibition by ITS KIND OF
HARD TO EXPLAIN featuring four texts, one each week responding to the last. Very
fun and a superb line up of artists. It’ll be launching tomorrow, so head over
to www.isthisitisthisit.com then
to check it out.
The open call for the fourth issue is
still happening, lots of great people have applied, lots of great people
already involved. It’s all slowly happening and coming together, although I’m
going to take my time with this one I think. Just, go it slow and maybe think
of some new ways of making the books. Potentially binding them differently so that
they’re cheaper and I’m able to send them to people/places. I dunno… Anyway, go
to www.isthisitisthisit.com/issue-04
to apply with your AI focused artwork, open till the 31st!
I also finally got around to publishing
all the previous interviews from the past magazines on the site. You can read
those here - http://www.isthisitisthisit.com/interviews
10 exclusive and non-exclusive interviews.
I’m also going to try to start doing
interviews and reviews for the site, on a very vague basis, as and when I
really love an exhibition and when I like an artist and want to interview them
about their practice. Hopefully at least once or twice a month, beginning with
just me doing it at first, as obviously I have no money to pay people, then
hopefully when it becomes more of a thing I can potentially sign more people on.
I guess we’ll see what happens, whether that’s actually a sustainable model and
if I’m actually up to doing that sort of thing on a regular basis. It will
probably improve my writing at least.
I think that might be it for now, I’m
kind of taking things slow. I keep thinking about what’s going to happen once
uni ends. Jobs, work, money and less time for everything else. I dunno…
Let’s move onto galleries, beginning
with something I forgot to talk about last week: Sophie Jung at Blain Southern
which was great. A form of concrete poetry responding to various sculptures
made from a variety of found assemblage sculptures. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next up were the new shows at the
Zabludowicz Collection. The invites this time was Siobhan Coen, basically a
replica of her Slade BA final show last year, which was admittedly great,
involving a large multi coloured cube painting whose colours continually
changed and morphed psychedelically as light boxes within the space changed. All
of this accompanied a spoken text, originally read by Donald Rumsfeld regarding
Unknown Knowns. It’s good.
The main show however, was not. A
Minute Ago, curated by a bunch of people from various Mas at CSM. It was okay,
a ton of video work and not much else. It’s always hard though, the annual
testing ground project, with 10 or so amateur curators on the project things probably
get very complicated. I dunno, the phrase ‘too many cooks’ comes to mind.
Lychee One was next with a solo show
from Bea Bonafini, an artist who seems to primarily paint carpet alongside a
series of beautiful framed drawings. The carpet, hung on the wall, was fun.
Many layers, paint pushed into the material to create various evocative
character imagery. Yeah, solid show.
GAO gallery with another solo show from
Matthew Peers, the third exhibition in the space and yet another male artist. I
always think it’s a little weird when female directors of galleries primarily
showcase male artists, similar to Vitrine not representing any female artists
and a bunch of males. Although, I’m very much not in their position, so who am
I to judge I guess. Anyway, the show was okay, mainly incredibly messy, ugly
sculptures made from clay and ruptured pipe. Within these structures there were
moments of beauty; a superbly crafted mushroom out of wood, glass poles and
other subtle differences. I’m sure it was meant to mean something, but I just couldn’t
get over the initial ugliness to appreciate the beauty within.
South London Gallery had two shows on.
The bottom floor had work by Michael Armitage on show. Very large paintings of
people and fantastical things happening, one of them was called Hope and
another was called Exorcism. I didn’t like them very much.
Upstairs however was an incredible
video work by Ilona Sagar exploring the history of the Pioneer Health Centre in
Peckham. Looking at ideas of gentrification, futurism and the wellness
industry, it was well worth 20 minutes. I’d highly recommend, and it may be the
first review, maybe.
Assembly Point was next with a solo
show from Milly Peck being made up of painted MDF boards, fragile looking and
delicately crafted works resembling various interiors of a house. I really
liked it, very crispy and well done.
After that I attempted to go to IMT
gallery, which was annoyingly closed…
Then I went to Annka’s to see the
current one week show there. Michal Plata with his MA degree show work from last
year. An obsession with muscled men, motorbikes and more masculinity.
After that was Auto Italia, a great
solo show featuring a single video by Martin Kohout called Night Shifts,
looking at people who work at night in this hyperconnected world, obsessed with
screens and photographs, talking to Siri and wearing light up glasses. I
thoroughly enjoyed the piece, inspiring in a way.
Then there were two trashy shows at
Modern Art, such a fancy gallery. Who actually calls their gallery modern art?
One for Condo featuring Fiona Connor, boring work about pin boards and how no
one uses them anymore because of the internet. Yeah, obviously.
The other was an incredibly slow film
by David Noonan, a ton of imagery slowly fading in and out of time.
Afterwards I went to Roaming Projects
for If You Can’t Stand The Heat, a packed show of female artists working with
ceramics. It was good, but very much not my kind of work. However, I could
still appreciate the work and enjoyed what it was.
Then I went to Lungley Gallery, a new
very small space that just opened. The director was lovely, the show was okay,
considering how to navigate and install an exhibition when you’re in a
different country. I look forward to seeing what’s next.
Finally was the RCA WIP show. Nothing
really grabbed me aside from a very distressing and funny piece by Marijn
Ottenhof, looking at a group of people seemingly trapped within these coloured
rooms, trapped within a sort of social experiment situation. I’m not sure,
nonetheless, it was fun. Just lots of general stuff it felt like, nothing
grabbing me…
That’s it for art, now as it hits one o’clock
in the morning, let’s talk about films, games and TV shows. Let’s begin with
The Florida Project. A very well acted film about a mother and daughter,
struggling to live in a cheap motel right next to Disney World. Everything was
great, aside from the ending where I was asked to care about these people.
These people who had throughout the film been hateful, trained others to be
hateful and pushed those away, with no real redeeming qualities or a backstory
of distress that may have caused this attitude to manifest itself. Good film,
just don’t ask me to feel for these people.
Call Me By Your Name was brilliant, a
tale of forbidden love between a 17 year old boy and a young man beginning a
relationship in 1983 in Italy during the summer break. It was beautifully acted
and very distressing at times; the naivety, the acted ambivalence. It was
great.
Coco was another fantastic film
concerning the day of the dead and a boy who wasn’t allowed to play guitar. Go
watch it, a beautiful animation with a hard hitting centre regarding Alzheimer’s.
And I think that’s all the films and
TV. I finished watching Halt and Catch Fire which was great, but apart from
that nothing else it seems. I think I might be watching too much trash YouTube
content.
The final thing I’ll write about is a
wonderful game called What Remains of Edith Finch developed by Giant Sparrow,
who also developed The Unfinished Swan, an equally beautiful game that sees you
shooting paint droplets. Anyway, Edith Finch has many layers to the story. You
begin on a boat with a broken arm, you look down at the book you’re reading,
open it and get transported into an old diary from Edith Finch. So immediately you’re
in someone else’s shoes and embedded within a potentially unreliable narrator.
You as Edith now within the book are placed near a towering house in the middle
of a huge forest. From there you’ll enter other pieces of information,
basically ticking off a list of all your relatives as you experience each of
their deaths, all supposedly because of a family curse. It’s a beautiful video
game that sees you experience various types of gameplay, going into different
narratives and being involved in a complex overarching story. I would highly recommend
and it’s definitely worth 3 hours of your life. Go play it or watch it on
YouTube.
So, that’s it for this week. Tomorrow,
or today in fact, I hand in my dissertation, then begin working on the video
for the piece. This week I’m going to email more artists for the upcoming
issue, get up earlier, attempt to write a review, begin an interview, finish
the floor piece and potentially the wire piece but probably not, begin working
on the video work and just keep going.
That’s about it. Have a
good week. Oh and watch the new season of High Maintenance, it’s fantastic, of
course.
No comments:
Post a Comment