New stuff.

From what I can gather, we are expected to continually experiment/make/create things over our 3 years at Uni. I really wasn't sure of what I should do to start with because I've never made anything (that I value) unless it was for some sort of assessment. So I stuck to my comfort zone.

I didn't start making with anything in mind, I just went with whatever felt 'right'. I'm not overwhelming pleased with how this has turned out but I think it's an okay starting point, and I intend to rework this piece for however long it takes for me to be happy with it.

I've looked into some of Gerhard Richter's work as inspiration, I had never heard of him until a couple of months ago and I was amazed with how similar our work and process is. Not that I ever thought I'd uniquely done anything, but looking into Richter solidified that for me. To be honest I'm inspired to produce and disheartened from making in equal amounts. I do think of myself as an artist but I don't know why, I have only made a handful of things that I would put my name to, and none of those things have been created whilst being at Uni. I'm struggling with the purpose of it all... What do I want from this experience? Have I improved at all since September? I'm not quite sure how to move forward but I know I'm the only one that can do anything about that. I'm just going to give it some time and hope for the best.

Something I did in class.

These are just a few snippets of a collage picture I did on Monday. I wasn't 100% happy with it, but then, when am I ever? The piece gave me a lot of food for thought, we're currently exploring the realms of 'negative space' and all that jazz. Wasn't overly enamoured with it at first but I have to say it is growing on me :)

 

Reminiscing over Elbow.

In 2012 I went to see Elbow at Jodrell Bank, it was (as per usual) an epic night of good music, food& company. I took the usual mid-jumping-about-in-a-crowd photos that you expect at a gig and I think some turned out to be quite alright :)

This is one of my favourites...

...My Mother-in-law gave me some watercolour pencils as a 'going back to Uni' gift so I thought I'd try them out here.

I think to really do this justice I should've used ink and acrylic, maybe even spliced some of the actual image in there as well... Maybe I'll give it another go some other time?

'the air I fill is near to empty...' by Eik + Orengo

Firstly I would like to apologise for the atrocious camera work! As this piece was a "durational piece of body art" I felt that you needed to see it in motion. 

This was another piece that I saw at the Manchester Festival on Saturday. The programme for the exhibition read as follows; "...Paradise was there in the silence between our thoughts. A durational piece of body art. A collaboration between Eik Elnes & Maria Jam Orengo (Brighton University)."

If you would like to find out more about Eik Elnes and his work then go to: eikleknesundelnes.tumblr.com 

Unfortunately the other web address that the programme provides doesn't seem to be connected to either artist... odd. Here it is anyway: slothboobs.tumblr.com

Anyway, this was my sketch of 'the air I fill is near to empty...'

The Manchester Festival of Live Art and Experimental Performance.

On Saturday 4th October I went to the Manchester Festival of Live Art & Experimental Performance with my other half (who dutifully did the driving there and back) and my friend Ginger who does English Literature and Drama Studies at the University of Sheffield. She was the one who heard about the exhibition and thought that I might enjoy it :)

The exhibition was free and ran all day, covering a wide variety of live art performance. I have to admit I was a little surprised to find a room full of naked people! But, it really didn't take long to relax and see it more as an exhibition of art as oppose to just some naked people. If I am honest, by the time we were ready to leave I got the impression that live art performance is not live art performance if one is not naked.

The first piece we saw was 'KINDLING' by Peter Jacobs

I don't think I can describe this quite as well as the hand-out I was given has, so...

"An examination of the nature and value of reading and the printed word in an increasingly digital age. What is the value of printed books? And how can you control, manipulate and destroy education, ideas and narratives once transferred from page to human consciousness?

KINDLING explores the relationship between words and ideas, imagination and experience in a durational installation performance that questions why we read, the value of books as artefacts and where they take us individually and as a society."

                      

 If you'd like to know more about the artist and his work go to: peter-jacobs.weebly.com