Matt Burrows, Exeter Pheonix

Matt started out as an artists and is now working as a Curator for, Exeter Phoenix. Throughout the duration of the lecture he talks about his Journey to where he is today. Within the Exeter Phoenix he has several gallery spaces, and emphasises that it is not at art center, as he feels that hold the wrong connotations. It is a multi-platform arts venue.

The main exhibition space, holds contemporary art, which is selected and curated by himself. Currently showing, Kit Poulson: After the Enlightenment. 

The Cafe bar gallery , is a platform for  mainly regionally based artists, usually 2d work as it has to be put up on the walls. This space has a lot of viewers especially. He uses the example of the current show by Robert Mason, who’s pieces are illustrative paintings.

The Walkway Gallery, shows works form projects of exhibitions from the community. He examples of exhibitions by The Artful Dodgers, Alphington Photo, and Type Senstive.

Gallery 333, a small installation space, Liz West‘s installation is currently in this space.

Matt began his career when he studied Fine Art in Bristol Polytechnic, which is now known as Bristol University West of England (UWE), this was for the duration of 3 years, he then stayed for a bit before moving to London. He really didn’t know what he was going to do and he ended up in Hackney, he met people int he art industry and began transporting art around. He felt it important ot let us know he didn’t become a Curator through previous studies.

He expresses how London has a massive art industry, having multiple companies who work with art, artists and galleries. He began by working for 01 Art Services, London. To which 3 times a week he would pick up and move pieces of work around London, while he lived in Bow. he see’s this experience as an amazing education; going from art studios to collect paintings to moving them to the high end of London, to peoples houses who brought paintings and often installing them on top of a fireplace. This gave him opportunities to work with Canary Wolf and Virgin for example he would regularly change the art pieces round on the upper class sections of the plane. He also did some work for Frieze.

He saw the entire gamut of how industry works; almost a sense of behind the scenes. He continued to widen his knowledge with these experiences for 3 to 4 years. In other ways his practice suffered as he lacked the confidence to show other people his work, so he found himself often sat in his studio smoking rolley’s.

Hw was introduced to Alex Hartley, who needed an assistant. He helped to build the boxes for Hartley as an artists assistant and then was introduced to the Victoria Miro commercial gallery, where he began helping to install exhibitions. This role developed into Exhibition Organiser. wOrking closely with artists about how to achieve exhibitions through budgets and perimeters. He talked about the pleasure he received of getting to ‘live’ with these paintings; having longer relationships with the art works as he got to see them everyday. Working at Victoria Miro changed his opinion of painting and has a massive effect on him.

He mentioned various artists and projects he had done whilst working at Victoria Miro, for instance he speaks about how Grayson Perry was probably the most level headed artists he had ever worked with and Chris Ofili’s, The Upper Room, 1999-2002 now belongs to the Tate, but he got to work with the architect to design the space alongside Chris and how it was an intense installation, but with amazing results.

He also did some freelance work at Space X, an independent public contemporary art space in Exeter. Alongside Carolinne Maudsley, from Plymouth Arts Center as project managers. This was a step away form ‘the drilling holes’ to working with artists in the public sector. The lovely thing about this is it’s all about the art, not about buying into ‘the Bohemian-ness’ of the art world. It brings the aesthetic of the exhibition making into it. He explains how Commercial galleries work like Record Labels. They represent artists, work as managers/ promoters and producers for the artists. He mentioned how he gets a lot of people contacting the Phoenix asking if they can get in contact with the artists directly, as they don’t want to give the Phoenix any money for the work through commission. People forget how much the galleries do to pit art in front of people. As an artist it is important to remember all the aspects that galleries do for you.

It is also important to look at the relationships with Clients, for example when buying a painting you have to think about whether the client will lend the work to galleries for exhibitions (will the work ever be seen again). Museums often pay less for works, but it is better for the artists Career when works, or collections are brought by Museums.

It was while he was working at Space X, he began working part time as the Phoenix, he wanted to make the programme clearer at the Phoenix, as various people were coming in to hire the space. Matt brings clarity and continuity to the programme whilst raising the profile of the space regionally. the Phoenix only recently were granted more money for the role Matt does.

He talked about he shows Regional artists, international based artists, emerging artists, stablished artists work within the open exhibition spaces on the ground floor. The Phoenix is an interesting yet challenging space for him to run the contemporary programme with over 350, 000 visitors a year. There are various things he would love to do, that wouldn’t be appropriate, due to managing family audiences and to bear in mind the space being very tactile to visitors. With a lot of his exhibitions he lives to have the artists make works for solo exhibitions. This gives him  more of a creative input of putting together a show. Giving Matt the feeling that he is slightly responsible for the making of work within the art world. This is a satisfying relationship with the artists in his terms.

He spoke about his show Nexus, where he invited 5 artists from Exeter. Raised awareness of local artists. Also his excitement of Owen Lloyd’s: Building Materials, 2010. To explain the importance of thinking whether of not you want something to be given away form an exhibition, for example Owen used tube lines to make maps of his work int he building. Matt explains how he aims to have a shop/archive of work that has been shown through these means.

Exeter Contemporary Open,  Selects 9- 14 artists who can show up to 4 artworks. Matt is on the panel for this. He used the example of Bryony Gillard’s: Risk Assessment. Came from two photographs from her grandmas handbag, in a foreign location, with a tiger. Focusing on the bravery of being with wild animal. People like the idea of being brave with wild animals. This work was originally proposed for London hackney, but an hour before said snake can’t come. Matt found hippy woman in Devon and managed to get the piece cleared to do in Exeter Phoenix.

Projects outside, have lack of finances and time, however Matt has a small pot of money available to him, to create some work within the public realm. Due to not having much time to organise, he worked with artist with print. Reproducing work that didn’t cost time and money. He booked bus shelters showing Theo Simpson prints, Lesser Known Architecture.  A series of architecture forms that no one knows much about. There was emphasis on no branding; Unlike adverts.  This caused problems with funders wanting logos, he created a piece of print with fold out posters to see where they where. Also creating a  Twitter based competition, in which you take a photo of the print in its place and what you thought about it to win a print.

There was a real emphasis on the networking throughout his lecture, inspiring in some ways as I feel I am currently trying to expand my network. It was nice to see that Matt had recognised me from when I had helped out at the Exeter Phoenix with the installation of LOW PROFILE: Against All Odds,
as that opportunity allowed me to widen my network and have an understanding of how another different gallery works. Matt’s talk really puts into perspective how much work you have to do to have a greater understanding of the art world and how it run, then applying this to what you want to do with your career. Yet, he also spoke a lot about how great it is when you get it right, and yourselves and the artists and thoroughly pleased with an exhibition.

Union Street Party, 2013

On Sunday the 29th of September Union Street, Stonehouse was closed for a public Street Party, hosting Music performance, Performance and various other public activities. Amongst all of these it was amazing to see various aspects of the arts within Plymouth interacting with the public.

Shed on Wheels – Take a Part

A project which had previously visited us at Studio 11, commissioned by Grow Efford, an artist-led project by Anne-Marie Culhane and Ruth Ben-Tovin. Promoting from a converted 1970’s electric milk float designed by Rufus Maurice and Belle Benfield. Inspiring communities across Plymouth and Efford to grow and harvest their own produce. Shed on Wheels (SOW) work’s with food, through foraging and growing produce, raising awareness of Creative exchange. At the Street party, SOW invited the public to taste their freshly squeezed apple juice and participate in the process of it as well. This was a great public participation event and I feel the public really invested themselves in taking a part with the project.

Lee McDonald

A local artist, who also works as a technician at KARST, was around interacting with the public, allowing audience participation with his piece. This gave the public the chance to discuss and understand artistic possibilities. Lee’s work focuses on exploration of mechanical processes. Questioning sound and physics, through recycled materials in a form of Kinetic Art. It was lovely to see how people interacted with Lee and the amount of public interest it attracted.

Overall, It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and a great opportunity to see the community coming together and supporting various organisations and the art’s. You can find more information on the varied sponsors including Plymouth College of Art, and supports amongst the likes of Take A Part and Plymouth City Council, on the following link www.stonehouseaction.btck.co.uk/UnionStreetParty2013

 

Luke Fowler in Conversation with the Curator, Plymouth Arts Centre

On the 7th November at 6pm, at the Plymouth Art’s Centre, Luke Fowler (2012 turner Prize nominee) and Caroline Mawdsley; the Curator of Programmes gave an open Q&A on Fowlers practice and cinematic influences. Before Fowler moved to the Bread and Roses; Ebrignton Street for a collaborative performance alongside Richard Youngs.

In the talk, Fowler began by outlining the mediums his practice consisted of, these included; film, photography, sound and installation. His career began at Gordonstone College in Dundie, where he applied to study in the Time-based art department, after refusal Fowler took the second best choice of the Printmaking department. Which began to seem beneficial as his tutor’s partner Steven Partridge, encouraged Fowlers interest in Video and Installation. He spoke about his experiment with video beginning with the schizophrenic atmosphere of making music and night and art within the day. His fellow peers told him that he should choose between the two. His disregarded this remark and stated that his work explores non musicians of the amateur sonically minded artists. He believes sound art has a pontinance, and some of his pieces bring categories together.

Further exploring the limits of documentary film-making, through countercultural figures, and often making complex layered portraits of these. Therefore hoping to retell history and revealing conflict, his piece is currently on show within the Art Centres window gallery; The Poor Stockinger, the Luddite Cropper and the Deluded Followers of Joanna Southcott. Within most of his videos he works with a handheld 16mm camera, filming predominantly in domestic places, stating that video art doesn’t have to be like what Roy Douglas does. Explaining that seeing the genesis of the practice being a turn away of the use of the camera, looking at late 80’s early 90’s research based practices alike Black Audio Film Collective. This was very crucial to him,, as he noted that there was no history of experimental film in Glasgow. He used the example of Margerie Tate, who lived in Hockney, and has only just been discovered.

His interest in structural film making came from the point of exclusion, from the text books at art school. He enjoys the exploration of the relationship to free cinema through personal documentaries on 16mm camera’s. He believes Documentary motivates as a catalyst to work against. Using comprehensive knowledge of traditional documentary he can see heritage as he tells people about his life. Working against the idea that Documentary has been corrupted by formulas and pressures, that is now moved into something that has lost its strength and has become criticised over the past 40 years.

A comment which really resinated with me during his talk was when Fowler stated ‘Artists are no more less free than anyone else… they still have to make a living.’ When asked the question does it matter if people watch his video’s. I feel this is an important point which Fowler made, as although we would like to make work we aren’t fully free in our expressions of our practice as we still need for it to get coverage, or grants for us to be able to fund and continue our practice.

He believes each film is a challenge for him to make a  new invention and a personal challenge for him to do something in a new way. A Grammar For Listening was a dialogue making a negotiation with their instrument of microphone and his instrument a Bolex. Within this piece it’s a concentration of the hsaring of sounds, using and indelible mark on the representation of reality. The link here is the collaboration, and the challenges of new people, not hte video’s.

He spoke about how thing’s happen in the most odd ways, for example how he ended up collaborating with Toshiya Tsunoda. It began when Fowler was the driver for Tsunoda, Fowler offered to drive Tsunoda round Scotland in the exchange of being allowed to film. On their journeys they would speak about film, art and music. Tsunoda gave Fowler a CD with his address on it, and it wasn’t until Fowler was asked to go to Yokohama a year later, he made the connection to the address and decided to write to Tsunoda, and Tsunoda wrote back, saying how surprised he was that Fowler would be in his home town, as he thought he was just a driver. Tsunoda’s work also looks at investigation of place and documentation of this. Also touching on how our subjectivity colours our impression of a place. He made snapshots that had no relevance to musicality, narrowing to looking at phenomena’s and how they come about. asking the question is there any such thing as an intrinsic mark permanent to a place or was it down to social and environmental factors?

Furthermore, within his practice he doesn’t set out to make comprehensive portraits, he looks at arguments that fascinate or relate to him and delves into those chapters that are often neglected by aspects of culture. He see’s film is more about self education. For him especially, he never went to uni, but he was educated through his family. As in Dundee there was more emphasis on art history and research than making physical practice. His films are more autodidactic and deal with the question of image and the archive.
Fowler went on to talk about how you present your work, believing you must have meticulous instructions of what you want ‘otherwise they do the ‘shitest’ productions of your work.’ He see’s himself as the custodial car taker of his work, and therefore how it is shown. IF people want to show his pieces and don’t have the equipment he will try and work it out with them. This stems from the fact he really cares for the audience and how the work is shown, so that they have the bets context to see the work, that way they see the work in the  best possible way.

When displaying his films, he looks at disrupting the conventional mode of viewing cinema, which is passive through a screen, it’s pre-recorder and alterable of conditions within the room. He wanted to do something that fucked with the transposable space. Like moving screens, lights that go on and off, sounds that change, as your presence, your air, changed the way the room is being perceived. In relation to his exhibition at Plymouth Arts Center, The Poor Stockinger, the Luddite Cropper and the Deluded Followers of Joanna Southcott, he commented that if he had known they had  cinema, this is where his piece would have been shown as he felt it seemed displaced where it was.

Often his work things further about the audience, using the example of a book he was reading about American subcultural studies by Thomas Steel, he asks what is intrinsic to the sensors about adult education and social perfectness, and how do you grab the attention of someone who is working all day and then have to go to and evening class. He resolves this issue by making a connection to what they’re living and how their apply his work to their life. Caroline asked Fowler how he considers the audience when viewing his pieces, as people will look at a paining for two seconds how does he get them to sit and watch a film of about 6o minutes. In reply to this Fowler questions that someone wouldn’t question sitting for hours watching Madman or breaking Bad, so he doesn’t feel as if he’s taking away their time. Stating he doesn’t really care if people watch his film or not.

He addressed my question, would the experience be different if the film was seen as a one off? By  mentioning that people find distractions inmost things, yet only the dedicated viewers would pay to see it twice, yet if they were seeing a film in the cinema they would regard it as different. Overall, I found the talk very interesting, and although it were partially scripted, Fowler spoke genuinely about his work, and his concepts. Later in the evening after his performance I asked him about the talk, and the way it was set out, he mentioned he didn’t know what it was going to be set up like, as the setup of the space made me feel it was more of a performance installation, he said this was not intentional and that, he didn’t specifically want it to be seen in this way.

Karst

Photograph of the exterior of Karst, Plymouth
Available at:
http://www.karst-projects.org/about.html

Karst is a non-profit organisation founded in 2012 that is artist-led. Karst have just refurbished their studio spaces available to artists providing them and the public with exposure to local and international contemporary art. Karst produces curatorial projects that are sometimes guest-curated working alongside collaborative groups, individuals and various partner organisations; commissioning exhibitions from Arts Council England, Plymouth City Council, The Danish Arts Council, OCA: Office for Contemporary Art Norway and many others. Karst have previously exhibited work by Various artists some recent examples are, Jeongmoon Choi : Explorer, Bristol Diving School & Third Belgrade ‘MEMEX : An Autoscopic Exercise’  and Simon Bayliss SS Blue Jacket.

I am currently working as a Intern within Karst, the opportunity to work within the team is helping me to gain experience and knowledge within a different gallery environment, allowing me to develop these skills within my own practice.  The internship will benefit me as I am very interested in learning more about the administration side to how exhibitions are set up alongside the installation and working with various artists in the production of their exhibitions and the understanding how their work should be perceived.

References:

Karst-projects.org. 2013. KARST : About. [online] Available at: http://www.karst-projects.org/about.html [Accessed: 2 Nov 2013].

Alan Smith – Allanheads Contemporary Art, Allenheads

Allan Smith is an artist and the Creative Director of Allenheads Contemporary Arts in Allenheads, Hexham, Northumberland, established in 1994; in the hope to create new opportunities for artists and new works. He has previously worked alongside Edith in a curatorial project Platform P at the Duke in 2011.

A photograph of The Old Schoolhouse, Allenhead
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/aboutus.html

Alienhead:

Alan talks about it is crucial for him and his partner Helen Ratcliff, to have people that can feed them as artists, so that they can become equal and have power.  He explains that although it is a wonderful place to live at first it was a difficult place to make work. in comparison to where he had previously lived in New York. Due to things always moving whereas, in Allenheads there isn’t much movement.

A photograph of view from Old school house, Allenhead,
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/aboutus.html

When he first moved he tried to paint the landscapes, as he thought that was what artists should do, this didn’t work so he threw the canvases outside. A few days later when walking his dogs he walked past the rubble of paintings and one particular painting in specific caught his eye. When he looked closer there was dirt and mould growing over the canvas, this was the realisation to him that things were happening in Allenhead. He talked about how when you go into a new place you almost put an Allienhead on. You think you know what’s going on but invert-idly it is something else. You have to go to it’s pace to engage with it.

A photograph of the view from Allenhead,
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/page5.html

This brought him to ask himself to consider feelings and understand the landscape and its relevance to you; or if an aspect is relevant. ‘Always go in with open eyes and a blank head, but don’t deny your knowledge bank.’

He often would take a students to the grouse hunting ranges, and blind fold them on the journey to the space. This challenges differences in landscapes, by blindfolding them is allows decompression, and he promotes silence. Allowing no camera’s, phones or other device’s he would exclaim ‘ You are the recording device.’ By leaving them on their own for an hour or so, then retrieving them all, and placing them in a group they would collectively talk about what it was like. This promoted various background expressions on the experiences, and their differences when discussing these experiences, this therefore assisted a collective understanding of the experience. He noted that an empty landscape allows a student to view their perceptions of size compares to their normally non rural landscapes filled with lamposts and other objects.

When speaking about Allenhead, after showing us pictures he reminded us that the weather wasn’t always sunshine and blue skies, often you were up in the clouds, and he enjoyed this word play, and that the winters were extreme and ofter reclusive.

Education:

He bases his working from an old victorian schoolhouse, that is divided into sections: accommodation, school house, headmaster’s court (where Alan and his partner live) and a Gallery space. When they first arrived no one really believed int he arts, so they really had to push their idea’s forwards. Amongst Alan there are other teachers, he gave the example of Allen Dubsen, an eco taxonomist, who makes courses for people and locals to look and understand their immediate environment. Dubsen talks about the behaviour of plants and their surrounding altitude on Fungi forages.

A photograph of the Old School House, Allenhead
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/index.html

Smith and the Allenheads Contemporary Art (ACA) work alongside various departments from universities and colleges, from Ba students to Ma students and recent graduates, helped to promote the interpretations of peoples notions towards place and environment and the contemporary issues surrounding this, he hopes to allow student to challenge stereotypical perceptions. Some of the activities he does with student’s include navigation projects, suing navigation helmets, connected to oranges through hoops int he ceiling, this related to how we find out way around a place, and what we require to navigate, he explains how you can tell where a person is by the positioning of the oranges.

Alongside this Alan also teaches in the Life work Art program at Newcastle University, running projects with schools and creative partnerships, helping to further engage pupils.

The village:

Allenhead is England’s highest village at 1350 feet, with the population of around 200 people, just an hour away from Newcastle and various other cities. With  one pub, one cafe, one mechanic, one contemporary arts venue, not a competitive place to live. In 2007 the ACA put it to the trust who run the old village shop and post office, they converted it into an open studio and exhibitions space which also houses films, performances and workshops, he feels it gives a presence to the village being situated in the center, this is when they felt they had started to establish themselves within the village.

As part of a residency this space was used as a studio for two students, with free accommodation in exchange for 4 hours work a day. It is from this space and the school house that innovative projects are developed and presented to a wide audience varying from farmers, dentists, artists, believing they are providing something really ‘rich.’

The first exhibition was by Andrew Wilson, to which they asked the community to give in an object of importance to them, hoping to build a collection of individual histories. After the exhibitions these items were to be collected of donated as a form of trading, in ex-change for the item they previously put into the exhibition, this exhibition was called Trading Post. 

Alongside this the Allenheads compiled a playlist made up of people in the communities top 10 songs, collecting various tastes of music, this playlist The Allenheads music collection was played in the ACA shop and can still be listened to on the following link http://www.acart.org.uk/acasounds.html

These sorts of activities help to build the tremendous relationships with the local community as when the ACA begun no one wanted to fund it, the arts council had said you don’t have the catchment, Alan and his wife thought screw this, we can make it happen. They learnt from experience the first exhibition was a ‘white cube exhibition’ with wine and beer and it failed dramatically. With the next exhibition they had a large pot of stew, a barrel of beer, and the event ‘party’ worked so well… from this event the word got out that if you go to Allenheads you’ll have an amazing time. The turning point was when a person from the art council came to an exhibition and were stood outside as it was so busy they couldn’t get it, he said ‘I’ve got to say that’s what you have to do, you will always have to prove something to somebody.’

Artists:

The ACA began working with James Turrell after the Arts council got in touch asking would they represent the project, Smith worked with James to photograph the landscape, this helped to prove to locals it would fit in. In the end the project failed as no one wanted to commit who was in power due to the controversy surrounding it, Smith stated it was mainly due to politicians being pr savvy and pr cynical. The project was taken from them after they had found land and location; a quarry fly tipping dump and even had money for maintenance, but the project went to Kilda and became focused around architecture and now astronomy. Smith felt that the council decided to put it somewhere were people wouldn’t question it, which he feel isn’t what it should be about.

Other artists Smith the ACA have worked with are Helen Smith, with her series of paintings of architecture drawings on how to build a village hall, changing these designs by speaking to people, he showed us the example of a place to laugh and play table tennis. Helen Wakeham, in her parachute project, to be viewed from from gardens of through projections in the classroom, of the drop from camera’s.

Pete Evans, who previously worked at space xx, with his residency Base Elements. Evans references Einstein’s theory from 1905 Formerly known as the equation E=mc2. Further looking into the transformation of matter and it’s mass-energy’s ability to transform from one state to another yet cannot be destroyed or created. Questioning sciences role in comparison to emotional matters in a persons understanding of the world around us. By looking further than science at the immovable objects that are constantly surrounding us, in relation to Allenhead this meant the development of materials that were within the valleys and various surroundings.

A photograph of A panel study for installation Base Elements, 2008
Available at:
http://unseencolourfield.blogspot.co.uk/

Kypros Kyprianou, also for the residency Base Elements, created a car boot sale Periodic table made out of objects collected from car boot sales, which were mainly compounded of each element, and ordered by their ordering within the periodic table. £142 was made from the selling of elements. An A-Z guide of objects to elements can be found at : http://www.electronicsunset.org/node/459

A photograph of A Car Boot Sale of The Elements, 2007/8
Available at:
http://www.electronicsunset.org/node/1339

Smith also mentioned as part of a project called The future 2, 3&4,  David Lisser, asked What will the future hold for us; food. Working in Allenhead he made a connection to the vast amount of midges and that the oil and gas supplies would be far gone for a remote village. With extremely cold winters the extinction on larger animals and less fresh produce, he related back to Normadic tribes by making Midge-catchers, or in his case a Midge catcher hut. As he had previously discovered they are highly nutritious. He then made these into midge burgers and sold them at the exhibition, yet only needing to make small burgers as they are so nutritious. Lisser called this piece The Midge Catcher’s House.

A photograph of a Midge burger, 2013
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/futures234.html

In comparison, for the same project, Smith made a piece called 2045, as his approach to the future. He believed that although things will change we will still be doing the same thing. He used the example that before smart phones you had to look someone in the eye and say I love you, but now you are doing the same but with the technological advancements.

His piece 2045, number of years after. Approach to idea of future, things will change but we will still be doing the same thing. Before smart phones you had to still look someone in the face and say I love you… Technology advancement. It was set close to home in his village Allenheads, with its precious plant life nurtured in domestic Poly Tunnels.

‘For the content of the video I have drawn on the 1972 film Silent Running, in which a future is depicted when all plant life on Earth has been made extinct. Only a few species have been preserved in enormous, greenhouse-like domes attached to a fleet of space ships, with the intent of eventual return to earth for the reforestation of the planet.’ – Smith, 2013

A Image of 2045, 2013
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/futures234.html

This exhibition also including Liam Murray, aimed to explore their personal invisions of what the future would look like, challenging the public to look past the comfortable limitations of our human abilities.  Smith mentioned  that links occur by working with people from other fields.

An image of Liam Murrays, Hypothesis Non Fingo,2013
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/futures234.html

Arturas Raila, worked in Allenheads on the final chapter of his piece Power of the Earth, which had been worked on for 3 years in various places including Berlin. Ralia brought over Lithuanian Jonas Trinkunas and pagan family who carried out a Pagan ritual on the top of a hill, to mark the opening of Ralia’s exhibition in Allenhead, that displayed large geo-energy flow maps, alongside photographs of the landscape. This project caused some controversy from the village locals due to it being a Christian community, and the locals wondering why they were in the community. 

A photograph of a Pagan Ritual, Allenhead,
Available at:
http://www.acart.org.uk/page22.html

For Migrating art residency, Alan Smith made the piece 5% as far as the eye can see. This piece originated from Smiths thinking that :
‘How does someone living in ‘England’s last wilderness’, with its big skies and 360 degree views, make sense of the idea that there is another 95% out there that cannot be felt or seen?’ – Smith, 2013

14 other artists joined him with asking similar questions, prior to the residency Smith engaged in conversations with physicist Dr. Peter Edwards, who claimed the universe is made up of 27% dark matter and 68% dark energy an 5%seeing, an oceanographer Nicholas Owens, the led his practice into conversations with two zen monks who believe meditation allows you to look inwards to the 95% that is missing. Smith enjoyed these contrasting arguments for the missing 95% and believe it’s as important to look outside as inside, and that they weren’t aiming to become scientists yet the practitioners methodologies helped them to develop and question their practice. He asks the question Can imagination and creativity help us make sense of the inexplicable? and further states that he likes to make things as an artist as he doesn’t understand things around him. When he works it out it upsets him. Like the carrot dangling infront of him. He’s an artist maybe its right for him to consider what it means to understand it. He also asks just because you can’t see something does it mean its not there or real.

They found by putting this stuff out there it allowed people to talk about the different experiences by referencing them. Gravity boots, story boxing only allowed to read if you go back.to place. Umbrella. Performances. Contemplation spaces.

Furthermore, he like’s to think and consider what it means to him to live on this world. Asking the question Can imagination and creativity help us to make sense of the inexplicable? Projects don’t come.out of air, a shut load.of work and are all linked together somehow.If for any reason you can’t do something, adversity, go home and your brain will figure it out. He stated Make work that’s relevant to you. Not just because you saw something in a magazine.

Contact:

http://www.acart.org.uk
http://www.alansmith.org.uk

alanshead@acart.org.uk

References:

Acart.org.uk. 2013. futures234. [online] Available at: http://www.acart.org.uk/futures234.html [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Colourfield, I., Colourfield, I. and Profile, V. 2008. Base elements 1.2. [online] Available at: http://unseencolourfield.blogspot.co.uk/ [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Electronicsunset.org. 2013. Base Elements | Hollington & Kyprianou. [online] Available at: http://www.electronicsunset.org/node/356 [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Electronicsunset.org. 2013. An A-Z guide to the elements | Hollington & Kyprianou. [online] Available at: http://www.electronicsunset.org/node/459 [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Migaa.eu. 2013. Migrating Art Academies | Review: 5% as far as the eye can see. [online] Available at: http://www.migaa.eu/review-5-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see/ [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Newsandstar.co.uk. 2013. News & Star | Pagan ceremony launches art show. [online] Available at: http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/pagan-ceremony-launches-art-show-1.184124?referrerPath=home/2.1962 [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].

Raila.lt. 2013. Power of the Earth / Artūras Raila. [online] Available at: http://www.raila.lt/power-of-the-earth/ [Accessed: 24 Oct 2013].