Thurs 5th june

 Well what an exciting day at Chelsea first We had Group Crits Jefferson Miranda gave one of the most exciting presentations, I have every attended, his work has so many levels, 

 with a live nude male model, music and video projections in his studio space it was an inter-mate and exciting exploration of a fictional artist living in Brazil.

  Because of the homoerotic element in the work he struggled to get the work shown other than to his close circle of fellow artist and friends, so he gave up art and moved to a small village and became a maths teacher. 

 Jefferson is the artist alter ego... It had something of the movement of the Happenings and reminded me of Sopia Calle work. What a brilliant concept...

Brilliant Then we finally got to meet Brian Chalkley as Dawn in a artist and Panel discussion which was very interesting....

 I am having a book launch on Thursday 5th June in the old library at Chelsea college of art. To celebrate the UK launch of Dawn in Wonderland and other stories. Dawn will be present. There will be a panel discussion . Tony Grisoni /Dave Beech and Sadie Murdock and others.
Times 5pm - 7pm
hope you can make it

brian dawn

Oh the Shame...

 Still taken from a short film that I have made....

Using images and videos I have been collecting as well as images from Collaborations with Jihoon Son & Rebecca Molloy...

I have been exploring the theme of shame and was told to watch Brene Brown https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability Thi blew my mind, as I have been working on my dissertation, not sure how to bring Attachment theory and shame together. Until I watched Brene Brown talk and I have now been able to make that link.

People who show vulnerability are not weak and the people in power who show weakness are not weak.

Japanese Gutai & Allen Kaprow

edaing about Paul MacCarthy for my dissertation and came across the Japanese Gutai group /http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/gutai-the-spiritof-an-era/ A group of artist who did a series of performances which also inspired Allen Kaprow who collectively created the Happenings a series of pop up performances. I would love a copy of the Assemblage by Allen Kaprow but its far to expensive £160 pounds

Fig1

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In fig1 & Fig2 Atsuko Tanaka 'Electric Light Dress'

Fig3 

Fig3 Allen Kaprow Assemblage, Environments and Happenings follow Link to this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Assemblage-Environments-Happenings-Allan-Kaprow/dp/B000K3A002/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401659167&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Assemblages+Allen+Kaprow
"even when things have gone 'wrong', something far more 'right,' more relavatory, has many times emerged." By Allen Kaprow

Degenerate Art

 Degenerate Art- 1993 David Grubin ‘Entartete Kunst’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QE4Ld1mkoM 

 Degenerate - Deviant from the norm?

Fig1

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 The Nazis vs Expressionism. Expressionism- Painting the world underneath the real world.

The Nazis vs Expressionism 

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Are you a Degenerate Artist? Yes? Good. This suggests your work fails to reach the physical, mental and moral qualities considered normal and desirable. from furtunecatproductions.com Fig3

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Fig4

 I wanted to make a work that reflects Expressionism Fig4,8,9 its a work in progress. Called
 'Golly What' Inspired by the controversial 'Golliwog'

Fig5

Hitle,Goebbles and other Nazi officials get a tour of the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich in 1937, Photograph: Alamy from http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/nov/04/munich-hoard-lost-art-nazis

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 Fig6 Oskar Kokoshka self_portrait of a Degenerate Artist 

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Fig7 Degenerate Art- 1993 David Grubin ‘Entartete Kunst’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QE4Ld1mkoM 

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Fig 10

Portrait of the journalist Sylvia Von Harden (1926) by Otto Dix. Labelled “Entartete Kunst” By the Nazi Fig10 from Neil Collins article: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/degenerate-art.htm 

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Fig11 artist Paul Klee was considered a degenerate artist, The Expressionism Art experimented with strong colours and did not reflect a likeness to real life.

Fig12

More bizarrely Fig12 by Emil Nodle Who coined the word Degenerate in art and was one of the first Artist to sign up to the Nazi part But fell from grace and his own work was implicated in the degenerate art hated by the Nazi...
http://www.moma.org/collection_ge/artist.php?artist_id=4327

Tin Cans

I discovered Andy Hazell in http://www.amazon.ca/Craft-Works-innovative-step-step/dp/0754802965 a book showing small craft projects. I often admired Andy Hazell small tin sculpture 'Berlin'    ahttp://www.andyhazell.co.uk so after visiting Berlin recently and with the birthday of my partner coming up I decided to have a go and build something inspired by the two things that Dave likes London and the Zoo...

Fig3

 I set about collecting tin cans and ventured on my bike hoping to find the odd tin can. I only had to travel as far as Leyton and found my quarry.  Having collected enough tins I was ready to go after a couple of dire attempts, I quickly found my with the material and started to build my set.

Thinking more about the material and it being cheap and often discarded. On my way to Chelsea catching the Overground train from Leytonstone High Road, I have become aware of all the tin cans thrown in the street. Near the station by the arches.

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Then I discovered just of the street a dumping ground it's only 2 min away from where I walk to the tube most days. yet it feels like a million miles away, Making me itch just thinking about it...

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I collected one black bag full and became aware of the horrors that might have been inflicted on these cans... Dog piss, human piss and other bodily fluids. The brain really does run away with you when doing something out of your comfort zone?

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Once I got them home they went straight into the garden and I washed them occasionally finding things them cigarette buts a snail that had grown inside and could not get out...

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They have to stay out side until I have cleaned and opened them all to prevent nasty things coming into the house.

Fig8

 I'm going to have a think about what to do next and idea is to make a large puppet...

Fig9

I thinking that I want to make something big and that when moved it changes its form...

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Fig11

 Had a play with the photography and much happier with the results...

Fig12

I included Tower Bridge at the back a Hippo at the front and an Elephant to the right, with the cable cars hovering overhead and A District line train to the left with a fox over looking the district line.

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Putting Right- Sean Edwards Thurs 29th May

Went to see this show last night really light and fun, interesting use of everyday object and I found the information about the work probably more interesting than the work its self, It does feel that a lot of artist are doing this minimalist throw things together type work. I also liked the fact that Sean Edwards asked to have nothing to do with the statement. I also liked the quote from the press release "while Edwards insists the work is nothing until the viewer completes it. (an occupation with the philosophy of the tree falling unheard in the forest conundrum rather than the express point of all art, to engage viewers)."http://www.limoncellogallery.co.uk/exhibitions/putting-right-2014/

I not sure I would have got any of what was mentioned from the exhibition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_a_tree_falls_in_a_forest although I find myself still thinking about! I am trying to consider the work with some relationship to my own practice and how I often use Kineticto to try and encourage viewer participation. Michelle and myself were left wondering if touching the work was apart of the so called viewer completion of the work? what is the protocol around work that requires some involvement from the viewer?