The Weight of the World

Sometimes,
I don’t want to save energy by "carrying" all available jobs at once. – looking to see how much ground I can cover in one move, and therebye not having toto come back for extra things at some point in the future.

What can happen is all the thought processes pertaining to each task get shuffled into one conglomerate.
And at some point later down the line, everything has to be re-evaluated and separated. A daunting task for the future.
Work can be restfull and meditative.

Rebel Freedom Fighter.

found under a bridge on a canal going into Birmingham.

On the day that Gaddaffi and the UN started to play footsie with each other.

Gaddaffi calls a ceasefire and everybody says he is playing ultimate brinkmanship, as if anybody with half a brain wouldnt expect him to do that anyway.

Its another (recent) moment where nobody really knows what exactly is going to happen next.

The UN had to do something otherwize every tin pot dictator in the area would take it on himself to ruthlessly crush any form of political dissent, knowing that in the long run he would get away with it.

There were a couple of revolutionary spokesmen on a TV news channel, whose comment was "what is he going to do when people all over Libya come out on the streets again thinking that they are going to be protected by a UN mandate?"

I wouldnt like to be a mersenary stuck in a tank in the middle of the dessert unable to move in case I got blown up, a sitting target you could say.

I certainly wouldnt want to die for a dictator.

I dont know which one I detest more, him or his son.

Are Yuh Yeller?

Nice to have a bit of sun



the telling stories mode

From Achilles Shield
Unfortunately linking up with Libya.



At present, my work seems to be going instinctivly back toward the telling stories mode: making pictures or things that comment on something else that actually exists, or illustrating a story already written, or making up my own narrative. Very often a slice of a yarn that need not have been completely written or finished, but is expressed (mainly) in paint form as though it was finalised and brought to a conclusion.
The other alternative, which at present I seem to be moving away from, is the creation of artifacts that simply exist in their own right.
Maybe this is a clumsy way of explaining them as they seem to need to exist in a specific environmentin order to work. – T o become apparent as to what their own existance is about.
-So they are beholden to other factors – they have to fit into an area, both physical and social, in order to become relevent, explainable, and to produce their own life and existance.
But their actual narrative is largely their own: as a viewer , the audience by and large makes up the history, function and coundrums involved.
Possibly,
The main reason I am moving back to the telling stories mode, is that these expressions exist in their own right, they are largely relevent to wherever they sit.
In order to make or present them, I don’t have to be particularly beholden to anyone.

Tsunami

These are part of a bigger picture I was working on, following the last tidal wave.

It still isnt finished.

Are these tidal waves happening more frequently now?
How long did people on the coast have to get to higher ground?

and on the news, Gadaffi seems to be out the window today.

What will happen to the small, low islands in between Japan and wherever?

Show Time

Water Dragon

I cant help but feel that its coming up again for that time of "Show Time". Its been eight years since Ive had my own one man show - although I have shown large amounts of work at other events like on various occasion at the x-ray factory, Heartlands Hospital, Central Library and hung a couple of communal shows.

I havent specifically taken over and "owned a space"

Specifically stated "this is me with all my warts"

Not just a comment about or in a certain area or event.

In a sense, you can hide behind the event or definition of the thing itself. A bit like being a drummer in a rock n' roll band as oppose to being the singer.

Its time to lay "me" on the line again (and probably suffer for it) Showing stuff that could go back over a handfull of years -even futher if relevent. In fact the inclusion of two or three images that directly relate to what I'm doing now would be pretty informative, and does seem to be part of the spring cleaning process that I'm going through at the moment.

It needs to be in Birmingham - although it coul be in Cardiff and I wonder why I havent begun to think about this until now

One I made earlier

Totem Pole, 1988

Owned by Mike and Angie Kellet

Dont be cheeky with people you dont know very well.

Cauliflower Tree, circa 1975



I will be concentrating more on this Blog site rather than spend all my efforts on a facebook one.
(After a conversation with Anne Brierly)
In terms of writing or "stateing" on facebook, I almost feel that I am being edited by my peers viz:
Don’t ask too many questions,
Don’t be cheeky with people you don’t know very well.
There is also this underlying trend to put things up that people will react to. (So you get a response – a communication thing)
There also seems to be a layed back, cool almost uncareing stance involved in presenting yourself on facebook, statement or content.
I have this thing about leaving too much stuff up for too long. Almost like its too much information going stale – too serious for the site! Which is an immediate entity with the capacity to be glib.
It is unstable and fast moving, which has its plusses but can often lead to misunderstandings. Im not sure how often some folks miss the point of the message that you have just sent out.
With this blog I hope to be able to create an arsenal of ideas, that maybe I can re-evaluate and use for further work frameworks. But also as an evaluation of where I have been.
History co-operating with an ongoing diary. Which in itself neednt be tight, tidy or even have to justify itself.
I suppose I welcome an audience as such but that isnt the ultimate reason for producing it.

Close the door,theyre coming through the window

Yep,

It seems to be "shoot yourself in the foot" time again.

Our diplomatic naivety amazes and astounds me, not necessarily in that order.

Maybe we should just send a hundred landing craft in. (suicide landing craft that is)

With Tahrir Square I immediately saw the picture of all the people in the square as the image that people will associate with the event. 

With Libya, it seems to be these pick-up trucks with AC AC guns mounted on the back. Its like --- the real peoples army.

Funnily, I browsed around the news sites and couldnt find any images at all. I ended up getting my information from Somalia.

Totem Pole

Life at the top

life at the bottom

unified

a family tree

Shorter mornings, longer evenings

25 February 2011

(Brought forward from previous blog.) 

Times and seasons

Changing summer time seems to be coming up for review (again)
During the winter it seems its always going to be dark when you get up in the morning.
Why not have it dark for an extra hour? I dont feel its going to make that much of a difference.
When its dark in the evenings I tend to feel tireder with the dimming of the days light.
In the middle of winter, I feel that if I could look forward to it being light up to around about five o'clock, it would make an enormous difference on output energy and attitude.
I also would prefere in the middle of summer to be woken up by the geese and birds at five thirty instead of four thirty in the morning.

Also this year, I'm going to adjust the first day of everything.
I know that I am wishing the start of spring to start earlier, but it does make sence to start on the first day of March as oppose to the twenty first.
I certainly dont feel that the start of summer is on the twentyfirst of June,
or in fact the first day of winter, just a couple of days before Christmas.
Bring them all forward three weeks!

Event ; largest rave this year.

Tahrir Square:
Its on anytime now, but do be carefull.
You may need a tent,
bring a bottle,come quick before its all over,
Stand by your social network sites - location may change.

19th February 2010, (Brought over from "face Book")
I start this blog off as Libya seems to get increasingly more unsettled and more blood soaked.
As Gadafi's son commented last night;
on the edge of civil war, with the possibility of turning into "emirates", whatever they are.
A Tale of two cities.
And, his promise of the destruction of the elements of sedition - underlying threats - with bloodshed a thousand times worse than that in Egypt.

I wonder where this whole upheaval will go.
Will it affect Iran?
What part might fundamentalism have to play in this?

I have added the water/paper based painting that I produced as quickly as possible during the couple of days where Tahrir Sqare really kicked off, entering it on "Face Book" whilst the thing was in progress as it were.

I start this Blog off with the aim of pursuing two avenues of expression :
A diary part,
Written from the perspective of an "ageing" artist, trying to put his fingers in various pies.
And a Gallery,
of past work possibly something that could be used as a kind of C.V

Last and first on the blog

A simple note to foot the entries that will take place on top.
This is assuming that I can create this blog without interferance and corruption in various digital fashion