Belgrave Gate Project 1: 'Ever Wonder If Midlands Towns Are As Dull As People Pretend?'

Regular readers of this blog will know I've been dipping in and out of Robert Smithson's collected writings since the turn of the year.  Having read, (and re-read) my way to the end I found an intriguing snippet amongst the closing unpublished work which relates to his 'A Tour of the Monuments ofPassaic, New Jersey' [1], - a piece that inspires me enormously.

Robert Smithson, 'A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic New Jersey'
New York, Artforum Magazine, December 1967

'See The Monuments of Passaic New Jersey', also from 1967, takes the form of a short press release or advertisement, though whether Smithson actually conducted any such guided tours I know not…

"What can you find in Passaic that you can not find in Paris, London or Rome?  Find out for yourself.  Discover (if you dare) the breathtaking Passaic River and the eternal monuments on its enchanted banks.  Ride in Rent-a-Car comfort to the land that time forgot.  Only minutes from N.Y.C.  Robert Smithson will guide you through this fabled series of sites…and don't forget your camera.  Special maps come with each tour.  For more information visit DWAN GALLERY, 29 West 57th Street."  [2.].

Robert Smithson Getting Out & About in 1969

Such artist or writer-led tours with psychogeographic or other subjective intent seem increasingly popular nowadays.  It also relates to a current artistic project that I am currently embarking upon.  In fact, the approach that Smithson took to interacting with a chosen locale in his original piece, along with the writings of several other home-grown writers under the P-Geog. banner, have led me to start my own in-depth, subjective investigation of a somewhat overlooked quarter of Leicester.

Inevitably, I'll be posting about it repeatedly in the future but, by way of a general introduction to it all, here's my own little tribute to Smithson…

Ever Wonder If Midlands Towns Are As Dull As People Pretend?

  

Join Hugh Marwood in a subjective exploration of the fascinating 'Flyovers District' around Leicester's Belgrave Gate.  Wander amongst stylistically varied polychromatic architecture and through the area's maze of quaint side streets, small to medium businesses and private car parks.  Gaze in awe at the dramatic elevated carriageways and road systems that characterize this transitional area whilst marveling at the civil engineering skills of old.  Together we will experience exciting psychic resonances, unexpected conjunctions and startling juxtapositions within this rich and culturally diverse environment.  Artists, Flâneurs, Dérivistes, Anthropologists, Industrial Historians, Philosophers and Semioticians will all uncover a wealth of material to support their studies.  The casually curious will discover an unexpected world of visual and sensory pleasure.  Just minutes from the city centre, with ample opportunities to discover your own time-limited on-street parking space.  Bring your own camera, video or sound-recording equipment, tablet device or notebook.  For more information contact THE ARTIST or follow the Leicester 'A-Z' map and your own intuition.

After participating in the 'If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words…' exhibition last November, I became intrigued by the possibility of augmenting my core painting activity with work in other media.  Photography already plays a major role in my overall process but I'm hoping that writing and possibly video or even sound-based work might start to play a part in the future too.  Such aspirations will require me to become a little more technologically (and possibly grammatically) savvy in order to fulfill them, and it's early days in what I hope will become a significant, multi-platform project unfolding over the coming months.  However, after several weeks of consideration and a few exploratory forays, I have taken numerous photographs and begun work on an initial painting and a couple of written pieces.  Real life events have even made a dramatic contribution but more of that another day.

As things stand, the two biggest impediments to progress are my rapidly decaying knee joints and this interminable winter weather.  However, all I can do is pray for spring to arrive, seek medical intervention and persevere. 

[1.]:  Robert Smithson, ‘A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic New Jersey’, 1967, In Jack Flam (Ed.), ‘Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings’, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996

[2.]: Robert Smithson, ‘See the Monuments of Passaic New Jersey’, 1967, In Jack Flam (Ed.), ‘Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings’, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996