City Of Joy

I really enjoy writing this blog and do see it as a component of my overall creative practice.  As any regular readers will be aware, I’m quite prone to writing extended posts.  Indeed, throughout my life, I’ve always tended to launch into essay mode given the opportunity.  I’m not really ashamed of it, and I don’t think discourse and concerted intellectual activity should be devalued. Actually, it's one of the things I like about the blog form in general.  However, I am aware it puts me out of step with the general tenor of social media and indeed, of the very times in which we live.  Thus, without giving up on the longer-form bulletins, I’ve decided to augment them with shorter, snappier entries too.  These will just represent spontaneous thoughts and visual observations, (often apropos of nothing else in particular), to exploit the diary potential of a blog more fully.

Enough waffle, - here’s the first…

  Another new day in the City of Joy.

Belgrave Gate Project 3: Completed Painting - 'Yours 1'

'Belgrave Gate: Yours 1', Acrylics & Paper Collage on Panel.
100 cm X 100 cm, 2013

It’s a relief to have completed my first large-scale painting of the year, even if it has taken longer to get here than I’d hoped.  I’m constantly bemoaning the time it takes me to get stuff done and this is no exception.  Thankfully it’s more to do with my chosen M.O. than any deficit of motivation, although I certainly have been rather lacking in physical energy during the early part of 2013.  ‘Belgrave Gate: Yours 1’ is a slightly clunky title but reflects the fact that it’s the first fully complete piece in the on-going ‘Belgrave Gate Project' I introduced a few posts back.  It seems logical to use the umbrella ‘BG’ label to identify the components of what I hope will become an extended body of work in several media, ("not if you work at this pace," I hear you cry).

'Belgrave Gate: Yours 1', First Sketchbook Study,
Acrylics & Paper Collage on Paper, 2013

Another reason for having taken a while over this piece is my attempt to introduce a new element of pictorial representation not really seen in my work for quite a few years.  This may not seem particularly radical at first sight but I quickly realised just how wedded to formal abstraction, and the tyranny of the picture plane I have become over the years.  Simple, semi-realistic depiction of recognisable objects in some kind of illusionistic space involved using muscles I haven’t flexed in a long time.  Quite a few hours were spent asking myself ‘how do you do that?- I can’t remember’.  Ironically, much of that labour has been hidden beneath subsequent motifs in the final painting.

'Belgrave Gate: Yours 1', Second Sketchbook Study,
Acrylics & Paper Collage on Paper, 2013

Superficially, the painting actually resembles some of the pieces I produced in 2011.  Like them, its composition was derived through collaging together various disparate elements and largely resolved in advance through a quite highly finished sketchbook study resembling the final piece.  Sometimes I wish that more of that process could happen organically within the actual painting but recognise that in the past this often led me to spend even longer wrangling with pieces that became stale, overworked and inconclusive.  This way may be a bit calculated but I do get more concrete results.

Burleys Flyover, Leicester, 2012

The big difference is that this time the chosen study was made over an actual photographic image of Leicester’s Burleys Flyover and the roundabout junction on Belgrave Gate beneath, with certain recognisable motifs from it deliberately preserved in the final image.  All the ‘Belgrave Gate’ work is intended to relate to the specifics an actual location as much as to the ideas and feelings deriving from them.  Thus, it became important to retain the dynamic deep-space thrust of the flyover curving overhead and the structural framework of the road signs in shallow perspective as they appeared in the original view.  I was keen that these elements should be depicted in noticeably different pictorial modes from the rest of the painting.  Ultimately, I think I was partially successful in this but the self-conscious employment of different methods of representation within a single piece that will need further working out in future related paintings.  In this case the representational motifs have become buried rather too far beneath the other content, I think.

Burleys Flyover, Leicester, 2013

Graffiti Tag On Supermarket Wall, Belgrave Gate,
Leicester, 2013

Lying somewhere between the depictions of actual objects and the legible textual elements are more formalised, oblique references to the location’s actual appearance.  These include the vivid green background with its allusions to the corrugated cladding and crazy colouration of the adjacent supermarket building.  The more abstracted areas of primary red are direct references to the bold complementary signage on the building’s façade.  However, The lower red passage also has, integrated within it, various impressionistic typographical references to my thoughts about the location that have been obscured to become little more than visual texture.                               

In contrast, the more prominent white text refers to specific legends within the observed scene and is accompanied by motifs alluding to road signage and markings.  ‘Yours’ is a direct quote from the supermarket’s identity signage whilst bubble-style ‘B’ character floating above everything else derives from the large, contradictory ‘Blue’ Tag actually augmenting one bright green wall.  ‘Yours’ itself is a pleasingly intriguing phrase with the potential for multiple interpretations.  However the commercial name ‘Yours Supermarket’ also indicates a mismatch between ‘Standard’ English and colloquial Asian idioms.  That’s both a reflection of Belgrave Gate’s current cultural identity and something I observe frequently in my day job.

As far as the actual method of execution goes, it’s effectively business as usual.  I set out with the intention of including a greater proportion of traditional brush painting and, to some extent, this did happen.  However, there is still plenty of my customary multi-layered paper collage approach too.  Someone asked me recently if my work was actually collage or painting which gave me some pause for thought.  Essentially, I consider them to be painterly in nature but find I remain very wedded to the kind of happy accidents that result from torn paper edges and peeled strata.  It's worth noting that much of the paper has been painted before being applied to the surface.  Collage also seems a highly appropriate way to deal with text characters.

‘Belgrave Gate: Yours 1’ is a painting that raises as many questions in my mind as it answers.  Overall, I’m happy enough with it as an image but slightly perplexed that, having tried deliberately to move outside my existing comfort zone, I’ve ended up with something not so different from much of my existing work.  Maybe the main problem is that the things that constitute some kind of departure are rather subsumed within a familiar appearance.  Perhaps one shouldn’t expect too much at the start of a new phase of work.  The only sensible thing to do is to get on with the next piece(s) on the assumption that the distinctive characteristics of the project emerge organically over time.  Thankfully, there are enough leads in this one for me to follow with that intention in mind.

Bob & Roberta Smith Stick It To The Man

Bob & Roberta Smith (Patrick Brill) Speaks Out...

In a recent post I alluded to it being part of an Artists’ role to bear witness and respond creatively to events without necessarily hoping to change them.  In that case I was discussing the weather, in which context it’s probably only realistic to admit to a degree of helpless fatalism, (although it might be an idea to stop fuelling the fire, at least).  Sometimes, however, in the field of human affairs, it becomes insufficient to merely observe and record.

Bob & Roberta Smith, 'Make Art Not War', Commercial Paint On Plywood,  1997 

For many years, I consciously tried to avoid engaging with politics.  My general position would have included the notion that “REALITY’ is so much bigger and more engaging than the self-serving, factional disputes of various narrow interest groups.  Perhaps the cappuccino fuelled vacuity of Blairite Britain afforded the anaesthetic luxury of such detachment but it’s a position that is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.  The recent palaver over Madam Thatcher and her funeral reminded me of how revved up I used to get about the stunts she and her gang pulled in the 80s and early 90s.  I guess it’s no coincidence that many of the same feelings have returned.

Bob & Roberta Smith, 'Join The Art Party', Commercial Paint On Panel, 2012

Everyone must find their own breaking point and degree of engagement but it seems too lame for the injustices and moral/cultural bankruptcy being inflicted on us under the cover of the current crisis in Capitalism, to go overlooked or unprotested.  Thus, I find myself drawn again to the work of Bob & Roberta Smith, (actually the British artist Patrick Brill).  It is, I think, one example of how to accept the task of social engagement with humour and goodwill but retain artistic integrity.

Mark Tichner, 'We Want Responsibility To Be Shared By All',
Ink Jet Print On Aluminium, 2004

I first noticed Smith & Smiths’ work, (I’ll maintain the fiction for the purposes of this post), a few years ago when I started to research various artists who had used text and typography within visual art.  Like the work of his contemporary, Mark Tichner, it draws upon identifiable popular stylistic tropes in pursuit of a conceptual, philosophical or political project.  Like many figures from the turn of the century YBA moment in British art, he achieves this in a more visually entertaining, less theoretical way than much of the ‘hard’, Conceptualism of the 60s and 70s.  Indeed, this may actually be the most useful legacy of ‘BritArt’ in general.  At the remove of a few years it feels easier to assess much of the work produced during that period and to separate the more interesting or insightful examples from the mere shock tactics and savvy marketing usually associated with it.  As ever, it’s more revealing to view an artist’s output over the long haul than merely in terms of any introductory splash they might make.

Just Going To Need To Watch The Spelling Though B & R

In Smith & Smith’s case, the appropriation of a slightly wonky, naïve folk style, somewhere between traditional signwriting and the homemade political placard now seems less ironically Post Modern and more directly appropriate to the times we find ourselves in.  Since he first emerged we’ve witnessed global economic meltdown, a vocal Anti-Capitalist movement, the rise of blind religious hatreds and plenty of geopolitical upheaval.  Here, the biggest issues revolve around the pernicious attempts by our current government to dismantle much of what makes Britain tolerable, nominally to repay the massive public/private debts of a mismanaged economy, but also to maintain the fiction that only a privatised marketplace can provide a sustainable, fulfilling future for everyone.  Protest placards, street-level ‘situations’ and underground or community action once more feel like the currency of our times rather than mere cultural references.

Bob & Roberta Smith, Public Art Event, Details Unknown 

There have always been plenty of High Art in-jokes in Smith/Smith’s work and a certain element of philosophical content behind the humourous facade.  If this marks him out as a poseur or left wing Art Luvvie to some, it is to ignore that, for many practitioners, the very act of producing art is an intrinsically political and/or philosophical pursuit.  Smith & Smith simply puts those elements at the front end of his art.  He has also demonstrated a willingness to bring his practice to ‘the street’ via numerous public art events and campaigns of an essentially democratic, inclusive nature.  Perhaps it is his refusal to leave specialist knowledge and an engagement with ideas marginalized within galleries for the delectation of an elite that actually annoys some.

Bob & Roberta Smith, 'Letter To Michael Gove', Commercial Paint On Board, 2012

This willingness to allow the worlds of ‘serious’ Art, philosophy and street politics to run into each other seems particularly vital if the Government-promoted philistinisation of Britain and attempted down-grading of creativity and critical thinking within education is to be resisted.  As many people have already twigged, this looks like an attempt to reshape the intellectual landscape and hijack the future for ideological ends, (having already claimed the past and wrecked the present).  Education Secretary, Michael Gove’s appalling vision of the future appears to be one in which, having been denied a financial stake in society, large sectors of the population are also to be denied the chance to even imagine an alternative to bleak utilitarianism or find artistic expression within themselves.  I also note, with a shrug, Culture Secretary Maria Miller’s recent assertion that the only Art activities worth funding are those of direct benefit to the floundering economy.  Most of us involved with this stuff know it’s actually a bit more important than that, regardless of whether you do or don't make a living from it.

Bob & Roberta Smith, 'Art Party Messages', Commercial Paint On Plywood, 2012

R&B Smith’s open letter to Gove of 2011 has been rendered technically obsolete in its specifics by the abandonment of the proposed EBacc qualification. However it is absolutely on the money in general terms, still very relevant, and funny into the bargain.  I’d urge you to read it in full.  I also note the central role played by the artist in promoting The Art Party, a lobby group that appears to be both philosophical and artistic as well as politically campaigning in nature.  It’s membership criteria require simply that one be a creative individual on some level, highlighting an intent that is communal and far wider than the merely factional.  It also reflects the status of arts as a fundamental strand of human experience, rather than an irrelevant, minority specialisation as Gove and his ilk appear to claim, (and I’m ready to lose it big style with anyone using the word ‘Hobby’)

Bob & Roberta Smith, 'Art Party Conference Poster', 2013

It’s all too easy to become despondent about the state of things and so, encouraging having artists like Bob & Roberta Smith around just now.  The charming seaside jollity of his poster for the upcoming Art Party conference in November proves it’s possible to become actively engaged, produce valid art in opposition and remain cheerfully positive in the process.

...To Maintain High Visibility For The Arts

R.I.P. Storm Thorgerson

Storm Thorgerson In Recent Years

I was saddened to hear of the demise of designer and photographer, Storm Thorgerson, as the result of cancer, yesterday.  Thorgerson, aged 69, was a mainstay of the noted graphic design house, Hipgnosis, and thus, became responsible for some of the most memorable record sleeve designs of the late 60s and 70s.

'Elegy', By The Nice, Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis, 1971

It feels like another part of my early years has slipped away. In the pre-Punk era when I first began taking notice of and acquiring music, the 12-inch vinyl album, preferably in a luxurious gatefold sleeve, was the default format for the Prog. connoisseur, and was often carried under the arm as a badge of hipness and tribal allegiance.  Hipgnosis’ designs were amongst the most intriguingly arty, with their blend of twisted Romanticism, inventive Surrealism and elegant production values.  It’s still impressive to see the degrees of manipulation they were able to bring to analogue photography in the days long before Photoshop and digital imaging.  The attention to detail was always high and images were often combined with stylish, one-off typographic design or, most daringly, no type on the outer sleeve whatsoever.

'Animals', By Pink Floyd, Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis, 1977

Thorgerson was part of what David Gilmore once labeled ‘The Cambridge Mafia’, - that inner circle of dissenting, middle class kids from which Pink Floyd drew its core members.  It’s with their records that he’s most closely associated.  My own personal favourite is the front cover of ‘Atom Heart Mother’ and I’ve often puzzled over how a simple image of a Friesian cow in a bland landscape could have such resonance.  It’s the perfect cow somehow, and the photograph has been subjected to just the right degree of subtle manipulation.  The whole thing just reeks of that strangely English, pastoral trippiness with which the band is best associated.

'Atom Heart Mother' By Pink Floyd, Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis, 1970

  

The slick Hipgnosis style, along with much of the music it augmented, was swept away by the whirlwind of Punk fashion in the late 70s, although Thorgerson must have earned a good living from the endless repackaging of luxury Floyd products alone in subsequent years.  Nonetheless, his imagery made a big impression on me at a formative age, in an era when ‘quality’ seemed important and music came in total packages.

'Phenomenon' By UFO, Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis, 1974

'Uno', By Uno, Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis, Date Unknown

I note with interest the current, new found retro-fetishism of vinyl as a format of choice amongst a new generation of affluent connoisseurs.  In the age of the digital download and shared file, it’s ironic to think that, via the classic reissue, Thorgerson’s imagery may once again decorate someone’s stylish pad in all its 12-inch glory.