REPORTAGE

In September I got involved as a reporter for 'Reportage', an arts project by Emma Leach and Natasha Vicars whilst in residency at KUBE Gallery of Contemporary Art. Emma and Natasha, visual artists from London, came to Poole to work in KUBE at their news desk for a duration of four days. During this time they sent reporters out each day to respond to a brief that was delivered by text.

Responding to the daily mission was challenging to fit in to the day, however it was a pleasure to contribute towards another artists project, and quite frankly gave me an excuse to indulge in some creative writing that excitingly was used for a publication.

I look forward to more interactive, live and visual arts coming to Poole.

Click on the images below to read the publication.

Beautiful World

Into the ocean and into the sea
I dive in the water and set myself free.

Open in the blueness of deep and beyond
I float in the silence of this beau monde.


August 2009

Contemplation ... As long as there's fine weather there'll be art

... Further to my recent open air exhibitions, this contemplation has begun to arise in my mind - As long as there is fine weather there’ll be art -

Last weekend's A-Board sign directing people towards the pier to view the artwork, read " Every Sunday - As long as the weather is fine - ART -> ".

I read this, and it seemed to resonate in my thoughts. I headed straight for my notebook and bullet pointed ...

• As long as there's fine weather there'll be art

I then paused … jotted another circle for a bullet point …paused … then wrote:

• Fine weather Art – Fart! – Fine Art

I laughed to myself and then looked up, left and right, as if I had just been naughty; I am not one for childish toilet humour you see.

… I left the note taking at that and furthered the contemplation dialogue silently inwards. ‘Does this mean that all art is dependant on the weather? If the weather is rainy, stormy or snowy, then art will exist no more! Surely this could not be true, there has to be art even when the weather is not fine… Is this why they call it Fine Art? And anyway, why fart about with fine art? Is fine art just farting with art?

I don’t know but I do know that there is no point in farting about with fine art in the rain; it would just be a complete disaster! Evidence of this is at the end of the first arts on the pier exhibition; the sky suddenly opened the floodgates and before you could say “Peter the painter on the pier”, Peter, as well as every other painter on the pier had activated into fast-forwarded motion and had disappeared into the misty distance.

… Is there any point in farting about with fine art in anyway? …Well, I am an artist so I would vote for fine art. And it would not just stop there … I would also vote for all sorts of arts in all sorts of weather. Why install meteorological boundaries?’

…‘I like fine weather and I like art … I also enjoy a good dramatically moody coloured thunderstorm, with torrential rain and strong winds; going down to the coast and watching the waves crashing violently upon each other and swallowing pebbles from the beach.

This kind of weather is just fine for me. it also seems to have been fine for many artists through generations who have used nature’s painted landscapes of ever changing expression, as inspiration for their fine art … so … I guess it is true, as long as there is fine weather there’ll be art’.

And here my contemplation ends. Not case closed however, as the rest of the page in my notebook has been left empty for the time being … and so contemplation continues …

So ... how long have you been an artist?

“When people ask me 'When did you start doing your work?', I'm not sure how to answer. Having studied Contemporary Art at University, in England and America, and working now as a professional artist, my prefered answer to that question is, 'Ever since I was born'. As a child I would spend hours, even days involved in my creative projects and naturally expressing my imagination in any form I could. So I believe that being an artist is something alive in my soul, something that I have always had, and something that I will continue working with for the rest of my life.”

I am....

I am a person,
Of the world today.
Living, breathing, speaking, listening,
In my own way.

I am a creator,
Of the world today.
Dreaming, thinking, conceiving, making,
In my own way.

I am friend,
Of the world today.
Sharing, loving, crying, laughing,
In my own way.

I am a traveller,
Of the world today.
Seeing, experiencing, moving, growing,
In my own way.

I am a fighter,
Of the world today.
Trying, struggling, challenging, winning,
In my own way.

I am the best of me,
In my world today.
Understanding, striving, believing, being,
In my own way.