http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/community/from_scotland_to_sunny_blunts_1_3728119

Still from ' Long After Tonight'

Soul Dundee Badge

Sadly it’s not every day you can take the time to jump on a train and spend the day taking in art. However Friday was one of those days and I boarded a train to Dundee for an all too rare opportunity to enjoy a number of exhibitions unfettered by the need for head counts, justifications and explanations and that’s just trying to get round galleries with my children at the weekend!

The first stop was the recently upgraded McManus galleries where amongst the various collections extolling the virtues of Tayside‘s diverse industrial and cultural history is a film by Matt Stokes called Long After Tonight. It’s a beautiful albeit short film documenting the Northern Soul scene in Dundee which held events at the St Salvador Episcopal church in the Hilltown area of the city. The film subtly connects the religious iconography and the passion and dedication required to “Keep the Faith” The work features many of the original “soulies” who organised and attended the events and who have contributed to the room of Northern Soul memorabilia you can also see at the museum. Sadly the exhibit closes tomorrow but if you can try and make it along.

http://www.mcmanus.co.uk/content/exhibitions/matt-stokes-long-after-tonight

Ruth Ewan 'Get off you knees'

Next, after a short walk through town to Dundee Contemporary Arts DCA was “Brank & Heckle” by Ruth Ewan. This is a brave yet timely show by DCA who have taken a risk by giving over the entire gallery to an emerging artist. However the risk certainly paid off. On first encounter it is difficult to trace an aesthetic thread through the works but it soon becomes clear that the artist is interested in idea rather than materiality. Overtly political the show does however draw threads through the cities social and political past to examine themes of poverty, inequality, feminism & racism. The show is centered around the two conflicting ideas of the Brank; a medieval torture device used to silence women and the Heckle; the act of spontaneous verbal engagement the origins of which lie in the politically charged and radical atmosphere of the cities Jute mills.

This is a very strong and rewarding show for those willing to give just a little effort to engage with it. I could go on describing and discussing the works and I may do so in a future post or two but for now `I would encourage you to take the time and effort to see it.

http://www.dca.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/brank-heckle.html

After a brief pit stop it was time to head up to the Master of Art show at Duncan of Jordanstone where I was joined by Telford and DoJ graduate Neil Nodzak. There is no doubt that student exhibitions of every level present the viewer with an eclectic mix of work, various in approach, content and quality but I wasn’t quite prepared for what I encountered. I am accustomed to all sorts of weird and wonderful works and watching a video of an artist undertaking a year long transformation into a competition standard body builder despite an initial ambivalence to the subject was amusing and engaging but not very shocking. Indeed the artist mother of an old school friend and former Telford colleague made a similarly themed work some 10 years or so ago. No, the real surprise were the unexpected encounter with the results of the Masters in Medical and Forensic Art. Who new that in this digital age there was still a need for fine pencil renderings of syphilitic facial sores!  Who other than Dundee University that is?

After a less than Forensic dissection of the exhibition Neil and I wandered up to Tinroof, a new studio complex in the city which offers enormous potential for the increasing number of graduates who are choosing to stay in the city. Having seen his excellent degree show exhibition the committee at Tinroof selected Neil for a 3 month stint as committee member a position which came with a free studio. It was great to see Neil who is as engaged, inquisitive, interrogative, witty and annoyed as ever. Hopefully next time I will also catch up with Hayley Mathers who is also a Telford Alumni an artist and will shortly take up her post as Director of Generator Projects in Dundee.

I have a genuine affection for Dundee which goes back a long time now and I have to say it rarely if ever disappoints.

A.Holligan

The itinerary was much as last years; first Victor Pasmore’s beautifully brutal, contemporary concrete folly the Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee where we were treated once again to a short and informative social history of the structures impact on the local community by David Taylor-Gooby. David was joined this year by Jake Cameron local architect who discussed the merits of the work form an architectural point of view.

Next was a very breathless, wet!! and brief encounter with the neo-classical folly the Penshaw Monument.

Finally on to the Baltic to see the moving work of recently deceased Robert Breer (do you see what I did there?) unfortunately due to our very late arrival we were not able to see the presentation arranged for us but the very helpful Leanne from the education team did print us out a copy for future reference! Thank you Leanne!

The next few weeks will see a range of work developed as a result of the trip some of which will be sent to David & Jake in Peterlee in the hope that they will like it enough to put on the Apollo Pavilion official web site!

 

London born artist Jeremy Deller makes installation, video and performance art. He is particularly interested in the notion of art as communication. One of his best known works is a re-creation of a violent conflict between miners and police which took place during the 1984 miners strike titled The Battle of Orgreave (2001). The re-creation which was something akin to that of a battle re-enactment societies involved ex-miners and police officers who had participated in the original strike. Unlike the original battle the re-enactment was a much more congenial encounter.

Deller went on to win the Turner Prize in 2004 for his installation Memory Bucket (2003) a documentary about Crawford, Texas the hometown of George W Bush and the siege in nearby Waco.

http://www.historicalfilmservices.mysite1952.co.uk/orgreave.htm

http://www.jeremydeller.org/

The Artist in Residence programme (AIRetc…) is an innovative scheme which provides recently graduated / professional artist and designers who have previously studied at Edinburgh’s Telford College with the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and experience in Art & Design education while developing their creative practice in a dedicated studio space.

For more details and an application form please click on the links below:

For more details and an application form please visit: www.airetc.wordpress.com

Ceci n’est pas une orange

Edinburgh’s Telford College is delighted to be returning to the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop for the College’s annual HND Contemporary Art Practice’s Final Year Show which will be exhibiting at the Newhaven workshop from Saturday 28 May to Wednesday 1 June 2011.

Edinburgh’s Telford College has had a long relationship with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, connecting Telford’s art learners with a professional art environment for a number of years.

Through the years, the art learners from the College have held exhibitions at the prestigious north Edinburgh art space, which has given rise to a number of collaborative initiatives between the Telford learners and the ESW staff, such as professional practice days and learners from the College also receive ESW membership to allow them not only access to exclusive exhibitions, but also to a range of professional development opportunities and employment.

Telford’s Lecturer in Fine Art, Jennie Temple is a former member of the Board of Directors and Telford Curriculum Leader, Alan Holligan is Chair of the ESW Artistic Sub Committee. Commenting on the forthcoming exhibition, Jennie Temple said:

“It is always a great pleasure for the College to be showcasing our students’ work within the professional surroundings of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. This year’s HND Contemporary Art Practice graduates are an exceptional group of learners who are finishing on a high note.

“Our largest final year group for some time will represent the diverse range of work being made on the course. From painting and sculpture to film, photography and installation, regardless of method you will find work that is intelligent, thought-provoking and very much at home in the professional surroundings of ESW. We look forward to welcoming audiences to what we hope will be a stimulating exhibition.”

The exhibition will run from Saturday 28 May to 1 June 2011. There is a launch evening from 6pm to 8pm on Friday 27 May. If you are interested in attending this, please email Alan Holligan at alan.holligan@ed-coll.ac.uk.

For Further Information and Images

Aoife O’Sullivan, Marketing Executive                                                            0131 559 4072

Pop Up Housing is a project led by Edinburgh’s Telford College Artist In Residence and Alumni Stephanie Cairns and features the work of current HND Contemporary Art students.

The very early start of day 3 for most of us turned out to be late day 2 for some of the hardcore CAPers. Although its easy to appreciate the logic of staying up all night the more worldly wise among the group were well aware of the inherent flaws of such youthful enthusiasm. Still, all but one of the group were enthusiastically awaiting the 02:45am tram to take us in to Markt Platz and the centre of the action.
It was clear from the moment the tram arrived at the stop that something was gather momentum. On arrival in town this became even clearer.

As we took up position in the cities main square ‘Markt Platz’ what struck many of us was the apparent lack of crash barriers, visible police presence or indeed any kind of stewardship. If you are familiar with any large-scale public event in the UK you will understand just how odd this was. In addition to this, if you were asked to imagine being in a city centre at 04:00am with tens of thousands of people gathering in total darkness illuminated only by the dimmest of lights emanating from giant canvas lanterns wheeled through the streets behind masked drummers and piccolo players, each of the lanterns featuring satirical illustrations of the preceding year new and events, I’d serious doubt you could. Yet that’s exactly what happened for well over an hour before coming to an apparent end.

I say apparent because the last lantern passed and we began to ease our way back into the centre of the square two things struck home. Firstly the square was completely packed as were all the side streets and secondly what seemed like an orderly and relatively subdued parade suddenly seemed to be travelling in different directions and taking on a life entirely of its own. It wasn’t easy getting back to the hostel as the crowds and groups ‘Fastnachers’ jockeyed for right of way in the packed streets but by 7am everyone was back and heading for bed tired, bewildered but happy.

After a 5-hour top up of sleep we met again for a walk taking in some of Basels wonderful mix of modern, contemporary and historical architecture. As we approached the centre of town it became clear that ‘Fastnacht’ had also gained a second wind and was gearing up for round 2. The thought was too much for some and the group split into two camps “Fastnacters” and lets get out of here fast[nachers] who opted for the first tram out of town to Dornach a leafy suburb of the city at the end of the No10 tram where the pace was slower and we could have a lazy picnic in the afternoon sun by the river.

In the early evening we all met again outside the Kunstahalle where great fun was had watching the last of a parade of themed floats and trying to attract the attention of the various masked occupants and catch the mixture of oranges, sweets, toys and confetti being thrown at the assembled crowds. It wasn’t too long however before the collective energy began to wane and the majority of the group soon returned to base for a slow evening of local wines and packet noodles.

Basel Day 2:

What we didn’t know when the trip was booked was that it coincided with ‘Fasnachts’ a major 3 day traditional festival involving 10s of thousands of local participants throughout the whole city. More of Fasnacts later, but as a result of the festivities several of the cities major museums were closed Monday – Wednesday which meant we had a lot of ground to cover on Sunday. Up with the larks, we headed straight for the Kunstmuseum, the oldest public museum in Europe and its fantastic collection. Highlights of the museum included a small but equally gruesome; in comparison to the later Alter Piece; Crucifixion by Grunewald, a recently acquired Martin Kippenburger and a 1^st rate collection of Modernist masters.

After a light, not on the wallet, lunch at the superb Rotten Engel (Red Angel) Café, home to the most magnificent bowl of coffee I’ve encountered anywhere, it was off to the Museum für Gegenwartskunst. The museum, the first in the world dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, is compact but beautifully designed building by architects Katharina and Wilfrid Steib with additional renovation in 2005 by Urs Gramelsbacher. The museum displays contemporary art from the collections of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation and the Kunstmuseum. The main exhibit in the museum featured films and video installations created by the New York-based artist Pierre Huyghe, which explore the tensions between different levels of reality. On the whole these were compelling works but rumours of sleep inducement may not be wholly exaggerated. Students also enthused about the following; On Kawara’s date paintings, Simon Starling’s ‘Autoxylopyrocycloboros’, a slideshow documenting his voyage across Loch Long in a wooden steamboat, its engine feulled with wood cut from the boat’s hull and an of course the collection of Joseph Beuys Vitrines.

Next stop was the Kunsthalle and the Swiss Architecture Museum (SAM), located in the same building, with only an hour to spare before closing. After a short debate about whether or not it was worth paying 6 francs to get in we soon discovered that it was. Three shows by Banu Cenneotğlu, Bettina Pousttchi, (Kunsthalle) and Anna Viebrock (SAM) were well worth the entrance fee. Although definitely note worthy the star of the shows were undoubtedly the rarely seen stage set models by Set / Fashion designer and director Anna Viebrock. Beautifully executed and presented the environments are constructed but maintain with a homemade feel a kind of manual / working aesthetic sometimes reminiscent of earlier Manfred Pernice sculptures. The models were shown alongside the designer’s source material, influence and development drawings revealing her process from conception to execution.

After such a full day the consensus was to return to the hostel for food and rest before a very early rise for ‘Morgenstreich’ the 4am start to the 3 day Fasnachts Festival.

Basel Day 1:

We arrived in Basel a few hours late on Saturday afternoon. Not because of the snow in Edinburgh but due to the plane breaking down and having to be replaced by another from Milan. Edinburgh Airport has changed recently and is not the worst place to spend a few extra hours waiting for a flight. It is expensive though, which was something like preparation for Basel. I was last in Basel in 2000 when it was 2.36 Swiss franc to the £ now its only 1.47! Ouch!

The hostel; Basel Backpack, suited our needs well, a place to drop after a long day of galleries, museums and sightseeing. It has a kitchen and a common room, which was great for the budget conscious noodle munchers amongst the group. After sorting the rooms out and a short break for juice and coffee it was off to take immediate advantage of the free travel pass we all received when we checked into the hostel. Free city travel for all tourists, what an excellent idea. The trams are regular and easy to navigate so getting into town was no problem and only too 10 mins. Trying to cater for the individual food needs of a large group is never easy so we headed for a part of town with various outlets and agreed to meet an hour later. Sure enough an hour later we were altogether and heading for the Cargo Bar by the Rhine. The bar is small but very friendly with a great a[r]tmosphere. Cool tunes, fine wine and a range of good beers and coffee. Of course it didn’t take long for the effects of an early rise and the air travel to take their toll and it was off to bed at a very respectable hour.

Tonight: Embassy Gallery launches  their new premises with a show by Karin Suter, their artist-in-residence who will exhibit a body of work produced during a 4 weeks residency in Edinburgh.

http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=087d23edb07a5ca6ed71c2ac678c74d0&#!/event.php?eid=166667860050216

http://www.embassygallery.org/

Tomorrow evening: Please join Sierra Metro  to celebrate the opening of our next exhibition, Jesper Carlsen: Light and Matter (the Copenhagen Interpretation).

For his first UK solo show, Copenhagen artist Jesper Carlsen presents a selection of new and recent video and animation works. Interested in exploring the ways in which we see, these works interrogate notions of perception through explorations of light.

The exhibition preview will be open 7pm-9pm, followed by an afterparty with live music from Luxury Car, 9pm-11pm.

For more information about Luxury Car and their brand new album release, When I Was Good, please visit the band’s website: www.idriveluxurycars.co.uk

Light and Matter (the Copenhagen Interpretation) will run 6 March – 3 April 2011 and is open Saturday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm, or by appointment.

Sierra Metro looks forward to welcoming you to the gallery on Saturday.

http://www.sierrametro.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115135321894751

After completing his studies at Kingston, Brighton and Chelsea Scools of Art British Sculptor David Nash moved from London to laenau Ffestiniog in North Wales where he purchased a chapel. Dislocated from the mayhem of London and the urban sprawl the chapel remains both his home and studio.

In 1977 Nash who works primarily in wood, planted a number of Ash saplings on a plot near his home, which became his ‘Laboratory’. The Ash Dome is a place for thinking and developing new works.

The following programme on David Nash is available in the BBC iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ymlhp/Force_of_Nature_The_Sculpture_of_David_Nash/

The content of our previous post was in the Edinburgh Evening News tonight along with and article on Telfords success in gaining a Beacon Award for international student support!

Well done everyone!

Stephanie is top draw at art gallery (From Edinburgh Evening News 31-01-11)

College earns international recognition (From Edinburgh Evening News 31-01-11)

The Art & Design Team were delighted to welcome Lauren Rigby to the ARIRetc… studio last week. Lauren is a curator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and was in Telford to see new work by current AIR Stephanie Cairns who will be showing the gallery at the end of February.

Click on the link below to see a full article on the Telford website.

http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/news/showNews.aspx?NewsID=94

Dennis Oppenheim died on Saturday the 22nd Jan 2010 aged 72. His impact on contemporary art particularly in relation to challenging the supremacy of the gallery as the accepted context of art during the late 1960′s and early 1970′s should not be underestimated. Along with the likes of Gordon Matta-Clark, Michael Heizer and Robert Smithson, Oppenheim broke out of and deconstructed the gallery  (literally in some cases) in pursuit of alternative or new context for art.

http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/early-work/4

“Dennis Oppenheim came to the forefront of the American art-world in 1968, taking his taking his place in the Earth Art movement. At the time the idea of the site was uppermost in his work. Site Markers Fig I, II, III document Oppenheims early excursions into the landscape of New York. Made in 1967, the works were executed by finding a site in the urban landscape, documenting its location. In all ten sites were documented and ten aluminium marker stakes were manufactured and engraved with a number corresponding to each of the 10 sites. The stakes (contained within individual fitted sacks) along with the photographic documentation (rolled in a clear plastic tube) were then exhibited. It would easy to assume that these objects are the most important aspect of the work, yet the artists main concern is the site itself. What Oppenheim has done is claim the site as a context for art, an alternative to the gallery. As the art movements which proceeded Oppenheim had set themselves apart from the real world here the artist locates himself and his concerns firmly with it.” Excerpt from Dissertation: A Holligan Jan 1996.

Other notable works of the period include:

Boundary Split: http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/early-work/9

Forrest Floor Removal: http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/early-work/10

Gallery Decomposition: http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/works/11

Annual Rings: http://www.dennis-oppenheim.com/early-work/8

Thanks to Sierra Metro Co-Director Matt Carter for a very informative afternoon spent at the Gallery. Matt introduced the galleries current show of new work by Glasgow based Artist Bobby Niven. Matt shared his experience of setting up the gallery and how the exhibition programme is developed and managed.

Just a stones throw from  the CAP studio Sierra Metro is a non-profit organisation which features emerging artists in its varied programme of events and exhibitions.

For more info and links to clips of Bobby Niven’s films click on the links below.

www.sierrametro.com

http://www.vimeo.com/sierrametro

http://www.facebook.com/sierrametro

At the start of last week the CAP1 team were given a new project called ‘The Day Today”. The requirements were very simple the learners had to produce a different Artwork each day in response to a current affairs story which appeared in a Scottish Newspaper that same day. Works could take any form and use any media.

The responses were varied including; drawing, painting, performance and video but they had to uploaded to their individual blogs each day by mid-night.!

This was a great project with fantastic results from everyone. You can check out some of the blog posting by clicking on the links below.

• http://catherinedickson.wordpress.com/
• http://charlottewilkiesullivan.wordpress.com/
• http://erincolquhoun.wordpress.com/
• http://fifibumblebee.wordpress.com/the-day-today-current-affairs/
• http://jeang1.wordpress.com/
• http://karenaf.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/the-day-today-project/
• http://loracaff.wordpress.com/
• http://lsbissett.wordpress.com/
• http://lynnemcb.wordpress.com/
• http://velcroblonde.wordpress.com/
• http://vexedspider.wordpress.com/

Question: What’s the connection between 2010 Turner Prize winning Scottish Artist Susan Phillipsz and the HND Contemporary Art Practice course at Telford College?

Answer: 47 Film

In May this year Film 47 documented Phillpsz Prize winning work ‘Lowlands’. The final film was submitted to the Turner Art Committee for judgement ad there is little doubt that 47 Film’s film footage helped Susan secure her prize

At around the same time Filmogropher Andy Cameron of 47 Film, was working closely with Art & Design student Natalie Doyle on the recording of Natalies’ Final Major Project work of her Foundation Course here at Telford College. Natalies’  movie focuses on social relationships through the Internet and how identity is built up through that medium. CAP Alumni Lauren McLaughlin and Gordon Douglas also appear within the film.

The following is a short documentary about the film:

Andy Cameron works freelance in and around Scotland and has worked for the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Glasgow International Arts Festival and has been published on several high profile websites.

For further information email 47 film at:

andy@47film.com
47film@googlemail.com