Author: Alan Holligan

Mike Kelley 1954 – 2012: One students perspective.

I discovered Mike Kelley only a few months ago; I was working with teddy bears and was naturally drawn to his work, where he arranged stuffed toys into childlike, “teddy bear’s picnic” formations and created sculptures by fusing various toys together. I was attracted to the way he seemed to mess around with the objects, creating a sense of curios and play, yet the final result would often have a dark or serious meaning. With the stuffed bears in particular, he questioned the toys’ emotional value, which was the idea I was developing in my own work.

The next project I worked on saw me yet again looking to Kelley for inspiration. In October 2011, I visited the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead with my classmates to see the Turner Prize exhibition. However, most, if not all, of my peers were more awe-inspired by a work being shown on the floor above the Turner Prize show. Created by Mike Kelley and Michael Smith it was “The Voyage of Growth and Discovery”.

As we approached the room, I could hear the dull thuds of rave music. The doorway into the room was dark. I clocked a sign that read, “This exhibition may be unsuitable for young children”. I knew we were in for something good. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a whirlwind of lights, music and activity. A number of screens leered into the middle of the room, each one showing a video of Smith dressed in a baby outfit – his character, Baby IKKI – partaking in the Burning Man festival in Nevadaa. There was even a huge metal effigy of IKKI as the centerpiece of the exhibition. Kelley had built structures that reminded me of playground climbing frames and had attached various stuffed toys to them, the element that makes his work so distinctive. One of these structures was accessible, where visitors could roll around on a bed of teddies (the kids in the room had spent no time working this out). I could have spent hours in there, where all I felt was pure excitement.

I carried the experience I had into my next project, where my focus was carnival aesthetics and the link these rituals have with modern festivals. Throughout the project, I thought about how Kelley created an atmosphere – his use of lighting, music, imagery and decoration – to evoke emotions in an audience. I considered all of the things I had seen and heard and integrated them into my own work, as I shared an interest in combining Pagan celebration with modern culture. For that reason, I would say that the installation was my main artistic influence for the project, but it was also the most interesting and exciting installation I have ever seen. I enjoyed it so much, that I even bought the CD of the tracks played in the video shown.

No doubt I will continue to use my experience of being around Kelley’s work to influence the art I create. He inspired something fresh and exciting to be brought to contemporary art, a contribution that will be greatly missed. Personally, I have never felt so sad about someone I did not know personally passing away, because his work had a huge impact on me and will continue to for as long as I am making art.

Charlotte Wilkie-Sullivan is a Year 2 HND Contemporary Art Practice Student at Edinburgh’s Telford College

pauldiamond's avatarairETC...

Hi Everyone,

This exhibition is the culmination of four amazing months as Artist in Residence at Edinburgh’s Telford College.

The exhibition runs fro Friday the 27th till Sunday the 29th of January, I hope everyone can make it.

the preview is Friday the 27th, 6pm till 8pm

The exhibition is open 11am till 6pm on Saturday and Sunday

thanks,

Paul.

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From Scotland to Sunny Blunts… Article from Hartlepool Mail

Click on the link below to see the article in last weeks Hartlepool Mail about our recent visit to the Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee.

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

Things to see and do in Dundee.

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

Lift off! First field trip of the year to England North Eastern Delights!

After a very successful and extremely fruitful field trip last year we returned to the north east of England once more with the the new students of both Contemporary Art and Illustration.

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!

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