Bridge; A Collaborative Work With Jack Randell

I was invited to participate in Jack Randell’s collaborative project “Bridge”. Jack emailed an image ’tile’, with simple instructions; add to or manipulate the image and return it within a fixed timeline. The tile was incorporated a larger composite work, that was revealed at the opening night of his exhibition New Tracks (details below). This was my first experience in the role of participant collaborator.
 

My Response

I found myself second-guessing what the tile was, a fragment of a larger image and if so, what? Eventually, I decided to treat it as a fragment of a map. I printed the tile on an A4 sheet, drawing a figure to create a layered effect, then wrote about a recollection of a map from the figure’s past – a semi-daydream rumination on changes in the world and ‘sense of place’.

The drawing and story spilled beyond the boundaries of the tile (I scanned and cropped the drawing, providing the cropped version as my submission). Both drawing and story were written without any real premeditation. I’m not sure if that really constitutes “automatic” drawing or writing.

 

Anticipation And…Will I Measure Up?

As soon as I delivered my tile, I wanted to see the complete work, ie all of the tiles, including “mine” assembled into one composition. There was a strong sense of anticipation; would they form a coherent whole? What themes will emerge? There was some (mild) creative anxiety; would my contribution be “good enough” ? How would it compare when placed alongside? The more I tried to imagine the final composite output, the more questions arose and the greater the sense of intrigue and the need to see the final, complete work.
 

See For Yourself

You can see the complete composition ‘Bridge’ at Jack Randell’s website and I’d encourage you to get in touch. Jack is a very approachable guy who will be happy to invite you to participate in his practice.

Choices Recreated; From Micro-Fiction To Micro-Finance

A recreation of Choices, one of the artworks from Project52, by Nick Coster of Brainmates was a shot in the arm and provided the impetus to help someone improve their life through micro-financing.

 

I was closing out loose ends from the Project52 exhibition, delivering artworks, paying suppliers, updating my mailing list and the like. Despite accepting such activities as part and parcel of running an art practice, they’re not exactly top of my list of fun things to do. The primary reward for me lies in creating art that has meaning to me and the people that influence or engage with it.

 

A Shot In The Arm

Nick’s recreation reminded me why those administrative “chores” are important. Staying on top of the business side of my practice, enables me to grow. Running a participatory practice entails a minimum commitment to organisation and to keeping in touch with people – especially those who invest their time in participating and engaging with my practice in some form;

• Visiting this site and subscribing to the blog
• Following my Twitter Linkedin and Facebook updates and conversations
• Participating in my projects
• Visiting my exhibitions and of course, buying my works

It’s easy enough to make art. It takes structure and process to get it out there and to get it in front of people. And it takes effort on the part of others to get involved.

 

The Value Of Your Time And Energy

So whenever someone like Nick goes above and beyond that level of personal investment, it means a lot. Compare the original drawing to Nick’s recreation and you’ll see the care that went into his photo. It’s almost like-for-like (although I took some artistic license and drew the door handle on the wrong side in my original – and didn’t spot this until Nick shared his photo). Setting up the props, getting the angle just right and posing his son – all of these things took time and energy.

Thanks to Nick – and everyone else who took part in the Project52 exhibition – for not only buying some of my work but for your support, encouragement and investment in my practice. Your support and willingness to take a chance by sharing your open and honest reactions with an artist (not an easy thing to do – let’s face it – you never know how I might react), creates a real momentum and is deeply rewarding on so many levels.

 

From Micro-Fictions To Micro-Finance

Nick also gave me the idea of investing some of the returns from the exhibition in a micro-finance project. When we caught up, he told me about a one-hour product clinic that his company, Brainmates offers, to help people with product development and product management problems. Brainmates direct the fees into a micro-finance organisation, enabling others to break out of the poverty cycle by providing small loans that they would not receive via conventional financial arrangements.

Inspired by Nick’s example, I chose to use some of the small profit from the Project52 exhibition to provide a small loan via Good Return

Good Return combines microfinance and education to help the poor in the Asia Pacific change their lives forever. Good Return’s impact ton date includes;

• 2,942 women funded through loans.
• 14,710 people helped through flow on benefits.
• 99.9% repayment of all funds.
• 6,000 participants completed financial literacy training.

Lend from just $25. It’s easy to make a difference.

Thanks again to Nick for the idea. And thanks to everyone who continues to support my practice. I’m very grateful to you all.

An Email Conversation With Artist Jack Randell

I was recently introduced to Jack Randell, another artist with a  participatory practice. Jack invited me to participate in his project ‘Bridge’ and also took time out to discuss his practice. His thoughts make interesting reading for anyone engaged or interested in participatory practice and experience.

AQ: What prompted you to take your practice in a participatory direction?

JR: The modern model of the ‘solitary artist genius’ is not in my mind, sustainable in these days of image saturation and fluid connectivity.

Sure there are many pockets of magic, and it happens often enough in my studio practice, but I fail to see where that magic is influential other than as an after effect of the purchase of the work.

Most other artforms are participatory – music, theatre, video – and having been involved in all those forms, I have witnessed the often profound effect the making and reception had not only on their audience, but also on the makers or participants.

And there is also that random shifting aesthetic that matches neatly with the image saturated environment that for many of us is more ‘natural’ than the golden mean.

AQ: How do you manage expectations, recognition and reward of participants, where you may receive them (including monetary, if applicable)?

JR: I nominate that these works are Share Alike copyright. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/

Which means that myself and all the participants share copyright. We each may use, distribute, archive, change or profit from the resulting image according to the copyright commons outlines. In the public domain, I endeavour to acknowledge all the participants in the work. For those works that have a physical component that I have provided or paid for, then I consider that I own its physical state. We each may use the image according to Share Alike terms, providing any resultant work is shared under the same guidelines. That being said I would have not much control over use and distribution anyway, and honestly I haven’t yet found an occasion when when it bothers me. I have had creative content stolen and re-used, and my lawyers tell me unless I am a corporation with large legal resources, its not much use chasing it up.

So the reward is the community value of goodwill, the recognition is the acknowledgement of participation, and participant expectation is met by the offer of a high resolution image of the final work for the participants own use.

AQ: How do you approach galleries or other creative spaces about using them for participatory events / works?

JR: Venues are fairly receptive to this type of proposal, as it has embedded a guaranteed  traffic load. That being said, the focus of the activity shifts away from commission on sales toward exposure to potentially new people and the absolute feel-good generated by the works. Public bodies will fund and resource these projects as CCD’s (Community Cultural Development)…. as with basket weaving,- it is viewed primarily for it’s therapeutic value, rather than what I find intriguing, which is the often odd connections and cross fertilised aesthetic – medieval dadist, I would call it!

AQ: Are there any resources or people that you would suggest / recommend to check out to learn more about participatory practice?

JR: Check out most of the work included in the current Biennale of Sydney… but there is not a lot of conversation out there on the ground. We were in Berlin recently (750 galleries) and there was looks of surprise on most every artist we approached… why are you doing this? whats in it for me? whats in it for you? If you get a hold of the Biennale catalogue, read Bruno Latour’s essay ‘Compositionist’s Manifesto’.

You can see more of Jack’s work at Fishdog.com.au

If you’re interested in participating in one of his projects, he has a call-out for participants in “New Tracks”, collaborative works at Salerno Gallery. Contact jack@fishdog.com.au

His exhibition “New Tracks”, collaborative works opens 6-8pm Wednesday 12th September at Salerno Gallery, 70 Glebe Point Road, Sydney. The exhibition runs from 11-23 Sept 2012.

The Project 52 Exhibition Opening

I invited 52 people to participate in Project 52, an exploration of intrigue and our relationships with objects and people.

Each week, I produced a drawing and 52-word story, inspired by an object that was provided by a different participant. Participants were always the first to see the output. They also received a short questionnaire to prompt a reflection on the artwork, their response to it and their experience of Project52. We then shared the story of the work and their responses.

I initiated the project to better understand people’s response to my work, with the intent of engaging and developing an audience. Although I didn’t quite know exactly how the project would play out over time, I committed to presenting an exhibition once all 52 works were created.

Billed as a relaxed celebration with a community of creative, inspiring and collaborative people, I had some very specific goals for the evening;

• Recognise and in some way, reward the participants and people who promoted and supported the project.
• Create a relaxed environment to enable a community of creative, inspiring and collaborative people to come together.
• Provide others with the opportunity to engage with the work and my participatory art practice.

 

Thanks to Nathan Welch and all the good folks at Huddle Spaces for providing a fantastic venue, for being so open to the event and for some great ideas (Nathan came up with the concept of The People’s Choice Award)

The Project52 Book; A Work In Progress

People have asked for a book. So, I’ve started a conversation on Twitter about the contents and format. I’ll use this blog to keep you update on progress and to share some insight on the content. And there’s the little matter of The People’s Choice Award, which I have to create. I’ll share the process and output on the site, as it progresses. If there’s a good response to this output, I’ll include some more of that type of content in the book.

 

Coming Soon: Art Missions

Exciting, more ambitious in scope and with richer audience participation in the artistic process. As to the form and content – at this point I have no fixed direction – just lots of ideas. I’m aiming to kick it off in September, so if you’re interested in participating, let me know or drop a line asking to sign up for my newsletter and I’ll keep you posted. Either way, I’ll keep everyone updated on progress on this site.

Trump

I should have known – although come to think of it – how could I? Wasn’t that the point?

Game of skill, game of chance; impossible to predict quite where it would end. If indeed, it ever will.

Along the way; unexpected events and sudden inspirations.

The fool’s journey.

Not so foolish, after all.

 

#52 of 52: Kim McGuire

Object: A deck of playing cards. It was fitting that the object that inspired this final work in a series of 52 was a deck of playing cards; there are 52 cards in a deck.

 

Themes explored in the work included;

• The meanings attributed to cards; in the Tarot for example, each card and suit has a generic meaning but their specific meaning is interpreted, relative to the life-situation of the reader. Arriving at that interpretation is a process of joint enquiry by the reader and the person leading the reading.
• Ambiguity and double-meanings; In card games, the value of a card may vary, depending on the other cards a player holds or the rules of a specific game. For example, aces or jokers can be “wild”, meaning they can be played as either a low or high value card or they can be used as a substitute for another.
• Games of skill and chance as a metaphor for life; there are many card games. Even the simplest – like Snap! – have some element of skill. The expression “you have to play the cards you’re dealt” means that in any endeavour, you have to accept and draw on your own resources to make the most of the situation.
• Pattern recognition; a good card player will track the cards in play. They observe the cards other players put on the table and envisage possible scenarios and adapt their strategy accordingly. We rely on pattern recognition – typically unconsciously – to solve problems and to come up with creative answers to challenges.

In the final work a figure in a jester or fool’s costume views a number of works on a wall.

This work is all about beginnings, endings and the cycle of evolution.

The fool reviews 50 framed images on a wall. In his hand is another and the image itself is number 52.

The courtly fool was empowered to ask questions, to pose a contrarian viewpoint in order to ensure that courtly matters were considered from all angles and that the King’s decisions were sound. As the project matured, it became a process of enquiry and exploration into a range of themes including our relationships with our world of objects and other people.

In the Tarot, the fool is the character that embarks on a journey (through life), carrying all that he needs to achieve fulfillment, overcome obstacles and enjoy many accomplishments. The fool’s journey is full of unexpected events and sudden inspirations.

This work encapsulates my own, very personal experience of Project 52. In some respects, it’s a meta-fiction – a story about a story about a story. The opening line “I should have known” is a reference to my reaction when presented with the deck of cards as Kim’s choice of object but then, “wasn’t that the point” of the Project and the process I followed to generate the body of work? Engaging others in creating a body of work, forced me adopt a process that entailed a loss of some control

The title of the work – Trump – references the card that prevails all others because it is elevated to a higher than normal position, thanks to the rules of the game. I’m very proud of the body of work that came out of Project 52 and very pleased with how much it’s enabled me to develop my art practice.

At the end of a game (or a tarot reading) the cards are shuffled and dealt again. The cycle repeats and the fool embarks on yet another journey. Producing the last of the 52 works represented a very significant milestone in the project and in my artistic development. It is an ending and also a beginning, as I now embark on the next phase of Project 52; creating the Project52 book. It’s also a beginning because I intend to use Project 52 as a platform to launch another participatory art project, called “Art Missions”.

The fool’s journey – not so foolish after all.

 

Project 52

Project52 is a participatory art project that explores intrigue and our relationships with objects and people. Provide a photo of an object. Receive an artwork and 52-word story. Reflect. Playback and share.

The project will culminate in an exhibition, when 52 works are completed.

 

Explore

Check out some of the works.