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January 2015

28/1/2015

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January saw our first meeting for 2015, being the second of a revised bimonthly schedule and it was good to be back at MadLab proper, albeit still a ‘work in progress’ affair that saw us climbing slightly unfinished feeling stairs and avoiding the brick dust!
With three ‘core’ members present, it didn’t take long to get stuck into the chat! Kevin started things off by reminding us of a couple of his recent and ongoing projects; those of the Cave Painting work and the 53 Views project. Whilst the Cave Painting work, projecting and drawing inside pill boxes, is for now, as complete as creative projects ever are, 53 Views has been on pause while a bit of a refocus takes place. The initial concept for the work was to produce 53 photographs from a specific square window in Kevin’s flat (apartment number 53), to reflect the square Instagram format. This lost steam, however and the parameters are likely to evolve, permitting a greater variety of ‘views’. Retitled Windows this work would then encompass photos take from train windows as well as existing images from the flat and of other locations.
Kevin Linnane Cave Art
Kevin Linnane; Cave Art
Renate Wendel - Self Portrait
Renate Wendel; Self Portrait
Renate had been getting back into drawing with the Apple a Day series (See November 2014 CRITblog), work she has been continuing to a degree but which has also been overtaken by explorations in a few other creative areas. Some of this includes outcomes from life drawing classes, as well as sketches of musicians at various concerts. She’s also been reengaging with practical skills in the area of jewellery making, selling beaded and ceramic items at craft fairs. Whilst she has enjoyed this venture, it is unlikely to form a significant strand of future work as she explained that the ‘production line’ process did not appeal to her. This was something I could certainly identify with following my own experience of selling crafts and though Kevin suggested producing ‘limited edition’ ranges, Renate felt that once all the costs were factored in it was unlikely to ever be cost effective. At this point the conversation made James’ absence (due to the snow forecast) palpable and I felt sure he would have had much to contribute to that particular discussion!
Renate has also been making the most of access to a black and white darkroom at Start in Salford, where she has been volunteering, to revisit these skills. She shared a self portrait with us, as well as some photograms designed to function as bookmarks (she likes work to have a purpose, she explained) and talked about ideas for moving in to the area of contact prints. ‘Get yourself some good quality acetate!’ advised experienced photographer Kevin!

For my own part, I was able to share a new painting in the Serenity Series as well as a minor evolution in my own perception of this work; the question of whether or not ‘art’ that has been identified to have some therapeutic value (as opposed to enjoyment, as previously discussed) to the creator can really be classed as ‘art’. This led on to some analysis of the source of such perceptions, traditional academic views of this as part of arts educational institutions and established or well known examples in contradict of such dismissal, Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas amongst others.
Annabeth Orton Heart Sutra
Annabeth Orton; Heart Sutra; Go Beyond
As I have recently been in the unfortunate position of being unwell and not in work, I have had time to be gently flexing some other creative muscles and so shared with the group a recent collation of old and new poems (I even read one out!) as well as the fruits of my other labours in the form of baking; a gugelhupf in this case! I explained that I find cooking a very soothing activity, as well as actually quite creative and this certainly fed in (no pun intended) to the whole ‘what is art anyway!?’ debate. I’d already responded to this by describing Scott McCloud’s suggestion that art is any human activity that cannot be directly related to a need to survive, (as Renate pointed out, you can survive by eating the berries from the bush but do you need to spend time and effort turning them into jam?) and it was equally relevant to earlier conversation about art as therapy; where does mental and emotional survival fit in to the definition and how does that support or refute each perspective? Renate had explained that her voluntary work brought her into contact with people who had actually been prescribed a course of creative activity to help treat various mental health conditions and it didn’t seem entirely random that our conversation had come at least in some respects, full circle.
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November 2014

28/11/2014

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This month was the first in our new bimonthly schedule (meeting once again in MadLab’s temporary home at New Federation House) and it seemed appropriate that our conversation focused on the idea of getting back into the swing of things following a change of pace or circumstance.
Renate, who explained she has recently experienced a loss of confidence following an accident, shared some drawings she has been making recently under the project title ‘An Apple a Day’. Aside from the obvious associations with physical health, this has been a process she has enjoyed as she steadily returns to a regular creative habit. The drawings, despite sharing a common subject matter, are varied in their use of materials and her love of simply engaging with practical technique is evident. She also shared a photograph that she plans to develop into a painting, however it interested me that she felt a need to immediately justify this aspiration with the promise to add another element ‘so it is not just apples.’ My own gut reaction to this was what a shame that would be, and that this risked the honest clarity of the current series of drawings. What, after all, is wrong with ‘just’ apples? 
Youngzou Lotuses
Annabeth Orton - Youngzou Lotuses - Acrylic on Canvas Board
This question linked very closely with the discussion last meeting on my own recent paintings, outside of previous investigations into a Social Practice. I also had a new piece to share in this body of work (Youngzou Lotuses, left) that continues under a working title of The Serenity Series. Developed from the Peaceful Places collection of photos that I took in Asia during 2013, I have discussed feeling quite self-indulgent as I work on pieces for enjoyment, rather than attempting to provide a function as with the socially orientated projects. Interestingly, Renate had been one of those who challenged me on this last month, asking why I felt a demand to produce ‘functional’ work as opposed to art for its own sake.
Again, we discussed the source of these pressures, be that expectation from institutions or the wider art world, or whether they come from a more personal, self-driven perception of value. I thought how funny it is that we can apply different questions, principles and clarity to the work of others that we find it so hard to bring to our own. This, I suppose, underlines the importance of placing your creative practice within a wider context of peers and accepting the questions or challenges that they bring to such debate.
The conversation eventually swung back round to changing focus or direction, and how sometimes it can be that in the long term, taking a break from practice can in fact be the most productive thing to do. We do not always have to be at our most prolific and pausing, reflecting, rebuilding energy levels and exploring other interests or expressions of creativity can be vitally important in giving a practice the time and space it needs to grow and flourish.

A seasonally relevant observation as we parted with best wishes for the winter festivities. The next CRITgroup meeting will be on January the 28th, 2015(!). We may, or may not be back in MadLab ‘proper’ for the start of the New Year, though I have every confidence it will be full of spring promise, regardless of the location!
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    CRITgroup

    _Creative Reflection and Investigation Talk Group is an informal network for local artists and designers. The group meets every other month aiming to facilitate a pooling of professional skills and knowledge to provide motivation, support and social contact for those pursuing a creative (visual) practice in Manchester.

    CRITgroup is an initiative organised and managed by Glittermouse.

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