Its cold, blooming freezing!, Its Friday afternoon.
However I am sat at the bar of the Nuffield Bar with chocolate cake and a nice strong and hot cup of tea so I am very happy, for some reason tea always perks me up, no matter what the weather or mood, it is always there to numb the pain, in a relaxing and soothing way.
This week there has been two main things that I would like to talk about. On Tuesday morning I was in Morecambe (it is situated about 20 minutes away from Lancaster on the bus), I was there to help a friend of mine an emerging artist: Saoirse Crean, film some short films on the promenade for an exhibition she is preparing to launch next week as part of the Liverpool Biennial, which is incredibly exciting and I am so pleased for her to be involved with it, and I wish her all the best of luck with it. I am planning to visit the exhibition in the near future, but it was a privledge to help out and it was a really interesting experience being able work in a new environment and get an insight into a new way of working. We shot three, four minute films which were all one shot, simple in its final product, but complex to organise the shot in order to keep interest in the shot and the action in the frame. I am fascinated at how they appear, but from the rough cut of what I say it was interesting aesthetically and narrative wise. Working with Saoirse made me think about my work with film in the course of my artistic practice and me think about simplicity, making the shots simple in execution and production, being able to not only make a certain aesthetic for myself but also slowly build up a skills set in video and photography, which I can only really do from starting with the basics and building up from that. My best friend Tom Greenidge is someone who I take great inspiration from, he's an excellent film maker and actor and has received numerous awards and recommendation for his work. I have been involved with a few projects of his at college and at University, he's one of my closest friends and I have always admired his work ethic and building upon each piece of work he has done, we share a common passion in theatre and film and I am so proud of him in what he has done, please check out his website to see his work:
http://www.tomgreenidge.com/
Today (Friday) has been an important day for me this week, I had a meeting and showing of work with Matt Fenton. I showed him the 'Re-Mapping Lancaster' exercise complete with text and soundtrack. It was great to have Matt into the space to see what I have been working on and as hard as it is as a solo artist to have criticism, it is extremely necessary and very productive. It allows for new ideas to emerge and ideas to be teased out further, Matt suggested that the words which go with the photographs work better when they say 'Show me' rather than tell me, because it creates ambiguity over weather the performer is asking the questions or it is the audience, which I hadn't thought about, when I was devising it. The other interesting piece of feedback was that off some of the text and the pictures were a bit cliché in the sense it was a bit to obvious such as 'The city is big, everything seems bigger' - it does seem a bit simple, not really giving the offer I was wanting to give to the audience of them being able to interpreate the piece in anyway they wanted. Matt said that the only pictures that really work at the moment are those of How you would enter and leave the city, because they are not what you associate with travelling into and from the city, you mostly associate this practice with air, road or train. By showing a stretch of the Lancaster Canal, it could be seen as reflecting on a time when the Canal was the most technologically advanced system of moving around, and that surprises the viewer because it is not expected. What I need to concentrate on is keeping surprising the viewer in simple and tiny ways which keeps it exciting but offers them the opportunity to experience something new about the city. I am meeting with Matt in 2 weeks just to update him on progress and in about 3 weeks I will show a snapshot of work from this term.
Over the next week I will be working on interrogate Low - Fi technologies such as still camera photography and video, video phone recording, blogging and social media. Researching using the following two primary sources: 'The Culture of the Amateur' by Andrew Keen and 'Youtube and Video Marketing' by Greg Jarboe, to investigate the links between the personal user and the wider community, the moving from producer to consumer and the other way round. The distinction between authentic video recording and moment capture on low - fi media technologies and the mass production and video sharing on Youtube. For the end of next week I am aiming to have three short films of two minutes long on a particular subject and focus, which is still to be decided.
To finish, I feel I have learnt a lot from this week mainly connected to my practice and how I feel it is evolving. Being able to communicate effectively with people involved in supporting your practice is vital, being able to express your own ideas but also take on board people's criticism is very much a necessary part of creative production, because at the end of the day you are making work for a specific audience, so it needs to be of the highest standard, not just artistically but also to be able to offer an experience which is entirely different to anything they have experienced before. Networking with your peers, being able to see what they are upto and being in contact not only makes your engage in discussions but offers you opportunities to collaborate to find new artistic inspirations and keep your ideas fresh and new.
Hope you have a lovely weekend!, Hope your not to cold!
Marcus
Friday, 19 November 2010
Monday, 15 November 2010
Lots of New Things!, Not Knowing Something leads to you working harder to find the answers!
Another week, Another week of great opportunities and happenings to report back on!, as I asked at the start of the last post, where do I start to report back on what I have been upto?
I'll start of with the basics, where I went and what I got upto. On Wednesday I made my very first visit to the great city of Liverpool. I was truly astonished at vibrant the city feels, as I said to a friend over the weekend who comes from Liverpool, I have only seen Liverpool's development at a distance and to see it up close and personal was incredibly intoxicating. Walking out of the train station, I was struck by how much winning the capital of culture prize has meant to Liverpool, culture is buzzing and culture is everywhere. I was in Liverpool to visit FACT Gallery and TATE Liverpool, on a personal level I now feel I have achieved something by visiting all the 3 TATE Galleries! (sorry to sound so lame....!). FACT has been a gallery I have wanting to visit for a long time, mainly because of its emphasis on technological development and innovation and its firm relationship it fosters with artists and technology. As I was walking around FACT, it made me feel really inspired due to its desire to really integrate different artistic forms such as film, video, projections, animation into a space and context which allowed the audience to view, and respond in a unique, unbiased, uncensored way. Which gave us the best possible experience of seeing the gallery, because it wasn't based on pre - ascribed and pre determined views we should obtain. TATE was a lovely gallery to visit but I don't think it gave me the same vibe as FACT, purely because FACT seems to me as the sort of the gallery that I could exhibit in rather than TATE, because of its visual arts domain, and I don't really seem myself as a visual artist.
Here's some pictures I took of my afternoon In Liverpool:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625356761254/
On Thursday I had a meeting with Matt Fenton (My Masters Supervisor), to basically catch up with what has been happening over the course of the last week. It was a bit of a 6's and 7's meeting, for both of us. I hadn't done exactly as I had promised Matt, which was to show the full set of my 're - mapping Lancaster' photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625356484962/) will full text and music to accompany it. I had got slightly sidetracked towards the end of last week and it was my own fault at loosing focus on what I was supposed to do, however I feel the text I have written has a bit of potential so I am working on it further this week and I have taken a few photos for the exercise so I can show Matt on Thursday the idea in full.
On Friday I was at the Hive in Manchester for the 'Leadership Lab Conference' co ordinated by PANDA (The Performing Arts and Development Agency Network). I was there in a capacity to help PANDA evaluate the event for them and there 1,200 members. The event was fascinating, because the event brought together a lot of arts leaders from across the region and the sector nationally to engage in a very thought provoking subject which is happening in the arts at the moment, how do we react to these tough times we are in?
I scribbled some notes down on my phone whilst taking some photos of some of the excellent points made in the Keynote address by Paul Roberts (Chair of Creativity, Culture and Education):
Innovation
Tentative Leadership (moving away from the heroic leadership model)
vision for the organisation
opportunism
The 2cm rule - Paul Roberts made the very important point on a number of occasions that arts organisations need to think and plan ahead but not so far ahead that they can't deal with the now, the 2cm rule is far enough ahead to excite and motivate your workforce but not so far that you are accused of not keeping abreast of what is happening now.
Finally on Saturday night (if your not bored enough!!...and yes I am so boring I was working on a Saturday night -fool) I attended an event called "Have you got what it takes to make it in the TV and film industry?" at the Storey Creative Industries Centre in Lancaster. An eclectic mix of people involved in Film and Television discussing the sector, their work schedules and how to make it in the sector. The event itself was interesting because there were a lot of second years who I got talking to and was really inspired hearing their stories and what they are upto at the moment and how driven they are and makes you realise how despite the cuts, recently outlined by George Osbourne, creativity and ambition is still rife among young creatives.
As I mentioned to someone on Saturday night, as artists I feel we need to constantly be asking what we don't know and setting out to answer these questions. If we are to be seen as the most innovative sector we need to show our determination to keep pushing forward and not be restricted to our old ways of doing things. I would advocate that Technology is one of the cornerstones of our evolution process. Not only artistically is it exciting but also we need to be aware as artists and part of the wider artistic community we need to realise that the world is changing. We are living in a time of spectacular growth in communications technology. Twitter and Facebook have changed the way we communicate and the artistic community must not see Technology as the threat but a help to drive forward and keep the arts as exciting as it will always be. The importance of relationships is something which has shown itself again, vital if you want to engage with the sector your passionate about. Networking and relationships for me are part of my day to activity, posting as much as I can on Twitter, Facebook, Emailing and interacting, its vital for me. Firstly to know what the sector is upto but also to get me out of the individual cloud I sometimes inhabit.
Whats happening this week for me? Well lots of ideas generating.
I've got ideas in the pipeline for working with web cams and mobile phone video but this idea is still in the pipeline and I will trying it out tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday). I'm really interested in seeing how I can ultise these technologies in order to produce film shorts, especially with the advent and dominance of YOUTUBE in the last few years where anyone with any device can upload anything on to the web.
A couple of other smaller ideas are brewing as well, but I will keep you updated!
Please Contact / Follow me!!:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/ - My Flickr account which has pictures of events I've attended recently!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124476677586329 - Lancaster Creative Arts Network, an online social tool for Lancaster based creatives.
http://twitter.com/#!/MarcusLilley - My Twitter page.
Have a lovely week!
Marcus x
I'll start of with the basics, where I went and what I got upto. On Wednesday I made my very first visit to the great city of Liverpool. I was truly astonished at vibrant the city feels, as I said to a friend over the weekend who comes from Liverpool, I have only seen Liverpool's development at a distance and to see it up close and personal was incredibly intoxicating. Walking out of the train station, I was struck by how much winning the capital of culture prize has meant to Liverpool, culture is buzzing and culture is everywhere. I was in Liverpool to visit FACT Gallery and TATE Liverpool, on a personal level I now feel I have achieved something by visiting all the 3 TATE Galleries! (sorry to sound so lame....!). FACT has been a gallery I have wanting to visit for a long time, mainly because of its emphasis on technological development and innovation and its firm relationship it fosters with artists and technology. As I was walking around FACT, it made me feel really inspired due to its desire to really integrate different artistic forms such as film, video, projections, animation into a space and context which allowed the audience to view, and respond in a unique, unbiased, uncensored way. Which gave us the best possible experience of seeing the gallery, because it wasn't based on pre - ascribed and pre determined views we should obtain. TATE was a lovely gallery to visit but I don't think it gave me the same vibe as FACT, purely because FACT seems to me as the sort of the gallery that I could exhibit in rather than TATE, because of its visual arts domain, and I don't really seem myself as a visual artist.
Here's some pictures I took of my afternoon In Liverpool:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625356761254/
On Thursday I had a meeting with Matt Fenton (My Masters Supervisor), to basically catch up with what has been happening over the course of the last week. It was a bit of a 6's and 7's meeting, for both of us. I hadn't done exactly as I had promised Matt, which was to show the full set of my 're - mapping Lancaster' photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/sets/72157625356484962/) will full text and music to accompany it. I had got slightly sidetracked towards the end of last week and it was my own fault at loosing focus on what I was supposed to do, however I feel the text I have written has a bit of potential so I am working on it further this week and I have taken a few photos for the exercise so I can show Matt on Thursday the idea in full.
On Friday I was at the Hive in Manchester for the 'Leadership Lab Conference' co ordinated by PANDA (The Performing Arts and Development Agency Network). I was there in a capacity to help PANDA evaluate the event for them and there 1,200 members. The event was fascinating, because the event brought together a lot of arts leaders from across the region and the sector nationally to engage in a very thought provoking subject which is happening in the arts at the moment, how do we react to these tough times we are in?
I scribbled some notes down on my phone whilst taking some photos of some of the excellent points made in the Keynote address by Paul Roberts (Chair of Creativity, Culture and Education):
Innovation
Tentative Leadership (moving away from the heroic leadership model)
vision for the organisation
opportunism
The 2cm rule - Paul Roberts made the very important point on a number of occasions that arts organisations need to think and plan ahead but not so far ahead that they can't deal with the now, the 2cm rule is far enough ahead to excite and motivate your workforce but not so far that you are accused of not keeping abreast of what is happening now.
Finally on Saturday night (if your not bored enough!!...and yes I am so boring I was working on a Saturday night -fool) I attended an event called "Have you got what it takes to make it in the TV and film industry?" at the Storey Creative Industries Centre in Lancaster. An eclectic mix of people involved in Film and Television discussing the sector, their work schedules and how to make it in the sector. The event itself was interesting because there were a lot of second years who I got talking to and was really inspired hearing their stories and what they are upto at the moment and how driven they are and makes you realise how despite the cuts, recently outlined by George Osbourne, creativity and ambition is still rife among young creatives.
As I mentioned to someone on Saturday night, as artists I feel we need to constantly be asking what we don't know and setting out to answer these questions. If we are to be seen as the most innovative sector we need to show our determination to keep pushing forward and not be restricted to our old ways of doing things. I would advocate that Technology is one of the cornerstones of our evolution process. Not only artistically is it exciting but also we need to be aware as artists and part of the wider artistic community we need to realise that the world is changing. We are living in a time of spectacular growth in communications technology. Twitter and Facebook have changed the way we communicate and the artistic community must not see Technology as the threat but a help to drive forward and keep the arts as exciting as it will always be. The importance of relationships is something which has shown itself again, vital if you want to engage with the sector your passionate about. Networking and relationships for me are part of my day to activity, posting as much as I can on Twitter, Facebook, Emailing and interacting, its vital for me. Firstly to know what the sector is upto but also to get me out of the individual cloud I sometimes inhabit.
Whats happening this week for me? Well lots of ideas generating.
I've got ideas in the pipeline for working with web cams and mobile phone video but this idea is still in the pipeline and I will trying it out tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday). I'm really interested in seeing how I can ultise these technologies in order to produce film shorts, especially with the advent and dominance of YOUTUBE in the last few years where anyone with any device can upload anything on to the web.
A couple of other smaller ideas are brewing as well, but I will keep you updated!
Please Contact / Follow me!!:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilleym/ - My Flickr account which has pictures of events I've attended recently!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124476677586329 - Lancaster Creative Arts Network, an online social tool for Lancaster based creatives.
http://twitter.com/#!/MarcusLilley - My Twitter page.
Have a lovely week!
Marcus x
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Live Theatrical Performance and Live DJ Performances, are they morphing into one?
I don't normally blog during the week, but something yesterday caught my eye which has really inspired me and I thought I should really share it with everyone!. As the title suggests its about live theatrical performance and live Djing performances. It has all come from an article in this month's Mixmag magazine, Mixmag is a monthly dance music magazine covering gigs, events, DJ interviews and clubland news as well as the new releases. On page 47 (sorry to be specific and not come across really anal, I have the page open, I don't know the page numbers off by heart!). The article is called 'The Most Amazing shows in dance music', and features interviews with 2ManyDJ's, Fatboy Slim, DeadMau5, Magnetic Man and Tiesto. What really caught my eye was during the interviews, the similarities between theatrical productions and these performances which were being described.
DJ gigs no longer seem, just one off events they are imagined, created, rehearsed and then toured with lighting equipment, designers and directors across the globe, here is just a taster of some of the responses in the article:
2ManyDJ's, who project animated record sleeves in their shows "We sit down with a graphic designer friend and the three of us make a storyboard based around the record sleeves, then we have a guy who animates them. (How many people work on the show?) - Two to build the screen, two to do the DJ booth, bassist to transfer the DVDS, tour manager, van driver".
Tiesto, on keeping the show fresh and many people who on his shows "Thanks to technology. Also the beauty of being a DJ, is you can always change your sound, change your sound, change your style and the tracks you play, whereas in a band its always the same numbers... A production manager, my personal assistant, my light guy and my sound guy."
A full company for essentially someone playing music? (I don't mean to be rude, I'm just illustrating how much developments there has been!!) These developments in DJing of course are not entirely a new leap forward but just an extension in the concept of creating a show. Going clubbing is an exercise in going out from your day to day life and enjoying the experience. Of course Technology is central to this recent explosion of live shows. The shift from vinyl to CDJ's is obvious in every club and bar across the country, but now we are seeing the latest developments in computing being transferred into live performance for DJ's. The developments of Serato Live (a vinyl simulation programme which allows the user to use vinyl turntables and scratch, and play vinyl but stores all their music digitally on a laptop) and other programmes like Ableton, and other products like Recordbox software. DJs are always looking to push their shows and performances to the next level, utilising anything and everything at their disposal from having 2 copies of vinyl to scratch over, transforming scratching records, beat looping, playing the latest remix, putting their music on laptops, running three decks. Innovation and creativity are essential components. It is very frustrating when you look at live music, film and other creative industries and see how technology is not only artistically meet new challenges for artists but developing new audiences as well and you look to see how Theatre is responding accordingly to technology.
It seems like technology is a dirty word for Theatre, it seems like the newest brand of Theatre makers are not given the space to be innovative with technology and see what it can do for the theatre space. As Benga from Magnetic Man points out improvising with technology in the performance space can bring about some great results:
"Its live, Its Nuts!. Not one show is the same, we can't make it the same because its not like we rehearse it. We like the spontaneity"
Being spontaneous is what Theatre is all about, so why is innovation and being able to try new things not encouraged, surely with arts cuts the hottest topic at the moment, new rules are being created, new methods for work are being assembled.
Now I cannot talk about any experience of DJing because I have none, however I have always loved watching, listening to and seeing DJ's perform live. I take huge inspirations from DJ's such as DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Pete Tong, Greg Wilson, Fabio & Grooverider, particularly for their innovation in their market place, and their creativity and ability to adapt, reflect and consumer new trends. These DJ's know their genres for which they are know for. They are the taste makers, the people who know what works, know the right contacts etc.
Now this is the bit I am really worried about sounding up myself and I don't really mean to be. As a developing artist I see how I am working is very similar to that of a DJ.
I like to create a performance (whether that is an exhibition, theatrical performance, installation etc), like that of a DJ, creating a performance for an audience. The relationship is 2 way, my role is that is knowing my sector inside out, knowing the history and being passionate about the sector and know why it is important to have these sorts of things. I am devising a show which involves the audience. Like a DJ show, everyone takes something away from it, whether its an interest in a style of video, an interest in the decade we have made a show about. Like a DJ performance one person can take away a like in the new dubstep track or is an aspiring DJ and loved how the DJ scratched a track.
To finish simply, why is Technology overlooked in the Theatre, when in Music technology has taken DJing to a new level and attracted new audiences and developed amazing new creative potentials.
I don't know the answer to this. I want to change it, Theatre and Technology can produce new audiences and new artistic opportunities.
DJ gigs no longer seem, just one off events they are imagined, created, rehearsed and then toured with lighting equipment, designers and directors across the globe, here is just a taster of some of the responses in the article:
2ManyDJ's, who project animated record sleeves in their shows "We sit down with a graphic designer friend and the three of us make a storyboard based around the record sleeves, then we have a guy who animates them. (How many people work on the show?) - Two to build the screen, two to do the DJ booth, bassist to transfer the DVDS, tour manager, van driver".
Tiesto, on keeping the show fresh and many people who on his shows "Thanks to technology. Also the beauty of being a DJ, is you can always change your sound, change your sound, change your style and the tracks you play, whereas in a band its always the same numbers... A production manager, my personal assistant, my light guy and my sound guy."
A full company for essentially someone playing music? (I don't mean to be rude, I'm just illustrating how much developments there has been!!) These developments in DJing of course are not entirely a new leap forward but just an extension in the concept of creating a show. Going clubbing is an exercise in going out from your day to day life and enjoying the experience. Of course Technology is central to this recent explosion of live shows. The shift from vinyl to CDJ's is obvious in every club and bar across the country, but now we are seeing the latest developments in computing being transferred into live performance for DJ's. The developments of Serato Live (a vinyl simulation programme which allows the user to use vinyl turntables and scratch, and play vinyl but stores all their music digitally on a laptop) and other programmes like Ableton, and other products like Recordbox software. DJs are always looking to push their shows and performances to the next level, utilising anything and everything at their disposal from having 2 copies of vinyl to scratch over, transforming scratching records, beat looping, playing the latest remix, putting their music on laptops, running three decks. Innovation and creativity are essential components. It is very frustrating when you look at live music, film and other creative industries and see how technology is not only artistically meet new challenges for artists but developing new audiences as well and you look to see how Theatre is responding accordingly to technology.
It seems like technology is a dirty word for Theatre, it seems like the newest brand of Theatre makers are not given the space to be innovative with technology and see what it can do for the theatre space. As Benga from Magnetic Man points out improvising with technology in the performance space can bring about some great results:
"Its live, Its Nuts!. Not one show is the same, we can't make it the same because its not like we rehearse it. We like the spontaneity"
Being spontaneous is what Theatre is all about, so why is innovation and being able to try new things not encouraged, surely with arts cuts the hottest topic at the moment, new rules are being created, new methods for work are being assembled.
Now I cannot talk about any experience of DJing because I have none, however I have always loved watching, listening to and seeing DJ's perform live. I take huge inspirations from DJ's such as DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Pete Tong, Greg Wilson, Fabio & Grooverider, particularly for their innovation in their market place, and their creativity and ability to adapt, reflect and consumer new trends. These DJ's know their genres for which they are know for. They are the taste makers, the people who know what works, know the right contacts etc.
Now this is the bit I am really worried about sounding up myself and I don't really mean to be. As a developing artist I see how I am working is very similar to that of a DJ.
I like to create a performance (whether that is an exhibition, theatrical performance, installation etc), like that of a DJ, creating a performance for an audience. The relationship is 2 way, my role is that is knowing my sector inside out, knowing the history and being passionate about the sector and know why it is important to have these sorts of things. I am devising a show which involves the audience. Like a DJ show, everyone takes something away from it, whether its an interest in a style of video, an interest in the decade we have made a show about. Like a DJ performance one person can take away a like in the new dubstep track or is an aspiring DJ and loved how the DJ scratched a track.
To finish simply, why is Technology overlooked in the Theatre, when in Music technology has taken DJing to a new level and attracted new audiences and developed amazing new creative potentials.
I don't know the answer to this. I want to change it, Theatre and Technology can produce new audiences and new artistic opportunities.
Monday, 8 November 2010
So Many Exciting things!
It is a Monday morning in Lancaster. It is raining. These thoughts can conjure up the feeling of why do I want to get out of bed and leave my comfy and warm bed? After 3 years I still don't know why I can't hibernate and avoid the cold and the rain that inhabits Lancaster like no other city in England. In a way it is Lancaster's most distinguishable selling point (if it can be called that!!), its what gives it its unique and wonderful character. Working and living in Lancaster is such a creative and inspiring place to work in, not just the city itself but our close transport links to other great places like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow are all very close on the train. In this week's post I have got so much to talk about what has happened since I last blogged, its going to be a real effort to try and edit it all down into one post!.
My week started off with a meeting with the Chief Executive of Lancaster based company Folly. Folly specialise in the creative use of Technology and in arts participation online. The meeting was about becoming an administrator on the Folly created website 'Love Culture' a social networking based site which has brought together several leading arts organisations from the Lancaster area such as the Dukes Playhouse, The Storey and Live@LICA. Signing upto the website is free and enables users to post, discuss and chat to other members of the network. It is a fantastic service especially as the arts in Lancaster are at a really interesting point of working together and creating such a vibrant and dynamic cultural landscape for artists and audiences alike. On Wednesday afternoon I had a meeting with PANDA (Performing Arts Network and Development Agency) who are based in Manchester. about doing a placement with them this academic year. PANDA are a really important organisation for me as they are very passionate about the development of artistic relationships, development of artistic practice and ensuring artists can grow. I went to two of their 'Spotlight On' events in March and June of this year, at the Nuffield Theatre and in Chester respectively. The essence of these events is to bring together a panel of speakers, provide networking opportunities for the participants and allow for discussion and debate on the nature and work of artists. They came at a really interesting stage for me, because it was just after I had graduated and therefore the change from Undergraduate student and moving into professional development was a place of uncertainty and one where networking opportunities and a place to contact other people who were in similar positions was invaluable and one which I could recommend highly enough to emerging or pre emerging artists.
Work wise on Thursday I had a meeting with Matt Fenton my supervisor, who is also the director of Live@LICA. It was a good session in which I was able to show Matt what I have been working on since I last saw him. I showed him my 'Remapping Lancaster' exercise (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244771&id=524662090), also the outlines of a social persuasive game I have been working out.
General notes I took from the meeting were:
Take more photos in Lancaster so I have more of a pallet to play with.
Is there a narrative I could draw which draws all the pictures together (i.e a fictional one like the history of Lancaster or a non fictional one. Or there is an autobiographical element for example having been at Lancaster for 3 years there are a lot of personal stories which I can talk about). On Thursday I have another meeting with Matt where he has suggested I write a text to accompany the photo presentation along with a possible soundtrack, (which I spent Friday rehearsing), I will update you with progress on the next post!.
Over the last week I have seen two performances. The first one 'Hetain Patel : TEN' was at the Nuffield on Thursday night, and I had the fascinating opportunity to chat to Hetain before the show in an Artist talk with Matt Fenton. These sorts of opportunities are so important and also so rare, so whatever I am doing I always make sure I can attend these sorts of events. Hetain seemed such a down to earth and lovely person and he gave me some really interesting and thoughtful insights into his working practices. Ideas he says always come to be involved with the specific medium in which he sees as the right medium for the work he is trying to create. He is a trained fine artist and has worked in video, painting and 'Ten' is his first venture into live performance work. He also looked to the question of working as an artist - why do I work creatively? A question which has so much resonance with me, a question I ask myself several times a week. I have always felt bad for wanting to follow a career in the arts because I don't really see what benefits it can give me, but then I realise (not to get too soppy) that my early adult years have been dominated by arts based activities(either that being education or spare time activities) and that arts based activities have been the cornerstone of everything I have being doing, and it is the only career path I want.
The second show I saw was 'Hypothermia' at the Dukes Playhouse on Friday evening. A truly wonderful theatre spectacle, which momentarily put me back in touch with why I so enjoy the live experience of theatre. Its ability to take you away from your real world and transport you into a world where you can find out more about the world you inhabit. In the case of 'Hypothermia' it was the blending together of shocking tales of brutality of the NAZI regime in the Second World War with the affect it had on individuals. The play set in a hospital climaxed with patients being chosen to be moved on and the hospital being closed, a play about real human feelings. The drunken state the lead doctor: Dr Erich resorts to, the lack of almost any human emotion high ranking NAZI official Dr Katscher has for anyone who does not have blonde hair or blue eyes. In history we hear about these horrible events, but often we don't get to hear or see the personal accounts of the people involved, theatre offers us this fantastic opportunity. A fantastically gripping story.
What is the plan of attack for this week then? Well today (Monday) and Tuesday are probably research days in the library, and trying to keep up the ideas surge which is happening at the moment and trying to get as much material gathered as possible. Wednesday I am in the studio rehearsing hopefully, Thursday I have a meeting with Matt and on Saturday I am very excited to be going to see the critically acclaimed Ockham's Razor at the Nuffield.
See you soon!
Marcus
Websites / Links that maybe interesting for you to look at:
http://www.loveculture.org.uk/lc/
http://www.folly.co.uk/
http://www.panda-arts.org.uk/
http://www.hetainpatel.com
http://www.nuffieldtheatre.com/events/detail.asp?eventIdentifier=2010715_83826846 - Ockham's Razor 'The Mill'
My week started off with a meeting with the Chief Executive of Lancaster based company Folly. Folly specialise in the creative use of Technology and in arts participation online. The meeting was about becoming an administrator on the Folly created website 'Love Culture' a social networking based site which has brought together several leading arts organisations from the Lancaster area such as the Dukes Playhouse, The Storey and Live@LICA. Signing upto the website is free and enables users to post, discuss and chat to other members of the network. It is a fantastic service especially as the arts in Lancaster are at a really interesting point of working together and creating such a vibrant and dynamic cultural landscape for artists and audiences alike. On Wednesday afternoon I had a meeting with PANDA (Performing Arts Network and Development Agency) who are based in Manchester. about doing a placement with them this academic year. PANDA are a really important organisation for me as they are very passionate about the development of artistic relationships, development of artistic practice and ensuring artists can grow. I went to two of their 'Spotlight On' events in March and June of this year, at the Nuffield Theatre and in Chester respectively. The essence of these events is to bring together a panel of speakers, provide networking opportunities for the participants and allow for discussion and debate on the nature and work of artists. They came at a really interesting stage for me, because it was just after I had graduated and therefore the change from Undergraduate student and moving into professional development was a place of uncertainty and one where networking opportunities and a place to contact other people who were in similar positions was invaluable and one which I could recommend highly enough to emerging or pre emerging artists.
Work wise on Thursday I had a meeting with Matt Fenton my supervisor, who is also the director of Live@LICA. It was a good session in which I was able to show Matt what I have been working on since I last saw him. I showed him my 'Remapping Lancaster' exercise (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=244771&id=524662090), also the outlines of a social persuasive game I have been working out.
General notes I took from the meeting were:
Take more photos in Lancaster so I have more of a pallet to play with.
Is there a narrative I could draw which draws all the pictures together (i.e a fictional one like the history of Lancaster or a non fictional one. Or there is an autobiographical element for example having been at Lancaster for 3 years there are a lot of personal stories which I can talk about). On Thursday I have another meeting with Matt where he has suggested I write a text to accompany the photo presentation along with a possible soundtrack, (which I spent Friday rehearsing), I will update you with progress on the next post!.
Over the last week I have seen two performances. The first one 'Hetain Patel : TEN' was at the Nuffield on Thursday night, and I had the fascinating opportunity to chat to Hetain before the show in an Artist talk with Matt Fenton. These sorts of opportunities are so important and also so rare, so whatever I am doing I always make sure I can attend these sorts of events. Hetain seemed such a down to earth and lovely person and he gave me some really interesting and thoughtful insights into his working practices. Ideas he says always come to be involved with the specific medium in which he sees as the right medium for the work he is trying to create. He is a trained fine artist and has worked in video, painting and 'Ten' is his first venture into live performance work. He also looked to the question of working as an artist - why do I work creatively? A question which has so much resonance with me, a question I ask myself several times a week. I have always felt bad for wanting to follow a career in the arts because I don't really see what benefits it can give me, but then I realise (not to get too soppy) that my early adult years have been dominated by arts based activities(either that being education or spare time activities) and that arts based activities have been the cornerstone of everything I have being doing, and it is the only career path I want.
The second show I saw was 'Hypothermia' at the Dukes Playhouse on Friday evening. A truly wonderful theatre spectacle, which momentarily put me back in touch with why I so enjoy the live experience of theatre. Its ability to take you away from your real world and transport you into a world where you can find out more about the world you inhabit. In the case of 'Hypothermia' it was the blending together of shocking tales of brutality of the NAZI regime in the Second World War with the affect it had on individuals. The play set in a hospital climaxed with patients being chosen to be moved on and the hospital being closed, a play about real human feelings. The drunken state the lead doctor: Dr Erich resorts to, the lack of almost any human emotion high ranking NAZI official Dr Katscher has for anyone who does not have blonde hair or blue eyes. In history we hear about these horrible events, but often we don't get to hear or see the personal accounts of the people involved, theatre offers us this fantastic opportunity. A fantastically gripping story.
What is the plan of attack for this week then? Well today (Monday) and Tuesday are probably research days in the library, and trying to keep up the ideas surge which is happening at the moment and trying to get as much material gathered as possible. Wednesday I am in the studio rehearsing hopefully, Thursday I have a meeting with Matt and on Saturday I am very excited to be going to see the critically acclaimed Ockham's Razor at the Nuffield.
See you soon!
Marcus
Websites / Links that maybe interesting for you to look at:
http://www.loveculture.org.uk/lc/
http://www.folly.co.uk/
http://www.panda-arts.org.uk/
http://www.hetainpatel.com
http://www.nuffieldtheatre.com/events/detail.asp?eventIdentifier=2010715_83826846 - Ockham's Razor 'The Mill'
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