frillip moolog blog

Artistic Inspiration Across the Centuries; the Supernatural Knows no Bounds

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 21:11:00 +0000

Most artists will have a visual image that proves to be inordinately influential to them…. This is mine.

This is one of the most curious creatures that I have ever seen - possibly because of the lack of recognisable face - but I can imagine a personality.

I am confused and intrigued in equal measure.

Although the creature is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, I’m neither repulsed nor afraid.

For a long time now I have asked myself, “What makes a creature a creature? What do you have to include in a 3D work to suggest a living being; something with anthropomorphic qualities?”

This continues to be a recurring theme in my art practice.

This small wax and sponge creature with a single doll's eye was made well before
Minions ever hit the screens. He featured in my video piece Trolley Happenings 2010.

I take my inspirations from many aspects of human life…. I’m fascinated by people, their personalities, interests and stories of their lives, and I’m also exceedingly inspired by places and the stories/folklore associated with them.

The stories that I weave from these inspirations are at the heart of my art practice.

Deep Space Moolog my most recent multi-media installation was initially inspired by Cresswell Crags and the ancient cave drawings found there. Creswell Crags has been in the news again recently as markings on another of the caves have now been revealed to be 17^th and 18^th century Witches Marks.

My interest in this discovery was especially piqued because of the confusion over the origin and meaning of these markings; what were once believed to have been Victorian graffiti have now been verified as being marks to ward off evil spirits and stop them coming from The Underworld. Plus I am thinking about those people who journeyed to the cave and spent time there to make these marks; they had to overcome their fear of evil spirits just long enough to be able to carve their individual mark into the limestone rock. And lastly I wonder (just a little) about what sort of creatures witches or otherwise might have been part of this ancient world.

Over the years my own living room shelves have played host to a range of arrangements of curious creatures, rocks, coral and mementoes from travels and experiences. A current ceramic selection includes Nessie (in miniature whiskey bottle form) as well as a crosseyed deer vase and squirrel handled cream jugs.

A recent TV programme investigating the history of a house in Newcastle upon Tyne charted the story of the house through the lives of the various owners over the years. When the programme came to Joshua Alder (1792-1867) I was fascinated in particular because of the two very different occupations of his life; first as a cheesemonger and then in his later years becoming known and respected as one of the 19^th century’s most important marine naturists and a founder member of the Natural History Society. His specialism was Nudibranchiate Mollusca (Sea slugs) and he travelled all over Britain collecting specimens.

How could I not be interested in Joshua Alder… firstly as I myself was a cheesemonger in my mid 20’s - (as mentioned before in a previous blog post)

Plus, look at Alder’s illustrations of Sea Slugs! These beautiful curious creatures; with sculptural forms, no obvious faces and strange frilly protuberances. What’s not to love!

Inspirations come along when you can make new sense of them and weave them into a new creative form that works within your particular art practice.

The word Cryptozoology is new to me; it is a pseudoscience and subculture that attempts to prove the existence of creatures from the folklore record, such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster - it is neither a branch of zoology nor folkloristics. Cryptozoology is a relatively modern label which I stumbled across not long after reading a fascinating Wellcome Collection essay about Ulisse Aldrovandi the famous 17^th Century Natural Sciences professor at the university of Bologna. Pouring over his illustrations of inexplicable creatures in his Monstrorum historia I pondered on my thoughts and questions about inexplicable creatures. In particular allowing myself to be unconstrained by 21st Century rationalism and entertain the fanciful notion that these creatures really could exist...

The feathered monk and a child with multiple puppies heads; illustrations from Aldrovandi's Monstrorum Historia

I have found that by taking a non-linear approach my research and artistic curiosity is able to ‘connect’ disparate dots in history.

The rigorous scientific research of Joshua Alder in the 19^th Century.

The openness to possibilities that Ulisse Aldrovandi’s 16^th century Renaissance era ‘scientific’ approach allowed him to take.

A 21^st century pseudo-science (Cryptozoology) whose trademark is that it expressly does not take a mainstream scientific approach.

So what does this all mean for my creative practice?

Allowing my mind to freewheel, I have been thinking of amulets, relics, reliquaries and creatures, animals and beasts associated with other supernatural realms and ways in which they might come together sculpturally or otherwise. When allowing doing this freewheeling thinking I ban self ridicule. I think of the most childish things like superheroes' 'sidekicks' ... a witches cat for example. I think about lucky charms and amulets that I have seen; these range from tasteless rabbit paw key rings to amulets in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

At this point I am very definitely at the early stages of exploring ideas for a new body of work whilst at the same time working in a playful way making some physical proto-creatures along this theme of the Supernatural- sidekicks, partners, lucky charms and precious relics.

A studio experiment 1. I try not to question too hard.

Studio experiment 2.

A sombre face to greet you on your return to the studio. Complete accident!

*******And if you really want to know more about the curious creature at the top of this post - including how it can smell underwater then follow this link.

Luxuriating in some, much needed, Time of Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 19:51:00 +0000

Playing in my studio

So much of being an artist is experiencing, feeling and reflecting on your personal experiences. These can be experiences in the physical world or even the world inside your head.

………...I am currently luxuriating in a, much needed, time of reflection…………..

#Studio time #3D #collage #mixedmedia #artistplaying #feedthesenses #sensory #seriousaboutplay

A post shared by Kirsty E Smith (@frillipmoolog) on Jul 3, 2018 at 10:46am PDT

So often people think that as creatives we simply ‘make stuff’; well that’s NEVER the case!

I need to have space: to think; to reflect; to daydream and to NOT feel time pressure. I have always said that I work in a playful way and that I respond to materials intuitively. I prefer not to overthink and not to have to explain or justify, therefore it is often difficult to talk about my work.

I have always admired the way that, for example, Richard Slee doesn’t write about his own work. (In fact he also never answers his emails; you have to know who he shares an office with and email them and that person then communicates the message to Richard!...... But I digress!)

That little aside gives a small insight into the tangents that my mind can take. A good friend commented, “But without your delightfully tangential thinking (and conversational habits) you wouldn’t be Kirsty”. I decided to take this friend’s acceptance very positively.

You can never do too much playing

I have recently been reflecting on my experience of educational institutions both as a child and also more recently while completing PGCE teacher training with Sheffield Hallam University. I have been thinking about my (variably successful) attempts to fit-in; feelings of difference and how these have actually added positively to my art practice. I think that it’s an indisputable fact that interesting artists have unique viewpoints and interpretations of the world.

I find it so much easier to express deep personal thoughts and emotions through the materials that I use and the sculptural forms that my physical art takes. Of course I understand why some people instantly see the erotic in my work but when making I stop myself from being self-critical nor shy about showing this side of myself.

Buddy (AKA Space Kitty)

Last week I attended a Bloc Projects artist talk presented by Florence Mytum (she too uses materials which are rich in their sensory qualities). Florence mentioned Michel Serres’ The Five Senses in which Serres makes a stand against the analytical tradition of philosophy where language dominates over phenomenological experiences. Serres disagrees with the reductive tendency of logic, which says that in the hierarchy of the senses articulation through language is at the top of the sensory pyramid and tactile qualities are at the bottom. I am in agreement with Serres generally in that I do feel that, ‘we need to return to the immediacy of the senses’, and this isn’t me just being lazy about writing about my art, rather I want people to experience it …. to experience it in the flesh; not just on a screen.

Most people can't help themselves... even if they are in an art gallery

In my practice I push ‘touch’ to the top of the pyramid (with form and colour being close followers).

In fact I am very happy when observers actually struggle to articulate their own responses. I enjoy when they are lost for words because their brains have been overloaded with memories, gut reactions, emotions and memory flashbacks that an encounter with my work has triggered.

Buggles my first outdoor sited Being - Burghley Sculpture Gardens

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 09:04:00 +0000

Celebration Event at Burghley Sculpture Gardens 16.06.18

How many excuses can I come up with for not publicising my recent Frillip Moolog activities more loudly (or even that I haven't publicised them at all...)?

Well hello Buggles!

Don’t answer please/ that’s a rhetorical question.

Anyway, here’s a run down....

Sept 2017- June 2018: I have been fully 'up to my armpits in alligators' in PGCE Design Technology training with Sheffield Hallam University and three placement schools in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

My life has been completely: Backpacks, Lesson Plans and PowerPoints.

One recurring phrase that has popped into my mind sporadically throughout the course has been a Brian Eno quote, “When you hit 50 it’s good to give your life a bit of a shake-up”. ........The thing is..... I thought that I’d already done that in 2014 (when I actually did turn 50) ....

But here I am - June 2018, aged 54 and with my fresh PGCE (teaching qualification).... How ‘shook up’ (in a good way) do I feel?

But this post isn’t about teaching… no it’s about FrillipMoolog and the art I’ve made and got out there in this past year.

Drum roll please….. ‘Buggles’…my first ever outdoor-sited FrillipMoolog being is currently lounging (sloth-like) across a branch on a (specially selected) tree bough in Burghley Sculpture Gardens.

It started with one of those ‘out of the blue’ e mails back in June 2017 asking if I'd be interested in submitting a proposal. Then a visit to Burghley to discover that, not only is the sculpture garden absolutely fantastic, but that there are also some great artists exhibited in the permanent sculpture garden too.

I contacted some of my friends and thanks to very positive comments from Richard Bett and Lucy Strachan I got my 'finger out' and submitted a proposal.

I'd already earmarked a tree at Burghley and these are my first very rough sketches of how my sci-fi 'sloth' might look

However, I was still quite overwhelmed by my teacher training responsibilities so at this point I was still not sure if I would have the time to make a suitable FrillipMoolog being in a way that I felt comfortable with. But in true Kirsty fashion I had already identified some materials that I thought I’d like to work with and so had begun a (tentative) materials purchasing spree.

I’d bought more than £100 worth of these faceted metallic cocktail goblets before I'd actually decided on the final design of Buggles.

I could see a lot of potential in these segmented lids especially as I've been fascinated by segments for a loooong time)

Like I’ve said before, playing with materials is a serious part of my practice. I still smile to myself when I hear myself giggle in this video that my son filmed back in Feb.

Installation happened in early April and the Otherworldy show runs until the end of October 2018. I’m really grateful to Mike Shaw for inviting me to submit a proposal and also very glad that I accepted the challenge as it proves yet again that it is worth pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.

I’ve learnt a huge amount this year:

What it takes to be a professionally qualified teacher.
How much I enjoy working with young people.
How much I love being in my studio, playing with materials and making new work.
How much I value the support and encouragement of the people that I surround myself with (they know who they are).

Otherworldly

The 2018 Burghley Sculpture Garden exhibition explores the surreal, strange, magical, cosmic and interplanetary. The sculptures in the show span our world and the known existence; exploring the geological, the celestial, and the extra-terrestrial.
Exhibiting Artists: Mark Beattie, Anthony Carr, Dallas Collins, Colin Furze, Andy Hazell, Kevin Hope, Conor Hurford, Darius Martisius, John McDonald, Michael Marriott, Denis O’Connor, Joanne Risley, Pete Rogers, Ben Rowe, Kirsty E Smith, Jim Unsworth

Show runs until 28.10.18

The London Experience: Deep Space Moolog at TestBed1

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 18:50:00 +0000

Everything that I do always seems to take longer than I expected BUT once I set my mind to something I do make it happen! Plus I’m always amazed by the ‘magnetic’ power of enthusiasm and positivity (two characteristics that people seem to associate with me).

After showing my Arts Council supported installation, DeepSpaceMoolog, at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, North Lincolnshire (Sep-Nov 2016) I knew that I wanted to show it again and I particularly wanted to find a more cavelike venue; the motivation for this being that the original inspiration for DeepSpaceMoolog came from the ancient cave-drawings in the Creswell Crags cave system.

Things all came together back in May this year. This happened with the help, support and encouragement of various people; firstly George Wade at ALLDesign pointed me in the direction of Jasmine at the (recently relocated) DoodleBar, Bermondsey, London.

Next, the DoodleBar team offered me - one of the earliest showing slots in Testbed1 - in the rear arches of the DoodleBar. In fact, it was such an early slot that at that point there was no mains electricity so I knew from the beginning that I would be reliant on a petrol driven generator (not noisy as it was sited out in the back area). Testbed1 had already hosted events by: RCA Performance Pathway students, The Architectural Association and some band photo/ film shoots so I knew that, with the right lighting, DeepSpaceMoolog could be very atmospheric.

The next step was to work out how to suspend my beautiful digitally printed fabric cave ‘wall’ but there were restrictions on attaching anything to the metal clad brick railway arch walls (these rail people are fussy). So my ‘belt and braces’ method involved concrete filled buckets, wooden uprights, canes and cable ties. This method had some plus points including improving my concrete mixing skills (big thanks to Richard Bartle at Bloc Studios for his tips).

Thanks to 20-21 for the video screen and speakers and Sparks Theatrical were brilliant at advising on the stage lighting that I required. The logistics of 'operation DeepSpaceMoolog in London'; hanging system, van hire, generator hire and lighting were scary but ...it was an adventure?!

In the end, the set-up was easier than I had expected but this was in big part thanks to Dominic Ewan and Dave W’s moral support and very practical technical assistance. Plus a cup of DoodleBar tea to start!

Dominic Ewan’s experience in live events and performance lighting was invaluable and it was thanks to his skills and patience that the cave atmosphere was achieved. I really love the shadows that the beings and spacerocks cast as they magnified the drama and otherworldliness of the DeepSpaceMoolog experience and made it much more immersive; exactly what I wanted!

Another aspect of the vaulted space of Testbed1 was that it gave an even more sinister quality the DeepSpaceMoolog video soundtrack as it bounced off the tunnel walls. If only Alan Watts could time travel and come back to hear how I’ve woven his philosophical ponderings into this installation.

A post shared by Kirsty E Smith (@frillipmoolog) on Jun 9, 2017 at 8:54am PDT

Visitors who arrived during the day; walked through the fairly light entrance, turned the corner into Testbed1 and, although fairly dark, they could still see most of the details on the printed cave backdrop- whereas visitors who came later in the evening had the darker experience.

Some visitors even had the emergency power version. I.E. when the generator unexpectedly ran out of fuel and we had to resort to head torches! Interestingly my fellow cave visitors at that time loved it!

Having put so much creative energy, time and a big chunk of my life into making the work for DeepSpaceMoolog it was really brilliant to give it another showing and have it seen by even more people. It was wonderful to see Andrew Logan again and I am eternally grateful for his enthusiasm and support.

Despite DeepSpaceMoolog originally being inspired by the cave art of Creswell Crags the beings (sculptures) can be appreciated on various levels; you don’t need to be part of the art world to ‘get it’.

During the four days of the London showing the installation was visited by people of all ages (youngest was just 2 years old) and nationalities. It was experienced by people from Britain, France, Norway, Chile and was a BIG hit with Australians (are they more open minded, less restrained or really just into the possibility of Time Travel? )

So what’s next?……

DeepSpaceMoolog; installation by Kirsty E Smith, moves to Testbed1 London

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 13:53:00 +0000

Staying calm but getting excited too. Kirsty E Smith at The Doodle Bar; new host to DeepSpaceMoolog

Exciting news! My installation DeepSpaceMoolog is coming to London 4th - 7th May.

The seeds of DeepSpaceMoolog started with my fascination for the ancientness of the cave drawings discovered in one of the caves at Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire, but once inside the caves it isn’t just the ancientness that strikes you. Our guide was full of knowledge about Neolithic man and the many sub divisions of Paleolithic man but even as she was explaining more about these ancient cave occupiers my train of thought was already taking a very different route.

One of the many cave drawings discovered on the walls of Robin Hood Cave at Creswell Crags. The outline emphasised in white here for this photograph.

Detail of the digitally printed translucent curtain that is the 'cave' wall of Kirsty E Smith's installation - DeepSpaceMoolog

Being a child of the 60s I grew up in the Space Age and so of course I was open to the idea that actually these drawings could have been made by aliens! My proposal to make a a multi-media art installation suggesting this must have been convincing because I was awarded Arts Council funding to make DeepSpaceMoolog.

Charmaine. With elements of sounds from Star Trek (TOS) woven into the DeepSpaceMoolog sound track there is a strong suggestion that she has only just 'beamed down' onto this space rock. Photo by Jules Lister

Last year my focus was on making new time travelling beings (FrillipMoolog sculptures), Space Rocks for them to ‘beam down’ onto, a digitally printed cave wall - with alternative cave drawings - and a short video. Together they made DeepSpaceMoolog, an installation which I showed in Scunthorpe’s 20-21 Visual Arts Centre.

DeepSpaceMoolog (7min) film which is part of the installation. Photograph Jules Lister.

I was really happy that so many visitors ‘got it’ and also very pleasantly surprised how many people were aware of Erich von Däniken's Ancient Astronaut Theory and also that some people even recognised the voice I’d woven into my film sound track; that of the very influential philosopher, Alan Watts. The conclusion at the end of DeepSpace Moolog’s eight week stint in Scunthorpe was that, yes many people are open to the idea of time-travel and my playful suggestion that cave drawings might have supernatural origins. (You can watch a 6 minute video interview of me talking about it).

However, I was very aware that the whole experience could be improved if I showed DeepSpaceMoolog in a more cave-like venue……

Sometimes things work out even better than you expect; not only have I found a new venue in London but it is dark, mysterious and cave-like!

The back arches at the Doodle Bar (also known as the new Testbed1) are hosting DeepSpaceMoolog for four days in May.

The Opening Event on Thurs 4th May 6pm-9pm

All welcome - admission is FREE

Opening Hours for DeepSpaceMoolog in London are:

Thur 4th May 6pm - 9pm

Fri 5th May 1pm - 9pm

Sat 6th May Noon - 9pm

Sun 7th May Noon - 6pm

Testbed1

The Doodle Bar

60 Druid Street

London

SE1 2EZ

0207 403 3222

The Doodle Bar is easy to get to: Underground- London Bridge or Bus- Tanner St stop A bus numbers 47, N381, 381 or N199 and it’s the perfect place to meet friends for a drink and some gourmet bar food.

PLUS I will be there to welcome you to DeepSpaceMoolog my creative cave!

Making Art, Getting it Out There, Marketing, Evaluating and Living

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 13:37:00 +0000

Deep Space Moolog 17 Sep - 12 Nov 2016, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre photo by Jules Lister

It’s six months since my last blog post and in that period so much has happened: I made a new website, finished making the work for Deep Space Moolog, installed the show, had a Celebration Event, presented an Artist Talk, met and chatted to various visitors to the show, ran a day of drop-in kids workshops for almost 100 children, made a presentation to a group of to Fine Art Foundation Students, took the show down and packed the work away.

Most recently I have completed editing a 6 min. video interview (which I think fairly concisely explains how I drew on the disparate influences of Neolithic cave drawings, vintage sci-fi and Time Travel to make my immersive walk through installation - Deep Space Moolog).

I am now continuing to publicise this body of work as I am still on the look out for a second venue to move it on to.

That’s the ‘in a nutshell’ version of my 2016 and Deep Space Moolog, so now onto some more detail and highlights.

Everyone knows that artists need to have staying power, don’t they? I mean it is common knowledge that things don't just happen overnight isn’t it? My method is to just keep on going (no matter if at times the pace does seem slow) and keep making the work that I feel compelled to make. A friend said to me recently that I must make what I make because I want people to like it. No absolutely not! I’m certainly not trying to please anyone; if other people connect with my work, well that’s a plus … a big plus.

A young visitor to the show. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

Someone else recently said, ‘Well of course it’s common knowledge that artists have other (day) jobs’. As it turns out in the middle of making the work for Deep Space Moolog I had more than one big change in my life and one of them was leaving my full time day job without a new one to go to. I’m not complaining; just mentioning that artists are people with lives outside of their studios too.

Kirsty E Smith presenting her Artist Talk at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre Photo by Dominic Ewan

Anyway, back to Deep Space Moolog……
Making the new beings for the show was a real pleasure. I had so much fun and it just reaffirmed my love of making in 3D and working in a playful way while not worrying about a pre-determined outcome. What I mean is that I don’t work by designing first; rather I experiment with materials, spend time with them and wait to see what form suggests itself. Next I work out how on earth to make it; I love pondering on construction problems and when working with unconventional materials, repurposed objects and ‘scrap’ then this is often a challenge.

Charmaine in the making Photo Kirsty E Smith

But as Susan Simpson mentioned in her mini review blog post about the show each of these new beings was ‘pet sized’ so actually I felt that construction challenges were on a manageable scale.

I’d always planned to have a translucent curtained walkway for the installation and I had included costs of having fabric digitally printed in my Arts Council funding application. I have to say I was absolutely delighted with the quality of the 20m long by 240cm deep digitally printed curtain (great work Dominion Print). I enjoyed making the digital collage even though the file was so huge that it nearly killed my computer. By the time that I had ramped up the saturation and layered elements of the partially made beings and line drawings (that I was also using for the animated sections of the film) onto photographs of the Cresswell Crags cave walls it all looked pretty zingy.

Taken in the late afternoon winter light- this was the best time of day to appreciate the curtained backdrop. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

Making the 7 minute film for the show was happening at the same time as making the beings and backdrop; I like having variety in my work and I need a balance of sitting at computer and working in a more physical way. The video editing tuition from Dominic Ewan was invaluable. He was great to work with; listening to my ideas as they evolved and taking things at a pace that didn’t overwhelm me. Building my video editing skills was a key part of my Arts Council funding application and I feel that I succeeded in this. Sound became significant element of the video and through my editing I feel that I succeeded in pulling together my thoughts on Ancient Astronaut Theory with the 40,000 year old cave drawings found at Creswell Crags. It was a wonderful moment of synchronicity when I discovered that the voice that I’d heard on so many of the Radio360 podcasts (that I was listening to while working in the studio) was that of Alan Watts and I also later discovered how well known Erich Von Daniken was when I spent time in the gallery and had lively conversations with people who remembered the significance of his writings and films on Ancient Astronaut Theory.
The celebration event took place a month into the 8 week show and I am so grateful that I took heed of the motto of successful people. Don’t wait until you can do things perfectly; don’t let the desire for perfection hold you back. So it was decided (at the last minute) to video the talk and stream it live as a Facebook Live video. Wow that was easy and it certainly enabled viewers around the world (UK, France, USA and Australia in particular) to get a flavour of my work.

Some of my favourite advice from marketing icon Paul Arden

The next major job to be done was the evaluation of the show. Completing the ACE evaluation form was actually really good because it allowed me to recall and re-live all the enthusiastic responses, the curious questions and even the giggles that I had heard from visitors. I reread comments in the gallery visitor book and edited photos both mine, friends and professional ones. (And as I type this I’ve received notification this morning that the final instalment of the funding has been paid into my account. Thanks Arts Council England and Wales)

Of course as I my marketing ‘machine’ trundles on I really do need to get back into the studio and let loose some fresh creative ideas.

Special thanks to:
-Dominic Mason and the team at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre. If you get a chance to work with them do!
-Joanne Lee for her mentoring and essay A Transmission from Deep Space Moolog
-Dominic Ewan for his all round support and video editing teaching skills
-Martin Currie for his surprise interview
and of course
-Everyone who came to the show

View from the security camera. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

The brewing of a creative project idea- countdown to Deep Space Moolog

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 23:33:00 +0000

Kirsty E Smith: the early stages of making Treggi Lo a new Frillip Moolog being.

Sometimes people ask questions such as, “Where did you get that idea from?” or “That sounds interesting, what made you put those ideas together?’”

The problem is that often the creative brain makes connections very quickly and also not necessarily logically and you don’t stop to jot the stages down, so later, when you have to explain your train of thoughts it can be a challenge because you haven’t actually got any ‘dots’ to join together. But that doesn’t usually matter because you’ve already got going and started working on your project anyway.

I am currently making new work for my forthcoming solo show, Deep Space Moolog which will be at 20:21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe 17th Sept -12th Nov 2016.

I am excited about this for various reasons: firstly this show takes the form of an installation and will be a theatrical experience of my work, secondly the show will be eight weeks long (my longest to date) and finally, I have been successful in securing Arts Council England finding for it. So all in all a lot to be excited about!

How do you come up with good exhibition idea?

Draw a mind Map.
Drink (lots of) wine and then scratch your head and see what you come up with
Doodle ideas on a napkin. It might impress someone … especially years later when the napkins can be auctioned?
Lie in bed in that half-awake state and allow yourself to daydream.
Put yourself in the mindset of one of your artworks; what would they suggest? (This is the main technique that I use; after all it has been observed that my Frillip Moolog beings are extensions of my own personality.)

My relationship with 20:21 Visual Arts started way back in Feb 2012 when I visited Scunthorpe for the first time. Three and a half years later after some major life changes, including relocating from the Midlands to Sheffield, it was now October 2015 and my meeting with Dominic Mason, Exhibitions officer at 20:21 Arts Centre, was looming and I was starting to feel slightly panicky.
I had a cup of tea and a chat with my good friend and artist, Sean Williams, and I poured out my garbled thoughts to him; amongst those were that I thought that Mi Wawa would like to go to Cresswell Crags.

Cresswell Crags, occupied by wild animals and early homo sapiens since Neolithic times

At this point I was thinking of a photo-shoot similar to the ones that I had previously done with Hurgle Lenz and Hooty but then I revealed my interest in time travel and mentioned Ancient Astronaut theory (where some people believe that cave drawings were done by alien space travellers rather than neolithic man or early homo sapiens)
and before you knew it I had also thrown in a comment about how I had been an avid fan of early Star Trek and that I loved the craziness of the screen-sets and the obviously fake boulders in the Star Trek sets.

My paper mache rocks look just as fake as these Star Trek TOS ones
And interestingly this zingy pink colour features in both the new beings and the film that I have been making for the show.

Sean didn’t laugh at my idea but instead was very encouraging about it and so when I had my meeting at 20:21 Visual Arts a couple of days later it was doubly fantastic that Dominic Mason was also really enthusiastic about it.
I think that it was while in conversation with Dominic that I threw out the idea of making paper-mache space boulders and using them as plinths for my ‘real’ artworks to be shown on.

I have also been interested in the question of what is the art and what is a prop for quite a while now so I felt that this would be an excellent way of further investigating this question.

Over the next few weeks I developed my exhibition idea and sent Dominic some very basic photoshop mock-ups of how I visualised the installation looking. Back in 2009 I had been awarded an Arts Council Grant for an earlier solo show Close Encounters of a Frillip Moolog Kind but despite that I still found that putting together the application for Deep Space Moolog was hard and arduous work. The task seemed to take ages (I spread it out over 10 weeks) but I was having to fit it around my full time job, so e mail enquiries were sent at 6am and writing and budget spreadsheets were done in the evenings. I finally pressed the ‘Submit’ button early on Boxing Day morning and then heard back from Arts Council England by the end of January 2016.

What fantastic news … my application had been successful. Phewf what a relief!

So from then on I have been very focussed about getting into my studio 3 evenings a week and also for at least 4 hours at the weekend.
It has been great to get right into making and over the months I have felt happier and happier in my studio.

I know that I am slow but steady worker (rushing usually results in bad creative decisions) however I realised that I couldn’t afford to take things too slowly- I have just had to keep the faith and keep an eye on my diary to check that I am getting the work done within my time target.

My full time job is in a special school so luckily (and in my opinion also entirely necessarily) I have had the summer holidays to really forge ahead preparing for Deep Space Moolog.

Being an artist is a lifestyle choice and when you're doing what makes you happy it never feels like work, it's just what I do.

My show at 20:21 Visual Arts will take the form of an installation which comprises: five small Frillip Moolog beings, space rocks to place them on, a curtained walkway with printed surreal rock face imagery on it and also a short film which draws together the strands of time travel, aliens from space, and neolithic cave dwellers. In previous films I have enjoyed using incongruous sound effects and in this one I am incorporating some swooshing ‘beam-me-down’ sounds amongst other alien music and otherworldly voices.

A video still of one of the animated sections of my short film.
This is the knobbly 'head' of Treggi Lo

Over the last three weeks I have done a lot of sitting in front of my computer and despite enjoying learning and improving my Premier Pro film editing skills I really don’t enjoy sitting still that much and I am missing the physicality of making in my studio.

I have also made a new website (finally one which is mobile friendly) www.kirstyesmith.co.uk and so I am now ready to get my publicity ‘machine’ rolling into action.

Being an artist means that you can’t ever do nothing … well unless you have an idea brewing and then yes that is the time to drink some tea/coffee/beer/wine (delete as applicable) and have several daydreaming sessions opening your mind up to possible artistic project ideas.

Treggi Lo, my most recent Frillip Moolog being.

Deep Space Moolog

17 Sep - 12 Nov 2016
20:21 Visual Arts Centre
Scunthorpe, DN15 6TB
UK

Tue - Sat 10am-4pm

Quirky British Animal shaped Charity Collection Boxes and how Artists Connect with them

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 21:39:00 +0000

April 2010 in Derby and July 2010 on the Isle of Wight

Why oh why do I love these animal (mostly dog) shaped money collection tins?

Of course being an artist I think far too much about these sorts of things and I ask myself even more questions such as:
When did I start liking them? What sorts of shops are they outside? How much money actually gets put inside? and have I myself even put any money inside one?

You can't kid a kid.
Here we have one collection tin in Shropshire/ Herefordshire in May 2011 and my friend Ben Sadler's lovely little daughter with an identical doggie in Birmingham

I’ve even wondered if anyone has ever tried to steal one; I mean there can’t be that much money in them can there?
Answer.. actually there can and yes people have. So even in sleepy Dursley thieves get so desperate as to have, not one but two, goes at pinching the labrador shaped money collecting box from their local swimming pool

And yes, believe it or not, there is quite a bit of cash in these boxes. Website SOFII explains that actually people are much more generous when they can stay anonymous, and also when people can put as little as a penny in it has been proven that overall, donations (in total) are actually higher if people can put a penny in rather than being put on the spot and asked for a suggested minimum donation.

This one must be popular because I spotted it again in Portmerion in May 2012

BUT that is NOT WHAT THIS BLOG IS ABOUT!
What I really want to do is share some of my personal photos and maybe give a tiny insight into the mind of a creative person...Me!

Ever since I have had a photographic device at the ready at all times (I called it ‘handbag camera’ back in 2006) I have taken a lot of photos of things that I find interesting and after a while I started to notice that I had collected quite a few photos of animal money charity collecting tins (these were in my sub-folder called ‘Fun and Weird’). Gosh how things have moved on in the last few years, with Twitter, Instagram and tagging making it possible to share and develop a tagged collection of images as you go along.

The dogs on the left spotted in Portmerion car park May 2012 and dogs on the right some place in Shropshire/ Herefordshire May 2011

Oh well maybe there could also be a case for a small and personal personal collection of images developing and now being ready to be ‘hatched’ and released publicly online.

I am most likely to be the best person to be able to appreciate both sides of this argument because I am really quite an impatient person but strangely at the same time am also one of the slowest people to think about things and decide when to ‘go public' on something.

Basil Brush; He probably says a lot about the era that these boxes were made in
1960's and 70's.

I think this blog post might just be another little insight into me, Kirsty E Smith, the artist.

Look at these photos, check the dates, check the locations. What does this tell you? Do I have patience, am I fickle in my tastes and interests or am I the sort of person who is described (annoyingly) as quirky but also as reliable, individual and constant.

Robin tin first spotted in Portmerion 2012 and then 2 years later in my new home, Hillsborough, Sheffield 2014.

I know what I like and do I really have to explain why I like it? No! Don't answer because this is a rhetorical question.

And finally ... I am not the only one! For a few more animal shaped money collection boxes click here!

What do Artists do on their Holidays? (this is NOT a food blog!)

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 22:36:00 +0000

This me Kirsty E Smith on holiday. This is a photo of a special moment.

Two favourite books from my childhood were Richard Scary’s ‘What do people do all day’ and ‘Busy, BusyTown’. I especially loved the quite surreal illustrations; the banana-mobile and much more. There is also now a great BBC4 television series called ‘What do artists do all day’.

Illustrations from Richard Scarry books

But here’s my question; What do artists do when they are on holiday?

My own art is about people, connections and personalities so I suppose it isn't all that surprising that although I managed to get my dose of architectural concrete (another passion) in on my relaxing and sunny Greek holiday, what is actually much more special to me, is the unexpected and special human connections made while doing the usual everyday things.

Yes on this holiday I climbed over a mountain in extreme heat, dived off a sailing ship, swam in thermal pools, scuba dived for the first time and even fitted in a ride on the local fun (land) train. But actually whatever exciting things we humans do each day we still have to do the normal everyday stuff. Eating is pretty everyday and necessary and shopping for food is normally a job that you just have to ‘get done’.

However when shopping in small independent shops it is completely different. People go to those shops not only for a product but also for an experience and when it is a small personally run shop they also want to feel that their purchase is appreciated (and I should know because I did set up and run my own artisan cheese shop in the past.)

This is me way back in 1991

Yes you can sell top quality products but great products with (on top of that) a memorable human interaction is so much more. This is what makes life worth living!

And what better than when a customer who appreciates these values buys from an artisan shopkeeper who loves to supply an authentic product to appreciative customers. The connection is so special but also so difficult to explain but actually it should need absolutely no explanation.

When the relationship works it works perfectly; it does not have to be explained.
Enthusiasm is a word that is often associated with me. I can’t help it I really am genuinely enthusiastic about so much in life (and quality artisan bakery products is just be one thing that I get excited about!)

anticipation!

Santa Irini Bakery Perissa, Santorini, Greece (Yes it really is open 24 hours a day!)

perusing the biscuits

But on reflection the root of this excitement is when I feel that I have met a fellow human being who I feel a deep connection with. Someone who takes pride in their work, works to the highest standards, values interaction with other fellow human beings and who works with integrity.

So that’s the emotional part of this blog post over now on to some factual information and more photos!

Over the seven days of our holiday we went into the Santa Irini bakery not once a day but by the end of the holiday actually twice a day. We bought all sorts from flat rustic white rolls for lunchtime picnics, bread for breakfast, beautifully soft and delicious apple cake and chocolate cake. We ate spinach and feta pie by candlelight when we were too tired to cook ....or even eat out and we had fab picnics in unexpected places where a hunk of bread was perfect with our homemade tzatziki. We also enjoyed biscuits with jam and coconut and sprinkles to boost us before our scuba dive but also to make the airport queue much more bearable.

take the locals' advice do not do this climb in the blazing sunshine

feet up

mid climb sustenance

Got bread and Swiss army knife...Sorted!

we shared this...honest!

The best way to use up 'spare' greek yogurt? Buy some some delicious apple cake and chocolate pie.

Going into the Santa Irini bakery was not just about buying home made food to sustain us but actually we (my children Bryony 20 and Dominic 17) and I all enjoy human interaction such a lot that when our big baker (we quickly named him The Hairy Baker - see postscript for explanation) came round the counter to speak with us and to shake hands with us it was completely clear that he too is someone who appreciates human interaction and contact with people who connect on an emotional level. He knew that our enthusiasm and appreciation was sincere.

a lovely moment

let's talk about bread, merino wool vests and much more

The 'Hairy Baker' is called Spiros and the bakery was first set up by his ...father... grand father...or even great-grandfather? Anyway, it has been running since 1937 and not only is it an excellent bakery but it is also open 24 hours a day!
This man does not sleep!!!

Postscript:
My father Andrew Kyle Imrie Smith died only a few days before this holiday. He was 91 and an amazing and very inspirational man.
Amongst the many things that he did teach me is that talking to strangers is absolutely crucial to making sense of our (short) time on this planet.
As a child it used to be annoying and frustrating when dad stopped to strike up conversation with a complete stranger but actually what I learned from seeing what came from these spontaneous conversations is actually what fires me up now in my own life and also what (not surprisingly) I have passed on to my own children. Already Bryony, my daughter, has started writing a blog- One Great People which (amongst other things) is about people who have touched her life while being a student in the North East of England and my son Dominic found it only too natural to join in a community Apple Crumble Celebration only weeks after we had moved to a completely new city- Sheffield.

Explanation about the Hairy Baker reference:
In the UK there is a cookery programme called The Hairy Bikers
It is presented by two men who not only are good at cooking but also ride motor bikes and are hairy (mostly on their heads and faces) so it seemed obvious to call Spiros The Hairy Baker. And finally when I did speak to Spiros I was especially interested in his vest. I had already guessed (correctly) that it was made from merino wool. Merino wool is chosen by climbers and people who need protection from heat and cold. I am a farmers’ daughter, I have sheared sheep, I teach felt-making and textiles so yes of course it was of interest to me; I knew the importance of Spiros’s merino wool vest for doing his everyday, ‘extreme sport’ of baking for tourists ....and locals too.

PPS. This is an experience that I hope to repeat.

Gardens of Sheffield: This city is growing on me but not in the Miracle-Gro sort of way!

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 00:32:00 +0000

The rugged beauty of a Sheffield garden- concrete and roses!

Considering that I am such a chatty and effervescent person people are often surprised that really I am quite shy and often get tongue tied. I've been wanting to write this blog post for ages but what on earth has held me back?

I moved 75 miles north from The Midlands to Sheffield at the beginning of October 2014 and although it was a well researched move it was also a move of faith i.e. faith that Sheffield was the right place to be.

Although originally from central Scotland I have lived in the Midlands for most of my life so uprooting and moving to Yorkshire after many years was a BIG thing and not something to be taken lightly. But It seems that my research paid off.

I moved to Sheffield because (in no particular order) I love the hills, it has amazing countryside so close-by - I live just a few minutes walk to open fields and and only a 10 minute drive to the Peak District proper, it is full of artists, it is often referred to as the biggest village in the UK and actually this works for me as although I like being within a short train journey to London I also like to be able to integrate into an art network fairly quickly. I am constantly amazed that although I feel that I have only been here for just ‘5 minutes’ I keep bumping into people that I know... or at least I know a bit!

And also a big thing which I didn’t know before but now believe to be true is that the Sheffield art world isn’t a snobby and hierarchical one. Basically as Lord Bunn (his title does nothing!) said, there is no hierarchy in this South Yorkshire city and if anyone tried to pull 'artworld rank' then they would very quickly be put in their place, plus be instantly laughed a too. I love this!

We are all artists at at various levels of achievement and experience and are all aiming for a (moveable) point on our own future horizon. Perfect... we are all just people doing our own creative thing and also hopefully scratching each others backs and generally being encouraging and supportive of each other in our day to day lives of 'getting there'.

So what is this blog post all about?
Really the biggest and most burning thing that I want to share with you is GARDENS OF SHEFFIELD.

To be fair we were looking at houses from Easter to July (the sunnyish time of the Great British year) but when we moved up to Sheffield it was the beginning of October and the beginning of the dark damp winter months; certainly not the time of year to admire gardens.
So these photos are my own newcomer’s shock-horror reaction to GARDENS OF SHEFFIELD.

This is a picture dairy and one that to be honest has actually occupied a LOT of my creative brain since moving here. It is exciting to be some place new and to be regularly tipped up by visual surprises. I am delighting in all this and am enjoying the regional differences to be found even in a country as small at this.

When house hunting how different a house and its garden can look in real life. Images on www.rightmove.co.uk can be helpful but something that looks like photoshopped super-real grass on a photo is ... yes very likely to be fake grass when you get to view it in real life. And also a garden that is described as ‘easily maintained’ can actually turn out to be shed/garden or a completely decked garden.

It became a bit of a thing with me when house hunting; I mean I had always assumed that gardens had grass and some plants but how wrong I was proven to be.

The garden of one of the houses that we viewed when moving. The husband had decked it and installed a shed (with curtains and wi-fi) in just one weekend when his wife was away. She didn't seem to mind at all!

A peculiarly Sheffield type of garden!

I call this hardcore easy maintenance; slabs 'n' concrete with a token gesture of thorny shrubs.

Another interesting peculiarity to Sheffield terrace houses is that (almost) no one uses their front door. You quickly learn to read the signs (some not so subtle) as to whether you should attempt to knock on what appears to be the front door or to find your way through a gennel and across some neighbours’ gardens to the back door.

Don't enter by this door or the (plastic) bush gets you!

It's complicated ... but there is an easier way in.... by the back door.

Landscaping; it's a lot harder than it looks

I love the optimism of palm trees in South Yorkshire.

Always good to try and brighten things up in the dark winter months.
These plastic daliahs always make me giggle.

Being amazed and delighted by yet another spectacular sunrise- something I hadn't anticipated.

Sheffield never a dull moment and absolutely the right place for someone with an adventurous nature... that’s me!

Rolling together Marvin Gaye Chetwynd and The Magic Roundabout. It makes sense to me!

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Fri, 23 May 2014 16:04:00 +0000

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd 'Diorama' at Nottingham Contemporary

Moments where you are reaffirmed that you are on the right artistic track are like buses; you can wait ages for one and then several come along all at once.

Or maybe it is that they suddenly make sense all at once.

I was lucky enough to get over to Nottingham Contemporary to see Marvin Gaye Chetwynd’s first solo exhibition at a public gallery in Britain. I managed to visit not once but twice..
On my first visit I had only 30 minutes to do a whirlwind visit.

However I was so excited and so struck by the completely luscious and gorgeously sensual aesthetics of the work that I knew immediately that I would HAVE to get back before it closed.

Claws from Marvin Gaye Chetwynd's Catbus. These claws are worn by several performers when her Catbus is part of a performance. The Catbus was originally a character in Hayao Miyazaki's animated film, My Neighbour Totoro.

On my second visit, in the show’s closing week, Chetwynd’s work’s uplifting effect on me hadn’t dimmed at all. It was fantastic to be charmed by Cousin Itt (from Addams Family fame) and also good to see the Brain Bug (during one of it’s mid-day animated phases) but for me the absolute winner of the show was the sequence of scaled-down dioramas of film sets.

Surprised by Cousin Itt

The Brain Bug... a character taken from the, not very successful, sci-fi film StarshipTroopers

This time I sat and listened to the soundscape which accompanied the dioramas and it was fantastic!
For me the obvious fun that the two people giving their interpretations (both in basic schoolboy French - and the English translations of this) was so much fun.

The fragile and precarious nature of the construction of the Diorama somehow just makes it all the more appealing.

It is obvious that despite the serious issues that she tackles in her work (personal debt being one current theme) Marvin Gaye Chetwynd is very happy (in-fact she encourages) a good dose of irreverence and humour. Her work can be read on several levels so if you simply love textures, materials and a sense of the dramatic then her show at Nottingham Contemporary was perfect to visit. But if you are also intrigued by how an artist can make videos, performances and sculptural works which reference, low-brow B movies, bad sci-fi movies and juxtapose these with classical Greek philosophical treatises and literary classics then Marvin Gaye Chetwynd is the artist for you.

“She is at home with the classics and with popular culture – and she uses one to give new meaning to the other.”

Performance is at the heart of Chetwynd’s practice so actually everything that was in the show at Nottingham supported either previous performances or was used in The Greenroom, the performance that was specially commissioned by Nottingham Contemporary.
You can watch an excerpt of the performance online.

In the exhibition booklet it says that Chetwynd likes the excitement of problem solving when on a low budget and also the sense of autonomy and spontaneity that comes from working on her own or in a small team.
One of the gallery attendants told me that Marvin Gaye Chetwynd has a troupe of people who work with her, these are people that she has made an emotional connection with- people who are on the same wavelength as her. I understand this approach as her work is so individual and definitely energy driven and I can see why people want to not just watch it but to also be part of it. The gallery attendant also said that the members of her troupe are very loyal and many have worked on several versions of her performances and filmed pieces.

Her work has an energy that I am very definitely attracted to.

I also like when we don’t know the whole story I enjoy when things are not completely explained; when there are loose ends in a story or performance. I have been an avid fan of street theatre for years and very definitely a fan of the absurd.

Marvin Gaye Chetwynd says, “I like Carnival Comedy and Nonsense”. Well me too!

I am drawn to the anarchic and the surreal and so (as I have said in previous blog posts) my touchstone in life is The Magic Roundabout. After confessing my love of the Magic Roundabout I always very quickly add, “Not the animated film but the original Magic Roundabout, the one with Eric Thompson as narrator.”

I now have a video player which I have kept for the sole purpose of being able to watch my VHS Magic Roundabout tape. If I am ever feeling sad or low the completely nonsensical Magic Roundabout stories help me regain my equilibrium. Of course life is messy and ends are rarely neatly tied up (as in sentimental Hollywood films or 'CSI Miami' - or 'CSI shitty' as I prefer to call it.)

My precious Magic Roundabout VHS tape

I identify with the cheerful, optimistic and mischievous Brian (the snail) and a favourite Magic Roundabout moment is when Brian is wearing his headphones and acting as an air traffic controller ‘trying’ to guide the runaway flying carpet (which has kidnapped Dougal and flown away with him). But Brian isn’t trying very hard and is actually loving seeing the grumpy and cynical Dougal getting dizzy as he is whizzed about on the carpet.

Moments of mischief are at the heart of the Magic Roundabout because the narrator Eric Thompson (being a bit suspicious of the French) took it upon himself to rewrite the original French scripts that went with the puppet production.

“His calm tones, at odds with the hyperactive animation, lent a curiously mismatched feel.”

This 'not quite rightness' of the Magic Roundabout is one of the things that makes it appeal so much to me.

As a visual person most I often make connections based on visual qualities rather than themes. When I encountered Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich’s show, ‘The Encampment of Eternal Hope’ at The Baltic, Gateshead UK in October 2012 I almost felt that I was in an alternate version of The Magic Roundabout; the simplified spikey inflatable trees were the link in my mind.

I felt like a small Florence in the Magic Roundabout garden.

Me (Kirsty E Smith) enjoying the participative aspect of The Encampment of Eternal Hope

My view from one of the Encampment of Eternal Hope shelters

Although Neil Bromwich and Zoe Walker’s work was on a serious note looking at ways of coping with possible future apocalypse - (Making apocalyptic predictions for 21 December 2012 – the end date for the Mayan Calendar – as an imaginative catalyst, the project envisages a post-apocalyptic utopian community, a kind of ‘garden of earthly delights’) you can’t help but be lured in by the colours, simplified / childlike forms of the trees and the meditative and so possibly calming and hopeful vibe of the processional performance (videos of which were playing in the gallery space) that were part of the show.

Photograph from the Baltic website

Rolling these all together in my mind I ask myself what is it that I am drawing from these three disparate creative works and artists?

My thoughts on this so far are:
- positive energy,
- a maverick approach,
- anarchic humour
and
- eternal hope.

Anthropomorphism and The Absurd; so much to learn from William Kentridge.

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 00:42:00 +0000

Universal Archive (12 coffee pots) by William Kentridge 2012

Things linger with me and if I am ever in doubt about what is important to me I just ask myself what has been hanging about in my subconscious for a few weeks or months. Important things stand the test of time.

Back in January last year I visited The Tanks at Tate Modern. William Kentridge’s 8 channel video, 'I am not me, the horse is not mine', was the inaugural show at The Tanks and it made quite an impression on me.

Surrounded by 8 huge screens in The Tanks at Tate Modern.

I was most likely drawn at first to his appreciation of the absurd; something which has always interested me. The idea of a man’s nose taking on a life of its own and then the nose's life becoming more important than the man’s is definitely absurd and strange and interesting too.
(This storyline makes up much of, 'I am not the horse, the horse is not mine').

I did make a short video of it however this one by erased culture is a better snapshot than mine.

Later in March 2013 I went to see 'A Universal Archive: William Kentridge as Printmaker' at The Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham. The show is a Hayward Touring show (Southbank Centre London) and it’s next venue is Aberystwyth Arts Centre 8th March- 16th May 2014.

The show is a fantastic overview of William Kentridge’s (printmaking) career and includes over 100 prints from 1988 to the present. However his work is almost completely monotone and I personally need colour in my own work so I was still a bit puzzled as to what it was exactly that was drawing me to this artist’s work.

Throughout the prints, drawings and etchings in the show there were some recurring visual motifs including: typewriters, telephones and the very classic Bialetti facetted metal coffee percolator.

'Self-Portrait as Coffee Pot' 2012 says it all. For me it is a perfect combination of the concept of the anthropomorphic and also a wonderful enjoyment of the the absurd.

Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot by William Kentridge 2012

It has been said that my own sculptures (Frillip Moolog beings) have strong anthropomorphical qualities and I also have to admit to really liking the faceting on this style of coffee pot. Maybe I also enjoy seeing a solid shape sectioned into similarly shaped components?

Hooty 2012 by Kirsty E Smith

While walking round the show at MAC (Midlands Arts Centre) I got a strong sense of the absurd. And this is something that is given special mention in the excellent learning resource which accompanies the show.

The Nose gets ideas of grandeur; here it is on the horse.

The Nose as a ballerina. William Kentridge

“Many of Kentridge’s works make reference to the idea of ‘the absurd’. Explored through literature, theatre, and art, absurdism was a philosophical movement linked to surrealism and existentialism, based on the idea that beneath the logic and structure by which we attempt to live or lives, there is meaningless to human existence. As well as exploring the idea that tragedy and disaster can befall us all, absurdism also makes evident the ridiculousness of the habits and structures by which we exist. Kentridge’s explorations also extent to the absurdity of apartheid; a system that had become brutally lost in its own ridiculous logic."
Absurdism also plays with coincidence chance and possibility. An aspect of this is the process by which meanings are created when random objects are put together.”
Excerpt from Education Pack written by Fiona Godfrey

Kentridge says that objects have suggested themselves to him (there is no political intent) and he and the audience project their own meanings onto these objects.

Putting my own work in situations which might be interpreted as absurd is also of interest to me. 'Mi Wawa with Cows' and 'Hurgle Lenz: donkeydays'; do these photographs have absurd qualities?

Mi Wawa with Cow. sculpture and photograph by Kirsty E Smith

Hurgle Lenz: donkey days. Sculpture and photograph by Kirsty E Smith

In the show there is a huge print of a woman with telephone in place of her head. 'Telephone Lady' (2000) At the time I didn’t realise that it was in fact a lino cut print; one on a very large scale 216cmx 120cm.
Anyone who portrays a woman with a telephone as her head is definitely very interesting to me!

Photograph: © the artist and David Krut Fine Art, New York and Johannesburg

As I walked through the multitude of prints what became very evident is that William Kentridge is fantastic at story telling and so that was another big reason why I was intrigued and interested.

“Kentridge's prints are a theatre of the mind: you see his imaginary world performed on a small stage, with all its familiar characters – Ubu, Felix, Soho; even the objects that feature in his work amount to recurring characters. Soho's Bakelite telephone morphs into his neglected mistress, waiting for his call. The studio coffee pot doubles up as the artist's own buzzy head. And the film camera strides the landscape on its tripod legs, a heartless, if watchful machine.”
Laura Cumming The Observer 25.08.13

Although the show is a show of William Kentridge’s prints (and he himself says that whether it is his work with ballet, opera, theatre or animation, always at the heart of his practice is printmaking) what I see is a storyteller who has a strong sense of the theatrical in his work.

I am especially interested in this as I too am very interested in the theatrical but at present I am struggling to find ways to introduce more performance into my practice.

But I should not be too hard on myself; William Kentridge’s practice has developed over many years and things didn’t happen over night for him either. In the 1970’s he spent five years acting and directing theatre in South Africa and then he spent several years studying mime at L’Ecole international de Theatre Jaques Lecoq in Paris before returning to South Africa in 1985. His practice became truly multi disciplinary when he started to work collaboratively with Handspring Puppet Company in 1992.

There are various videos online of his presentations, some which feature snippets of his animated drawings projected behind him and others which which actually feature himself having a conversation with himself. These videos give a brilliant insight into an artist who enjoys the creative process, who has refused to restrict himself, who keeps an open mind ... even to the extent that while making his animated drawings he develops the story during the drawing process. He says that the the story unfolds (even to himself) during the physical process of drawing. Ideas develop and evolve during the short walk between the camera and the drawing and these then dictate what he draws or rubs out, re-draws or amends.

"Kentridge’s art is an extended thinking process; a fluid intelligent and playful reflection on the world, a constant capturing of experience, of making connections. In his printmaking process this journeying occurs from the initial creation of the plate, to what arises in the printing process, to where this may lead next. In the animation process this journeying occurs from frame to frame, while over his lifetime we see it evolving from art work to art work”.
Excerpt from Education Pack written by Fiona Godfrey

If my enthusiasm has resulted in me writing a blog post which seems a bit confusing then just watch this 3 minute video where the artist speaks very eloquently and engagingly himself.

William Kentridge as Printmaker continues at Aberystwyth Arts Centre 8th March -16th May 2014

55th Venice Biennale - even more recommendations of what to see before it closes

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 23:41:00 +0000

I did promise a second blog post about our exploits at the 55th Venice Biennale and as it nears its end I though I had better get a move on.

Sunny skies, relaxing canals, and plenty to see and do; what more could you want from an art holiday? It also helped that our apartment was fairly central and also being 600 years old it added to the atmospheric Venetian experience. As mentioned in my previous blog post we did get lost often and so my advice is to allow time for everything to take a bit longer than you expect.

Our perfect apartment in Venice, home for 5 nights in July

In my first post about the Biennale I mentioned the artist and artworks that sprang immediately to mind when people asked about my favorites and in this post I will continue with more from other memorable biennale experiences.

Arriving at our apartment at 2pm we still had time to walk through the city to The Giardini and buy tickets in readiness for a full day of art the following day. I was also very pleased that we were able to hop onto Joana Vasconcelos’s pavilion Trafaria Praia on time for the 5pm sail around the lagoon. Having watched online updates of the Portugese ferry boat being renovated over the previous months I was definitely focused on experiencing it for myself. The gentle sail around the lagoon sitting on Portuguese cork stools and then getting up close and personal with her luscious textile glad grotto below deck were very definitely worth it.

Detail of the luxurious, textural and sensual delight that was the below deck 'grotto' on Trafaria Praia

The next day we did our best at ‘doing’ The Giardini. The Encyclopedic Palace exhibition which has been curated by Massimiliano Gioni is split in half; half is within The Giardini and the other half in The Arsenale.

The first item of the Encyclopedic Palace show that you encounter in The Giardini is Carl Jung’s famous Red Book. Photographs of this weren’t allowed but you can see selected images here. However experiencing it was absolutely fantastic; with theatrical lighting and luscious pigments the illustrations in his book are really quite breathtaking and it all felt quite wondrous. The book is especially important as it was during the period in which he worked on this book (1914 - 1930) that Jung developed his principal theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and the process of individuation.

His illustrations are records of the visions that he achieved through what he called 'active imagination' - a process that helped inspire his concept of the collective unconscious. It is said to be possibly the most influential unpublished work in the history of psychology.

Massimiliano Gioni has curated an exhibition which tries to show the amazing breadth and variety of art that has been made by artists (worldwide and over many years) in an attempt to discover what the world really is about. He has selected works by both artists and outsider artists all of whom have tried, or are still trying, to find a way to make sense of the world. And then the question is, "Is it 'The' world or their world?" There are many many possibilities and a sense of the cosmic very definitely runs throughout the show. Some artists seem to take a fairly systematic approach to their explorations where others tackle the subject from many angles at once. They all have incredibly idiosyncratic views of the world; and isn’t this precisely what makes humans so interesting?

Eva Kotátková’s installation, Unsigned (Gugging), is a visual presentation of the parallel worlds of psychiatric patients, prisoners and people held in (and who feel trapped) in educational institutions. She is interested in their own inner universes.

Just a few worries as recorded during Eva Kotatkova's research

Faced with such a concentration of visual stimulation as you are in the Biennale you do start to respond by listening first and foremost to your instinct. I fell in love with this painting by Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern, my personal name for it is, 'A bit bitey', (a favourite phrase of mine from the film Shaun of the Dead) but I didn’t read the entry in the guidebook until months later when I noticed that a cousin who is currently at the Biennale was also sharing images of his work online. I decided to find out more- I had assumed that he was an outsider artist and I was right but there is much more to know about him including: that he created his own mystical cult, was admired by the Surrealists and also worked as a dairy farmer and a circus performer during his very strange and eventful life.

'A Bit Bitey' is the perfect name... in my opinion!

I turned around in the gallery teeming with other Biennale visitors and was drawn to a collection of small dolls house like models; intrigued I inspected them more closely and I observed that each drab and dingy model room seemed to be supported on small funnels. This art required that I open the guide book straight away! So this contemporary artist, Andra Ursuta, has made these in an attempt to purge herself of, "past physic trauma”. These are models of her childhood home in Transylvania where her family made a living from rendering down pig fat to make soap. For me the funnel shaped pedestals/ legs represent the draining away of this fairly repulsive material. Not pretty but very personal.

The amazing collection of 387 model buildings made by Austrian insurance clerk, Peter Fritz and presented as an artwork by artist Oliver Croy and architecture critic Oliver Elser is very definitely pretty, but for me it is especially of interest because of the story behind it. I personally love the homemade aesthetic of models (flowery wall paper and (now) vintage DYMO tape sign writing) but I would prefer to put more emphasis on and celebrate the creative endeavours of Peter Fritz. What I feel uneasy with is that simply by discovering it and presenting them collectively in an art situation should that give the discoverer of the models (Oliver Croy and the architecture critic Oliver Elsner the elevated importance that they seem to have been given - their names are at the head of page 66 of the Biennale Guide Book. Does discovering work (admittedly after it’s creator had died) and going to the bother of presenting it give you any amount of artistic ownership?

Spot the DYMO tape sign-writing on this one

Back out in the Giardini we appreciated not only the art but also the variety of pavilion buildings themselves.

I have no idea which country this pavilion belongs to but I do love the roofline.

I have no idea which country this pavilion belongs to but I do love the roofline

Talking of roofs, Simryn Gill, representing Australia this year, took the roof off of their pavilion completely. This building was designed by Philip Cox and built in 1988. A new building has been commissioned and will be completed by 2015. This one has done very well as it was only intended to be temporary and has lasted 25 years.

The building has very appealing curves and also a certain 'open-ness' now.

Sadly we just missed the last entry to the Republic of Korean pavilion so I wasn’t able to experience the, much talked about, immersive experience. All I have is this tantalising glimpse into something kaleidoscopic, etherial (and sparkly!)

However we did time it just right for the Polish pavilion. Once an hour you hear the very impressive sound art of Konrad Smoleński. Smoleński has composed a symphony using traditional bronze bells, full-range speakers and other sonorous objects (metal lockers with doors which reverberate) and the guide book explains, “By using a delay effect, Konrad Smoleński offers an insight into a world where history has come to a standstill, thereby approaching the radical propositions of contemporary physics with its perception of the passage of time as an illusion”.

That’s the ‘art stuff’ and now for my description- From outside it doesn’t seem all that loud, then while I sat at the entrance preparing my ears for the thundering, booming, buzzing, vibrations I watched as people exited (some of them with hands over their ears and looking in pain). So I took the plunge and stepped into this magnificent wall of sound; it completely vibrated through my body and felt extremely powerful. Sadly this video does not do it justice at all and when I tried to record it myself my video replayed completely silently as it is beyond the limits of most small electronic recording devices.

One of the two cast bronze bells, speakers and metals lockers , all part of the Polish pavilion sound art

Sometimes art can be a bit too clever well too clever for art tourists which have a lot of art to see in a limited period of time. We later read that the front of the Danish Pavilion had been modified so it’s no wonder that we failed to find the entrance and so sadly didn’t get to see Jesper Just’s video pieces. This Designboom article shows more pictures of what I was up against and explains that the work was both video and also an architectural intervention playing with the architecture of the space.

But if you can’t find the door within 30 seconds I’m afraid we had to move on; Pavilions to go to and Art to see!

I really can't find the door!

Would I be blowing the British trumpet too loudly if I said that Jeremy Deller got it just right? Art should be refreshing so serve your weary art visitors tea, show them something really old (and of course present it well) and then give them a chance to make their own souvenir print to take home. He ticks a lot of my boxes!

Neolithic flint axe heads .... and of course beautifully presented.

I think Jeremy Deller would be happy to know that every time I use my downstairs toilet I am reminded of him and his 55th Venice Biennale show. A do-it-yourself souvenir always wins support!

I still haven’t mentioned all that is worthy of mention so my advice is to either hop on a plane now and catch the 55 The Venice Bienalle before it closes on 24th November 2013 or alternatively plan ahead for the next one in 2015.

Venice Biennale, a much easier art holiday than you might expect

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 08:59:00 +0000

The Grand Canal looking just as it did in Canaletto's time

Going to the Venice Biennale is much easier than you might expect. Yes there is an overwhelming amount of art that you can see and at times feel that it is your duty to see, but actually it is all in Venice, which is just such a gorgeous place. The water all round is the perfect antidote and de-stresser if the challenge of ‘doing it all’ becomes too much.

Ah and relax.....

My daughter Bryony and I booked our flight and accommodation back in January and then put it to the back of our minds until we made the trip at the beginning of July.
However it was good to do some preparation and research in the weeks leading up to our trip. There are reviews and must see lists published by Axis, Artsquest, Designboom, a-n and others but really the advice from Nicola Streeten in her Axis video interview of 2011 was the most valuable: Take comfy shoes, (even if you are used to walking, you will be on your feet all day and if it is hot you will need comfy shoes even more) and buy a 3 or 5 day travel pass as getting on Vaporettos (water buses) will speed things up a lot.

Also my own top tip; buy a decent map in the UK before you even leave home. Get a detailed one and even get one in large print if you can. You can try and rely on a Google maps app on your smart phone but we crossed paths with so many people who are completely lost in the tiny labyrinthine streets that I don’t believe smart phone apps can be that reliable anyway- belt and braces is the way to go.

A typical 'Where on earth are we?' moment.

Things don’t need to be expensive either; stay somewhere where you can do some of your own cooking and also make packed lunches. This means that you will have spare money for the necessities like afternoon drinks and evening ice creams.

My daughter Bryony and I

Carlo Pistacchi, ice-cream maker extraordinaire, stands in the doorway of his shop Gelateria Alaska. He makes the MOST incredible ice cream and stays open until 9.30pm

The 25 Euro Biennale entrance ticket covers entrance to the Giardini and the Arsenale. You will definitely need a day for each of these venues and even then it is impossible to see it all. We spent time looking at, pondering over, taking photos and reading blurbs of much of the work and then ended our day at the Giardini with only 7 minutes left to literally run into and glance at the final three pavilions. But then when these venues close at 6pm you can just sit and relax and soak up the atmosphere, drink wine by a canal and watch the gondolas go by. There are still a few venues Like The Museum of Everything that that stay open a bit later.

A friend said to me that there must have been, “lots of wow! art, lots of yawn art and other stuff that just didn’t speak to you”, and she was right. No one blog post can do it justice and already I feel a follow up post will be necessary.

So which works to talk about in this post; what springs to the top of my mind?

Humour- I need it! There is so much clever art, making intelligent statements but wow can it make you yawn a lot! So, what an absolute delight to come across Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s large scale collaborative piece, Suddenly This Overview (1981-2012). Every little scene (all made in unfired clay) was a winner. ‘Albert Einstein’s parents in postcoital repose, having just conceived their genius son’, ‘Home from work’ and ‘Small, medium and large potatoes’ are just three of my favourites.
People were wandering amongst the works and there was such delight on their faces. It was perfect.

'Home from work' by Peter Fischli and David Weiss

I really enjoyed being in the midst of art that makes us see the world in a new and less egocentric way.
In the words of the guidebook, “From the start of their collaborative practice Fischli and Weiss’s work has been marked by a playful disregard of all things high-minded. Instead they valourised the childish, the banal, and the wondrous- often to poignant effect.” and it concludes that, “Suddenly this Overview, Fischli and Weiss’s idiosyncratic anthology, celebrates the world in all its ungraspable variety and profusion.”

After our day in the Arsenale I was feeling quite overwhelmed and in need of an artistic pick-me-up so we returned to experience Bedwyr Williams’ 'Starry Messenger' for a second time. (There is lots more art outside of the Arsenale and Giardini; various collteral events are scattered all over the city and Bedwyr Williams, representing Wales, is just one of them).

Starry Messenger is an installation and video piece which defies description; starting off celebrating shed-man in the form of amateur astronomers and culminating in a fantastical surreal film which has various tangents and a narrative with no obvious beginning nor end. A film where there is a fluffy cat up on a table licking perfect period gelatine-stiffened Seventies party food (complete with garish piped decoration) which is very up-my-street. And then throw in some bondage costumes, fake leather and Bedwyr’s deadpan voiceover and I’m in love!

The false teeth on Bedwyr Williams' mosaic encrusted forehead; a perfect over-the-top touch

Bryony and I realised that we both really enjoy immersive experiences and the piece presented by Israel was another outstanding piece of art. The pavilions in the Giardini are a whole range of interesting architectural spaces in themselves and Israel's pavillion was built in 1952 (Zeev Rechter) was a surprisingly modern building and also a very interesting space.

Israel's pavilion in The Giardini

Open plan and on three levels you might think it a challenging space to fill with artworks which include physical works, film and in particular sound but what artist Gilad Ratman has achieved for this 55th Venice Biennale is a perfect combination. And the experience doesn’t rely on being explained with text as it reveals itself as you spend more time with it.
'The Workshop' by Gilad Ratman is a multi channel site specific installation which plays with time sequences and references utopian pre-lingual communities.

Pre-lingual is a concept that I am interested in personally as I prefer to listen to music with lyrics in imaginary or foreign languages (Mi Wawa by Dabe Toure is one such example). In my own art practice I often draw on memories and emotions from my own very early years, from a time before I had the necessary vocabulary to express myself; from a time before words.

In 'The Workshop' Ratman uses the primal groans, moans and generally very strange noises uttered by the workshop participants (these were recorded while they modeled their own clay busts). He then worked with a DJ who remixed these sounds into something which sounds completely articulate in a musical sense. (An interview with the artist is here.) It is an artwork that you want to spend time with and walk up and down the various levels of the pavilion more than once.

The curated exhibition of the biennale is The Encyclopedic Palace named after the fantastical museum that Marino Auriti a garage owner and amateur artist designed and proposed building way back in the 1950’s. His architecture model of this crazily ambitious museum (to hold all of humanity’s achievements) is at the centre of the Encyclopedic Palace exhibition (curated by Massimiliano Gioni).

Marino Auriti's model of his proposed Encyclopedic Palace

The Encyclopedic Palace exhibition is across both the Giardini and Arsenale sites and there is so so much to see but if you stay relaxed about it you will be wonderfully surprised. Yes you will definitely miss things but you won’t be disappointed as you can’t help but come across plenty that intrigues and interests you.

Ron Nagle’s small ceramic sculptures which make up Sleep Study were perfectly placed alongside a selection of Tantric paintings from Rajasthan. I also love the entry in the catalogue which says, “He models them from drawings that he makes almost every night before bed, usually while watching old Charlie Chan movies. In his state of distraction Nagle has observed that the images pop into my head almost like visions.”

These works are very definitely intriguing and they do feel both personal and universal at the same time. This is something which I aspire to in my own work so they very definitely resonated with me.

There is another blog post to follow this one which will include more that I couldn't squeeze into in this one. But for now a couple of funny moments;

A student steals one of the paper boulders from the Sarah Sze installation in the United States of America pavilion and perches it on his windowsill elsewhere in Venice.

Art collectors come in pairs, wear straw panamas and never carry cameras!

Visiting the 55th Venice Biennale is the perfect combination of holiday and art. I would highly recommend it.

Industrial heritage and faded seaside splendour: Context is everything for Frillip Moolog sculpture photo shoot

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Taking my latest large Frillip Moolog beings into the great outdoors and photographing them in specific locations is a plan that brewed slowly. In June 2012 I was commissioned to make Hurgle Lenz and Hooty by Wirksworth Arts Festival and then during the festival in September Hurgle Lenz, Hooty and Mi Wawa spent three weeks inhabiting ancient St Mary’s church in Wirksworth, Derbyshire. It was an eventful three weeks as in the first weekend alone the festival had over 7,500 visitors. Other highlights of the beings’ time there included, an ancient clypping of the church service, a wedding, regular Sunday services and also concert music practices.

It was unanimously agreed that they looked strangely very ‘right’ in this beautiful and ancient setting. The beings do seem to have an ability to look surprisingly at home in a variety of settings.

It has been observed that the beings might actually be extensions of my own personality and this is something that may be true. I try to work intuitively when making them and when considering where they might like to be photographed I also keep an open mind; I stop myself from over analysing and listen to my intuition. Where would Hooty like to be, what adventure would Hurgle Lenz like to go on?

I chatted to Kathy Fawcett (Arts Council Visual Arts Relationship Manager- East Midlands) when she visited Wirksworth Festival and I confessed to her that my ambition was to get Hurgle Lenz onto Cleethorpes beach and photograph her/ him (Hurgle Lenz is equally he and she) with donkeys and the pier. And when I explained the very entertaining story I already had of when I got Mi Wawa into a meadow in Lichfield photographed her with the cathedral and cows it became obvious how passionate I was about getting photographs of the other large Frillip Moolog beings en plein air. Over the winter months I started to give life to my plan by sounding it out with more people and I my confidence grew as I realised just how important to me this awkward, madcap idea was.

As soon as I mentioned including beach donkeys in the photo with Hurgle Lenz people’s ears always pricked up; I mean it is completely common sense to never work with animals and children so why on earth do I even consider these things?

There is a lot of humour in my work, humour which some people completely get straight away. I was pleased when curator Judith King said that she had laughed out loud when she first saw Mi Wawa with cows and cathedral. Humour is a difficult thing to get right, it has to be taken seriously and Judith realised I was deadly serious. It is an aspect of my practice which needs to be nurtured.

All the books say that a thing common to most successful business entrepreneurs is that they don’t wait for perfect conditions and they don’t slow down a project by adding extra conditions to it.

-I could have applied for funding to make this photo shoot happen but instead I decided to use money earned from my art outreach work.
-I could have spent months learning how to use my lovely new camera properly.
-I could have decided that it would only work if I paid for other professionals to be involved.

But what I did in the end was feel the fear and bite the bullet anyway.

I worked with my two most supportive, creative and reliable people, my teenage children. Bryony and Dom have already lived through the creation of the beings and Dom has already collaborated on my Mi Wawa with cows and cathedral photo shoot.

No sooner was the date set, van and overnight accommodation booked than the weather forecast changed; rain and gales were forecast but, sod it, we just had to do it! The worst that could happen was that we drove 130 miles each way and sat in a Travelodge looking out at the rain

BUT it was perfect; it was even better than I could have hoped for. Thank you God.

Step one was to scout around Scunthorpe; did I mention that I planned to photograph Hooty with Scunthorpe steelworks in the background? The steelworks are HUGE and have to be experience to be believed.

As Scunthorpe and Cleethorpes are reasonably close to each other it made sense to use the same journey to get Hooty to Scunthorpe on the same trip as getting Hurgle Lenz to Cleethorpes. Again the realisation that I wanted Hooty photographed with the steelworks in the background was an idea that had brewed over the winter months since last September.

The security men at Tata steelworks were really nice but they had to ask us to leave.
Because of course we could be terrorists...

I’m glad that I have a strong sense of adventure so as we drove away we tried to stay optimistic and no one mentioned the sense of disappointment that we all felt when we had been turned away from the gates of the steelworks. A quarter of a mile down the road we turned left down a tiny lane signed Ravensthorpe and suddenly we were in a pastoral idyl.
The scene was timeless, the evening light absolutely perfect there was an overwhelming sense of serenity.
Bryony, Dom and I were united in our excitement and urgency; this was something that we had to capture and we had to capture it with Hooty in the frame too.

And here she is; Hooty in her perfect pose in the lush green pastures with sheep grazing and the puffing chimneys from the steelworks.

I didn’t anticipate this but it is just so perfect; as perfect as William Williams’ 1777 paintings of Coalbrookdale. I only just remembered these paintings today I but it proves that we do store away these visual memories and they do affect our artistic decisions.

The next day the weather forecast was wrong again, there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining! We drove to Cleethorpes and parked on the promenade. I was scared to look - would the donkeys be there?

They were and yes they were willing to pose for my photo shoot. Three donkey rides costs £7.50 and only last for a scant five minutes so I just had to go for it.

I didn’t capture a perfect shot of Hurgle Lenz with the donkeys but maybe that's because there is a better adventure waiting for her/him.

It is important for me to actually take the beings on the journey, to go through the physical experience of carrying them, unwrapping them, really having them in the space. I feel the anxiety of a theatrical performance, the response of the unsuspecting audience- the dog walkers in Mi Wawa’s photo shoot, the sheep farmer in Hooty’s photo shoot and all of the people who were on the beach on Hurgle Lenz’s photo shoot.

All in all it was a great success. I am glad that I took the advice of those successful entrepreneurs; I didn't wait for perfect conditions and huge budget. Instead I worked with my own children (free assistants!) and invested the money that I did have into buying my own camera; a tool which will be continue to be invaluable in the future.

Thanks so much Bryony Simcox and Dominic Simcox.

Collages inspired by Pop Art and Architecture

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:38:00 +0000

I feel the magnetic pull of old piers and dodgems. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

So much time is spent simmering creative ideas just below my consciousness. Those moments... hours even, when I am half awake and half asleep, I play with memories, ideas and shapes in my head. I feel like I am experimenting with ideas for new work; ‘drawing’ even.
But if you don’t use these as inspiration to make a physical piece of work soon (and while the idea is still fresh) do these fragile virtual drawings then get forgotten? Too much worrying about not being in the studio over the winter months I think!

I have been reviewing my photo library and have rediscovered some of my favourite images and I have been reflecting on what it is exactly that I love about each image.

The cafe in the (Norman Foster) Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

I love the stillness and the complete absence of people in tis photo (above), it has an eeriness about it.

Photo by Kirsty E Smith

The concrete legs on this pier - I can imagine it being some sort of huge and slowly moving concrete dinosaur. It feels animated, it's strange; your mind sees what it wants to see.

Photo by Kirsty E Smith

I love the stark diagonals of this supporting steel frame currently on the building site in the middle of Fitzrovia, London.

I enjoy the speedy decisions made about composition that I make when using my camera; it is just an old ‘point and press’ and I use it frequently especially because I have it in my handbag at all times. I would like a better camera but I don’t want to lose the ability to take spontaneous photographs.

I am always looking at everything that I see, it doesn’t have to be a special occasion, daily life is completely full of interesting visual nuggets. Of course we are saturated by images not just in real life but also ones shared online, but even though I occasionally save other people’s images for my image bank, really for me it is not solely the image that I have captured but also about having physically been in that place myself. The image is about so much more: How did I feel when I took it? Was I alone or with other people? Was I cold or warm? lonely? tired? excited? curious?

Actually I am always curious.

In the past I have done lots of life drawing, some painting, experimented with pen and ink and plenty with other drawing mediums. My passion for 3D may have originated from early years of sewing and dressmaking but however much I love 3D there are limitations of only having 3D work to show in exhibitions.

I am always interested in images, mark making and drawings by sculptors and back in 2008 at the Drawn To Sculpture symposium at Fermynwoods Gallery I was privileged enough to hear Doug Cocker talk about his practice and to also leaf through some of his sketch books.

"I like the idea of drawing as reward.......ie the drawing process is efficacious for me precisely because, within my practice, its the complete opposite to the trials of making. There are aspects integral to drawing sessions which play little part in the making of sculpture..........spontaneity, irrationality, speed of production,self indulgence, unconcern for" accuracy ", "rightness" or notions of resolution............For me the two activities are interdependent though quite different." Doug Cocker

A couple of weeks ago I was stopped in my tracks by a 2D work by Neville Boden (1929-1996) which is currently on show in Polychromies: Surface, Light and Colour at Leeds City Art Gallery. The piece was drawn and collaged using paint and foil on paper. The shapes were simple and I feel that Boden managed to distill the image down to the perfect combination of colour, form and drawing materials. Sadly because of copyright I can’t share an image of this piece.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery has a renowned Pop Art collection and on a recent visit to the gallery the mirrored surface, bold shapes and strong colour of this 1964 screen print by Peter Phillips jumped out at me.

Untitled by Peter Phillips 1964. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

Melanie Russell is an artist whose usual medium is paint but she has also made works using collage. She says that she likes to work with the luxurious surfaces of expensive magazines, I like these two collages in particular.

I like the compositions of some of my own photographs so much that I have decided to use them as starting points for my own collages.

The interior of the fire station designed by Zaha Hadid, Vitra Museum Weil am Rhein. Photo by Kirsty E Smith

I still want to use materials that are appropriate to the aesthetics of my 3D works (Frillip Moolog beings) so at this point I think that I will start with heavy and substantial card and paper. I know that I have a weakness for sparkle (that is most likely why I was so drawn to the Neville Boden piece in Leeds and the Peter Phillips screenprint in Wolverhampton) so a good supply of mirrored surfaces and metallic pens will also be on my collage supplies shopping list.

The Lumen Centre, Tavistock Place. Beautiful concrete and lighting, but how will this look in its collage version? Photo by Kirsty E Smith

It is spring and about time that I had a surge of creativity.

Exhibiting alongside leeches and other curiosities in The Room of Wonder

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:59:00 +0000

Colin by Kirsty E Smith nicely juxtaposed against Stephen Livingstone's Dust and Shadows

There is often suggested movement in my Frillip Moolog beings. And even if the possibility of movement is not obvious to others I personally do think about how they might move if they were animated. When I was making Colin I had thoughts of a worm poking its head out of a hole and swiveling around casting an eye over his surroundings. In fact Colin’s working title was Wormy.
My work does have strong anthropomorphic qualities and it seems obvious that the metal plate on Colin is some sort of face and the central feathers a sort of snout or proboscis.
These thoughts must come from my lifelong love of performance and street theatre in particular. Way back in 1998 I had the pleasure of encountering The Leech. The performance was menacing, exhilarating and magnetic and often when I look at Colin I am reminded of The Leech.

The Leech street theatre performance

Colin is one of three pieces which I have currently on show at The Borough Museum and Art Gallery. The show is called Cabinet of Curiosities and Room of Wonder and is an exhibition of two halves; The Cabinet of Curiosities has been curated by Clare Griffiths who has taken a gorgeously eclectic range of objects from the museum’s stores and put them on show for the first time in years.

So much to look at in this cabinet of curiosities. The fox with the bandaged foot peeps out from the cupboard below the drawing desk

So many of these things would struggle to be selected for any other exhibition so this might be their only chance to get out of the stores for several years. The fox with the bandaged foot, or the selection of dismembered birds wings and the skeletal human foot for example.

I happen to know that there is a jar of leeches on show in the recreated Victorian chemist shop which is elsewhere in the museum and for me this is simply even more confirmation of Colin’s appropriateness for this exhibition.

The Room of Wonder half of the show is curated by Bev Jennings and is made up of works by sixteen contemporary artists. There is a great range of pieces; some which really do leave you feeling uneasy to others which seduce you with their beauty so much that you almost overlook their sinister qualities.

Consequences by Ann Goddard definitely leaves me with a feeling of unease (but the kind of unease that I like)

The colours and glazes of Anna Collette Hunt's pieces seduce you

Objects suggest stories and the museum is interested in the finding out the provenance of many of these strange items. They are appealing to visitors who might know any of the objects’ histories to come forward and tell their story.

It might be that someone's great grandfather was an explorer who brought back some of these coins from an Egyptian archeological dig (or of course they might have bought them at auction and their children may have used them to play Tiddlywinks over the years!)

Many stories within Clare Shrouder's narrative pieces

I am fascinated by the skeletal foot and the carafes of water which are labelled as fire extinguishers. Is that just plain water inside them or does it have a special ingredient? Museum collections are fascinating for those of us with curious minds and of course museum collections have, and continue to, inspire so many artists.

Paul Biddle’s photographic works are mesmerizing and have the ability to seduce you with their beauty. I particularly fell in love with his Traveling Cabinet of the Count of Muldivo. My photo doesn’t do it justice so see it in detail on Paul’s website.

While viewing the show my eyes were continually making connections between the contemporary works and various of the curiosities from the museum archives.
It is good to be exhibiting Penny again and rewarding for me to see her in such close proximity to an elegant stuffed Herron on an equally elegant dark wood plant stand. My earlier Frillip Moolog beings were heavily influenced by furniture and I have always loved plant-stands in particular.

Penny by Kirsty E Smith

Flight by Kirsty E Smith

Flight is a piece which I made back in 2001 and is definitely before I started to make what I call 'beings'. Flight is a piece which delights in the handmade; I assembled the Airfix planes, painted them with various moth and butterfly markings and then went on to also make the display box itself. Possibly surprisingly I have to confess that the delight for me is in opening the glass case and inhaling the smell of French (button) Polish.

Isn’t this what taking these artifacts out of store is all about? It must have been an exciting process opening up cabinets, drawers and boxes and unwrapping these mysterious objects. It makes me feel like a child at Christmas just thinking about it.

Our fascination with the ability to fly, birds, feathers and flying insects is shared by may of the artists in the show. Stephen Livingstone’s, Songbird Sonnet and Anne Guest’s beautiful photographs from her One Hundred Percent Proof series are just two examples.

Re Sequence by Anne Guest (Blue Tit with Pheasant wings)

Penny, Flight and Colin my contributions to The Room of Wonder at Borough Museum and Art Gallery

This is an inspired and interesting exhibition which is well worth a visit.

Exhibiting Artists:

Claire Baker, Paul Biddle, Henny Burnett, Ann Goddard, Naomi Greaves, Anne Guest, Philip Hardacker, Anna Collette Hunt, Stephen Livingstone, Fiona and Neil Osborne (One Red Shoe), Colleen Parker, Chantal Powell, Clare Shrouder, Kirsty E Smith and Sean Williams.

Cabinets of Curiosities and Room of Wonder continues until 12th March 2013

Borough Museum and Art Gallery,

Brampton Park,

Newcastle-under-Lyme

ST5 0QP

Opening times: Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm, Sun 2pm-4.30pm

Free admission

Experiencing The Uncanny at Chapel Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:38:00 +0000

Frillip Moolog beings. 'Cyril', 'Reg' and 'Fin' in The Uncanny exhibition at Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk

In his essay The Uncanny (1919), Freud writes about how the uncanny is associated with the bringing to light of what was hidden and secret. He distinguishes the uncanny from the simply frightening by defining it as ‘that class of the terrifying which leads us back to something long known to us, once very familiar' (but now buried in our memory).

When we experience something which is uncanny we often get goosebumps, we feel uncomfortable and confused. We try to put our finger on what it is that is disturbing but it isn’t always that simple to explain.
The uncanny is something best understood by experiencing it oneself.

I have been fascinated by the phenomenon of the uncanny for many years... actually since I was a small child.

If I were to curate an exhibition with the theme of The Uncanny then I would definitely include Beast, an early work by Laura Ford and Dish Cover (1993) by Dorothy Cross.
Beast is made from familiar and usually very comforting woolen blanket but Laura Ford's Beast is very definitely disconcerting. His pose seems that of a docile and harmless beast but actually he also is very sinister at the same time. You know you’ve played with blankets as a child, did you ever make your own beast; is this the same one come back to play again?

Beast By Laura Ford, New Art Gallery Walsall

Dorothy Cross’ Dish Cover appeals to me especially because of her incongruous mix of materials; there are not many people who feel completely relaxed in the presence of a piece of art such as this. I also like the apparent simplicity of this piece and enjoy that it can be understood on several levels.
”I rely on old tricks, old systems. The ancient, mysterious notion - collective knowledge - of the power of objects or colours…makes sense to me... I like to explore the histories of objects and how we project our fears onto them and read them as metaphors and symbols.” Dorothy Cross Art Monthly Feb 1997

Dish Cover (1993) by Dorothy Cross

My own earlier works were very heavily influenced by furniture forms, this modified chair from Jurgen Bey’s Healing series (2000) was very inspiring. There are various ways of seeing things, chair? toy?... nothing is fixed and possibilities are limitless.

Chair by Jurgen Bey part of his Healing Series (2000)

I currently have six Frillip Moolog beings in an exhibition entitled The Uncanny at Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk. There are drawings, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, photographic and video works in this show which has been curated by Ruth Owen.

In the foreground Rachel 2010 one of my Frillip Moolog beings. Her chiffon curtains are an obvious reference to human clothing and unbeknownst to the viewer the brass curtain rail has a long history in my family; having been part of not only my bedroom furniture but years earlier my mother's bedroom furniture too.

In the exhibition essay Ruth says of my work, “ Kirsty E Smith’s three-dimensional beings are joyfully absurd. They marry furniture and fabric with elements suggestive of legs or hair. This incorporation of materials so closely associated with human characteristics encourages the viewer to anthropomorphise these essentially abstract works.”

The exhibition is curated in such away that certain pieces seems to speak to one another. 'Rachel' and 'Colin' communicate well with this Caroline Watson painting

The Uncanny is most often associated with domestic spaces; familiar spaces, places that are lived in or at least were once lived and this is one of the reasons why the The Uncanny Room (2002) exhibition at Pitzhanger Manor was so successful. In that exhibition the curators, Tessa Peters and Janice West explored the ways in which certain objects can invoke a feeling of strangely elusive familiarity.
They suggested that it is not just the object itself that gives rise to this uncanniness, but also the context in which it is experienced.

Pitzhanger Manor was once the country residence of Sir John Soane. (He bought it in 1800 and completed his remodelling by 1804.) The house uses many typical Soane features: curved ceilings, inset mirrors, false doors, and wooden paneling with many cupboards; these all make it a beautiful and atmospheric building and one perfect for staging an exhibition on The Uncanny.

An interesting viewpoint within the Chapel Gallery

For the current exhibition at Chapel Gallery Ruth had a challenge as the gallery is not a domestic space, however it is a central venue in the town of Ormskirk and has many visitors who visit on a frequent basis- these regular visitors will be extremely familiar with the space.

By curating this themed exhibition visitors are exposed to the Uncanny from the viewpoint of twelve different artists and so they cannot help but notice that something is different about this exhibition.

I like this view of Caroline Watson's 'Tinpot Cabaret' through the central bridge of my Frillip Moolog being 'Reg'. I also can't help but make visual connections between the fingers in Caroline's painting and the radiating stripes in 'Cyril'.

Ruth summarised in her exhibition essay,
“In a very literal way, the gallery space itself embodies the sense of something familiar yet different; each time a new exhibition is installed. We hope you enjoy the current manifestation of the Chapel Gallery and that it draws you through to explore the curious uncanny world we have constructed with you in mind”.

The Uncanny
show continues until 17th Nov 2012
Chapel Gallery,
Ormskirk UK
L39 4QR

Being part of A Few More Friends: Something Stolen at Testbed1

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Having fun, being playful and connecting with other creative people and laughing are all things that improve our own creative abilities. We know this but why then isn’t it higher up our list of priorities more of the time? Mmm I suppose the serious sensible things in life do have to take priority every now and then!

I was delighted to be invited to take part in Will Alsop’s latest show at Testbed1 last week; the title was A Few More Friends and the theme was Something Stolen.

Everyone who was there had worked with or was good friends with Will while others, like myself, have brushed shoulders with him much more recently. (Back in January of this year I helped to create one of his 3D paintings at The Public in West Bromwich).

A Few More Friends: Something Stolen was a one night only show and was the perfect combination of organisation and laid-backness. George Wade had sent out various exhibition plans in the run up to the show and I set up Hyacinth working to one of those plans but it was quite late into the evening before I realised that there was an even more recent plan; one that had only been finalised that day! So I may have inadvertently pinched someone else's spot on the plan but luckily everyone was very good spirited.

Model for Will Alsop's The Neuron Pod-science education centre for Queen Mary, University of London (due to be completed end 2013)

There was a mix of architects, designers, creative agencies and artists taking part. Suffice to say that everyone was creative and we were all there to have fun, connect with others and show off a little of our own creativity.

The more people that I chatted during the evening the more that I realised that Will Alsop is a magnet for mavericks and free thinkers: we had even more in common with each other than at usual art events or private views.

At first I was a little worried that Hyacinth might be interpreted as being straight, just pretty and traditional. Her body is a biscuit tin (a 1952 Carrs biscuit tin) and her legs are classic cabriole furniture legs, the kind usually associated with hand embroidered tapestry footstools. But her engaging personality shone through and she got a lot of positive interest over the evening.

My friend Sydney Levinson was all too pleased to get up close and personal with Hyacinth's underbelly of scratchy synthetic grass.

There are often intimate details in my Frillip Moolog beings; things that people only notice after spending a bit of time with them.

It is impossible to speak about all of the work on show and I don’t have photos of some of my favourite pieces either.

For example I especially loved Steve Bunn’s Shed and Aldi sculptures but I didn’t get a photo of either of these so here’s an out of focus photo of Steve himself! It was great to chat to him about the narratives that he weaves within his work and also good to spot the other half of another of his sculptures Remote Control (hidden in the beams above people’s heads.)

Steve Bunn with Bryony Simcox and Dom Simcox

Feix and Merlin’s installation of lit candles was pure genius. The candles spelled out Steal Me however each candle had Buy Be printed onto its surface.

In their own words, “We stand for delight and enjoyment; truth and mystery; honesty and deception; texture, colour, light, humour, wit.”

Their installation, Steal Me Buy Me Blow, was perfect and of course at the end of the night most of the candles had been stolen!

Earlier in the day we visited Designersblock’s London Design week show at The Southbank Centre. There we met and chatted to Flora McLean of House of Flora -who was also part of Something Stolen that evening.

Here my son Dom models a House of Flora black felt cat hat at Designersblock and the neighbouring image shows part of Flora's cat burglar crime scene installation back at Testbed1 for Something Stolen.

Flora also teaches at the Architectural Association at RCA so it is fitting that she should design and wear a Tatlin’s Tower inspired headpiece. But of course no excuse required to wear an iconic peace of wearable art?

Meeting and chatting to Iain Carson and Paul Stallan at the end of the evening was brilliant. They were both overflowing with energy and enthusiasm, and they were very funny too!

A very animated conversation; Bryony Simcox, Iain Carson and Paul Stallan

Their cheeky take on the Stolen theme was to gain access to a skip full of a day’s model-making waste from a very well known architects practice whose offices are very very close to Testbed1.
With that exciting load of ‘scrap’ they played and had a huge amount of fun.
Their construction/concoction called Tunnel Vision was delightful, exciting, fun, cheeky and jam packed with beautiful little moments that were worth photographing. I could go on... but I won’t!

Even an old broom was included!

And as I love stories and stories do have beginnings it was great to see Graham Peet and his team of animation and games design apprentices at Testbed1. Graham is the Exhibitions Manager at The Public in West Bromwich. The Public is one of Will Alsop’s designs and it was Graham who first invited me to exhibit some of my Frillip Moolog beings at The Public back in summer 2011.

At the entrance to Testbed1 several screens showed the virtual version of The Public which Creative Apprentices designed using Little Big Planet

Stories have beginnings but no ends they just go on and on and hopefully they never become predictable; surprises and enjoyable twists in a tale are good. Roll on my next exciting adventure!

The power of The Scallop, Nest magazine and everything in between

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:41:00 +0000

Detail of Hurgle Lenz

I’ve been very busy in the studio lately; busy thinking and busy creating. As an artist thinking time is vital; it is one of the most important elements of the creative process.
I have read articles about creative thinking but in my experience the only thing required to be creative is periods (long or short) where you can let your imagination run wild and just see what comes out.
Sometimes other things in my life can take over my thoughts and at those times having playful and fun thoughts can be nigh on impossible.
BUT being an artist is what I’m about so whenever my mind has a chance to it is thinking about possibilities.

I have just completed a new being. She / he is called Hurgle Lenz and is a close relation of Mi Wawa.
Mi Wawa, Hurgle Lenz and a third new Frillip Moolog being (who will also be large in size) together comprise my commission for Wirksworth Festival.
When I put my proposal forward to the Wirksworth Festival Committee back in April. I felt that it was completely and absolutely right that these three beings should have the opportunity to inhabit the ancient and atmospheric space of Wirksworth’s St Mary’s Church this September. I am delighted that the committee agreed with me!

As I don’t want to spoil the surprise I won’t reveal all of Hurgle Lenz just yet but see above photo for a tiny peek.....So now let's talk about Scallops!

I’ve always loved stripes and when I was a little girl learning to knit I felt that there was nothing more satisfying than changing colours of knitting yarn and getting onto my next stripe. Then back in my teenage years I realised that my perfect job I would allow me to wear dangly earrings and stripey jumpers on a daily basis. Many of the Frillip Moolog beings have stripes in them (Colin is one such example) and these stripes can take on interesting contours. Bettina is made up of segments with feathered seam definition and in Madeleine I let the contours and stripes continue right through to Madeleine’s ‘hair’.

Back in March 2011, I had the opportunity to read a few issues of the intriguing and quite idiosyncratic Nest magazine (now sadly defunct) and was captivated by the issue dedicated solely to The Scallop.

Joseph Holtzman, whose baby Nest was, really understood how as humans we love to handle objects and if you ever get the opportunity to read an issue of Nest you will understand just what I mean. Don’t be surprised if there is a hole drilled right through the centre of the pages or, as in the Scallop issue, the magazine’s edges are actually scalloped themselves.
It gives a whole new take to the act of flicking through a magazine. (I still flick from back to front... not your logical and linear magazine reader).

....."In its seven years, Nest won two National Magazine Awards and gained a loyal following in creative circles, less for the interiors it featured than for the risky ways it featured them...
...It's more about the pathologies of interior design than its perfect execution...
...The photographer Nan Goldin, the fashion designers Todd Oldham and Karl Lagerfeld, the novelists Michael Cunningham and Dennis Cooper and the artist Richard Tuttle helped Mr. Holtzman prove his point. Mr.Tuttle said that Mr. Holtzman, with his almost baroque approach to graphic design, ''channeled the collective unconscious, to give us the pleasure of ornament before we even knew we wanted it.''
New York Times (article by Fred A. Bernstein).

I was already working on Mi Wawa when I experienced the Scallop issue of Nest and it was exciting to realise that the curvaceous sculpted stripes that I was working with were forming scallops.

Back in 2010 writer Anneka French had asked me if there was a special name for the padded tubes that I liked to work with. Anneka wrote the exhibition text for one of my solo shows, Inventions of the Mind and more recently her essay, Lurking with Intent: A short essay on the sculptural practice of Kirsty E. Smith which was published in the ‘Waiting’ edition of Conjunction magazine.

This illustration leapt from the pages of Nest. I feel excited that my current Frillip Moolog beings are an evolution of the Scallop: they are part of history!

Suddenly it was obvious that I have held a passion for The Scallop for a long long time. I have quite a collection of scallop photos in my own library of images; here’s a small selection.

A favourite holiday photo from years ago

This vase has sat on my studio window sill for a couple of years now

Vases designed by Constance Spry for Fulham Potteryware. This display was photographed at Quindry, Lillie Road, London SW6 7LL

You've got to just love this ceramic butter dish in the form of a WW2 Anderson air raid shelter!

A Photoshopped sketch for Bristle, one of my early Frillip Moolog beings.

The curvaceous form of a Paul paraffin heater

Cute squidgy and spongy paint rollers.... and together they form some lovely scallops.

Grayson Perry strikes again! Check out these scallops with their own scalloped edges!

Mi Wawa, Hurgle Lenz and the being that I am currently working on all have a central element of a vintage cooling element from a dairy farm milk tank. This common element unites these larger sculptures as a small body of work, but perhaps more importantly in each of these beings I have experimented further with making sculpted curvaceous forms. I have moved the scallop on from its status as a mere decorative edging and developed it into a tool to construct sculptural forms (or as I prefer to call them Frillip Moolog beings).

Forthcoming Show
Wirksworth Festival 8th- 23rd September 2012
Commissioned Frillip Moolog beings will inhabit St Mary’s Church Wirksworth.

Potatoes, Celebrities and Ornament in Contemporary Art

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Is this a blog post about potatoes or is it really about the merits (or not) of decoration in contemporary art? That question sounds intriguing but maybe it just demonstrates the power of the humble potato! You only have to say the word ‘potatoes’ in our house and someone will respond with, “What’s Taters?”, a line from Lord of the Rings which was immortalised in this classic little Albino Blacksheep animation .

I have a love of art galleries and museums and for me visiting them is akin to dipping your hand into a deep bran tub of treasures; you just don’t know what you will pull out. You may have visited for a museum for a specific reason but while there you are guaranteed to stumble across other unexpected delights.

Back in October 2011 I visited Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. It had been more than ten years since my last visit but I did remember that they had a good collection of furniture design classics which I fancied seeing again.
However it has been this ceramic potato that has haunted me for these past few months (see photo above).
I really did a double take when I first saw it; it looked like a potato and yes the label confirms that it is in fact a ceramic stirrup cup in the shape of a potato. I know that fruit and vegetables have inspired ceramic artists for years but this is a potato not something pretty like a pineapple! I mean are the eyes on the surface of this potato decorative... they do say ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’!

Over the past months questions around this potato’s beauty and decoration have lurked in my mind. Of course there are the other questions too; I have wondered if there is any link at all between the choice of decoration and the function of this 18th century stirrup cup. It could be that its owner’s spirit of choice was Poitín (made from fermented potatoes) or maybe the potter just had a sense of humour and a bit of a thing about potatoes? You can spend too much time pondering over such things.

There is an ongoing debate about the role of Decoration in Contemporary Art and you can watch this ICA video What is the Use of Ornament in Contemporary Art and Architecture? for more on that. A fair chunk of the debate revolves around architecture but if you want the most entertainment fast forward to 25 minutes in when Grayson Perry speaks.

Grayson and I have something big in common we both believe in the power of stories; we both believe that humans thrive on stories and actually need them to keep us sane. In his presentation Grayson points out that decoration is used to tell stories so in fact decoration is actually providing a much needed function; decoration is adding to our wellbeing and keeping us sane.

I am a fan of his playful approach and humour. Playfulness doesn’t mean that a piece of art is lightweight, no far from it. I would say that we need an element of playfulness to lighten the heavy load of life. Playfulness and humour give us a lift and remind us of all the fun that there is to be had.

I will shortly be exhibiting in At Play 2012. Boris is one the six Frillip Moolog beings included in this 3 venue project. Although I like detail (some would say decoration) I am not drawn to ‘fussy’ and patterned fabrics or materials. Boris is one of the exceptions as a major component of this strange little being is the vintage Win-el-Ware table mats.

Why do I have several sets of these mats, is their appeal the kitschness of the (decorative) images? What is kitsch? (Watch the complete ICA video to hear Charles Jenks thoughts on kitsch and postmodernism).

Boris by Kirsty E Smith 2008

For me I think that the strongest appeal of these mats is because of the stories that they tell. They obviously remind me of a time when a visit to your grandma would mean a tea table laid with them (remember High-Tea). Their small size reminds us how items of food have all got so much bigger now (except WagonWheel biscuits). Their images tell stories; I mean fox hunting images on polite table mats, that would be unheard of now!

When I made Boris I did have some politically incorrect thoughts such as, “Foxhunting is thirsty work.”
Of course the potato above is labelled as being a stirrup cup so maybe a good swig of something strong at the beginning of the hunt and then a nice cup of tea at end?

Vintage Win-el-Ware tablemats

I have been saving these food themed Win-el-Ware mats for the right occasion. But they lead me to thoughts of perfect hostesses and chiffon negliges.

Take a mythogeographical detour and have a peek at my (very entertaining) cookery book Celebrity Cooking: dishes chosen by the famous.
It was a whole different world back in 1967 when the secret ingredient in Meat Loaf Exotique’s was a banana and Julie Andrew’s very basic recipe was upgraded from stew to casserole.

Grayson Perry’s selected slides for his contribution to the What is the Use of Ornament in Contemporary Art and Architecture? debate at the ICA are eclectic. They range from gothic churches and castles in Bavaria to a couple of his own pots and also include a photo of some decorative tiles ("looking like a poor man’s Guernica") outside a butcher’s shop in France. Yes eclectic that appeals to me; I enjoy taking inspiration from all around me.

I too have a nice photo of tiles in a Spanish doorway but for an extra special tiling job you have to make a special visit to the public toilets in Chichester.

Now what story was this workman telling us; was he homesick for his farm childhood or was he just bored stiff? I see a freethinking artist breaking loose from the shackles of council regulations.

At Play 2012
Dates for New Ashgate Gallery element of this 3 venue exhibition
08 Jun-14 Jul 2012
Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm
New Ashgate Gallery, Waggon Yard, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7PS.UK

Grayson Perry and a pilgrim's detour to Nuneaton

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Visiting the Grayson Perry show, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, at the British Museum earlier this year was a truly memorable experience. But there are quite a number of dramatic twists before we even got a sniff of his gorgeous motorbike!

Where to start?
1. Agreeing on a date that suited the whole family and buying our train tickets.
2. Several days elapsing and me forgetting to actually book the exhibition tickets.
3. Drama, tears and despair (mine) when I discovered that the British Museum had sold out of tickets for the day that we planned to visit and had bought train tickets for.
4. Emotion and lots of kindness... The British Museum put some tickets aside for us. (They must keep a few spare for special cases!)

So our train chugged out of Lichfield and off we went....
But we didn’t get very far before the real drama started. Sadly someone committed suicide and used our train to do the deed.

There was more drama, a very shaken but professional train driver and conductor, police, air-ambulance, police dogs and free water!
Three hours later we crawled the half mile into Nuneaton and that is where our Alternative Grayson Perry Day began.

It was weird. Of course it was serious and extremely sad that someone had chosen to end their life but the black humour wouldn’t stop and what was the first shop that we should happen across in Nuneaton?.... The Air Ambulance Charity Shop. So we bought some Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance pencils; a memento of the day

In true British style we started the alternative day with tea and bacon butties in a proper caff. I tried to see the specialness of our unplanned visit to Nuneaton. It was almost a matter of, “What would Grayson Perry think?”

Everything was seen through a lens of it being ... not the Grayson Perry exhibition.

So we took in the sights of Nuneaton, a once coal mining and textile manufacturing town which is now fairly down at heel.

Nuneaton Library, no comparison to the British Museum but a strange little building that still catches my interest. I used to pass it when I came to Nuneaton for hula-hooping classes!

Next stop was the Museum and Art Gallery. Grayson did you know that George Elliot came from Nuneaton?
How about Larry Grayson? Yes he came from Nuneaton too!

This was really very entertaining.

Remember 'Shut that door' ?

To be honest I love these small museums. I like to be surprised. You can be sure that I will always visit a museum and art gallery in any town that I visit. And for me the less ‘done up’ it is the better. I am interested in idiosyncrasies and individuality. In this age of globalisation the small town museum must cling onto their individuality.

Yes Grayson Perry would probably have found something that he liked in Nuneaton's museum and Art Gallery. In the costume gallery I felt very drawn to this chunky radiator; Plenty of curvaceous ridges and a sensual form.

Also this dressing table of course.

Small tangent here....
My mum had a kidney shaped dressing table in her bedroom when
she was a little girl. I had the same one in my bedroom when I was little and years later I rescued it from my Dad’s shed. I salvaged the brass curtain rails from it and these rails are now part of Rachel (see next photo) a Frillip Moolog being that I completed back in 2010.

Back to Nuneaton....
A street fountain but not one worthy of anyone wishing to drink holy waters. Honestly what were these town planners thinking of when they put this here?

But when we did get to actually sample the delights of The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman a few days later it was interesting to note that my absolute favourite of Grayson’s selected items from the British Museum's collections was a small lead item (very similar to the one in the following photo). This curiously shaped item from medieval times was labelled as being a pilgrim badge.

That little item stuck in my mind and days later I suddenly realised. Of course it's obvious (to me) those elbow shapes and the bulbous body remind me of the ants in the animated film, A Bug's Life.

Strange I know but it's just the way that my brain works. These visual connections cannot be denied!

I had reason to visit Scunthorpe a few weeks later. Yes of course I went to visit an art gallery (20:21 Visual Arts Centre ) but I was also delighted by the local museum.

In Scunthorpe's Museum of Lincolnshire Life there is tons of fantastic stuff! They have fossils coming out of their ears, hoards of Roman coins and quite a few of these medieval lead curiosities.

Although the label in the British Museum said that it was a pilgrim badge I’m believing the museum in Scunthorpe's label....ampullae. Yes these would have been used to carry home some holy water.

Here is my Air Ambulance pencil alongside two of my other favourite pencils. You can't beat a sleek black pencil topped with a pink or green Swarovski crystal.

Not quite Swarovski Crystals but fantastically fun, colourful and sparkly none the less, these coloured gems add the perfect finishing touch to the leather saddle on Grayson Perry's spectacular hand-built motorbike (Alan Measles' pope-mobile).

Can you ever have too many finishing touches?

The exhibition itself was very definitely worth the two attempts that it took us to get there but even having visited the exhibition in the flesh is that enough?

In the words of Alan Measles, Grayson Perry's 50 year old teddy,
"How is a young demi-god to get on without an online profile?"

Yes of course!
Since discovering Alan Measles' blog I have had many moments of bursting into spontaneous laughter. Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite.
......
The chattering classes fall silent and all across Hoxton, Hampstead, Primrose Hill, dinner party guests take another unconstrained chug on the Chardonnay in a desperate attempt to cover the embarrassed silence that has hollowed out their cultural lives now that ‘it’ is over. Salads wilt and confessional writings die on uncharged I-pads across swathes of good school catchment areas.

School children sit stumped, crayon in hand all enthusiasm for a drawing gone, the playground quietens, Beckham, Bono or whoever they ape in play these days no substitute for the briefly glittering shrine to a small relic of tatted foam. ‘Daddy’ they say ‘ I want to be wandering holy man when I grow up’.
......

Alan Measles, the bear behind Grayson Perry writes rib ticklingly funny blog posts. He is wise, irreverent and far far from being pretentious.

Grayson Perry the artist and Alan Measles the demi-god and blogger; what's not to like?

Will Alsop's Box of Delights 3D Painting and the Healing Power of The Rag Market

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:45:00 +0000

Great to see these lit up mini 'street creatures' around The Public, the wondrous Will Alsop designed building in West Bromwich.

A few weeks ago I had the brilliant experience of being part of the team which created Will Alsop’s Box Of Delights 3D painting at The Public in West Bromwich.

I was already very familiar with The Public as I exhibited some of my Frillip Moolog beings in the gallery there last year. I have spent hours in this exciting, bewildering, enchanting and also at times overwhelming building.

A winter afternoon is so much more fun with some cerise lighting around the windows!

It is a place that you have to go to, to spend time in to absorb, and just to experience. It does defy description.

The technicians hanging some of the huge Will Alsop paintings within the building.

Last year Exhibitions Manager Graham Peet first told me that Will Alsop has used the expression, 'A Box of Delights' to describe the building itself.

So it was no surprise to discover that the 3D painting that we were creating was also to be called a Box of Delights.

Creating the piece was a bit of a voyage of discovery; was I part of a team creating to Will’s direction, or was I one of several participants making a piece of community art? It was definitely a case of, “all will become clear in due course”.

People came and went during the period of making. My son Dominic and I were two of the few who were there for all four days. On day one George Wade a senior architect working with Will Alsop at ALL Design led us, then on day two we had a smaller team and we mostly painted the large sheets of heavy weight watercolor paper. Will was there in person on days three and four and it was fantastic to see how he worked with what we had made and directed the creation of this piece of 3D art.

It was a hive of activity in the gallery space.

Despite seeming very laid back we very definitely making a Will Alsop creation. “More chaos” was something that he kept asking for. More black fragments on the walls, and more large black sold shapes to intersperse throughout the other more colourful hanging elements. He wanted more of everything!

Here Will explains it all to a visiting journalist.

He was fun to be with, extremely relaxing but at the same time chivvying us on in a determined and masterful way. I must admit I did find it odd that he only added. He would ask for more but didn’t seem to say, "get rid of that". George had explained at the beginning that it was unlikely that Will would remove any of the elements but was much more likely to ask us to add more.

The projection of images and patterns from Will's sketchbook onto the 'Box of Delights' painting really added a lot of drama.

George had explained at the beginning of the project that Will is interested in ‘pollution’ that we encounter in our visual lives and what we were making was a 3D painting which represented this ‘pollution’.

To add even more chaos and a disorienting feel to the experience there is an accompanying audio soundtrack which was created by Joss Widdowson

On the final day as we chatted I told George that I thought that Will would love the markets in Birmingham, (The Bull Ring Outdoor market, Indoor market and also the Rag Market).

I started to try to explain how this wonderful sensory overload of the markets is also incredibly calming to me. It is a place that I visit when I feel that I need to be grounded, get back to what is important and matters. It does all this and more...it nourishes my soul.

I source lots for my own Frillip Moolog beings from this haberdashery stall.

The vegetable stalls are just as exciting at the close of day as when they are thronging with customers.

Get your bras here. Every size and colour!

Fancy Tights is just across the way from one of my favourite hardware stalls. I love the juxtaposition, the organised chaos!

Bernie serves chips tea and lots of entertaining chat.

So for me the Birmingham markets make the most amazing 3D 'painting' and also give me the most wonderful creative 'nourishment'. I love the; people, personalities, colour (lots of colour Will!) and textures and that is why the Birmingham Markets are my box of delights.

Maybe I have completely missed Will’s idea of pollution?

With Will Alsop; here I am sporting my vintage Red Nose Day t-shirt with plenty of paint spatters!

The Art Of Architecture series of exhibitions at The Public continues until 20th May 2012. Details here

Inspired by Yayoi Kusama to explore infinite possibilties

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:43:00 +0000

Making sense of the world ... this is something that occupies my thoughts much of the time.

We take in our surroundings: the space; the walls; the scale of things; the emptiness; or even the overwhelming busyness, and if you allow yourself the chance to absorb these feelings you can think... think about possibilities and about about potential narratives.

I always carry my camera with me wherever I am and take a lot of photographs. These photos are not attempting to be art in themselves but they are such a powerful tool for me as an artist. They are an aide memoir and a reminder of those moments and surroundings that have touched me on a sensory level and which have sparked off a chain of thoughts.

When reviewing photos taken this last year I selected these few. The common thread through these images appears to be possibilities ie. the potential for something to happen, to occur and for a story to take place.

I am interested that these images are often very empty. We humans only need the bare essentials, pared down to an essence distilled to a concentrate, to evoke a very particular feeling.

This stairwell (see image above) - what is it saying to me?

Timeless, mysterious, almost mirrored sculptural forms. Am I ascending or descending the steps? Am I even in this place? I can’t actually imagine a human body in this space, the composition is completely perfect as it I feel it could actually be 2D rather than 3D. Weird.

A curving corridor with atmospheric lighting. I still dream of a corridor very similar to this. It was a corridor that I first experienced as a child in Scotland. As a little girl my grandmother took me to visit her friends who owned a big (and mysterious) house near Stirling. I was so absolutely fascinated that there could be a curved corridor. The sensory memory of trailing my hand along the cold painted wall is still very very strong.

I suppose one aspect of these first two photographs is that we cannot see what is ahead. If there is light at the end of the tunnel/corridor it will be reflected off a wall before it hits my eyes.

I imagine how things might change; take a twist. There are almost limitless possibilities...

Here we have a straight-ahead view photographed in the labyrinth that is the Barbican in London. Even though one should be able to see any approaching danger I still find this photograph unsettling; it feels that danger could pounce at any time.

I feel vulnerable and exposed but maybe in this empty photograph there is potential rather than desertion?

I can’t help myself from completely needing humour in my life. I do wonder what the town planners and architects were thinking when they designed this entrance to a social housing complex which I photographed on my last visit to Edinburgh. I am Scottish so am happy to laugh at my own nation’s emphasised patriotism manifested here in this this castleated wall. A wheely bin is the ‘perfect’ unexpected addition to this entranceway!

I do seem to have a collection of photographs of car parks and this is one of my favourites.

Can you believe the ‘excitement’ of driving round and round in this exposed spiral. I instantly felt as if I was inside the classic Fisher Price toy garage!

Even when your view is saturated or overloaded this can also strangely give you ‘space’ to imagine and meditate on possibilities.

I think when I first encountered Yayoi Kusama’s mirrored piece, The Passing Winter, exhibited in Tate Liverpool, I was mostly occupied with taking this photo capturing both mine and my son’s faces. But if I am able to spend time with this piece of art again I will use it to ‘travel’ to a far off place in my mind. The possibilities are infinite here and it is infact one of the works in Kusama’s infinity mirror series.

Just this week I read in the newspaper that many notable writers and thinkers throughout the ages have sworn by the power of walking for its ability to relax us and allow us to enter into a meditative and creative mindset.

I walk through this meadow 3 or 4 times a week and this photo is one snapshot of my walk that I often return to in my dream time. (My half awake and half asleep state where I like to ponder and explore possibilities.)

During the summer of 2011 I had a growing feeling that I had to somehow get my largest and latest-to-be-completed Frillip Moolog being (sculpture), Mi Wawa, into this same meadow.

I felt that this was a place that Mi Wawa herself had to visit.

I wanted to place her in this ancient location (it hasn’t been ploughed for over 100 years); I wanted the spires of Lichfield Cathedral to be in the background (is Mi Wawa religious?) and lastly, I wanted her to have some of the cows that were grazing there to keep her company.

I saw the potential of the meadow with the cathedral backdrop, I had a strong feeling about this space and wanted to use Mi Wawa to complete my experience of it.

People have asked me why I made this image and this post is my first attempt at explaining why I often feel the need to give my beings the opportunity to inhabit certain spaces.

Are these photos part of my practice? I suppose that they are; they evidence how I manifest just a fraction of the possibilities that I see around me.

Mi Wawa will soon be spending time 'inhabiting' another English cathedral as I am one of the 55 artists selected to exhibit in The Open West.

The Open West, 2nd March- 31st March 2012

Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester UK

Usherette on Duty

noreply@blogger.com (frillip moolog:) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:18:00 +0000

When a vintage motorbike with sidecar pulls up outside the venue calling itself Kirkland’s New Empire Bioscope you know it will be no ordinary trip to the cinema.

The Bioscope is an ongoing cinematic project between artists Elena Cassidy-Smith, Ruth Swallow and cinema buff John Bates. I was visiting on the last night of this four week project as my own film Trolley Happenings was being shown on their silver screen.

We climbed the stairs into the atmospheric cinema interior. With plenty of red, luxurious velvet and gold painted detailing there was immediately an air of theatricality and excitement.

I love all this kind of thing and so was especially delighted to be one of the artists whose film had been selected to shown on the screen in the Bioscope.

From left to right: Elena Cassidy-Smith, Kirsty E Smith and Ruth Swallow.

And not just any screen but one with a unique handmade proscenium.

I love the fact that the pelmet fringing above the screen was made from hair bobbles!

This really appeals to my interest in the provenance of materials used by artists. I am fascinated by the creative use of everyday items.

Not surprisingly during the evening I found my eyes wandering to the fringing on more than one occasion. I felt that it was even better than the lovely rich red fringing that I had used to trim my film booth when I presented Trolley Happenings as part of my show in the 2010 Liverpool Biennial.

Elena and I also have some common passions; tea trolleys being one of them.

Elena serves refreshments from her trolley during the interval on the final evening of Kirkland's New Empire Bioscope.

At one point in the evening I found myself launching into a description of one of my favourite Magic Roundabout episodes; the one where Ermintrude fancies her chances as a TV presenter. She swishes her tail and rolls a daisy in her mouth as she reaches her head through the cut-out screen of cardboard television and says, “Drink more milk darlings”.

It is at this point that I can get strange looks. I will have made one of my frequent tangental links in my head but instead of keeping it there I have spoken it out loud. The result is that people wonder why I seem to have changed the subject completely.

The explanation in simple!

The drama within this lovely little cinema was gentle and fun and not at all po-faced. It was playful while at the same time being respectful of a bygone era.

So back to Ermintrude... I love the original Magic Roundabout (with Eric Thompson doing the voiceover). It was fun and magical too; the link in my mind was that same happy feeling and a sense of childlike adventure.

Elena had made a beautiful mini-cinema (modeled on The Scala cinema, one of Wolverhampton’s old cinemas- built 1913, demolished 2006). She made this model especially to present her exceedingly old copy of a home made Alice in Wonderland film.

The story that she told me about this film made it even more intriguing. The filmmaker used his wife and children as the actors (his wife as the March Hare) and much of it was filmed in a public garden.

Her piece made me think of both dolls’ houses and imaginary miniature worlds.

In my short film Trolley Happenings, almost all of the action takes place within a hostess trolley. And most of the performers/characters that feature are little things that usually live on my mantle piece. Before dashing off to the Forkbeard Fantasy Summer School (where the film was made) the last things that I threw into the car happened to be these few vital mantel piece 'friends'.

To summarise some of the most interesting connections:

• Hostess trolleys - Elena’s refreshments trolley and the one I used as a setting in Trolley Happenings

• Evocative red velvet curtains - that one is obvious

• Vintage projectors - I have used one as the central object within my film, and John asked me straight away about it, most people don’t realise that this machine with interesting knobs is in fact a vintage film projector.

So as I happily watched Trolley Happenings in the theatrical setting of this unique recreation of a 1930's cinema, I smiled to myself when my little one eyed waxed sponge monster did what I have always called his ‘Dougal Move’. The stop-motion animation process resulted in it appearing to swizzle about just like Dougal (coincidentally another character from The Magic Roundabout)!

But how do you explain a chain of all those thoughts in a clear and concise manner?

In conversation this is extremely difficult and we all know it's hard not to sound like someone who is jumping around subjects!

It’s interesting how one person’s ‘normal’ can be another person’s ‘a bit too weird’. When it comes to surreal I love it but to others it can be disturbing and strange, sometimes even in an uncomfortable way.

I wonder, if surreal is served up with a dash of humour does that make it easier to cope with?

I am asking this because descriptions of Trolley Happenings range from strange and weird to surreal and Jan Svankmajer-esque. So a bit too bizarre for some and quite understandable for others. However no matter which end of the spectrum viewers are on they all laugh at the very same comedy moment, so at least there is no doubt about that element of the film!

A still showing the comedy moment.

In another Magic Roundabout episode, called 'Watch the Birdie', Dougal uses an old fashioned camera with a dark cloth to cover his head and keep out the light.

As soon as I spotted this camera (see above) in The Museum of the History of Science in Oxford earlier this year I immediately thought not only of Dougal and that Magic Roundabout episode but also of this....

A prop from a Forkbeard Fantasy production which I saw behind the scenes on the film making course - another reminder of my very visual memory and the connections I often make.

So everything makes complete sense... at least to me!

I have been an avid follower of Forkbeard Fantasy for 13 years now. They intersperse live action on stage with film and projection. They have a completely off-the-wall sense of humour (quite normal in my eyes) and their productions are exceedingly surreal. To make a final cinematic link I must mention one of their shows 'The Fall of the House of Usherettes' (first staged in 1995 and set in an old cinema). To find out more about Forkbeard Fantasy don’t miss their residency at The Southbank Centre, London. 2nd Dec 2011- 8th Jan 2012.