Weekly evaluation

I'm pleased with the work I've done so far this week, but at times I've felt a bit worried about my project becoming too confusing. This project is about 3 times as long as our usual foundation projects and I've found it a bit of a struggle to keep the momentum going. Today we had a crit in the studio which helped alot. Some people looked through my work and said that they found it difficult to follow my development. I've been doing most of my writing and annotations in my log book so my work feels like its divided up into words and pictures. I'll have to look back over my work so far and connect the dots between my experiments and developments.

Here is some photos of my work with MDF

After tracing out my map onto the Mdf I cut out the shapes using a jigsaw. I'm really pleased with the result but I need to add some supports to the piece to make sure it doesnt fall over and hurt anyone.

I added a piano hinge to make the sheets open out like a book.

To try out the process for my event on sunday I did a trial where I asked my mum and 2 family friends to take part. I made them close their eyes and mark out a random spot on the map of crouch end. I then went to each spot and recorded my surroundings.

I displayed my findings on my installation, screwing in a hook to the place they marked and hanging the photos, objects and sketches from string attached to the hooks. I thought when the information was displayed it looked good- I can really imagine loads of strings all feeding out from different areas showing all the different places around crouch end. I think people will find it really interesting and hopefully it will get them thinking about how the different areas are used. I also like the way that in the focal space of the installation the photos and notes will all become mixed up as the different strings cross over. I think Crouch end can be divided alot of the time despite the fact that alot of people from diffent cultures and age groups live there.

I thought the trial was alright, but I my ideas weren't presented clearly enough and the process became quite convoluted. I didnt like the fact that the people's role in the project was over in a matter of minutes. As this is a project about rejuvinating a community spirit and getting people actively interested in the spaces around them, I want the public to play a more active role in my installation. By people choosing a place at random, their connection to the different areas is limited. I want this piece to weave into the patterns of people's daily lives.

So as a way to improve my Crouch end event I'm going to step back a bit from the process and see what happens when the development of the installation is put into the hands of the public. I'm going to provide each person that's willing to take part in the piece with a small kit. It will have a disposable camera, a pen, paper etc. and I'm going to ask them to take it with them wherever their going and record their surroundings.

I'm aware that some people wont be up for taking part, but I hope that some will have a go. I'm most worried about people walking off with the disposable cameras.

Anyway, I'll have to see how it goes on sunday and hopefully I'll be making a film of the event. As the project is based on how people interact with Crouch End and ways to catch peoples attention and get interested and involved in the area, I think a film will be the best way to record what happens.

Barbican and MDF

On Saturday I went to the Barbican to see the Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown and Gordon Matta- Clark exhibition. I've always loved Matta- Clark's work, but I'd never seen Anderson's or Brown's work. It was the best exhibition I've been to in a long time. One of the most talked about thing about the exhibition is Trisha Brown's piece 'Walking on the Wall' where a group of people walk horizontally around the walls of the gallery. It was pretty amazing, but I thought Brown's performances were bought down a bit by one called 'Floor of the Forest'. Maybe I didn't enjoy it because I was standing on the lower floor of the gallery. The piece was 2 people on this sort of rack of clothes and each person got dressed and undressed while crawling around the rack. I think you had to be standing on the balcony overhead to truly understand it.

Trisha Brown 'Walking on the Wall' 1971

source: http://whitneylive.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/trisha-brown-walking-on-wal.jpg

Floor of the Forest, 1970

Source: http://www.artnet.com/Images/magazine/reviews/robinson/robinson6-15-07-4.jpg

The bits of the exhibition which I found most inspiring were the 'Food' Restaurant set up by Matta- Clark and other artists from the downtown New York scene and Trisha Brown's advertisements for her fearless performances.

Food was set up in 1972 as an alternative space to eat, work and for the creative community to exchange ideas. There were some great videos of the " restaurant" (I don't really think I sould call it a restaurant as prices ranged from about 25 cents to 1 dollar). It made me feel so frustrated- I wanted so badly to be living and working in New York in the 70s. I love the way artists gathered together and arranged events among themselves. Like Trisha Brown's "Fearless Dance Concerts". My favourite of her pieces was one where a man attached to a harness walked down the side of a building.
I was really struck by the flyers and posters made by Brown and her dance group. It made me want to make my own poster and try and encourage people to get involved in my revival project.

A flyer for one of Trisha Brown's performances.

source: http://whitney.org/image_columns/0025/9020/skymap_brochure_cover_240.jpg

Here is my poster for the Crouch End revival project. While working on this poster I realised that the street patterns spreading outwards from the clock remind me a bit of a human heart surrounded by arteries an veins- quite fitting for a planned revival.

I'm going to email my friend's ( in the spirit of Matta-Clark, even though he would have writted letters) and tell them about the project and ask them if they could help me out on Sunday when I plan to set up the piece.

Today, I traced my massive crouch end map ( 4 sheets of A0) onto 2 sheets of MDF and cut out the shapes with a jigsaw. I really like the effecton  and I can now more clearly visualise my outcome. I need to fix the MDF sheets together with a piano hinge. On Sunday I will open out the sheets and then brace them, by screwing in planks of wood on site.

My map template.

Tomorrow I'm going to paint the MDF with white emulsion and I might start organising how the event on sunday will run.