I’m in the midst of writing a series of posts about artists getting paid and the economy of the arts but that’s a bit heavy for a Friday, isn’t it! So instead, here’s one of my occasional link posts.

Art
My web designer, Steve, had a moving encounter with some art.

This Andre Jordan cartoon made me laugh with comedy of recognition.

The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies – many of these were intimately familiar to me but perhaps they won’t be to younger artists.

This spoof Damien Hirst blog made me howl with laughter (although some of the ‘works’ are more Martin Creed in style).

If you’re a jeweller then the Cookson’s Forums may be worth checking out. I’ve not tried their forums but I’m a big fan of them as a supplier of materials – they’re always very quick and efficient at despatching stuff.

Artists are buying up cheap houses in Detroit – some interesting discussion in the comments about the familiar artist gentrification cycle.

I’m A Photographer, Not A Terrorist is a UK based campaign objecting to increased police interference in street photography.

Unique and clever matchboxes, which naturally I adore because I have a bit of a thing for matches.

Me, Me, Me!

Lisa Pressman recently interviewed me about my art influences. I like her encaustic work very much, you should check it out.

Thanks also to Kayte from the Love Forever blog, who featured my work last week.

There’s loads of excellent comments on my recent ‘art wank’ post. Apparently the subject resonated with a lot of people. Apparently there’s even an entire blog devoted to examples of art wank!

I had my work accepted to culturehall. I haven’t quite finished uploading works to my profile yet but I’ll let you know if I get any interest or opportunities from it. The site is curated by an artist and frankly, it shows – when I researched it I was very impressed by the high quality of work shown.

I also joined Textile Forum South West. If you’re a British artist interested in textiles, you may want to check this out, you don’t actually have to be based in the South West of England to join.

Podcasts
I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts whilst sewing sequins on my apron. Here are a few of my recent favourites.

Jennifer at Craftsanity interviews the Beerhorst Family and discovers how they live a creative lifestyle with very little money. This interview with X got me all excited about my chickenkeeping plan again (it’s moving slowly onward btw, I’ve just taken out a load of library books on chickens and I’m researching coops).

I discovered The Electric Sheep podcast on Twitter and I’ve happily chewed my way through all 20 of them in the last month. It’s knitting based but she delves into other stuff too. Very British.

Craftcast with Alison Lee is always a good listen but I was particularly fascinated by her exploration of Maggie Taylor’s highly involved creative process.

if you’re struggling with your blogging motivation, this podcast from Sister Diane at Craftypod should get your juices flowing again.

Random

Lexicographer, Erin McKean suggests that if it works like a word, we should just use it.

Because nothing says ‘I love you’ like handknitting someone a periodic table jumper (that’s a sweater if you’re American)

Ever wondered where the dark thread of horror in British comedy originates? Welcome to the wonderful world of British Public Safety films! Includes one of my all-time favourites – the Spirit Of Dark Water but thankfully not the one about children dying horribly on farms that gave me nightmares for months after I was shown it in primary school. Definitely NOT for the faint of heart.

Tweet I’m in the midst of writing a series of posts about artists getting paid and the economy of the arts but that’s a bit heavy for a Friday, isn’t...

Ah, the grottoes…

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009

We found these utterly magical. We were constantly seduced by the cool shade; the sudden dancing shafts of sunlight from skylights; the incredible jungle greens of the ferns and mosses and the constant soothing sound of water.

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009

There are several different grottoes at Dewstow, all connected with tunnels. Some are shady and cave-like…

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009

…while others are far more open and tropical in feel.

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009

And having fallen in love with this Victorian madness, I immediately decided that we should have a grotto at home! Just, you know, a small one…

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009

But even if I don’t manage to acquire a grotto of my own, I can certainly take inspiration from Dewstow and plant more ferns.

Tweet Ah, the grottoes… Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Grottoes, Aug 2009 We found these utterly magical. We were constantly seduced by the cool shade; the sudden dancing shafts of sunlight from...

Last week we took a 3 day trip to Wales to celebrate my partner’s birthday.

A definite highlight of the trip was our visit to Dewstow Gardens on the Tuesday afternoon.

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Gardens, Aug 2009

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Gardens, Aug 2009

The gardens are notable for their amazing restored Victorian grottoes and tunnels. I got so many good photos of the gardens that I’m going to split them into several posts: the grottoes are so delicious that they deserve a whole post all to themselves.

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Gardens, Aug 2009

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Gardens, Aug 2009

As a gardener, I thought the fern areas, the lush tropical planting and the wonderful use of water were far more successful than the more traditional border areas but that’s a small quibble, it’s still an absolutely gorgeous garden that’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

I’ll post the grotto pictures tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this little chap…

Kirsty Hall: Dewstow Gargoyle, Aug 2009

Tweet Last week we took a 3 day trip to Wales to celebrate my partner’s birthday. A definite highlight of the trip was our visit to Dewstow Gardens on the...

The excellent book, Advice To Young Artists In A Postmodern Era by William V. Dunning is one that I think every artist should own. At one point, Dunning talks about the value of immersing oneself in art. This is what I’m doing at the moment. With the exception of a little bit of knitting and gardening to keep me grounded, I’ve spent the last few days immersing myself in thinking, reading, viewing and writing about contemporary art.

And I’ve come to a conclusion.

The denizens of the contemporary art world desperately need to drop what I refer to as ‘art wank’.

Enough already. Enough dull academic shows that no one but a tiny elite care about. Enough ‘clever’ critical writing that says nothing. Enough postering. Enough big words. Enough drowning art in philosophy. Enough bullshit.

I know that art is often hard to write about – I’m currently trying to bash my artists’ statement into shape and it’s resisting furiously! – but the way most critics talk about art is just ridiculous.

I am tired of it. I am tired of feeling like an idiot when I try to plough my way through it. I’ve been making, looking at and reading about art for years. I studied it intensively in college and wrote essays on it. I still read about art constantly.

So if I can’t understand what most art writers are on about, what chance does someone whose art education ended in high school have? On Friday I read an ‘explanatory’ pamphlet at the Arnolfini gallery that managed to make an already boring show even more dry, academic and obscure. I left the gallery wondering what the point of my visit had been. If I’d been visiting a contemporary gallery for the first time, I certainly would have felt no desire to go back. After this sort of experience it’s easy to see why people think that modern art is rubbish.

In my 30′s, I returned to art college after a break of about six years spent raising my son. It was my third shot at getting my degree. Having been thrown out of an English course at the age of 18 and then having left a Fine Art degree when I accidentally got pregnant at the end of my first year, I was understandably quite nervous about my ability to do the work.

I vividly remember being set a reading list that included the art historian, Rosalind Krauss. All summer I struggled valiantly with it, trying to comprehend her points and getting more and more disheartened. Her words seemed to have nothing at all to do with my own experience of being an artist and the concerns and ideas that were floating around my head when I was making sculpture. I ended up wondering how I was going to cope at art college? If I couldn’t understand this set text, surely I was FAR too stupid to go.

On the first day, we sat in a large circle and the tutors asked us how we’d got on with the reading list. Someone confessed to finding Krauss impenetrable. ‘Ah yes,’ said the Head of Sculpture, “she is very difficult, isn’t she. I don’t really understand her myself, to be honest.” The entire group let out an audible sigh of relief and I sat there thinking, “well if YOU don’t even understand it, why the hell did you assign it?”

I never had to refer to Krauss again and at the end of my degree, I took great joy in turfing the damn woman off my bookshelves.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying, ‘don’t read’. I love to read and always have. I especially love non-fiction and I read widely and voraciously both inside and outside my field. A lot of my ideas come from my reading. What I’m saying is, when we write about art, can we try to sound as if it matters, as if it’s alive, vibrant and important and as if the writer is actually interested in what they’re discussing.

I do understand that art historians and those who analyse art, experience it in a very different way to those who actually make it. And I also know that every artist needs to find a way to talk about their work. Many artists look at it as a necessary evil but I’ve always found it both helpful and vital to define my practice in the right words.

What I don’t think is helpful and vital is when the convoluted language of the historians, critics and philosophers infects the language of artists. I don’t think we’re doing our work any favours if we cloak it in fancy buzz words and arcane concepts. I know that every profession has its jargon and I know that some concepts are very difficult to explain but the art world needs to stop pretending to be smarter than it is because really, I don’t think we’re fooling anyone!

Still, on the plus side, ‘art wank’ is an excellent cure for insomnia…

Tweet The excellent book, Advice To Young Artists In A Postmodern Era by William V. Dunning is one that I think every artist should own. At one point, Dunning talks...