As we move through public spaces our experience is often secondary to the endless monologue in our heads; re-examining the past or anticipating the future. Even if just for a moment, I want to draw people into a present moment experience of an environment they might pass through every day, and see its beauty.

The idea for my proposal stems from my interest in the development of the European choral tradition, the history of which is bound intimately to the architectural development of cathedrals, monasteries, churches and chapels. Music and architecture informed each other endeavouring to create experiences that brought the audience to a heightened, spiritual state of mind. Whilst my intention is not religious I want to progress the relationship between music and architecture into a modern urban setting, and still maintain that powerful, positive impact upon the listener.

I want to discreetly position musicians (probably woodwind, brass and other loud acoustic instruments!) on buildings around urban centres like Exchange Square in Manchester (see pictures). Through a combination of improvisation and composition the musicians would play into the space. The composition and the musicians would respond to the sound environment making use of the acoustic qualities of the space, but also reacting to sounds that occur within the space; a pedestrian crossing becomes a fluttering melody that dances around the space; a buses screeching brakes produces a rich sequence of chords. The music would not be like the city centre samba band that imposes itself upon the space, but more like a tune that emerges in the back of your brain opening up your senses and bringing your attention to everything around you. The result would be the realisation of an array of disparate sounds as melodies, rhythms and motifs within a lush and beautiful piece of music.

I am a multi-instrumentalist, musical director, composer and workshop facilitator. Over the past 5 years I have composed for film, theatre, dance and installation. Some of this work can be seen at www.myspace.com/3rdfloormusicproduction.

I have delivered composition and ensemble workshop to a wide range people, and have musically directed a number of large-scale young people’s concerts and theatre productions.

Proposal by creative practitioner Nela Milic

This work deals with the concept of the unused that is interpreted on two levels – one that presents the object as never used and the other that looks at the object as underused. The idea comes from the fascination with the consumer culture that forces both “must have” and aesthetical questions ahead of practicality, utility, content… The embodiment of such a tension between capital and happiness is the wedding dress. It is looked as a promise of happiness and long lasting marriage, the loaded artefact in which so much is invested. Hence, it is costly, but used only once, if at all… The exposure of it on its own, outside of the wedding ceremony or a store and with no body to support it exposes its’ impossible nature. So, I would display it in a glass box, under one of the Regents canal arches. It would not be lit as this glossy white material glows in the dark, staring at us like someone wanted to get rid of it.

Many wedding dresses are disposed in dry cleaners after the deed is done or are sitting lonely in boxes on the attic, waiting for another opportunity to come out… The dress that does not go out needs to be seen again, by the public that wants one, harbours one, can’t wear one, is ashamed of one. The dress with so many implications makes us stare and this is why it is an artwork in itself, however much it costs… A life?

Location images: Hereford and Regent’s Canal

I am a visual artist and a writer working in film and theatre. I use drama to express the themes I am interested in, for which I develop prints of images and text on screen, textile and paper. I particularly use mosaic and collage as they contain stories and recall memories of the place, age and circumstance. I often merge poetry with photographs, creating installations and publications – e.g. oral histories turned into audio tour and graffiti. In creative writing workshops, I present my poetry and inspire the participants to visualise what I saw/felt to write such words and create such melody. Drawing on imagery and the sound, I engage them in writing their own visions and stories.

My work centres on the theme of identity – lost and regained through leaving home. It explores the sense of belonging and the stages of adjustment to the new environment. This gives me a number of themes for my artwork – past, present, future, memory, roots, migration, displacement, identity, a sense of place, integration… I present them in various formats; from video, fashion design to architecture and film. My artwork is predominantly presented as interactive installations which invite people to act as they are on the stage, in the set design. The audience makes up their own story from the objects they see, touch and walk through while I illuminate the paths to the narrative.

NO HOT ASHES

Proposed Triumphal Archway

How should we remember the 20th century? Life in the city, wheelie bins: our own personal time capsusule on every street. We just love making holes and filling them up again.

Let the design echo the circumstance at the municiple tip. This is our vector in the big mess of History.

NOTE TO FUTURE SELVES: Please choose the object you want to be remembered by carefully, we already take up so much room.

“Nothing from nothing leaves nothing”

My working methods have always been intentionally repetitive and deliberately painstaking, reflecting my ongoing pre-occupation with Time as a subject matter. I think about time all the time. I have many questions about it and I use my practice to think them through: What’s the difference between History and the past? (A Secret Heliotropism, 2006); How will our behaviour now affect the future? (The Book Which Reads Itself, 2007); How might time take on a physical form? (Ten Years, 2008); Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of earlier generations? (Flashback, 2008); Can I start a conversation with someone who isn’t here anymore? (Escape Lee Krasner, 2009).

In recent months I have had cause to refine my methods. I have formulated a set of rules to obey in the creation of future artworks. These rules can be seen as both a set of guidelines and my own call to arms:

1. Remember that art is the best way of explaining how the world works
2. Put yourself in the position of the object being made
3. Keep books in mind
4. Work towards freedom from time
5. Acknowledge your heroes and pay your debts
6. Don’t let fashion or technology grind you down…

For further information on Nicola’s work, go to: www.axisweb.org/artist/nicoladale

City of Air Rights

Propositions for Merton

FT Static

Independent Traveller

Cliff Runways

Chorus Steel Works

Mary Yacoob’s work is based in drawing and visual languages, for example, repetition, mirroring, geometry, line and number.

These drawings are part of a series of works entitled Propositions for Artworks.

In these projects, Mary  Yacoob produces  drawings and collages based on or influence by images from text books and newspaper cuttings or photographs she has taken of particular sites.  The drawings propose large scale installations which are absurdist, humorous, impractical, or impossible. They are often inspired by the architecture or site in which the exhibited drawings are being shown.   Some internal logic of the found image or site is twisted and exaggerated to produce an absurdist proposal for an alternative reality.

Thus the drawings play with the nature of drawing itself and how it’s linked to the playful thought processes of the artist and viewers.  The drawings also invite the viewers to consider what is possible to imagine.  When confronted by a drawing that is essentially a visual rendering of an idea or proposal, does the viewer relate only to the physicality or aesthetic of the drawing, or do they move beyond that and take up an invitation to imagine what reality would be like if the idea in the drawing actually came alive.  Or perhaps the viewer might find the idea to be insufficiently radical and be spurred on to think of their own alternative reality.

Mary Yacoob’s work using drawing and visual languages to observe, figure out and communicate. What follows is the filtering of observation of everyday life through systemic techniques such as repetition, geometry, and extrapolation.  She appropriates symbolic visual grammars from architectural plans, geological maps, diagrams, and alphabets.

Some of her work involves documenting the minutia of daily life in diagrammatic form.  In other work, she creates systemic works about architectural spaces that question ideas of urban planning and public art through proposals for often unrealisable interventions.

For more information on Mary’s work see: www.mary-yacoob.com

Sea Parting Red

Doodle City of TEXT

This is a plan which is quite intrusive…..

Some dance would be filmed, and then transported into people’s homes, through their windows, by a portable projector. The projector person would have the role of a ‘good stalker’. They would stand outside the houses, almost like christmas carolling or trick or treating, but possibly more interestingly without the knocking, or pre-warning – like temporary graffiti. 

The film would be projected through people’s windows into their homes. This would also take place in other spaces like in clubs or outdoors onto walls. The projector could be quite small so it would appear and no one would know where it was coming from at first.

This could also take place in a range of locations, and if there was a collection of films which had a connection or relationship, it could be a blast of films – almost like the splurge guns in Bugsy Malone, when they burst into the Grand slam, with several projectors. Like a gallery attack in different spaces. This may be nice if the attackers are in 1920’s/30’s costume for the attack so that the actual film attack is part performance too.

The inspiration behind the project is mostly rooted in my career and interest in dance, and the lack of public awareness of it, and accessibility to it. Particularly contemporary dance, and the plaguing of reality of the nature of dance, and how it works for dance artists in comparison to what is seen on television with Louis Spence, and Pineapple Dance, and Glee. I earn money from promotional and marketing type jobs, and realise their benefit in educating, and encouraging the public to enjoy certain things.
It would be great to blast the public with an artistic approach to dance, and reflect the nature of dance that appears and then is instantly lost as soon as a performance is over, in terms of the projection disappearing once the blast is over.
The other inspiration was the fact there was a post with such freedom!

Lauren is an independent dance artist, choreographer, animator, and film maker.
She graduated in 2008 from London Studio Centre, which is facilitated by University of the arts London, gaining a first class degree in ‘BA Theatre Dance’.
Lauren’s work can be viewed here:
http://laurendance.yolasite.com/ (for dance)
http://laurenbridle.yolasite.com/ (for animation, choreography, art, and film)

Following a two year absence from the Midlands arts scene and a £15m make-over, the Mac (Midlands Arts Centre) has reopened in Birmingham. Wedged between Cannon Hill Park and Edgbaston Cricket Ground, the Mac has long been a quirky mixed bag of arts activity and cultural outreach that tends to bring out the best of Birmingham. This distinct character seems to have been carried forward in the Mac’s new guise which has seen refurbishment and a 40% extension of the former buildings.

As one of the first arts environments I ever became familiar with, the Mac is a facility which I have always felt a certain connection to. In the pre-refurbishment years I’d come for the films and the occasional show but it was becoming increasingly clear that the building could no longer provide for the demands of a 21^st century arts organisation.

Architecturally the new Mac is modern, uncomplicated and reserved – refreshingly, this isn’t a place that is trying to wow people into visiting. The front approach now spans the River Rea and this reconnection with the surrounding environment is a characteristic which has been embraced in several parts of the building’s design. Years ago the dim galleries and fortress-like architecture seemed completely separate to the vivid activity of the park outside. Today the two are far more connected, with light streaming into open spaces and people on park benches enjoying food from the new café.

A crucial upgrade to the Mac is the creation of a dedicated gallery space which provides a high quality double-height space for art exhibitions, installation and video. The centre will also continue to provide theatre performances, music, comedy, children’s theatre, literature and poetry events, films and dance performances.

The building’s capacity for hosting a variety of arts workshops has been extended, allowing a programme of 130+ workshops a week to be sustained. Workshops cover visual arts, digital media, sonic art and professional development.

A welcome addition is the introduction of a flexible Artist Pass Scheme which offers affordable access to the visual arts, design, music and dance studios. Application forms can be downloaded from the Mac website or can be picked up from the centre from June to be submitted by Friday 9th July 2010.

Public Art

As part of the redevelopment, several artists were commissioned to create work that engages with the mac’s environment and audiences. Two permanent works and three temporary projects were developed (info from http://www.macartists.co.uk/):

Sijelo

Artist Myfanwy Johns worked with members of the Bosnian Cultural Centre Midlands to create designs for the first floor carpets. She also developed an area of wood panelling in the new café and floor tiles in the foyer.

The designs are based on the geometric shape of the hexagon, which makes a connection between the name of the theatre at the mac and the geometric form widely used in Islamic and Bosnian traditional crafts such as carpet weaving, crochet, embroidery and wood carving. The translation of ‘Sijelo’ is a word used to describe a social gathering where a craft based activity usually takes place.

Myfanwy and the group held regular get-togethers where they cut paper shapes and crocheted patterns. Scans of the designs were then manipulated into a series of designs and the merit of each was discussed. The paper-cuts and crochet used many influences for their shapes including the lily flower a Bosnian historic symbol. The carpets were woven by Brinton’s in Kidderminster

50 Tiles

50 Tiles is a collective of tiles developed by Sara Taylor to represent the 50 years since the Mac vision was first introduced. The basis of the design structure is formed from geometric shape and pattern, with a distinct 1960’s influence.

Inspiration is taken from tile formations created by tile designer, William De Morgam, Traditional Islamic Patterns and Geometric Ornamentation as well as the abundance of trees situated within Cannon Hill Park. Image and colour placement is a very important part of the design process and each tile design is evolved through a rigorous development process.

Amplifying the Map

Kate Chapman and Charlotte Goodwin invited people who live, work or play close to the Mac to re-discover familiar places and explore places they have never visited before, sharing their thoughts and observations to create an audio map of the changing landscape.

Recordings are being made before, during and after the opening of the Mac to create an audio map – a web of downloadable audio tracks focusing on different locations in a mile radius of Cannon Hill Park.

By walking between these locations and listening to the audio tracks people are able to tune in to the park, to the changing thoughts, observations and reflections of the people who pass through it and who subconsciously respond to its changing landscape.

Time and Place

This participatory work culminates in a visual telling of the story of the Mac and the significant presence it has within Cannon Hill Park. The work and the resulting publication aims to gather information, paraphernalia and public recollections relating to the Mac and Cannon Hill Park from various sources to form a creative archive of the area’s history.

Through a public blog, interviews and participatory workshops the project discusses the notions of heritage and memory with the aim of forming a more complete story of the Mac, its users and the surrounding park.

Artist Laura Guy used walking as her primary research method, taking photographs and making observations. The journeys that are made as part of the project can be seen here.

As part of the project there were printing workshops in the park led by Laura Guy and a professional screen printer. The workshops encouraged participants to make designs based on natural patterns found in Cannon Hill Park with a choice of making a screen printed poster, t-shirt or canvas bag to take away.

The City Sings

Produced by Artmusic, The City Sings is an anthem for the Mac that is played and sung by people from all backgrounds and of all ages.

Composer Helen Ottaway worked with professional and amateur musicians and with the communities of Birmingham to produce a multi-layered work involving music, sound, video and text. The different elements of the project were played, rung and sung across the city before coming together in a live performance to launch the new building. The project was launched with a performance by Trevor Workman on the Bournville Carillon in August 2009.

Part Two of The City Sings was performed in a mass participation, ‘flashmob’ style event on the Chamberlain Square beach at Birmingham’s ArtsFest. Photos from the event can be seen here and a video can be viewed here.

http://www.macarts.co.uk/

Whether it’s an oversized sculpture, a new architectural wonder or a series of sculptures placed on roundabouts, landmark artworks seem to be everywhere. Although the recent economic downturn seems to have stemmed their proliferation, the last 10 years have seen a clear rise in the number of ‘landmark projects’.

As an artist fascinated by the role art can play in the public realm, I am at simultaneously drawn towards landmark artworks but also repelled by them. They are both proof that artists can have a dramatic impact on a place and monuments to something that isn’t about art at all.

It all seemed to kick off a few years after the completion of Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North in 1998. Once the initial local controversy had faded, it soon became recognised as a massive asset, triggering an economic transformation in Gateshead and becoming an identifying feature of the region. This success led to a mad dash across the country as councils sought to benefit from the ‘Angel effect’. The result has been some good quality pieces, some poor examples and a lot of the mediocre and unremarkable.

Today the idea that landmarks can play a major role in helping regeneration is commonplace but this begs the questions whether art should be about more than just creating another ‘iconic’ symbol of regeneration? Perhaps I’m oversimplifying it here, maybe the trick is to balance these two elements – making money and making art – without one pushing the other out of the picture. However, I do get the impression that this is becoming a whole separate category of art all together, one that is led by big stakes, big money and marketing.

To try and get my head around some of these issues I’ve decided to examine the places that have recently been witness to the arrival of new landmarks. The more landmarks I visit, the more I will add to this post.

Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

At 170m the Spinnaker Tower dominates the skyline of Portsmouth. Approaching from the north I was surprised by its size and visibility – you see the tower before you’re even in the city itself, before you know anything about Portsmouth or what it has to offer. Deciding to create a landmark of this size is a high stakes gamble – getting it wrong could be disastrous.

Once I was in the city centre, walking through shopping arcades out towards the harbour, the tower became remarkably well hidden. In this way it appears to be a landmark that affects the street-level identity of the city much less than it impacts on the areas further away. It seems to seek the attention of people outside the city walls rather than inside – like it’s more focussed on enticing drivers on the M27 or people sailing out on the Solent.

The tower’s design, which represents sails billowing in the wind, becomes more apparent from the harbour area; perhaps it’s a little too apparent as it leaves no room for any plurality of interpretation – ‘this is a tower that looks like a sail – this place is about sailing etc’. Nevertheless, it is striking and it seems to do what it was supposed to do.

Opening five years late in 2005, (Spinnaker was originally called ‘Millennium Tower’), it was over budget at £36m and the council had to foot the last £11m. As with many other similar projects this sparked a fair amount of public animosity. In general, it seems a lot of public (or press) hostility stems from the fact that costs are easy to define but benefits are often more intangible and longer term.

Spinnaker has three observation decks and costs around £6 to visit. After buying my ticket I was greeted by several slightly over-enthusiastic members of staff dressed in circus attire. Today was circus day and up on the main viewing deck were two clowns juggling in front of a small audience. It would seem that 350 degree views are no longer enough of an attraction. Falling visitor numbers mean that today’s landmarks not only need to have a viewing platform but also need a calendar of events, museum and a shop; you can even get married up there. If landmark extraordinaire Anish Kapoor’s Olympic project is anything to go by, this trend looks likely to continue.

Since the arrival of Spinnaker Tower on the skyline of the south coast, neighbouring councils have set about the frantic task of coming up with their own eye-catching landmark. In Southsea, part of Portsmouth itself, there are sporadic plans for a giant ‘Solent Eye’ to rival the one that overlooks Westminster. In arch-rival city Southampton they first planned a giant Spitfire wing museum-tower and then toyed with the idea of firing lasers out of the clock tower before finally deciding that neither was achievable. For the last couple of years all has been quiet on the Southampton landmark front, perhaps this indicates an even bigger proposal is in the offing, or as I think is more likely, is this a sign that the latest chapter of ‘landmarking’ is coming to a close? I wonder if such major projects will now only be possible in the Olympic Village.

Heading away from Portsmouth I was left with the impression that, despite a range of challenges, Spinnaker Tower ‘works’. Aesthetically I don’t think it’s that interesting but what it does to the city, or more importantly why it does what it does, is interesting.

This section is for pictures rather than words. No comment will be made on the content.

http://www.vimeo.com/7574279 http://www.vimeo.com/8750694