19/03/2010

Forgot to mention that I went to a talk by David Brancaleone at the Faber studios in Limerick. The talk was about socially engaged contemporary art practice. It was good to hear that he has kept himself well informed as to contemporary art practice; the arguments of different writers etc. I was the only undergraduate there from the Limerick School of Art and Design.
Carried on editing the video work. Had a quick chat with Alan Keane about the prospective MA study; he seems to be very enthusiastic about it and he will advise me on aspects that will strengthen my proposal, it is great to get this professional advice on this matter. The library has got a new copy of Guy Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle", someone had stolen the copy they originally had, so have got it out and will read it as it is appropriate to my work. I have skimmed it online before so have a fair idea of it's contents. Have booked out the 3cc video camera again for this week end; I will see if I can get some better footage this time; Matt Gidney has given me a couple of pointers that may help.

18/03/2010

Carried on editing the video work; I am getting more proficient at using premiere pro. Actually got a notion to do some drawing and painting ! Drew a quick sketch of a used shotgun cartridge; I dipped my fingers into some red acrylic paint and placed them over the drawing; it was a metaphor for blood on one's hands which I suppose is a metaphor itself for the taking of someones life. I am in the process of getting some more shotgun cartridges; I believe I can use them in my work, I will also get some bullets. Put some more fingerprints on a sheet of white paper and quickly moved my hand across the page; it was meant to as if they were "shot" across the page. They resembled heads, so I added matchstick bodies to them.(I hope no psychiatrists ever read this; they'll send the men in white coats for me! LOL). Also started a painting on mirror paper of the shotgun cartridge;(by using the mirror paper, I want people who look at the painting to actually relise that they are in the painting, and that the shotgun cartridge, or shall we just call it a bullet, is not only a part of the cultrual reality of life in limerick (Not just Limerick) but that if effects the life of every individual on some level). I added the words at the top "This will liberate me" (A colleague who works with ".........." says that they believe getting into a life of crime, drugs, and so forth, will liberate them. However, the REALITY is the opposite; it keeps them in limited circles; but, this is their reality.

16/03/2010

Unfortunately, the footage has not turned out as good as was expected. I had a chat with Matt and then Nigel about it to see what they would suggest. (When the mirror shattered it caught the reflection of the sun, and the result was like a photo flash over the whole sequence of the shattering mirror). Matt says perhaps a higher frame rate might be an option to get a better result in slow motion; he is going to refer to the manual, hopefully I can get the desired effects. Nigel has suggested that I shoot some more footage, but this time on an overcast day. Went to the "Art in the Making" today; an ex sculpture student was giving a talk about his work. He and a couple of other students have got a studio/exhibition space on Catherine Street Limerick called Faber Studios. It was interesting to hear about the group/studio dynamics. Apparently, there is a lot more to having a studio than meets the eye; he is trying to organise artist talks/visits etc, something which he had not envisaged himself doing. The MA students were having a critique today down in Georges quay. I was in two minds as whether to stay and get the benefit of the crit, or to go and give them some privacy; I chose the latter; hard enough to be in a crit with your peers, without a pesky 4Th year being there too ! LOL
Nigel mentioned that one of my submissions to the "Table of Contents" website was published; I had almost forgotten about it.

(Photograph of workspace; published on the "Table of contents" website.)

15/03/2010

Spent most of the day getting footage for video work. A cousin of mine assisted me with the shooting (sorry for the pun!). It went well, although the biggest problem was the sunshine; it was very hard to see the video camera screen. Of course, it was on my mind that there was a chance that the 3cc camera might get damaged in the process, but thank God it didn't. Went in to college and managed to get the footage downloaded onto my computer. I also made a sound recording of the shot gun being fired; one at low level and the other at high level, to see which one would be more suitable. Got that downloaded as well.


Shattered reality. Experiment.

12/03/2010

Got some research of the shootings in Limerick, and some information about the feuding families etc. I realise that this is perhaps a macabre topic to bring to art practice, however, it is nontheless a part of the cultural reality of modern day Ireland and especially Limerick. Perhaps if we all just turn a blind eye to these kinds of things, they will go away !

11/03/2010

Carried on editing some video work; I wanted to put a still frame in the video, but it was not really a success. I will have to take my own photo and edit it down. (The picture will be of a "Happy family"). I have entered 2 audio pieces into the work; one of birdsong, and the other of a police siren; it is a good effect and adds great effectiveness to the piece. Went to the art in the making saminar, it was hosted by University of Ulster lecturer Dr. Justin McKewon. It was mainly a talk about the centre for suburban research, which he ran from his home. He offered a series of residencies to different artists including:Gavin Peacock, Denis Romonovski, Paul SnowdStapleton, Caroline Pugh, Sinead Bhreathnach Cashell, Emily Kyoko snowdon and Nathan Crothers. He also spoke about the nature of the work each artist was doing; it was quite interesting. Unbeknown to me (and others) the GRO meeting was moved to another location, however, Kieran Cashell kindly gave a quick overview of the GRO application procedure.

10/03/2010

Had a tutorial with Mark this morning. As usual, he has given me some good advice as to what areas need addressing in the work. As each tutorial goes bye I gain a clearer understanding of the dynamics involved in contemporary art practice. Although a closet pragmatist; I realise now that in terms of the course specifics, this kind of approach in not really appropriate.
How can my work add to the discourse in contemporary art practice, if there is not a clear and concise ideology behind it ? I know that my work in essence raises questions about the notions of reality, perception, time, space and cognition, but the work articulated in these terms is in some sense too general/incoherent. My challenge then is to delve into the SPECIFIC ! With this in mind, I have pondered the possibilities within the work, and have come to the conclusion that the actual focus of the work seems to be leaning in the direction of cultural reality, and more specifically Limerick's cultural reality. One video work which I will be working on over the week end, involves the use of a shotgun, and it was only recently I heard on the news that Limerick has the highest incidents of shootings in Ireland; is this not the shattered reality of which the work speaks of ?...........Eureka !