Wednesday 30 June 2010

you see? I'm still functioning.

The general consensus is

that one must resist the temptation to urinate in a Duchamp fountain…”[1]

Functional objects communicate usability: blowing a whistle, playing an instrument, smashing that fire alarm, pissing in Duchamps fountain. The Duchampian idea of a Readymade removes this use value and instead projects a high art status on the useable. Unable to perform the object we must admire it from afar, commodities become objects of desire.

A disposable income buys luxury goods. It seems that, the less we can afford them, the more we desire them. Attaining objects of desire requires an exchange: money swaps hands. Fluxus says: "Hey! - coffee cups can be more beautiful than fancy sculptures. A kiss in the morning can be more dramatic than a drama by Mr. Fancypants. The sloshing of my foot in my wet boot sounds more beautiful than fancy organ music.”

Caught somewhere between the desire of the unattainable and finding pleasure in the everyday, there is a harsh realisation that life may just be about surviving: smashing fire alarms and pissing in urinals.


[1] A. Satz, ‘Sculptural Fits’, Henry Moore Institute: Sculpture and Performance Conference, 2010

Wednesday 16 June 2010

porcelain blues

This morning I bought 3 bags of porcelain and 5 kilos of glaze (on my credit card/ dreadit card), it was delivered at half four this afternoon and I piled it into the wheelchair (it also functions as a trolley) and wheeled it to the new studio - I moved studio.

And now I'm ranting and swearing to Michelle about what a bastard porcelain truly is. It's not gritty and strong like grey clay, it's spongy and brittle, but it smooths beautifully under a palette knife, but also collapses in your hand.

It feels like some unrequited love between me and porcelain. I regard it so highly, I think it is perfect and beautiful and I am utterly seduced by saying the word and rolling it around in my head and writing it down and typing it into the keyboard. But oh porcelain.... you bastard.


Friday 4 June 2010

he said...

He said, (but i can't quote, so i'll tell you in my own words, with some of his words), he said, Technical skill is good, and impressive but not exciting. That's what he said.