Monday, August 18, 2003
Today I'm being an artist...
So said I to a couple of kids yesterday morning when I was liberating some black stones from the brook in Dawlish as they were cycling past and asked what I was doing. What am I doing? I also have a load of driftwood procurred from Dawlish Warren, and, in a week or so, Emma & I intend to travel up to Dartmoor for the day and "do our Richard Long thing". Why? Because I want to. Emma's constant declaration of "but I'm not an artist" is met by my rebuttal - "you are as soon as you do some art; ergo, do some art!" So to that end we shall spend Tuesday week "doing some art", with Dartmoor as the canvas and some black stones and driftwood as the paints and brushes.
Anyway, what's Mr Benn got to do with any of this? The simple fact that right now I'm being a blog writer, tomorrow night I'll be a footballer, on Wednesday I'll be an audio/visual library assistant, on Thursday I'll be a beachcomber, at the weekend I'll be a music writer, on Tuesday week I'll be an artist... Mr Benn, of course, would enter the costume shop each day and magically the shopkeeper would appear to allow Mr Benn to try on a new costume, and with each new costume came a new life and a new set of experiences. I guess Sam in Quantum Leap experienced a similar thing, except that his guy-rope back to reality had been cut so he could never go back. Mr Benn, being a children's programme, had the safety of always returning to the shop and then work and then home.
In my own way, I'm trying to be Mr Benn, avoiding simple, permanent definitions of myself by embracing passing fancies and availing myself of vague opportunities, trying on a new hat each day as I fancy it. Thus if I have an idea of something I'd like to do I shall try and facilitate doing it. Being an artist is one hat!
The idea of using natural found objects to alter an environment and make it somehow more magical appeals to me massively and is something I've had buzzing around my brain for a while now. The tipping point was The Simpsons the other day when Homer became an artist, and Lisa mentioned that German chap who wraps entire buildings in fabric and places opened umbrellas alongside the freeway. And so, on Tuesday, that's what we shall do, using driftwood and black stones and Dartmoor. I intend to leave the found-object pieces in place, and as such will provide instructions on here explaining how to find them, should anybody wish to (assuming the don't get moved / destroyed / disassembled). Emma and I are both keen photographers too, so you can also expect some pictures of how things turn out.
I like this; my imagination is firing all over the place. Yesterday I saw some twisting metal garden plant-stands of the type you might use to help runner beans grow, and it struck me that their fluid, chrome surfaces would look incredible juxtaposed with a forest surround, so I might well head down to B&Q to see if I can pick some up and try the idea out for size. I'm also thinking about doing things with flags, and contemplating buying a easel and some canvas...
Tomorrow, of course, I might decide I want to be a spaceman again. Speaking of which; does anybody know where I can buy a spacesuit?
8/18/2003 10:18:00 am
|
|
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home