Sophie Calle + My Journey (09:14 am, Train to Liverpool, Autumn, 10th November 2016)

Sophie Calle is a French writer, photographer, installation artist. After completing her education she went travelling for 7 years. After her return she went to Paris in 1979 and started to produce a series of projects to familiarise herself again with the city and the people and with herself. Her work has emphasis on artistic idea rather than the finished object. Her work relates to herself and the everyday, what is happening around her. She manipulates situations in which the process is the work. Calle' s work only exists through documentation in the form of photographs and text. They are the only "proof" of the work. 

Detective (1981) 

This piece consists of Calle being followed by a private detective for a day, who had been hired by her mother (requested by Calle herself). Calle led the detective around parts of Paris that were important to her. With this work she reversed the expected position of the observed subject. This piece questions the role of the spectator, with viewers feeling uneasy as they become collaborators in violation of privacy. In a way this piece is evidence of her existence. 

I really like this piece as the art for me is in the idea and the process, as it happens. The write-up after is the documentation of the day and what happened on that day tracking every single movement of the artist. Although there was only one audience (the detective) the documentation acts as evidence that this piece occurred and wider audience can enjoy the work by reading about it (detectives writ- ups) and looking at the photographs. 

link if you want to read about the day

Detective (1980) 

The Hotel (1981)

In this project Sophie Calle was hired as a temporary chambermaid for three weeks in a Venetian hotel. She was assigned 12 bedrooms on the 4th floor. Throughout the course of her cleaning responsibilities, she examined personal belongings of the hotel guests and observed through details lives which were unknown to her. She read diaries, letters, postcards, went through suitcases and studied the room to find out more about the guests. Returning and observing again what has changed. Again her work was documented through writings and observations she had made as well as the photographs. She goes to such a length to do her pieces which is very inspiring to me. She only started working there just to accomplish her idea. She creates environments for herself to create these works and observations. Her art is engaging with the everyday life and observing it. In this project she was a detective. 

The Hotel, Room 44 (1981)

The Hotel, Room 29 (1981)

I have been creating my own observations but not to such a scale as Calle. I observed my surroundings and the people on train from start to finish, capturing through writing what happens around me in that particular moment. However they are not that extensive as Calle's pieces and for me they are at the moment experimentations or idea triggers that can potentially develop into an artwork. 

09:14 am

Train to Liverpool

Autumn

10th November 2016

On a train back to Liverpool

Leeds Platform 16A

People pushing, shuffling, moving…

I already took my seat: coach B Seat 28,

next to a window on the right hand side.

We have set off.

A woman sat next to me in her 20’s, hot drink in hand.

A very polite man in glasses (a conductor) just checked my ticket.

Now i can sit undisturbed.

It has been snowing at night but surprisingly it is not as cold today

It is chilly with a sunshine and blue sky.

We are passing green trees,

surprised they haven't turned yellow yet as it is autumn.

“This is Dewsbury, the next stop will be Huddersfield…”

We stopped.

The doors opened

A breeze of cold air brushed against my feet

The door closed, we are on the move again

I see graffiti on my right, on the back of the building

Red, blue, green, white…can’t make out the imagery

The woman next to me started watching a film on her laptop

I don't recognise it.

Around, people are chatting, discussing work or staring into distance

Sudden silence

Rustling of crisp packet

Sounds of heavy typing on keyboard

Conductor asks for passes from Dewsbury

I keep looking through the window

The scene disappearing in seconds as the train moves

I see trees

Green, red, yellow, orange, brown…

Its 09:28am

We are slowing down.

“We will shortly be arriving at Huddersfield..”

A man across from me is falling asleep.

The sun is blinding my eyes

Warm and peaceful

Through the window i see shop signs - Matalan, Wynsors, B & Q

We have stopped

People are leaving

A cold breeze against my feet

New people are coming and we set off

I had a sip of Ribena

I see men in a suit and tie walking past expressionless,

Boring office jobs i assume

Passed a small tunnel

I love tunnels

A line of small detached houses through my right window, identical

Another tunnel

Should i count how many tunnels we will pass?

Beautiful trees and greenery, reminds me of Latvia

I am going there in December but there trees will be bare by then

A snowy white winter

A woman's phone began to ring, surprising both of us.

Ringtone: Take That - Rule the World

From the conversation i understood she wasn't feeling well and cancelled her plans

Trees, trees, and more trees

Its 09:42am

A train has passed moving in the other direction, fast

3rd tunnel

I see reflection on the window of what is inside of the train

A double image

Layers

Laughter, chatter, silence…

We are moving in a straight line at a constant speed

Time is passing fast

4th tunnel (very long one, 5 minutes in the dark)

Two guy on far left in suits talking about the gym and protein beer

Protein beer? Is that even a thing?

Trees, trees, trees…

Sheeps on a slope

I am tired of sitting

I have figured out what the woman next to me is watching

It is Downton Abbey series

I have watched it before with my mum but forgot to keep up

A small lonely tree in a small green field

5th tunnel

“We will shortly be arriving at Stanley Bridge…”

We have stopped

New people came in

We are on the move again

My feet are freezing

6th tunnel

I am sleepy, my eyes feel heavy

Graffiti in the distance, a bright blob

It's 10:15am

An hour has passed

“We will shortly be arriving at Manchester Piccadilly…”

The woman sitting next to me has left

I see a lot of people crammed together, standing on the platform waiting for their train

New people entering my train

The whistle blowing and we are on the move

I sit alone

Tall beautiful buildings of Manchester city surrounding us

According to the voice person we are late by 13 minutes

A set of small tunnels on my right under a big bridge. Beautiful

1, 2, 3, 4, 5….

Graffiti

We are moving really fast, left and right

Trees

A guy in front of me is called Ben,

i know that because he has introduced himself so on his phone

There is a seat between us, i can see him through reflection in the window.

He is wearing a yellow/purple/green sports coat vintage style and a brown hat

Ben has mid brown hair and an overgrown stubble

Bright sun from window from far left shining onto the page i am writing on

Flashing when something is in the way

Flash, Flash, Flash…

And then it is constant again

It's 10:37am

I just sneezed quietly fourth time today

The faster we go the flashier it gets

Plays with my vision

7th tunnel

Sipping on Ribena

“We will shortly be arriving at Birchwood…”

Arrived

People getting off

Moving again

Still sitting by myself

The train is quite empty

8th mini tunnel

Roads, houses, trees, cars, busses…

The conductor asking for tickets

Ben is asleep

A man next to him is reading the newspaper with a sad expression

Flash flash flash

It's 10:54am

Sudden laughter somewhere from the back of the train

9th tunnel

10th tunnel

“We will shortly be arriving at Liverpool South Parkway…”

We are moving really slow, i keep looking through the window

My legs are stiff i want to get out

We have stopped

It's cold

People are getting off

Ben is still asleep

13th tunnel (long)

It’s 11:11 make a wish

“We will shortly be arriving to Liverpool Lime Street where this train will terminate”

11:14 we have stopped at platform 9

Everybody leaves

...

What i like about this observation is that it is done on the move and i take in my surrounding and what happens around me as i go. Observing both the inside and the outside of the train. After a while patterns started to occur in what was happening e.g counting tunnels, the stops... Counting the tunnels became a game and listening and observing people became interesting as they showed their personalities e.g the ringtone or Ben. Also although i observed what was happening around me at the time and writing about them, my own personality showed through in the way i wrote things and what i naturally focused on. Different people would have observed the same situation differently.

I wrote for two hours straight and after a while it became automatic and natural. I was in tune with my surroundings and was able to notice and find beauty in the smallest of things. It was a very enjoyable process.

Not sure where this will lead me but i will continue to make these observations.

~ Ev

Observation 1 - 12:08pm, St Johns Square, Autumn, 29th October 2016

I have recently started to record my observation in different spaces through writing, documenting what i see and what is happening around me. The sounds i hear, movements, people, small gestures, birds, etc. Observing and being fully aware of my surroundings. Being in the present moment. My inspiration came from Georges Perec and his own observations in Paris. I wrote without thinking too much about my words, for the text to be raw and honest, without anything being exaggerated. The writing became quite interesting to read as they are not long and very direct to the point. They are recordings of my own experience at that particular time and place. I think i can turn it into a performance or an audio piece. In one of my observations i was sitting on a bench next to a tree. It could be possible to create an audio piece where i can hide the audio in a tree to play for many hours on loop. People who sit down on that bench would hear the piece.

12:08pm

St Johns Square

Autumn

29th October 2016

Sitting on a bench next to a tree. There are many other

benches as this one around the square. In the middle of

the square there is a big empty space, a walk through.

People walking past in different directions.

It is cloudy, no wind, the warmest it has been for the

past couple of days.

The sound of wheels, suitcases, prams, bicycles.

Kids shouting in the background. Faint sound of music

barely noticeable.

Atmospheric.

Ever changing sounds.

The fountain on the left of me getting louder as it becomes

higher and quieter as it falls.

Calming, meditative, rhythmic.

Kids running through the fountain having a time of their life.

Wish i was a kid.

Seagulls suddenly disturbing the pleasant sounds

surrounding me.

I looked up. A blanket of small birds covering the sky,

dancing in a pattern. A hypnotic site.

A guy sitting opposite me to the right looked at me like

i was crazy. Do i look strange looking up to the sky and

enjoying my surroundings?

Oh there's a pigeon walking past my foot, a fat one.

Just noticed the leaves surrounding my bench, reminding

me that it is autumn already. Slowly falling around me.

People with headphones busy in their own world, unaware

what is around them.

Busy busy busy…

A woman walked passed with heavy groceries in both hands,

probably for halloween party that is to come.

One two

one two

one two…

A young boy has caught my eye in the middle of the

square with blue coat and blue umbrella in hand, running

around and scaring the pigeons away.

An older man with a stick just approached my bench having

a break and drinking i assume a cup of tea.

We are getting older.

Children with blue balloons, there's a lot of blue today.

A guy that looked strange at me just left.

One two

one two

one two...

Two teenage girls walked passed from behind me discussing

halloween costumes.

A bicycle drove past diagonally.

When i say square it is a square.

A man walking past

One, two

One, two

One, two…

The sound of footsteps

Another boy scaring the pigeons away

Used cigs everywhere,

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six….

A pigeon nearly landed on woman's head

Happened to me a lot

Children shouting and screaming, running and jumping

An older couple slowly walking through the square, holding hands

Time has passed, we are getting older.

Its 12:18 pm

I wonder do i look strange constantly scribbling and

looking around me?
A boy in striped jumper approximately 2 years running away

from his mum. His mum laughing and chasing after him.

Love these moments

Around 50 people in the square

A man dropped a piece of paper on purpose it seems, littering.

It is 12:33 pm

I just dropped a lid from my pen near my feet as i played with

it between my fingers

One, two

One, two

One, two…

A photographer on a mission to capture an old building on my far left,

trying to avoid people around him.

The fountain is like music, getting louder and then quieter.

Gentle, rhythmic.

Calming.

...

I am planning to do more of these observations around the city. Possible places are: St Georges Hall steps, steps of the Bombed Out Church at the end of Bold Street, Liverpool Lime Street Station. Also can try sitting in a cafe and observing people who walk past. Or could try even observing whilst on the move, on a train journey.  

~ Ev

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

Alter Bahnhof Video Walk, 2012

This piece work is set in Kassel, Germany in an old train station. Participants could borrow an iPod and headphones to experience the piece. People could watch the video and the scene unfold as they stood in the exact same spot. This creates a bigger connection to the video than just plainly looking at it. Being physically engaged and in a way being part of the work, walking around the space and exploring it. As people followed the moving image they tried to frame it as though they were the camera operator. Moving the iPod to the left or right, up or down, depending on how it was shot in the video. This experience is a merge of past and present, memory and the small moments. Layers of time. 

What really stands out to me in this piece of work is the physical engagement of the viewer. They had to walk around the space in a particular way set out my the artist and the video, exploring the space in a particular way. This is something i want to try out in my practice. Also i would like to create a piece of work that lives outside the gallery that is experienced in a certain way in that particular setting. Where people will not be aware that it is a piece of work. The piece naturally blends in with life. 

Link to the documentation of the piece
(This is a 6 minute clip of a 26 minute piece)

~ Ev

Artist: James Turrell - Skyspaces

American artist James Turrell has worked directly with light, space and colour to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception. James Turrell considers the sky as his studio, material and canvas. His work is not about light or the recordings of it, his work is light - the physical presence of light in sensory form. 

There are over eighty Skyspaces - chambers with an opening in the ceiling to the sky. Just by witnessing the sky from within a Turrell Skyspace, at dawn and dusk, reveals how we internally create the colours we see and thus, our perceived reality. Turrell’s medium is pure light. It's not something you can form, carve away at like wood or stone. You need to value the lights presence and create the experience for people to feel the same. He brought the space of the sky down to the top of the space you enter. Closing the gap so you feel like you are in the air. 

I absolutely love the simplicity of the work and at the same time the intensity of it. You are left to question your own perception, your own thoughts. You observe how your eyes and mind perceive colour. It is a very sensory experience. Feeling the light's physical presence and come to value it. James Turrell creates an experience that is different for everybody as all of us sees differently. Every experience will be different depending on light, time of day, what your eyes focus on and your perception. The spaces feel like temples where you can go and experience light and the sky and just be with yourself. 

“My work has no object, no image and no focus. With no object, no image and no focus, what are you looking at? You are looking at you looking. What is important to me is to create an experience of wordless thought." James Turrell

James Turrell's architectural installations heighten the viewers awareness of light leaving out any other distractions. The experience could be considered as peaceful and meditative. 

"He's an orchestrator of experience, not a creator of cheap effects. And every artist knows how cheap an effect is, and how revolutionary an experience." Chuck Close 

After coming out of such a space you start to question everything you look at. You become more observant of light and its affect on surroundings. 


~ Ev

ABC Cinema - Biennial

I have walked past this building on the corner for the past two years of living in Liverpool and never knew what was inside. I didn't know it was an old cinema that has been closed for years. ABC Cinema is a Grade II listed building in Art Deco style, opposite Lime Street. It first opened for the public in 1931. The last film shown there was in 1998, showing Casablanca.

ABC Cinema from outside

For the Biennial the ABC Cinema is open to the public, to see some of the work produced by artists that are exhibiting there. As mentioned in my previous post this year's Biennial is spaced over 22 venues holding around 42 artists ranging in disciplines, mediums and practices. The venues are ranging from polished gallery spaces to abandoned and unused buildings, public spaces and museums. So when i heard that some spaces that they used this year are abandoned and unused i was intrigued how the artists have engaged with such a unique space and i couldn't wait to see the space itself too.

As i entered into the space i was a bit disorientated due it being quite dark and badly lit to see my surroundings. I needed time for my eyes to adjust to the lighting and take in everything around me. It was a really different experience from a white cube gallery space. I didn't know where to look and how to behave in the space. The space itself was so beautiful and atmospheric that at some point i didn't look at the artwork in it but the beautiful characteristics of the space, such as the uneven flooring, the cold underground feel and the look of the space that has been frozen in time.

I moved around the space trying to figure out where the work is as the sculptures have blended really well to the surroundings. Suddenly a video started playing on the other side where the stage was. There was a stage on which i could see a big screen and a video playing. There were seats in front of the screen randomly spaced out and different from each other which i found was a nice touch. the seats were worn and old and really went well with the surroundings. The video itself was mostly coloured in purple, blue and pink. Tinted to create an atmosphere. There were figures in the video, acting and telling us some kind of a story. The artists collaborative work reflects on cinema history, philosophy and technological evolution. The video recounts a history of technology in reverse.

Exhibition view at ABC Cinema, Liverpool Biennial 2016. Photo: Jerry Hardman-Jones

The video piece was by Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni. The video was called The Unmanned - 1922 - The Uncomputable, Season 1, Episode 4, 26 mins, 2014 (excert 7 mins).

Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni, The Unmanned (1922 – The Uncomputable) (film still), 2016. Courtesy the artists

"The Unmanned includes an account of the Earth’s dismantling in 7242, the discovery of California by conquistadors in 1542, and, in 2045, the moment at which machine intelligence overtakes human intelligence. The most recent episode, 1922 – The Uncomputable, which reflects on Lewis Fry Richardson’s attempt to build a huge weather-forecast factory, has been commissioned for this year’s Biennial as part of the Flashback episode." - link

What i found the most interesting about this piece of work is its positioning in relation to the theme of the video and its surroundings. In that particular space on the stage. Having a screen on stage where history meets technology, past meets present. I like the collision of old and new and it is the perfect space for this particular video which focuses on technological evolution. The old historic cinema adds to the video and does not take away, they are balancing each other well in the space and work together to deliver information. If this same video would have been shown in a plain white cube it would have been more boring from my point of view and less interactive with the space and the audience which in my opinion is important. It would not have the same relationship with the space.

Another thing that i have notice in the space is the interaction between the artworks. When the video is playing the other artworks are not seen as they are in the dark and attention is on the video, when the video isn't playing the sculptures and the rest of the pieces are visible. They allow each other to breathe in the space and interact in the space in their own way.

Definitely a space to check out. Historic and beautiful with interesting art!

~ Ev

Krzysztof Wodiczko - 'Guests' (Liverpool Biennial)

Today i went to FACT in Liverpool to see some of the artists showing there for the Biennial (Festival of Contemporary Art). This year there are 22 venues holding around 42 artists ranging in disciplines, mediums and practices. The venues are ranging from polished gallery spaces to abandoned and unused buildings, public spaces and museums. 

The artist that really stood out for me at FACT was Krzysztof Wodiczko. Wodiczko is an artist renowned for his large-scale slide and video projections on architectural facades and monuments. He works around the themes of war, trauma, memory, conflict and communication in the public sphere. His practice combines art and technology to highlight marginal social communities and add legitimacy to cultural issues that are often given little design attention.

As i entered the dark rectangular room where the work was, i saw several projections in shape of windows lining the walls. As soon as i was looking through the "windows" i felt i wasn't in a gallery anymore. I felt that i was in a different space, on the other side of the window where the video was recorded. It felt as though i was looking at people through foggy windows trying to make out what they are talking about and what they are doing. 

The projections were easy to watch and understand. It wasn't one of them videos where you really strain to watch and grasp the meaning of it. This piece was simple yet effective, really balanced out well. It is interactive and that is very important for me to see in an artwork. Some kind of engagement with the audience. 

I could make out that each projection was a different window from a different place. Through one window i could see workers cleaning the windows and singing songs in foreign language. Through another window i could see two gentlemen discussing their problems about naturalization in the country they live now. I could make out a busy place with people passing by in the rain with their umbrellas up and a woman with a child discussing her problems with a friend. The more i saw and the more i heard (but mostly read the subtitles as a lot of it was in different languages), i felt as though i was eavesdropping on them as i was not visible from the other side of the window. The scenes felt private and personal. 

It did not feel to me that i was in a gallery, in a white cube. I felt like i was elsewhere looking into somebody else's life and i was a guest to listen in into the everyday conversations. This work was interactive and atmospheric. I loved feeling a sense of a different place and space. The only boundary between me and those people were windows. 

Krzysztof Wodiczko talking about the piece: Link to video

I have watched a short video of the artist talking about this work and i really like how by using the sense of a different space and the subject, he is making us question whether we are strangers or are we the guests.

This piece of work really made me question how in my own work i can bring a sense of a different space and interaction into the plain gallery. 

~ Ev