Neoartists weblog

Title: “From Oslo to Cape Town. A journey to personal landscapes”

Background to the concept: Early in his career, Issey Miyake (one of the most Sculptural and Fine Art oriented of designers) was fascinated by the Harris Tweed industry and became preoccupied with the complexity of the natural colours used by the Highland weavers. To capture some of that colour he sent and had ’staked out’, large pieces of linen on the ground in Scotland and returned to collect them some months later. He obtained the most delicate, natural ’staining’ of the linen in colours too ‘insubstantial’ to have been printed. This he turned into one of his early collections in Osaka.

You might guess from my own pictures that I am preoccupied by landscape and have wanted to experiment with alternate ways of engaging with it. This idea of Issey Miyake’s has always resonated with me and I thought that this might be a way of exploring some of its landscape potential.

General Idea: 

1.Contacts of Neoartists from around the world would be sent a package by me containing a meter of un-sized canvas or linen, a set of instructions on how and where to ‘deploy/stake-out’ this fabric and a deadline for the return of the fabric to their Neoartist contact. Their return package could also include location photographs, latitude/longitude and weather information, observations on light/colour/sky impressions - and in their local language - a title that to them epitomises the feelings that their ‘personal landscape’ evokes. (NB These contacts/friends do not need to be practicing artists!)

2. On receiving these packages each Neoartist should devise a method for stretching and/or mounting/framing the work so that any accompanying ‘information’ can be sympathetically integrated with the final piece for exhibition. (I would like to think that some text, prose or poetry might come back too.)

NB: Each Neoartist would be expected to bring their own slant/style/methodology to bear on the final product!

 3. So far, I have several people around the world who are interested in taking part:

 Oslo - Salford - Dublin - Cork - Cairo - Cape Town - ? – (Hence the provisional title)

The next step I guess would be to ask what members think of the idea and whether or not any of you think it has any value or potential.

Don’t forget, I’m only at the start of this idea taking shape and as you know yourself…… things change etc….. so it could wind up being very different in the end.

Let me know what you think initially or if you have any ideas to add to the general concept.

Hope I’m not infringing any procedures by post this on the general blog!!

Going through a dreadful dreadful time with latest set of paintings. The normal concerns still apply: shall I let go and let the painting take over? Is this one going to be merely a shallow version of the first electrifying burst of insight that inspired the first painting in this group? Is there  continuity in this work? (I had a huge shock last year with a gallery in Manchester who couldn’t accept my thesis on the difference between ‘continuity’ and ‘consistency’. It was obvious that they were interested only in consistency of ‘brand’ and the easy recognition by the buyer of the artists ’style’. That depressed me enormously but also reinforced my determination to maintain my own continuity (only the artist is truly aware of what that is and indeed when the thread of continuity is broken - perhaps, when the thread breaks you know that you have finished, failed or succeeded - or indeed it could be the point at which a new horizon opens?)  Anyway, these moments of paralysis pass don’t they? But it’s good to know that NEOARTISTS offers us a ’space’ in which to keep going.

Day 1 of what, for me, looks like being an exciting enterprise in the company of many stimulating people and their ideas. A project that I am soon to submit to the panel for consideration will require, and involve, several artists in the UK and their contacts around the world. If the concept gains approval - I hope that some NeoArtists will be interested enough to become involved!

There was a usefull article about cheap holidays for artists in the papers travel section (17.10.09) the websites mentioned were, creatorsinn.com (Gothenberg, Sweeden) mounttremperarts.org (Catskill mountains, New York) and lamuse.com i’d hazzard a guess thats somewere in France

Hi everyone just trying to find my way around the website again. I think the blog password is intended be a test to see if you have any degree of autism as I think even Rainman would struggle to remember mine! what does post ’slug mean’ and ‘pings’.  I have only just learned how to use all the features on my mobile after having it for four year so don’ t watch this space you may grow old with me. Look forward to seeing everyone again. Linda Brown.