On Dialogue

"Questions and answers depend on a game - a game that is at once pleasant and difficult - in which each of the two partners takes pains to use only the rights given him by the other and by the accepted form of the dialogue."



Rabinow, P. The Foucault Reader. (1984) "Polemics, Politics, and Problemization: An interview with Michel Foucault" London: Penguin Books (p. 381)

christine borland

Christine Borland is an internationally recognized artist and research fellow of the Glasgow School of Art. Short-listed for the Turner Prize in 1997, Christine is particularly distinguished for her deployment of both current and archaic medical protocols, forensic science practices, and engagement with biotechnology tools and ethics, to create complex and informed bodies of artwork. These cross-sections continue to be an integral part of her work, and are apparent in a spectrum of projects that Christine has completed, ranging from gallery instillations such as This Being you Must Create, to book works like Progressive Disorder, and public sculpture projects as To Be Set & Sown in the Garden.

Christine’s work exemplifies a thread of interest particular to this symposium, in respect to how the process of research, in this case embodied in work involving interdisciplinary collaboration, unfolds and informs contemporary art practice. As a practicing artist Christine’s perspective brings to this symposium a particular insight in relation to practice-led research.


I have proposed Christine as the speaker I hope to invite as I see parallel interests and concerns, in that core content includes notions of life and death, the monstrous and the sublime.

Christine Borland, Spirit Collection: Hippocrates, 1999, Installation View (Detail)

deregulated spaces

Went to an exhibition in a barn last night hosted by Washington Garcia, an artist-run initiative by three graduates of GSA's MFA programme. A really interesting initiative...

Washington Garcia is an independent artist run gallery based in Glasgow. We use a variety of venues as and when they become appropriate for our artists. Our focus is on presenting high-quality work by mid-career and established artists who may not currently have a profile within the city of Glasgow: these may be artists who call Glasgow home but who exhibit more frequently internationally; or artists from elsewhere in the UK or Overseas who have not yet had a major exhibition in a Glasgow gallery. We place a premium on highly resolved and ambitious work across all fine art media. Our aim is to find venues – domestic or industrial, retail or white cube - that complement the individual artist's practice and reveal the work in a distinctive or challenging context.

www.washingtongarciagallery.com

Meeting Minutes 02 / 06.02.08

Present.
Libby (LW)
Finn (FA)
Jess (JF)
Tekla (TW)
Jim (JH)
JH: Transmission portraiture – there is good exhibition on here at the moment which is worth going to see
JH: Toby Webster at Transmission > JH spoke to him and he is tentatively interested in the Symposium if we want to take it in that direction. i.e. professional curator / gallery focus
JH: Briefly went through some conferences / speakers etc such as Creative Industries: Milton Keynes. / Speakers. Enterprises…New Labours Vision. Symposium 27.02.08. Handout.
JH: Utrecht. Modules – see handout
JH: 2 day conferences 7-8 March, 2008 > look behind traditional path to exhibiting. NVA – Angus Farquarson ‘Out of the Box’
JH: studio 1.1, past student at GSA
LW We met through the week and went through the Minutes and briefly discussed with Tekla
Questions that came from our mid week meeting….
FA Research as practice: how flesh it out? An angle? Meet with an idea of why we were selecting certain people might be a way to consolidate the idea of practice based approach/theme
LW the idea of getting professional prac people is still interesting but not so much as a symposium, more as to be fitted into class scheduled time, visiting galleries etc
JF The first assessment query: is it just a typed paper or what is it?
JH Given that there are more students than last year , play it by ear.
Based on this format of the symposium will determine how we interpret this – i.e. a text piece of around 500 words would be suitable perhaps the ‘introduction’ of the symposium guests.
JH explaining assessment process, mainly the rationale behind the written document is proof / material for the external examiner as they would not be attending the symposium presentation and therefore cannot assess it. There needs to be some format of hardcopy to accompany this.
JH says bare with him, he’ll speak to Sue Brind about this component of the assessment.
FA Should we be considering Studio 55 as a possible forum / method for a publication?
TW we don’t want to double up work – can we tie it in somehow to the already allocated assessment tasks
JH We need to consider how the publication would work with the timetable problems. Time between symposium and submission may allow for a paper. A proposal? May be the thing we use to hand out as a program…inline / a piece about the individual you chose to speak. He will double-check it – potentially we can then reflect on whether what we thought would happen / the contribution they would make when we invited them did actually happen.
LW summary – potentially the visual and verbal component of the assessment is/will be the program part of the symposium to be completed prior to the event.
JH: use the contacts made in the gallery visits as invites to symposiums. You can potentially host the Symposium at one of these venues?
FA what about an offsite venue? No problems for me….FA communicates Lisa Beatties response about confirmation for booking on the 17/ 4/08 inclusive of catering and budget etc at the staff lounge. We realised in mid week meeting that the Mac Theatre was not actually booked and thought we should look into it…
What do we think of the staff lounge as a suitable venue for the speaking part of the Symposium – we going to look into the Mac Room ?
LW The Mac room is preferable as this works for access to catering, Transmission gallery there may be difficulty in chairs / moving people from the speaking venue to the catering venue etc
FA Ok, so we will request the Mac Room or similar.
JH how many does it fit?
JF approx 100?
JH Mac lecture theatre is much better as it has infrastructure etc rather than simply a conference room.
FA should we shortlist the speakers?
LW How about we do a statement for each of the speakers we have expressed an interest in and tie it together in themes?
TW Focus on the research aspect or the process aspect of the theme of Practice Led Research?
JH Practiced based research is valid theme but maybe it needs to be finessed. Can we free up an afternoon by resolving some issues earlier?
LW I am not prepared to speak on Ross Birrell now…in speaking to the theme as I do not know enough about his work
JH Christine Borland could be a starting point… then use her as a focus and develop, and select other speakers around this… Can we have two speakers in discussion, then two speakers in discussion then have a communal discussion at the end…? What is it about Christine specifically that interests you?
FA Elaborates on Christine Borland
Research Fellow at GSA
Collaborated with Glasgow University
Residencies…
Cross disciplinary guides the work
JH the booklet form her residency has essays from people from the institution…interesting dynamic possibly for a symposium..
LW RB as from an editorial perspective speaking to this interdisciplinarity or from an artist perspective?
FA we saw in his talk in class that in his art practice he does find a hook and then explore from there…
TW We don’t want to ask him to speak about his work (the same as in this class) as it could be that he would be repeating it?
JH Typically speakers would / could reinvent it for this occasion? Potentially Nicky Bird as she has experience with research and practice
FA we are hesitant to invite her as we have heard about her work to some extent last session…
JH can we ask the speakers to approach it from the different institutional structures or what are the other themes….that is academic, curator/gallery, editorial…studio 55
LW I hesitate to be too prescriptive?
JH well you need to be in a way…you can say – I have heard you speak about a,b,c and could you focus on this and tease out this argument..
FA taking off from that – research in a contemporary art context …there are already themes i.e. artist, editor, curator, ?
JH why Ross in particular? As an editor? As?
LW there are some many aspects he can speak on…refer Finns sketch up
TW Tracey Warr – Is she appropriate now and how does she fit into the themes….still a possibility, but needs to do more research…
JH to JF still Katrina?
JF still interested in her…
JH Christine and Katrina are friends – dialogue, conversation could be an interesting discussion but perhaps you are interested in the more curatorial aspects and its not so appropriate…recap on three guests…an artist, an editor/academic/artist, a curator
LW or is it three speakers and fourth speaker spot is dialogue
FA we can have either – there is enough for fourth speaker and still dialogue…
TW will still look into it…
JH don’t be put off by the time phrase, the academic conference there is a key note speaker…and then 15-20 minute papers > hour and 45 minutes and then ½ hour discussion. Just think about what you want the structure to be…
FA contributors to the contemporary art context…exciting
NH Nicky Milligan – New Moves > performance live arts – could she be a possible speaker? She has organised large international live art festival…10-15 years experience...but it would be from a curatorial perspective.. Performance has become somewhat ghetto’ ised…Richard Layzell, interesting performance artist and has written about it and he is very good at running workshops and is interesting performer. Consider these (to TW)
FA meeting New Media class…I need to book it….
LW How about a meeting in Reading Week? Tie in our own research on each person with the tentative sketch of the contemporary art focus discussed found today
TW trying to not to focus soon people from far, far away…
JH go to environmental art department at GSA and ask them about performance artists that may be around. Most are down south and this incurs costs….
FA ‘encounters’ book in the library...performance and photography as documentation…not one off performances but one singular photographer…
JH in his past work experience… the joys and horrors of documenting performance artists…
JH finalising concept, no structure, total form, list of potential speakers and their contributions, and documentation … promotion we will know better when we work out theme
Next week reading week… following week shortlist …all set.
3000 word is definite but I will ask Sue about it specifically.
Rest is all up for grabs basically.
JH to TW Angus Farqhar – dramatic events. NVA. Tess Department? Band in the 80’s? management or musician – chose a glen in the highlands and Buddhists , map that you followed to encounter performances
Think about the gender balance – should you keep it all women? Does it matter? Up to you?...Does this impact on the way women research?
Locating the Symposium in house may mean promotion and management should be a little easier….this may free up some tutorial space…where we can look at your work. I am happy to stay back for further discussions if need be subject to other meetings etc..
JH meant to say last week the food program is on Sunday at 12.30 Radio 4 .

END.

Scotland

still image: JPC/K
Isle of Arran, 2008

heather
arrow slits
bloodied sheared wool
underground tube recording, please report suspicious behavior
multiple projections
so many shades of gray
whisky soaked rags

responding to architecture (shape, forms, metaphysical)
responding to location (geographic, cultural, weather, light, history)

this is a time and space to form a language.

Friday Event - Nan Hoover

in/out
light installation
Dusseldorf, 1993

Notes from lecture:

There are a spectrum of qualities of light - and how different light conditions affect how we perceive. All of the shades of gray in Glasgow - light stops only when it catches something.

Light touching the body - an erotic element

The origins of ideas (seed of a work) are bridges of thought
Why do we cross-disciplines? New ways of working are at our fingertips - inscribing space.

Instillation, like performance, only happens once, but survives, post-life, in documentation.

The joy & contribution of the artist is creating works that live outside of themselves.

Intention of transportation by slowing down time, a space for reflection which is where original thought lives.

shades of gray

In conversation -

Why did you want to return to Glasgow?
The rain and mist and so many shades of gray that are never black and white

The fact that you were born there and now returned as an adult?
The roots in birth, blood of the context, folds in memory.

What is luminous there? Are there presences we do not have here?
Gothic ghosts and mists that envelope. The city is not my home but rocky highlands and circles of standing stones have snagged my heart.