Perspectives Lectures
Perspectives Lecture 19.2.19
Janette Parris
Comedy & the absurd
Animation - Fred's Cafe - comedy
Interested in musical theatre, decided to write her own musical
Starts with a relationship - woman thinks her and her boyfriend are too comfortable with each other
Wrote another musical - 'you're the one'
Decided to write jokes for a comedian
Took singing lessons so she could perform herself 'I'm so fucked off I could sing' in Peckham Square - political - sang songs by George Michael, Michael Jackson etc
Because they were sang quite 'badly' they became emotional and real
Poster campaign and live performance at Tower tube station
Tap dancing lessons - tried to recreate dance from old musical - comedy - awful compared to the original! (Film American in Paris)
Comic - Arch - collar with visitors to a north London housing estates community centre for elderly residents - turned snippets from interviews into comic strip jokes
Another version of comic - market stall jokes
Comic - university of Hertfordshire
Comic about struggles of being an artist turned into jokes
Designed a mural for Peckham - realised they didn't actually own the walls... So the mural never existed
Interpret or copy Cardiff Story Museum artefacts
Performance - song - play your tambourine - would turn up in different spaces of the museum and sing
Short stories (photos)
Brief encounters - animation
Job centre - life passing by - the world is my oyster
Now invites people to watch her rehearse songs etc
Now writing a musical about Croydon
Perspectives Lecture 26.2.19
Louise Ashcroft
Interested in artists who use small gestures to change the situation, such as in a public space. E.g. Walking around in magnetic shoes or pointing at somebody on the tube.
Wanted to overthrow big capitalism and other power systems.
Miscellaneous Vegetable: bought small vegetables from African shops and taking them to a supermarket to act like she was trying to buy them. Cashier would be confused which often led to Louise having to meet the manager about this situation. Started conversation about taxonomy of vegetables. Throwing a question mark into the system.
Statue Spray: started carrying perfume around and spraying the statues with it. Getting the statues more in touch with their feminine side - most statues are of 'masculine' men. Picking at power.
Roadwork Treasure: placing chocolate coins where roadworks were happening. Almost like a treasure hunt, making everyday jobs more interesting.
Anti-Gentrification Bat-Attracter Device: encouraged bats to roost in buildings that were due to be knocked down or refurbished meaning that those actions were no longer allowed to happen because of the wildlife in them.
Anti-Crowd Device 1: a device worn around the waist to keep people away, especially at rush hour.
Anti-Crowd Device 2: an old mail sack turned into a mask to completely cover her face. People stayed away because they were just confused and creeped out.
I'd Rather Be Shopping: Interested in shopping centres, sensory overload. Rich people, poorer people, kids, teenagers hanging out.
Video: Unicorns of Westfield: Unicorns everywhere!! History about mythical beasts, Queen Elizabeth I had a 'unicorn horn' in a cabinet that was probably a narwhal tusk. Plays on words by using the things that are on sale in these shops at Westfield. Apocalyptic imagery throughout the centre. Making connections between things and how the brain automatically wants to connect these things.
Unlucky Dip: spoof council department. Focus group, what sort of sea monster do you want to attract to Hastings. A way of regenerating the economy. Loch Ness Monster generates millions. Had to put their hand in the pillow case and describe what sea monster they could feel.
The Boring Talks: BBC: talking about boring things that people are interested in. The Argos Catalogue, Westfield Shopping Centre, Call Centres etc.
Use what's around you, steal things.
Perspectives Lecture 5.3.19
Simian Barkley
Struggled to find comedy in his own work. Work often relates to his background. Left school at 16 and went into manufacturing before going to night school to learn art.
Knew that there was some kind of denial in his work and couldn't figure that out.
Denial of everything that had happened before art school, ignoring everything that made him who he was. He describes this as a fraud mentality. Became estranged from the objects he was making.
Decided he needed to manage the things that were going into his work. Realises that things have a value to him and therefor should exist in the world.