Thornquestgallery - Art News

The new website for the Liverpool Biennial Independents is now live.

There is still plenty to do (including the 2006 archive!) but it is now URGENT that all artists and galleries who intend to be a part of the Independents 2008 REGISTER on the website and then INPUT Artist, Event and Venue Details.

So go to http://www.independentsbiennial.org and 'Create an Account'

We intend to produce a catalogue / guide before the start of the Biennial (which runs 20 Sept - 30 Nov 2008).
The schedule is very tight so the final deadline for submission of all details, images, text etc. is 7th AUGUST

The procedure for submitting details is quite straightforward.
After registering your account and logging in, click on the links in the User Menu.

Please refer any problems or questions concerning the website to
info@independentsbiennial.org

Don't Delay - Sign up now

http://www.independentsbiennial.org

Famed TV producer and creative director of Liverpool Culture Company, Phil Redmond has welcomed a major Irish cultural event that will take place this summer as part of Liverpool 's Capital of Culture Year.

Opening at the Contemporary Urban Centre in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle on the 24th July and running to 7th September, 'FÍS 2008' will celebrate and examine the strong historic and cultural links between Ireland and Liverpool through a major contemporary art exhibition and a series of talks and films. 'FÍS' which is the Gaelic for 'VISION' reflects the role of the Irish language in this event. The official launch of Fís 2008 will be in Irish and English and the films and documentaries to be shown have been made in Irish with English subtitles. Support for this event comes from Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland (the national agency for the promotion of the Irish language), the Contemporary Urban Centre, Liverpool and the 'Reel Ireland ' programme of the Irish Film Institute.

The visual art exhibition,which will be opened by Derek Hannon, Cultural Attaché - Irish Embassy London; will run from 25th July to 7th September, (gallery open Tuesday - Sunday 11.00 am - 6.00pm but closed on Mondays except Bank holiday Mondays). In the selection of this show works have been included that provide a wide contour of Irish art practice to include painting, photography and installation. In the past few years Irish art has undergone a renaissance confident enough to create an individual response to the world around it. There are twelve artists featured including Eamon Colman (Aosdána), Fiona Ní Mhaoilir, Raymond Watson, Mary Fitzpatrick, Pauline O'Connell, Rodney Dickson, Geraldine O'Neill, Martin Campbell, Elizabeth Cope, Derek Culley, Anna Marie Quinn and David Quinn.

Our series of films and talks will take place over two weekends starting at 2pm.

On Saturday 26th July, a talk by Dr Ian McKeane on how the Irish War of Independence impacted on Liverpool will be followed by the 1967 short documentary 'Fleá Ceoil'. On Sunday 27th July, Mary Clinton will speak on the role played by the Irish in the evolution of the Liverpool dialect - 'Scouse'. Mary's talk will be followed by an award winning Irish language documentary about homelessness in London , 'Idir Dhá Shaol', (Between Two Lives).

On Saturday 2nd August, 'Nead an Dreolín' (The Wren's Nest) and 'In the Days of Saint Patrick' will be shown back to back. ‘Nead an Dreoilín’ is a collection of short films exploring the poetry of six living Irish language poets. ‘In The Days of Saint Patrick' (1920) is a milestone in Irish cinema and will be accompanied by renowned Irish harpist Cormac de Barra who will play music specially composed for this silent film. On Sunday 3rd August Patrick Fitzgerald of The Centre For Migration Studies in Omagh will chronicle the history of migration between north west England and Ireland . This will be followed by the film 'Kings' starring Colm Meaney, adapted from Jimmy Murphy’s acclaimed play ‘The Kings of the Kilburn High Road’.

For more information on FÍS 2008 please contact either Martin Campbell campbellartist@gmail.com, or Derek Culley funkypaddy@btinternet.com

PHIL REDMOND'S STATEMENT

The Irish are famed for their love of poetry and music. These gifts they brought with them when they emigrated to Liverpool over the centuries and especially in the late 1800's.The language of Ireland combined with the local version of English helped form the Liverpool dialect that became known as Scouse, now synonymous with the city.

FÍS 2008, through a series of talks and bilingual films, explores these Irish connections with Liverpool 's modern evolution to become European Capital of Culture. Plus FÍS 2008 also introduces that often forgotten aspect of contemporary Irish culture, its Visual Artists. FÍS 2008 therefore contributes to and helps broaden the wider exhibition of contemporary art works being staged in Liverpool during the city's 2008 celebrations, by bringing together an array of works from Ireland . There is no identikit for finding a style in this, rather an exploration of the diversity to which these artists are contributing. The idea of bringing artists together in this way usually implies the mechanically tooled style of a multinational art, but the common factor in FÍS 2008 is the Irish culture from which these artists have drawn in some way.

It is indeed an honour and privilege that Liverpool, European Capital of Culture has been the catalyst for this cultural event, which is having its inaugural event here in Liverpool .

Phil Redmond
Creative Director
Liverpool Culture Company

* The Contemporary Urban Centre is a new idea for the 21st Century. An Arts, Cultural and Social Enterprise, the Contemporary Urban Centre will reflect the themes of contemporary life in the urban environment, particularly from the point of view of marginalised and excluded communities.

Novas Arts is an evolving programme of creative expression for people of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities who seek to experience the transformative power of art. Through exhibitions, public art and educational programs we promote artistic exploration and appreciation; encourage community participation and growth; and provide opportunities for empowerment and social change.

Novas Contemporary Urban Centre

The twenty-first volume of The Blah Story by Nigel Tomm was published in 2008. Nigel Tomm fearlessly continues his abstract novel The Blah Story. Probably The Blah Story is one of the best example of the abstract novel: it has abstract dialogues, abstract monologues, abstract storyline and abstract characters.

Book statistics: The Blah Story, Volume 21 contains 676,832 words; 3,373,934 characters (with spaces); 812 pages.

Some trivia about The Blah Story: Volume 19 contains the world’s longest word, Volume 10 contains the second world’s longest word, Volumes 16, 17, 18 and 19 contains the world’s longest sentence, Volume 4 contains the second world’s longest sentence, Volume 8 contains the world’s longest poem, Volume 13 contains the world’s longest drama.

The cover of The Blah Story, Volume 21.

The back cover of The Blah Story, Volume 21.

Here’s an excerpt (the first page of The Blah Story, Volume 21):

    Whilst the blah blah were blah on their blah, blah constant blah, the blah, who, of course, blah not blah to blah their blah, and found blah rather blah of blah about the narrow blah passage of which the blah brushed the blah from blah, blah to the blah of the blah and into the blah common to all the blah of the blah, out of which the blah led. This blah is always in a blah of blah and blah sprinkled with blah. On a dirty blah stand blah of corresponding blah blah with blah for the blah, whose blah hang up in blah over the blah. Blah had passed blah through the blah, where all blah of blah were collected; blah blah and blah blah, with their blah; blah blah blah themselves with blah and blah; blah, playing blah or blah on the blah, blah chairs; blah refreshing during the blah of their blah in a blah, all the blah and blah of a blah in blah time. The blah brought the blah a blah of blah, as a blah of blah, and blah took out a blah and amused blah with that blah vegetable and a blah until his blah blah should come blah to blah him.
    ‘I blah, I know,’ blah cried out, who had in blah quite blah all about little blah blah. ‘Blah has made me blah so many blah, blah blah. I’m very much blah, half blah sometimes. Blah was blah when they blah him blah blah from blah. Blah his blah blah; I blah never seen it blah.’
    ‘Was he blah or blah?’ blah on that blah absurd blah. ‘Show blah his blah.’
    Blah almost blah at his blah. ‘Not blah blah, blah some other blah, when my blah arrive from blah, blah I came to this blah and a little blah of blah, which I blah in happy blah.’
    ‘Blah blah, blah blah blah,’ said blah. ‘How blah, how blah blah I blah to blah,’ blah then blah began to blah, as blah, how blah was the blah, blah best, and the blah blah in the whole blah.
    ‘You blah see my blah,’ was the blah thing blah could blah of to blah blah. If blah could make blah comfortable that would blah.

More info about the book you can find at Amazon.com

Here's a fresh pastel pencil portrait of a friend, Jack Vandermark. It is rare that I do a drawing that I feel completely good about. There is always something that I wish I would have done... OR NOT but this one I feel pretty good about. I seemed to catch not only his likeness but also his personality. Hope you like it and you can see more at www.tonyhedrickart. Let me know what you think.

Buying my artwork keeps me traveling and preaching the Gospel.

Language, I think, can be spared from serving gods of good-natured idealism as long as the artist chooses it to be so. Art exists for my sake. Yours too. But I doubt if it cares about you. Or that AIDs-infected blue whale that got fired by Enron for being anti-abortion.

Why would you want to heal society on a canvas? Look at the paintbrushes, pens, cameras and that electric guitar…look at them trembling in fear and anxiety.

I like to revel in the greater futility of art. The grand spectacle that is so devastatingly beautiful without purpose that giving it one might cause irrevocable damage. Then again I cannot be sure. People have dabbled in art and given meaning to other people’s lives. Even the goddam blue whales have had safer passages into the abyss. And they owe it all to art.

I owe it nothing but love and quieter nights. I don’t seek purpose with it; neither do the words that gush out of my mind. And we love each other very much for this.

Complacent kingdom, a

priest in a presbytery

meets people's needs for a

heaven on earth,

Satisfactorily

filled by domestic bliss,

their hope's in a church still

short of true worth.

Björn Berg's illustration for one of Astrid Lindgren's Emil books.

Swedish graphic artist Björn Berg's (1923 - 2008, best-known internationally as the illustrator of Astrid Lindgren's Emil books) recent death allows me to introduce Astrid Lindgren's short story My Nightingale Is Singing, read it and weep.  Other tales in this collection are equally strong, the whole collection of bleaker short stories by Lindgren is one of the best items of cult fiction of the 20th century. My Nightingale Is Singing is cult fiction item #7.

Oh! there was no indication when i started back from office that the day may be different, but i was and we love surprises, don't we? I just chose to message some of my good old friends (that i hadn't messaged or spoken for long long time) and to my surprise some of them had the same old number!! other than a couple of calls and messages where i had to explain who i was trying to reach and may be they changed the number. It was worth the effort though for i got to speak to some very good friends, who i never thought would be able to be in touch again. Indeed life is an unknown design, it introduces us to many and sows the seeds of friendship but takes us away from them when we have just realized them to be friends, leaving us onto a state of confusion that why introduce then? the fickleness of life's heart seems to be fickler than thats one human. May be these are dramatic situations of life sponsored by Orkut and Facebook to market their products!! you are right, i am kidding!! :)

I got to speak to Rembon. He is a very good friend of mine and i got to know him as a colleague  working with Rajeevan,  the famous art director! Rembon has just finished his first film as an art director and what a project to start with! Subramaniyapuram! This makes me more curious to watch the movie and increases its specialty for i know the effort that Rembon places in his works and having gone through many the troubles in getting to do his first project, indeed cant and wont miss! Got to speak to Anneethaaa, the smiley googleey, Bharathi priya- my dear sister, Bava - another art director, also my dear brother!, Siva balan - the graphic designer! and to top it all, on Orkut the surprise package, my school buddy, Abhishek Lall - the chef! awesome day to have been able to renew the friendship and enjoy lost love. I thank the day for bringing them back to me.

Flickr photo by Gullybogan.

Dear Reader,

Early in my career, i became aware that many women have a strong desire to look like professional models. After working for numerous studios and commercial photographers, i developed special techniques for a boudoir portrait style in order to evoke the same kind of viewer response generated by advertising photography. This special boudoir style is both marketable and highly recognisable, and in this book i share it with you.
Boudoir photography: the fantasy exposed
Mario Venticinque
ISBN 0-8174-3562-X

So begins Mario's How-to book on taking flattering photos of half-naked bogan chicks.

You know the sort of thing.

Mousey, small-breasted young women with flat hair and faces like paper plates put down their Winnie Reds for ten minutes, slap on some lacey lingerie, throw a pout at the camera through their theatrical make-up, and there you go: boudoir photographs suitable for any wallet or pool room.

Is That Really You?

What is the impulse that drives this industry? Well, according to Mario:

Today's women want to appear as glamorous and elegant - and as sensual - as they feel, and more than ever before, they want to be photographed and remembered that way. Boudoir photography offers special techniques for capturing and enhancing a woman's perception of herself.

Mario was writing in 1986, and, back then, there were a number of ways to make today's women look as sensual, glamorous and elegant as they felt. Among them:

• Fur is naturally erotic, and because of its weight and bulk, it's an ideal material for camouflaging major figure problems.
• Pantyhose are excellent for correcting and covering leg problems, such as cellulite on the hips and thighs.

And so on.

Nowadays, a large proportion of boudoir photography is labelled as 'Make-over' shots, and there's some sort of Cinderella thing going on in the heads of the folks who pay for this mass-media-styled soft core porn.

There's also a lot of heavily pregnant women out there who want to remember how glamorous, elegant and sensual they were as heavily pregnant women. Cue black lingerie, pantyhose, fur, and bulging belly.

And good on them.

My problem is not with the folks who have the photos taken. Not at all.

Fifteen Minutes of Half-Naked Fame?

My problem concerns what happens when Michelle from the bottleshop has some photos done that evoke the same "viewer response generated by advertising photography", and then those shots escape from their rightful place in boyfriend Davo's wallet/poolroom and end up in an album of samples out the front of the shop that took the photos.

Advertising photography, by definition, is exploitative, both of subject and viewer. Are the young women who have these shots done aware that they are not being turned into Cinderella, but rather that they're being commoditised?

Does it taint the faux 'beauty' that these girls experience, the fact that they end up as just another pawn in the game of capitalist endeavour?

Or is it the logical conclusion of the process?

This One Particular Girl

There's this one particular girl in this one particular album out the front of this one particular make-over photographer's shop at this one particular shopping centre...

Yes, i was looking.

I have a technical interest (no, really) in these sort of shots, and i can't resist flipping through and seeing how effective the techniques employed have been on all those mousey, flat haired girls in their push-up bras and clown make-up.

Well, when i saw this particular girl's pics, i found myself experiencing exactly the sort of "highly marketable" "viewer response generated by advertising photography" that the boudoir industry promises.

That is to say, i thought to myself, «Whatever she's selling, i wouldn't mind getting some of it!»

Or that's what my penis thought to itself, anyway.

But what was she selling?

SHE was selling herself, to herself, and to her loved one.

THE SHOP - however - was using her as an advertisement, to sell their service to random passers-by. And their penises.

The difference was, it *wasn't* an advertising photograph, was it! It was a photo of some real girl, not a model. She was not there selling a photographic make-over service, but, rather, she was selling, as i have noted, herself to herself, and to her loved one.

Her image was misappropriated, in my humble opinion, and i found myself in the uncomfortable position of acting as an uninvited (?) voyeur in what was essentially a private moment between the girl and her real audience.

Maybe Bill Henson Should Do Boudoir Photography Instead?

I'm not suggesting that this is the same as the recent flurry of outrage that surrounded Bill Henson's photographs of naked pubescents, but i am suggesting that there's some sort of collapse of moral fibre going on here somewhere.

After all, it's not art we're talking about, with all the self-righteous arguments that go along with that. Oh, no. It's just business.

And if there were allegations of exploitation attendant upon the Henson case, then they too should be present here, where the whole enterprise is exploitation.

And no, consent is not sufficient to excuse this; how informed is the consent that Michelle gives to the photographer? Has she thought it through?

And age is not relevant: even if she were 54 and semi-naked photos of her were being used to further the profit margin of the business that she had hired to perform a service for her, and used in a manner that debases her initial intent for having the pictures taken in the first place, well...

I reckon that's just plain wrong.

In my humble opinion.

Yours photogenically,
Gullybogan