Archive for the 'Arts & Books' Category

by Guest Blogger Paola Minekov, artist

When, a few months ago after seeing my painting in a group show, Yang-May asked me to be a guest blogger on Fusion View and tell you something about my art, I really had no idea where to start. I asked her what she thought you’d be interested to know about and she was like: ‘Well, Paola, you know, people would like to know how you make your art, why, what inspires you…’ Simple, right? I make art, so one would think I’d be able to explain why and how without too much effort… except, I couldn’t really. Until last night that is, when I attended my first meditation lesson and it all clicked. People meditate because they need an outlet for their emotions, some ‘me time’, an escape from all the stress and their hectic lives. The thing is, it turns out that for me making art has always been a bit like meditation - a process in which I work on my painting with the kind of concentration that actually helps me forget to think - I stop hearing the music in the background, all my daily problems melt away, and all that’s left is the artwork. It may be because I’ve been painting all my life and having started to paint this young often means that there are no agendas, no specific thesis one necessarily needs to prove, discuss or conceptualize. It’s just what I do, because if I don’t, it feels wrong. And before I started painting and exhibiting professionally at the beginning of 2010, I used to mainly do it when I had a problem I needed to express, solve… or simply let go of.

While, or perhaps because, I come from a family of artists and have studied Fine Art for years, after graduating I decided I wasn’t ready to become a full time professional artist. I told myself (and everyone else) that I was too young to close myself in a studio and that I needed inspiration. This was partly true. As you’ve probably guessed by now, to me painting is a solitary business. The truth is though, that being an artist isn’t easy for more than just that reason. It’s a life full of ups and downs, where one’s body of work is constantly judged, evaluated and re-evaluated by literally everyone who sees it. It’s not that I don’t like hearing people’s comments, on the contrary, and nothing makes me happier than seeing another person connect with and relate to something I have painted. It gives a deeper, new and external meaning to my work. I would go as far as to say that it helps me see new things in my own work and develop so now I intentionally seek it… But because art is so damn personal, I still feel that I need to prove myself, over and over again, not only as an artist but also as a person - something I found very hard to come to terms with in my early 20s.

My paintings are and have always been conceived in my mind. They are my own, from the minute I first imagine them to the moment I paint the last brush stroke, take a step back, take a good look at my work and tell myself: ‘Yes, this is it, this is what I saw in my head’. After that they sort of acquire a life of their own, like grown up children who no longer need you… In this sense exhibiting and selling them can be likened to the process of letting go. It does however require a certain level of detachment and a mindset I’m still working towards.

Yet, my mind is full of colours and numerous images I’d like to paint. I’ve realized that what inspires me the most is the feelings and emotions of the people closest to me, the important events in my life and my immediate surroundings. Perhaps letting go of my completed works, the ones that no longer need me, also means making more space for new beginnings…

You can see Paola’s works at the Ballet Gala in the Britten Theatre on November 7.

Her website is www.paolaminekov.com where you can see some of her work. I love her fluid style that conveys graceful movement even of scenes you’d expect to be static such as cityscapes!

Images: from Paola’s website, with thanks

Following on from my previous blog post “What’s Your Summer Read?” I promised to tell you about my summer read - so here it is. I love books that evoke a place or time so vividly that you feel that you are right there. It’s even better when I know a little about that place or time where the story is set — in such cases, my own memory or knowledge adds another layer of texture to the experience of reading.

I’ve recently been enjoying the memoir and history, by Adam Nicolson, grandson of Vita Sackville West and Harold Nicolson. He writes about his family home with a tangible passion, evoking his childhood in this famous house – or rather, castle. The place is, of course, more than just his family home: it belongs to the nation through the National Trust, and all of us who visit it. In some small way, whenever any of us visit National Trust properties, strolling about the grounds and grand rooms, wondering what it must be like to live in such places, we all take part of those places away with us in our own memories and snapshots and souvenirs. So the story of Sissinghurst feels familiar to anyone to has been there and also to bookish types like me who’ve read about Vita and Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury set - and also new and fascinating by revealing an insiders view of these people and of this famous place.

Part of what makes the book intriguing is the behind-the-scenes glimpses we are given to the Nicolson family relationships. We see Nigel Nicolson (Adam’s father) as the well-known literary figure but also as a father and husband who could not easily bond with his wife and children. We also get to share in what it was like to grow up in the private family areas of this historic national treasure – just what National Trust fans want to hear about!

Nicholson also tells the story of his vision for reviving a working farm is part of the historic Castle and Gardens — and the challenge of making that vision a reality. The Castle and Gardens blong to the National Trust and he and his family are merely the donor residents who have a right to live there rent-free. He has to bring the National Trust and also the Sissinghurst management and staff on board to his plan and the journey is fraught with tensions and conflicting values. He describes difficult meetings and tense conversations with everyone involved. It takes a kind of courage, I think, to write about these less than noble aspects of people that you have to live and work with!

The book also offers a brief history of the National Trust and discusses the philosophy behind what the Trust does. It gives us a view into the workings and philosophies of that body behind the frontage of its well-kept heritage buildings and landscapes, which I found interesting and also amusing – especially in his throwaway comment that many of the Trust’s founding members were gay…

I also enjoyed the evocations of Kent and the history of its landscape. The descriptions made me want to get out of London right now and head on out to the woods and meadows of the Weald.

I would say that this has been a perfect summer read, combining history, family drama, the struggle to realise the vision and also beautiful descriptions of a gorgeous part of England.

Although – I should confess that I didn’t exactly read the book. It was read to me – as you know, I’m a fan of audiobooks and this one was read perfectly by Jeremy Clyde. I could be taken away to Kent and Sissinghurst as I did the ironing, sat on the bus, or just stared into space…

You can buy the audiobook from :

Or, if you prefer the actual physical book, Amazon.co.uk has it:

You can also find out details about visiting Sissinghurst on the National Trust website.

photo: thanks to alh1, from flickr.com (CCL)

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a keen e-book fan for their space saving qualities and the fact that you can make the text/ font larger for more easy reading. Along with audio books, e-books are beginning to become my number one format of book consumption.

At the moment, I’m reading e-books on my various PCs using the Mobipocket desktop reader and also the Kindle PC reader, which are both free applications. They are great for reading books while I’m munching at my sandwich lunch at my desk at the office, say, or sitting in an armchair with my laptop on my … er.. lap. But a more easily portable device would be great for commuting and lying down to read.

So, I’ve been watching the e-book reader battles over the last year or so between different devices and manufacturers. I’ve discussed the various pros and cons of the myriad of devices elsewhere on this blog. (See Going Shelfless and a href=”http://www.fusionview.co.uk/2009/10/a-thousand-books-in-my-pocket/”>A Thousand Books in My Pocket)Recently, the main battle seems to have been between the Kindle and the iPad. I’ve been quite taken by the Kindle over the iPad because it’s smaller and lighter. At the same time, the iPad is a multi-function device and having a colour touch screen makes the whole user interface so much more attractive.

The downside of the Kindle - up till now - was that you could only get it by ordering from the USA. But in the last week or so, it has finally come to Amazon’s UK store. It comes in cheaper than the iPad - £109 for the WiFi versionand £149 for the WiFi and 3G.

Here’s a YouTube video review of the Kindle, which shows how thin it is!

You can also add notes and upload pdfs as well as surf the net (albeit in a limited way). There is a text to audio feature which can read the books to you (though I expect a computer generated voice might not be the most soothing of ways to digest a book..!).

So if you’re in the UK and fancy getting one, you can click here to go for it… [You’ll need to pre-order it cos it looks like the first shipment is already sold out!]

I was having lunch with a friend the other day and the talk turned to our upcoming summer holidays. She was off to Norfolk for a week with some friends and a convoy of all their children. They were packing bicycles and kayaks and everyone was excited about having trips on the water and cycle rides on the flatlands and hikes across fields. But, my friend said, a part of her just wanted to veg out on a sun lounger and read the pile of books she’s had by her bedside now for months.

We talked about how much we loved having a good book to absorb us. She laughed, “Are you like me? I just don’t want to be disturbed. Never mind the kids. Never mind Pete (her husband). I just want them to go away so I can just get on with my book…”

Doesn’t it make you wish you were a kid or a student again? With all those long summer holidays - weeks and weeks of nothing to do but read and read? Nowadays, in our busy grown up lives, we all seem to have to squeeze in the pleasure of reading on commutes or in the few minutes before we go to bed.

Flashing through my mind are memories of many summers I’ve passed over the decades and the books that defined those long hot weeks. In my next few posts, I’m going to be blogging about those books and the times of my life that they conjure up for me.

For now, I’ve already started on my summer reading list and thoroughly enjoying it. I’m cheating a little as it’s not quite accurate to say that I’m reading my summer books - I’m actually listening to them: as audiobooks downloaded from Audible. I make sure to get the Unabridged versions so I get full value for money and also the full efforts of the author. Being read a story is one of the loveliest pleasures in life and I’m basking in the indlugence. I’ve ploughed through a few since spring and today, I’ve just started on a perfect summer book - and I’ll be blogging about what that is in a few days…

What I am more interested in knowing right now is: What’s on your list of books to read this summer?

~~~

Photo: thanks to Matt Seppings on flickr.com ((CCL)

This Dutch graffitti artist is taking the street art to a whole new level, using lasers.

The good news for the owner of the building is that they won’t have to spend thousands to remove the graffitti….!

***WARNING: This review of The Wrester contains spoilers.***

It’s late at night and outside the rain is falling. It seems an appropriate setting to reflect on the dark side of the American dream, or the dark side of following your passion. We are encouraged by so many self-help books and self-styled gurus and coaches “to follow your passion” with the promise of riches and happiness at the end of the hard work and tough choices. But what if that passion has you so much in its hold that there is no time or space, or even emotional or psychological resources, left for anything else?

We’ve just been watching The Wrestler, the movie that came out recently starring Mickey Rourke as a professional wrestler who was once at the top of his game but is now past his prime and just barely keeping his battered and tortured body in the ring. The opening act is relentlessly brutal showing the physical beatings he takes for the sake of his sport and for the adoration of the fans. Wrestling at this level is partly pre-determined in that the wrestlers agree the general flow of the match and the moves they are going to make but it’s very real in that they really do brutalise their bodies to some degree. It’s part of the show and showmanship that sends the fans into cheering hysteria. The climax of the first act is a match that involves barbed wire, a staple gun, broken glass and falling from a high ladder.

In the ring, the wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson moves with ease and in the locker room, he is the top dog, comfortable, confident, genial and a hero among the other wrestlers. But outside, in the real world, he lives in a trailer and is late with his rent payments. He is estranged from his daughter and the only human contact he has is with a stripper whom he pays 60 bucks to for a conversation and a lap dance. He takes casual work in a superstore, packing meat, to make ends meet but he’s gone the moment the next gig comes along. He is monosyllabic and uncomfortable in his bulking form and the people around him keep calling him by his real name Robin and he keeps having to correct them. “Randy,” he keeps saying, “It’s Randy”.

He gave up everything to follow his passion - his wife, his daughter, steady work, a house. And for a time, it is clear, he had the fame and the glory, those great prizes that we are promised for following our passion, all documented in faded press cuttings. But now, after a heart attack, he finds that he is left with nothing and no-one. On his doctor’s advice, he retires from the ring and for a little while, he tries to start a new life, re-connecting with his daughter, taking a permanent job at the deli counter at the superstore, tentatively building a real relationship with the stripper outside of the bar. But he seems smaller, emasculated, bumbling and ill-equipped for his role as father. He comes to be a pathetic figure, like a huge, pacing lion caged in a plastic cap and apron behind the deli counter.

The film is about a wrestler on the face of it but it might be about any artist, sports person or performer - or an entrepreneur or business person or anyone with a career - who has gives their all to their profession and who may achieve the heights of fame and glory in their endeavour. You might be like the wrestler in the movie with nothing to your name but your skill as a showman in the ring. Or you might be a rock star on endless tours or a golfing genius who works relentlessly to stay at the top of your game or a partner in a global accountancy firm with wealth and recognition within your industry. If the ring or arena that you have chosen for yourself is the only place you come alive then the rest of the time, you may one day find yourself in the same, dark, empty trailer where Randy lives all alone. If you do not take care of your life outside of your chosen ring, if you do not pay attention to those who love you beyond that arena or practice the skills it takes to live your life after the match, you may find that there is nothing and no-one waiting for you after your moment in the spotlight.

Did Randy become so unskilled in the real world and in the real relationships in his life because he spent too long in the world of wrestling and honing the skills that made him a star there? Or was it that in the final analysis, the only real skills he had were those that made him a success in the hard macho arena of a wrestler’s life and the world of the ring was where he found his place - and ultimately, the life where he belonged? Perhaps there are aspects of both those views that are true. Might it be that someone who is highly skilled in numbers and finance and spreadsheets might find themselves top dog in the world of multinational accountanting but have no real skills in building good relationships outside of that “ring”? And so they are celebrated as chief executive and a leader in their field, acclaimed and admired by business associates, colleagues and strangers within that industry - and they love their lives in that arena because their skills there make success so easy. In the meantime, they may be spending all their energy in that world to obscure the uncomfortable fact that they have no real skills with the wife (or husband) and children or in developing relationships that are not based on business or in bonding with friends who value them for who they are and not what they can do.

Following your passion is a great piece of advice because it can give you a sense of purpose and meaning as the many self-help books and success coaches tell us. But there is a dark side, especially if your passion becomes a replacement for the real relationships in your life - or perhaps a grandiose excuse to neglect them - because those relationships are too difficult or lacking the grand emotive drama of fandom or simply because you’re not very good at them. For someone like Randy, through the choices he makes, his passion becomes his real life because there is nothing else left. I found The Wrestler heart-wrenching, depressing, and poignant. Like all the classic tragic heroes, Randy is trapped by his fatal flow and you know from the beginning that there is only one way it’s going to end but you just watch on, helpless and crying out for him, as the inevitable conclusion rolls ever into sight. But what makes the film so powerful is that when the end comes, even while you despair at his choice, you also know that in some ways, it is a happy ending because it is in the ring that he comes alive so it seems apt that it is there that he chooses to embrace his death - and his only way out of the ring.

Poster photo: from Wikipedia, with thanks

Most major exhibitions offer visitors an audio- or multimedia- guide that can enhance your experience of their artworks or artefacts. As you take the tour of the gallery or exhibition, audioguide in hand, it’s like having your own private expert alongside who can point out the fascinating details of the exhibits.

Who are the creative artists behind these audio experiences? In this episode, I hope to find out as I talk to Steve Slack, the writer behind the audioguide for the Italian Renaissance Drawings exhibition, now on at the British Musuem (until 25 July 2010). Steve also shares tips on the business of being a freelance writer & the emerging field of multimedia writing.

You can subscribe to the Fusion View Mobile Podcast by clicking on the “Subscribe with iTunes” button - it’s free and new episodes will be downloaded automatically to your iTunes application.

What do you think about exhibition multimedia guides? A help or a distraction? Or do you have a comment about anything else in this podcast? You can send me - or Steve - an email or voicemail via my Contact Page

Photo: from Steve’s website, with permission

Can art make a practical difference to the world we live in? One man thinks so. His name is Neil Ellis and he is hoping that his performance piece for Anthony Gormley’s 4th Plinth project is going to make a real practical difference to Londoners.

I talk to Neil about his performance piece Pedal Power and how he hopes it will contribute to making London’s roads safer for cyclists.

You can subscribe to the Fusion View Mobile Podcast by clicking on the “Subscribe with iTunes” button - it’s free and new episodes will be downloaded automatically to your iTunes application.

Links:

You can join Neil’s Pedal Power Facebook Group to add your voice to his campaign.

GalleryFilm event at Dulwich Picture Gallery: The role of protest in art - Neil Ellis on Anthony Gormley’s 4th plinth creating a drama performance to drive home the issue of cycling safety. Come and see the sizzling short films by Riffy Ahmed, the visually stunning Illuminations Productions ‘Anthony Gormley and the 4th Plinth’ and discuss the issues with them.
Monday 10 May, 7.15pm at Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Tickets: 020 8299 8750 or online

CORRECTION: The video of Neil’s performance is not yet available online so I’m not able to show it here. As soon as it is available, I’ll add a link or embed it here. Apologies for the incorrect information in the podcast.

Do you have a comment about cycling safety? Or about anything else in this podcast? You can send me - or Neil - an email or voicemail via my Contact Page

Photos: thanks to Dulwich OnView, with permission

We got a text message this weekend from our fellow volunteer Ingrid Beazley who was at the international musuem conference in Denver, Colorado, USA to tell us that our volunteer blog Dulwich OnView has won the Best Small Museum Site 2010 at the Conference Archimuse International Best of the Web Awards this year. We are all thrilled that our hard work and collaborative effort over the last few years has been recognised on the international heritage sector stage. Thanks to everyone who voted for us at the conference site. Thanks also goes to our co-editors, contributors and readers!

The Best Small Musuem Site award is given “to explicitly recognise work from smaller institutions. [ie] These sites [which] have been:

• Created in-house or with volunteer effort
• Mounted by small institutions (with 5 for fewer professional staff)
• Created with very limited budgets (sometimes no budget)”

Congratulations also to the other winners in the other categories!

Photo: of the Dulwich OnView editorial team and regular contributors, from Dulwich OnView

Over on Sharon Bakar’s blog recently, she bemoaned the fact that Malaysians still did not seem to be reading. This has been a long-time issue for Malaysians as far back as I can remember. Many of us are good at business, finance, engineering, IT etc but not so many of us are world-class writers. The local publishing industry is small and focuses mainly on business and self-improvement books rather than fiction or literature. The market just isn’t there.

There appeared to be a glimmer of hope in the last few years with the rise of litbloggers in Malaysia - people who love books and reading and who blog about their passion. Many are also published as well as aspiring writers. They gather regularly in Kuala Lumpur (KL) at book events and also in writing groups, some hosted by book-lover extraordinaire herself, Sharon Bakar. But for all their literary and intellectual abilities, this seems to be a small group who, while well-respected, are not generally treated to events of pomp and circumstance with corporate sponsorship and the recognition of celebrity status - eg. in the same way that in the UK, there’s the Booker Prize dinner which is covered in the press as well as on TV.

In contrast, I’ve noticed in the last year or so that bloggers have been getting the star treatment in Malaysia in a way that seems to overshadow the book writers. Last year saw the launch of the regional Nuffnang Blog Awards to honour the best bloggers in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Australia . It was a glitzy, black tie affair held at a fancy hotel, apparently modelling itself on the Oscars and was even covered by the Malaysian terrestial TV channel NTV7.

Kenny Sia, who won Best Entertainment Blog, leads the Blog-Rat Pack, with his personal blog rated as the no. 1 blog in Malaysia by the global blog ranking service Technorati. He has become a celebrity through his blog which then launched him into other high-profile roles eg he was invited to be a panellist on the Malaysian X Factor like web TV show, Malaysian Dream Girls, alongside other A list celebrities. He has been named as one of the “Top 20 under 40” influential people in Malaysia by print magazine KLUE.

Nuffnang continues to play the role of star maker with its Project Alpha web TV series, which is “the first Online TV Show unveiling the real faces behind Malaysia’s Top Bloggers”. According to the blurb, “The show will take audience into various sneak peeks of bloggers’ lives, who they are, how they live, what makes them tick and where they derive their inspiration to capture the attention and interests of millions of online readers on a daily basis. The show will also try to uncover their darkest secrets which they keep hidden from their readers.” Kenny was one of the stars in Season One and the measure of the show’s success is that Season Two is now underway.

So Malaysians may not be reading books but they certainly seem to be reading blogs. My take on the rise of celebrity bloggers there is that bloggers connect with Malaysians as Malaysians. There’s no attempt to polish their English or to write in a literary way - they just write in their own voices, as Malaysians, and that is what gives them a strong connection with their readers. Their fans identify with the bloggers - their sense of humour which is typically Malaysian, their interests, their daily lives. In contrast, novels as we know them today are really a Western art form, dominated by native English speakers from the UK and US, with prizes created in the West catering to a Western taste. The West defines what literature should be. So for Malaysian writers trying to break in to that field, it is bound to be much more challenging than for writers who are comfortable working within those defined parameters. Similarly, for Malaysian readers, it can be challenging to sit down for hours on end reading about stories and people that do not speak to you or even have you in mind as an audience written by people who don’t have any real connection or feel for what your experiences might be. In my view, it’s not surprising then that bloggers have taken hold of the Malaysian imagination in such a big way.

The other thing is that there is Nuffnang taking a very active role in making the blogging stars. They are an ad/ PR agency matching blue chip global brands such as Sony, Adidas and the like with bloggers as a way of marketing those brands. There’s money in them thar blogs, so to speak. I’m not aware of any similar sort of business taking an interest in writers and in fact, the general refrain I hear (and not just from Malaysian publishers and writers but globally) is, there’s no money in books.

Here is a trailer for Project Alpha Season One:

So, is blogging becoming the new art form for Malaysians? Are the bloggerati the new literati? Should the rest of the world take the cue from Malaysian bloggers and start recognising and celebrating bloggers as the new influencers and new creatives for today’s generation?

What do you think? Have I missed something in my outline of Malaysian writers as the poor relations of Malaysian bloggers? Please let me know, especially if you have personal experience of the writing and/ or blogging scene in Malaysia.

Photos: Sharon Bakar, from her online page
Kenny Sia, thanks to KLUE