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Issue.02August 2005
an independently produced art-zine
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Shes gone off on another tangentcreating a small, independent
art zine.
Its purpose? To inform and amuse in bite-size chunks. Quick n
Dirty, Black n White, each issue contains features on artists
and arts listings in the South London area and beyond.
The plan is to publish 6 - 8 times a year.
Contributions welcome in the form of text/images/drawings.
To get the skinny on how to supply artwork contact:Karen
DAmico
via email: [email protected]
PDFs can be downloaded from the website:
www.tangent.org.uk Printed copies can be collected at the
following locations:
The South London GallerySpace Station 65
Studio VoltaireTransition Gallery
all content karen damico 2005 unless otherwise noted. all
contributions fully credited
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connect [event]
The Annual Grouup Photograph
[observe] Room at Transition Gallery
Kutlug Atamams KubaMartha Rosler at the ICA
[react]
Soundbite CultureArtist for Sale
[reflect]
Thoughts on a Grey Day
catch [inform] Arts Listings
inside
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connect: Ann-Marie LeQuesneAssemble
Weblinkswww.theannualgroupphotograph.com
Ann-Marie LeQuesnes work has been described as social and
collaborative. Simply put, she asks people to pose for and
participate in group photographs in various locations, ranging from
Arsenal Football Stadium to Battersea Power Station. The results
produce a series of images which, among other things, reflect an
interesting dynamic between group identity and individuality.
Now in its 8th year, her project, The Annual Group Photograph
has become a sort of institution of its own, developing a following
involving all sorts of people, some of whom have participated from
its inception back in November of 1997. So it was fitting, then,
for the 2005 event to be staged at IKEA, with the theme family
photographs in mind. Having participated in the event, I can
confirm that it felt very much like that, with people from previous
events linking up, having a chat and catching up, much like any
large family event.
One of the best bits about Ann-Maries events is that they are
fun. You get to go do something fairly off the wall with a large
group of people, like assemble round the furniture displays in the
Tottenham Hale IKEA store, for instance, pretending to raise a
toast, or line up on the escalators and wave en mass, whilst other
shoppers walk by and either smile or scratch their heads in
confusion. These events seem to bring out the best in people, be
they participants or observers, and its interesting to consider
where that boundary lies.
Here We Are With Everyone Else, The 6th Annual Group Photograph,
The Zoology Department, The Natural History Museum, 2003, by
Ann-Marie LeQuesne
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when did you first know you wanted to be an artist?It wasnt when
I was 3! I probably got seriously interested in the idea when I was
at college.
what inspires you?Other people with obsessions.
what was your first big break?Doing the Shoot exhibition at
Gasworks Gallery. A lot of things seemed to follow on from that
show.
smartest thing you ever did in terms of your work?I began to let
go and allow things to happen.
worst mistake in terms of your work?Not following through on
ideas--leaving them half resolved.
best bit about being an artist?The freedom to invent.
worst bit about being an artist?The permanent worry about
money.
what shows have you seen recently?Open Systems at Tate Modern;
ditto Frida Kahlo; Colour show at the Barbican; Amikam Toren and
John Frankland at Matts; Rirkrit Tiravanija; Pet-tastic; Tacuinum
Sanitatis at Sam Fogg; The Factory of Found Clothes at White Space
Gallery.
Ann-Marie will present Enclose, a performance refrencing nomadic
living in 2006.
asked & answeredAnn-Marie LeQuesne
Five; The 5th Annual Group Photograph, Arsenal Football Stadium,
2002, by Ann-Marie LeQuesne
Hi Mum!; The 4th Annual Group Photograph, Battersea Power
Station, 2001, by Ann-Marie LeQuesne
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eventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeventeve
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Delaine Le Bass installation, Room is a proliferation of
belongings; items, remnants, kitsch objects and scraps, all of
which seem to fill the space to overflowing. From paintings to
miniature toys to scrapbooks bursting with keepsakes, it is a
treasure trove of objects, both constructed and collected.
Considered by some to be an outsider artist in that her work does
not sit comfortably in your basic mainstream gallery space,
Delaines concerns are timely, relevant and reflective of todays
world. Notions of home, identity, exclusion and the other are
explored in her many assemblages, and reflections on her Romany
heritage are alluded to and commented upon.
Of particular interest were the Binliner Dolls, constructed from
plastic binbags, each with cherub-like faces peeking out from their
dark, somewhat sinister hoods. Signifiers of the all-too-typical
perception that Travelers and Gypsies are throwaway people, easily
dismissed and ignored, the dolls also have an endearing, somewhat
disarming quality about them; a nice juxtaposition, putting a face
to a stereotype, as it were.
The scrapbooks were another thing I really liked. The notebooks
of varying sizes were stuffed to overflowing, so much so that some
had to be tied shut in order to contain what was inside. Heaving
with images, text, quirky drawings, pieces of material and bits
from newspapers and magazines attached in a chaotic yet rhythmic
way, they became objects in their own right.
On a purely aestetic level, for me, Room works as a sort of Eye
Candy for the Soul. On a critical level, questions are being asked,
sometimes quite pointedly, and stereotypes eroded. Certainly
nothing to be dismissed easily.
connect: Delaine Le BasRoom
Weblinkswww.transitiongallery.co.uk
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connect: Kutlug AtamamKuba
Weblinkswww.kuba.org.ukwww.artangel.org.uk
Turkish artist Kutlug Ataman, in conjunction with Artangel, has
created Kuba, probably the most amazing video installation Ive ever
experienced. It is deeply touching, compelling, powerful. It offers
the viewer a rare glimpse of the Kuba community in Istanbul, and
with it the opportunity to look with fresh eyes at a segment of
humanity that is, for the most part, dismissed, ostracized or
ignored.
Whether or not the stories being told are true or fantasy ceases
to matter; what you come away with is a feeling of having connected
on a very intimate level with those you would most likely never
meet in your own life; their hopes and their despair, their
everyday experiences. From this, one of the most striking aspects
within each narrative was that element of hope and optimism in
spite of everything, against all the odds, flickering tenatively,
but present nonetheless.
In these days of soundbites and throwaway terms used to describe
the disinfranchised, their re-humanising in Atamams work indeed
becomes a triumph.
Kuba is now on the move, the work having been disbursed throught
the city in a diasporic manner, to be re-housed in various
locations.
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connect: Martha RoslerLondon Garage Sale
bserveobserveobserveobserveobserveobserveobserveobserveobserveobser
A timely show, this, in the midst of Live8, G-8, the
hoo haa about the so-called Celebrity Artists parties
at the Venice Biennale and the Shop Til You Drop
consumer culture we all, like it or not, inhabit and
indulge in, to some degree. What I liked best about
this show was the fact that Rosler placed the element
of responsibiity - and choice - squarely in the lap
of the viewer (or, should I say, consumer.) More
than just commenting on consumer culture, art as
a commodity, or feminist notions of domesticity and
how we define value, it was a challenge of sorts to
our own sensabilities in terms of those issues. Where
are the demarcation lines between commodification
and art, between being the voyeur and the participant,
between the need to posses, for our own perceived
need or desire for the object and the need to possess
just because someone famous has previously
possessed something? The best bit, by far, was the
fact that all proceeds from the jumble sale were
donated to charity. True to form, she put her money
where her mouth was, as the saying goes. Impressive.
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Weblinkswww.ica.org.ukwww.home.earthlink.net/~navva/
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SoundBite
Cultureactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreact
A thought terminating clich is a commonly-used phrase, sometimes
passing as folk wisdom, used to quell cognitive dissonance,
especially in cases where the person experiencing the cognitive
dissonance might resolve it by reaching a thought-provoking
epiphany.
The term was popularized by Robert Lifton in his book Thought
Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.
The thought terminating clich is related to the opaque
pigeonhole, or closed category, which also does not permit
analysis.
In George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the fictional
constructed language
Newspeak is designed to reduce language entirely to a set of
thought-terminating clichs.This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia
article Thought-terminating cliche.
thought terminating cliches de jour
WMDs
Insurgents
The War On Terror
Soft Targets
Collateral Damage
Casualties
Friendly Fire
Theatre of Operations
Assylum Seeker
Global Warming
Embedded Journalism
Axis of Evil
Detainee
Regime Change
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Are words becoming weapons of mass distraction? What does the
term insurgent actually mean? More importantly, what does it mean
to us when we hear it or read it, which these days, even before the
unspeakably horrible bombings of 7th of July, seems to be quite a
lot? Its in the news
all the time - a new buzz word for the war in Iraq. Is it a
softer, less threatening, replacement type of term, similar to
WMDs, whose abbreviation and over-use quickly lost any impact and
meaning? An example: upon hearing the term WMD, do you think:
(a) shrapnel flying, bombs going off and lots of people being
maimed / killed / lives destroyed
(b) another mind numbing speech by Jack Straw attempting to
justify the war in Iraq or
(c) not a lot, really.
Another example: A recent article in the Guardian, written on
the eve of Bushs speech to once again
eactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactrea
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11attempt to rally the worlds waning support for the war in
Iraq, used the term insurgent 11 times. On telly, it seems to me
that the media increasingly portrays the news as if it were a
trailer for the next Hollywood Blockbuster, complete with with
eye-catching graphics and catchy taglines. Are we distracted from
the reality of whats happening by the plethora of language thats
repeatedly used, to the point where we no longer think about or
care whats being said? Are we bored with thinking about the war -
or should I say, wars? The events of 7 July notwithstanding, what
happens when the lexicon of language begins to cause words and
phrases to become meaningless?
reactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactrea
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Celebrity culture is nothing new but it seems to me that
celebrity artists are the new black. The Great and the Good of the
London Art World are suddenly must-haves on every socialites guest
list, the Rock Stars of Art. We read more about what parties they
attend than what show theyre in. We see photos of them schmoozing
with fashionistas in the pages of Hello! and ES Magazine. We hear
chatter about the woes of being in the 40% tax bracket rather than
what the work is about. What I wanna know is, where the hells the
art? Or, more pointedly, is being a celebrity the art?
Ive thought about this notion of artist as celebrity off and on
for a good long while and whilst reading a review in the Observer
of the Venice Biennale recently, it raised the issue again. The
Venice Biennale is the piece de resistance, the cremde la creme.
Along with Documenta, it could be said that its the contemporary
art worlds Nobel Peace Prize, its Oscar, the ultimate benchmark of
respect by ones peers. Its an international showcase of work for
the works sake. Cause for celebration? Most definitely. But Id like
it better if the mainstream
media gave a few more column inches to what was being
celebrated, in addition to all the party coverage.
art for sale< ist
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actreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactreactrea
The Observer review was, for the most part, a critique of the
parties, with a lot of celebrity photos - artists and otherwise.
Reading it was more like reading the social pages of Tattler
(Tattler!! Just think about that for a minute.) than reading a
review of arguably one of the most important shows in the world.
Oh, the parties! Look, theres Tracey with a Rolling Stone! Whats
she wearing? Westwood again? Whats that she said about the
highlight of her visit being that she was flown in on a private
jet? Finally, at the end of the review (3 full pages, mind)
theres a mention of the art, which boiled down to two paragraphs
proclaiming the show a great success: Yaaa, the shows great, fab,
stupendous! Not to be missed! The review, to me, furthered the myth
of artists as substance abusing, irrational, self-obsessed
egotists. Ok, perhaps that isnt a myth, not totally, anyway. But
still.
Now Im not one to slag off parties - I like PVs as much as the
next person and hey, theres nothing at all wrong with throwing a
doozie if you have the means, nor is there anything wrong with
enjoying said doozie. A good piss up is always fun, and one filled
with interesting people all the better. The world should
definitely have more parties! What I struggle with is the
mainstream medias
representation of the art world elite, portraying them as
one-dimensional, non-stop-party-going, photo-op-seeking media
sluts. I just cannot believe thats entirely accurate. And, if the
mainstream media is to be believed (stop laughing) is this what we
are aspiring towards - being snapped sipping champers with Jade
Jagger and Paris Hilton and appearing on the pages of Hello!?
Perhaps Im naive but I believe this sort of portrayal is a fiction
and that artists such as Gilbert &
George, Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin, whilst perhaps
cultivating an over-the-top persona to some degree, (hey, why not
live your myth?) are actually pretty serious about their work when
it gets right down to it. Party on, but have a look at the work
too.
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A million years ago, back in the early 70s, I went to see
Stephen Stills at the Berkley Community Theatre in California. It
was my first proper
gig, and marked the beginning of many Crosby Stills & Nash
gigs over
the next several years, in their various incarnations, with and
without Young. Much of the music of that era was Love Peace Dove,
full of anti
war anthems and exhortations to the Powers That Be to stop and
consider what they were doing. Like any self-respecting
middle-class-wannabe-hippie, I knew all the words to all the songs
by all the bands and believed in their message fervently. Post
Flower-Power and Pre-Punk, I was convinced that the collective
voice could somehow make
a difference, if only those fuckwits in the White House would
listen. I saw CS&N again recently at the Hammersmith Apollo; a
nostalgic, warm and
whimsical evening. Watching these geezers up there having such a
good time, bantering with each other and the audience, singing
songs written over 30 years ago about another war in another time,
I couldnt help
thinking, we could somehow make a difference if only those
fuckwits in the White House and, well, everywhere really, would
listen.
reflectreflectreflectreflectreflectThoughts on a Grey Day
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informinforminforminforminformin-catch: Arts Listings
galleries, weblinks, etc.
Publications[an] magazine www.a-n.co.uk Arty Magazine
www.artymagazine.comLeisure Centre www.leisurecentre.org.ukPublish
and Be Damned www.publishandbedamned.org
WeblinksArtangel www.artangel.org.ukArtinliverpool
www.artinliverpool.com.blogArtquest www.artquest.org.ukArt South
Central www.artsouthcentral.org.ukEyebeam www.eyebeam.orgHappy
Famous Artists www.happyfamousartists.blogspot.comRe-Title
www.re-title.comRhizome www.rhizome.orgStand Assembly
www.standassembly.orgThe Caravan Gallery
www.thecaravangallery.co.ukTheory.Org www.theory.orgZekes Gallery
www.zekesgallery.blogspot.com
Galleries / Studios / Resources198 Gallery (SE24)
www.198gallery.co.uk 020 7978 8309Brixton Art Gallery (SW9)
www.brixtonartgallery.co.uk 020 7733 6957Cafe Gallery Projects
(SE16) www.cafegalleryprojects.com 020 7237 1230Candid Arts Trust
(EC1) www.candidarts.com 020 7837 4237Clapham Art Gallery (SW4)
www.claphamartgallery.com 020 7720 0955Gasworks (SE11)
www.gasworks.org.uk 020 7582 6848Hames Levack (W1)
www.hameslevack.com 020 7493 7775Hayward Gallery (SE1)
www.hayward.org.uk 020 7921 0813inIVA (EC2) www.iniva.org 020 7729
9616ICA (SW1) www.ica.org.uk 020 7930 3647Photographers Gallery
(WC2) www.photonet.org.uk 020 7831 1772Photofusion (SW9)
www.photofusion.org 020 7738 5774South London Gallery (SE5)
www.southlondongallery.org 020 7703 6120Space Station 65 (SE22)
www.spacestationsixtyfive.com 020 8693 5995Space Studios (E8)
www.spacestudios.org.uk 020 8525 4330 Studio Voltaire (SW4)
www.studiovoltaire.org 020 7622 1294 Tate Modern (SE1)
www.tate.org.uk 020 7887 8000Transition Gallery (E9)
www.transitiongallery.co.uk 020 8533 7843
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Tangent is an independently produced Art-Zine created
by artist Karen DAmico. At present the publication is free
and is published 6 - 8 times per year.
For further information visit the website at tangent.org.uk
or email [email protected]
Issue 3 low tech will be out in October
