Issue.03October 2005

an independently produced art-zine

She’s gone off on another tangentcreating a small, independent art ‘zine.

tangent is a bi-monthly publication produced with the intention of informing and amusing in bite-size chunks. Quick

‘n Dirty, Black ‘n White, each issue contains contributions by and features on artists as well as arts listings in the South

London area and beyond.

To get the skinny on how to submit writing and/or artwork contact:

Karen D’Amicovia email: tangent.mail@mac.com

Printed copies can be collected at the following locations:

House GalleryThe South London Gallery

Space Station 65Studio Voltaire

Transition Gallery

PDFs available on the website:

www.tangent.org.uk

all content © karen d’amico 2005 unless otherwise noted. all other contributions fully credited

inside (in no particular order)

[observe]

Lauren Beven www.laurenbeven.com

Carol Es www.esart.com

Daryl Waller www.winterdrawings.com

Rachael House www.peckhampet-tastic.com

David Shillinglaw www.dodyboy.co.uk

Amanda Dumas www.amandadumas.com

Kevin Osmond www.kevinosmond.co.uk

Tom Sachs www.tomsachs.org

Sarah Doyle www.purestarproducts.co.uk

[project] Travellers Secret Box Project www.travellerssecretbox.dk//

[reflect]

Thoughts on a Grey Day www.karendamico.blogspot.com

[inform]

Arts Listings

outside front over image ‘Champagne Army’ 2005 Assemblage; champagne corks Karen D’Amico

back cover image ‘Luck of the Draw I’ 2005 Playing cards, map fragments; Karen D’Amico

Plum Flower (date unknown)Iron sculpture; Ding-E

Lo-Tech- approaches to making work

- materials utilised

- reasons for- etc.

‘RAZZLE DAZZLE’ – work in progress

‘the primary object of [Dazzle],’ explained Wilkinson back in 1919, ‘was not so much to cause the enemy to miss his shot...but to mislead him’. The familiar object transformed through unexpected redecoration surprises the viewer and challenges a reassessment of the object and its associations.

To camouflage is to disguise or deceive. Modern fighter jets now have hi-tech electronic camouflage rather painted patterns. These glitter planes, in the spirit of Dazzle, sparkle alluringly like mirror balls, light shimmering on the surface, captivating. But flakes fall off into the black night, like dandruff caught in ultra violet light, to reveal their shady identity.

Other planes are painted black and start to loose their form under endless layers of paint, morphing as the paint slides and collects in drifts. The form disfigures as if caught on film breaking the speed/sound barrier. Some are further dipped in an array of deep and glossy candy colours, like hard boiled sweets.

Recamouflaging models of the hardware of hi-tech warfare with alluringly glittery and sugary sweet veneers suggests that the spectator is unwittinglyimplicated in bloody and armed conflicts.

Loren BevenrtCoolArtCoolArtistCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArt

Zines save lives. Well, some of them do. Some people maybe do a

z i n e in order to make it into mainstream journalism, to write for the nme, or even art monthly. Good luck to them. That’s dandy, but I’m just not interested.

What I love about zines, what makes me want to get out my pens, scalpel, cutting mat and pritt stick, is the passion. When I produced small press comics on a (not very) regular basis I received letters and zines from around the world. From people united in the belief that we all had something worth saying. We traded zines and I learnt tips on how to soap stamps in order for them to be reusable. I made friends and became part of a community of creative misfits, drawn to the immediacy and lack of censorship in the making of a cut & paste photocopied zine. My most valued possession was my long-armed stapler.

My friend Claire is part of a knitting group. I asked her recently what she thought about knitting becoming so fashionable in art galleries. Her reservation was that knitting may be seen as a fleeting fashion. It’s great to see it taken seriously, but the people that have been doing it for a long time are not acknowledged. For Claire, the knitting groups are about building communities.

Making zines is not an exclusive club. We can all do it. Some of us do it who call ourselves ‘artists’. There’s no hierarchy though. Football fanzines, local history zines, music zines etc., they are all special, all important.

Never forget that the word ‘amateur’ has it’s roots in ‘love’. Further reading for stuff with love in it-

Celebrity fancy dress potato competition: www.starchygallery.co.uk

Ladyfest Brighton, October 2005:www.ladyfestbrighton.co.uk

Duckie ‘drinking dancing shagging and the arts’www.duckie.co.uk

DIY: the rise of lo-fi culture by Amy SpencerMarion Boyers Publishers, 2005 £9.95

rachael house

Rachael HousebutedyContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContribut

Daryl WalleributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByCo

when did you first know you wanted to be an artist?I never wanted to be an artist, I don’t think its something you suddenly become one day when the tax return lands on your doormat, I think its something you are already in some way…If I was working in Tesco’s full time stacking shelves I would still be an artist. For me it more a state of mind, lifestyle and a way of being that only follows a few simple rules, here are a few:- Do what the hell you please- Strive for freedom- Ignore people who put you down

what inspires you?Mostly Music, Lou Barlow (sebadoh), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Sonic Youth plus hundred of others.Life+death+music+love+people=ART.

You did an MA at the Royal College in illustration but your work is definitely contemporary. Do you find the term ‘illustrator’ to be a hindrance at all?I come from an illustration background partly because it felt most comfortable at the time. When I started college I didn’t know what I was doing really, I didn’t know how to harness all this power and energy that is in me…I was all over the place. I wonder what effect going through a fine art education might have had on me and my work but I don’t feel like I’ve made any mistakes, every choice I’ve made has turned out well. I view artists and illustrators as being equal; I think that these two disciplines should intertwine over and over.

what is your favourite drawing implement?I don’t really believe in favourites, I just like to make marks with whatever feels most comfortable at the time.

Any heroes or villains?I’m not really sure what a hero is, or what it means…The reasons I like people are often because I like there style, grace, attitude, what they say and how they say it. I’m normally let down by those people when they go and do or say something that I disrespect. J Mascis and Lou Barlow from the bands Dinosaur Jr and Sebadoh have never let me down, I truly believe that they never will either.

Can you remember your first drawing?I can remember my parents taping blank wallpaper to our large kitchen table and drawing a line to spit it in half, half each for me and my brother… this was very important to me because it taught me to not be precious with my drawings because my brother and I would swap sides, interact with each others’ pictures in a game playing kind of way. But since then, because my parents have kept every scrap we ever drew, I have studied all my old painting and drawings from all my childhood.

Smartest thing you ever did in terms of your work?No idea.

Worst mistake in terms of your work?I’ve made more than I can remember and I love them all.

Best bit about being an artist?Freedom.

Worst bit about being an artist? Nothing.

What shows have you seen recently?I’m probably a little lazy when it comes to that…but the last one was Freda Carlo at the Tate Modern, it was alright… I’d rather go see a live band though. Music first, than art.

Anything to add?22 + 12 = 35

asked & answeredDaryl Waller

Travellers Secret BoxOriginated and conceived by Danish artist Lars Vilhelmsen, Travellers Secret Box was first set in motion in May of 2004. Lars’ continuing investigations into the synthesis of life and art have now generated a project involving artists from all over Europe, including Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and now the UK; each in their own way questioning and responding to the invisible divisions which persist between art and the existent, cultural identity and location, cultural practices and custom, and notions of travel.

The project, in the simplest terms, comprises the giving of an object (the ‘box’) to an artist for a period of time, asking them to consider it, interact with it on some level, and make a response, both visually and in words. Explorations thus far have sought to apprehend and make sense of a tangible, more visible coherence b e t w e e n the everyday, ‘existent’ and ‘art’

i n terms of things that are not normally perceived as art, but for their context can be seen as such. Using

the ‘travellers secret box’ as the mediating object, the resulting work

has been brought to life as an ongoing, web-based initiative, with images and text from each of the contributing artists so far involved represented on the TSB website.

The ‘box’ is a galvanized zinc object

w h i c h measures 12.5cm wide by 31cm long by 37.5cm deep and weighs about 5 kilos. It’s awkward, cumbersome physicality presents both a form of resistance and a sort of intervention. Locating itself in spaces where its seemingly useless presence challenges the artist, and eventually, the viewer, to reflect and consider its existence and purpose, the object becomes both signifyer and signified.

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Doppleganger 2005cardboard reproduction made to scale

Ivan Pope

TSB on the Tracks 2005pen and ink drawing

Daniel Wallis

Melancholy 2005slide projection onto the object; digital print

Karen D’Amico

(Travellers Secret Box (contʼd.)

In this sense, the box acts as a form of gesture to the artist,

whose work, in turn, presents its own terms of representation

and form of presence, defining and presenting a particular

narrative or identity for the viewer. Each artists’ response is

unique, each interpretation becomes a decodable gesture offered

back to the viewer.

It is, in a very real sense, a companion of sorts, a fellow traveller for a set period of time, with the resulting interaction between artist and object culminating in work that reflects that relationship.

How does this object align itself for scrutiny? Is it a

representation of nomadism, remoteness

or outsideness, where attachment to

institutional discourses, such as notions

of home, cultural identity and belonging

are questioned? Is it perceived as excess

baggage, a burden of sorts, taking on

the role of an uncomfortable nuisance or

inconvenience, much like the refugee or

asylum seeker as portrayed in today’s media?

Is it a a fellow tourist on a pleasurable

journey, echoing the need for adventure,

wanderlust and perceived, hoped-for

happiness? Or is it something whose existence

serves as a sort of container, holding the

residue of an event or experience within it?

The box itself remains itinerant, of no fixed address, forever

travelling from one location to the next, from city to

city, country to country, its final destination uncertain and

impossible to know.

The UK contribution to this project involves 12 artists and hopes to add a new dimension in the form of a touring exhibition in late 2006 / 2007. For further information contact Karen D’Amico, UK Project Co-ordinator via email at fluidthought@mac.com

August in Birmingham 2005from the Wish You Were HerePostcard Intervention Series; Postcard, digital photographKaren D’Amico

David ShillinglawibutedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContrib

detail from “A diagram

for information on David’s solo show, ‘Atlas’ at The Foundry in October email.dodieboy@hotmail.com

to show almost everything at once”

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daryl waller

Carol EsArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtistCoolArt

“I’ve always

been ambitions

but have relied

on allowing

something else

entirely to guide

my hand in art.

I think trying

to define what

that element is

exactly would

mess up the

universe as I

know it, because

it’s about

having a quiet

faith in myself

where external

validatin and

finite truth is

kinda like the

Devil.”

Cocoon, 2005oil, acrylic, pins, fabric and pencil on wood, 14” x 11”; Carol Es

excerpt from I-SELF, Limited Edition Handmade Book, 2005; Carol Es

Amanda Dumas

Some onlookers to Amanda Dumas–Hernandez’ “Plastic Bottle Chandelier” Installation will inherently take it at face value, believing that it is an outrageousdisplay of fine crystal. At closer examination all isnot so crystal clear. Expiration dates imprinted on the plastic bottles that make up the chandelier

indirectly tell us that beauty and everything we consume is marked to expire through nature orideology. Dumas-Hernandez’ work re-evaluates the question of what is garbage and what is not and a newdialogue is formed about conceptions of value, as well as exploring the paradoxical difference between whatwe see and what we know. A plastic bottle, normally thrown in the recycling or trash bin, could beconsidered to be an important vessel —used to carry water in poor village in Africa, or as we see here, recycled into a haute chandelier.

Plastic Bottle Chandelier, 2005;Plastic bottkes, wire, electric lights; Amanda Dumas-Hernandez

Plastic Bottle Chandelier (detail)

rtCoolArtCoolArtistCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtng

Disposable Cloud Styrofoam and wire sculptureKevin Osmond; 2004

This is one of my favourite pieces of art; an object that I really treasure. Measuring just under 18cm in height, it sits in my studio, a breath of fresh air amongst the chaos that seems to prevail. When I look at it, it never fails to uplift me. It brings to mind wide open spaces, and simplicity. It makes me think how amazing it is that the artist, Kevin Osmond, was able to create something so exquisite from reclaimed materials. I love Kevin Osmond’s work. It satisfies my intellect as well as my hunger for things that are aesteticly beautiful. It makes me think, it makes me smile. It just works.

Kevin OsmondArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtistCoolArt

Skull; 2003Foamcore and hot glue9.84” x 5.91” x 5.91”

Chanel Guillotine, 2000mixed media, 124.5 x 102.9 x 103.5 cm

Tom Sachs’ sculptures

interrogate notions

of power, worth and

status in relaton to

consumer culture.

His objects reflect on

the criteria used to

attribute value to the

things we buy, as well

as the imagined power

name brands bestow.

Using everyday objects

and materials such as

foamcore and synthetic

polymer. he subverts

and reconstructs

contemporary

icons, branding and

packaging, thereby

questioning their

perceived commercial

value. The resulting

objects offer the viewer

an additional paradox:

highly valued works of

art constructed from

low-grade materials.

Tom SachsrtCoolArtCoolArtistCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtCoolArtC

On 30 Aug 2005, at 15:16, Info wrote:

thanks for your kind email and invitation to participate in your zine. at this time im too swamped to prepare anything specifically for your publication but please feel free to download any images from my website and use them in your mag. i recommend cropping into detailed parts to show hardware. please send me a copy. tom

The Crawler 2003Foamcore and hot glue, wood and metal frame45” x 79” x 67.5” base; 73” x 24” x 40” shuttle

The Crawler (detail)

Let Every Nation Know 2003mixed media 20 x 94 x 4 cm

I have recently been involved in a couple of arty Summer Fetes with my

“Popstar Makeovers”. I love the whole low-fi atmosphere of the summer

fete, with people coming along with homemade cakes and selling jam

and toys they have made by hand.

The Leisure Centre Summer fete took place on the 6th August in a

lovely garden in Winchester. I took part

in the fete as the resident face painter

– My usual artwork concentrates on the

construction of identity through popular

visual culture. So I felt it fitting to do some

face painting in the style of Popstar’s

makeup. This is a project I’ve extended

and have been doing at other places. For

the Leisure Centre fete I made a couple of Gene Simmons from KISS

look-alikes as well as a mini

Mana from the Japanese band

Malice Mizer – who a lot of

Japanese girls dress up and

try to emulate.

Vyner Street Fete happened

in East London at the end of

August. I was very happy that

I got the chance to make a

couple of David Bowies at this

fete.

I will be doing my “Popstar Makeovers” at a few other forthcoming arty

events so keep an eye out for me. Do get in touch with me if you’d like me

to come along to your own event to do some of my makeovers too…

Sarah DoyleibutedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByContributedByCont

Popstar Dressing Up project: Dressing up

when you’re a teenager and trying to pull

off the look of your favourite popstar (which

always come off a bit low-fi looking). I’m not

sure that anyone really pulls off the look

they are going for completely successfully.

Although at the time you think you look the

bee knees, looking back more often than not you remember the looks not

coming off quite as well as you’d have hoped.

In my own teenage past I was a prince fan and tried to

carry of the look sported by Prince’s sexy dancer “Cat”.

This involved mainly wearing a dress I got my mum to

make for me which was a replica of the peach dress

Cat wore in the “Sign O’ The Times” Prince concert.

Now, on “Cat”, this dress was a very sexy little

number – the peach fabric looked great against her

tanned skin. However my own pasty skin completely blended

with the peach dress making me look more sausage-like than sexy.

Still I persisted in wearing the dress – looking to the dancer as my

inspiration whilst growing up. Thinking some of

her sexiness might rub off on me if I wore her sexy

outfit.

The search for your own identity through

popstars is a typical teenage pastime. Most

people can look back at their own teenage years

and remember trying to fit in with what they thought was cool

at the time. For further information or to take part in The Dressing Up Project check out Sara’s webpage or contact her at: studio@purestarproducts.com

sarah doyle

Thoughts on a Grey Day

ReclaimationI’ve been thinking a lot about this word lately. Where are

the demarcation zones that define one’s identity in terms

of merging the past with the present? What is reclaimed

and what is of our own creation? What is the difference

between evolving and ‘reinventing onself’? Do we ever

move beyond the past or is our heritage, whatever that

may be, indelibly etched into our being? Where does that

amalgamation of past and present begin or end? Is letting

go of something that no longer holds meaning - such as

a long-held tradition or fixed belief - turning one’s

back on a legacy or is it simply moving on and growing

up? Alternatively, is reclaiming a heritage that is far

removed from one’s everyday life a way of searching for

an anchor, a sense of belonging?

Certainly, the process of growing older has something

to do with the way we perceive ourselves, and indeed,

how we are perceived by others. It also has a way of

causing one to reflect on the various aspects that make

up ‘who we are’. We grow, learn, experience life, and

(hopefully) evolve into well rounded individuals with

a myriad of histories and experiences which culminate

in the manifistation of our identity. We perhaps see and

understand the value of legacy, yet we fiercly proclaim

our individuality. And yet...and yet. We are still ‘who

we are’, shaped by our present, tied to our past, for

better or worse.

I remember talking with a woman of 80 once, when I

was barely 20. Being young and full of myself, I asked

her, “What does it feel like to be 80?” I was genuinely

curious, since it was a concept I just could not fathom at

the time. Her reply was telling: “Well, some things don’t

work as well as they used to, but I’m still ‘ME’!” That

has always stayed with me, and as the years accumulate, I

understand how absolutely true it is.

catch: Arts Listingsgalleries, 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.orgRant Magazine www.rant-magazine.com

WeblinksArtangel www.artangel.org.ukArtinliverpool www.artinliverpool.com/blogArtquest www.artquest.org.ukArt South Central www.artsouthcentral.org.ukEyebeam www.eyebeam.orgFallon & Rosoff www.fallonandrosof.com/artblog.htmlHappy Famous Artists www.happyfamousartists.blogspot.comKollabor8 http://kollabor8.toegristle.com/Newsgrist www.newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/weblogs/index.htmlRe-Title www.re-title.comRhizome www.rhizome.orgStand Assembly www.standassembly.orgStunned www.stunned.org Theory.Org www.theory.orgWooster Collective www.woostercollective.com/Zeke’s Gallery www.zekesgallery.blogspot.com

Galleries / Studios / Resources198 Gallery (SE24) www.198gallery.co.uk 020 7978 8309Bearspace (SE8) www.thebear.tv/bearspace/ 020 8691 2085Brixton 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 0813House Gallery (SE1) www.housegallery.org 020 7358 4475inIVA (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 Standpoint (N1) www.pauperspublications.com/gallery.html 020 7729 5272Studio 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