Critical friends ─ hard to find, harder still to keep

A Kaleider lunchtime talk by theatre writer Belinda Dillon last Friday offered a new opportunity to consider the whys and hows of creating a critical culture within Exeter's arts community.

Having written about theatre for a number of years, Belinda has been working with Kaleider to reflect more deeply on the role of  'the critic' in the local arts ecology. For her, Theatre Bristol's Writers in Residence Scheme is something of a beacon as it invites a diverse range of people to respond to performance work, often in very creative ways. Curated/edited by two paid writers (Richard Aslan and Tom Wainwright), the focus is on positive and supportive interviews, interactions, reviews, comments. It also positions critical writing as an interesting creative practice in its own right.

In the discussion that followed, it was clear that theatre-makers are as keen for peer critique as visual artists, though some feel this is better offered in a 'safe' or confidential context than via publication. At the same time there's a hunger for official recognition from what are frequently referred to as 'star reviewers', but less enthusiasm for a blogger-type free-for-all. As someone pointed out, in live performance you don't need a critic to tell you if a performance worked for an audience: there's instant feedback in the form of laughter or applause.

A key issue is: if we want professional critics, who's going to pay them? Star reviewers don't pop up fully formed out of nowhere ─ someone has to train and develop them. That means sustained opportunities for writers to develop their skills and knowledge (not just occasional bursaries and short courses).

A common solution seems to be 'embedding', where writers are paid by an arts organisation ─ either directly or indirectly ─ to play the role of critic, commentator and sometimes mentor. This can work well, but can blunt the writer's critical faculties if the relationship gets too cosy. It can also result in 'critical writing' being used as a marketing tool. In other words, objectivity is compromised. Is a writer short of paid work really going to bite the hand that feeds? And what does that mean for honest debate and the quality control it promotes?

There was also talk of a 'shared community of interest' that dissolves the barriers between professional critics, peers and audience members. It's a great idea but it's likely to end up muddied by personal loyalties (or even hostilities).  Don't we also want to hear from independent observers, who can try to be at least a little bit objective?

I speak as an arts practitioner who has largely suspended her critical writing practice, partly because the trickle of money it once generated dried up completely, and partly because navigating the murky waters of marketing writing versus critical writing was getting way too complicated. And that's before you even consider the problem of building trust with fellow practitioners while keeping critical integrity intact...

I've written on this topic before, back in 2010. See more here:
http://gabriellehoad.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/is-there-right-way-to-write-about-art.html 
http://gabriellehoad.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/good-and-bad-art.html

Columbarium

I'm showing a new work called Columbarium in Gallery 333, Exeter Phoenix from 12 January to 7 March  2015.  It's a mini-installation that draws on early cinematography and the latest 3D printing techniques to test the limits of objective knowledge.

Presented in the museum-like setting of Gallery 333's glass cabinet, the objects reference humankind's ongoing investigations of bird flight – through dissection, through the use of cameras and through the application of 21st century surveillance technology such as birdborne GPS.

Derived from the Roman word for a pigeon house, a columbarium is a compartmentalised structure for the storage of mortal remains.

Columbarium arises from an Arts Council funded research and development project 2013-14 to map and model bird flight. Bird flight data was provided by Dr Steven Portugal of the Royal Veterinary College, London. Frames showing bird flight are extracted from footage of Pigeon En Vol (1891-92) by EtienneJules Marey and Georges Demenÿ.

http://www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/gabrielle-hoad/

Lost

Lost (Two pigeons, 153 seconds) | 2014 | Digital print

Part of my research project, Solid Air, this image was made from data collected by two homing pigeons. They were carrying specialised data-loggers to track their altitude, longtitude and altitude five times per second. After release, they were supposed to follow the rest of the flock home to the Royal Veterinary College, but seem to have decided to take a detour.

During the 153 seconds depicted here, they flutter about a bit before making a characteristic orienting loop together. However, moments after they flew off in separate directions (both were later safely retrieved). I'm intrigued by the coincidence that, during its period of truancy, one of them ended up flying over a street where I lived many years ago.

Taking flight

Three pigeons, 127 seconds | Laser sintered nylon 20 x 25 x 6cm

Three beautifully printed models arrived on Thursday. All part of Solid Air, my Arts Council funded project to capture bird flight using specialised data loggers and 3D printing. Take a bow Ogle Models and Prototypes of Letchworth. I've learnt the hard way that not all rapid prototyping companies take as much care as they do. 

Listen to Easterbrooks

Listen to Easterbrooks | 2014 | 50-minute sound sequence, looped, with digital imagery

I'm sharing some work in progress at Devon Open Studios.  Listen to Easterbrooks is an experimental transcription, in sound, of temperature data collected from Easterbrooks, a warm, south-facing pasture on West Town Farm, near Exeter. Five different sensors are represented by five different sampled sounds, which are played so that each semitone represents a difference of 0.5°C in temperature reading. Higher pitched sounds represent warmer temperatures, while lower pitched sounds correspond to cooler temperatures (usually at night). Readings were taken every 30 minutes over 40 days in July and August 2014, and each 24-hour cycle takes about 75 seconds to play as sound.

These measurements of soil and air temperatures were made as part of a collaboration with Dr Jonathan Bennie, an Associate Research Fellow at Exeter University’s Environment and Sustainability Institute. The project, Foreign Soil, asks what it means to eat local food, through a documented attempt to grow edible dessert bananas (Dwarf Cavendish) outdoors in Devon. 

It's on just for one week at OrganicArts, West Town Farm, Ide, nr Exeter, Devon EX2 9TG.  11am-6pm daily.  It's installed in a stable in the farmyard, but you can also listen on mobile devices in Easterbrooks itself.

Foreign Soil is supported by the ESI/RANE Creative Exchange Programme and OrganicArts. Technical Consultant: Tim King. 

http://www.organicarts.org.uk 

Art night in Plymouth

AA2A show at Plymouth's Civic Centre

There's a final show by the artists who took part in the Artists Access to Art Colleges (AA2A) scheme at Plymouth University 2013-14: Tabatha Andrews, Sally Hall, Kayleigh Hill, Gabrielle Hoad and Lee McDonald, plus the three student reps who've supported us: Rachael Allain, Jamie Morrison and Luke Walder.

I'll be showing three working drawings from my digital visualisation/bird flight project 'Solid Air'. It takes place at the Plymouth City Council House, Civic Centre, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2AA. The exhibition is open to the general public every Friday in August (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th) between 12.00 and 2.00pm. There will be a closing event 4.00pm-5.30pm on 29th August as part of the city-wide Open 4 multi-venue arts event organised by Visual Art Plymouth.

Part of Plymouth's Civic Centre Precinct, The Council House dates from 1954. Its post-war interior is of national significance and provides a fantastic backdrop for a rolling programme of exhibitions by contemporary artists with a connection to Plymouth. The programme is supported by Plymouth City Council.

You can find out more about The Council House exhibitions programme here:
http://councilhouseart.wordpress.com/about/