Young Arnolfini Zine #2 Perfectionism by Arnolfini

YOUNG ARNOLFI N I

YO UNG AR NO L F I NI

introduction

contents

Young Arnolfini is a collective of local art enthusiasts aged from 16 - 25 working, learning and living in Bristol. We work in close collaboration with Arnolfini, one of Europe’s leading centres for the contemporary arts exploring visual arts, performance, dance, film, music as well as educational activities. We aim to provide a cultural forum through our zine, workshops, blogging and live events to bridge the gap between young people and Bristol’s bustling art scene. We want to make contemporary art, and the spaces that exhibit it, more accessible. We try to reach beyond our four walls by hosting activities and events both inside and outside the gallery, using spaces imaginatively and engaging as many young people across the city as we can. With this, the second issue of the YA zine, comes the theme of Perfectionism. It seems that we’re a fussy lot, us artistic types, always striving for perfection in our work but generally embracing spontaneous mistakes when they happen, dubbing them ‘happy accidents’ and often preferring them to the original intention. Therefore this seemed the ideal theme for us to focus on. So what do people really prefer? And why the often negativity over imperfection? As Fiona, YA member, rightly voices, “certain flaws are necessary for the whole”. To be able to produce a finished piece of work, some mistakes are likely to arise but they are a small price to pay for what we want to achieve and after all, we need mistakes to happen in order to learn from them. Furthermore, the theory of experimentation is essentially to create a controlled error in a process to allow us to experience results when we deviate from the norm, so when mistakes happen involuntarily, how exciting! Oh how beautiful and unique are the imperfect repercussions! There are now fresh faces among the members of YA each adding their own ingredients to the publication and along with the work of Kate MccGwire, developing a thorough consideration of what Perfectionism means to them.

MEMBERS:

CONTENT:

Katie Morgan

Unfold - 04

Charlie Crosley-Thorne Fiona Clabon

Perfection Through Repetition - 06 Certain Flaws are Necessary for the Whole - 08

Emma Blake Morsi

Keeping up Appearances - 10

Billie Appleton

Faces - 12

Jacob Matthews & Emma Blake Morsi

Hacker Farm - Salvage - 14

Helen Cobby

Kate MccGwire - 16

Charlie Crosley-Thorne

Vatican Shadow & Maria Chavez - 22

Alice Titshall

Chaos vs Order - 24

Maz Shar

Emma Hayley, Video Game Artist - 26

Jacob Matthews Tom Beale

Wabi - Sabi - 28 What is the Perfect Way to Watch A Film? - 30

Young Arnolfini

Manifesto - 31

Young Arnolfini

Forthcoming Events - Back

KATIE MO RGAN

UNF O L D

The series Unfold uncovers the problems of skin types which we hide away, something we are embarrassed of. The photographs are anonymous for these reasons. This series emphasises a sense of truth and reality, which we do not always see in the media because it portrays the fake as a form of perfectionism. The series was made as an artist’s book in a clipboard format, to echo the medical influence, in alphabetical order. There is also a collection of the diagnosis’ you could use to prevent these skin types, which were presented in a box next to the artist’s book in my exhibition based at Bower Ashton U.W.E campus spring 2012.

CHARLIE CRO SLEY-TH O R N E

P E R F E C T I O N T H RO UGH R E P E T I T I O N

To achieve perfection in a subject is the ultimate, and unobtainable, goal. Perfection is better than everything and has to stay that way forever. Perfection is also a personal taste. Something that is perfect must fulfill all criteria without fail. Finite test scores can be perfect but when the test changes or becomes obsolete, are the scores still perfect or a broken form of perfection? The achievement of perfection is the ultimate goal. Perfection must be the best and stay the best forever, yet still is subject to change for personal taste. Perfection can be achieved in a finite field, for instance a test score, but when the test becomes obsolete, are your scores a broken form of perfection? To be perfect is the ultimate goal. Perfection must eternally remain the best, yet still be subject to change for personal taste. In a finite field, such as test scores, perfection is obtainable but if the test becomes obsolete, do the scores become a false perfection? Perfection is the ultimate goal. Perfection is eternal, yet still flexible. In a finite field perfection is achievable but if subject to change, does it become a false perfection? Perfection is ultimate, eternal and malleable. If the pretence of perfection changes does it become false perfection? Perfection is ultimate, eternal and malleable. Can false perfection exist?

FIONA CLABO N

CERTA I N FLAW S A RE NE S S E S SA RY FOR THE W HOLE

EMMA BLAKE MORS I

keeping up appearances

K E E P I NG UP AP P E AR ANC E S

I refuse to have a solid opinion.

by Emma blake morsi

That, no matter how formulated a structure is, I refuse to be partial to that. Instead, my indecisiveness to stick to a thought has allowed me to gather various impartial opinions.

Everyone loves to believe they’re above the opposing opinion. However, when

I’ve always found it intriguing how visual appeal also remains impartial in the grand scheme of the arts world, refusing to solely be liable to visual arts. Aesthetics’ substantial influence in performing arts and literacy being able to never fail in reconfirming its prominence in many aspects of modern life is outstanding.

we live in a world where 93% of communication is non-verbal, with 55% solely on body language, I can’t help but acknowledge the fact that, although marketing on ‘sex’ may be contentious, the value of aesthetics, particularly within the arts, couldn’t be more palpable. Aesthetics, aesthetics, aesthetics. It’s fascinating, this idea of ‘sex sells’. It seems immediately people are struck with an opinion, whether it be anti with their pitchforks or celebrating frivolously. But me? I’m dumbstruck by the lack of earnest conviction I embody. Frankly, there are just too many opinions to be had and I seem to have snippets of each one.

‘Screw it: your body, your actions ’ ‘Our women, we must fight for them ’ ‘What about the men? ’ ‘Sure, let’s tackle it head on and evade the root cause, why don’t we ’ And what’s that Beatles song...? For the most part, I feel my indecisiveness has allowed me to do a complete U-turn and form an opinion:

For instance, let’s take literacy. Do we all not fall and settle to good ol’ cover-judging as the conclusive indecisive verdict for selecting a worthy read? Only the weak cascade to denial as the subconscious of pro-cover-judgers, like myself, imprudently admit to this fate. We allow ourselves to believe we vary, admire the aesthetic versatility of our library and conclude that we made the right decision on account of appearance appeal. Likewise, to me performing arts has never been ‘the other’ to visual arts. Quite the contrary, I’ve always associated it as a sub form, with the ‘performance’ aspect seeming so obviously visual to me. For instance, dance as its own entity strongly commands sight. The endeavour to be faultless, with perfection being any and everything because error is too discernible, however slight, is the basis of the selfless time and effort devoted to such practices. I also refuse to rule out the relationship between visual arts and musicrelated performing arts. The association seems all too unmistakeable. The very act of performance as a musician is built around creating a tangible, visual connection with the crowd, feeding off each other’s elation. Have you ever sat at home longingly watching the Glastonbury highlights and being fervently drawn in, compellingly feeling the evocative presence from your very own home? That’s the power of aural and visual gratification. And it’s remarkable. So the next time you pick up your pitchforks or wave your banners irrationally defending your opinion, have a think, is that all there is to it?

BILLIE APPLETON

FAC E S

JACOB MATTHEWS & EMMA B LA KE MO RS I

H AC K E R FAR M - SALVAGE

Hacker farm salvage saturday 28th september 2013 image: Jacob Matthews Intrigued by the concept of the Hacker Farm Field Trip, I decided to research through watching videos to help construct my own concept of the day ahead. This process aroused my interest, helping to form my own admiration of the collective duo. I decided to quote snippets of conversations which intrigued me and looked to them to help mould my concept of Hacker Farm.

“ See what you can do with it rather than what you’re given ” Hacking has got a lot of bad press because of connotations of breaking into “systems and doing illegal stuff but we’d like to reclaim that almost ” thought myself an artist … and I guess it was just like an itch that had “toI benever scratched ” “ It’s very much about listening, this sort of thing … the people making good racket are listening very carefully to what everyone else around them is doing ” Rubik’s cube to QR code: the QUBE* giving somebody an object … making “ them engaged with it ” “ Use what you’ve got ” “ But actually these old fashion things are starting to sound a bit exotic ” The lasting impression was: Authentic. Endearing. Ardent.

- Emma Blake Morsi

“...my attention was drawn to the use of thrown out, derelict objects within the setting.” Whilst at the Hacker Farm event, Salvage, my attention was drawn to the use of thrown out, derelict objects within the setting. I liked the way that the artists were using the most of what they had; finding objects in the location and using them creatively. This could also be said of the music and sounds being produced; with instruments such as guitars and violins being used in very unusual ways in some performances. I came out of the event feeling that I should make the most of the things that I have when being creative, rather than resorting to buying things.

- Jacob Matthews

H E L E N C O B BY

artwork - Kate mccgwire interview - helen cobby Kate MccGwire is an installation artist and sculptor based just outside of London who uses the repetition of feathers in her work to create large, abstract pieces which retain a natural form. She exhibits in cities worldwide and recently her work was shown in the “Unnatural - Natural History” show at the Royal West of England Academy.

What does being an artist mean to you? It’s really the only thing that makes sense of who I am, what motivates me and fundamentally what makes me tick. I feel as if I am finally complete.

Do you have a particular routine for your creative practice? – for example, do you work to music, and if so, what do you like listening to? I live 40 minutes walk from the studio so my daily routine is to walk with my dog Tilly along the Thames path to the studio; a Dutch barge moored on a semiderelict island. The barge is light and airy and an inspirational place to work. When I’m working on my own I tend to listen to classical music, (often early choral music). When the studio is busy with assistants we listen to all sorts, anyone can suggest something and I really love the cross-fertilisation of genres and I have been introduced to some of my favourite music by my young studio assistants. I’ve even hooked them onto some of my classical pieces. When it’s really busy and we’re leading up to a show everyone loves to listen to audio books. It’s a great way of focussing on the work without the need to chat.

K AT E M C C GW I R E Hampton Court Palace, which I pass most days on my walk to work. I could even moor my barge-studio alongside the Palace for the duration of the installation.

What do you think the future holds for traditional crafts? Within the multi-disciplinary arena of contemporary art I like seeing traditional crafts being used as part of this many-stranded language. No material or technique is out of bounds and that’s a fantastic and liberating place to begin my own work.

Are you conscious of striving for perfection? My work to a certain extent relies on leaps of faith from the viewer. I am asking them to believe in the writhing forms that I make and for that illusion to work I think perfection is important. If you were to look at the pieces and found a mistake or a hole in them the flaw would be a total distraction and the illusion would be lost.

Are you drawn towards the perfections or imperfections of the human body? Absolutely - I find the human body fascinating and miraculous in its ability to mend itself. I’m also intrigued by the social mores that we control our lives with which frequently don’t make sense to me. Why is hair on your head considered beautiful but in the plughole considered repugnant? Why is chest hair considered macho but if seen on the back considered a huge turn-off, and why do we, as women, shave our armpits, legs and bodily parts only to tend to the hair on our heads for hours and try and make our eyelashes longer. It doesn’t make sense to me...

What are your goals for the future and which building would you most like to create an installation in? I suppose like most installation artists I would like to make a large scale sitespecific installation within a major museum. I am also truly inspired by working in and responding to historic buildings and would love to make an installation in

W R I T H E (2010) Mixed media with Mallard feathers in antique glass dome 26 x 60 x 45 cm Photo: Tessa Angus courtesy of All Visual Arts

Do you see feathers as a perfect or imperfect medium to work with? There are certainly drawbacks with the medium. They are fragile but if cared for correctly I can make the most of their intrinsic beauty, but if I don’t wrap a piece correctly or if someone were to ruffle the feathers it can take time to mend them - usually this can be done with stroking and preening but occasionally a section of feathers may have to be replaced. I suppose that means it is actually quite forgiving as an overall piece but it does involve quite a bit of time and...

...normally, with an installation, that can be limited. This September I installed ‘Discharge’ in an exhibition in S.Korea, (it’s a large scale - over 4 meters high and 6 meters deep - pigeon feather waterfall) when I arrived at the exhibition the curators had very kindly had a steel pipe installed ready for my arrival but sadly my piece was too wide for it - luckily I was able to adapt my piece and make it emerge from the pipe but had to work round the clock to get installed in time for the opening.

SLICK (2010) 18

Mixed media with magpie and crow feathers and antique fire-basket. 50 x 250 x 250 cm Photo:19Tessa Angus courtesy of All Visual Arts

H E L E N C O B BY

K AT E M C C GW I R E

Which do you find the more ‘perfect’ medium to work with and the most precise for expressing your ideas: drawing, photography or sculpture? All three go hand in hand and one wouldn’t happen without the other. The drawings are a germination of ideas, the sculpture itself is the manifestation and of course some of my installations are site-specific and temporary and the photography is the only record I have of making the work.

In your work, beauty is combined with the ordinary and the dirty (such as pigeon feathers), and the restricted and contained (by sculptures being presented in glass cabinets, or within certain rooms or buildings). Due to this, do you feel there is a tension within your work, and how do you see this relationship manifested? It’s imperative to me that the work doesn’t just exist on an aesthetic level. The tension you describe is exactly what I am trying to achieve - to seduce with its formal beauty and simultaneously be un-nerved or disquieted by the materials or incongruous positioning of the work.

As an artist, have you been given any useful pieces of advice that you are able to pass on? Although I achieved a certain amount of success from my MA show at the RCA I found it very hard to ‘get going’ with my career as an artist. I had been very active initially but had been rejected with the various proposals that I’d made which rather dented my confidence. I met with an old tutor and she encouraged me to look through the various art magazines and enter not one but at least five exhibitions opportunities simultaneously. It made the inevitable rejections less painful as you always had another opportunity in the pipe-line and I did begin to get into shows. I always make the best work possible even if it is for a show that I maybe think is not that important because you never know who is going to see it. Good work builds up over the years into a fantastic portfolio. You meet amazingly interesting people along the way.

TAUNT (2012) Mixed media with crow feathers. 90H x 50W x 50D cm Photo: Tessa Angus courtesy of All Visual Arts

C H A R L I E C RO S L E Y - T H O R N E

VAT I C A N S H A D OW & M A R I A C H AV E Z

vatican shadow & maria Chavez friday 6th september 2013 Arnolfini

Maria Chavez was an unexpected treat. As with most of the performance and music that I see at Arnolfini I tend not to know much, if anything, about what I’m about to see. In the case of Maria Chavez, when she said she usually performs with only one turntable, I was slightly confused. However when she got started it all became clear. Maria Chavez literally layers vinyl on top of each other creating a physical tower of bent, broken and warped records that the needle skips and jumps across. The resulting sound is really interesting. As you can imagine, where the needle moves up or down from vinyl to vinyl it makes a noise. This regular noise makes a beat and when combined with the amalgamation of records, sometimes just of speech, it creates something really unique. I wanted to go home and destroy all my records to have a go. I decided against this choice.

Vatican Shadow at Arnolfini was nothing short of an experience. The energy of Dominick Fernow was intense and, honestly, sometimes overwhelming. Seeing someone stamp around their setup and shout at the audience wouldn’t aid many performances but for Vatican Shadow’s dark and heavy electronic music backed with projections of news headlines about war, it fitted in perfectly. Thank you to Vatican Shadow, Maria Chavez and Arnolfini for giving me such an interesting night.

A L I C E T I TS H A L L

C H AO S VS O R D E R

MAZ SHAR

emma hayley, video game artist The full interview is available online at: youngarnolfini.wordpress.com

E M M A H AY L E Y, V I D E O G A M E A RT I S T

How important, would you say, is it to be a “perfectionist” when it comes to designing a game and its environment? It really depends on your idea of perfection. For me, a game becomes perfect when the sum of its parts come together harmoniously. I think, for games, immersion is perfection. If you can achieve a connection with a player through your environment and hold onto that connection, that is perfection. Even in a 2D game, or a text based game, you are creating an imaginary space that

Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your story? What do you do and how did you get there? I’ve been interested in art and media for as long as I can remember. When I was really young, I wanted to be a photographer. I’ve always had this obsession with spaces and capturing space. After I had my photography ‘phase’ I moved on to film making in college. I really enjoyed that. Instead of expressing one moment in space to the viewer I was able to tell a story by moving around. In my first class of Computer Game Design something clicked and I walked over to the lecturer at the end and said, ‘I want to do games full time’. Now I look back, I realize that I’ve always had a connection with wanting to work with spaces, it’s just that those spaces are virtual and contained within a computer now. Right now I am working full time at Evolution Studios. We are a Sony company working on a launch title for the PS4. I am not currently doing environment art here, I’m an in-house QA tester which has allowed me to delve into all areas of game development. I sit with artists though and we are always showing off our portfolios to each other! It’s very inspiring being able to sit with such talented people every day.

contains a story to be told, a world to explore, strategies to be unraveled.

Finally, do you have any last messages for anyone aspiring to get involved in the video game industry? Anyone can do it. There are several options for you if you want to get into the games industry. First of all ask yourself, what is it you’re interested in doing? If you’re not sure of that, then that’s perfectly okay. The most important thing you need is passion. Whatever you want to do, work at it and work very hard. Get involved in the community online, start going to game development events to meet people, get on Twitter and start interacting with the community. The beauty of game development is that you can do it in the comfort of your own home and you can meet people doing the same thing online. More importantly, the game industry needs you and your creativity and imagination so that we can all grow together.

What would you say was your big break and where would you like to see yourself in the future? I would say that I have not had my big break yet. I feel like I’ve come a really long way, but I have not had that great epiphany yet. However, I broke into the industry through Twitter mostly. I got offered my first ‘contract’ through a friend I had made on Twitter who knew someone with a new company and some rather whacky ideas about what kind of game he wanted to make. I’ve been very lucky with the opportunities I’ve been given, but a lot of that has come from making an effort in online communities and putting myself out there.

JAC O B M AT T H E W S

WA B I - S A B I

TO M B E A L E

what is the perfect way to watch a film?

YO U N G A R N O L F I N I

Young Arnolfini Manifesto

Multiplex chains revel in telling us that their way is the best: Screens as big as double deckers, roof blasting surround sound, with an abundance of features to choose from, or as Max Cherry in Jackie Brown says when asked what he’s going to see at the cinema: ‘Something that starts soon and looks good.’ Though, naturally, whatever ‘looks good’ will always be preceded by a series of tediously formulaic trailers and quirky adverts. And who’s to say that glowing, clacking mobile phones, collective munching and noisy neighbours aren’t the appropriate scenery for popcorn entertainment? Purists might argue that the monastic art house screens – lights off, total silence – are home to the true cinematic experience. This may be so for foreign and most independent releases, but how much does an art house environment contribute to the impact of Prometheus, or other films mixed and edited for shopping mall megaplexes? Has film lost the working class edge of its birth, when naïve shorts were projected in cafés to stunned customers? Now a practice so ancient it seems quaint and distracting to impatient, contemporary eyes. Valuable markets lie elsewhere: studios produce pictures for figures as extreme as $200 million (which double when including prints & advertising), for a product that will be viewed on a 4 inch screen on the 75 bus in Bristol just weeks following its omnipresent release in cinemas nationwide. Yet this further democratisation of cinema is but a by-product of mobile technology, allowing films to be consumed on the level music has been since the Walkman, or novels since the paperback. Perfection is the reverent, sobering silence when To The Wonder cuts to black; perfection is mates, beer and a Tony Scott movie.

A N T I C I PAT E D E V E N TS

EMMA BLAKE MORSI: YOUNG PEOPLE’S FESTIVAL OF IDEAS Class and Education - 22nd January 2014 Arnolfini - FREE (ticket reservations at Box Office - 0117 917 2300) Curated by young people (us!) with the hope of enlightening others on a platform that allows us to share our philosophies with one another in a unique way along with a panel of high profile speakers. Expect debates, laughter, and lots and lots of free thinking. Bring along yourself, a mate, and your opinions.

FIONA CLABON: DAVID BATCHELOR - FLATLANDS Spike Island 23rd November - 26th January Head to Spike Island to feast your eyes on Batchelor’s vibrant and colourful works.

FIONA CLABON: PAPER, SCISSORS, STONE Quakers Friars - Now Until 24th December Unique and quirky creative shop open until Christmas Eve selling work from artists and designers from across Bristol.

ROBIN STEWART: YOUNG ECHO The Exchange, Old Market, Bristol 1st Wednesday of every month After a number of years on the periphery of Bristol’s burgeoning electronic music scene, Young Echo has emerged as arguably the most forward thinking collectives the city has seen since The Wild Bunch. They host a night of intimate bass music spanning multiple genres and styles, alongside friends and contemporaries from across the country.

ZINE DESIGN TEAM:

ADOBE INDESIGn:

YOUNG ARNOLFINI - October 2013

EMMA BLAKE MORSI

DARCEY BEAU FRASER

www.arnolfini.org.uk #YoungArnolfini

GRACE COHEN FIONA CLABON

EDITOR IN CHIEF:

CHARLIE CROSLEY-THORNE