Issue 24 July 2010
blankpages
2
Contents GET IN TOUCH 4 welcomE... 5 COVER ARTist 6 blankverse 10 spotlight 12 FICTION 14 THIS MONTH’S MP3 20 Feature 22 Blankpicks 26 Blank Media rECCOmMENDS 28 CREDITS 30
3
Our Websites:
Get Social
www.blankmediacollective.org www.myspace.com/blankmediacollective
You can find us on social networking websites such as; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Art Review & many more.
Submission Guidelines: www.blankmediacollective.org/blankpages
Email: editor@blankmediacollective.org
General Enquiries info@blankmediacollective.org
Development development@blankmediacollective.org
Exhibitions exhibitions@blankmediacollective.org
BlankMarket market@blankmediacollective.org
Special Projects projects@blankmediacollective.org
Live Music music@blankmediacollective.org
blankpages copyright Š2006-2010 Blank Media Collective unless otherwise noted. Copyright of all artworks remains with artist. 4
Welcome... Welcome to July’s blankpages. This month we’ve expanded the Blank Media Recommends... section, in order to highlight even more of the vibrant emerging arts events that appear on our collective radar. If you’ve got an event; an exhibition, a performance, a film screening or anything artisic you’d like to promote, send us an email and we’ll include it in next month’s recommends...
blankpages Editor 5
6
Kevin Bradshaw “I consider myself to be an illustrator primarily and a painter second. Although I often work in acrylic on canvas, I more usually work in ink, marker pen, wax crayon and pencil. I am an avid keeper of sketchbooks, and have even made my own from scratch; pressing and binding pages made from found paper. I collect all sorts of paper ephemera for inspiration and use in my art – playing cards, envelopes, postcards, stickers, fliers, wrapping paper, etc, which all sit piled up in old shoe boxes, awaiting rediscovery.” “Artists that inspire me include Cy Twombly, Paper Rad, Jon Burgerman, Hokusai, R. Crumb, Jan Pienkowski and Urs Fischer. My life is full of books, music and paper, and through my art I hope to be able to connect all of my disparate interests. Particular areas of interest are evolutionary biology, secular democracy, octopuses, electronic music, heavy metal and food; anything else is a bonus.”
“In my painting I use the contrast between the swirling colourful back-ground/ environment and the stark mono- or dichromatic colouring of the subject to express the interlocking, co-dependant quality of nature.” “All the Kingdoms of life affect and rely upon their environments. Scientists call these phenomena extended phenotype and symbiosis. New Agers and some ecologists call it the Gaia hypothesis.” “When one looks to observe an individual it becomes impossible to see clearly without also observing its back-ground, its environment, and its history. This is true universally across all walks of human endeavour, from biology to physics to art and philosophy.” “I take my inspiration for my animal paintings from books like Climbing Mount Improbable and The Selfish Gene by Richard 7
Dawkins and On the Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin, and the documentaries by David Attenborough. My aspirations in life are to create many more paintings and exhibit them, to publish a few children’s books, finish my novel, make my t-shirt business profitable, learn Japanese, go into politics, gain a science qualification, buy a big house, and to have the time and energy to do all these things. Kevin completed his degree in Contemporary Arts (Visual Arts and Creative Writing) at MMU with a 2:1 in 2006, then spent most of 2007 teaching English in Osaka, Japan. After returning to England he endured some hideous retail jobs, but has recently regained his sanity and creativity. He is currently working on expanding his portfolio, and has recently completed a commission for Amelia’s Magazine. For more information go to kevin-bradshaw.blogspot.com
8
9
Tom Harding
Tom Harding currently lives in Northampton. His work has appeared in various places including Identity Theory, Unlikely Stories and Nth Position. He also maintains a website at www.tomarianne. net
10
11
Monica Metsers
12
Monica Metsers was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1980, but has lived in the English Lake District for the majority of her life. Monica graduated from the University of Dundee with a Masters Degree in Fine Art in 2005 and has been steadily exhibiting and selling her work since then. In 2007 she was short-listed for the Celeste Art Prize and has participated in exhibitions in London, Sheffield, Newcastle, Cumbria and Swansea among others.
Email: mmetsers@hotmail.com Phone: 07974340278 Website:www.myspace.com/monicametsers
13
Through her practice Monica aims to explore ways in which subconscious fantastical experiences may be visually manifested. Her work reflects a lifelong love of fantasy and escapism. Primarily she make objects, which are quick to realise, using existing objects as a basis upon which to intuitively build with various materials, in the hope of achieving interesting and unpredictable results. These are all painted white and then photographed with different colours cast onto them, depending on the effects she wants in a particular painting. Paintings are based on these arranged photographed compositions of the objects. Monica works in layers of oil paint, building up different thicknesses to create a sculptural effect. Her intention is to create dreamscapes or mindscapes that are subtly suggestive of imaginative and fantastical experience.
A Typical Argument by Sam Byers
over it and reading it would be sort of like eating
expectations to the point where disappointment
a chocolate cookie someone had been holding in
was the only foreseeable outcome. However, if
Daniel read a book and passed it on to Katherine,
their hand until it went soft and slimy.
Katherine actually used this metaphor. She had an uncanny ability to
urging her to read it, telling her the ending was just
It would still probably taste good,
insert metaphors and similes into her speech, particularly when arguing,
great and he’d loved it. Katherine became angry,
but it would definitely be tainted.
and the effect was surprising and faintly unsettling, giving as it did the
saying the book was ruined, saying Daniel always
Daniel then speculated out loud as
did that. Daniel pointed out that he hadn’t told
to when the idea of him enjoying
her anything about the ending, about what might
something, or admiring it or thinking it was good
he calmly, and usually quite reasonably, predicted
happen, or even really given any hints. He’d just
in some way, had become so repellent that it then
she’d hate something, she’d shoot him down for
said he liked it, and he’d said it with the intention of
prevented Katherine from enjoying it herself, as if
being negative. He said he felt pretty much like he
encouraging her to read the whole book. Katherine
appreciation was finite and he’d used it up ahead of
was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.
said she didn’t care what actually happened, the
her. It was more like, he said, someone leaving you
Katherine said that was his whole problem, and
simple fact of him saying he liked the ending gave
a cookie in the packet, and offering it to you, and
the fact that he couldn’t see what a problem it was
it a certain promise which it would now, almost
you then refusing it because you’d already seen the
was itself part of the problem. She said why did
certainly, fail to keep. She said she resented the idea
person enjoying their cookie too much. He said
he have to make a prediction either way? Why did
that she needed to be told the ending of a book was
he felt this whole attitude, this difficulty Katherine
he have to throw his opinion into the ring before
good in order to encourage her to get all the way
had with other people’s enjoyment, went right to
she’d asked for it? It was like receiving a running
through it as this implied she had a tendency not to
the heart of their relationship and constituted a
commentary on things that hadn’t happened yet
get all the way through books. Now, she said, the
major flaw, since it seemed to prevent them ever
and left her with the feeling that she didn’t know
whole book was going to feel like a chore because
enjoying the same thing at the same time. He cited
if something was happening as it appeared to be
she’d have to finish it no matter what just to show
other incidents. He said it seemed like if he told
happening or if it was in fact only appearing to happen
him she was capable of finishing it, and when she
Katherine she’d enjoy something she was bound to
in the way he’d already told her it would happen
got to the end it would have Daniel’s smug face all
hate it, and to practically crucify him for building her
because he’d filled her head so full of predictions
14
impression that Katherine
had
scripted
some
of her exchanges in
advance. Which, of course, she often had.
Yes, he said hell-bent too, and yes, Katherine sneered
she couldn’t tell reality from prophecy any more.
because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d
was so hell-bent on being overwhelmingly original
She said she got the feeling that actually it wasn’t
actually seen her enjoying anything, or not openly
and unpredictable that she’d somehow managed
about her enjoying or not enjoying anything at all.
admitting to enjoyment anyway, because she was
to completely divorce the things she genuinely
It was actually, when you looked at it, about Daniel
too busy trying not to enjoy things he’d suggested
felt from the things she wanted to feel or thought
being right. He had to get his prediction in so he
she might enjoy. She said he didn’t know her at all.
it would be cool or interesting to feel. The end
could enjoy the feeling of being right, because being
He agreed, but added that he got the feeling she
result, as far as he saw it, was that she didn’t feel
right after the fact wasn’t being right at all it was
liked it that way because she was still in thrall to
anything at all but just responded in a calculated
just stating the obvious. Daniel said she was right,
the ridiculous idea that being unpredictable and
to fashion to given situations and stimuli. If she
failing to admit to the most
wanted to be unpredictable, he said, she should try
this was all about him being right
Daniel was less inventive with
but what it was really about was her
his imagery than Katherine, par-
common of human emotions
actually feeling things rather than thinking about
total inability to accept the times he
ticularly when mid-argument, so
made her somehow more
them and then artificially constructing her feelings
was right, so she’d cut off her nose
he actually said cutting your nose
interesting
mysterious
as a response to what she’d thought. Katherine
whereas it actually just made
then said that she couldn’t actually believe that he,
to spite her face and waste precious
off to spite your face. The sneer it elicited from Katherine only served
and
time and energy proving him wrong.
to anger him even further and,
her even more
What was it, he wanted to know,
ironically, to bolster the very feelings
predictable
‘The Real Problem.’ It was a recurring theme and they had come to think of
about him being right that was so
of inadequacy and emasculation that
because whatever
it as being capitalised and possibly italicised. Once, Daniel had had a dream
the majority of
where he was drinking in a bar called The Real Problem, and the name was
difficult to take, and didn’t she think
drove him to prove himself right all the time in the first place.
there was something malignant
people liked or
Both Katherine and Daniel argued by continually defining and re-defining
written in neon above the door. Whenever either of them said it they gave it heavy stress. Katherine sometimes waggled the first and middle fingers
going on in their relationship if she couldn’t bear
felt or held to be true it was pretty
of each hand in the air to indicate quotation marks, but only when Daniel
him either to enjoy anything or be right about
much guaranteed that Katherine was
had just said it. The Real Problem was never something that was clearly
anything, because what, really, did that leave him
going to go haring off in entirely the
defined, but was a flexible, shifting term that took on different character-
with? Then Katherine asked him how he felt when
opposite direction. He said the real
she enjoyed something and he said he didn’t know
problem was that she, Katherine,
istics depending on the nature of the disagreement and stood in for the actual, genuine Real Problem which was that they no longer agreed about anything and were making each other miserable to the point where they actually resented each other for systematically siphoning the joy out of each
15
other’s lives.
Daniel, had the audacity to accuse her, Katherine,
going into some spiral of concern and doubt every
was just to leave her alone and let her be unhappy
of not having adequate feelings. She said what he
time she appeared to be unhappy or expressed
or happy or whatever the fuck she wanted to be
couldn’t understand was that he regarded her
unhappiness in any way then clearly everything was
without his needy and emotionally domineering
feelings and responses as odd and inappropriate
going to fall apart because the very pressure of
and, when you got right down to it, actually pretty
only because he was so bound up in his stupid
being happy was in itself making her unhappy, just
pathetic ongoing-attempt to control her every
ideas of what most people normally did and was so keen to keep his
Big finger-waggling here, for this point.
as the very pressure of building towards the
thought and fucking feeling. Daniel then said that,
ending of a book which was supposed to be
OK, yes, that was as maybe, but what about his
own responses and reactions in line with these
great would in itself not only ruin the
broad and basically quite mis-guided notions of
book because she’d be overly-hasty
Katherine was highly skilled at bringing arguments back to their original
normality and conformity that the minute anyone
in rushing through it to get to the
frame of reference, primarily because she was much better at arguing than
had any sort of genuine, from-the-gut response to
supposedly great ending but would
anything he rejected it out of hand. Furthermore,
also utterly ruin the ending because it
she suggested, Daniel’s whole concept of what she
could only ever be a disappointment.
because they were often arguing about something he didn’t want to argue
should or shouldn’t be feeling was itself bound up in
So, she said, if Daniel wanted her to
about and so had usually spent much of the argument steering it towards
what she saw as his apparently relentless insecurity,
be happy and, in turn, wanted them to
meaning that her happiness, or the appearance of
be happy or at least wanted them to
her happiness, was of concern to him not because
appear to be happy the simplest thing
he cared about her happiness but because of the way her happiness reflected and impacted on him.
Daniel. It was a useful tactic because it not only made her sequence of logic seem utterly unbroken and without flaw, but also implied that Daniel, who rarely referred back to the originating kernel of the dispute, primarily
something he did want to argue about and had forgotten what they were actually arguing about and thereby had constructed a position that made no sense and was untenable.
Katherine had suggested more than once that Daniel didn’t actually care about whether or not they were happy as a couple, he just cared very deeply about the idea of anyone looking at them and thinking they were unhappy. Happiness, she’d once suggested, was, to
He needed her to be happy, was the basic gist,
Daniel, a way of showing off. Because this had been argued about several times in its own right, Katherine now didn’t need to go into it
because that way everything, namely them, was
here, but could simply insert it as a suggestion, thereby both strengthening her current argument with further evidence and also subtly
OK, and this was, she said, a pretty oppressive pressure to live with, this dictatorial approach to
weakening Daniel’s resolve as she knew it was an issue he hadn’t entirely gotten to grips with. Note that although Katherine used this point in much the same way as they both used the idea of The Real Problem, it was dissimilar in the fact that Daniel never threw it back, meaning it was not bounced around and dissected and recycled in the same way as the concept of The Real Problem. It was therefore
her happiness. Sometimes she couldn’t be happy, it
a big weapon for Katherine and a safe concept to deploy at any time because she knew Daniel would not follow it up, so it was an easy
was as simple as that, and if he was going to start
point with no risk of being steered off course.
16
happiness? Wasn’t it perfectly natural that if you loved someone you wanted them to happy and that in consequence a big part of
Because Daniel knew that a great part of Katherine’s self-image was founded on her idea that she was different from (meaning better than) everyone else, he was keen to use words like predictable and dull as often as possible when arguing with her, particularly when implying her “unpredictability” [Daniel himself used the finger-waggling technique for this word] might be forced and fake and basically completely
your ability to be happy and relaxed was tied
predictable. He had, in previous arguments, extended this to imply that Katherine’s whole effort to portray his, as she put it, “obsession” with
up in their happiness? It seemed to him, he
normality as somehow in itself abnormal or philosophically misguided was in itself an old and tired argument used primarily by people who
said, that this was in fact perfectly normal
knew they were just like everyone else but deeply wished they were not, but also, of course, deeply wished they were more like everyone
and not something he had to justify in order
else. External eccentricity, he said, was frequently a mask for a deep-seated internal conservatism that the individual found repellent and which caused much self-hatred and self-denial. Knowing Katherine as well as he did, Daniel knew that for all her arguments about hating the
to answer her frankly fairly predictable
idea of normality, part of what drove her was a desire to be more like everyone else, whose lives she regarded as simple, uncluttered by the
arguments about normality. Moreover, he
thoughts and feelings she was convinced that only she experienced. By questioning the way she questioned normality, Daniel could needle
said, did she have any idea how selfish her
away at Katherine’s secret fear she was weird and isolated and had something wrong with her. Because he’d played this line of argument
argument sounded? What if he was happy,
out several times, and had explicitly implied there was Something Wrong with Katherine, he could now insert it in much the same way as Katherine inserted the Daniel-Caring-About-People-Seeing-Them-As-Happy argument. In some ways it was a stronger weapon, but also,
and enjoying something, and either wanted to
Daniel knew, a considerably crueller one too, because Katherine’s feelings of isolation could at times spill over into something dangerous
share that with her or didn’t, whichever, and
and genuinely sad-making, and using this knowledge to win an argument felt to Daniel, morally, pretty dubious. In the heat of the argument,
her non-enjoyment or general unhappiness
however, he could never resist.
impeded on his enjoyment and happiness? Because A common accusation from Daniel, and a carefully constructed question. Daniel had, over time, accused Katherine of selfishness a great many times and knew that it hurt her. It had, however, become a somewhat over-used weapon in that Katherine had built up considerable defences against it and had even, once she was well-versed in the argument, begun to turn
that was, he said, how he felt, every day, all the time. Like the minute he was happy about anything
it back on him. Daniel had therefore started to insert it into arguments not as a direct question regarding selfishness as such,
she’d go and suck the joy out of it until it was just
but as a question that questioned her ability to diagnose selfishness in herself, usually with a face that implied, as far as Daniel’s
a dry husk, and it was making him miserable, all
not-particularly expressive face would allow, utter, disbelieving incredulousness. This was effective because it simultaneously
the time, every day; and she wanted to talk about
implied that Katherine’s selfishness was so advanced she was unable to stand back and look at it objectively and also palpated another of Katherine’s deep and not-often-discussed fears: that her self-awareness was completely misguided and she was not at
him being megalomaniacal about HIS feelings? This
all the person she thought she was. This was usually expressed by Katherine suddenly breaking the silence and looking up from
coming from the person who whenever she was
a book or magazine with a profoundly concerned ‘have-I-just-left-the-gas-on’ expression and saying something like ‘oh my God,
pissed off had to make sure everyone else was
am I actually just completely self-obsessed and awful and impossible to be around?’
pissed off too, preferably more than she was? Who found, when she was unhappy, not only no
17
relief being around people who were happy and
and told him in her most cutting and bile-filled yet
trying to make her happy, but actually just found
still oddly calm and polite voice that not everyone
it irritating and nauseating? And if she wanted to
was able, or willing, as he seemed to be, of
go back to the book and the ending of the bloody
going through the whole of their lives constantly
book if she really wanted to be pedantic about
selecting the appropriate emotion from a fucking
it, her near-vitriolic dismissal of everything he’d
drop-down menu. Then she walked away, as she
enjoyed about the book and the fact that it had
always did, while Daniel just stood still and hoped
been his very enjoyment of something so simple as
there was dignity in silence.
a good ending to a book which had started such a
Then Katherine went quiet, and stared at him
sprawling argument in the first place, actually made
coldly, and gave her thin smile and cock of the head
him think he didn’t like the book so much after
and told him in her most cutting and bile-filled yet
all, or that he was stupid for liking it. At the very
still oddly calm and polite voice that not everyone
least, his enjoyment of it was now counterbalanced
was able, or willing, as he seemed to be, of going
by the associations it had taken on with a lot of
through the whole of their lives constantly selecting
very negative feelings and reminders. And honestly,
the appropriate emotion from a fucking drop-down
he said, even if you accepted that they were both
menu. Then she walked away, as she always did,
somehow tyrannical about their emotions and
while Daniel just stood still and hoped there was
both wanted other people, particularly each other,
dignity in silence.
to feel what they individually were feeling, wasn’t the fact that he wanted her to be happy far more
Which of course there wasn’t, because just as their
defensible and in many ways admirable than the fact
arguments were all about happiness, their silences were
that she just seemed to want him and everyone
all about sex, which was another story entirely.
else to be as miserable and fucked up as she was? Then Katherine went quiet, and stared at him coldly, and gave her thin smile and cock of the head
18
Sam Byers was born in Durham in 1979. He is a graduate of the UEA masters course in Creative Writing, and is now studying for his PHD. He is currently at work on a novel, entitled Idiopathy, which will be published by 4th Estate. 19
“Add, Stir, Cover and Bake...
(THIS MONTH’S MP3)
BLACK JACK BARNET Blood & Brine Illustration by Jimmy Blakeley Poet-singer and storytelling songwriter BLACK JACK BARNET performs self-penned wittyditty’s, naughty nursery rhymes, torrid tales, tongue-twisters and verses of vice and villainy sung to a suitcase stompin’, tambourine tappin’, banjo pluckin’, uke strummin’ soundtrack. Bringing to life a cartoon world of prostitutes, pirates, perverts, strippers, witches, and various other comical unsavoury characters, Black Jack Barnet casts his whimsical eye upon society and makes light of its many ills. Black Jack Barnet’s unique performances are uplifting, laugh out loud, sing-a-long’s for grown up boys and girls of all ages to enjoy.
“You may be amused, you may be moved, but you won’t be bored” - Manchester Art Gallery
20
is ready to serve”
Jimmy Blakeley is an Illustrator based in Chorlton, South Manchester. His style is a mixture of block colour and found images creating a certain 1960s graphic look while retaining a contemporary feel. He has created a range of products such as celebration cards, posters and limited edition prints which are sold in a brilliant little independent shop in Chorlton called “WOWIE ZOWIE!” Jimmy is currently creating a series of surreal little stories and accompanying Illustrations from a world called Inkkland a land full of strange creatures and characters.
21
What is Centrepoint Collective? Centrepoint is a platform for photographers to showcase their work. We are a group motivated by similar objectives and goals, such as to promote and exhibit the work of emerging photographers as well as our own. We look for exhibition spaces, curate other people’s work and carry out activities for the endorsement of photography as an art form here in the UK and abroad. How did it begin? Five graduates from different universities and backgrounds got together to initially develop a project that would work as a platform to launch our practice. Living in the UK for several years left us rootless. Not belonging here nor to our countries of origin. We started exploring concepts such as identity, cultural loss and
adaptation. Then we came with the name Centrepoint Collective as a meeting point. Being from different places and trying to fit in the melting pot of cultures that UK’s big cities are made of, cultural identity became the gravestone of the project. We aim to support the photographic exchange between cultural identities, leading to subsequent exhibitions in each member’s country of origin and beyond and also to create a platform that enables emerging photographers to share ideas and develop collective/individual projects. On our blog we showcase emerging photographers’ work periodically and also some well-known photographers such as Boogie (NY/Belgrade) and Juan Antonio Sanchez Rull (Mexico) from time to time. Although the blog is quite recent, it is growing very quickly. More and more up and coming photographers want to be on it and this makes us feel like we are on the right path. 22
EATUR
Where are you based? We are predominantly based in the UK – London and Manchester. We are looking forward to having more members in the near future, especially photographers with mixed cultural backgrounds and from other places around the world. Why a blog? Blogs are a feasible way to have presence on the net. Many photography magazines, galleries and websites such as 1000Words, The F Blog, HOST and Lens Culture to mention just a few, have blogs where photographers submit their work. We realised that this was the new way of showcasing photography and we decided to go for it. We are aware of the difficulties that emerging photographers face when finding places where to display their work, so we started out our blog with the intention of giving other photographers, as well as ourselves, another space to show their projects. Blogs are much more dynamic than websites, and statistics show a much higher rate of re-visits than other forms of web content.
23
Do you show your work? We do show our own work, but we also include the work of guest photographers in most of our exhibitions. As practitioners, we use different tools available to promote our work. We have had exhibitions in very diverse locations, from regular exhibiting spaces to more atypical ones. Venues have responded very positively to our proposals and the spaces have been free of charge. We are very pleased by the enthusiastic response to our projects to date.
ball (3rdJuly) and on the ‘Festival of Culture’, Euston (10thJuly) and also at the MIRIAD foyer at MMU, Manchester in September and on East London’s Photomonth Festival in October/November. For more information go to www.centrepointcollective.blogspot.com
Our first exhibition as Centrepoint Collective was at the wonderful and most beloved Foundry, which has unfortunately been forced to close down a very short while ago. The following shows have been put on at one-off events such as the ‘Latinamerican Identity Conference’ at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and ‘Granville Hospital’ in Normandy, France. If so, where can we see it and when? We are currently at an exciting moment, with four forthcoming exhibitions. We will be exhibiting shortly at King’s College Micro 24
25
BLANKP 26
BLANKPICKS Phil Craggs
As anyone who read my obituary of him will know, I am something of a fan of J.G. Ballard. A giant of 20th century literature, his work began as science fiction, moved through a controversially explicit stage of disturbing experimental novels, before finding commercial success with the semiautobiographical Empire Of The Sun. Hello America was published in 1981, between the latter of these initial phases and is not generally one of his more celebrated novels. This is a shame as, while it might not quite reach the heights of his best work, it is a highly effective, imaginative and amusing book. Ballard’s sense of fun is often overlooked but it comes to the fore here in what is by his standards almost a comedy. Set in a future when America has been abandoned following the disaster of the oil reserves running out, an expedition arrives to explore and discover what has happened to the legendary country. They find it not as deserted as they first thought, and soon the dreams of what America has meant and can mean drive individuals to desperate measures. Doesn’t sound like there’s lots of room for laughs but Ballard has a sly wit which
sneaks humour in at the most unlikely moment. Effectively the whole book is a satire on America (although a very affectionate one) which focuses on the idea of the ‘American Dream’ and how it can be, and has been, perverted and brought to its knees. That said, the book concludes that even a near apocalypse can’t lessen the impact of the kind of thinking that made America such a super-power and caught the hearts and minds of millions the world over. I’m always in two minds about the concept of the ‘Reader’ – a book which collates extracts from a writer’s work and puts them together in one volume. The plus side is that it acts as a literary ‘Greatest Hits’ and so could be seen as a perfect introduction to a writer for the novice. On the flip side, taking extracts out of their context can alter their meaning and disrupt the writer’s original flow of ideas. Perhaps this kind of book makes more sense when dealing with philosophers rather than novelists. After all, novelists usually have plots in each book that need following, and taking an extract from such a plot can render it almost meaningless. A philosopher in contrast have ideas that need following, and these ideas can sometimes be summed up in an extract, or put next to an 27
extract from another book that develops the idea further. The latter is certainly the approach taken in The Nietzsche Reader which is split into areas of his thought, and then extracts are selected to make a coherent argument. My previous Nietzsche experience amounts to one book (On The Genealogy Of Morality) and this book is offering a good crash course in the wider areas of his thought. No substitute for reading the complete texts of course, but perhaps not the worst way in. It also reminded me of how comparatively easy Nietzsche is to read compared to other philosophers, and indeed how immensely quotable. Recommended for anyone wanting to dip their toes into Nietzsche’s world but unsure where to start.
4°
obsessional mark making, issues of time, the fight
LIBERATION
Cube Gallery, Manchester
to cover or not to cover the entire working surface
Chinese Art Centre, Manchester
runs till 12th July
and the impermanence of the image. He investigates
runs till 14th August
CUBE is delighted to be hosting a series of regional
the thought that we leave a residue everywhere we
Liberation is an exhibition growing out of an ongoing
graduate showcases ‘4°’ highlighting fresh creative
go, in our actions and in our thoughts. Guest rigidly
discussion with Carol Yinghua Lu and Liu Ding following
talent from the region, including Blackpool and The
sets aside uninterrupted 10 hourly drawing sessions
the blocked use of a selection of social-networking and
Fylde College, Stockport College, Northern School of
throughout the night in a compulsive process that
self-publishing websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and
Design (UCLAN) and the University of Chester. Recent
draws comparisons with Horror Vacui - an obsession
Youtube in China. This exhibition takes the form of a
graduates will be showcasing a broad range of creative
to completely cover and remove any “voids”.
visual art exhibition as well as a series of events and a
skills from ten differing degree courses.
http://www.cornerhouse.org/
http://www.cube.org.uk/ info@cube.org.uk
blog discussion among the curators of the exhibition and invited guests. It proposes a close look into the
THE VIEW FROM HERE
openness and potential of the Internet world as well
NEXUS ART CAFE, MANCHESTER
as its susceptibility to power and political manipulation
A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR
2nd July - 15th August
and ideological controls.
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Key themes of the exhibition include urbanization,
http://www.chinese-arts-centre.org/
runs till 8th August
environmental utopias and childhood imagination. The
Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present a group
body of work as a whole draws inspiration from both
Manchester Jazz Festival
exhibition A Horse walks into a Bar including work
the past and present with visible influences from art
Various Locations
by Corey Arnold, Richard Billingham, Andrew Bracey,
movements such as Romanticism, Futurism and Cubism.
23rd - 31st July
Lorraine Burrell, Maddi Nicholson, Dan Staincliffe, Chiz
The focus lies in the creation of imaginary landscapes
Highlights this year will include Gwilym Simcock/Mike
Turnross, UHC and Mark Wallinger. Using a range of
with their own emotive connotations and sense of place.
Walker/Steve Swallow/Adam Nussbaum (RNCM, 27
media such as video, painting, photography, sculpture
theviewfromhere2010@gmail.com
July), Phil Bancroft’s “Home - as Small as the World”
and performance, the artists playfully examine the
http://www.nexusartcafe.com/
(RNCM, 28 July), Stu Brown’s Raymond Scott Project
parameters of human and animal characteristics and question the evolution of the human race.
(RNCM, 29 July), a live broadcast of BBC Radio 3’s Jazz UNREALISED POTENTIAL
on 3 (26 July), a jazz film season at The Printworks,
Cornerhouse, Manchester
a young bands showcase series in collaboration with
17th July - 12th September
Wigan International Jazz Festival, plenty of free gigs in
Unrealised Potential is a collaborative group exhibition
St Ann’s Square and at the Festival Pavilion in Albert
Cornerhouse, Manchester
instigated by artist/curator Mike Chavez-Dawson. The
Square, as well as gigs at Band on the Wall, Bridgewater
6th July - 15th August
show aims to explore the creative potential of artists’
Hall, Matt & Phred’s...
Christopher Guest is exhibiting a series of original
unrealised projects, blurring the lines between artist,
www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk FRAGMENTS
works from recent black-and-white drawings. These large scale ‘doodles’ demonstrate his concern with
curator, visitor and producer. http://www.cornerhouse.org/
28
http://www.manchesterjazz.com/
THE DECISION Theatre Royal, Manchester, 26th - 29th July
Mia Darlone launches her first clean production as the first
in 2008, utilising a space which is currently not typically
theatre production at Manchester Theatre Royal since 1921.
used for theatre production will hopefully attract a new
Featuring a cast of professional actors, a stand up comedian
crowd of people to come and see theatre, in addition to
and Pizza Hut waitress, Mia is showcasing a new toned down
traditional theatre-goers.
style of writing this year, in hope of repeating her sell out
Up until 2010, Mia was gigging regularly on the stand-up
success following her production of Below the Below in 2009.
comedy and poetry circuits, performing at Edinburgh and
The play, The Decision, is a dramatic comedy about a
Jongleurs in 2009, before hanging up the microphone to
Busker, who relocates from Middlesbrough to Manchester,
concentrate on chasing a script writing career. She has
and follows the relationship with his ex-girlfriend. “The rest
been writing, producing and performing in her spare time
of the storyline is under-wraps, in hope that it’ll spur a few
for the last four years whilst holding down a full time job
goosebumps when it’s revealed.”
in the NHS working with neurologically impaired patients
Mia Darlone, Writer and Producer.
in North Manchester.
The Decision cast are lead by fast emerging Theatre
This production is currently unfunded and is being done
Director Charlie Mortimer, and is made up of Paul Brandreth,
voluntarily by all members of the cast and production team.
HAZARD MMX
Rebecca Andrews, Parisa Nikkhah-eshghi, Sharon Heywood,
They would like to thank the Coliseum for the venue and
Manchester City Centre
Mark Rigby, Jennifer Edwards and Beth Cooper (who is also
the boys at Rock Bottom for their help with promotion,
17th July
Assistant Producer of the production). The production is at
The Palace Hotel for the loan of the seating, fastprintuk
Cheeky, thought-provoking and sometimes raunchy
the hands of Darlone, praised in the Metro last year for her
for the posters, Vicki Smith for the flyer design and Andy.
sprees of eccentricity… HAZARD is a biennial festival
previous production’s “deft comic touch” and described as “a
The Decision is being shown at the Theatre Royal
of intervention and sited performance offering strange
performance which captivated, mesmerized and more than
(currently run as Club Coliseum) from 26th-29th July,
occurrences in unexpected places.
fulfilled the definition of the word ‘entertain’” by Write Out
6.30pm doors / bar 7.30pm start. Tickets £5 from www.
Loud.
quaytickets.com | 0843 208 0500.
So far, we’ve wrapped Cathedral Gardens in fluttering yellow and black tape, brought shop-dummies to life on
As with last year, Mia has worked her poetry into the
Market St, unleashed dancing traffic cones and attempted
writing of the play, this year by writing the lyrics to the
to circumnavigate the city by canoe. This year also
original music, written by acoustic artist Andy Needham.
promises an outbreak of flashmobs and pervasive gaming courtesy of Larkin’ About — so come out and play! http://www.myspace.com/hazardmcr
To include your event in next month’s issue email
The aim of the production is to showcase the work of the
• Not all tickets are seated so please arrive early if you do not wish to stand. • The venue can currently only allow over 18 in.
production team and cast, in the hope of gaining further
For interviews, comment pictures and/or information
opportunities within the industry. It is also an aim to make
please contact Mia Darlone at miadarlone@hotmail.co.uk.
the production accessible to a wide audience and therefore
Website www.miadarlone.weebly.co.uk
the ticket prices have been kept low to facilitate this. As with
Event on Facebook.
the use of the Deaf Institute last year and the Waldorf pub
editor@blankmediacollective.org with your event title, location, date and time and a short description (100 words).
Please note:
29
Blank Media Collective Team: Director: Mark Devereux Financial Administrator: Martin Dale Development Coordinators: Dwight Clarke & Annette Cookson Information Manager: Sylvia Coates Website designer: Simon Mills Exhibition Coordinators: Jamie Hyde, Marcelle Holt, Claire Curtin, Rachael Farmer & Taneesha Ahmed Special Projects Coordinator: Victoria Jones Live Music Coordinator: Iain Goodyear Official Photographer: Gareth Hacking
blankpages Team: Editor: John Leyland Fiction Editor: Phil Craggs Poetry Editor: Baiba Auria Music Editor: Dan Bridgwood-Hill Visual Editors / Designers: Henry Roberts & Michael Thorp
Blank Media is kindly supported by Lazy Daises
&