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It’s been a while since my last Epstein Archive entry, so I thought it best to give you a little update. As you may have seen, I had a ‘moment’ the other week (which can be viewed here) but I’m ok now. Fully calmed down. That whole thing started quite a few months ago when Bob and I were going through a load of miscellaneous items in the archive and some of it was, frankly, absolute rubbish. I know the archivist is supposed to remain impartial about the subjective value of any item, but if anyone requests a research visit to view Beth Lipkin’s hoover warranty, I will eat my shoes.
Anyway, I was having a bit of a moan to Bob about it all and one particular item, an advert for Russian binoculars, was, I thought, a totally pointless thing to keep. From then on, ‘the Russian binoculars’ became a bit of a buzz word for anything rubbish, or anything that irritated me – not that I’m a particularly irritable person or anything. And, eventually, the film was born.
But now, after some time has passed, the advert for Russian binoculars has taken on a whole new meaning – I wouldn’t dream of speaking ill of this little newspaper clipping now. It has relevance because we gave it relevance. I think that’s one of the most interesting things about having an artist involved in a collection – really unexpected connections and items can come to the fore.
So, to Bob’s residency. I spoke to Bob a few days ago and his latest creation, Eppy Daddy Battle Bot, is being built as we speak in Bob’s new studio is Ramsgate. Eppy Daddy Battle Bot is a reimagining of Jacob Epstein as a 5 metre high 1950s style robot. We’ll collect him just before the residency and then you will see the final stages of Eppy Daddy’s creation in the Arists Studio during the last two weeks of September.
If Eppy Daddy were to speak – what would he say? Answers on a postcard.
Freshly Squeezed @ The New Art Gallery
Some of the highlights from the fantastic Freshly Squeezed event that took place at the gallery on the 10th of June. Enjoy…
Bob and Roberta Smith’s May Residency
It’s been quite a month for the Epstein Archive. Bob was in residency for most of May and made the largest work for the project to date. See Esther Walsall’s Mona Lisa comprises of 4 large boards that tell the story of Esther Garman, Jacob Epstein’s sculpture of Esther and Bob’s reaction to it. This is part of Bob’s plan to brand the Esther sculpture as Walsall’s Mona Lisa. These boards will be displayed in the main hall of the Garman Ryan Collection from October and I genuinely cannot wait to see it up there. Enjoy the pictures below…
We created some stop motion films of the residency, with some of Bob’s thoughts on the work….
As well as the small matter of making the See Esther work, Bob also made some posters for the promotion of the Freshly Squeezed event at the gallery (Thursday 10th June @ 6pm) and also the gallery generally. The latter poster is also part of Bob’s branding of Esther.
I’ve posted this video already, but I’m going to put it up again as it’s my favourite of all the videos we have created so far. Inspired by Telly Savalas’ ‘tour’ of Birmingham (which you can see here),we filmed this straight after Bob finished See Esther and he was in a very amusing mood. If you listen carefully, you can hear me snorting with laughter in the background. The theme tune comes courtesy of Dr CJ Freelove, a little known South American musician who exclusively writes 80s ‘This Morning’ style theme tunes.
Bob and Roberta Smith residency
The second episode of Bob’s residency at the gallery. The 3rd will follow soon…enjoy.
Party on!
The New Art Gallery celebrated its 10th Birthday last night, and there was over 1000 visitors! The Party exhibition is on and is looking (and in the case of Martin Creed’s room filled with balloons) feeling great… so I really recommend a visit.
The Unwanted Gift Shop was open for business and record numbers visited the shop since its opening, and visitors were given free edible art (black and white jelly) and left smiling with art in their bellies. Some even came with more Unwanted Gifts, which have now been added to the shop display.
There is still time for more Unwanted Items… bring them along and register them at reception. You never know… your work might be worth £££ in years to come! :)
The Unwanted Gift Shop: Week 3
It has been a great start to the Unwanted Gift Shop with new items donated each day…
I am really enjoying having time to think and play with ideas. Lots of people have been popping into the Artist Studio and it seems that the project is capturing people’s imagination, which is great!
During this residency I am going to reveal as much of my thinking and working process as possible, highlighting processes, successes, and failures along the way both within the Artist Studio space and in these blogs.
I have set myself the creative challenge to build a “cohesive” body of work from the items… this came from an interesting conversation with a curator who said that artists that have a “cohesive” body of work are often more desired by the art market as their work can easily be marketed and sold to galleries and collectors looking to invest. As an artist who has so far ducked and dived around the “commercial” art world, and avoided being labelled as a “particular” type of artist, I felt that this challenge would set an interesting arena for me to produce work in. It also makes a direct link to the objects themselves; items from the commercial world, that have for one reason or another, lost their value in the eyes of their owners.
If you visit the Unwanted Gift Shop, you will notice the three colours, RED, BLACK and WHITE… this pallet will become more prevelant as the residency continues. The three colours have spiritual and psychological properties and they are also a homage to the history of artists going through particular colour periods and to the fashion and retail world which in this case states that “red, black and white are this seasons must have colours”.
Here are the most recent items…
The Unwanted Gift Shop has opened!
The Unwanted Gift Shop is up and running!
I will be in Every Friday and Saturday… so feel free to pop in… bring an unwanted gift or something you have lying around that you would like me to change into a work of art!
If you are interested to follow some of the media coverage so far visit the following links.
Express and Star interview: http://www.expressandstar.com/2010/01/06/artwork-comes-gift-wrapped/
BBC Radio West Midlands: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p005ymmg/The_Paul_Franks_Show_18_01_2010/
The images below are some of the items that have been donated to the project so far, which include a brand new 2008 diary, a drink coaster and some writing paper.
Please feel free to comment and make suggestions.
The Unwanted Gift Shop is getting ready!
Gearing up to Monday 18th Jan!
… 1st day of my 3 month residency at The New Art Gallery! Very excited about the items which have been brought in already!
Its ironic to be excited about unwanted gifts, as they are wanted gifts in my eyes.
In anticipation!
Mitra
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