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CloseOn Saturday 22nd November I went along to the Panel Discussion as part of Conjunction08 at the Forum Theatre in the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery. I arrived shortly after 12 for an afternoon of insight and intrigue exploring the theme of the FANTASTIC, FOUND and FAKE.
Ian Brown, co-curator and senior lecturer at Staffs Uni opened introducing short presentations by three of the festivals artists: Michael Coombs, Michael Shaw and Feather from Eagle & Feather.
I was scribbling notes for the duration partly for my own pleasure but also to give you, in short, what I picked up from the presentations...
Michael Coombs is an artist whose work is usually site-specific and in public spaces where the public or viewer discovers what is being presented. His previous works and the piece commissioned for the festival are playful with perception and illusion causing the viewer or in many cases the people who stumbled upon his work to re-evaluate what is real and what is fake.
Michael Shaw talked in his presentation about ‘The Meandering Path to the Site Specific’. He talked interestingly about his practice and his personal journey on how he came to make site-specific work. Michael’s piece can be found in the Bethesda Chapel suspended in the centre catching the light from the many windows; this piece continues the way that his sculptures have an immediate connection with the space and environment.
Feather from Eagle & Feather talked about how they use the concept of Kipple and in their case the Kipple is Video Tapes. Eagle & Feather’s piece is site-specific as they take all the found material from charity shops in the local area. What they then do is edit the Kipple to change the meanings and perceptions through the everyday semiotic code we all use. This causes the audience to become active and reflect on collective consciousness.
What was interesting about all the artists at the event is that they all used site to let the audience into their process and I found the idea of shared experience central to their work. When considering the theme of FANTASTIC, FOUND and FAKE it becomes apparent in relation to the work of these artists that when art is found there is a natural relationship between real and fake, but only when the fake is revealed to an audience and if not, no relationship exists.
I personally took away a series of questions to explore myself, such as:
Is the artist a mediator between found and the fake?
Does site-specific work give audiences new methods to question reality?