Art

Something for the weekend




Anyone going to the House & Garden Spirit of Summer fair at Olympia this weekend? I’m helping out on the ‘Kids Company shopping drop-off point’, where for a donation of £2, shoppers can have their bags looked after for the day. Not only that, but we will also be selling exclusive ‘I Love Kids Company’ Peter Blake prints as well as holding a raffle. We have managed to secure some brilliant prizes from Mulberry, Lulu Guinness, Missoni fragrances and Elemis among others.

Kids Company is an amazing charity that gives emotional and practical support to marginalised children and young people. Its director and founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh (above) is hugely inspiring, not to mention a fashion one-off. Read more here and you can book tickets here.

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Louis Armstrong: The collage book




I didn’t make it to the Louis Armstrong Museum when I went to NYC but I can’t wait to get my hands on this new book. As well as being a jazz legend (which is by the by for me, I have nil knowledge of jazz), Armstrong was a prolific collagist. This book showcases some of his 650 mini collages (all made on cassette boxes) and 20-odd scrapbooks. Heaven!

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Learning to love you more – Photograph a significant outfit



I’ve blogged about Miranda July’s art assignment website, Learning To Love You More before. When I made my encouraging banner I had no idea it would end up in an exhibition in Middlesborough, however that’s what happened. The fab Nicky Peacock curated a huge LTLYM exhibition using all different assignments from the website. You can see the pics here including my ‘Worry About It Later’ banner adorning the exit.

There’s a chance there may be an opportunity to see the exhibition again, I’ll let you know when it’s confirmed. In the meantime, I love this assignment called ‘photograph a significant outfit’. The task is to “remember exactly what you were wearing during a recent significant moment (something that happened in the last six months). Lay out what you were wearing on the floor, as if you are dressing an invisible, flat person. Stand on a chair or table and photograph the clothes from directly above. Send in the photo, along with the importance of the day.”

The following photos are taken from the site. As some of you enjoyed the Photographer’s Gallery’s Can’t Live Without It exhibition, this is in a similar vein. The point isn’t what’s in the outfit, it’s more about the emotional significance of the event. The stories that accompany the pictures are well worth reading and some are absolutely heart rending. But the pictures are utterly charming as well. And an interesting way to photograph outfits. I love it!






 

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Learning to love you more






Learning To Love You More is the brainchild of Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher. It’s a website comprising work made by the public in response to creative assignments set by July and Fletcher such as “Take a flash photo under your bed” and “Write your life story in less than a day”.

Here is the one I’m going to do: “Make an encouraging banner”

Think of something encouraging you often tell yourself. For example: Everything will be ok. Or: Don’t listen to them. Or: It’ll blow over. Now make a banner, making sure to follow these instructions:

1. Draw each letter of the sentence on a large piece of colored construction paper or big squares of fabric. One letter per piece. Draw them blocky so you can cut them out.
2. Cut them out.
3. Glue each one onto a piece of construction paper or fabric that is a contrasting color.
4. Then glue the edges of all the pieces of paper or fabric together to make a banner.
5. Hang the banner in a place where you or someone else might need some encouragement, for example, across your bathroom. Or between two trees so that you and your neighbors can receive encouragement from it. Or in a gas station.
6. Photograph the banner and upload it onto the site.

You can see examples of other people’s banners on the website here. UPDATE: You can see mine here.

The Co-operative Building in Middlesbrough is curating an exhibition of completed assignments which opens on 25th July. If you want to take part (have a go, it’s fun!) you’ll need to submit your assignment by 20th June.

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