Today we decided that for the display of ‘The Best 4 x 4 x Far’ we wouldn’t use a flag with the Union Jack on it. This is because the work is about any patriotic activity, as opposed to merely those performed by the British. Instead we would employ a blank/white flag to act as its own signal. An idea brought on by James Bridle’s ‘A Flag for No Nation’, a work where he creates a flag using the same material as used on space missions, by the Taliban to shield them from US drones, and given to refugees coming to the Greek islands. This ‘plain’ flag is not plain at all by soaked in history and meaning, all rendering it unassigned to any particular part of the world or people.
Watching time-lapses of jigsaw puzzles being made has also taken up part of our day. It reminded us of how cool/complex/utterly peculiar these puzzles are. They make excellent presents. They are silent, calming and can (kind of) be combined with a little light social life and they are cheap compared with other amusements. Puzzles may be done slowly but they cannot be done badly, which is one reason why they appeal to small children who start with pegged pieces and graduate to television spin-offs. Unlike adults, who start with the edge, they go straight to the drama; the recognisable objects within the picture. With regards to an artwork it could be displayed completed or incomplete; one shows the full image, the other perhaps just a fragment. We could also create one ourselves (printing an image of our choice onto a jigsaw puzzle) or use one we found to suit whatever purpose we assigned to it.
We’ve been noticing a lot of children’s bikes and even kid’s tricycles which have been locked up on gates or lamp posts. There’s a strange comparison between adult activities and those conducted by a child. Why should this be abnormal? A child doesn’t want his bike stolen just like anyone else. Perhaps it’s kid’s taking things/possessions seriously; the fact that a child might come along, unlock it and ride away just seems ridiculous. Finding out why this happens is key to our interest in its occurrence; the decisions around it could potentially lead to something even more enigmatic. The speech we ‘commissioned’ was also delivered today. It’s very entertaining and exactly what we wanted for the piece. We’ve put in an order for the recording so hopefully that’ll be completed in a few days.
Loren Cornel gave an interview with Latitudes in 2013 and we just came across it today. She speaks about the importance of a continued dialogue between institution (museum/art gallery) and visitors. The experience shouldn’t end when they leave the building and should be (and continue to be) facilitated by Internet resources. The lack of this, she says, is out of respect to the tradition of employing printed matter (catalogues, press releases) within the walls of the organisation. This was 3 years ago and we’ve obviously come on leaps and bounds since then but this remains something to be considered. Another well-considered point she made was on the topic of the ‘death of print’; suggesting that it’s a rather hysterical attitude towards the current shifts in publishing and reading. It would be more beneficial to think about how online publishing coordinates with print instead of replacing it. The basis of the article is about introducing user-friendly content into the art gallery world. Facilitating the continuation of interaction is key if there is to be a community aspect in this ever more connected world.