Gallery Interaction 19th March

Thank you to all who wanted to take part in the interaction with Guy Sherwin's short film, "Portrait of Parents" 1975.  As per my previous post, this is a 3 and a half minute film looking at the idea of portraiture through the moving image.  The participants were asked to engage with the film, which features Guy Sherwin -seen in as a reflection in the mirror- filming his parents.   We discussed the relationships between the son and his parents and their 'performance' for the camera.  We discovered that the viewers relationship with the film is substantially changed when also filmed and this added an additional dimension, becoming part of or extending the performance and the narrative.

There were many students visiting this week as next weekend will be the last chance to see the exhibition!  If you haven't already seen this brilliant show, "Moving Portraits", I highly recommend that you do.  Well worth the effort, especially to catch the film "Bernadette" by Duncan Campbell....a must see!

HOWL (15) screening at the Pavilion

HOWL (15)
Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman

with James Franco, John Hamm, David Strathairn and Jeff Daniels

Howl is the fictionalized account of the 1957 obscenity trial surrounding the publication of Allen Ginsberg's poem of the same name, composed from court records and interviews with Ginsberg, and animation inspired by Illustrated Poems by Allen Ginsberg and Eric Drooker.

James Franco starts as the young Allen Ginsberg - counter-culture poet and chronicler of the Beat Generation. In his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style, Ginsberg recounts the road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career: the poem Howl. Meanwhile in a San Franscisco courtroom Howl is on trail. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defence attorney Jake Ehrlich (John Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as the host of unuual witnesses (Jeff Daniles, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alessandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).

Howl is simultaneously a portriat of a renegade artist breaking down barriers to find love and redemption, and a romantic ride through a prophetic masterpiece that rocked a generation and was heard around the world.

22, 22, 27 March (2pm) - £3

Saturday 26 March (7.30pm) - £6 including a glass of wine, half a Peroni or a fruit juice

Bookings: 01424 229 111 http://www.dlwp.com/

Chinese Whispers part 2 Moving Portraits Sat 12th March

The two responses above were offered for the same original set of words:

Perspective, alien, unsettling, interesting, pleasing... The one on the left identified the portrait, the one on the right chose a different one, who do you think the description is about?

The second episode of my Chinese Whispers style of experiment with transmission of information was an interesting development from the first session. As I considered the original responses to specific portraits, what was interesting to me was how words can be so subjective as to potentially offer a description which could represent a number of other pieces. In which case, could a random recipient of such a response be able to relocate the original source?

So this was my quest, to engage the Saturday audience with 2 tasks: take one description from an unknown person and see if they could locate the original portrait and then once they had made their decision, to find their own response to this portrait.

Who was this?

...the same person as the above two responses?... in fact the same as the previous two.... Duncan Alexander Goodhew portrayed through 5 pairs of eyes.

Two things were important to identify:

1. That it was a less a case of being right or wrong to identify the portrait from the description.

2. It was of greater importance to consider why a decision was made and what this brought to the gallery experience.

A particularly wide range of people took part, and all concluded that this extra focus encouraged their interaction and consideration of what a particular portrait was communicating. It also heightened their awareness of the very subjective assumptions which we make, when looking at such an image as filmed portrait, and how this influences our subsequent memory and what we might pass on to others about our experience.

The above response was to what was actually a response to one of Peter Gidal's portraits in Heads, but encouraged some amused dialogue between a mother and son about the nature of the Cactasia!, and certainly wouldn't have been a choice of focus without my request.

I enjoyed responding myself to different conversations and by making my own decisions on who to give which kind of a trigger set of words. More subtle and less specific for some, more playful for others, sometimes giving people a portrait which was different to one they identified most with, at other times doing the opposite to see if they could recognise it through a different perception.

The above response on the right was a great visual portrait and also accurate in tracing Wearing's 2 into 1, from a first description which was relatively straightforward.

In most cases I had added my own 'noise' to the transmission process, by removing words from the original response which could make it too obvious which of the portraits was being referred to. It was something of a revelation to me to see how many people tuned in to the correct choice. Many people were torn between a correct choice and a different one, so were instinctively able to track the path back.

These were responses to Non-specific Threat, from a quite poetic original set of words by an artist and writer from the previous session, whose style in itself then encouraged an interaction of depth and creative expression.

This therefore became an opportunity to move through the perceptions of others towards the essence of a portrait, seeing through their eyes then again through the camera lens and finally with a different view both objective and responsive to a charming elderly lady smoking and laughing, or a young woman crying etc.

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These words described Portrait of Ga, but were also thought to portray the subject of the Bee Fever, and who could argue with that. Thank you to all who took time to contribute, such as the art teacher Chris Mansell from Lewes, and for a great deal of intense concentration and interesting responses.

Gallery Interaction 5th March: Shadow Portraits 2

Roll up, roll up! This week's interaction felt like a circus sideshow, with people crowding round to watch the action and participate. There's nothing like a spotlight to attract attention: moths to a candle.
The process of creating the shadow portraits was the same as my interaction several weeks ago: a bright light throws the shadow of the portrait sitter on to paper: the resulting silhouette is drawn around with coloured pens.


There was a wonderful diversity of approaches to posing for the portrait on the part of the sitters. Many people decided to create group portraits, encompassing the whole family. Surprisingly, there were a number of people celebrating family birthdays, which meant that their portraits became a very personal record of that event.


The lovely couple below, took a romantic approach, kissing in front of the paper, creating shadows of tender togetherness, which were truly charming.


Others decided to take over the whole drawing process themselves, discovering in the process just how fast you have to work and how still you have to sit. However, nobody is ever completely still. The more restless the personality, the more the person moves, which means that you are constantly having to shift the line, creating multiple overlays - which of itself becomes part of the description of the person in the portrait.




As with the moving portraits in the exhibition, they way we move, the way we choose to pose - even when we are just sitting and looking - says so much about us. Capturing multiple, shifting silhouettes of someone is much more descriptive than we imagine. Everyone who participated began to realise how much of themselves was being revealed.


I was struck by how delighted the observers and participants were with the simplicity of the technique we used to create these images. Just shadows and a drawn line. No complex technology. What we were doing here is probably the same as our prehistoric ancestors did thousands of years ago with a piece of charcoal on a cave wall, in front of a fire. The exploration of the self is an eternal fascination.

In the course of the afternoon around 37 people had their portraits made. I would like to thank everyone who participated for making the interaction such an enjoyable and thought-provoking event, with a particular nod to Tracey, Richard, the Lynton Vakili family, Delilah, Louise, Ruby and Rosie.

32 Five Second Moving Portraits

Made over three hours on a Saturday afternoon, these moving portraits repeat the method of my last gallery interaction (22nd January, below). Visitors were asked if they'd like to design a five second moving portrait which I then shot on one of the Pavilion education department's compact cameras. Five second sections were cut from the original footage and simply joined up in the order in which they were made.

Feeling emboldened by my first go at this, and a bit more familiar with the video setting of the little digital camera, I played it a bit more fast and loose this time. So much so that the first two portraits are the wrong way around. Sorry, I've been a stills photographer for thirty years and obviously have some bad habits. The gentleman in the first clip, John, is a teacher of film and said that he didn't mind he liked it that way, so I felt better and then did it again.

I was less strict with duration this time, making longer clips from which to cut from, an intervention that I had tried hard to exclude before. Also, we (Penny Hobson, artist and De La Warr volunteer, and myself) were in a rush in a very busy gallery, dealing with people who weren't so willing to write a plan on a clipboard but were very keen to get on with it. There was a lot more improvisation from the sitters this time, and what a cast! Thanks to all for being such a pleasure to work with.

The modern digital snapshot camera makes data files that are the 8mm amateur cine films of our day. The big difference is that one isn't forced to discriminate with the digital camera. The tiny memory card is so vast compared to the quick, expensive and single use rolls of film in use from the 1950's to the 1970's. Nowadays, having method and intention behind what you put on that memory card is more essential than ever in order to make something worth saving. It might be this aspect of Moving Portraits, more than any other, that makes people respond so well to this exhibition.

Special film event The Human Face (1990)

Nominated for a BAFTA, The Human Face (1990) is an experimental 60 minute documentary made for BBC Arena. American poet, artist and musician Laurie Anderson narrates an examination of mankind's obsession with its own image, looking at the use of heads and the human face in art and sculpture, and at the prejudices applied every day based solely on a person's appearance.

Nichola Bruce, the director of The Human Face and renowned film maker, will give a special talk about the role portraiture plays in her practice, followed by a screening of the film. Thanks to Anthony Wall, Series Editor, BBC Arena.

Tickets: £5
For bookings and information call the Box Office directly on 01424 229 or book online at http://www.dlwp.com/.

Chinese Whispers meets Moving Portraits Sat 12th Feb

How much are we able to receive from the mass of information contained in a portrait? Add to this the possibility of confusing or intensifying the viewer's focus with the nature of portraits which are not static and the possibility for untold reinterpretations taking place becomes apparent. What does each viewer bring to the temporary encounter? Beyond the immediacy of the visible, can we connect to the subliminal layers which are part of the artist's own interpretation of their subject? What is contained in the reinterpretation which we take away as a memory. These thoughts prompted me to draw on the idea of Chinese Whispers, and the changes which occur in transmission of information to see if I could inspire viewers to find a deeper focus in responding to selected portraits.

A movement of responses to the movement within each portrait.

It was a fascinating afternoon being able to observe the public gaze interacting with that of the unseeing portraits. My initial reluctance to disrupt the silent exchanges taking place disappeared as each person or group approached, were interested to consider how and why the information we receive from a visual starting point is transformed and reinterpreted as it passes through those who receive it.

A series of intense conversations took place. Each in itself moving in response to the reactions collected to specific portraits. The subject ranged widely from the unusual nature of the exhibition, modern art found in a fortress in Cadiz, and the agreed handsomeness of David B.

My request was simple: please respond to 5 questions relating to a specific portrait with one word answers. I also responded to different individuals by loosening the constraints of the instructions to 5 words which came to mind. This allowed for a more emotional response, prompting the viewer to engage further with their own experience of particular relationships. It had the effect of expanding their sense of distance or connection to either the subject or the observing taker of the image. Sue Phipps pinpointed a moral dilemna which occurs when a strongly negative response takes place through a personal judgement defining the interaction. Do we have a responsibility to question our reactions? I pass this on for reflection.

The multitude of indicators for indifferent or strong responses ranged from the experience of having a father who was one of twins, contempt or admiration for the subject portrayed, the poignancy of a mother's recent death, to a love of dogs. The constraint of 5 words distilled the essence of a response experienced for an individual, but I liked the silent rebellion to conform, which many people exhibited towards a greater expansiveness. 2 companions who participated, Gemma and Sue, enjoy seeing art together, balancing each other as poet/artist and self described non artist. Their playful eloquence meant that they were happy to engage in reflective exploration of different portraits. They enjoyed analysing their responses and found that they developed a greater connection with the act of seeing from a more internal place. Other participants also found it intriguing to examine their responses and decided to return for further visits to maximise their experience of the exhibition.

The next stage for my interaction on Saturday the 12th of March will be to add my own transmitting noise to the information received, to pass on a further interpretation. Will the original portrait remain identifiable throughout this process of movement.......