All tickets sold out and very unlikely to be any returns... :-( http://www.artguide.org/uk/AG.pl?Action=4085971E&Axis=1028746207F http://www.artguide.org/uk/AG.pl?Action=ExhibsByName TALK BY BILL DRUMMOND: HOW TO BE AN ARTIST Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol 12-Sep-2002 Anyone else seen these? http://www.arnolfini.demon.co.uk/visual_arts/drummond/ http://www.arnolfini.demon.co.uk/visual_arts/drummond/forsale.jpg SHOWSTOPPER Smaller displays in the galleries between major exhibitions Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 September Talks: Thursday 12 and Friday 13 September 7.00pm Bill Drummond : How To Be An Artist Inspired by his favourite artist Richard Long, Bill Drummond sets out on a quest to sell a photographic print by Long entitled 'A Smell of Sulphur in the Wind' for $20,000. How To Be An Artist (Penkiln Burn £15.00) documents his drive north from Southampton to Dounreay, via Bristol, during which he reflects on the work of art. Returning to Bristol to exhibit photographs and material gathered from his journey, Bill will discuss his and our relationship to art, as he cuts up Long's work into 20,000 equal pieces, and offers them for sale for one US dollar each. Bill Drummond has used various strategies to interrogate and subvert the cultural landscape, including pop music (KLF), writing (The Manual, Bad Wisdom and 45) and actions (the burning of a considerable amount of money). Talks £3.00 / £2.00 concessions. Advance booking recommended Exhibition free The first of two showstoppers featuring writers who use the journey as an element of their practice. Iain Sinclair will exhibit visual documentation, artwork and video from his forthcoming book London Orbital in November. http://www.tangents.co.uk/blog/2002_08_11_archive.html Monday, August 12, 2002 Road Trip I used to kind of enjoy road trips, but now I don’t. Now I just tend to get kind of grouchy and fed up. I think it’s my age. I get uncomfortable sitting in a car for too many hours, and besides, most other motorists are idiots. Of course I know this from my cycling experiences, but on Big Roads it seems even more obvious. This is the nature of life, however, and I suppose I ought really to get used to it: most things are spoilt by the presence of people. Or at least, too many people. But can I get used to it? No I cannot. Oh well. This road trip was up north to Yorkshire, and on the way up the rain just came down pretty much incessantly, which was fairly typical for an English August. Or at least for this English August. We decided to take a route that went via Manchester, so we could take the M62 across to Leeds. This decision was partly based on Bill Drummond and his championing of the M62 both at the event at which we bought bits of his Richard Long artwork, and in his How To Be An Artist book. Bill reckons the M62 is a bit special. I have to disagree, however, since on our experience last Friday it was just plain miserable. I expect on a fine day it’s a whole lot better, because after all most things are enhanced by a bit of sunlight. Or at least by the lack of impenetrable cloud and rain. The other reason to take the M62 was so I could play ‘The M62 Song’ by The Doves. Before I put it on the stereo C asked if it was fast. I said, um, no, it’s slow. It suited the pace of the traffic perfectly. The lyrics go ‘waiting for my love, waiting for my love… waiting for a love that never comes’. The natural assumption is that the love in question was caught up in the traffic and the rain. But what do I know? Playing the Doves album as we traversed the M62, C noted that some of it sounded like The Sea Urchins, and I have to admit she’s right. It’s the vocals. It’s not all the time, but it is there… believe me. I think this is a good thing. It also struck me that at times the Doves also sound like Adorable. Again, I think this is a good thing. On the way home on Saturday we caught hordes of traffic around Bristol that slowed the three lanes of the M5 to an almost standstill. There never seems to be a reason for these tailbacks, just bunching of masses of vehicles causing everything to grind to a halt. My theory is it’s all to do with people going too slowly in the wrong lane, like everyone wanting to get into the ‘fast’ lane because they think it means they move quicker, no matter how fast your car will actually go. Or something. The other theory of course is that all the tailbacks are caused by cars towing caravans. I really don’t understand caravans. What are they about? If you want freedom to roam, take a tent and a sleeping bag, or if you’re really hardcore, take a bivvy bag. And if you want your home comforts, well, in the words of Mark E., ‘get a hotel’. Caravans just seem to be for people who can’t decide what they really want. http://www.tangents.co.uk/tangents/main/2002/may/drummond.html