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I think this was an interesting reading , especially reading it now during lockdown.

Found this one to be a difficult read

Although its set up for designers i think there are many usefull elements that apply to a independent artist. In the past I've done some " design work " i didn't know how to use any software, so I'd just paint an album cover or what have you and take a photo. I would often have to redo paintings completely because of small changes the client wanted. This was all very frustrating and maybe tainted my relationship with design a bit.

A good contract might of helped

A few things in this contract about copyright and " moral rights " made me a bit nervous. Maybe it's something you get use to, but the idea of signing away the rights to something i made is a bit scary, It's hard to think of a reason why that is, could be irrational.

I'm very concerned and a bit confused about the section " equitable relief "

From my understanding it claims that you can not accurately calculate the "damages" breaking the contract has on the company

I feel like i would be a better independent practitioner than an intern - i think interning would be rather usefull - I'd likely learn alot and see new ways of things being done - that i could impliment into my own practise

I enjoyed the reading - i think i have mostly been the type of person who sees networking as something gross and unsavory. Like people associating with someone they distain because " that's a good contact to have " i think that just encourages influential people to be un-selfawar because no one is willing to point out the unpleasant things they do and no one is gonna leave their side.

I do however like the idea of networking proposed in the reading , i think i often do make friends with similar interest and with similiar goals simply because of the relatability and theres just more to talk about. Just by talking and showing each other what we're working on we'll learn alot.

I have been unable to find any job ads for jobs in the feild i am studying or am interested in. I don't think these are the type of jobs that are advertised for - i don't think they need to - i think more often people go to them looking for opportunities

I would still like to do this task - so in this scenerio i approached the galleries for these positions

Job : gallery assistant responsible for mounting and moving work

appeal : generally you aren't aloud to touch the art - in this scenerio my job is touching the art

Intimidates : there is no room for error - a mistake could ruin an artwork

Need to know : if i am held accountable for damages , the hours , does my pay increase with the workload , is there room for promotion in this job ?

Carrear path : one day i hope to have my work be the work being put up

Job : artist assistant

Appeal : i like being helpful - and I'd love to see what happens behind the curtain - I'd likely learn quite alot

Intimidates : artist are very particular about what goes into each artwork - don't want to make any mistakes

Need to know : what will i be doing? Priming canvasses ? Or getting coffee ? Cleaning studio ? Cleaning brushes ? Sanding off wood ?

Job : curraror

Appeal : it's very satisfying arranging artworks in a pleasing order

Intimidates : possible conflict with artist on how their work should be displayed

For my intership i would like to intern for

Jaryd ginsburg

Marlene steyn

And simon stone

In that order

I am a fan of each of these artist work

Each of them seem friendly and people i wouldn't mind seeing every single day

Non of their practices are so far removed from what i do that i wouldn't be able to assist them

I could prime canvases and clean equipment for marlene and simon and i could help with stiching and or balancing for jaryds work along with all the general picking up supplies and doing leg work

After interning for each of them i would like to finish my internship with who ever i was most effective working with

There are 200 intership hours

Meaning if i intern 10 hours a day i would be able to get in all my hours in 20 days

Taking weekends into account and flexible working hours - i would be able to get in my hours in 30 days

Realisticly i won't be needed every day - so i would likely be doing my intership over the course of 2 months

I would like to do my intership at the end of the year - in the 3 month period before we graduate - i would be alot more available during this time and be able to really focus

Obviously i won't know how this plays out untill the time comes - they may not be available, they might not need me for as long as I'd like to work for them or they would prefer me working for much longer - as with most jobs you get more efficient at doing them the longer you are doing them , they likely have a process that i need to learn.

I will most likely not be doing my intership on a strict scedule - i will let them know what hours i am available ( between 8 and 11 ) monday through saterday - if they call me the day before or even an hour before i will then drive through to assist - i will do this till their proprtion of my hours is up

Since i will be interining with 3 people , one of wich ill intern with twice

I will be splitting it as follow

50 hours jaryd

50 hours marlene

50 hours simon

I feel like a good practise for me to adopt would be keeping a diary

I've never kept a diary before - but i have kept a log book. Keeping track of my sleep and my food intake, as time progressed this log book started to get alot more detailed and started keeping track of my mood and who or what affected it

I think writing in a diary might be very freeing and i hope to be able to use it track my progress and see how i felt about things as they were happening and how i feel about them now.

In this diary I'd also make small notes similiar to in my log book

Keeping track of my sleep quality

I find the story of isaac lidsky very inspiring

I appreciate his attitude towards criticism and critics

Very few of us have to be reminded to listen to criticism - it is deeply ingrained in us to take in more negative feedback than positive

Wich is why reminders to ignore criticism often help to balance us out

Hello and welcome to my first tumblr post of the year - part two - this piece of writing was inspired by rowan Smith

Because he told me to do it

It will be centering and also be about wallen mapondera's latest exhibition at smac - not to be confused with stevenson or other superior galleries

I liked barthelemy toguos exhibition more - but because i like it there is significantly less to say - also rowan Smith didn't like it - and he is infallible - i must not step out of line or he will dye all of my t shirts black

And i just can't go through that again

So - i had alot of questions - 3 to be exact

Because rowan smith said i needed 3

So i asked them

And i recieved no answer

So i will be answering them

Because i am independent and strong and deserving of love and other positive emotions

My first question was around wether or not wallens work was made from the materials from the initial community driven clean up that inspired the show

If i had to guess ( and i have to )

Id say no - as beth pointed out on several occasions- the trash was quite prestine - didn't look like it had been floating in any rivers or baking under any sun

Also the possible woolies product ( that however could of been as a result of some charity work or donations on woolies part )

Also im not sure where he would of found a 100 rolls of tiolet paper just laying around

- i feel like the work would of been significantly more impactful had it been made from material's acquired cleaning up the landscape

Especially since many of these pieces are meant to represent the landscape

So in conclusion - no those materials did not come from the original clean up - wallen never claimed this - but it would of been a nice touch

Second question

Where the materials bought ?

It could have been that the materials were just the natural waist of the artist

Or that he sifted through trash to find the best examples of trash for his work

Or that he bought the products and turned them into trash for the sake of his work

- i think its likely a combination of these

I think its likely he ate some chips

And thought " wow material " and added it to his pile

I also think it's likely he went for a leisurely stroll and walled past a bin , he might of taken a packet or 6 from this very bin

And he most definitely bought some matterials - the tiolet paper / paper towels being a prime example

The large tarp hanging on the furthest side of the exhibition from the door is another story

I think it is likely a found piece with mild alterations ( the sewing ) i wouldn't say that its out of the realm of possibility that this piece came from a clean up of some sort - if that is the case - i take back everything i ( and also beth ) said wallen is a environmental hero that will be remembered for generations

Unless big oil infiltrates the goverment and censors all mention of his name

Third question

Is the big tarp on the wall suppose to be walked behind

Yes

Yes

I think so

No one else besides my group thought so

It was a very cool tarp and its shadows made very cool textures on the wall that were rad

Reflection on week one readings

I very much enjoyed these readings , i think they are very relevant and will continue to get more relevant as time goes on

I think one luxury our generation is lacking is certainty , things seem to be moving very fast and i think alot of people looking to get into the job market should be worried- if they aren't already

The reading seems to paint a picture where we will have to be able to learn new skills at the drop of a hat and be flexible

I guess learning new skills quickly and cheaply is easier than ever , with the internet and platforms completely dedicated to this new and ever changing job market - sites like skill share

I do however think that there are alternative strategies other than constantly being in flux

Being very specialized in your feild will still give you value in today and likely even tomorows job market

One can even go the opposite direction and go back to basics - becoming a subsistence farmer or a religious leader

I think ( and am hoping ) that this flux will not be compulsory - and I'm hoping that i will find my shelter from it in the art world

I know that art is always on the cutting edge and that micro chips in the hands and robot eyes are gonna be all the rage

I would very much like to improve my confidence - it is one of my main goals for this year

I feel like improving your confidence has a knock on affect that immediately improves all your other skills

And i have experienced this personally, i use to be not very confident - and it showed

Getting more confident affected alot more than just my sense of self

It affected my posture

The way i spoke

How much i spoke

And what i spoke about

It made me more willing to share my work with others, allowing me to get feedback and positive affirmations

Wich in turn grew my confidence even more

It is the single thing that i can point to that has increased my quality of life the most

With it i have gained job opportunities and friends

That being said im still not all that confident

More than i use to be

But still not all that confident

About a 6 out of 10 - wich i guess is pretty good

But i do still hesitate - I think it holds me back doing presentations , or finishing work or just generally conveying my ideas and being part of the conversation

I feel like it also very much limits what art i can do - I've realised more and more i really enjoy performance art - and it's definitely something i want to do more of , but its very nerve racking , I've been trying to ease myself into it , but I've hit a bit of a brick wall

I'm not sure how to get more comfortable with what im doing

And i feel uncomfortable about being uncomfortable

I want to be able to fully commit to this medium, but it just doesn't come naturally

Rowan smith

Today we went to 3 distinct galleries !

And i have been tasked to ask 3 questions about the contents of each of this spaces !

First we went to smac where Wallen Mapondera was exhibiting

First question

They mentioned in the convient pamflit that the creation of the work was prompted by a clean up they did - was any of the material from this clean up make it into any of the art works that made it into the show ?

Second question that relates to the previous

Did the artist gather the materials for the work or was most of it bought ? ( i assume the tiolet paper rolls were bought )

Third question

I asked this in the space , but , is the big tarp on the wall meant to be walked behind or was i doing a no no ?

Also

Is the big tarp either a yellow circle with a hole in it suppose to be a desert

The yellkw circle looked like the sun and the texture of the cloth looked like a cracking desert floor

I know they have some major droughts in Zimbabwe but im not sure if they actually have any deserts

We then went to blank

Rowan did not want me to drive there

At blank igshaan adams and sabelo mlangeni

Were exhibiting

Question 1

Why were these pieces curated in the way they were - was it artist choice or curators choice

Question 2

Are the two artist friends ? How did them doing this shared exhibition come about?

Question 3

Was the wall piece and the floor piece mirror images of each other- it seemed that way but i felt like it would be rude to stand upside down on my head to see

We then went to Stevenson - where rowan was proud of me

Barthélémy Toguo’s ‘Bilongue’ was exhibiting there

Question 1

Were the paintings actually representative of stamps or did rowan just want us to talk about stamps ? How do the stamps actually look where he is from ?

Question 2

Where do all the text come from - are they connected - mabey all written by same poet ?

Question 3