Everything Must Go

The fate of one of Sheffield's best known, but most controversial, landmarks is sealed. Sometime this year the two cooling towers that stand next to the M1 will be demolished. Some people will be happy to see them go, but I won't, I love them.

The two Toms (Tom James and Tom Keeley) had spearheaded a strong campaign to convert the towers into massive new artworks, but sadly it was not to be. So they marked the impending demise of the towers by organising a closing down sale of specially commissioned memorabilia, held in the Millennium Galleries. It proved to be extremely popular. The sale was supposed to run for up to two weeks, but everything sold out in less than a day, which shows how well loved these landmarks are.

I really hope that Tom James and Tom Keeley do remain involved in the debate over the artwork that is planned for part of the site after the towers are demolished. I can understand just how frustrated they feel about the way things have turned out, but whilst we have missed the opportunity to create an amazing artspace that would have attracted visitors to Sheffield, there is still the chance to create something that could be a new icon for the city.

If the two Toms make their voices heard, we might just still see something great created here, rather than just yet another missed opportunity.


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Originally published here on my main blog http://three-legged-cat.blogspot.com/
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Yes No Other Options (Part Two)

Art Sheffield 08
Yes No Other Options

Scroll down or click here for part one

I just couldn't leave the topic of our visit to the Millenium Galleries yesterday without telling you about the work of Sheffield based artist Andrew Cooke.

I found it hard to see how some of the art exhibited in the "Art Sheffield 08 Yes No Other Options" event fitted in with the "concept", but in this case it was very clear. I also thought Andrew Cooke's work was very funny, which in my opinion is a good thing. I don't subscribe to the view that says art has to take itself seriously.

1. A Guide to Maintaining Dignity in the Workplace (2007)
Andrew Cooke has actually written a "handbook" about how to resist the demands of your employers and avoid the pressure to perform. It was printed onto individual sheets and you were invited to take copies away with you if you wished.

The handbook covers absenteeism, mechanical sabotage, withholding enthusiasm, playing stupid strategies, procedural sabotage, work avoidance and theft.

Here's a few examples:

On procedural sabotage: "Do nothing. Procedures are there to be followed. So don't."

On work avoidance: "Find a place to hide. Toilets are a good option .... if queried, it may lead to self certifiaction the following day."
and
"Be seen behaving in a very productive manner by a superior. Then, if possible, disappear, safe in the knowledge that your superior will still believe you to be busy."

On absenteeism: "Consider using this strategy: during busy periods, when your work is understaffed..."

I thought this was great, so did Mr TLC and the various other visitors we saw there. We all had great fun matching up former colleagues to the various dubious strategies described by Andrew Cooke.

Now, which ones can I try next week...

2. Performance Under Working Conditions (2006)
I almost missed this one, after spending time watching some of the other video installations on offer I very nearly walked past it, but fortunately Mr TLC stopped me and made me put on the headphones and watch.

Andrew Cooke was doing the hoovering. Why is that interesting? Because he was the hoover! It was a video of a man crawling around, nose about an inch from a rather hideous hotel room carpet, making the whooooooooo-whoooooooo-whooooooo vacuum cleaner noise that famously terrorises cats of both the three- and four-legged variety.

Sometimes I feel I don't "get" modern art, that I don't take it seriously enough. Everyone else seemed to be nodding sagely at this piece and adopting thoughtful poses. Perhaps they were considering how Andrew Cooke was exploring "the working conditions of manual labour and effect of performing these tasks on the person involved." Maybe they were considering how he "Asks questions about status, respect, dignity, aspiration."

I wasn't, I was clutching my sides as I guffawed at the sight of a man literally doing the hoovering. Brilliant! I like it when people show me how to look at things differently. (And I know what will be happening in our house for the next few weeks if either of us mentions that particular phrase.)

My appreciation of Andrew Cooke's work may be missing something, but I'll still be looking out for him in the future.

Links:
A rather more highbrow informed review of "Art Sheffield 08 Yes No Other Options" and a blog post from The Guardian

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Originally published here on my main blog http://three-legged-cat.blogspot.com/
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Yes No Other Options (Part One)

Art Sheffield 08
Yes No Other Options

We paid a visit to the Millenium Galleries today. A large section of the gallery is hosting part of "Art Sheffield 08 Yes No Other Options", a citywide contemporary art event.

So what is it all about? artsheffield.org describes it like this:"Taking as its foundation a specially commissioned essay by art critic Jan Verwoert, this city-wide exhibition addresses the fact that in a post-industrial condition, one particularly pertinent to Sheffield, we have entered into a service culture where we no longer just work, we perform in a perpetual mode of ‘I Can’. ...

Verwoert asks, “...What would it mean to resist the need to perform?” He suggests that certain means of resisting are in themselves creative ... art has also used the ‘ I Can’t’, by creating moments where the flow of action is interrupted, established meanings are suspended and alternative ways to act become imaginable. He suggests that as well as yes and no, there may be other options."

All clear?
Yes: Well done, you are doing better than I am. I understand the idea of living in a service culture and being driven to perform, but I'm still a bit hazy about exactly what is on offer here, especially since the pieces we saw before we got to the main exhibition space don't have any obvious relevance to performance, or the lack of it
No: Me neither
Other Options: Lets go and look at some of the actual art.

Want to actually see some art?
Yes: Here are two of the pieces on display ouside the main exhibition area. Both are created from neon lights and are by Sheffield based artist Tim Etchells. Aren't they brilliant?

No: I'll describe some for you. There was a third piece by Tim Etchells inside the main exhibition space (where I wasn't allowed to photograph) that read "Lets pretend that none of this ever happened"
Other Options: We could find out how these pieces fit into the overall event. Apparently "... by displaying phrases that make you feel you should act but make no immediate sense, Etchells shows and dismantles the power of words to make us perform."

Are you getting the hang of this Yes/No/Other Options thing yet?
Yes: Excellent, perhaps you could explain it to me
No: Me neither
Other Options: Just enjoy the art, I did.

There was some great art on display, some was thought provoking, some was funny, some was just plain incomprehensible (at least it was to me). I enjoyed what I saw, although I still don't think I've got my head round how much of it fitted with the "theme" (if I may use such a mundane term in reference to some rather conceptual art).

But do you know what? I don't care, I don't think it matters whether I "see" what the artist or the organisers want me to. What does matter is that I enjoyed myself, what I saw made me think, and it's made me want to check out some of the other sites. If you are interested, you have until 30th March to go and see for yourself.

Scroll up or click here for part two

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Originally published here on my main blog http://three-legged-cat.blogspot.com/
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