Some time I just write the first thing that comes into my head. On the envelope I have written about the possibility of there being nothing inside, but of course with this being conceptual art that nothing would constitute the artwork and would therefore be something. Now as it happens (there is a temptation in me to write out the words from the Mothers’ Fillmore East: June 1972 album “Do You Like My New Car?”…”we’ve all come here for one thing tonight…”) as I said, as it happens there is something inside the envelope today, anyone handling the envelope would be able to feel that. So let’s say you were a travelling rock and roll band called the Vanilla Fudge that there is just packing inside the envelope to make it seem like there is a piece of art in there. Does that make the packing the art for the day? I have always said that any packing to protect the artwork will not be exhibited or count as part of the work unless I have a particular reason to include it (for example it may have a further artwork on it or a celebrity autograph or be a £50 note). So just packaging shouldn’t count as the artwork and therefore could be said to be nothing. But what if there was, say, a blank piece of paper which in turn had another piece of paper to protect it in transit? In this case the “nothing” would be the absence of marks (or whatever) on the paper and so that piece of paper could be exhibited and counted as the artwork. The big question is, what if the protective piece of paper was identical to the artwork and also had no marks on it. As I would not be able to distinguish between them which would be the artwork? How could that choice be made? Two identical sheets of paper one of which I had designated as the piece that held the “nothing” that would have been the art for the day but which I have no way of proving when the envelope is opened. Now I thought that Schrödinger’s Cat was tough but I think that if I could be arsed I could prove that art is harder than philosophy or quantum physics (or is it quantum mechanics?) Anyway, while it is still sealed are the contents of that envelope art, nothing, “nothing” or all/none of these? Which could lead to a comparison to Zen problems like the falling of trees and so forth. I reckon conceptual art is also probably more complex and/or simpler than Zen and if I could be arsed I could prove that too! You see there are all sorts of variables in what might be in the envelope and really when it comes to the crunch it is just me saying which if any of the contents is art. I can change the rules, lie, cheat, charm, bamboozle or whatever i choose and the bit that is art is just the bit I say is art, though I could be lying about that too. Maybe in all the envelopes that have what appears to be protective packing it is the apparent packing that is the art and the item that appears to be an artwork is just scrap being used as packing? I wish now I really had put nothing in the envelope/I am so pleased that I really did put nothing in the envelope!
Anyway this took some time, as did the thing/nothing I put in the envelope today. And I didn’t get much else finished today though I have achieved quite a bit really in preparation for my next stint in the studio!
I know the outside looks pretty much the same each day, but inside …inside I had to cry. No, no, no I made a mistake, that’s from John Martyn’s “Make No Mistake”! What I meant to say was that inside these similar envelopes there is an original piece of art and I have never done anything based on the idea I produced today.
As you can see I have written no messages on the outside of the envelope again.
It is my son’s birthday today and I have decided to give him today’s piece. He is an artist himself, a very good one, but I never really know what he thinks of my work so “no pressure”! If he doesn’t like it he can pop it on the pyre with the unsold ones!
After a bit of fiddling about – I left my camera at home basically – I finally got today’s piece in the post tonight. The artwork “felt natural” (as it would listening to John Martyn) though I wish I had not needed to stay at home waiting for a delivery this morning. It would have been nice to have the sunshine in the studio rather than needing to supplement the afternoon overcast light.
You will note there is no mention of Captain Beefheart or Frank Zappa today!
I don’t know why I let my brain start comparing pieces qualitatively against each other! Right at the outset I decided that my criteria for inclusion would be that I had to be happy to have the piece on my wall: I would not allow myself to put anything in an envelope in this project which I did not sincerely believe to be of quality. Now it may turn out when they are opened – if they are opened – I may feel differently about them but at the time of sealing them up I need to be happy they pass muster. So there is a qualitative assessment done every day, but whilst I may have been particularly pleased with a piece and even suggested it might be one of the best yet, I never wanted to rank or compare them. So why today do I suddenly, after 10 months, start wondering if today’s is better than yesterday’s? This way madness lies, though with another Beefheart quote on the envelope I’m probably part way there!
I really thought I had made a big mistake with this one! As it progressed it got less and less appealing and closer to appalling. It nearly got binned but I put it to one side and did something else (had some lunch and did a crossword). When I took another look it didn’t seem quite so bad and I decided to at least follow through and complete what I had intended and then reassess it. As I added the final touches it seemed to suddenly be a different piece! It had a glow and an intrigue and I, cynic I am, didn’t trust that reaction. How could I be so dubious one minute then so positive the next? Time to put it out of sight and get on with something else (a large experimental watercolour). Quite a bit later I felt unbiased enough to reappraise the piece I had done for #Letter365 and I found that it was good. In fact I like it very much and nearly didn’t put it in the envelope to be ignored and probably burnt in a few months time.
I was feeling somewhat stressed today, but decided just to take some time out and go to West Bay to look at the sea and takes some photos and maybe some drawing. It was a peerless day: sunshine and a deep, deep sky almost cloudless. I was good to spend a couple of hours in a clear spot, focused on just being there.
When I finally got to the studio I found myself a little stressed again. My idea for the day’s piece involved drying time. I confess that I did a few pieces that I would choose the best or the driest from! That shows I was not that convinced I could produce what I wanted in the perceived time available! While waiting for them to dry i had a cup of hot chocolate and found myself in a clear spot, unhurried and relaxed. I started to clear up a few things around the studio and sort some paper into the plan chest. As I did so an idea began to emerge – not specifically for #Letter365 – and a handy few bits of materials happened to get placed together and in minutes I had decided to work it all out and bingo, it fell into place brilliantly. Super subtle and a visual coincidence, unplanned, indicated perfection (well almost!)
Smugness is not a pretty thing but it does have its pleasures. I have been toying with today’s idea for a while and never got round to working out how I might use it. Today it worked out better than I could have expected and a little serendipity helped it along.
Plus Captain Beefheart gets another mention/quote on the envelope!
Well Captain Beefheart gets a mention as I have been playing my Christmas present box set quite a bit. I have been struggling today and really found it difficult to do anything: energy levels at a low. Too much alcohol and a broken night don’t help me to deal with the black dog. So I am having a quiet night off now,
It took a long time, but the piece is great today. Don’t think for a moment that because I am suffering from depression at present that today’s piece is gloomy or dark. In fact it is full of slightly self-deprecating humour and is very nicely composed and has visual allusions to earlier developments in this project.
Yesterday’s hurried headline has me in a fix. I said it was a song lyric but I can’t think of anything with those words. I can only imagine that I subconsciously altered the words of Cat Stevens’s “How Can I Tell You?” to a negative. Who knows?
An unfolding artwork created a piece each day for a year
