Just as I was taking the photo of No356 being posted along comes the postie and whips the envelope from me and into the bag in a flash, but as you can see a flash is what I didn’t have turned on.
So we are down to the last 10. Of course my brain said “And we are down to the dozens and this is why…”
There have been more sightings of this snail mail snail, Helix preposterous. It was seen turning into East Street. If it is the same one that took No220 it could be headed towards Bridport Arts Centre.
I have surpassed myself and got today’s piece in the box before 8.00 – that’s 8am! I started it last night after midnight and finished it off this morning. I have a busy day setting up my show and the pv tonight, so it’s good to get it done.
Yes I mentioned Frippertronics on #Letter365 No125 and opened the Pandora’s box that is Eno and Fripp. Fortunately I don’t have to write anything here because I wrote on the back of the envelope:
My trip to Birmingham means at least a couple of envelopes get a different postmark.
Yesterday I pondered about how 100 and other round numbers have an unwarranted fascination for us but it could be said that 101 has more call to be celebrated. Room 101 was the torture chamber in Orwell’s 1984 and it has subsequently been turned into a kind of joke with the BBC shows of the same name. In the US 101 is used to denote the introductory or beginners’ level of anything – I hope I am past that now with #Letter365! 101 is the phone number to contact the Police with non-urgent matters and there is of course 101 Dalmatians, the Disney movie based on Dodie Smith’s book. I probably should say “movies” but the 1961 classic is so far ahead of the others it is in a different league – and there you have caught me out because to be honest I have not seen 102 Dalmatians but, however good Glenn Close might have been in it, it is rare that a sequel offers more than the original, except maybe more of the same. Talking of “more of the same” I hope you are enjoying today’s image of a letter being posted.
This must be terribly exciting for someone. Yes it’s a different post box and for all I know it may be of particular interest to post box aficionados. I once thought I would do a photographic book about post boxes and still occasionally take pictures of postboxes in unusual situations or with various creatures in the frame. I hasten to add that I am not so sad as to know anything about the different models – yet!
The basic idea for #Letter365 is that, wherever I am, I will create a small, unique, original artwork every day for a year. I will seal it in an envelope and dispatch it for delivery (or deliver it myself) before midnight on that same day to Bridport Arts Centre, where it will be stored, unopened until the exhibition.
People are invited to purchase these works unseen, in advance and during the show, at affordable prices. Only those works that have been purchased will be opened and the contents displayed as part of the installation.
I will record the process on this blog and photographically and in whatever other ways may evolve during the process.
I hope the process will be inclusive and that purchasers as well as other artists and performers will become participants in the process as it evolves
The fact that #Letter365 is starting so quickly means that everyone can witness the evolution of the basic concept and the design decisions as it proceeds.
I hope you enjoy it.
About nine months ago I casually asked Polly Gifford, Director of Bridport Arts Centre, if she would let me display my #Collage365 project in the Allsop Gallery as it was probably the only wall in Bridport big enough to host 365 small collages. She said the space was booked up until 2015 but to talk to her about it. I said I would be finished with #Collage365 and have moved on to a new project.
A while later I started toying with some new ideas for a follow up to #Collage365 and #Letter365 is the result. Two weeks ago I had a meeting with Polly to discuss it and last week she gave me the green light. But the only possible slot in 2015 meant that I have to start tomorrow if the project is to be completed on the opening night! It has all happened so quickly that the planning stage will now become part of the artwork. Who knows how it will all evolve? I am certain it will be a fascinating and exciting journey and I am grateful to Polly for her encouragement, trust and advice.
This blog will record the process and development from now till the close of the show and the dispersal of the 365 individual artworks constituting the installation in the Allsop Gallery.