Me too..

I'm very sorry everyone, but i'm afraid i fall into the same camp as jon steve and franko in that i'm afraid i won't be able to make the meeting. I have to be in bristol in preperation for a residency (the dates have been moved back), i was genuinly looking forward to this, but it may end up being a good thing... I hope all goes well, minda xx

I will be more than happy to discuss the outcomes on the blog etc..

hello

Hello everyone, I'm sorry to say that I will not be able to make this Thursday. . I just need to get my health back on track and I'm teaching on thursday and friday afternoons throughout this month. I also have an open studios coming up towards the end of the month and have a commitment to the people in the studio base to allocate my duties of marketing, cleaning etc. I need to concentrate on the studio base at the moment as we are under threat of being kicked out by our council who are looking at other uses for the farmhouse. Presently it's all hands on deck to show the council what we do, what can be done and what we have acheived...

Arrrggghhh I hate powerment deadlines, but hey ho.

Steven and Rachel, Hapy birthdays to you both for the end of the month and the beginning of next.

Franko, I'll see you on the 5th November

group meeting

dear colleuges, frfiends, menteres..
watching from afar on the blog i can see a development in the group dynamic.
so i think it's better if i let you get on with it, and i'm not going to come to the meeting as i also have a lot of work on especially my commitment to finish all the one to ones i have before the 4th of december.
sorry if i sound a bit distant but i have a lot on and i feel that i have done what i could for the mentoring group. i feel i need space from the group and to take time off.
x x franko

a picture from the meeting..

hello everybody.
here is a picture from the night after the meeting, i think it captures some of the atmosphere quite well..
there's been a lot of talking here (on the blog) about what happened and where we go now. things happen. i like the image that it made. it's worth clicking it to see it large and really look at everon'es expression.
tom x
(i look forward to the next meeting)

ok, first things first.
we were not sitting around complaining... at least i was not. i was talking about it and digesting it. i do not see anything wrong with that.
but of course i was upset and disappointed. i think i have the right to feel that and express it.
i have tried since then to find other solutions around the challenge of having an exhibition in london.
no one ever said we could not make a show together anyway.
besides we are all independent artists and all of us have exhibitions already planned for this year or at least try to get them planned indepedently of the group or whatever.we could have an interesting experience having one together.that was never written off.at least not in my head.

i am up for the meeting on the 1st of november as we had agreed from 18:00 onwards so we can discuss who wants to work on this and how we can work things out. please everyone post if you are still up for it.

roxani

meeting

who is planning to meet on the 1st? and where?

i didn't know about it till i read here on the blog. I have to work in the evening- looks like i will miss it again.

It would be great to meet up with those of you who do want to put together a show, see what you have going on and what work people would want to show. If people are gonna go ahead i am sure i would be able to help in some way. I am not sure yet if i have any relevant work to add- but i may do.

good strong words Rachel! who knew that reality tv would have so much to teach us!

Thank God for Rachel saying this. On a personal note this is my first year since leaving college that I have actually realised that if you want to achieve something you have to help yourself.
Im fed up of talking about it. Are we meeting on the 1st We have all given up work and personal commitments to meet up, this is an opportunity not to be missed. We are all talented and a fantastic group. If the whitecross galery is a no go, i'm sure we can find a venue, organise press etc.
Ninaxxxx

and another thing

What's with giving up because things get difficult or there are tensions. That is life and it certainly isn't negative. Its beautiful and it's balanced.. we can't have one without the other.

Why do we all take 'no' or disagreement so personally, it could be part of our strength, it could be fuel, material, inspiration......

Ranting

Blimey, have non of you ever watched fame accademy?!
Your forgetting the important lessons offered to us by the likes of Darius, the cheeky girls and Liberty X.

If the loss of this show is causing upset and disapointment then sort it out and put the god damn show on! Non of you are powerless.... these is a multitude of skill, experience and possibility within this group.

To just sit around and complain about it not happening as if we are dis-empowered victims of some un-elected hiararchy is ridiculous and suggests to me that people were never really set on doing the show in the first place.

If you want to have an exhibition then have a fucking exhibition! because franko pulls out doesn't mean you all have to follow.
jesus isn't this mentoring about taking some risks and breaking out of the institution?
then where is your sense of fight? we can't overthrow a system unless we really want to. Maybe its time we questioned our individual intentions within this context.


Rachel xxx

hello everyone,

jacob, sorry you had to read the bad news on the blog....to make you feel better, we all felt just as much surprised (in a bad way) as you were when you read all that--even the ones that were at the meeting.... sorry about your granddad and the bad news about the exhibition...

harminder,

just a quick word to tell you that i agree very much with what you said about ego and how it gets mixed up with integrity...
and also you were very right to say how group shows can get very complicated and certainly are quite difficult to look good and not as an immature student show... i dont know why some of the others thought that saying that was negative.... i thought that was realistic and actually positive so that we can all give our best to make it look fantastic and coherent...i think you did good to speak your mind ....

still sad about the whole show thing... can't seem to find anything to be going smoothly in my life the last few weeks.... especially art stuff.... i wonder if im being negative and therefore causing bad stuff to happen or if the world is like that and i have to cope.... i had planned to do some courses this winter and lots of other nice stuff and everything seems to be cancelled.... strange life...bad things come all together...but i will hopefully make sense of all that and find a way to make something good come out of that....till then

take care everyone.
Roxani

what happened??

Got back from my grandads funeral and checked the blog to see what i missed and....

i guess the answer is quite a lot, but i feel quite out if it- but sounds like thats the best place to be at the moment.

FRANKO- yes of course i will bring you back your books when i come for my next one to one- do you mind if we have it in nov or dec as i would like to get into the swing of things at school so i can talk to you about that.

hope everyone is ok- is everyone ok?

Jacob-

Are we still meeting on the 1st November

Hello all,

Not to much to say today. Just enquiring on whether we are still going to meet on the 1st November. It's Rachels Birthday that day. If we are still meeting...
where?
what time?
is there an agenda?

hope everybody is ok

hugs
jon x

Just a quick addition...

God what is all this stuff about ego as well!! I don't necessarily see ego as always being this horrible thing that gets in the way, we see ego all the time on many different levels, doesn't anyone remember Franko's comments about canceling the show 'This is bullshit...We are way more famous than him anyway'!!! Was this un-bridled ego!? I guess my point is that having an ego about your work doesn't necessarily have to get in the way, someone with an ego can still give time and love, and I guess I feel that ego can or has been, mixed up with integrity.

Hi

I don't think I am wrong when saying I think it was me and my apparently negative attitude towards the group show that seemed to start the problems on Friday. My comments when Franko asked me "What do you think Harminder?" were "I'm not sure, I think I’d need to see the space and the work. I'm a bit worried that it will be a really disparate group show" (as Rachel rightly put it, Group shows are very difficult) and I guess I didn't just want it to be lots of completely unrelated work lumped together simply because Franko got us a space and he's our mentor. Franko, you have always said to me to only do a show if you’re sure about it, if you feel it is right for you, don't just go about showing work for the sake of it, because someone says here’s a space and a bit of money or whatever. I'd just like to add that I didn't once say 'I don't want to be part of this group, I don't want to be part of this show' what I did was offer up a bit of criticism and it all seems to have gone shit shaped.

I know that Jon's words:
"Some I felt showed a huge disinterest and were only there for themselves; that somehow their work was to important to be mixed in with the rabble of Franko's mentees. That this opportunity was not worthy of their space, time or energy."
If this is directed at me then its balls (if it's not then my apologies Jon) If I thought my work was too important to mix in with the 'rabble' I would have told Franko I didn't want to be part of the show before the meeting (or after it). Yes I have confidence in my work, and yes I love my art practice, but I can also find love and interest in others work. This was NOT the criticism I leveled at the show.

What happened at Franko's that evening was a heated debate which escalated, it again had nothing to do with the group show (it was actually a debate on racism). Kathrine tried to call me on Sat to clear the air, (I unfortunately didn’t realize and picked up her voicemail today) whereby I immediately called her to also apologise, to ask if she is ok, and to clear the air (I’ve also left you a voicemail and will try you again later). My god I wrote her about 4 messages on the train home saying ‘I’m sorry for how heated the debate got and I hope you’re ok’ but bottled out of sending any of them. She did tear, but she said it was due to being over-tired (and probably over-frustrated with me!) and Jesus I was shaking like mad after it. But I’m sorry, Franko you said you saw this as a family, well how many times do we see siblings argue to the point of frustration, and you’re all hypocrites if you say to me this hasn’t happened to you ever…balls it hasn’t.

The reason why we are a group, and the proof that Kathrine and myself feel the importance of this group, is that we called each other after, that’s what sometimes happens, you piss someone off, if you don’t give a shit about them you tell them to fuck off if they call you, or you just don’t bother calling them back, if they mean something to you, you try and make it better.

Minda x

It seems like Friday's meeting threw up stuff that seemed to stem from differing expectations of different people on the blog, regarding how the year is working, and how it should be working.

I was looking forward to the exhibition very much, because I thought it might offer the opportunity for us to work together leading up to it, and therefore might give us the opportunity to get to know one another as artists.

I do agree that there is a disparity of approaches to the group, and this is a problem, and, I agree, might prove too big to overcome regarding creating a show.

I suppose that one of the primary reasons I was attracted to taking part in Franko's mentoring scheme, apart from the fact that Franko had mentored me when I did EEC, was that, having been through college, and finding that it wasn't so great for me, I wanted something that didn't involve the person with the biggest ego, or most ability to impress tutors gaining star status.

I guess there are different reasons why we each wanted to do this scheme. For me, it is crucial that this is an environment that isn't about ego, but more about each of our practices, and how to develop further. And may be particularly pertinent for those of us not enamoured of the whole system of unhealthy competition.

I agree with Nina about the bullshit, and not feeling she fits in with that. I joked to someone recently in a meeting that having a bigger ego would serve me well, because it seems like sometimes, people respond well to the 'you must see my work, it is so important!'. Whereas I think it is utter bullshit.

I am disappointed that a show may not be possible at this point. Perhaps selfishly, although I don't really show work in galleries, I had a couple of inprogress works, and I would have been interested to see how I might develop one of them specific to that context and the Whitecross street area. But I do think that we need to have more committment to building a show as a group, rather than just exhibiting works together, if that makes any sense.

I am wondering if, given the situation, we meet in November, but prior to that, we discuss what we want to achieve during that meeting.

Do we meet in November to discuss all this further? Do we bring work, and begin to discuss this further? I wonder what everyone would like to do?

I am committed, despite my lack of visibility on the blog over the summer, to continuing with the group. But maybe we all need to reflect upon this.

Gosh, that's my two-pennerth thus far.

xxL

disappointed as well

Hi Franko and all,
I am clinking in with everyone else.
Roxani and me had such a great chat on the way to the station and I still think in the same way.
Although it was a tough day and eve - it was essential. Things were said that needed to be addressed - some steam needed to be let off about the situation.
We can't just give up after having a challenging time. We will grow together. Sometimes things need to be challenged to give way to growth. If things are not brought out on the table they simmer under the surface - which could prove poisonous.
I don't really know what happened after Roxani and I left... and wonder too if we missed something. Rather than running away we should face the challenge and get together and grab the bull by the horns. Jon, I completely agree that we had so much time to get this going... and we still have time to do it. If we postpone an exhibition we might end up again doing everything "last minute". The thing we need to do now - have meetings!!! An exhibition is a great opportunity to finally grow together. So, we should do it!!!
This is how I feel.
I am very sad if we give up.
Lots of Love to everyone from
Biggi

Hi, really disappointed. Seflishly have had a crap day and this was the blog has been the positive outlook. I attend plenty of p.v.'s where my friends spout arty bollocks and I feel like I don't fit in as it all seems very fake. This group goes against all that and provides an honestly which is much needed.
franko, I understand where you're coming from but I do think we still have a strong group and that a great show is possible.
Ninax

1 to 1s

jacob, harminder, will, jon, tom, biggi, lisa, please arrange with me a 1 2 1, deadline 4th of december. if you don't arrange one before the 4th of december you will lose your opportunity to have it.

i have a plan

i agree with what madeiline, steven , jon and roxani expressed and i accept it. i haven't thrown the baby oput of the bathtub yet, i'm think ing of other strategies. now i want to finish the commitment i have for this year and then i will talk to people that i feel will be commited to a new vision.

hello everyone,
sad news.....i was under the impression that the meeting went well...with all its difiiculties, disagreements, and all its ups and downs.....i thought that it would somehow work...i left early i suppose from the get together afterwards at franko's place, did something happen when i left? did i miss something?

yes we havent seen each other for some time and yes every one of us should be taking responsibility about it (including myself) and i think everyone is ...but i was somehow positive the last few days and walking to the station with biggi we were saying how we should see things positively and reconnect....or even connect with the people from the course that we didnt have the chance to do it before.....
and today i logged on to actually write i am excited about this forthcoming exhibition but instead i saw the last post by franko and felt really sad....

i suppose it s a final decision since the gallery has been informed so i dont really know what to say....

such a shame....i thought that the meeting would actually make us reconnect despite complaints, confessions, etc and that from this tension something good could come out with sincerety and honesty...guess i was being urealistic...i guess that's life.....

xxx
roxani

Disappointed.....!!!!

Hello All,

I had originally signed into the blog today to start to type up the notes from Friday's meeting to find alas THINGS HAVE CHANGED!!!!!

I made my way to London on Friday feeling hey it's going to be good a chance to catch up with every body, say hello; see who's doing what and how things are going and how people are since their mentoring last year and to catch up with those from this year.

But hey ho, suddenly the cafe area had a cloud of gloom overhead. Some I felt showed a huge disinterest and were only there for themselves; that somehow their work was to important to be mixed in with the rabble of Franko's mentees. That this opportunity was not worthy of their space, time or energy.

Others I felt were not really interested in what work or artforms others produced or how their work related to one another in the global world of art. For me first and foremost there is one HUGE common interest, WE ARE ALL ARTISTS! We all try to say something through the work we produce. Therefore we could have a theme 'narratives' or are we just a dysfunctional body who's opinions matter more to us as a person than our place in the artworld.

As for it being tight to bring a show together by February; Franko first mentioned this opportunity in the initial blog back in June - the 3rd to be exact - this means that we have actually had almost 6 months to think about what work we would like to show/make. or is it just me that has been sad enough to give this some thought? However I mentioned back in July (see blog "after an interesting conversation" , 6th july) that we could have started to discuss our thoughts feelings and ideas on here...

I think I have said enough for now as I was really looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into something that meant something to me. oh well

jon :O(

important

i think we should still meet in november, but i have decided to cancel the show. i have told francesco. i feel that the group is falling apart and i don't want to do the show if its going to be like this, it's not going to work.
x franko.

P.V.s tomorrow evening - Bethnal Green - Mile End

Hi all,
just to drop a line that I have tomorrow evening two P.V.s coming up in the east end of London.
Would be lovely to see you there. You probably know some of the photographers below.
Biggi

I. 2-28 October Photo-Open P.V. 2nd October from 18.00 till 21.00 You can see the pictures I am selling you can see here: It's the first two on the top.http://www.biggistiller.net/index.php?page=Work_Detail&article=Exploration THE ART PAVILION, 020 7375 0441Mile End Park, Clinton Road, off Grove Road E3 4QXMile End tube2nd Oct - 28th Oct

II. 3-6 October Photographic Print Sale P.V. 2nd October from 18.00 till 20.00 You can see the picture I am selling you can see here: It's the first one on the top left. http://www.biggistiller.net/index.php?page=Work_Detail&article=abandonedspaces
Wednesday 3rd – Saturday 6th Oct 2007, 1 - 6pm
"For four days only, Four Corners will display and sell highly collectable limited edition prints and photographs produced by celebrated local artists. The participating artists have studied at some of the most reputable art schools, regularly exhibit around the world and have promising international careers.The artists have carefully selected one image that best represents their artistic practice, making this an excellent opportunity for visitors to consider the fascinating range of artistic approaches adopted.Come along, see the work and buy it now, before they’re famous!For further details please call 020 8981 6111 or email info@fourcornersfilm.co.ukFour Corners121 Roman RoadLondonE2 0QNwww.fourcornersfilm.co.ukParticipants include: Natalie Pecht, Julieta Sans, Scotia Luhrs, Jon Wyatt, Sarah Ainslie, Eva Hertogenbosh, Blaize Simon, Emma Horn, Lucinda Douglas-Menzies, Jonathan Wyatt, Veronika Speigl, Lee Milne, Paul Greenleaf, Alexandra Jasper, Laura Braun, Christine Wilkinson, Yewande Okuleye, John Nassari, Biggi Stiller, Romain Forquy, Anna Gudbrandsdottir, Rosemary Hudson, Dave Miller, Les Monaghan, Christopher Preston, Molly Cooper, Anna Stephens, Andreas Schmidt, Dave Sinclair, Dougie Wallace, Elly Clarke, Emli Bendixen, Gabrielle Motolo, Gary Welch, Joseph de Haan, Justin Coombes, Andrew Woodward, Marian Alonso, Megan Brady, Alison Gosper, Nicola Dracoulis, Marcin Kosinski, Kathryn Faulkner, Andrea Gohl and more."