[Art Dealer research] Jay Jopling.

Rave Reviews

I am currently collecting some of the information and gossips on gallerist and curators.
I wondered how they became successful, and how's their public imagery being established.


Starting from Jay Jopling from White Cube Gallery.
I collected several dialogue that he has, or statement he made regards to art world and artists.


"Jay is very funny and he's the last person standing at a party. It's amazing. He has got incredible energy." He is often frank, to the point of being risque  - Matthew Slotover, the co-director of the Frieze art fair

"He is loquacious and very attentive to his artists, but it takes a particular talent to convince collectors and to go to all those parties and be a generous host. The appearance of generosity is very important."

Jay Jopling-

"To be that successful you have got to be strong in two areas," he says. "You have to choose the right artists and keep them happy, and then you have got to be able to sell to collectors and museums. It is unusual to be good at both."

Jopling has described his work as a "means of establishing a bridge between attitudes"

DON'T YOU DARE TO HAVE BREAKFAST AT THE GHERKINS

On my return day from Venice which is 3 November, I went to London for a two-day trip.
I have always had this fantasy or imagination that the bullet building should be just by the south banks.
And that was saturday morning and I was starving, just got an sandwich (meal deal) from sainsbury which is everywhere.

I got lost a little bit, and after I arrived the Gherkin. I discovered that it was not by the south bank at all.  There was only concrets buildings, office people and a bunch of construction workers in doing some drilling job.
and I was tired and hungry, so I decided to just stand there and finish my breakfast, a package of fruits and a nice ham sandwich, and try to enjoy the urban landscape.
People were smoking next to me, they are white, they are in tracksuit or office costume.

There was one black security guy in front of it, he saw me, from eating my fruit until I start to eat my sandwichs. He didn't say anything.
As I proceed to my last half bit of sandwich, a white-security guard came over to a commercial board from a cafe close by and ask me "are you alright?" and then said something else but I didn't understand.

I happened to finish my sandwich, but it raised my curiosity about why would the security guy to come and check me out. I know ever since the bombing in London tube also the international brotherhood with America might effect a certain negative emotion towards UK. But why can't people just go there and enjoy a nice meal there?

Urban view is everywhere, why do people even bother to find a green place to look at and then destroy a thousand football play field comparable size of the rainforest in Brazil? Is architecture being create as a mean to alienate people? Why is the fact that I saw a guy's arm bleeding at 10pm in Dalston and then no body cares but somebody come to see me because I ate breakfast at 10am in the morning in front of the most common space in modern society?

      London is amazing, there are so many things happen in any hour, but _______________________.

It seems like there is a moral panic which is deeply inhabit in all the citizen's mind. Constantly searching for possible target to doubt, to suspect, to accuse. But somehow the folk devil is no long so easy to spot.  They are not as The Mods or Neds has particular dress code, nor has the specific working class background.  It is a state of mind that I imagine a solider would have when they are in the war zone.  Is the moral panic, or there is actually a traumatic effect rooted in all the British white collar (if this description still appropriate)'s mind. It is a constantly subtle fear towards life.
It's an rejection towards life and freedom, is the people in London actually live under a constant?
Such as concentration camp in a bigger genre, as the fear came from the uncertainty of the future?

View from the right hand side

View from the left hand side

DUCK HEAD, DUCK AND HEAD, THAT IS.

The duck that I made in casting room photo by Boco

I just had tutorial with Neil, and we had around like 45 mins or so to talk about my plan towards my thesis.

I started with the book that Neil suggested me last time "Folk devils and Moral Panics" by Stanley Cohen.   and also with my recent develop interest in the novel "Frankenstein."  My concept is to use Frankenstein as a structure for my thesis/ novel intervention.  

through the novel and the collaboration, I want to question/ examine how the contemporary art world being shaping and the moral ethic within it.  

Frankenstein was set up in industrialisation background, when people focus on Sciences and trying to mechanising everything and so Shelly create such allegory to warn that it might ending up generating a monster.  I though of what happened now with the booming senario of creative industry.  

Frankenstein as the original novel ---> by copy/ padary/ -----> duplicate 

• an assemblage/ collage of Flesh and different things that actually doesn't fit together. 
• A warning for people/ monstrous 

Neil also suggested me besides to read the novel, I can also start to read some of the summery from Yorknote so that can help me to be able to see more on the structure rather being caught up by the small/ trivial plots.

Rewriting/ Folk telling/ hear-say Process 

     A rewriting process is also one of my concern since I have no intention to just quote Shelly's story and then giving an example about what happened in the contemporary art world.  NO NO NO!

so this is what i'm gonna do and what neil suggested me.

• Donalf barthelme rewrite the folk tale "Snow White" which apparently a good writing of it. His writing has the self aware writing style thus makes you aware that you are reading it, you are being posed as an objected view.  And the speech style. 
• Vladimir Propp -  is an russian Formalist, " The Morphology of the folk tale" examine how folk tale being transformed over time and by different people who was telling it.   Because there must be something changed due to the person who was telling it are different, there might be something missing, something being mistranslated, something being added up to... or using different words.  Retelling ---> Same---> Script.

Frankenstein in Contemporary Art World

     Questioning what this idea of assemblage and collage of different in contemporary art world. 

• "Raising Frankenstein"was telling how curators combine different elements within CAT, and thus to generate the new meaning of it.
• The notion of "Frankenstein Courses"
• Working online (very common nowadays) the webpage itself is also has "frankenstein" element as there are different elements will appear on the same page as well. 

Folk Tale is also has the element of Frankenstein because it is like everyday resistance.

Most people think Frankenstein as a horrible figure/ and something horrible.

Propp---- > like everything we do (to be checked)

Methodology 

in terms of methodology, I can use retell/ examine the iconic figure as my method and to apply "folk devils and moral panics" and "Art & Fear" by Paul Vilrilio   

the spread of mouth/ hear-say.... 

• "Art and outrageous" --- John. A. Walker : folk devil within art world such as Damien Hirst the pissed christ.  

-------> as artist build up their fame by offending people 

• White elephant: nothing going on there.

• A folk devil example by Neil

Occupy London as an example to see the different picture and approach from the sun and the Guardian. 

Idea >> Creating a fake artist as a folk devil. 

• Art&Fear " by Paul Virilio: as an allegory which apply this idea of Frankenstein a lot. 
• we can examine artist who manipulate the body (the body as the site)

Turning harmless people to a harmful thing thus to create moral panic ----> being able to control people and manipulate people. 

In my opinion so far, I think the media is the scientist in Frankenstein who are shaping us into a monster they want and then accusing us that it is actually what we want, in doing this brain wash process, we are ending up generate different monsters and hybrid again and again. 

I also found out it is very interesting that it is always only by creating a fear/ or panic so that we will being able to act and gain public awareness. 

Neil brings up there is this notion within Nazi group the called has the notion of means of achieving happiness is to be physically fit and healthy.  This is also dealing with the notion of being pure and unpure. 

Similar example in Sweden would be Masculine christian, so most of them need to be very fit and pure. 

I also like to mention two films that I'm thinking of the engaging with 

• Dogtooth by Giorgos Lanthimos
• The Boss of it all by Lars Von Trier 
• Idiots by Lars Von Trier
• Baise Moi by  Virginie Despentes (not sure about it yet, but I m thinking this elements of experiencing twisting the whole conventional notion of female as a week role within the film. 

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Nov 8


My tutorial with Angela, 


Angela reminds me to be careful that to put all the blame on "media" and I should also try to see if other  factors is part of the reason to shape the contemporary art world as a monster which being created. 


In terms of methodology, my methodology also the literary references with in "folk devils and moral panics/ Frankenstein can be my resources.  


also take a look at why we have this idea of investing in stock market could be an risky investment however it is safe to invest on art works? and who is behind this? who is creating this ideology?


It might be helpful to create a visual outline map and to help me to linear my idea on pictures. 

SIGUR ROS - INNI

On monday night, Sigur Ros's first live album was screening in the Queens theater, Edinburgh, UK. 

Directed by Vincent Morisset, who's projects include Arcade Fire's " MOROIR NOIR" and web-friendly film project "Bla bla" 


INNI was refilmed from digital image with 16mm film, the optic within the concert/ film became unbelievable effective, each burnt out was like an tsunami covering your every senses. 
It is a very powerful, dear portrait of Sigur ros's soundscape, I was overwhelmed by it, being sucked into the image, maybe even watching it with my mouth open, and constantly numb. 


http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk/band/disco/inni/

Cascade Falls | CO2 Project Space

This friday, me and Lindsay, Yao-Lung are having a project in CO2, Edinburgh collage of Art. 
I will be acting as a curator with these two amazing artist/trash hunter. 


Lindsay's work to me are engaging with artificial world which people create to imitate the environment that can't be accessed easily, but full of certain charm so makes us desire to experience it or to being able to physically be part of it.  It is somehow very ironic how we can so easily being deceived by our vision, and our mind/ brain can easily make us feel that we are actually located where we dreamed of once we are convinced by the environment.  


It is actually very intriguing for me that although somehow we all have different personality, 


Yao-Lung's work is engaging with ordinary objects, there are a lot of unexpected combination between different material.  For this project, he chose limited space to present his works with specific philosophical thinking and good intend.  Every time when I see his work it always remind me of a japanese writer, Haruki Murakami once illustrate this kind of sensory experience in his proses. 
" 小さいけれど確かな幸 “  which means the happiness in your life which are micro but very certain.  


It is certainly a pleasure to work with these two talents, the installation is certainly a fun and cozy experience.  I think the curator's work is important within this cooperation, and working with artists is an rewarding experience, I get to know more about their creative process and I can experience more, also have more emotion with the work.  Even if I m not sure if I should stay objective when I viewing the artwork, but somehow I personally think by observing an artwork, once you start to consider its shape and pattern then you can never be objective, there is an natural connection has built up even if you try to deny it. 


It's all going to happen very soon.   CAN'T WAIT! 


Facebook event - Cascade Falls 


http://relay.eca.ac.uk/

Hi V&A, it's time to fire your graphic designer! :)

Hello?
What the fuck is this?

I am literally stunned by these 3 postcards I got when I was down in London to visit V&A.
I personally think this is one of the most boring museum I have ever been, I was also amazed by how can someone turn fashion into such a dead thing.
btw the status of DAVID was placed in a big room, however it was located at a very corner.  Like a standing lamp in the living room.  It reminds me my first trip to London which was 2007 summer, because it was located at the exact location.

why do people bother to duplicate another great sculpture when they feel the need to place them at the corner to perform as a standing lamp with small penis?
Even if they are such ugly stuff, I still keep them in somewhere in my room.  I felt that I have the need to keep it so when someday, someone from somewhere realise the same thing, I will be able to show this very person this.

However, I would love to be there to witness their friday night party.  I remember it looks really well prepared because they have DJ and wine table set up.

So booze and music certainly make thing a bit better.  I suppose.