artistic consciousness
Mural: The Battle of Cable Street
Today’s show went like a dream, which is to say I seemed to be asleep for most of it. On the night before the recording I’d discovered Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and it was with a sense of horror that I realised 3am had snuck up on me. Consequently, I wasn’t on coruscating top form come recording time the next morning. Fortunately the excellent cafe into which I always call on the way to the studio brews a mean coffee. With a couple of two-shot lattes injected into my eyeballs, I achieved a definite, if fleeting, spring in my step.
My guests on this show were a fascinating bunch; I could easily have spent the whole day talking to each one; it seemed mighty unfair to squeeze all three of them plus acts and the show’s arts listings into only an hour. In fact, since last week’s overrun, I’ve been thinking seriously about extending the format to allow some more in-depth investigations into questions surrounding the guests’ art.
Malcolm Jamieson
Malcolm Jamieson wasted no time in establishing himself as the raconteur of this week’s show. Even before any of the other guests arrived, Malcolm had the station staff under his spell. I walked into the ‘green room’ to discover him regaling a starry-eyed researcher with acting anecdotes. He proved every bit as entertaining during the interview itself, both on- and off-mic; we’d have needed a show an hour long to cram in everything he brought up. Here is truly a man who has experienced something of life and is able to profess it elegantly and effectively, a man suited to the vocation of poet if ever there was one. Malcolm was kind enough to share a little of his mnemonic technique with me – something from which I could only profit. I hope I remember to try it out when I get home. Boom boom.
Ash Gardner
Ash Gardner seemed to be Malcolm Jamieson’s opposite in almost every way. A slight, unassuming figure, who was far more comfortable sitting on the floor than having someone fetch a chair for him, I rather got the idea that Ash was unused to having his motives probed. I must confess that there’s a point in more-or-less every show when I catch myself wondering whether I’m imagining what’s being said, and, once I’ve assured myself that I am indeed hearing it correctly, whether I am on the receiving end of a wind-up. Usually this is down to the experimental nature of the art under discussion: Jemma Skidmore’s non-existent museum was a case in point. This week, I’m afraid the tiredness had gotten to me, giving everything that surreal quality and the conversation seemed to have turned to recreating a scene from the Gremlins film, using volunteers as Gremlins, and a wave of confusion hit me. What was the man talking about? Was this all for real? I wonder if it could only have been more confusing to have had the same experience whilst in attendance at the event itself. Having listened to the recording of the show at a day’s distance, none of my bewilderment seems evident, I’m pleased to say. Ash is a frank, unassuming and positive-minded type, Gremlins or no Gremlins. What’s not to like?
Andreas Grant’s poems about poetry were splendid and clever, with lots of
Andreas Grant
dynamic and surprising phrases. Paul Squire’s electronica was exciting and fresh. As for Inky Quills’ comedy: well, comedy is a specialised taste like nothing else, so let me just say that I found it extremely funny.
The thing that impressed me most about Katherine Hayes was her soldier-like approach to the practicalities surrounding her art. There is no question that she is true to her tastes and form, but without her writing there to speak for herself what really struck me was her stamina. Katherine is obviously an artist with the ability to run the long race. One of the reasons I do the show it the insight it gives into the many different ways there are to process the artistic experience; there are at least as many outlooks as there are artforms and oftentimes artistic production of the highest calibre can be brought down by a failure to ally it correctly with the right mind-set or expectations. Strategies for coping with rejection; being smart in how one labels oneself: these abilities can be, I think, almost as important as the art itself. Staying conscious, too, seems like a smart skill to practise, and whilst my Ivanov-style sleep deprivation this week has been interesting, I think for the broadcast of…zzz…
Katherine Hayes
Broadcasting, apparently, functions best when allied with staying awake. Besides the obvious suggestion of disrespect it’s very difficult to clean snoring out in the edit.
