ART MATTERS AS MUCH AS LIFE MATTERS-IN LIFE DESIGN IS CONSIDERED

ART MATTERS AS MUCH AS LIFE MATTERS-IN LIFE DESIGN IS CONSIDERED

Café, Galeota, free form construction, with natural design.

This was an interesting week/month, all things considered, national election in September, there was the Ministry of Design-Colloquium, Save the Savannah; won their case in the courts against the Ministry of Planning; on the development which was being installed in the Orange Grove Savannah, nine Afro-American were massacred in a black gospel church...they forgave the killer. We sent out letter into the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation for the consideration concerning our proposal to install the Tacarigua Sculptural Playground Project on the Orange Grove Savannah. I met with ACTT, the Artist Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago. I visited four schools as far as Mayaro, to the North Coast, to Central, in the school drop out project.

 

Community Centre, Tunapuna, a formal structure, which lacked design empathy 

ART MATTERS

As much as life matters, in life design is considered. From the colloquium, I have this uneasy feelings my colleagues have indifferent feelings to art and design having the same tendencies. There is also a standoff on the word “activism”.

Here we’re with the opportunity to create a hybrid scenario, between art and design in the transformation process of our society. Art has the possibility of opening the soul, design have the intention of regulating that soul, through the understanding of process. I will agree with a Minister who in a speech mentioned, I will paraphrase “Trinidadian and Tobagonians, having been trying to create our own path, our rebellious nature, our slackness, is our way of finding that path”.

If we look at the anthropological and pyscological nature of slackness, the women and men who commit slackness, “Warnerism” and others like him, can be considered the noble desire for true altruism, a hyper, neo-real Robin Hood. The fact that people can’t seem to turn their back on such people who act off social-deviant behaviour, I have heard words come from mouths of Minister, Mr. Cadiz, The Honourable Kamla... the mouths of neighbours concerning people who have done harm to people, they come to their defence, either as colleagues, friends, neighbours, groupings, ethnic groups, mothers, dads, brothers, sisters etc.

This masking as professor Gerard Hutchinson, in the article by Dr. Jean Antoine, in the article, TRINIS HAVE TRUST ISSUES –

“The matter for him is about what we consider to be, which is again linked to this issue of masking. Because historically performance is so important in our society and our ability to outface the other a marker of success. We out the eccentric and the showman on pedestals. We revere the ones who can create the greatest publicity. The personas constructed though, he notes, are not real, and when crisis occurs, there is collapse.

Newsday, Sunday March 29, 2015 page43, Trinis have trust Issues, Jean Antoine Dunne, Senior Lecturer, The University of the West Indies.

Heights of Aripo, vending stall, temporary structure, built informally to support a business idea 

 

This “warnerism”, “sagaboy”, “masking”, politics of self, is us, we, I, this full blown idea of consuming the I, rather than the we is the weakness of our cultural space. The spectacle of our performances to gather great gratitude’s and political mileage may be in favour of the I agenda, the pedestal, in the long run the death of the overall conversation of a socio economic identity.

 

Heights of Aripo, RC School, stair way, formal structure

 

 

At Yao Ramesar’s presentation of his films at Studio66, the conversation of economics in culture aroused great passion in the audience... which I stated, that as cultural practitioners, it is always sad that we have to start with making money rather than having a conversation about the professional status of our groups. The ability of me, as an artist to be at the best at what I do, from a philosophical, theoretical, sociological, historical, ethical, moral (not religious), economic position, money will come and when it comes we should have the maturity to deal with.

Yao, is one of the few film makers who have embraced art, speaks of it in is development of his films.

 

Studio 66, Yao Ramesar, film presentation, an example of formal, informal design of space. Yao Ramesar is one of the few film makers who speaks openly about art in the frame of filming

SYNERGY, HYBRIDITY

Why are designers so consumed on a separatist agenda, while designers and artists are embracing the qualities of each group to create sustainable projects. I had the opportunity to share this with some policy makers at a meeting, did they understand, I’m not sure, what was understood was their project in a community fell through, due to a flawed approach, here they had a opportunity to embrace the idea of art-design, “Arsign” which can be implied in a community, with the hopes that it will be sustainable. There is a will to listen.

Worker in full flight, this is an example of informal ways we go about doing things that have serious formality

ACTIVISM

Is frowned upon, why? Our space has been an activist space from the very beginning of its modernity, The Caribbean has been in activist mode, still to this day we’re still trying to get it right. Artists and designers must embrace the fact that what we’re doing is an activist practice, no matter how dumb down your work is or how high intellectual your work may be, what we’re doing is activating space. Tribe as much as Chris Cozier are activating; one on low pop culture, high capitalism, low aesthetics, the other is stimulated through a high level of intellectual conceptual consideration for pop culture. They’re both in the game, what is needed is more conversations to work out what are the benefits of a Tribe cultural shift, or a Chris Cozier’s cultural shift or a By Making, Ccooabel or Sun Eaters Organics, Yao Ramesar’s Films. To find that, we need to embrace activism, in the understanding of our products, or expressions. Truth in activism, finds truth of self.

 

Vending Stall, Maracas North Coast, an example of high informality, from materiality, collage to squatting

“What Professor Hutchinson is suggesting is that as a people we have had to deal with adapting ourselves to being first of all in positions of subordination during the periods of enslavement and indenturship subsequently we had to adjust to new power relations after independence.

The problem is that having lived for generations in scenarios where survival demanded that we hide who we truly are and mistrust those in authority, we are now not able to trust anyone.”

Newsday, Sunday March 29, 2015 page43, Trinis have trust Issues, Jean Antoine Dunne, Senior Lecturer, The University of the West Indies.

 

 

As I walk through my communities I’m confronted with a art-design hybrid, which is consumed in craft, free form, collage, construction, engineering all coming from a proletarian of natural intellectualism, in finding our natural self, we will have to embrace this, creating a hybridity of form, a vocabulary that can speak clearly to the internationalization of political vision, neo-liberalization, capitalism and globalization of imagination.

 

North Coast, La Fillet Village, Blanchisseuse- here is an example of a formal form, being interjected into an informal structure, acquiring qualities of formal structuralism, acquiring architecture. These are great examples of hybrid possibilities

WE WILL HAVE TO TRUST....

 

 

 

 

 

ART, THE CONTEMPORARY, CLASS, POLITICS AND NEO-LIBREALISM - The Titting Axis Visual Art Conference

Art, the Contemporary, Class, Politics and Neo-Liberalism

The Tilting Axis Visual Arts Conference.

 I begin this with a paraphrase from an artist’s comment at his 2014  retrospective.

 

       “I’m of the firm understanding that my art over the years haven’t affected my        community”

(Makemba Kunle- National Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, 2014-The Unfolding of an Artist’s Life, Aesthetics and Revolution)

This statement is important in light of the recently held Tilting Axis, visual  art conference hosted by Fresh Milk,  http://freshmilkbarbados.com/about  as well as
the upcoming participation of a contingent of Trinidad and Tobago musicians  at the South by Southwest Music Festival,  http://sxsw.com  March 21 2015, Austin, Texas, MIX cover story, (Sunday Express, 8 March 2015, Nigel Telesford, http://www.trinidadexpress.com).  
I’m thinking there are some interesting issues that emerge as we seek to explore the notion of sustainability and connectivity that art in this sub-region is making or not making.

  “It is not just about contemporary art. One of the tasks we have undertaken at the    Perez Art Museum Miami is the building of Caribbean art histories in the           consciousness of the American public, we see the Perez Art Museum as strategically placed to undertake this”

(Tobias Ostrander-Chief Curator of the Perez Art Museum, Miami.

  B4-Sunday Arts, Sunday Guardian March 8 2015, www.guardian.co.tt )

 

This development is important for deep reflection in light of the comment made by Makemba Kunle, artist and one of the Directors/Founders of the Studio 66 project, https://buzz.tt/venue/studio-66-art-gallery-648 , Barataria. How do we build a consciousness in the minds of our own, in light of a new burgeoning middle class, who in their imagination live not here within their geographical borders but within the neo-liberal, global economy of capitalist, consumption and imagination; where art seems built more to negotiate foreign markets and cultural borders rather than local cultural context and people..

Art has grown ever more estranged from its local and ancestral political and location as we can see in this year’s carnival presentations where there has been an acknowledgement of certain confusion happening:

“National Carnival Commission (NCC) Chairwoman (my words) Lorraine Pouchet in her comments described as “obscene” the amount of money spent on Carnival “without the kind of returns we would like to see”.

“And I think we need to look at a more equitable distribution of our taxpayers’ funds in creating the type of event and industry that we would like to see coming out of the very souls or our people,” she said

She said it had been traditionally forgotten that Carnival belongs to all people of this country, not just interest groups. She said she was “extremely sad” that the country has been losing its traditions of dance and the NCC wants to develop programmes to take into the schools”

By-Julien Neaves-Page 46 Newsday Sunday March 15, 2015- Arts and Entertainment-http://newsday.co.tt  

This confused state of cultural alienation and anomie is being fuelled mainly by absence among all classes of any historical connection to a philosophical, conceptual or intellectual politics of Caribbean aesthetics. There is also no connection to the historical struggle that went into the shaping of our cultural innovations over the last two centuries. Our contemporary middle-class cultural politics, owes it allegiance only to capital as reflected in the class differentiations now characteristic of our cultural events - VIP, VVIP, VVIP... a neo-capitalism that has sunk its teeth into our imagination.

 

 

TILTING AXIS
the warm welcome of the Tilting Axis- Visual Art Conference-2015, means something, when we put into context all the other discussions and political action taking place at this time., Conversations around innovation, diversification, the EU investment into civil society (Trinidad and Tobago), the re-conceptualization of craft education programme, SKILL and Education, both primary and secondary; there is also an intellectual re-conceptualization discourse happening about the Caribbean and innovation, coming from the International Relations Department, UWI.  All this could provide a context for the discourses of Tilting Axis within the frame of a larger developmental conversation and yes, this is a warm welcomed sign.

But this sign set in motion other questions that need to be asked around class and the construction of art in the Caribbean. Studio 66 is a metaphor of class aesthetics. There are many reasons why people or organizations could not or would not be present.  The event already had a significant number of people - 30, there could have been a lack of funds, conflicting schedules etc. But this also brings up the glaring issue of where individual artists or groups of artists sit within the evolving political realities of modern contemporary art here in the Caribbean and who is shaping this reality.

The middle-class is caught in this schizophrenic voice, of being of, and not being of; what they produce, our voice has no value in the neo-liberal capitalist conversation of the Western art gallery system, biennials, ART BASEL’s etc.; their power sits within the geographical space whence it came, which is void and confused of this particular contemporary voice. It is a simulacrum, a theatrical set, a performance; as was done when we displayed our bodies for consumption in the early era of the 50’s and 60’s. These performances are done all at high stakes, for careers and reputations.

 

“For middle-class agents to become effectively political involves then decisively breaking with the biases associated with their own class, because in a society where the relationship between capitalist and worker is the most important one, the middle-class occupies a vacillating centre position.”

(Ben Davis-9.5 Theses on Art and Class, pg23/Art and Class)

 So when a child, of a doctor, who was visiting my studio one day, responds, “so you don’t have a real job?”  or when my musician colleague tells me that when he says to the immigration officer that he is an artist, their response is “Wha!?” Here sits Art, at two extreme points, one of awe, one of disbelief. The motivation of any conference is to set the constructive value of the politics of art to community, the value of art to ourselves, paraphrasing what Oslander described as:  “the building of Caribbean art histories in the consciousness of the American public”  and I will paraphrase, “the building of Caribbean art histories in the consciousness of the Caribbean public.”  This means therefore that when there is the next sit down in 2016 as mentioned in the article; there must be action taken to develop a social art-design activism involving interactions with the working-classes, civil society, and academia. This is already happening in a small way, as we speak in some of our communities.

Caribbean art’s powers sits in its obeah, its ancestral ties to an earlier time when art sat as totems, forces laying claim to space, mind and body.  This would set the stage for a different intellectual and aesthetic paradigm of art, one that is more communal, social and interactive.  This means having conversations on new ways of injecting art into our social space. It means finding systems, maybe like a sou-sou or friendly societies, panchayats, gayaps etc.  These can become the templates for our arts councils.

 

Contemporary Art-

 

“6.9-On the other hand, contemporary visual art also faces a dilemma if it does not engage with other, more dominant creative industries; in that case, its audience becomes narrowed to only the very rich and those who have the privilege to have been educated in its traditions, which makes clear the narrow horizon, and consequently, lack of freedom within which this supposedly free form of expression manoeuvres.” 

         (Ben Davis-9.5 Theses on Art and Class, pg33/Art and Class)

 

CONCLUSION
In setting up a discussion on sustainability and connectivity, contemporary art negotiators must be cognisant of the entrapment of the pervasive neo-liberal, capitalist, global agenda for art and aesthetics. This is necessary when the imaginary of art has almost no political voice within our geographical borders; at least within my borders of Trinidad and Tobago.  Since independence, The Trinidad and Tobago Art Society for example has developed projects that have set public art and design two steps backwards, while the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects sits silent on the role of art and design within their work.

 If the architects of Tilting the Axis really wish to tilt the axis, there must be a collective understanding of the deconstructive and reconstructive approach to power. In reframing capital, society, masculinity and femininity, we must in our backyard spark an imaginative revolution of how art renegotiates space in our region. Art must be the totems on the walls of our modern structures; posters in our chattel communities. Artists must become the shamans, not the colourful court jester. Most importantly there must be a serious approach to deconstructing the schizophrenic duality, with which we as the middle class continuously battle.

 

“9.2 Whatever these specific struggles are, it is an organized working class that is best placed to challenge dominant ruling-class relations [4.6], which is the precondition for challenging dominant ruling-class values of art and improving the situation of art.”

Ben Davies - 9.5 Theses on Art and Class, pg36/Theses on Art and Class

The idea of reconstructing real power means the total deconstruction of self, the analysis of power as self and the eventual repositioning of self within the community communal aspirations of the political, social, economic, historical and the aesthetics, in the one voice.

 

 

The Patch of Bush- The Repositioning of art and design in our new modernity-The Tacarigua Sculptural Playspace Project in the redefining of the next level of intercourse.

THE PATCH OF BUSH.

The repositioning of art and

design in our new modernity.
The Tacarigua Sculptural Play-Space Project in the
redefining of the next level of intercourse.

TACARIGUA SCULPTURAL PLAYSPACE PROJECT

Video run through.

I see this  project as opening up the patch of bush to interdisciplinary conversations.

 

 “Dis Patch of Bush Culture” he tells me, in wide eyes, words and gestures, in a frustration that I’m much familiar with. A frustration born out of doing, with very little understanding from our investors; when this support is given, it comes via a condescending manner, a tongue in cheek, a scowl of disbelieving in. Meh bredren was in vexing mood, he tell meh, we stood there in the hall way of pan and shared both our experiences of building things.

It is here we sit in our own patch of bush, pushing our own set of rules in development, which underscores the elemental position of art, a tool of enlightenment, sharing, storytelling, traditional, revolutionary, innovation. Where ever you sit within the totem of art or design; there is one thing in common...we all wish to convey a feeling of well being in our being by placing a subjective part of us, into an objective self. We do this from our patch of bush, we grow the grass tall, sitting very comfortably in the knowledge of our doing.  

So, me and meh bredren, we pound up we mouth, make noise from we patch. Artist, artist doing ting, always doing ting, we toil, make exhibition, get gallery representation, go to art biennials, write in paper, get we picture taken, and end up in big magazine, rub shoulder in high society, lime in Beach Party, UWI. We is facebook king and queen, instagram, and twitter, we is social, we!, we is brand self. We have followers, give talk in TEDX. We is do all dis from we patch of bush, we patch of bush real sweet, why yuh want to F*&K dis up, ah mean we Eatin Ah Food, I eating,

“You don’t have to tell artist how to make work”

“You shouldn’t have to tell artists how to make wok” 

“Why you have to tell artist how to make work”

People say this all the time, Art for Art Sake.... My Society tells me that Art for Art Sake, is a useless misnomer of Western Art Hegemony, who have constructed their society in their imagination, we haven’t, so we can’t afford throwing those words around, quite so easily.

 There are a whole host of organizations that represent artists, art makers, creative’s

ü  The Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago
Corner Jamaica Blvd. and St. Vincent Avenue
Federation Park-Port of Spain-Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

http://www.artsocietytt.org/?url=www.search.co.tt
Mailing:
The Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago,
P.O. Box 542,
Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Tel: (868 ) 622-9827
the centre depends on volunteers to man it
if there is no answer at this phone,
please call Helen Rivers at
(868) 623 5461 X 228

ü  Best Village Unit -627-0471,627-2001-http://www.community.gov.tt/home/node/415

ü  Circle of Poets of Trinidad & Tobago -Meeting times: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month
at City Hall, Port of Spain. Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Phone: 355-1205, 780-8618
Email: circleofpoetstt@gmail.com
Website: http://www.circleofpoetstt.org
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/circleofpoetstt/

ü  The Brown Cotton Theatre Ensemble
http://www.browncottonoutreach.org
#13 Ana St. Woodbrook
For more information call 1 (868) 681-9985

ü  Patrons of Queen's Hall
http://www.patronsofqueenshall.com/?url=www.search.co.tt

ü  Metamorphosis Dance Comapny
http://metamorphosisdance.com/?url=www.search.co.tt
Contact information:
Address: 2A Dere Street
Port of Spain
Republic of Trinidad & Tobago
The Caribbean
Phone/Fax: 868-625-3225
E-mail: info@metamorphosisdance.com

ü  National Drama Association of Trinidad & Tobago
http://www.ndatt.org/?url=www.search.co.tt
http://www.drama.org.tt/?url=www.search.co.tt
ndatt@drama.org.tt
National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago
#44Dundonald St. POS 1 (868) 681-9985
1 (868) 622-6344

ü  "The Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Collection Organisation (TTCO)"
35 Methuen Street,
Woodbrook.
Tel# 6241024
Email: info@ttc-co.com
ttcocopyright@gmail.com
Website: www.ttc-co.com

ü  The National Chutney Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (NCFTT)(Act 6 of 2000)
Suite 10-Cruise ship Complex
Dock Road, POS.
Email: chutneyfoundation@yahoo.com

ü  National Cultural Promotions of Trinidad and Tobago (NCP)
4 Emperor Valley Zoo Road, Queens Park East
Port of Spain
Tel# 6282174
Email: ncp2000@hotmail.com

ü  Tassa Association of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)
Cruise Ship Complex
Dock Road, POS
Email: tassa_association@yahoo.com
Tel# 7421044

ü  Carnival Cultural Judges Association of Trinidad and Tobago (CJATT)
Post Office Box 4361
St Anns Post Office
St Anns.
Email; judgesassociation@yahoo.com
Tel# 1-868-7884668

ü  101 Artgallery
At the ASTT Building
Coner Jamaica Boulevard and St Vincent Avenue
Federation Park
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Tel.: (868) 628 4081
E-Mail: 101arts@tstt.net.tt
Website: http://101artgallery.com/?url=www.search.co.tt

ü  Professional and Amateur Dance Association of Trinidad and Tobago
5 laday Paul Drive
Diego Martin-868-6078

ü  The Artist Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT)
rubadiri@yahoo.com-5 Gulf View Drive
La Horquette Extension Road
Glencoe
1-868-797-0949
The interim board of ACTT is:
Rubadiri Victor President 797-0949
Sheldon Manoo Vice President 687-5576
Fabien Alphonso Secretary 707-0400
Shawn Randoo Assistant Secretary
Stuart Fortune Treasurer 729-8909

ü  The Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects

http://www.ttia-architects.org/

 Trinidad and Tobago Society of Planners  - http://ttplanners.org/

All ah 15 ah dem, is meh fren and dem, and still we still jock up and F&*K UP! Still we fighting little piece ah food, a little piece here, a little piece there.

 The mud Band, Mother's Earth-

is an example of communalism, social net work of doing and getting, not for profit, but the shear joy of doing

Ah artist paint over a wall of other artist work and say.

“Walls made for painting!”

Proud he was, getting to paint his work over other artist work, to eat ah food, tings sweet. Social justice in this country hard to find, social thinkers and social practitioners, even harder. Post Dana Seethahal.... justice for dat mural! or dat! mural at the Waterfront, Parliament Building, or the Oval Wall Project, the Central Bank. Social justice for art is social justice for all, as social justice is critical thinking. Social Justice comes is a voice, this voice is absent; we must reintroduce the voice through critically thinking symposiums, conferences, publications, film, videos, and projects, lots of projects. I have heard from artists that we talk too much, while it is we talk too little of meanings. We talk too much to ourselves; we need to talk to our society, our community, go to the Brian Lara Promenade, turn the speakers outwards.

Unification to Justification.

Non of we; can expect justification without unification of purpose, empathy of the other and within the group. The group is dead; as I spend time in the studio working there must be some other way to find community.

This unification will happen when we can collaborated on a broad level of interdisciplinary methods, working with policy makers, business, state and community implementing well thought out critically challenging developmental projects, with policy development programmes, where we can present how art and design can challenge in paradigms of centring programmes in communities where they will have long lasting implications.

Art, have the possibilities of opening the soul to learning, communication, change.
Design- have the possibility of presenting policy, process, maintenance in a light of understanding aesthetics and beauty, I understand purpose of care; as so can we.

Can all these 15 or so many other groups ever find unified voice, meanings, in developing in a Sou-Sou manner to development of projects that will enlighten and ennoble our space, walk out of the patch of bush and listen to the psychologist, the sociologist, International Relations, Cultural Studies, Historians, Political Science, Science, Engineering, Architects, Theorists, Philosophers, planners. Get in there and create social art, social design, which have the ability to make some of most impactful of work, as the artist and  the technical and academically minded, will have to deal with a new set of other noise, which will created friction, deconstruct assumption, disturb order, re-invent aesthetics that will have a powerful constructive pull to a new consumption.

NEOLIBERAL CAPITALIST

ideals of art making isn’t pushing or assisting anyone as I’m observing in my community, the unease in all too apparent.

This is a call for a meeting of minds to really provoke several projects that will really look at us from a political, social and aesthetic animal, the architect, the planner; the engineer, bureaucrat and technocrat can’t be the driving force of the new development mantra of new social engineering towards innovation, as our society tries to balance, rethink our revenue streams.   

“the draft manifesto of the John Reed Clubs, named for poet and founding member of the American Communist Party John Reed, issued a call for artists to “abandon decisively the treacherous illusion that art … can remain remote from historical conflicts.” The clubs, which were founded in 1929, strove to effect change through writing, art, and organizing. Their membership thought of activist writing, painting, and drawing not as the ineffable stuff of Homeric inspiration but rather as the product of honest labor. Activist artists regarded themselves, writes John Paul Murphy in the informative Grey Gazette that accompanies the exhibition, as “culture workers.”  “

http://hyperallergic.com/174971/picturing-a-communist-revolution-in-the-us/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Painting+as+Protest+on+Mexicos+Walls&utm_content=Painting+as+Protest+on+Mexicos+Walls+CID_3df6cd7633490c7f6788913c85a6cd22&utm_source=HyperallergicNewsletter&utm_term=Picturing%20a%20Communist%20Revolution%20in%20the%20US 

The Puzzle Chair- Here was an attempt at looking at the "OFFNESS" of our primitivism, how materials meet in an interesting non-alignment of resilience and dexterity of naivety, doing. The DYI movement was here, in Datsun Vill, Bangladesh, Sea Lots, the Hill of Laventille.  

 

“In recent years, many international designers have found
common  ground at what might be called the “design level zero”. Despite being of different nationalities (Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Icelandic, Finnish etc.), they share a desire to take design back to the beginning, evaluating its aims and means.”
http://www.domusweb.it/en/design/2015/02/10/contemporary_primitives.html?wtk=cpm.newsletter.dom.week.en.2015_02_12&Idtrack=5352643e8987f5498e16454b2ee18b50

Brynjar Sigurðarson, The Silent Village collection, Galerie Kreo- DOMUS- Contemporary Primitives-
Domitilla Dardi

 

 

 

As the above photo, we have a primitivism, we have not really bought into. It is an interesting exploratory exercise.

 

 

 

Social Justice Aesthetics, Restorative Aesthetics, as to the “Cultural Workers” of the above imaginations, means the development of structural aesthetics which will engulf form, asking, looking closely at human form, our primitivism, looking for “common ground”. Where “Common Ground” is will find Restorative Aesthetics.

 

The Blue Shed, Heights of Aripo. The space is littered with structural influences, we should have the confidence in repeating, with the refinery of art and design criticality.

GOING INTO THE NEW YEAR - THE TACARIGUA SCULPTURAL PLAYSPACE PROJECT AND OTHER THINGS

THE LINK TO DOWN LOAD THE PDF.

http://artzpub.com/sites/default/files/pdf/FINAL-V-7-Tacarigua_Playground_Catalog_Spreads_V7.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/artdesignplayspace

GOING INTO THE

NEW YEAR.
The Tacarigua Sculptural Playspace Project and other Things.

As I go into the new year I’m compelled to look back at accomplishments, I have had the ability to listen at some interesting conversations, meet interesting people, travel to spectacular spaces. What comes of it all. I will like to comment on two meeting that I went too recently that should lock it all in.

DR. HOLLIS
EMAIL - DiplomaticAcademy@sta.uwi.edu
tel - 1(868) 662-2002 ext83237

 

·         Dr. Simon Hollis – made a presentation at the International Relations Department, University of the West Indies. His thesis examines the role of regional organizations and their Disaster Risk Management capacities. Dr. Hollis is a visiting research fellow at the institute of International Relations and a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Security, Strategy and Leadership at the Swedish National Defence College.

What is interesting about Dr. Simon Hollis, is his interest in aesthetics, and how aesthetics can build resilience in coping with risk management. As I listened to these men speak at the table, Dr. Knight, was also present at the table. There was mentioned of Art, Museums, Heritage, Culture in a conversation of developing strong capabilities for survival.

www.artistscoalition.wordpress.com
artistscoalition@gmail.com

 

·         The other meeting was on Monday where I attended an ACTT meeting, held at National Carnival Commission, Grand Stand. Here was spelled out some of the gains that were accomplished in the budget, which in all estimates are good for the cultural sector, if we’re able to get them to roll out. These are,

1.   The creation of a National Arts Council

2.   The Creation of a Genius Grant ala MacArthur Foundation Grants

3.   The Commissioning of 44 (24 in the first year 20 in the 2^nd) Memoirs and Histories of aspects and personages from local culture eg the History of Dance, the History of Ramleela, etc as well as biographies of Sparrow, Kitch, Sundar etc.

4.   The regularization of the Land Tenure of all Panyards in the country.

 

·         The Presentation of the Tacarigua Sculptural Playspace Project – here we were able to present a radical new way of looking at how art and design can be presented in our communities. As one person told me, the project as in the Western art scenario, looks to deconstruct this project looks at reconstruction and the building of an attitude in the development of people.

These three meeting all seem to be looking at the whole-ism of our particular position and attempting to create a conversation around how development will happen

The creation of a National Arts Council, if rolled out properly will see the development of  all sector groups, proper transparency in funding, upgrading in training for sector groups, groups will be in a central location, which will allow for better communication (hoping). An Arts Council isn’t the hell bent solution, but it is a step where we can get an idea of conversation in the whole-ism of development and the creation of a better hell to live in.

THE VIKINGS - FROM MARACAS, ST. JOSEPHS

 

THE NEW YEAR WISH.

Man! Woman! Child!, culture is a buss, it gone to the dumps, it has fallen and the guardian who holding the swords must take acknowledgement that I have, we have, allowed it all to go to hell, due to our selfish, myopic, arrogant, low-self-esteem, ignorant, brown-nosing, attention grabbing, individualist pursuits, looking to get our individual concepts of art above all else, rather than the progressive development of art and design and in extension of our cultural development. I will like to see more synergy between people and groups. We need to foster hard to build capacity with people, the state, corporate sector, bring them to the understanding that local content will not kill advertising.

The wishes –

1.   I will like to see first the development of the Tacarigua Sculptural Playspace Project – which we hope will see data developed that we can start understanding how art and design and the memory concept can take shape in the imagination of our people.

2.   I will like to see the Art Society take a more political position considering their position as a vanguard position. The Art Society needs to take serious vocal position in art and the role it can play, the new roles, where it comes to social art and design. They also need to build synergy

3.   As the Department of Creative and  Festival Arts, UWI, acquire their new building. I hope there is a serious new conceptualization of the whole-ism of art and design, preparing our future artists for that new world, workshops, building artists who under synergy development, collaboration and the importance of a social consciousness.

4.   The Ministry of Culture to find the heart of culture and speak to it in the language that is needed for them to really represent and support the people who can re-position and construct new dynamism.

5.   The University of the West Indies, I will like to see them in the space with their new portal, where community can tap into and get a look at the research that is going on, at this point it is hard to get to read and download, reserch  

6.   The Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects – First they need to include artist, designers who are working in the social space to be part of their membership. Also they need to be more vocal about the landscape that is being shaped before us. There is a need for more conversation about design and the development of an architectural space either at UWI, which we believe can happen and maybe happening.

7.   The Planners – things are happening and the Planning Association, what up? Do stand up and be counted.

8.   Civil Society, need to build relationship with artists and design, in the development of a newer activist re-positioning. The Fire Circle is one situation that may take that into consideration let see what kind of data is thrown out.

9.   Finally I will like to see the Aripo Project a steady course – which the conceptualization of re-designing of the Aripo Village around Value Added, which will see art and design at the forefront of the development discourse.

10.               I will like to see Alice Yard, Studio 66, the galleries in a kind of ordering a talk about representation, art, design, festival etc

11.               I will like to see an artist’s dinner one of these days.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!