Q&A...

So... I'm going to have a crack at the list of questions that we, (some of MFA1,) have compiled as a kind of 'getting to know you' type deal... here goes.


1) What is art? I agree with Judd's statement that art is anything that you say it is and I also subscribe to Baldessari's addition that art is a convincing lie... I think for me art is a way of looking at the world and trying to position myself within that world, and communicating that position to everybody else... and convincing everybody else that I'm right.


2) Why study MFA? I graduated from my BA eight years ago and have maintained some sort of art practice since then. However, while I have been doing things I haven't necessarily been showing things and I think somewhere down the line I have gotten quite lost. I am sure that I am following interesting lines of inquiry but I seem to have forgotten how to take things from 'starting point' through to 'piece of work.' That's one of the things I'm on the MFA to sort out.


3) That thing you do, what is that? I think that thing I do is try to make work. That sounds silly but I think it's right. I tend to look to the things around me for starting points. At the minute that seems to be my playing cards.


4) That thing you do, why are you doing that? Necessity. Is that a good enough answer? I try to make work because I think I can do something worth doing... Because I'm dissatisfied with the way things are... Because I'm a curious person...


5) If you could change something what would it be? Your point of view.


6) What question would you most like to avoid being asked? I don't know. I don't know whether I like avoiding questions. Difficult questions provoke thought, they're useful, so maybe easy questions are the kind to avoid... but then they are easy so why avoid them? I suppose it depends who is asking the question and who is listening to the answer. Dumb questions are the questions to be avoided.


7) Where do you feel most comfortable? At home with Susie... It doesn't have to be at home... It has to be with Susie.


8) Red or green? (First of all, I feel I should state that my usual position regarding this type of question is an inclusive one, why can't I have both? but I understand this defeats the purpose so I will choose.) Red. Not for aesthetic reason but because red is primary.


9) Cube or sphere? Cube, (in part due to the fact that I think every one else will choose sphere.) I like that the cube explains the three dimensions it occupies.


10) Hot or Cold? Cold, because as far as I know there is an absolute cold but not an absolute hot... actually, hot, for the same reason.


11) Light or heavy? Light! I'm with Calvino on this. I'm very interested in notions of lightness in relation to art practice. As an artist I am interested in change and change seems more likely from a position of lightness...


12) Fast or slow? Fast, I think, no reasons are coming to mind... maybe the faster you go the lighter you get.


13) Where do you position your work in theoretical terms? I'm not sure I know what this question means. I've mentioned Calvino, Judd and Baldessari... Is that what we're talking about? I'm interested in the whole dematerialization of art and that whole 60's thing. Duchamp and Dada and all that but I still don't know what that means in term of the question. I think I have to say position wise... aspirationally near the top, realistically nearer the bottom.


14) What was the last artwork that rocked your world? I'm going to take 'rocked your world' to mean that said artwork shook you at your very centre and changed your out look on the whole world. And then I'm going to say I don't know. I honestly can't think of the last time this happened. I can think of a number of works that I love and hold dear but I don't know whether they rocked my world. I think this might be because once you've had your world rocked it's difficult to remember what it was like before and therefore you take these things for granted... I think Skulptur projekte Munster 07 put a spring in my step, and Gustav Metzger's shattered stones project was a highlight for me.


15) Ask and answer a question of your own choosing. Q: Are you having a nice day? A: I've had worse.