in my studio recently I have become aware of the many and varied sounds which eminate from the streets below. There is a strange balance and harmony. Last weekend, a cold autumn sunday morning was layered like a cake with audible icing. The oozing sound of the wind and the planes lifting off from city airport punctuated by the barking dog i have heard so many sundays but have yet to see....and at ten exactly the bells join the chorus, the cables on the pylons swing to the beat.and I realise the rhythm is gliding into this old room on the back of beams of october sunlight .
I am stapling large sheets of canvas to the wall and praying that i can soak them in these sounds.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Monday, 25 October 2010
doing sums
i see the tory government will announce today plans to encourage investment in small business. The idea is to create jobs by expanidn the private sector.
They are going to invest 200 million pounds in this. The encourage banks to lend to small businesses.
Now.. we have just had massive cuts to public spending so I'm not sure where the 200 million pounds is coming from.
Also the banks have been bailed out with massive amounts of public money ..so I presume the money they will be encouraged to lend to the private sector may be the money we paid to get them out of the hole they had dug for themselves ( by lending too much without thinking!)
So they will use our money to lend (and receive interest on repayments) to private companies who will employ people at poor rates of pay ...or even move abroad if going gets tough..taking those jobs with them.
So to put it simply..the tax payers' money has been used to shift investment from public to private sector. The banks have been saved in order for them to return to their habit of lending. If the businesses they lend to are going to make money then we need people to buy their goods....to do this , people need to have money...to have money they need to have jobs. We have been told there will be at least 500,000 unemployed as a result of the massive public sector cuts...
Would it not have been possible to;
a/ spend less on bailing out banks..surely if the tories believe in capitalism then public money should not have been used to prop up failing businesses
b/ invest more in public sector
I will admit that iam not great at 'sums' and not that knowledgable in economics..but i am quite good at history and i have seen this 'shift of investment' by right wing governments before. The result will be greed.. corruption.. and private business pulling out as soon as going gets tough...taking YOUR money with them and leaving you unemployed again.
However..in the meantime the tories can guarantee votes ( and money) from these businesses.
They are going to invest 200 million pounds in this. The encourage banks to lend to small businesses.
Now.. we have just had massive cuts to public spending so I'm not sure where the 200 million pounds is coming from.
Also the banks have been bailed out with massive amounts of public money ..so I presume the money they will be encouraged to lend to the private sector may be the money we paid to get them out of the hole they had dug for themselves ( by lending too much without thinking!)
So they will use our money to lend (and receive interest on repayments) to private companies who will employ people at poor rates of pay ...or even move abroad if going gets tough..taking those jobs with them.
So to put it simply..the tax payers' money has been used to shift investment from public to private sector. The banks have been saved in order for them to return to their habit of lending. If the businesses they lend to are going to make money then we need people to buy their goods....to do this , people need to have money...to have money they need to have jobs. We have been told there will be at least 500,000 unemployed as a result of the massive public sector cuts...
Would it not have been possible to;
a/ spend less on bailing out banks..surely if the tories believe in capitalism then public money should not have been used to prop up failing businesses
b/ invest more in public sector
I will admit that iam not great at 'sums' and not that knowledgable in economics..but i am quite good at history and i have seen this 'shift of investment' by right wing governments before. The result will be greed.. corruption.. and private business pulling out as soon as going gets tough...taking YOUR money with them and leaving you unemployed again.
However..in the meantime the tories can guarantee votes ( and money) from these businesses.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
deepest cuts
so here we go..the feared government cuts We are told that the country is in a mess and something needs to be done..I'm sure there is truth in that but believe me the reasoning behind this ( so called ) coallition government's action is not simply based on concern for the welfare of its people.
These little spawn of thatcher have been waiting years to get the chance to shift power back to their mates in big business...the liberal democrats have finally shown themselves to be watered down tories hooked firmly to the leash of their bigger master. They couldnt resist the chance to experience 'power'...i hope and trust it will be the one and only time they ever taste it!
In the coming years..watch carefully and see how many fat cats will lose their jobs or take real pay cuts.
Add up their salaries and bonuses and calculate it against how much they could donate towards cutting the debt. A debt that ( contrary to tory lies) was not solely the responsibility of the previous government but a result of the greed and arrogance of big banks.
Watch ..in the next few years how many banks go out of business and how many bankers suffer hunger.!
Yes there is waste in all sectors...yes there is abuse of the system in all sectors...yes their are those who abuse the system in a sections of society but you will find that when politicians talk about people on benefit abusing the system they will use terms like 'scrounging' and even ( as was reported recently) likened to 'muggers'. When the same politicians are forced to discuss the abuse of benefits by POLITICIANS they will talk about 'honest mistakes'!! Neither will they use such severe terms when referring to bankers greed.
Why?...because banks have power....people on unemployment benefits usually don't!
This not just about where and how to cut debt..this is about showing who you really support most..and in the next 2 or 3 years we will see a new generation of the 'yuppies' we saw in the eighties...selfish,greed driven little 'loadsamoneys'
If we have to cut ..yes it has to be done but please don't insult our intelligence by conveniently forgetting the abuses of those who now have power.
PS....Forgive me Mrs Thatcher if I dont send you a get well card
These little spawn of thatcher have been waiting years to get the chance to shift power back to their mates in big business...the liberal democrats have finally shown themselves to be watered down tories hooked firmly to the leash of their bigger master. They couldnt resist the chance to experience 'power'...i hope and trust it will be the one and only time they ever taste it!
In the coming years..watch carefully and see how many fat cats will lose their jobs or take real pay cuts.
Add up their salaries and bonuses and calculate it against how much they could donate towards cutting the debt. A debt that ( contrary to tory lies) was not solely the responsibility of the previous government but a result of the greed and arrogance of big banks.
Watch ..in the next few years how many banks go out of business and how many bankers suffer hunger.!
Yes there is waste in all sectors...yes there is abuse of the system in all sectors...yes their are those who abuse the system in a sections of society but you will find that when politicians talk about people on benefit abusing the system they will use terms like 'scrounging' and even ( as was reported recently) likened to 'muggers'. When the same politicians are forced to discuss the abuse of benefits by POLITICIANS they will talk about 'honest mistakes'!! Neither will they use such severe terms when referring to bankers greed.
Why?...because banks have power....people on unemployment benefits usually don't!
This not just about where and how to cut debt..this is about showing who you really support most..and in the next 2 or 3 years we will see a new generation of the 'yuppies' we saw in the eighties...selfish,greed driven little 'loadsamoneys'
If we have to cut ..yes it has to be done but please don't insult our intelligence by conveniently forgetting the abuses of those who now have power.
PS....Forgive me Mrs Thatcher if I dont send you a get well card
Friday, 15 October 2010
get a life
as i sit here and watch live coverage of the miners in chile being brought to the surface one by one I, like so many others, feel a great sense of hope and positivity . I dont know these people, I don't know much about Chile but I do know how important freedom is.....both literally and metaphorically. I also know how much effort governments make to prevent our freedom. ..and how little companies care about their workers.
We are reminded of the important values...life...love....freedom.
This morning I watched anews item on TV discussing the fact that some shops had run out of luxury handbags!...Two different headlines which sum up the extreme dilema we have got ourselves into.
As I watch the actions of an essentially greedy society I just despair!
The media is an arm of this greedy society...indeed it is one of the drivers of it. When we criticise the media they cry 'freedom of speech'..but the truth is that the media companies are the dictators..supported by business and needing public popularity to survive. So the give us what they think we want, not what we need.
They try to create a belief that the sale of luxury handbags or the fate of some talentless bimbo pop singer is important to our lives!...and you know what is so sad?..we get sucked in..we have become such a dumb and dumbed down society that we rarely challenge anything.
So many have lost the ability to prioritise values. Why?..because its an easy option..its easier not to challenge or fight..its not worth the 'hassle'...and goverments and media know this! So we get the lying, greedy , selfish politicians we voted for!
So what about those mners in Chile? We have been lifted by their courage and reminded of the value of living....but bellieve me the media will change our 'diet' of TV news quickly..back to the handbags and the bimbos....for too much truth and too much exposure to thinking about the important things is something those in power fear. It COULD make us challenge things...it could make us less interested in handbags!
...we cant have that can we?
...and whilst the miners are free....society is kept buried in the darkness of media controlled igorance.
We are reminded of the important values...life...love....freedom.
This morning I watched anews item on TV discussing the fact that some shops had run out of luxury handbags!...Two different headlines which sum up the extreme dilema we have got ourselves into.
As I watch the actions of an essentially greedy society I just despair!
The media is an arm of this greedy society...indeed it is one of the drivers of it. When we criticise the media they cry 'freedom of speech'..but the truth is that the media companies are the dictators..supported by business and needing public popularity to survive. So the give us what they think we want, not what we need.
They try to create a belief that the sale of luxury handbags or the fate of some talentless bimbo pop singer is important to our lives!...and you know what is so sad?..we get sucked in..we have become such a dumb and dumbed down society that we rarely challenge anything.
So many have lost the ability to prioritise values. Why?..because its an easy option..its easier not to challenge or fight..its not worth the 'hassle'...and goverments and media know this! So we get the lying, greedy , selfish politicians we voted for!
So what about those mners in Chile? We have been lifted by their courage and reminded of the value of living....but bellieve me the media will change our 'diet' of TV news quickly..back to the handbags and the bimbos....for too much truth and too much exposure to thinking about the important things is something those in power fear. It COULD make us challenge things...it could make us less interested in handbags!
...we cant have that can we?
...and whilst the miners are free....society is kept buried in the darkness of media controlled igorance.
Friday, 1 October 2010
temporary contemporary
it seems to me that the term 'contemporary' art is increasingly used by so called 'curators' who really have no understanding of art history.
I must begin by confirming a personal interest ( gripe) here in that as a painter I am very aware that in many areas this medium is somehow seen as not being worthy of the term 'contemporary'. However , i believe that i understand why this may be the case.
It is a sad fact that some institutions of learning ( particularly in fine art) have lost the teaching staff who are;
a/ working artists themselves
b/ have high levels of technical skill
The result is that students do not have access to a full range of creative methods and techniques. The emphasis is shifted to concept rather than construction. Many of these students themselves fall into teaching and the cycle is continued.
Meanwhile ( as i have metioned in earlier posts) in order to secure funding from the arts council or similar bodies, public galleries need to justify an education programme. In some cases this is done by forming links with local universities. As a result, the gallery's programme of events becomes associated with the 'colour' of that particular university. If the learning institution is of the type described above, what we have is a recipe for a kind of monopoly on what the public are told is 'contemporary art'.
This is of course not a new phenomenon. The links between galleries and art schools goes back a very
long way and it is in theory a very healthy relationship. However the evolution of our 'tick box' culture has created a generation of teachers and curators who are concerned with the completion of the criteria on the assesment and funding forms. The filling in of all those little boxes without which there will be no money! We may have come to believe that without funding there will be no art!! So there are fewer people in the arts who will lift their heads, step back and simply ask 'Is this good art?..Is this worthy...Is it effective..and ( dare I say it?) .Is this VISUALLY interesting???...Why? ..because they are essentially administrators and not educationalists or critics.
The result is often that the term 'contemporary art' is not neccessarily associated with that which is dealing with todays issues in today society..it is associated with certain media and methods preferred by particular institutions. We sometimes end up seeing exhibitions of what I call 'novelty art' rather than 'new art'.
How do we address this? I am not really sure to be honest but what I do believe is that before recovery can take place, one must admit there is a problem. Wouldn't this be a truly creative and couragous challenge for us all!
I must begin by confirming a personal interest ( gripe) here in that as a painter I am very aware that in many areas this medium is somehow seen as not being worthy of the term 'contemporary'. However , i believe that i understand why this may be the case.
It is a sad fact that some institutions of learning ( particularly in fine art) have lost the teaching staff who are;
a/ working artists themselves
b/ have high levels of technical skill
The result is that students do not have access to a full range of creative methods and techniques. The emphasis is shifted to concept rather than construction. Many of these students themselves fall into teaching and the cycle is continued.
Meanwhile ( as i have metioned in earlier posts) in order to secure funding from the arts council or similar bodies, public galleries need to justify an education programme. In some cases this is done by forming links with local universities. As a result, the gallery's programme of events becomes associated with the 'colour' of that particular university. If the learning institution is of the type described above, what we have is a recipe for a kind of monopoly on what the public are told is 'contemporary art'.
This is of course not a new phenomenon. The links between galleries and art schools goes back a very
long way and it is in theory a very healthy relationship. However the evolution of our 'tick box' culture has created a generation of teachers and curators who are concerned with the completion of the criteria on the assesment and funding forms. The filling in of all those little boxes without which there will be no money! We may have come to believe that without funding there will be no art!! So there are fewer people in the arts who will lift their heads, step back and simply ask 'Is this good art?..Is this worthy...Is it effective..and ( dare I say it?) .Is this VISUALLY interesting???...Why? ..because they are essentially administrators and not educationalists or critics.
The result is often that the term 'contemporary art' is not neccessarily associated with that which is dealing with todays issues in today society..it is associated with certain media and methods preferred by particular institutions. We sometimes end up seeing exhibitions of what I call 'novelty art' rather than 'new art'.
How do we address this? I am not really sure to be honest but what I do believe is that before recovery can take place, one must admit there is a problem. Wouldn't this be a truly creative and couragous challenge for us all!
Monday, 27 September 2010
silence and things
I went walking with my dogs yesterday. I often walk along a route called the 'comber greenway' . This is an old disused railway track which has been made into a pathway. There are steep grass banks on either side and the only view to the distance is forwards towards the winding track as it disappears like a ribbon into the distance.
Yesterday was a beautiful warm autumn morning. Absolutely still. Fallen leaves lay unmoved on the ground and the sunlight cut sharp long shadows across the ground.
Most dramatic of all however was the silence. It was so quiet that I became aware of the sound of my own breath and the flicking of my shoe laces with each step. I also became aware of how rare this experience is. How often is the loudest sound we hear our own breath? Not often enough!
......................................................
This morning I hear on the news that the government is considering the possibility of paying people to lose weight and quit smoking in order to save the health service money in the long run.
I must say this saddens me. Not just because I am not convinced that it WOULD save money ( consider the cost of monitoring the system not to mention the abuse and deception it may be open to ) but because it seems so sad that here we are considering giving money to people to adjust a lifestyle born of a greed driven society when across the world children die by the second from starvation.
I do sympathise with those who have lost control due to addiction but I'm not sure that simply paying them will change the fundamental issues in their lives which created the addiction to food or nicotine. I do also appreciate how much it is costing society to deal with wieght related health issues. I just wonder if the desire to save government funds is itself slighty selfish. If this country did save money by getting people to stop smoking and lose weight..where would that money go?..would it really go back into the health service..? I have my doubts. I dont trust most givernments.
I wonder would it be an idea to pay for overweight smokers to go to third world countries for a year and work with the people there. This would not only help their health ( certainly avoid fatty diets) at the same time contribute to those who have little or no food. Most of all it may provide an eye opening experience which might help put our greedy society into context.
It may seem an unusual or extreme suggestion but it may be a way of helping both groups of people.
Yesterday was a beautiful warm autumn morning. Absolutely still. Fallen leaves lay unmoved on the ground and the sunlight cut sharp long shadows across the ground.
Most dramatic of all however was the silence. It was so quiet that I became aware of the sound of my own breath and the flicking of my shoe laces with each step. I also became aware of how rare this experience is. How often is the loudest sound we hear our own breath? Not often enough!
......................................................
This morning I hear on the news that the government is considering the possibility of paying people to lose weight and quit smoking in order to save the health service money in the long run.
I must say this saddens me. Not just because I am not convinced that it WOULD save money ( consider the cost of monitoring the system not to mention the abuse and deception it may be open to ) but because it seems so sad that here we are considering giving money to people to adjust a lifestyle born of a greed driven society when across the world children die by the second from starvation.
I do sympathise with those who have lost control due to addiction but I'm not sure that simply paying them will change the fundamental issues in their lives which created the addiction to food or nicotine. I do also appreciate how much it is costing society to deal with wieght related health issues. I just wonder if the desire to save government funds is itself slighty selfish. If this country did save money by getting people to stop smoking and lose weight..where would that money go?..would it really go back into the health service..? I have my doubts. I dont trust most givernments.
I wonder would it be an idea to pay for overweight smokers to go to third world countries for a year and work with the people there. This would not only help their health ( certainly avoid fatty diets) at the same time contribute to those who have little or no food. Most of all it may provide an eye opening experience which might help put our greedy society into context.
It may seem an unusual or extreme suggestion but it may be a way of helping both groups of people.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Me and Mr Jones
I am so saddened to read the ongoing farce that is the Koran burning threat by pastor jones in the USA.
There is an almost perverse dilema in a society which encourages freedom of speech but at the same time wants to repect all faiths. In other words Mr Jones is exercising a right to disrespect!
How to we square such a circle? Surely if the basis of our belief is LOVE then anything which is not born from love or indeed encourages hate should be discouraged. Of course society could impose this by new laws. By simply arresting the offenders...but then the cry from people like Mr jones where is 'freedom of speech'.
To me its like saying everyone has a right to shoot a gun..but that doesn't mean you can point it at someone and kill them.
Having lived my life in northern ireland and experienced 30 years violence..I know some things for sure.
Provocation is dangerous. An 'eye for an eye' makes everyone blind and violence in the name of any belief is simply wrong.
If Mr jones really follows the word of God then I hope he will carefully read both the Bible and the Koran before taking actions that are not simply born of his own human instincts for anger and revenge.
There is an almost perverse dilema in a society which encourages freedom of speech but at the same time wants to repect all faiths. In other words Mr Jones is exercising a right to disrespect!
How to we square such a circle? Surely if the basis of our belief is LOVE then anything which is not born from love or indeed encourages hate should be discouraged. Of course society could impose this by new laws. By simply arresting the offenders...but then the cry from people like Mr jones where is 'freedom of speech'.
To me its like saying everyone has a right to shoot a gun..but that doesn't mean you can point it at someone and kill them.
Having lived my life in northern ireland and experienced 30 years violence..I know some things for sure.
Provocation is dangerous. An 'eye for an eye' makes everyone blind and violence in the name of any belief is simply wrong.
If Mr jones really follows the word of God then I hope he will carefully read both the Bible and the Koran before taking actions that are not simply born of his own human instincts for anger and revenge.
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