What am I reading?
Ekow Eshun’s Black Gold of the Sun: Searching for Home in England and Africa, (Penguin, 2006) lent to me by Anne Douglas.
“When I eventually bought a copy of his book I realized how prophetic DuBois had been. Mannered tones aside, The Souls of Black Folk could have been written at the end of the twentieth century instead of its dawn. With his description of double consciousness, Dubois became the first writer to articulate the sensibility of black people born into the white world. He was also the first to argue that, far from being a drawback, our dual gaze was a blessing. It meant that we regarded life with an acuity white people could never muster. We watched for the bigotry cloaked in humour and the hesitations of speech that betrayed hostility. We used double consciousness to survive, and ultimately thrive, in the white world.”
p. 214-215
“The images had faded over time, so that, on one plate, only a pair of eyes was visible.”
p. 123
What art have I seen?
Alison Watt‘s exhibition Phantom following her two year residency at the National Gallery
Short video on Guardian website.
What art have I seen?
Ally Wallace‘s Multi-Module at Scotland Street School Museum
Multi Module (2008)
and
Jacki Parry’s The Towers of Babel at the Maclaurin Galleries, Ayr
What art have I seen?
Art About‘s WHAT HAPPENED HERE. I went into the Carnegie Library in Ayr on Friday afternoon and the entrance hall was covered in pictures with hand written comments. Very different from the Ayr Photographic Society’s annual exhibition in the Reference Section. This was clearly improvised and ad hoc. Rachel and Pamela have taken a selection of views of Ayr and photocopied them adding a question under the picture “What Happened Here?” You can add your name and contact details at the bottom.
Walking around the entrance hall people from Ayr have talked about where they have had ice cream and sun burn, where they have fights and kisses. Some talk about the historical significance of sites.
This is preparatory to some planned ‘public art’ event to take place during the Burns an’ a’ that Festival in May. Its interesting because I had just seen the Caravan Club at GI in Glasgow, with their post cards of various graffiti written and derelict sites around the UK. Rachel and Pamela approach is interesting because they are building an audience for the Festival work by getting people involved at this stage. More later.
CHRIS FREMANTLE 
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