What I think I should do in 2011

So its really late to say this, but Happy New Year to ART:Jamaica readers and followers, far and wide. Every year, I try to think about the things that I can do in the year. Last year, I wanted to work on doing some longer more insightful pieces and interviews as slowly I tried to build the catalogue of what this blog does. There are several things that I can and can't do based on my distance away from the Caribbean. However I think it gives me a chance to do things that are less dependent on location.

This year, I want to take the opportunity to do shorter pieces more often and on specific areas e.g. review of art pieces, the way exhibitions are created, the mechanics of being an artist etc. This year I am also looking to expand unto YouTube! I am really excited about that. So here is a call for persons with related events and exhibitions etc. happening this year to add them to the comments of this post or on the Facebook page.

So thats what I think I should be doing this year but feel free to suggest as well and we'll see what we can make work.

Best
Oneika

N.B. If leaving your contact below for your own ID protection please use this format 'username(at)emailprovider.com'
Also comments are now moderated so they are recieved and reviewed by me before being published to the page so don't worry about losing your entry.

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Duppy Art: stories in clay

Ah the wonders of social networking. I wanted to find out if there were any persons in or connected to the Caribbean making animations or comics trying to develop some cultural identity through their work. I got a response from one person: Scally Ranks. Clicking the links to his videos was a surprise because if I expected animation, I didn't really expect clay animation. Why, because I associate it mainly with UK's Aardman Studios. 'Wallace and Gromit' and such. When a group becomes associated with a particular material or method, the aesthetics go with it too. in my mind claymation was for a certain style of representation brought to focus by Aardman. Of course at anytime your generalizations can be proven wrong and thats always a nice surprise. I asked Scally to tell me about his work so far. I wanted to understand where he saw his platform for his works, in a gallery, in a cinema, online, none or all.

' I created 'Dancehall Claymation' to both promote and share dancehall music to a wider audience,before i began filming i was sculpturing using wax,some of my early work icluded 3 life size rasta heads made from solid wax,also i was painting with wax,during this time my interest with dancehall and reggae was growing and i found my self making dancehall singers out of wax,i was also just about to teach myself video production and editing,one day the idea came to add my art with dancehall music and put them in a film,because wax was not moveable i changed materials and started sculpting from plasticine and my developement in claymation began.
I found that even using basic Claymation techniques i could produce a video good enought to be watched,i made the term ''Freestyle Dancehall Claymation'' as most of my work is unplanned.

In the early days of Duppy Art my models were more basic,often only having the top half of the bodies,the rest hidden out of shot,a 3 min vid would take me almost a month,taking one picture at a time and then putting them together,sometimes a hundred or more,my motivation was my love for the music i was working with and also my enjoyment at learning about jamaica,the people and culture,learning 'patwah' was essensial,being english i wanted to understand what was being said in the songs and educating myself was the only way.
I was able to use basic editing software to arrange the shots and overlay a soundtrack,once it was complete i would post them on youtube,this was really just a place to store them as my computer was always low on memory,but i noticed the videos gettin views and comments, i realise i had something special and unique.
I began to make the films to look like they were part of a bigger film,this was so i could go back an make more to either the start or the end,soon after i started i was being approached by people inside the reggae and dancehall community and i started to get promotion of many websites,as i dont own a dot com website i rely on youtube and facebook to host my work,as a problem in most artist's life is having a place to display there work i figued if it was online it would be available to a wider veiwing audience.

I have high hopes for my work,both in the commercial sector and the underground,i have been the first to put Dancehall dj's in Claymation and also King haile Selassie,the model of the king was soon sold to a reggae collector as im finding now my models are becoming alot better and filming with them often spoils them so i also do commisions for just models.
Duppy Art is on a number of websites around the world and was featured at the Reggae Film festival in jamaica in 2008 and has been shown on tv.


'Currently i'm working on re-building my studio after moving house,but coming up for Duppy Art will be more dancehall and reggae films,i have sold most of the models from my old vids to reggae collectors so im also having to make new models to use.

 - Edited interview with Scally Ranks

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Exhibition Billboard Project

Exhibition Billboard can be found here on Facebook and an interview with one of its founders, artist, Camille Chedda follows below

What is Exhibition Billboard and what is the idea/ aim behind it?

 Exhibition Billboard Jamaica is a facebook group I created to inform people of exhibitions or art events in Jamaica and exhibitions featuring Jamaican artists internationally. This applies to all visual arts i.e fine arts, applied arts and includes spreading information about art sales, classes, fairs and lectures.

 How does it work if I am interested in posting my event or attending an event?  

 Members of the group can send me an email at ms.chedda@gmail.com with information about any event they would like to see on the group page. I generally provide links to pages outside of the group that others have created to promote their art events.

 Do you attend the events and if so is there any kind of reportage or documentation or plans to do so in future?

 I have not been to most of the events because I am operating out of town (most events are Kingston based). Documentation is something I would like to do in the future for the group. For now I’m relying on the Gleaner/Observer to provide feedback on events, but these sources tend to be inadequate at times because they don’t always report on these shows.

 When was it started and what are your plans for developing this initiative?

 This group was started in the latter part of 2008. So far I have had positive feedback, but I would like to play a more active role in attending events and providing information about them. I would also like to get more people involved in developing the group to make it more interactive. I would like to have more dialogue about shows. I suppose this could be extended into a blog such as artjamaica.blogspot.com.

How do you see this activity in your role also as an arts practitioner? 

Its been beneficial for me. It is important that people see your talents and unique ideas. I think its sad if your works are on display in a gallery or an art fair and no one is there to see it. You get no feedback, you get no sales. I think it's my job to spread awareness of art happenings so that both the artist and the art viewer will benefit.

Is being a kind of arts journalist changing your outlook or place within the arts scene?

 Not sure if I can answer this one since Ive not been attending much of the shows.

  How does a social network like Facebook allow you to devote time to providing this service?

It makes it easy for me to reach people outside the usual art crowd and get them to see art. Facebook has become a daily staple in people's lives so I found it useful in reaching a wide range of people.

 What are the kind of trends/changes you are seeing in the 'Jamaican Arts Scene' with your work with Exhibition Billboard?

I know that people are more aware of art happenings. People use the group as a calendar of events and have been able to plan their time around seeing an exhibition or attending an art class. Art events are getting the notice they deserve. People outside the general art circle are getting involved in viewing art. The Jamaican art scene is growing as a result.

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VISUAL ACTIVISM: Phillip Rhoden's viewpoint

concept for "High school Drop out"

Phillip Rhoden was among the recent group of final year students mounting their final exhbition at The Edna Manley College. His body of work was pointed out to me as making a particularly individual statement about contemporary image-making. He seems to point to a newer directions at the college where the ideas approaches are interdisciplinary. In a year where you have a Visual Communications student having a 'painting exhibition' and a Fine art student  exhibiting an animation Phillip's statement about his artistic approach sheds some light.  

'Visual Activism, is when a person or a group of people, use their artistic abilities to create a series of visual campaigns, to spark social awareness or social change. Visual activism is not just limited to the Visual arts.  Music Artist can also be consider as Activists as well, as long as the underlying message is geared towards highlighting or speaking out against something the artist see’s wrong in society.  Activism plays a very key role in art, as art sometimes provides a way of communicating to people of different nationalities and religions; the way how you see life, problems you face because of your social surroundings and how you feel about them and what change you would like to see. And through art social boundaries such different languages are diminished as Art serves as a universal tool of expression. 

...I have to be very selective when I'm deciding which client, I will use activism as my approach. I find that company's such as Red Bull, to be the most receptive to the use of activism as means of marketing, but it has to be done in a way where its marketable to broad audience without stepping too hard on anyone's toe.

In terms of its role in the art community? I see visual activism as the Spies of Art, just enough of it will make things feel and taste just right. But when its over and done and been thrown in the face of the public on a daily basis, it begins to have a harsh taste, so people try to avoid it. Cause when you take a dirty attribute of society and make it beautiful. You fine that through that artwork, you offer a means of realization to the public without the waste of words.

-edited from an online interview at The ART:Jamaica Facebook Group page.

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