Leeds Arts University Repository (CREST)
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Manual v.2.0: Dibuix per La Plaça Porta de Santa Catalina (A drawing for Placa Porta de Santa Catalina)
No full textThe output is an exhibition comprising a series of drawings, including an outdoor three-dimensional site-specific drawing. It was a collaboration between Cumberland and artist, Michael James Walker. The tasks were shared equally according to individual strengths. Research process: Sited in Plaça Porta de Santa Catalina, the drawing responded to the typography of the square and referenced the history of its public use. Central to the project is an investigation into the nature of serial bodies of work, the complex relationships between repetition, reproduction and difference and its manifestations as expanded drawing practice.
Research insights: An outdoor three-dimensional site-responsive drawing was developed revealing the artist’s interaction with a distinct place in Spain. It was created during a limited and specific period of time when her practices were synthesised with the work of others, demonstrating a responsive approach to particular site constraints. The exhibited drawings inhabit carefully chosen spaces and in so doing create a visual dialogue with the surrounding surfaces, drawing attention to the very particular sense of place where the works have been sited. The materiality of the work and its relationship to place is important and the viewer gains a greater insight into the work by viewing it in situ. Visually the artists works can look very different; though the repetitive processes or forms suggest a familiar connection, whilst the temperature, texture and shape of the site become apparent and human in its scale. Dissemination: The project was disseminated at ABA ART LAB, Palma de Mallorca, as part of the Nit del’Art 15 programme. It was the first external installation to be included in this event
12 days infomercials
No full textDifferent words predominate in adverts at different times of the year. I surveyed the key words that appear in adverts in a variety of magazines for women and men, selecting adjectives describing the sort of experiences we are supposed to have at Christmas. Because the rhetoric in adverts abruptly changes from luxurious treats to guilt and diet regimes on New Year’s Day I repeated the exercise during the first 12 days of January. The visual content comes from magazines such as GQ, Good Housekeeping, Men’s Health and Hello. Keywords and phrases were grouped together to showcase prevalent consumer messages. In the spirit of festive unwrapping I used quotations from Marxist theorists to unpack some of the meaning of these Christmas / New Year key words. Like all good celebrations, the resulting video clips are humorous, irritating and a little bit trashy. The videos were posted on Facebook from 13th – 24th December 2015 and 1st – 12th January 2016
Launchpad
No full textThe output is an exhibition that playfully explore the semiotics of language through film, screen prints and text art. The works were selected by Adam Smythe, Curator at The Bluecoat (Liverpool), and Castlefield Gallery’s Programme Manager, Matthew Pendergast. Research process: Starting points for Crouch’s playful works include word games, homonyms, anagrams, children’s songs and quasi-scientific experiments. Though accepting the unruly nature of words her works are haunted by a dream of systematic order. They emphasise repetitive learning, experiment and methodological actions, which ultimately appear absurd as the works loop or conclude with no defined resolution. Research insights: Experience tells us that language is indeterminate, uncertain and relational. Words often evoke something other or more than they are intended to, as they attempt to communicate the physical and visual world beyond written language. Dissemination: The output was disseminated as Launchpad at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 29 July – 7 August 2016
Nor stamp hard on the ground neither
No full textCommissioned by Pavilion, Leeds responding to Whitley Beaumont – a landscape that has been attributed to the landscape architect Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. Exhibited at The Calder, The Hepworth Wakefield as part of 'The Follies of Youth' exhibition. Nor stamp hard on the ground neither is a moving image artwork by Amelia Crouch that depicts a series of actions, performed in the landscape and based on instructions from an 18th Century etiquette book about how a gentleman ought to walk. It combines two things that appear natural (Brown’s landscapes and a particular manner of walking) but that are actually cultural affectations from a particular period in history
New Young Writers on Wool: My Life in Jumpers
No full textNew Young Writers on Wool: My Life in Jumpers is a short diaristic-style journal article focusing on the author’s relationship to jumpers and wool within the context of sustainability and the Yorkshire region.
Eleanor Snare has been in love with the jumper since they were young and their changing experience with the garment inspired them to write about it. Taking a reflective and personal approach to consider the relationships between author, clothing, material and location; Snare’s article highlights the intimate connection between people, clothing, place and material - a connection which forms the backbone of engagement with sustainable fashion production and consumption.
Increasingly, their interest in fashion is becoming twinned with their interest in the ways in which we can live more sustainable lives and own more sustainable wardrobes. Natural fibers, including wool, are just one way to do this. This article is a love letter to the garment, the material, and the social identities it represents
MANUAL v1.1
No full textThe output is an artist’s book, or ‘printed exhibition’, that reflects Cumberland’s on-going engagement with artists and gallerists in Palma de Mallorca. Research Process: Central to Cumberland’s research practice is an investigation into the nature of a serial body of work, the complex relationships between repetition, reproduction and difference and its manifestations as expanded drawing practice. The process of making and documenting exhibitions leads to the development of strategies of dissemination, extending the reach of a body of work, and making new connections. Research insights: A new collaborative project, with a new audience and new network with galleries, curators and artists in Palma, emerged as a result of continued engagement and communication. The images show all aspects of the exhibition, which enhance engagement with the exhibition making processes. Cumberland discovered how the process of designing and editing a limited edition, print-based exhibition can co-exist with an event exhibition to provide relevant information, exist as an artwork in its own right, and also extend the life and reach of the event. The printed exhibition was constructed and arranged to create a photo story revealing different insights into expanded drawing in relation to the magazine format. The document illustrates all aspects of the exhibition and how it can be considered a practice research. Dissemination: Cumberland participated in ‘Art Palma Brunch’ April 2015 and disseminated this publication through a number of participating galleries. The event is organised by the Art Palma Contemporani Associació de Galerístes
A share of a pensioner's Christmas 'bonus'
No full textThe output is a series of exhibitions, created as part of collaborative research, consisting of 26′ audio work by Esther Johnson and Debbie Ballin, a photographic series by Esther Johnson, a selection of artefacts, from the People’s History Museum and NCCME archives curated by Johnson and Ballin and toys donated to children and families of striking miners in Xmas 1984. Research process: A share of a pensioner’s Christmas ‘Bonus’ is part of a larger research project titled Echoes of Protest, investigating the legacy of being involved in significant protest movements from a child’s perspective. The project uses creative methodologies to develop new understandings of the role protest can play in the politicization of children and the long-term impact of its aftermath on their lives. The first phase of this research explores how acts of generosity by total strangers made Christmas possible for children of striking miners in 1984, and what it was like to grow up in the shadow of the Miners’ Strike. Research Insights: These exhibitions offer multiple perspectives on the research and bear witness to the untold stories of children of the ’84 –’85 Miner’s Strike. This point of view of the Strike was not well documented and individuals interviewed had never previously told their stories from this perspective. This led to insights into the way formative experiences of the Strike affected contributors’ political views in adulthood. Creative methodologies enabled museum audiences to gain an extended understanding of the emotional experience of history and to connect to these stories. Exhibiting archive materials alongside audio-visual work reinvigorated and expanded on ‘official’ historical accounts of the Strike. Dissemination: The output was exhibited at People’s History Museum, Manchester. 5 December 2015 – 18 January 2016 and National Coal Mining Museum, Wakefield. 12 November 2016 – 18 January 2017
'Lucy Beech: me and mine' review
No full textA review of the exhibition ‘Me and Mine’ by Lucy Beech at The Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, 2 May - 4 July 2015. Discussing the works Me and Mine (2015), Buried Alive (2013), Cannibals (2013). Beech’s works represent women who are all searching for meaningful connections to others in world where ‘self’ has become a construct or commodity, and where interpersonal relationships are infected by corporate rhetoric.
Re-published as: Crouch, A. (2015) “Dorothy, you’re a blini”, Lucy Beech on Women Empowering Women, in Robertson, L. (ed) ‘On Being Curious: New Critical Writing on Contemporary Art from the North West of England,’ pp.12-15, The Double Negative, Liverpool. ISBN: 9781526202376. The article was commissioned by the Contemporary Visual Arts Network North West (CVAN NW), as part of a regional critical writing development programme funded by Arts Council England
Lincoln voices artists residency
No full textLincoln Voices – Artist’s Research Residency, was a part-time artists residency based in the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln. I undertook the residency with my then collaborative artistic partner, artist Emma Rushton. During the research residency Rushton and I became aware of the unique areas of common lands that border the city centre, West Common, South Common and Cow Paddle Common and to research their history. We also connected with people who uses the commons, including those who have written about them (John Bennett, Phil Grimshaw) and activists who have fought to keep them safe (Mick Commons, Sally Davies and George Wolfendon). Aiming to raise public awareness of these important spaces and their relationship to the Magna Carta, we organised two free public lectures at historically significant sites in Lincoln. Andy Whitman, a specialist in Land rights, democracy and economics gave a public talk at West Common on March 2016. In June 2015, the renowned historian Prof. Peter Linebaugh, author of the Magna Carta Manifesto, gave a lecture at the Victorian Prison of Lincoln’s Castle, home of historic documents Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest. The intention of the lectures was also to present alternative ‘counter narratives’ to a series of ‘official’ lectures taking place at Lincoln’s Cathedral. Peter Linebaughs talk “The Future of the Charters of Liberty in the 21st Century: From homo idioticus to femina communis” was presented on Monday 8th June 2015, the 800 anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.
Linebaugh presented his lecture in the hall of Lincoln Prison from behind a lecturn and purpose built stage we constructed for the site and event. Both lectures were filmed by University of Lincoln’s Media unit and Linebaugh’s lecture was archived on the arts website ThisisTomorrow
Drawing as collective narrative
No full textThis presentation was developed for a one day symposium that interrogated the issues surrounding collaborative drawing practices. The presentation was to eventually become the kernel around which a chapter for book; ‘Drawing as a tool for shaping community experience into collective allegory’ was developed for the publication ‘Collective and collaborative drawing in contemporary practice’. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 192-215. ISBN 9781527503472. The presentation explored how a practice that began with walking through a community and drawing, had become over time a practice that was responding to the stories told by individuals met whilst drawings were being made. The gradual development of community led issues such as designing out crime, visualising future possibilities and developing games to allow others to join in with creative play, was explained and various uses of drawing within these several contexts were described. The development of an allegorical practice was also highlighted, and questions were asked as to whether or not work of this sort was of real benefit to the community that had stimulated the initial idea