Saturday, February 16, 2002

Went to a lecture at the Glasgow Film Theatre given by Christine Geraghty of Goldsmith college. It is for GSA students but open to all. A few of us post grads like to meet up on Fridays and go along to these lectures. Its a way of keeping in touch after college.
Christine spoke on:"What's wrong with studying EastEnders?" Well, have never watched it .
She showed us a clip: a scene dealing with incest between uncle and niece. It was riveting. No wonder this television soap attracts millions of viewers.
Nobody asked about "dumbing down" of telly in recent years then realised that for the vast majority of people in the room this is all they have ever known.

An interesting point was made that research shows many people will have telly on but don't actually watch it. Activities ranged from playing musical instruments to one girl who did her homework with her back turned to the telly!

Geraghty did say that with the advent of computers, the internet and multi-media inter-activity the ordinary television set as we know it may be already have had its day.
Oops! it's happened again. Seems I took too long to do my diary and the site went down. So I've got to start again. This time will be quicker.

Sometimes I am asked what I learnt at Glasgow School of Art. (www.gsa.ac.uk)
Tell them about a throwaway remark by Ken Mitchell ,Head of First Year:
"We teach you how to learn."
That sums it up.

Walking down Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow I see a young man with dyed green hair whizzing along in a wheelchair. He nearly knocks over a woman getting off a No. 73 bus. So Glasgow..So cool.

Friday, February 15, 2002

Oh hell!...I've just deleted a whole diary item by mistake.
So here goes again.
Went to the Gallery of Modern Art last night to the opening of Patricia MacKinnon Day's exhibition Naked Spaces. Once it was explained to me I found it interesting but this is the dilemma I have with so much conceptual art - you've either (a) got to read whole screeds of explanation first in order to understand or (b) get somebody to explain it to you. What you can't do is just stand there in front of it and hope to "get it".

Met Sean McGlashan, the curator. He said GOMA are delighted to have my videos in their permanent collection. Felt really chuffed. Makes up for the hassle I got at Glasgow School of Art where I ended up with a 2.2 which I am still very pissed about..

Then for something completely different.. the film Gosford Park. Very entertaining. Just a thought?,,,why are the British so obsessed with the goings-on of the upper classes in times past? Trouble is there still exists such pockets in our society now. The film brought back my own memories of the year I spent as a personal maid to the British Ambassador in Iceland.
I wrote about it and landed the newspaper - Western Mail in Wales- in a libel action. But that's another story....

Wednesday, February 13, 2002

blogger.com
Of course, I've got The Guardian to thank for introducing me to online publishing.

I knew it existed but couldn't face the quagmire of wading through all that computer stuff. Now its been made easy thanks to Blogger.com.
For years I 've avoided HTML.
Now -thanks to Blogger.com its no longer necessary. Fantastic!
Help!
Something really weird is happening to my site. After changing my password I couldnt get access to my site. Did all the usual checks- had I made a mistake in the spelling of the new password? nope!...in desperation I logged in with a completely new password and hey presto I'm online again....

Tuesday, February 12, 2002

Sometimes your friends surprise you.
Like Jodie. She once kept a rope in the back of her car.
"What for?"
"To hang myself."
Silence.
"You must have been feeling desperate...what stopped you?"
"Mary. She was depressed too. We used to ring each other up every day. Then she suggested we go away together and commit suicide.
I like Mary but not enough to join her in a suicide pact. I gave the idea up after that."
"So what did you do?"
"I took up painting.:

All writers and artists are self-cured neurotics. Discuss. e-mails to : ann.shaw.@virgin.net

Monday, February 11, 2002

Discuss Stephen King's book On Writing with an artist friend, Fiona Ross.

We agree that writers and artists face many shared problems, not least getting started each day. A blank canvas is very like a blank sheet of paper, or rather a blank computer screen since most of us write on computers these days.

Will Stephen King really give up writing? Doubt it. Suspect he may have a rest but its a bit like giving up breathing. Its not something you have much choice over. If you are driven to create then come hell or high water you will do it.

Its not something like retiring from the bank or civil service. An artist is an artist until he or she draws the last breath.