1,000 hours of Staring
Tom Friedman’s 1,000 hours of Staring, 1992 – 97
Reference – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEH8i4hms8Q
“One work in this show consists of a large blank piece of paper that the artist has purposefully stared at during the last five years.” New York Times
Of course I love this conceptual art work. I used to love Tom Frieman’s work years ago, when I was at the Royal Academy he used to exhibit in the Friedman Gallery around the corner, so I used to go over to the gallery a lot to see his shows, but over the years I kind of forgot about him, I forgot to refer to him in my own work and my teaching, strange, I don’t know why? so thank you Graham Dolphin for reminding me of him. Of course when you Google this project you can find loads of people slating it, hating it, saying the usual things, upset because of its monetary value and total absence of skill and craft, angry because it stares back at them, much like Abramovic, it stares back and makes them look into themselves – and this is not a pretty sight! In this beautifully concise and articulate work Friedman was referencing the hours and hours that artists stare at their art works while trying to ‘see’ the art work as good, finished, perfect, see what they desperately want to see, need to see, while trying to see what they need to do next, arghh its so painful, all artists know this condition, all artists will get this astute commentary on our bizarre, excruciating and self – annihilating occupation.
Some wispy, intangible, aloof ideas were wafting around my brain off and on, now and then, on how to respond to this art work…then during one of my students workshop I found myself putting a piece of paper down on the ground next to the veg bed in order to draw a spinach leaf. For the ‘perceptions workshop’ we were asked to think of something and draw it, then keep drawing it without any longer looking at it, then to keep extending and expanding upon our memory of the thing through various methods and media until we might be manifesting an idea of the thing via our subconscious. Well I didn’t get very far with the brief because I got instantly excited by the shadow of the veg bed (netting) on the white blank empty piece of paper that I had put down, I thought how interesting it was that the veg bed (netting) was leaving an impression on the paper, a manifestation of itself on the paper, in line with Friedman’s piece, it was as though the veg bed (netting) was staring at the paper – maybe like an artist it might be trying to make its shadow perfect, the idea of itself perfect, or wondering what to do next, what it should be, was it good enough? it was as though the veg bed (netting) had a consciousness, the consciousness of an artist. I am attempting to photograph the ‘staring of the veg bed (netting) on a piece of paper over 100 hours’, on the hour every hour for 100 hours (not consecutively), I have done about 20 hours so far, and since starting my son has accidentally drawn on the paper with his sharpies, but never mind it is all part of it!
A Veg Beds (Netting) Staring at a Piece of Paper for 100 Hours – I didn’t make it to 100 hours, to be continued..
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