Ann Shaw -
"I am a writer/artist based in Scotland. After working as a Feature Writer on the Glasgow Herald I went to Glasgow School of Art as a mature student.
Check out my web-site: annshaw.co.uk "
Contact- annshaw
Who watches my stuff on Youtube? Well, Google have added a nifty tool which not only reveals the age of viewers but where they are located .
So, when I got invited to show two films at Blairlogie Village Hall prior to the main film" How to Marry a Millionaire" on Saturday I decided to google them first. Bearing in mind the audience (local) I selected two local films which have already proved popular on Youtube with combined "hits" around 40,000.
I expected the statistics to reveal they had a high Scottish, or at least British ranking.
Not at all. The clip of an eight week old European owl is watched almost in equal numbers by young men and women in the 18-35 age group in the Ukraine !
As for the five minute film of wrestling at the Bridge of Allan Games most viewers are middle-aged Austrian women!....
I am having difficulty embedding video into blog. Please click on following link to: Stone Circle
This video was made last Sunday in Pittenweem, Fife at the end of their annual arts festival.
The Japanese installation artist Yoshihito Kawabata imported stone from the north of Scotland, he put a message and signed each stone then laid them in a gigantic circle with part of it on the shore. As soon as the tide came in it took some stones away.
He believes in "free art" and he wanted his installation to be enjoyed by visitors to the Festival, and if they wanted a stone as a "keep-sake" then he was happy for them to take stones away. The sea, wind and waves took the rest...
This video shot in Stirling of the last march through the city of the world famous Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders has been watched in 35 countries, viewed by over 14,000 people and attracted 50 comments on Youtube.
It was filmed on a very old camcorder on the spur of the moment...I mention this to show how these days with the most basic technology you can make little films and show them worldwide - for free!
It so happened that the Drummer collapsed and I had it on film.
While I have been deeply engrossed in writing "The Children of Craig-y-nos" a multi-media, online project with a book to be published with the help of Dr Carole Reeves , oral historian with The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London and funding from the Welsh Heritage Lottery Fund my videos online have developed little communities around which people gather.
The 47 videos on my main internet channel www.Youtube.annshaw- ) have a life of their own. It is as if the video has acted as a flashpoint, or catalyst, allowing people to congregate online and exchange their views. ( I have another internet video channel for my current project www.Youtube.childrenofcraigynos
I am not too surprised that the blonde woman wrestler in our local Highland Games who flashes her knickers from time to time as she throws men to the ground has attracted thousands of "hits".
Others continue to surprise me. An old clip I put up of dog sledging I made in Alaska while en route to Japan has been bookmarked by many devotees of huskies. Likewise one dealing with predators- one featuring a European eagle chick in a Highland Wildlife park. As for the three minute clip of the last march of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders through Stirling before they were amalgamated this still draws comments today, years after it happened. On Youtube you just don't know what grabs folks attention: the odd, the quirky, the unexpected yes.
As for my art videos I am afraid they are the least popular. Perhaps I should not be surprised; or disappointed.
We organised a Patients Reunion in September- the first time many had returned to Craig-y-nos Castle, in the Swansea Valley since they left over 50 years ago.
Mary Williams was a former TB patient who had beenbrought into the sanatorium, once the home of the famous opera diva Adelina Patti, as a very sick child.
She was given weeks, if not days, to live. Byi thanks to the miracle drug streptomycin she recovered. Nurse Glenys Davies remembers her because of her dramatic recovery.
Have started to roll out some work after a week in Dahab. Spent one day going up to St Katherine's monastery in the Sinai desert and filmed these camels. Added a touch of surrealism.
Fungal foray with Stirling branch of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Inspired to make this after biologist Roy Sexton showed us slides of mushrooms under a microscope in the lab. at Stirling University. Roy and Sue Sexton run the Stirling branch of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
This is my last video of 2006...have got to get Christmas under way! It's a constructed narrative from an afternoon walking my dog in the snow. Hope its got a festive feel about it, well, a snowy one anyway.
I came across this video last night in my studio ( i.e. spare bedroom) while trawling through some old footage and I realised that it has never been seen by anyone so I decided to put it up on You Tube this morning.
After all, I reckon that those people who were kind enough to take part in my inter-active art project in the Changing Room gallery might like to see it. So lets hope they click on to You Tube and see their hands!
But there's a little problem...I've got over 40 images of hands up and I only know a few peoples names. In the excitement/confusion of the week in the gallery my list of names does not tie up with the photos...so if anyone looking at this video recognises themselves then please email me( annshaw@mac.com) and I will put the names in.
So far I have got the following: John Gray, Fiona Ross, Chris Walker, Malcolm Shaw, Lys Hansen, Kirsteen MacDonald, Peter Russell, Jamie Jack, Lynn Wilson, Ann Turner, Pamela and Katie Morley.
Climbed Ben A'an yesterday. This is a quick charcoal sketch I made. Nearly had heart failure when I caught my first glimpse of Ben A'an. A sheer peak rising out of nowhere....a video will follow.
Craig-y-nos Castle has had a violent and colourful history. Built in 1840 by the Powell family, it is said there was a curse on the family because Captain Powell's children died of either disease or terrible accidents. He ran out of monery, went blind and eventually insane.
Adelina Patti, world famous opera singer, lived there for over 50 years. She entertained the "great and the good" including Royalty, with concerts in her private theatre. She died after falling down a flight of stairs. Today her ghost is supposed to haunt the castle and the grounds. Many sightings have been reported along with her singing.
After her death the castle was used for around forty years ( 1920- 1960) as a childrens TB sanatorium though all records for this period have been destroyed. Today it is an hotel specialising in weddings and ghost-hunting. It claims to be the most haunted castle in Wales.
On April 12 2003 Hungary voted to join the Common Market. We were being entertained by our Hungarian friends at the time and they were showing us around Budapest. This is a snapshot of that day.
Ann Shaw web movie based on the "Clach" Stone Sculpture Symposium
Laurent Guyolot "Clarsach"
Carving in stone may be deeply unfashionable in some artistic circles- after all its no longer taught at art colleges- but there is no doubting the ability of stone to resonate with the human spirit throughout the ages- from the cave paintings in Spain to its popularity with the public today.
Witness the hugely successful first ever Stone Sculpture Symposium in Scotland held this month ( Sept. 2006) in the grounds of a castle near Stirling.
Hugh Collins ""Torso"
A dozen sculptors from as far afield as Canada, Germany, France, Norway as well as Ireland, England and of course Scotland had been invited to make work in the grounds of the castle for a week .
Marina Weir "Water-horse" They were: Tom Allan ( Glasgow), Hugh Collins (Scotland) Marina Weir ( Ayrshire),Brunton Hunter (Borders), Laurent Guyolot ( France/Italy), Eldon Guay ( Canada), Alan Ward ( England), Nils Hansen ( Germany/Italy), Susheila Jamieson ( Borders), Arne Maeland ( Norway), Aileen-Anne Brannigaan ( Ireland), Paul Cook (England), and David Kent ( England).
Alan Ward "Throne for a Celtic King"
The event was organised by sculptor Tom Allan, who passionately believes that stone still offers a valid expression for the creative expression of art, and he describes the week as a “resounding success”.
Arne Maeland ""Tower House"
Plans are already underway for the second Stone Sculpture Symposium in Scotland next year.
Nils Hansen "Triskele symbol"
But first Tom is taking a well earned break - with a few weeks carving in the Carrara marble quarries, near Pisa.
Susheila Jamieson "Spiral"
On a personal note I found the symposium a refreshing change from the arid conceptualism masquerading as art that fills so many of our galleries today.
Looking for something different? then why not try a visit to the Hghland Falconry and Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre. Set up in 2000 the Highland Falconry is open all the year round and is based in the award winning Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre, just 10 minutes from Comrie. It offers educational visits and personal tuition for those who want to learn more about the ancient art of falconry along with "hawk walks" where you get to take a bird of prey out ( after some tuition!) and fly it in the local countryside.
Craig Stewart with his 8 week old European eagle owl and Russian Stepp eagle at the Highland Falconry Centre near Comrie.
This is a family owned business going back three generations of the Taylor family. Based in Craigellackie in the heart of the Speyside its Visitors Centre allows the general public to view coopers at work. Members of the Taylor family make regular visits to Missouri, Kentucky and Tennesee to buy high quality American oak for their casks.
Australian Highlanders Pipe Band performing at the recent Bridge of Allan Games before taking part in the World Pipe Band Championship. They are all staying on campus at Stirling University.
Boarded the ferry at Mallaig for Skye and on arrival we are greeted by Highland piper D.C. Ferguson piping visitors ashore. He lives in Aardvasar, Sleat and restores old photographs and historical documents
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Sheep-shearing
Having just visited the High Pastures cave, a working archaeological site, on the Isle of Skye I came across a small farming community shearing sheep with the Cuillins in the background. It was Biddy and Norman from Kilbride farm with their team of helpers doing the annual shear of their 800 flock.
Went to the launch of the Electron club in the CCA ( Centre for contemporary Arts which is currently recovering from a near death experience). The aim is to provide an open community for artists and computer folk to share and learn from each others experiences. Its a great idea though I am still not clear how you join. They say its free and open to all...but how do you stop computers walking out of the door? maybe I am a bit cynical having already had a tv/vcr stolen from the Transmission gallery and there was an invigilator!...
Alan and Frances Fielding from Bridge of Allan, Scotland went on a journey to the Antarctica earlier this year. The photographs were taken by Frances and I edited them into a music video. Enjoy!
Well, we have had our one minute of fame tonight! all four gardens participating in Scotland's Open Gardens scheme were featured in the gardening television programme Beechgrove Garden on BBC 1.
Is there a God gene? Robert Winton seems to think so. This raises the question: when we start to tamper with the human gene pool ( which we will) will we slelave out the God gene?
Has it already served its evolutionary purpose? at present they think about a quarter per cent of the population carry this gene.
Here's an artist with a very serious message and highly articulate too. The interviewer was almost unnecesary inthis case.He talked about his latest installation in Western Australia working with Aborigines. Very cerebral yet with excellent communication skills.
Former American Vice President toklsd asome very funny stories against himself before getting down to the serious business of promoting care for the environment.
Arguing the case for evolution versus creationism, Steve Jones played a recording of the Queen making a speech during her late teens and one of Prince Harry, two generations later, to show how language evolves. Steve Jones later signed copies of his new book TheSingle Helix
He may be a great artist but Howerd Hodgkin is an interviewer's nightmare!...Simon Schama did his best but the score at the end of rthe day was ana outright win to Hodgkin, this man believes in privacy and he sure had no intention of letting anyone into this privat thought processes or life for that at Tate Britain.
As people started to walk out - fed up with HH refusal to giveany decent replies to questions apart from "yes", "no" "maybe" "I have nothing to say" his consciencwe must have pricked him cause he turned to Schama and said:"Ithink you ought to open it up to questions from the floor."He did and people wanted to know why we couldnot see any images of HH work. Answer:he refused to allow the Festival to show any...... still I have a grudging admiration for his refusal to play the publicity game.
Alarming film from Venezuela- a must see should this ever come on to the British circuit.
It's about the modern phenomena of kidnapping , rampant in Caracas where two thirds of the population live in poverty and one third in extreme wealth.
Kidnapping is the modern way of surviving and most families have experience of it, including the director of this film, Jonathon Jakubowicz. He made the film to try and understand the mentality of the kidnappers and at the event it was very clear why they did it: to survive.
In a country rife with corruption, including the police, this film kicks the Hay Festival off to a sombre start:this year there is an emphasis on the environment.
Have just heard Maggi Hambling speak. A fearsome character! had thought of getting a book signed by her but the thought of meeting her terrified me. She was onstage with her dog. As for the interviewer, Sarah Rothchild, the poor woman was made to feelk like a naughty six year old.
Well, we are part of a group of four in Bridge of Allan who have just opened our garden for the first time to the public.
Now there is nothing like the thought of several hundred people inspecting your garden to cause you to hurry up and finish off all those odd jobs that have been lurking around for months, well, years in some cases.
The national charity,Scotland's Gardens Scheme, started 75 years ago inviting people to open up their gardens as a novel form of fund-raising and it has proved to be hugely successful. We were gobsmacked to be asked. A few years ago ours was the proverbial "garden from hell"- wooded, north facing, steep slopes with the added bonus of deer and rabbits who ate everything. It was a nightmare to turn around. Maybe because it was so difficult that led us to find some unconventional solutions. Well here's the result.
On Sunday afternoon we invited friends to help out including our next door neighbour, John Gray, who found himself directing traffic for four hours non-stop!- not bad for an octogenarian.
We had thought this would just be a local event but we found people came from all over the central belt: Glasgow, Alloa, Aberfeldy, Falkirk, Brig O'Turk, Yetts of Muchart, Larbert, Stirling,Drymen, Fintry,Kippen, Gargunnock, Dunfermline and even a visitor from Australia!
Afterwards we all agreed that the open day had been a great success despite a big traffic holdup on the motorway near Stirling causing tailbacks for several hours. And the oldest visitor was a 96 year old woman who took great pride in naming the plants she recognized. Oh yes, and the afternoon raised over £1,000 for Strathcarron hospice.
I like to keep postcards in my studio of work I have recently seen. These two images are from my recent visit to Amsterdam. The original of Floris VanDijck's "Still Life with cheeses" had a maggot crawling along the table and some gigantic flies on the white cloth but in all the reproductions these have been digitally removed!
The drawing is, of course, by Rembrandt of a "Lion Resting".
Well, I guess a couple of visits to Glasgow Art Fair this past weekend made me decide to completely change the way I use my online blog. No longer am I going to write about other people's art but its going to be my own. What caused this change? well strolling around gallery after gallery of paintings I felt I had stepped back in time. Who buys this stuff? what does it have to say about the world we live in today? Sure its decorative- so is Ikea and Habitat and at a fraction of the price.
Hotel Aalders, Amsterdam- just the place to stay if you want a quiet family run hotel close to the museums. The Rijks and Van Gogh museums are one block away. So, we are doing all the cultural stuff, the big Rembrandt-Caravaggio exhibition, the permanent Van Gogh ( long queues everywhere but I had taken the precaution of booking online). Yes its spectacular and after all the conceptual stuff its good to be brought face to face with solid works of art that have withstood the test of time.
About the paintings (starting from the top): Rembrandt- "The rape of Ganymede" (detail) (1635) Rembrandt- "The night watch" Caravaggio -"The betrayal of Christ" (1602)
Have just been playing online with the latest piece of netart, Screening Circle, by Andy Deck available from Tate Online It is a metaphorical reference to the quilting circle, or what is known as the quilting bee, popular in the US during the 19th century among women living in rural areas.
Now the ideas has been fastforwarded into the 21st century .
Nick Ford installs his stone text piece in the garden this morning. It complements the acorn he built earlier in the background.
This is a site-specific piece designed in conjunction with Nick and the aim is to create an experience of peacefulness and silence under the canopy of the fir trees yet reflecting the organic nature of the garden too.
Just back from the Adobe "Fully Loaded" roadshow in Glasgow where they showed the latest software in their Adobe Production Studio suite. I found the most interesting section was the Photoshop because the video editing was all on Premiere and PC- while I am Apple and Final Cut Express.
One of the most interesting new developments for photographers is the Adobe Lightroom Beta. This will be shipped later in the year for both PCs and Apple , meanwhile those of us with Apple can download a copy for free to test drive it. This piece of software has been developed in response to the huge demand from professional photographers .
Felt guilty afterwards buying a copy of a daily newspaper. It seemed so..er...uncool.
I have every sympathy with Mike Russell writing in today's The Herald on contemporary art. He says: "It may be that the visual arts are simply going through a period of profound change, and that eventually we will see our world more clearly as a result. "Or it may be that there are a lot of creative lemmings around, charging up artistic cul-de-sacs while demanding that the rest of us follow them to the future."
As a fairly recent graduate who came into this scene late after a lifetime in journalism I know how he feels. Well, I recall one student in art history asking a very distinguished art historian this question; "How come something bought in a junk shop and displayed in an art gallery suddenly becomes a work of art?" She replied: "It's art if you say it is art." So there.
Spent yesterday in Glasgow after visiting Edinburgh last week and am struck yet again at the difference between the two cities. Edinburgh seems to be like an emotionally constipated old lady while Glasgow is young, gallus, free and easy with a sense of joie de vivre.
Saw a couple of exhibitions including Luke Fowler at The Modern Institute, watched his film "The Scratch Orchestra". Interesting. Well, I sat for 40 minutes through it. The Gallery of Modern Art has an exhibition of landscape work from their permanent collection. Only two did anything for me- S. Salgado and Andy Goldsworthy.
Ice Blink a newe exhibition by Simon Faithfull is at the Stills gallery in Edinburgh. Worth a visit.
Went to the bi-monthly evening seminars at Dundee Contemporary Arts where Jon Thomson and Alison Craighead were doing a presentation. Their work is web based . Says Thomson: " You are physically here but virtually everwhere."
Had a chat with Cezanne Charles, director of New Media Scotland , about our proposed online collective, an idea that came out of our recent Art+Tech Stirling conference. Over 20 people have signed up saying they are interested in a New Media collective. Question is: do we make it online/virtual?
Delighted to see that Claire Simpson, sister of Anne Simpson ( my former boss on The Herald) received the BAFTA award last night for editing The Constant Gardner.
Guess its a long time since the last entry!...conference a fantastic success. We were stunned at the interest and the distance folk had travelled to get there. Clearly there is a tremendous thirst amongst artists to try and find a way of coming to terms with new media which is changing the way not only that we see the world but the way art is produced. Our speakers were:
Professor Beryl Graham of Sunderland University on : what is New Media?
Michelle Kasprzak, Programmes Director on the role New Media Scotland has in helping artists to promote their work Richard Brown artist-in-residence Edinburgh University - on interactive installations
Sarah Kettley, Napier University- on communications within small groups using computers embedded in jewellery on sound as a means of enhancing everyday life
Sue Greirson-video and installation artist and President of the Scottish Artist Union Karen Strang - painter and performance artist - a personal story .
I rang up my local Waterstones to see if they had a copy of "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers"by YiYun Li, winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story award and the subject of rave reviews. "No, but we could order it for you....it will take about 10 to 14 days."
So I clicked on www.Amazon.com, and the book arrived in the following morning's post......is it any wonder the chairman of Waterstones has resigned?
Now I would quite happily have waited 2/3 days because I like going into Waterstones, I like browsing through their books. All they had to do was order it themselves over the internet......and give me a ring. So, they have yet another lost customer.
Well, all our speakers are in place so now its time to drum up some publicity for the event. The following press release has been sent out to the media.:
Art+Tech in the 21st century- Stirling conference Artists working with digital technologies will be the subject of a one day conference to be held in Stirling. It will take place in The Changing Room gallery on Saturday January 28th from 10.am – 5pm. This is a NAN (Networking Artists Network) initiative organised by local artists Ann Shaw and Karen Howard. The keynote speech will be given by Beryl Graham, Professor of New Media Art at Sunderland University who will talk on the role of New Media in the creation of art today. Others taking part include Richard Brown artist- in- residence at Edinburgh University and Sarah Kettley who is researching computers implanted into jewellery to aid communication . New Media Scotland, the arts charity set up to help artists in this emerging field, will also talk about their role in supporting artists. Says Ann Shaw:” We aim to bring together as diverse a group as possible to show the breadth of work that is being undertaken by artists today whose use of New Technologies is integral to their creative process. “We are also inviting artists who wish to attend to bring along some sample of their work, if they wish, either as digital photos, text, or on DVD to share with others in the group discussions.” The conference is free but places are limited so booking is essential. To reserve a place email: events@a-n.co.uk Anyone wanting further information should ring either Ann Shaw (01786 832287) or Karen .Howard (01506.84.2419) This conference is supported by the Scottish Arts Council, Artist Newsletter magazine, New Media Scotland and The Changing Room Gallery.
