The heat

Yeah, I'm a lizard. I like the heat. But, Jesus motherfuck, it gets hot in the studio in the arvo at the moment. Hot and stuffy. Even with the french doors wide open (yes, strictly, that should be 'French windows', but too bad), the air doesn't get down to my working area.

It gets stupidly hot down there. We have to replace the windows at some stage – with ones that open. It's good for drying, especially when you're doing watercolours. In fact, the watercolours can dry a little too quickly.

And this is fucking November. What the hell's it going be like in February!?! Well, hell will be the operative word.

Whinge, whinge, fucking whinge. I've got my great studio back, and already I'm whinging about it.

What a cunt.

Free for the faking

Something in Auckland to go to

Masters interview

I had my Masters interview this arvo. I think it went okay. For some reason, I was a little nervous. My heart was going quite fast, and I could feel that my face was going bright red. That was annoying.

But the conversation went all right. The most amusing moment was when my assessor for the studio paper this year mentioned considering giving me my assessment as a comment on this blog. This was in the context of a discussion about which poor sap would be my supervisor, and how they'd have to deal with me posting every conversation I have with them here – 'which is quite exhausting'. Apparently, this is a problem because I 'paraphrase or edit [conversations with staff] to skew them for [my] own purposes' (I am, of course, paraphrasing here).

Studio

Some pics

The nice photos are by Shaun Waugh.

Here we go (part 1)

I have my mark for the studio paper back. I got an A- and this great comment, which I have dutifully transcribed in full:

Dear David – I'm handwriting this in the hope that you have the annoyance of transcribing it into that nice typeface you use on your blog site. My annoyance is having to write this out as 'good copy' from a previous draft – public document that it is and all!

To be clear to your readers, what you presented for assessment was: a link to pointlessandabsurd blogspot, three wall drawings (to be considered as one work) and [three] smaller works on paper, each titled separately.

You were 'derailed' (I presume by me) from producing a book ... which is a little overly dramatic for what was essentially a suggestion that, for your your own interest and entertainment as an artist, you might like to consider a number of other ways common-sense nihilism could expand its horizons – good practice usually ... looking for ways to get work to a place it wasn't at before and thinking through ideas, making decisions that might add qualitatively to the work itself.

Many of our conversations this year have been within this territory. I posed a series of questions to you about how you would approach the blog now that it was seen in relation to a set of assessment criteria, to which, for better or worse, it would be referred against.

You are an astute mind and without a doubt there are moments of acerbic and comic brilliance in the project (as a whole). It rides an uneasy line of having to contend with the requirements of this institution and your own (frequently 'cuntish') dismissal of all that this stands for. BUT:

Two thoughts

Yes, you have got your feet squarely in both camps. But it's a compromised position and it needs more work to compromise it further or it risks heading into dullness, repetition, and ceases as 'critical' entertainment or to advance the 'thesis' of the project.

OR, on the other hand, it's now a signature work that is becoming sure of what it does best and has clear editorial decisions and some clever manipulations at work, steadily developing its 'argument', and kicking the walls that it hits up against ...

?

Obviously, I needn't have bothered with the bloody drawings.

Which reminds me that I should post some pics some time.

Tee hee

My whizzy new computer has a built-in camera. This means I can very easily do some video blogging, and directly address you bastards.

Like this perhaps:

As Rose put it, even more silly, annoying, and juvenile than usual!

Oh dear

One of the things with my email address is that I get a lot of misdirected mail. Not spam, just stupid people sending things to the wrong address cos they've put a space before the 'everything' in the address.

Take this, which appeared in my inbox this morning:

Bruce,

It was a pleasure meeting you and we look forward to you joining our team.

Please print the attached file which is your ePassport which will need to be taken with you to the test center. The test center and directions are given on the ePassport.

Please note: Drug test must be completed in 48 hours. The exact time deadline is printed on the ePassport.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Thanks

What idiots. Bruce is probably better off not working for the wankers.

I wonder if I should email them back?

Oh happy day!

I'm spending today sorting out and setting up my studio. Due to a combination of circumstances and some dumb decisions on my part, I haven't had one for a while, which has been a little frustrating.

No more though!

The sleepout is mine once more! Nyah ha ha ha!

Typical

In the weekend, I went to add the final touches to my Masters proposal – and my computer died.

It was pretty old, and it had taken quite a bit of punishment. I've managed to drop it several times, one time when I was holding it over my head. And I've thrown it across the room in a fit of pique before.

Luckily, I'd emailed my proposal and was able to download the attachment from the web. I also transferred all my files on to an external hard drive not so long ago. So, the computer dying was far from the disaster it could have been.

Now, thanks to the wonders of modern capitalism, I'm typing this on a shiny new one.

Quote of the day

The whole of contemporary art looks like it was done by the same person.

– Liz Maw and Andy McLeod

Except for us of course.

Speaking of Andy, he has an opening at McLeavey's tomorrow night. It'll be good.

I've been incommunicado the last couple of days. We had to go up to New Plymouth suddenly. Otherwise, I'd've given you more notice.