Hamilton Richardson

Another page from the dummy copy of my masterwork 'How to explain pictures to an angry bird', which deals with animal archetypes in popular entertainment as well as their parallels in so-named high art. Support for its publication was unfortunately withdrawn with the termination of my brief tenure as senior lecturer in Cultural Studies at Brentwood College of Social Science. However, the need to spread the word as to the performance art genius of Rod Hull in particular continues, and I have submitted the chapter from which this excerpt is taken for consideration in the Stafford Rangers matchday programme for their forthcoming fixture with Spalding United.

The latest fragrance from Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Brick on wheels - educational toy, 2011-12

'Perfect for a child.'

After a very positive conversation today with my agent, I am pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of my latest work 'Pumping Aluminium: the semiotics of gym and leisure centre architecture in contemporary Britain', a collection of critical essays on the subject. I have chosen a somewhat novel medium for the distribution of the book - it will be tattooed in its entirety onto the skin of a bodybuilder who will then embark upon a lecture tour of sorts of the country, allowing audiences to read the text sequentially as he strikes a series of poses more commonly associated with the display of muscle development in bodybuilding contests. One thing to be sure of is that by the time he's finished his routine there won't be much you don't know about the aluminium curtain walling of Hengrove Park Leisure Centre in Bristol, the focus of much of the writing. Dates and venues to be announced as bookings are made:

April 14 - Brentwood College of Social Science

April 17 - Thornton Working Men's Club, Bradford

June 6 - Mercure Hotel Wetherby, Conference Room 5 (full buffet available)

June 20 - Stafford Rangers FC hospitality suite (with guest speaker Martin Roberts, from TVs 'Homes Under The Hammer')

from Shards

2009

Piece for 11 washing machines (3 large), 7 tumble dryers & 5 non-functioning Speed Queens.

[>for example< : title/ensemble elastic re machinery/technology present in given laundrette.]

This musical piece is generated by people's decisions as to when and how they choose to wash their clothes at the laundrette chosen for its performance, and if, when and for how long they wish or can afford to dry them for - the paths of participants' lives and their intersections, primarily the expression of these through movement.

Do not mistake this device for an interest in biography or any focus on it. It is primarily a tool to make the production of sound less contrived than it would be either by conscious composition or the use of chance operations.

Generally the music is inadvertently created, but sounds resulting from the actions of those who consciously perform, participate or simply come to listen are equally valid contributions.

During busy periods/periods of heavy usage, exciting potentialities present themselves:

sound collages of washing machines at different points in their cycle

coins in slots

mobile phone conversations

the opening and closing of machine doors

simultaneous layers of human voices

women in sports bras and tracksuit bottoms, pushing their prams on the pavement outside

There are also periods of the day when no machines are in operation. These hold their own interest, as do periods when no one is present.

Any sound both in and outside the laundrette is equally part of the piece. You can listen to this piece from the other side of the world.

And although I assert compositional credit, everything is happening anyway. Composition as the contextualization of existing sound. Sound that is happening anyway.

It's all happening anyway.

[NB laundrette photos included purely for the purposes of visual pornography]

loss/cyfodiad/loss

autumn 2012

The enigma of Nigel Mansell

Projection