THE LUNCH HOUR ARTIST

In his book How To Be An Artist (which has its title written in huge letters and is a bit embarrassing to read on the tube for that reason, by the way), Michael Atavar says:

'Art is every day... art is local to you, where you are now, in all its gritty dichotomy.'

And:

'Just do one thing today. It doesn't really matter what it is. Just do it.' (I've forgiven the fact that this is rather reminiscent of an ad by a certain major sportswear manufacturer)

And:

'The only way to make the work is to make the work.'

It's an incredibly simple formula, which is what makes it so appealing. It allows for no excuses; there is absolutely no reason why, if you call yourself an artist, you shouldn't be practicing in some way, shape or form every day. As he writes elsewhere: 'If you can't write a novel, pen haikus...' 

With this in mind, I've determined to set out on a project, which I am calling The Lunch Hour Artist, which will force me to do a small creative act every day- because, yes, I AM AN ARTIST, albeit one who works in an office during the daylight hours to earn her keep. But art is a tenacious and wily beast and can thrive in the tiniest pockets- and in light of impending funding cuts this is useful to remember. Making work with this mind set is either hopeful or defeatist; but it is something, which is better than nothing, after all.

My idea is to take a photograph every day that I am in my office in my lunch break, and write a piece of text to accompany it- it might just be a word, or a sentence. I will keep going until I have collected 100. I will, in all likelihood, publish these to a blog (watch this space).

Some of the perceived strengths of this project are:

-   I will be creating a new art work every day.
- Sometimes I get intimidated by embarking on big works, fearing that they will never be good enough/ I won't be able to give them enough. Each of the works in this series is small and unintimidating.
- My office is in the heart of an amazingly rich, diverse area of London. Every day, I come into the office, and barely escape- perhaps just running to the sandwich shop around the corner. But I am part of a community, and I believe in the importance of a relationship with a locality, even if I don't always practice it. Now I will.
- Through the work I will train myself to look at my every day environment differently.
- The project centres on photography, which makes it even less intimidating- having only acquired a decent DSLR a few weeks ago, I am under no illusions that I am a great photographer, and make no claims to be so. Which is hugely, hugely liberating. And besides, I am not taking the photos for their own sake: they are a documentation of a performance- albeit one that is created to be documented.
- I expect by making myself take a photograph every day my photography will improve, nonetheless.

Perceived weaknesses of this project are:

- NONE!

Well, except for the fact I am not thrilled I've struck upon this idea at the outset of winter, but then again I haven't actually promised I will leave the office to take the pictures- you might just get 100 pictures of my computer keyboard, or my head smashing through my computer screen...

So, in the spirit of Michael Avatar, I will start now! (Or tomorrow, anyway!)