Vivian Barraclough
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Vivian Barraclough

Back to B3TTY@LUDLOW

27/6/2015

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In two days we return to our pitch in Castle Square with B3TTY. What have I learnt from the first weekend?

The process of 'collection' felt authentic as I recorded every person that offered their memories. When there were a few people talking the memories would have become layered over those of others. The order and timing of our collecting were dictated by the community as they interacted with B3TTY and us the artists throughout the day.

When it came to our 'curating', i.e. when we listened (Ash and myself) to the memories, initially we selected phrases, voices and the order to create themes. We were clear that we were not setting out to create a documentary but had not agreed any process of 'curation' other than to listen and make judgements together.

'Hello, this is yours is it?'    'I felt like Quasimodo when I got out' and 'It's older than my Dad' were put together by trying to link some themes. In doing this we changed the 'order' of the memories to some degree. We also tried to capture voices from both genders and a range of ages to reflect the diversity of the contributions. By making such judgements how much were we diminishing the community contributions? I'm not sure at this stage but I am questioning our process. We were pleased to that we captured sounds from the environment which added a strong sense of place and time, thus strengthening the sense of honesty of our collection process.

With 'The stinky car' we started to have some fun by creating a piece with 'double entendres'. This we enjoyed at the time...but on reflection I now feel that we lost the'integrity' of our recordings and I wonder how those who contributed to the piece will feel? I was one who did contribute some dialogue and acknowledge how misunderstood I feel by the choice of my phrases and their juxtaposition. Does this matter? Not sure....but memories are personal and valuable treasures that perhaps should be better respected.

So for the following piece, 'Norfolk or was it Suffolk 123' resulted by editing three sections of recording into clips but keeping the order that they were recorded. We were now setting some rules before we listened to the memories. This felt like we were relinquishing some control and thus increasing some degree of authenticity, and perhaps respect, to the process.

Because of this thought I suggested that the next, 'That could be the title couldn't it?'  should be completely 'unaltered'. By chance this was a short recording of us, the two artists, completely unaware that we might use it. Today I am wondering if it adds anything, but it certainly is authentic! But in this situation I feel that I do want to edit it to create more interest. To control or not to control...that is the question!

My other thoughts are around were we a collaboration of two? To what degree were we actively part of the 'little museum of Ludlow'?  If I am honest the first weekend we were so tied up in our own 'performance' that our work was attached by virtue of developing out of the same conceptual ideas but in reality was performed quite separately. This was probably due to me not truly understanding the nature of the collaboration; I think I was more concerned about 'bringing something to the table' rather than performing within the ground rules.


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Paradox of Order

15/6/2015

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Why do we seek order in the world?

Whatever 'order' we find will probably be our unique take on what we perceive, our history, our values and how we remember. Memories are our own stories formed from what we choose or are able to select and remember...some memories may lie submerged in our subconscious until we see, hear, feel, touch or taste something that evokes their re-emergence.

B3TTY our 57 year old A35 Austin car was mass produced in her day aimed for the needs of the post war working classes. She had been bought just a month ago with very evident physical signs of her previous 'life', for example extensive rust, damaged and missing fittings and perished rubber window seals which had let in the overnight rain. Her original front seats had recently been replaced with those from a Mini Cooper. However her engine is original and still working.

When some members of the community approached her they very obviously engaged in a visual way and many more in a verbal and tactile way. They wanted to share and check their memories, find out more about B3TTY herself and offer their own opinions and advice.

The 'memories' we collected and shared this weekend in Ludlow were very personal, technical, historical, opinionated (i.e. the mismatched front seats), very specific (i.e. number plates remembered from over 50 years ago) and experiential (i.e. rites of passage). These memories were elicited by both B3TTY and us, two artists, interacting with members of the community (both from Ludlow and beyond) in this place at this time. As such this feels like a performance art.

Our interaction with the community in Ludlow this weekend created an art piece that will in turn enter our own memories and narrative. Together we have created a shared narrative, some of which has been recorded and in turn will be 'curated' into a sound installation.
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B3TTY'S FIRST WEEKEND

15/6/2015

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B3TTY arriving in style outside Ludlow Castle on Friday 12th June. She will take up her position in Castle Square as part of 2the little museum of Ludlow".

My sound recording equipment ...I have been practising with this over last week or more. Concerned that it may prove intrusive within our conversations with the community.
How others saw us on the day....
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Th e eve before B3TTY'S appearance in LUDLOW

11/6/2015

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It was good to speak to Teresa Albor the lead artist for our collaborative, communication has all been by e-mail thus far. have also met with two of the other artists Kate Morgan-Clare and Catherine Wynne-Paton at the Hereford College of Arts. This is now feeling very real...  Plus Dee Montague (Publicity officer at HCA) has posted a blog about B3TTY on the college's website, so it must be true!

http://www.hca.ac.uk/HCA-Live/June-2015/B3TTY-@-Ludlow-Fringe-Festival

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B3TTY'S business card

2/6/2015

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    Vivian Barraclough

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