ConCrit
The blurring of social and professional boundaries is one of the NRLAs greatest attributes. However, conflicts of interest can arise from the anxiety over whether to give an artists work false-praise, or else risk upsetting a friend/colleague. The resulting critical vacuum is counter-productive.
Anecdotal evidence shows that there is often a disparity between an audiences opinion of work and the feedback received by the performer. Elevator artists,in particular, value leaving the NRLA with some genuine feedback regarding their practice. We owe it to each other to ensure that adequate support structures are in place to encourage honesty and respect.
Richard proposes to put the review back into the National Review of Live Art by offering a voluntary daily feedback session that constructively responds to the previous days work. Some may be too apprehensive to attend so, to encourage people, free coffee and croissants will be provided. Hopefully word will spread and numbers will grow throughout the week.
The sessions will enable all participants to sharpen their critical faculties, whilst enabling artists to gain a valuable insight into what people thought of their work.
Richard will moderate the sessions at breakfast in the Festival bar each morning.
In addition Richard will implement a series of subtle interventions devised to ease the potential culture shock caused by the NRLAs move from The Arches to Tramway.
Did Priya Pathak Ever Get Her Wallet Back?
Richards new lecture is about his complex relationship with the police. The idea for the lecture was conceived during NRLA 05.
Richard graduated with a first class degree in Fine Art from Cardiff School of Art in 2001. Richards first post-graduate project involved the blowing up of balloons inside a public telephone box until there was no room to blow up balloons anymore. The performance, entitled Party of One, was a protest against BTs decision to stop expanding its phone-box network and was selected for the National Review of Live Art.
As a consequence, Richard was asked to blow up balloons in telephone boxes extensively around the country. These performances contributed to Richards nomination for Best New Artist in Anglia Televisions Six of The Best Awards 2002, which, despite voting for himself several hundred times, he failed to win. He was, however, interviewed by Andrew Linford, who used to play Tiffanys gay brother Simon in Eastenders, which meant more to Richard than 10,000 in prize money ever could.
Buoyed by the nomination, Richard attempted a series of increasingly ambitious projects, including an endeavour to turn coal into diamonds for the Wellcome Trust (which failed); seeking to train the guns of HMS Belfast onto his mothers house in Watford (which failed); and trying to design an interface to enable cows to access the internet for the Arnolfini in Bristol (which failed). His experiences inspired the inexplicably popular touring lecture Embracing Failure.
The lecture was recently performed Off Off Broadway in New York, and, despite missing most of the cultural references, was well received by audiences.
Richard is Artist in Residence for NRLA 2006