Igor's home-made stuff http://www.igorclark.net/ Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:58:27 +0100 http://www.igorclark.net/ en/GB Igor Clark Serious business http://www.igorclark.net/2008/10/07/serious-business.html Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:58:27 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/10/07/serious-business.html Republican senator Brad Sherman claims that several members of congress were threatened with martial law if they didn’t support the bank bailout bill:


Naomi Wolf offers her analysis of this event in light of others including the first deployment of US military on home turf since 1807 and the changes in the chain of military command implemented by Bush and Rumsfeld:


When someone like Wolf goes on record saying that “a coup”, “an armed insurrection” has taken place in the USA, and that its populace needs to “fight back” by organising, rising up, imprisoning the president and reclaiming control of the state, I don’t know about you, but my personal alarm bells start ringing.

]]> Republican senator Brad Sherman claims that several members of congress were threatened with martial law if they didn’t support the bank bailout bill:


Drum 'n' sax A small crowd gathered ’round these two guys having a good ol’ bash underneath the railway bridge over Old Street. It sounded quite fresh, but the sax (is that a soprano sax I saw before me?) was a bit annoying on its own; what it really wanted was some propa ruff bass — or even some evil, thunderous ghetto death bass — to go with the really quite shit-hot d’n’b drumming the guy with the hair was doing. Still, all very impromptu and street and basically yeah. I particularly liked the guy stood at the side of the sax player just looking involved and generally caring a lot about it all.]]> propa ruff bass — or even some evil, thunderous THANKYO, ROTHKO Having rarely seen much of it in the flesh before yesterday, I’ve never really been sure what I think about Rothko’s work. I suppose I’d always thought there was a kind of grim humour to it, with these huge window-like figures hung high in windowless gallery rooms; and I was aware not only of a Warhol-like fascination with repetition, cycle, and (im)mutability, but also of a somewhat Klein-esque experimentation with colour, texture and profundity — even if my perception of it was mediated and inevitably emasculated through the Habitat-isation of (e.g.) “Orange and Yellow”. The Tate Modern’s current gathering of his late works reveals quite how much a real-world viewing illuminates and clarifies Rothko’s art, and hence how much sense it makes that he should have been so concerned in his lifetime with the compositional aspect of the works’ presentation — not least because the presentation in question, even though perhaps at odds with aspects of Rothko’s reported views on it, is itself so intelligent and sensitive to the work.

On first seeing abstract pieces, I often can’t help myself from wondering, Middle England-like, how much artistic ‘skill’ or ‘talent’ is required to daub paint in a seemingly random or at best simplistic manner on a canvas. After enough viewings, investigations and conversations, however, the knee-jerk “I could have done that” has at least come to be followed usually equally automatically in my mind by “Well, you didn’t; this artist did”, on which cue I settle into some kind of analytical appreciation of the work, taking authorial intention as a first principle and working outwards, as though mapping atoms of causation, into its effect on the viewer. (OK, I know, that’s mental, but come on, give me a break — I’m a computer geek, a decomposer and a re-builder of things. I can’t help it. It’s the way I’m made.) Though I started out on this exhibition in the same analytical mode, fussing over which room was which so that I could make sure I was reading the right bit of the guide, feeling slightly short-changed by small mural studies in gouache on paper looking much to my impatient brain like children’s washes of colour, by the time I left, I’d undeniably felt something quite different, brought about by these paintings; something quite inexplicable and quite powerful.

The guidebook returned more than once to what it called Rothko’s “preoccupation” with the display of his work; in the first room, a small cardboard model was shown of the space proposed to him for display of his mural at the Tate; later, photographs of some of the pieces under ultraviolet light showed details of the brushwork. Strangely, for one as construction-oriented as I am, under some circumstances I find an exhibition’s dwelling too much on the craft, the historicity, the detail of the manufacture to be a distraction, sometimes even an annoyance — surely, I ask myself (perhaps through some desire to escape, by the offices of overpowering sensation, from that very orientation) the work leaves something to be desired in terms of immediacy and appeal, if such examination is required in order to appreciate it? In this case, however, it was exactly that examination which opened up the desired sensation to me.

The respectfully muted lighting in which Rothko himself had been so insistent that his work should be presented is maintained in the main Seagram room, contrasting directly with the conservators’ inspections in the next room, the stark change of atmosphere from the practically ritual to the scientific adding weight to the feeling of getting under the ‘skin’ of the paintings. The nigh-pornographic revelation of the layers of multiple paint media under the UV lights combine with the glass-backed presentation of one painting’s underwear to instil a feeling of paradox, an unease brought about by the juxtaposition of the large murals’ seemingly uncomplicated gloomy luminescence with the sudden realisation of the actual complexity of the work undertaken to impart that appearance of simplicity. Layer upon layer, stroke upon stroke, coatings, glaze, obfuscation, redirection, misdirection … Should we be seeing this? Should we be laying bare this depth of care, rather than simply appreciating the final result, particularly in the case of an artist so intentionally proscriptive about the manner in which it might best be appreciated?

I found this dichotomy particularly striking, because it was exactly the realisation of the care taken which opened my eyes to these big, bold, engaging, contemplative canvases. Not just the care taken in and of itself, but the demonstration of what was under the surface made me consider these pieces in a new, naturalistic way. From the more or less subtle re-covering and smothering of the landscaped “Red on Maroon — Mural, Sections 5 and 74” in the Seagram room, to the intense, concentrated paper studies and the increasingly open, even loose textures of “Black on Gray”, I became aware of a kind of tangibility to the paintings, not the thickly-applied oils of a Van Gogh but something altogether delicate, as though the ethereality of the intention behind the works had somehow been infused into the physical materials, bonding with its form and somehow lightening the weight of that material even as it impresses its reality upon the viewer.

The “Black-Form Paintings” seemed to me the summation of this experience. As the guide says, “prolonged contemplation reveals the slow build-up of the surface through multiple layers and the close attention Rothko paid to gradations in tone and texture”; in the course of such contemplation, the paintings really do seem somehow to reveal something of themselves. The familiarisation of my eyes to the light, the surroundings and the composition of the space allowed the Black Forms to shimmer before me, pulling in and out of my conceptual focus, and I found something enormously compelling about these implied monoliths. Something mysterious, something suggested, something long-known and yet long-forgotten; a kind of magnetism, an unspoken yet powerful compulsion towards something just the other side of comprehensibility. It felt in that moment as though there really might exist, in the world, such a thing as human meaning, be it devoid or otherwise of objective implication, and as though such meaning might be conveyed across time and space, even through inscrutable, formless form.

I’m still not sure what I think about Rothko’s work, but at least now I know that I feel something about it. Thankyou, Mark Rothko, for your enduring obsession with communicating your wordless meaning, and thankyou, Tate Modern, for granting it this prism.]]> Igor Clark The Modern Pantry http://www.igorclark.net/2008/10/03/the-modern-pantry.html Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:17:32 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/10/03/the-modern-pantry.html The Modern Pantry Saw this new place a couple of weeks ago, walking past on the way home from the Easton, near Exmouth Market, and having just enjoyed a good meal there, felt inspired to check this out at the next opportunity. Unfortunately, it was quite a let-down. For a start, the pace was extremely rushed, to the point where I had to tell the waiter that we needed a bit of time to digest even slightly before choosing a pudding. Secondly, though my starter of ham hock with jalapeños and nuts was good, the rest of the food really just wasn’t up to much. The steak was fine, but if you can buy in decent meat, which they obviously had, then you really ought not to be running a restaurant if you can’t serve it decently; the roasted cassava chips accompanying it were a tasteless waste of space; the cheesecake was too cold and hence also fairly tasteless, insufficiently crunchy for something advertised as containing hazelnuts, and generally uninspiring. A decent Malbec went well with the steak, perking things up a little, but the pudding wine which the waiter recommended to go with the cheesecake (out of a choice of only two served by the glass from the seven or eight on the menu) was too sharp, mismatched with what taste I could elicit from the pudding itself, and so merely constituted yet another disappointment. In summary: great location, nice décor, could be good, but seriously, don’t bother until they’ve had a few critical slatings and consequently got their act together.]]> Easton, near Exmouth Market, and having just enjoyed a good meal there, felt inspired to check this out at the next opportunity. Unfortunately, it was quite a let-down…]]> Igor Clark Red route http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/29/red-route.html Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:52:22 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/29/red-route.html Red route I like to think that these guys had stopped off to pop into Food Hall and pick up a quick spicy chicken roll and a coconut macaroon. Good job they can park where the hell they like, otherwise in my imagined scenario they'd have had to walk a number of metres.

Outside Shoreditch Town Hall, Old Street, Shoreditch, London]]>
Outside Shoreditch Town Hall, Old Street, Shoreditch, London]]> Igor Clark POKE “most respected” http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/25/poke-most-respected-.html Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:59:14 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/25/poke-most-respected-.html POKE “most respected” Here at POKE we’re not generally ones to blow our own trumpets – not really flexible enough – but this is worth a mention. Having been tech director here for more than three years, I’ve seen a fair few awards come through the studio, and have been involved with a fair few of the projects involved; this, however, is a bit different. Rather than a paid–for industry love–in with associated award ceremony, booze–up and the rest, this is part of a survey conducted amongst POKE’s peers by New Media Age. While we came out 44th of the top 100 overall (not bad in itself considering our turnover and size), we were voted “most respected by other agencies”. That’s a little bit of warm glow right there, now isn’t it? Thanks folks.]]> POKE we’re not generally ones to blow our own trumpets – not really flexible enough – but this is worth a mention. Having been tech director here for more than three years, I’ve seen a fair few awards come through the studio, and have been involved with a fair few of the projects involved; this, however, is a bit different…]]> Igor Clark Liver and bacon http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/21/liver-and-bacon.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:26:41 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/21/liver-and-bacon.html Liver and bacon I very rarely order liver in restaurants because frankly it’s just so easy to fuck up. However having eaten some extremely good steak at Unico in Epping before, it struck me during today’s visit that their chef might well know if not his actual onions then at least his offal. While it certainly could have been a little rarer, it certainly wasn’t ruined, and the choice of cure on the bacon, though I don’t know what it was, complemented the strong liver flavour very nicely. In summary: not bad.]]> extremely good steak at Unico in Epping before, it struck me during today’s visit that their chef might well know if not his actual onions then at least his offal…]]> Igor Clark Another accident off Kingsland Road http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/03/another-accident-off-kingsland-road.html Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:42:49 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/09/03/another-accident-off-kingsland-road.html Another accident off Kingsland Road Whole east side of the junction boxed off, with a big tent on the road. No smashed-up cars to be seen, so I guess it must have been a cyclist or a pedestrian. Bad news.

Junction of Whiston Road and Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London]]>
Junction of Whiston Road and Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London]]> Igor Clark Lurking http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/lurking.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:57:07 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/lurking.html Lurking Not up to much. Just standing outside the entrance.

Liverpool Street Station, Bishopsgate, City of London]]>
Liverpool Street Station, Bishopsgate, City of London]]> Igor Clark Déesse http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/d-esse.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:57:07 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/d-esse.html Déesse “The D.S. - the ‘Goddess’ - has all the features (or at least the public is unanimous in attributing them to it at first sight) of one of those objects from another universe which have supplied fuel for the neomania of the eighteenth century and that of our own science-fiction: the Deesse is first and foremost a new Nautilus […] There are in the D.S. the beginnings of a new phenomenology of assembling, as if one progressed from a world where elements are welded to a world where they are juxtaposed and hold together by sole virtue of their wondrous shape, which of course is meant to prepare one for the idea of a more benign Nature.”

From “Citroën D.S.”, an essay in Roland Barthes’ 1957 collection Mythologies.]]> Igor Clark All going on http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/all-going-on.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:57:07 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/all-going-on.html All going on Several vans showed up outside the boozer; couple of police came in to the pub but I couldn't really make out what they were doing. Seemed to be a lot of activity outside and the bar staff were gesturing towards a couple of people but nothing serious seemed to occur.

Outside the Griffin pub, Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London]]>
Outside the Griffin pub, Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London]]> Igor Clark Busted http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/busted.html Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:57:06 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/13/busted.html Busted These two stopped and questioned this guy for a few minutes before slapping the cuffs on him. I came past again maybe 5 minutes later and they were still stood there talking to him, his hands still cuffed.

Outside Tesco, Shoreditch High Street, London E2]]>
Outside Tesco, Shoreditch High Street, London E2]]> Igor Clark Chrysler http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/chrysler.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:21:15 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/chrysler.html Chrysler It's a bright, crisp day on the autumn cusp of summer, and I’m in Portland, Maine; wandering, solitary, drinking in the surroundings and stealing snaps away with me.

As I straighten from my crouch, a young woman approaches me, an equally young man in tow. The boy, uncertain, sports a shock of orange hair; the girl wields a Sony DSLR and a resolute expression. We stand face to face, exchanging an expectant stare as though each would read the other’s intention through the eye – and, almost defiantly, she raises the camera and steals in turn a snap from me.

She lowers her device, holds my gaze for a moment, and walks calmly away. The boy follows. Not a word is spoken.

I stand for a moment, let it pass without question, and feel free.]]>
As I straighten from my crouch, a young woman approaches me, an equally young man in tow. The boy, uncertain, sports a shock of orange hair; the girl wields a Sony DSLR and a resolute expression…]]> Igor Clark Horsemen http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/horsemen.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/horsemen.html Horsemen Very accommodating gentlemen and mounts. I couldn't work out where they were until I looked at the big version and saw the website address for the shop they're standing outside, then checked out the locations of its branches. Sigh.

7th Ave, New York, NY, USA

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7th Ave, New York, NY, USA

]]> Igor Clark Shall we go get some doughnuts? http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/shall-we-go-get-some-doughnuts-.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/shall-we-go-get-some-doughnuts-.html Shall we go get some doughnuts? Somewhere near 5th Avenue, NYC, NY, USA]]> Igor Clark 1769 State Police http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/1769-state-police.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/1769-state-police.html 1769 State Police Dropped into a Salem micro-brewery for a (very good) pint and got accosted by a crazy person. Walked back to the hotel, straight past this little beauty.

Lafayette Street, Salem, MA]]>
Lafayette Street, Salem, MA]]> Igor Clark Stop and chat http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/stop-and-chat.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/stop-and-chat.html Stop and chat At the time it all seemed rather friendly, as though it was just one of the cops’ brother-in-laws in the car and they’d stopped for a natter. Not so sure now I look back at it, but hey.

Lafayette Street, Salem, MA]]>
Lafayette Street, Salem, MA]]> Igor Clark Chaperoning http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/chaperoning.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/chaperoning.html Chaperoning There was some kind of run going on in Plymouth on the day I showed up, and these guys were waiting at the end of the race to keep everything in order.

Main Street, Plymouth, MA]]>
Main Street, Plymouth, MA]]> Igor Clark Oak Bluffs Police http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/oak-bluffs-police.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:18:02 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/08/02/oak-bluffs-police.html Oak Bluffs Police Ferry set-down, Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, USA]]> Igor Clark Waiting http://www.igorclark.net/2008/07/23/waiting.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:15:29 +0100 Igor Clark http://www.igorclark.net/2008/07/23/waiting.html Waiting Another bike parked up outside the Yamaha shop on Shoreditch High St. They loves it in there, they does.

Shoreditch High Street, London]]>
Shoreditch High Street, London]]> Igor Clark