Book: The Rivers Movement

On Friday, 26.February, the month of our activities in Barnsley came to a close with the launch of a book:

The Rivers Movement
Painters, Print Makers and Photographers
by Brian Lewis and Bob Claydon

This book contains artwork and photographs from artists in the Rivers Movement Collective. The book is available for purchase through www.blurb.com.

Newspaper Article in Yorkshire Post

Here is a link to an article in the Yorkshire Post from 2.February 2010.

73 paintings (to be) created by a 73 year old man in 24 hours

This is a press release by Brian Lewis

What a differnce a day makes – an Arts' Day in Barnsley focusing on Climate Change and the environment.

Tuesday 23 February, from 11:00

Contact: Brian Lewis 01977 793121
Mobile: 07904026239
Pontefract Press
www.theriversmovement.org.uk


Venue:

Emergence Pod 1,
Mayday Green,
The Precinct,
Barnsley


On Tuesday 23 February a steadily expanding group of artists who form part of The Rivers' Movement will be undertaking a gathering called a moot to produce art works. The number that each produces is governed by age. Brian Lewis (aged 73): 'I will create 73 paintings and drawings in a day, I am taking as my theme sustainability, climate change and the environment. Last time I tried it a similar task I was 70. That time the subject was the the Dales and the River Aire. I managed 65 in the 24 hours.' (comment RB: after 65 a person is allowed to retire)

'The 73 paintings in 24 hours event will take place on Tuesday 23 February in Barnsley in a town centre shop closed because of the recession and now a new gallery called Emergence Pod One. It is in May Day Green, in the centre of town. This time I will be working with other artists in order to fuel the debate on Climate Change.'

'Throughout our lives we generate a carbon footprint. No matter how old or how young we are, we can all make a difference to improve our environment and do something today.'

'On the day I will be joined by colleagues who will also be linking age to output. At the moment my collaborators include: Rob Hindle, published poet and WEA co-ordinator for South Yorkshire. Aged 46 he will create 46 poems on the subject. Reinhold Behringer, Professor of Creative Technology at Leeds Met, also 46, will produce 46 live improvisations on 46 different instruments using a computer controlled synthesiser and samplers. Helen Mesezaros, aged 42 (a teacher and community activist) will compile 42 letters of complaint; John Cowan,(50) a local picture framer incensed by the flood of Chinese frames into UK will frame 50 paintings and put them on sale next day. Yvonne Denton (40) = 40 pieces about breaking the chain of consumerism; Richard Kitson, 28, folk and blues singer, will invite 28 people to sit for him and then he will draw them. The John Cowan initiative is pertinent because he is competing when he makes frames with a mass production Chinese product which floods the market squares of the Uk. Bringing them will be costly if measured in Carbon miles. Adam Ghodiwala, the well known Gujarati poet resident in Bolton, will send 70 one line metrical poems giving 70 reasons to love the earth. These in Gujarati with an English translation. He is a class act, very well known in India, and gives us even more prestigue. Jack Aston-Booth, a painter with academic qualifications on the problems of climate on migration birds will produce drawings of 23 Birds affected by Climate Change.'

'Unlike in Gujarat, Falguni Bharateeya and Mitali Baxi have collected a body of work which they will transmit to us in Yorkshire. Throughout the day other artists will drop in just to work on one of their own painting. There is no need to go in for mass production. Quality also matters.'

'This day is part of an arts workshops programme organised by the Barnsley based River Dearne Project which focuses on environment and climate change. This is a follow-on project by others in the Rivers Movement who are anxious to use the arts and creativity to encourage thought about what happens when our social systems and economic values show less respect for nature than they might have done.

The Rivers' Movement

The Rivers' Movement aims to create awareness of climate change by means of art, poetry, science, and technology. It is a collaborative project involving Yorkshire people who have twinned with people from Gujarat in India. Together they explore common experiences involving the impact local rivers and climate change has on their lives. In May 2009 The Rivers' Movement received an award from the Environment Agency for Best Climate Change Project in the Yorkshire Region 2009. Their work currently focuses on the rivers Dearne, Aire and Calder but they expect to expand their operations in the UK and India as the year progresses.

Brian Lewis

Brian Lewis has paintings in public and private collections all over the UK. He has had exhibitions at the Ferens (Hull), the Graves and the Mappin (Sheffield), the Piece Hall and Dean Clough (Halifax) - all city or major town galleries, but he prefers community venues. He is also known for his writing on community development. He won the national Raymond Williams prize in 1997 for a book about a woman's prison. He was Birmingham's first Poet Laureate and is currently Visiting Fellow in Community Writing and publishing to the Charutar Vidyamandal University in India. With his wife he runs Pontefract Press.

This is part of a month-long exhibition and arts-workshop programme organised by River Dearne Project Barnsley painters: Loretta Cusworth, Runima Kakoty, Roger Head and Lee Gascoyne.

Letter Five from Brian

12 January A good day. I started to work on the Carbon Roll. I find that you can only work out something as complicated as that if you set up the basic model and get stuck in. The designs have to be very small (1.5 inch x 2.5) and as a consequence you need to have the right drawing materials. These however can be pretty basic. Loretta, who worked with me, went into the market and brought a collection of cheap pens and we were away.

Two new people have joined up with me on the Agist Art programme. Adam Ghodiwala, the well known Gujarati poet will send 70 one line metrical poems giving 70 reasons to love the earth. These in Gujarati with an English translation. He is a class act and gives us even more prestigue. In the morning a youngman came in and spoke of his interests. Called Jack Aston-Booth he will produce drawings of 23 Birds affected by Climate Change. Yvonne Denton also has a plan to do 40 statement about 'sustainability and link them in a 'hanging. She has a lot of commitments but it is the idea which counts. As I explained to others there is no need to go in for mass production. Quality also matters.

Letter Four from Brian

My training for the 73 Paintings in 24 hours has taken a back step because I have needed to divert energy into publicity and paid work in Bolton. I am still drawing on buses and and trains. This is useful because I know that I will have to start the 23 February running and to have a scrap-book of ideas is useful. From Stalybridge to Leeds I sat side on to a woman in a full burka. She was looking out of the window of the train. She blacks and browns and the background coloured. The scene through the window was beautiful I may trace her in an change the scene three times to fit an Ikea Frame. This will be the subject for a dummy run. I may cut her as a mount.

Suddenly 73 pictures seem a lots of pictures.

I am also concentrating on getting artistic people to the Pod who are also doing an age-on-hours stint. A the moment my collaborators include; Rob Hindle, published poet aged 46, will create 46 poems. Reinhold Behringer, the Professor of Creative Technology also 46, will create a 46 bar piece of music using a computer controlled synthesiser and samplers. Helen Mesezaros, aged 42 (a teacher and community activist) will be compile 42 letters of complaint, John Cowan,(50) a local picture framer incensed by the flood of Chinese frames into UK will frame 50 paintings and have some on sale next day. The yougest member of the group, - Richard Kitson 28 - will invite people to sit for him and draw them. The John Cowan initiative is pertinent because he is competing when he makes frames with a mass production Chinese product which floods the market squares of the Uk. Bringing them will be costly if measured in Carbon miles.

Thrive
Brian

Letter Three from Brian

I started a new project today . It is paid work. I am working with Old People and Top Primary in Bolton, Lancashire on a project where the young teach the old about texting and electronic communication and the old teach the young about written communication. I am going in as an actor and calling myself Old Man (OM). I dont think that any of the ream saw the Hindu reference. This amused me. I have to follow the agenda prescribed by the Client - Bolton at Home (A housing association with a high regard for the arts as communication tool and therefore when we get going on the pilot I expect to take as my subject Climate and Environment.

Another day passes without much time for training. However i did manage to watch an interview between Nigel Lawson ( no belief) and Am expert (total belief) and jotted down phrases which i might use as the inspiration for pictures. These included:

The Heat from Cities
No time on our side
Sceptics should be welcomed
Dissenting scientists.

On the top of the bus back from Leeds I drew with a figure which is a landscape when viewed horizontally and a figure when looked at vertically. I will have several of these on the go on the 24 Hours Day. Drawing on the top deck of a bus is not easy. The Japanese brushes are such a joy to work with but the rocking of the bus sends the strokes all over the place

Thrive
Brian

Letter Two from Brian

Dear Reinhold

The mounting of the exhibition has taken a lot of time and to make matters complicated I was in a car crash and they had to extract me through the roof of the Toyota on a board having sawn off the roof. However I have had a coupe of nights drawing on scrap paper with a pencil.

I now know that there will be a negative sequence and a positive one. The negative sequence will be dominated by black and a hint of red. This will be applied using print blocks cut rubber erasers and Chinese red 'stamp' paste. The positive by a Blue and Green range. This will be applied quickly in a random fashion to a series of 6" X 8" cards . I will start with 10 negative and 10 positive. That make-up is about 28% of the output required.

The difficult of working on a 24 project is that you also need a couple of bigger paintings on the go, ones which you can can look and think about when you are doing tedious tasks. You stand to paint these. It is a military style. From the beginning - in the fist hour you have to have about ten works started. You rarely complete a work straight through.

What I should have at the end of the 24 hours is a lot of ideas and some finished and some unfinished drawings/Paintings.

Thrive Brian

Setup of Expo in Barnsley

Today I met with Lee in the Barnsley Emergency Pod 1 to set up his video installation "Silence". This installation plays back a video recording of his creation of an artwork. I wrote software for automatic manipulation of that replay through a camera: when the audience in the expo room moves, the video replay gets disturbed. The demo appeared to work ok, although a few things still needed to be sorted out.