I just got back to Dubai after spending much more time away than planned ... just like last year! This time it was the unexpected death of my Aunt which caused the delay and mostly because of the customary two week wait for the funeral which I have always found appalling. I am totally with the Muslims on this one... white shroud and in the ground within 48 hours. Still, at least she was in the illustrious company that week of Alexander Solzhenitsyen, Mahmoud Darwish and Isaac Hayes!
The rest of the trip took in Southern England, Wales and Berlin and was a much needed shut off from just about everything.... especially the sun! It rained and rained and the immersion in infinite shades of grey and green not only made me feel normal again, it also improved my eyesight. I do miss the ocularly restful colours of a gloomy climate! Unfortunately my back muscles made it known that they are rather keener on the climate here.
Anyway, on arrival in the UK I weighed myself for the first time in a year to discover the absolute truth of the Dubai stone. I have put on exactly one stone (6.35kg) since last August and so has spouse. Despite being told by everyone at home that I looked better I am not happy because it makes my existing clothes uncomfortably tight and I hate shopping! It means I can no longer avoid a special trip to the mall for real shopping rather than cinema, meeting people or just getting out of the heat for while.
Am not sure how I feel about being back here yet but did think I'd got off at the wrong place when I saw the papers were full of local corruption stories. What is going on??? Dubai Summer surprises certainly wasn't like this last year!
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Picasso in Abu Dhabi
At the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi until September is the Arab world's first public exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso. Borrowed from the collection at the Musée National Picasso in Paris, the retrospective show features examples of all styles and periods and features 186 paintings, sculptures and works on paper.
I have not really through about Picasso for years. The fact that I can still visualize most of the well known pieces from various periods has resulted in a smug assumption of familiarity that almost meant I didn't bother going to this show. This would have been criminal because this show was an absolute revelation. Seeing such a range of work mostly unfamiliar to me was like seeing a completely different artist and given my own accumulation of years the way in which I perceived the work was also completely different.
The show was hung in chronological order starting with a blue self-portrait from 1901. Most of this early work was figurative including several studies on paper for ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’. There is perhaps a compositional shadow of Van Gogh in the earthy 'Landscape with Two Figures from 1908 and a sculptural influence is already evident especially in a small triptych of three very solid looking heads.
The next section loosely covered the 1920s. The paintings got larger and were mostly of figures in various poses and settings including two unfinished portraits in conventional style, which seemed to have been abandoned half way through. A sense of boredom with these kinds of conventions was reflected in other figures that seemed to become gradually chunkier and more imposing. The most interesting was ‘Seated Woman’ from 1920 which appeared to have started off with at least some classical intentions but by the end the hands and feet were grossly exaggerated and distorted and suddenly the suggestion of a radical change was there. This was also the case with 'Reading the Letter' from 1921. I then went back and looked at the hands and feet of all the other figures finally concluding that an additional motivation for immersion in the joys of human abstraction was because Picasso wasn't very good at painting hands and feet.
The next section covering the 1930s had a huge mix of seated and abstracted female figures, which gradually become more angular as the decade progressed. This use of colour and style in this section were definitely the most familiar like 'Reading' from 1932 although I was amazed at just how much there was. The output in this period seemed to have been more prodigious than at any other time and one big surprise for me was that he seemed to spend the entirety of 1931 doing bronze sculptures of large and distorted heads with hugely exaggerated noses. I had no idea so much of this work existed.
One of the exceptions to all studies of sitting, standing, reclining and general other women was 'Bullfight: Death of a Female Toreador' from 1933. The dramatic and sensual intertwining of bullfighter, horse and bull with a violent end assured for at least one of them was probably the most powerful picture in the show.
Perhaps understandably, there was not much work here from the 1940s. The rate seems to slow down dramatically, the colours turn darker, the motifs spikier and several skulls also make an appearance.
The next surprise was ‘Massacre in Korea’ from 1951, its dramatic impact, enhanced by a compositional layout seemingly borrowed from Manet’s “The execution of Maximillian”. The ubiquitously reproduced image of Guernica has so defined Picasso in relation to war that it was fascinating to see an image referencing a different conflict.
There was not so much work from the 50s and 60s either but what was there suggested a revisitation and amalgamation of the past with some homages – one to Manet and possibly one to Matisse. There was also a one picture with abstracted though explicit female genitalia which I am surprised made it past the censors!
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One of the final pieces was 'The Young Painter' from 1972 and the childlike simplicity of this painting is a marked contrast to the rest of the show. It's directness makes a big emotional impact and it was hard not to wonder if this was Picasso revisiting a very early version of himself. Apparently it was painted only a few months before his death in 1973 so I guess it is a very appropriate image to end with.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
The endless hoops ...
Anticipating a full time income I have recently been taking more taxis than normal. This has provided mixed experiences but the saddest was a 23 year old Pakistani on his 5th day of driving who broke down in tears when telling me about his family. He is having such a bad time he has told his brother not to even think about coming and has told to warn others against it too.
Another driver of 10 years spent the entire journey giving a fascinatingly detailed account of the pros and cons of every vehicle he has driven in those years concluding with an unequivocal recommendation for the Toyota Corrolla. This obviously carries weight because when you start looking out for them Toyota Corrollas are everywhere.
Strangely, in the past month I have had not one but three different drivers quoting the section in the Quran that presages the end of days. 'When towers rise out of the desert and touch the sky etc ... ' plus global disasters and other bits of Quranic evidence that the shit will hit the fan shortly. By taxi driver number three I thought it politic to be convinced and actually started throwing in a few similar biblical references for good measure. It's quite cathartic when you're having a bad day and all three drivers seemed almost pleased about the imminent end except one who wanted to clear his debts first.
However, these fascinating conversations will have to stop because I have hit a number of related bureaucratic snags resulting in my application to work full time being rejected by the Ministry of Labour.
The first snag is that I don't have a stamped and certified copy of my degree certificate. In fact the last time I actually saw my degree certificate was about 15 years ago when it was consigned to a box in the loft while moving house. Given that my multifarious skills are obvious from my CV it never occurred to me that I would need to prove I graduated. To add insult to injury I have been informed that my university does not even appear on their list of registered universities.
Another problem is that they want references from my previous employers. I have been self employed for 10 years so I don't have former employers, at least not recent ones. However, I am now trying to track some of them down so far without success. I have had what is now apparently known as a 'portfolio career' which is a nice name for a somewhat meandering career path that only makes sense to its owner. Despite fact that I have all the requisite skills for the job my CV is a tricky one to explain in this part of the world.
Another driver of 10 years spent the entire journey giving a fascinatingly detailed account of the pros and cons of every vehicle he has driven in those years concluding with an unequivocal recommendation for the Toyota Corrolla. This obviously carries weight because when you start looking out for them Toyota Corrollas are everywhere.
Strangely, in the past month I have had not one but three different drivers quoting the section in the Quran that presages the end of days. 'When towers rise out of the desert and touch the sky etc ... ' plus global disasters and other bits of Quranic evidence that the shit will hit the fan shortly. By taxi driver number three I thought it politic to be convinced and actually started throwing in a few similar biblical references for good measure. It's quite cathartic when you're having a bad day and all three drivers seemed almost pleased about the imminent end except one who wanted to clear his debts first.
However, these fascinating conversations will have to stop because I have hit a number of related bureaucratic snags resulting in my application to work full time being rejected by the Ministry of Labour.
The first snag is that I don't have a stamped and certified copy of my degree certificate. In fact the last time I actually saw my degree certificate was about 15 years ago when it was consigned to a box in the loft while moving house. Given that my multifarious skills are obvious from my CV it never occurred to me that I would need to prove I graduated. To add insult to injury I have been informed that my university does not even appear on their list of registered universities.
Another problem is that they want references from my previous employers. I have been self employed for 10 years so I don't have former employers, at least not recent ones. However, I am now trying to track some of them down so far without success. I have had what is now apparently known as a 'portfolio career' which is a nice name for a somewhat meandering career path that only makes sense to its owner. Despite fact that I have all the requisite skills for the job my CV is a tricky one to explain in this part of the world.
Monday, 26 May 2008
Abdullah Al Muharraqi at MEEM Gallery
At the MEEM Gallery you can see a retrospective of the Gulf’s best-known artist Abdullah al Muharraqi, sometimes referred to as the Salvador Dali of the Gulf. Born in Bahrain in 1939, Al Muharraqi studied in Cairo and Damascus and now has an entire hall devoted to his work in the Museum of Modern Arabic Art in Qatar. He also designed most of Bahrain's stamps! The earliest work in this show is from 1967 and goes up until 2006.
As always, entering the MEEM gallery space itself makes a huge impact, perhaps too much in this case because some of the work then seemed disappointing after that initial impression. However, what was most striking was how uniquely ‘Gulfie’ much of the work was. It reveals the Gulf as a harsh existence revolving around the dark terrors of the ocean. The work creates an atmosphere that is so far removed from the current Dubai PR model of the Gulf it’s hard to believe it came out of the same region. I got more of a sense of historic and geographic reality through this one show than I’ve got in an entire year of being in Dubai. That said I do remember being very affected during last December’s film festival by the harsh and menacing atmosphere in several short films made by local filmmakers. So maybe the link is there even if the unease is now for different reasons.
Many of Al Muharraqi's paintings concern pearl diving and divers. Pearls were a significant industry before the 1930s when the Japanese worked out how to culture pearls rather than relying on luck or god to provide an accommodating oyster. The dangers of the pearl divers’ often short lives and the imbalance between that and the life of the pearl itself are obviously things that Al Muharraqi felt very deeply. The most compelling picture in the show is ‘The Divers Tragedy’ from 1973, which gives a cyclical illustration of the life of a pearl and the diver's associated sorrows.
Many of the earlier paintings focus on this subject and very effectively communicate the horror and the dread associated with this kind of life. However, there is thread which runs through the whole show that is way over on the dark side – starvation, decay, vengeance and environmental devastation as in 'Catastrophe' from 1984. Later work, especially from the past few years has strong political overtones. Several of these paintings worked very well - the palpable tensions in ‘Opposition’ and The Nations Game’ for example. However, there were obviously some sensitivities. The title label of one work was actually obscured by the frame and only if you lifted the corner of the picture could you see the title was ‘The Regression of Arab Civilisation’. It could have been a hanging error but I don’t think so.....
'Martyr's Souls' from 2002 didn’t work so well. An otherwise sensitive image related to Palestinian suffering was eclipsed by a small and bizarre depiction of the perceived ethnic cause that could have come straight out of 1930s German propaganda. Other figurative expressions of this conflict I have seen tend to focus on the contemporary realities of the Israeli military but this was like some kind of time warp. Most weird was the fact that it seemed so gratuitous and badly painted it was almost as if somebody else had done it! It was a very strange exception but a definite reminder that propaganda rarely makes good art.
As always, entering the MEEM gallery space itself makes a huge impact, perhaps too much in this case because some of the work then seemed disappointing after that initial impression. However, what was most striking was how uniquely ‘Gulfie’ much of the work was. It reveals the Gulf as a harsh existence revolving around the dark terrors of the ocean. The work creates an atmosphere that is so far removed from the current Dubai PR model of the Gulf it’s hard to believe it came out of the same region. I got more of a sense of historic and geographic reality through this one show than I’ve got in an entire year of being in Dubai. That said I do remember being very affected during last December’s film festival by the harsh and menacing atmosphere in several short films made by local filmmakers. So maybe the link is there even if the unease is now for different reasons.
Many of Al Muharraqi's paintings concern pearl diving and divers. Pearls were a significant industry before the 1930s when the Japanese worked out how to culture pearls rather than relying on luck or god to provide an accommodating oyster. The dangers of the pearl divers’ often short lives and the imbalance between that and the life of the pearl itself are obviously things that Al Muharraqi felt very deeply. The most compelling picture in the show is ‘The Divers Tragedy’ from 1973, which gives a cyclical illustration of the life of a pearl and the diver's associated sorrows.
Many of the earlier paintings focus on this subject and very effectively communicate the horror and the dread associated with this kind of life. However, there is thread which runs through the whole show that is way over on the dark side – starvation, decay, vengeance and environmental devastation as in 'Catastrophe' from 1984. Later work, especially from the past few years has strong political overtones. Several of these paintings worked very well - the palpable tensions in ‘Opposition’ and The Nations Game’ for example. However, there were obviously some sensitivities. The title label of one work was actually obscured by the frame and only if you lifted the corner of the picture could you see the title was ‘The Regression of Arab Civilisation’. It could have been a hanging error but I don’t think so.....
'Martyr's Souls' from 2002 didn’t work so well. An otherwise sensitive image related to Palestinian suffering was eclipsed by a small and bizarre depiction of the perceived ethnic cause that could have come straight out of 1930s German propaganda. Other figurative expressions of this conflict I have seen tend to focus on the contemporary realities of the Israeli military but this was like some kind of time warp. Most weird was the fact that it seemed so gratuitous and badly painted it was almost as if somebody else had done it! It was a very strange exception but a definite reminder that propaganda rarely makes good art.
Friday, 16 May 2008
Mushroom Blancmange
I am starting a full time job in June and am already having doubts. The two days I currently work are spent in several frustrating ways. Figuring out how to nail down blancmange in zero gravity seems to have become the overall project. I draft invitations and requests for information which elicit no response and I send emails containing crucial questions about the nature of blancmange development which never get answered.
I mostly sit in a vacuum watching time and my intellectual faculties slip away. 'Why am I here?' I ask myself repeatedly. If something concrete to do does appear I get as excited as a laboratory rat when somebody rattles the food pipe, but invariably it ends in tragedy (farce, if my pride manages to stay above it!).
It wasn't like this at the beginning. In fact, I think it was my linguistic dexterity that gave the blancmange recipe credibility in the first place. So I guess you could argue that I've brought it on myself. However, I did not expect to be subsequently mushroomed. I am now left completely in the dark and not even fed shit! No wonder a recent regional employment survey found job satisfaction in the UAE was extremely low!
I mostly sit in a vacuum watching time and my intellectual faculties slip away. 'Why am I here?' I ask myself repeatedly. If something concrete to do does appear I get as excited as a laboratory rat when somebody rattles the food pipe, but invariably it ends in tragedy (farce, if my pride manages to stay above it!).
It wasn't like this at the beginning. In fact, I think it was my linguistic dexterity that gave the blancmange recipe credibility in the first place. So I guess you could argue that I've brought it on myself. However, I did not expect to be subsequently mushroomed. I am now left completely in the dark and not even fed shit! No wonder a recent regional employment survey found job satisfaction in the UAE was extremely low!
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Spare Change
First of all I would like to thank everyone who has emailed over the last few weeks noting with concern the increasingly jaundiced perspective, telling me to hang in there or just reminding me that they love me :).
Here's a little traffic incident which happened on my way to Trade Centre a few days back. I looked out of the bus window and could see straight down into a huge black Bentley. At the first set of lights the driver reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a huge stack of 500 dirham notes. He sat in his car counting the bundle, kissed it and placed it on the passenger seat. At the next set of lights he reached into the glove compartment again, pulled out another stack, counted it, kissed it and placed it next to the other one.
He turned off at the next set of lights so I'll never know how many stacks of cash were in that glove compartment. I couldn't see his face either so he could have been from anywhere. I cannot imagine seeing something like this stuck in a traffic jam anywhere else and it was mesmerising - like watching a scene from a movie.
Here's a little traffic incident which happened on my way to Trade Centre a few days back. I looked out of the bus window and could see straight down into a huge black Bentley. At the first set of lights the driver reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a huge stack of 500 dirham notes. He sat in his car counting the bundle, kissed it and placed it on the passenger seat. At the next set of lights he reached into the glove compartment again, pulled out another stack, counted it, kissed it and placed it next to the other one.
He turned off at the next set of lights so I'll never know how many stacks of cash were in that glove compartment. I couldn't see his face either so he could have been from anywhere. I cannot imagine seeing something like this stuck in a traffic jam anywhere else and it was mesmerising - like watching a scene from a movie.
As a postscript to the vision fatigue theme two posts ago I am now on 'vision watch'. The latest was in Trade Centre today: "Nakheel - Where vision inspires humanity".
'Vision' is the word round these parts but the regularity with which it is now being used has rendered it completely meaningless and possibly constitutes language abuse......
Another postscript actually.... I don't tend to take things too personally but if anybody comes across a German speaking, Ferrari driving, cement trader in his 40s who thinks all locals are bastards (despite a recent invitation from Mr. A. Sheikh to his private polo club) tell him he's a tosser. He really needs to know!
Monday, 28 April 2008
Damn Daman
We have just had to renew our Daman health insurance.
After protracted negotiations last October we thought that I had been granted a year's insurance exempt from maternity cover because we can't have children. However last week we discovered that we had actually paid the full amount including maternity for just six months.
This was a shock because according to the document I was covered until October BUT when we looked closely at my health card the expiry date was the same as spouse's insurance taken out 6 months before mine!
We protested to no avail and were then told to pay up for both of us including the extra 3000DHS maternity cover. We said we didn't need the maternity cover but were then asked if we could prove it. Well... no we can't... sensitive issues like fertility test results are given in person rather than certificated but spouse said he would take a test here too if that was the only way.
Oh No... said Daman ... it's about your wife. You may have a problem but she can still get pregnant therefore she has to have maternity cover. Unless she has had a hysterectomy, maternity cover is compulsory until she's 50.
Stunned silence....
So how am I going to get pregnant then?? By divine fucking intervention?? Or am i just supposed to be a total slut?
I suppose they are not actually thinking at all. It's just a bureaucratic requirement and cases to which it does not apply are negligible enough to be ignored. So on top of the absurdity of the issue itself, we still have to pay for a service that is irrelevant and waste 3000DHS in a situation where money is still really tight ... . it almost makes me wish I was slut.
After protracted negotiations last October we thought that I had been granted a year's insurance exempt from maternity cover because we can't have children. However last week we discovered that we had actually paid the full amount including maternity for just six months.
This was a shock because according to the document I was covered until October BUT when we looked closely at my health card the expiry date was the same as spouse's insurance taken out 6 months before mine!
We protested to no avail and were then told to pay up for both of us including the extra 3000DHS maternity cover. We said we didn't need the maternity cover but were then asked if we could prove it. Well... no we can't... sensitive issues like fertility test results are given in person rather than certificated but spouse said he would take a test here too if that was the only way.
Oh No... said Daman ... it's about your wife. You may have a problem but she can still get pregnant therefore she has to have maternity cover. Unless she has had a hysterectomy, maternity cover is compulsory until she's 50.
Stunned silence....
So how am I going to get pregnant then?? By divine fucking intervention?? Or am i just supposed to be a total slut?
I suppose they are not actually thinking at all. It's just a bureaucratic requirement and cases to which it does not apply are negligible enough to be ignored. So on top of the absurdity of the issue itself, we still have to pay for a service that is irrelevant and waste 3000DHS in a situation where money is still really tight ... . it almost makes me wish I was slut.
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Vision Fatigue
The latest vision is the one for Bastakia. I wrote an article for Nafas online arts magazine a couple of weeks ago which talked about this and also looked at potential problems. The major one as always is human resources. Who is going to organise, administrate and implement all the projects and plans.
The other big cultural visions are Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island development and the Khor Project in Dubai. Cultural weight is also thrown around by the ability to employ people like Rem Koolhaas, to design whole new cities. Nakheel's Waterfront City is one such project and even has its own death star presumably to match Emaar's death spire.Abu Dhabi has the super ironic Masdar carbon free city and the daily onslaught of advertisements for other developments is really starting to get on my nerves. The Gulf News has given up any pretense of being a newspaper since someone had the bright idea of turning the front page into an advert. 'Be an Octavian' What? Buy a piece of San Francisco / Spanish Reality ... . er.. earth to Dynasty Zarooni - this is the UAE! Even Ajman's getting in on the act with 'visionaries are those who make their dreams come true ... dare to envision' etc. etc. yawn yawn. Is there no one who can still see clearly enough to consider taking a rain check on the word 'vision'?
It is particularly grating in a week where there has been so much talk about national identity and the demographic imbalance including a debate on the UAE Community blog that had more than 90 comments.
I sympathise with the local predicament - it took me 6 months to find a local! However, if there is such great concern about demographic imbalance why all the new cities? Who are they for? All those people who will have to come to implement the other visions I guess!
PS When my subscription to Gulf Property Advertising (formerly News) expires, I'm switching to the National.
The other big cultural visions are Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island development and the Khor Project in Dubai. Cultural weight is also thrown around by the ability to employ people like Rem Koolhaas, to design whole new cities. Nakheel's Waterfront City is one such project and even has its own death star presumably to match Emaar's death spire.Abu Dhabi has the super ironic Masdar carbon free city and the daily onslaught of advertisements for other developments is really starting to get on my nerves. The Gulf News has given up any pretense of being a newspaper since someone had the bright idea of turning the front page into an advert. 'Be an Octavian' What? Buy a piece of San Francisco / Spanish Reality ... . er.. earth to Dynasty Zarooni - this is the UAE! Even Ajman's getting in on the act with 'visionaries are those who make their dreams come true ... dare to envision' etc. etc. yawn yawn. Is there no one who can still see clearly enough to consider taking a rain check on the word 'vision'?
It is particularly grating in a week where there has been so much talk about national identity and the demographic imbalance including a debate on the UAE Community blog that had more than 90 comments.
I sympathise with the local predicament - it took me 6 months to find a local! However, if there is such great concern about demographic imbalance why all the new cities? Who are they for? All those people who will have to come to implement the other visions I guess!
PS When my subscription to Gulf Property Advertising (formerly News) expires, I'm switching to the National.
Friday, 11 April 2008
Personality Disintegration
I have now been in Dubai for almost a year and am starting to miss various things that it never occurred to me I could miss... the 16th and 17th centuries for example. By this I mean the ability to walk into a public institution and spend time in the company of some old masters of the Italian renaissance perhaps or some ancient artefacts looted from elsewhere at some point in perfidious British history. However, this is probably a result of relentless exposure to 'contemporary' art over the past month or so.
Another problem I have is the constant feeling that I'm living in some kind of a time warp. With the exception of a few key local programmes radio stations sound like British provincial radio in the 1970s. I have actually given up turning on the radio when I'm cooking dinner in the evening because its either endless sports talk or people who seem to know very little about music history talking bullshit about dreadful playlists! The TV is even worse. Maybe its bad timing but City 7 only seems to show re-runs of Minder.
All of this is turning me a bit radical and is doing very strange things to my sense of humour. The comedy channel for me is Saudi Channel 2. There's usually a laugh within five minutes. This may sound like some kind of orientalist-laughing-at-the-arabs type bullshit but it is truly fascinating and the 10 o' clock news is most informative unlike any local news services. I can no longer get through 8.30 - 9.00 on Dubai One without wanting to blow my own head off.
I am also getting concerned that my personality is disintegrating. I am getting more and more of those days where I am actually losing track of my own identity. I guess this happens without access to people who've known you for years and years and can remind you of who you are. The other identity indicators are the books, pictures and just general 'stuff' that I've accumulated over the years, all of which remains in the UK. I did not realise how much identity was maintained simply by being able to idly glance over my bookshelves once a day or just stare at a favourite painting. Thank god I'd put most of my music collection on an MP3 player! That precious little device is currently constituting about 75% of my sanity.
Do you think I need a holiday????????
Another problem I have is the constant feeling that I'm living in some kind of a time warp. With the exception of a few key local programmes radio stations sound like British provincial radio in the 1970s. I have actually given up turning on the radio when I'm cooking dinner in the evening because its either endless sports talk or people who seem to know very little about music history talking bullshit about dreadful playlists! The TV is even worse. Maybe its bad timing but City 7 only seems to show re-runs of Minder.
All of this is turning me a bit radical and is doing very strange things to my sense of humour. The comedy channel for me is Saudi Channel 2. There's usually a laugh within five minutes. This may sound like some kind of orientalist-laughing-at-the-arabs type bullshit but it is truly fascinating and the 10 o' clock news is most informative unlike any local news services. I can no longer get through 8.30 - 9.00 on Dubai One without wanting to blow my own head off.
I am also getting concerned that my personality is disintegrating. I am getting more and more of those days where I am actually losing track of my own identity. I guess this happens without access to people who've known you for years and years and can remind you of who you are. The other identity indicators are the books, pictures and just general 'stuff' that I've accumulated over the years, all of which remains in the UK. I did not realise how much identity was maintained simply by being able to idly glance over my bookshelves once a day or just stare at a favourite painting. Thank god I'd put most of my music collection on an MP3 player! That precious little device is currently constituting about 75% of my sanity.
Do you think I need a holiday????????
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Never again ...
Last month I was asked to write four articles about art in Dubai for the website of a London based organisation called Art Review. When the offer came I was delighted. Somebody was actually offering to pay me for writing this shit ?? Brilliant!
Of course it isn't that simple and the past month has put me off writing for money ever again. First this was a very casual arrangement. No contract. No clear brief and a suggested word count that was half the size of what was necessary.
Then there was the editorial problem. When the person who commissions the articles really wants to be doing it themselves, there is an inevitable editorial imposition of their view, which at times differed considerably from mine. This was particularly acute when changes made seemed to play to certain prejudices while I assumed the articles were there to inform these otherwise.
Another difficulty which was actually a shock to me was realising the extreme western-centric view of what is happening here in terms of art and culture. At one point this resulted in an editorial insertion about what constituted 'progress' which I had to ask to be removed.
To be fair the first two articles were not too bad but tensions crept in at number 3 and by number 4 I just wanted it to be over. Also number 4 was about Art Dubai which was the least interesting for me to write. A big contemporary art fair is a big contemporary art fair wherever it's held. Apart from the flamboyant, dubious, paranoid or just plain weird people that can turn up on preview nights, they are a bit like sales conferences. I wasn't crazy about them in London so the interest value here is only in terms of Art Dubai's relationship with what is happening on the ground and how it contributes to other non commercial development. Of course nobody here seems aware of the notion of non-commercial development but I realise this is my problem and that everybody except me actually embraces this reality! I am trying to change my attitude! I am also trying to accept that 'press release' and 'newspaper report' are synonymous... but that's a tough one too ...
Of course it isn't that simple and the past month has put me off writing for money ever again. First this was a very casual arrangement. No contract. No clear brief and a suggested word count that was half the size of what was necessary.
Then there was the editorial problem. When the person who commissions the articles really wants to be doing it themselves, there is an inevitable editorial imposition of their view, which at times differed considerably from mine. This was particularly acute when changes made seemed to play to certain prejudices while I assumed the articles were there to inform these otherwise.
Another difficulty which was actually a shock to me was realising the extreme western-centric view of what is happening here in terms of art and culture. At one point this resulted in an editorial insertion about what constituted 'progress' which I had to ask to be removed.
To be fair the first two articles were not too bad but tensions crept in at number 3 and by number 4 I just wanted it to be over. Also number 4 was about Art Dubai which was the least interesting for me to write. A big contemporary art fair is a big contemporary art fair wherever it's held. Apart from the flamboyant, dubious, paranoid or just plain weird people that can turn up on preview nights, they are a bit like sales conferences. I wasn't crazy about them in London so the interest value here is only in terms of Art Dubai's relationship with what is happening on the ground and how it contributes to other non commercial development. Of course nobody here seems aware of the notion of non-commercial development but I realise this is my problem and that everybody except me actually embraces this reality! I am trying to change my attitude! I am also trying to accept that 'press release' and 'newspaper report' are synonymous... but that's a tough one too ...
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