On saturday we went over to A.s parents for a party for her Grandmother. Apart from the confusion of relation ships (I'm glad there wasn't an exam afterwards) it was an excellent day.
We went through Edinburgh on the way and had a walk about. It struck us that the fesitval has become very, I dunno, almost artifical. Its like people come for "The Festival Experience" which is of course and artificial constructed thing. Which is of course what they are now sold. I suspect there are only faint echos of what the original fringe was ever like. This is the danger of what Robert Fripp talks about as Expectation: By expecting things we deny ourselves the experience and impose our own personailites on to it. Expectation closes you to new experience.
The other (alarming) thing that we came across was a wedding. We called in at a cafe in Princess Gardens to get a coffee and a smoothie and when we sat down we realised that a wedding was going on on the main stage. Fully televised and fully public. This struck me as very weird I must admit: They had obviously thought about it - the minister was talking about the thinking behind their wedding (I wonder when Marriage Theory will become a subject proper). It seemed so impersonal - its a nice idea the "Declaring our love in public" thing but the actual effect was to have a lot of bemused people who really didn't care that much share in a very personal moment. Oh well - perhaps it worked for them.
This weekend I cleaned the cooker. I bought some "Mr Muscle" oven cleaner thinking it would make the job easier. When I came to read the instructions however it didn't seem like a good idea - apart from turning pilots lights and electricity off and working in a well ventilated place - the thing that really worried me was that if it even touched your skin you are meant to seek medical advice. Scary stuff. With A. being pregnant and two small (and very nosy) cats in the house I decided to do it by hand (which was easy in the end 'cos it all comes apart and I could do it in the sink).
I watched the south bank show about Tracy Emin last night. Emin is one of those artists I have never been sure of - not because of the "Is it art" debate which is frankly nonsense - artists are not about a single work - yes sure sometimes they make works that any of us are capable of making - the point is they are all part of a body of work and an artistic exploration. The main reason I am not sure about her work is that it doesn't grab me - I like some of her films though. The thing that struck me from the interview though was how in this totaly media obsessed post modern world she is managing to make work that is totaly honest - depsite being media savvy herself and more than aware of her audience. For me the great shame is that she talks more about her drinking and sex life (which lets face it are fairly dull subjects) and less about what makes her different and interesting - her sense of herself in a frame that unlike most people she can totaly ignore. A Fascinating women even so.
Media this week: well into the The Red Thread by Arab Strap. Reading The Timeless Way of Building again by Christopher Alexander. This is I think a vital book.
Posted by Mark at August 20, 2001 11:28 AM