h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I saw your post on the sex up thread about bookshelves.

What if we had some exhibition of photos of people's bookselves?

People could concentrate on the aesthetic of the pattern or close-ups of titles or whatever?

We could limit it to 2 images each.

Don't know if we could do it on h2g2..or link to some other site?

I'm massive into bookshelves as well.

(Hopefully some time today..this will emerge from pre-mod).

Ooh. Here it is, out of pre-mod.

I think that's a really interesting idea, Effers. Do you mind if I bring Sol and Tav or Mala into this thread? Sol because she is working on competitions, and Tav or Mala because of their work in the Arts and Design volunteers. In fact, teh mroe I think about it, the more I like it.

I told Z about your wall last night; he'd missed you talking about it before. He was really intrigued.

B

Yeah bring them all in.

Bookshelves full of books are such beautiful things as objects..as well as all that coded knowledge within.

I just watched the latest Stephen Fry, Planet Word episode.

He got quite orgasmically excited when describing his feeling of being in a library full of bookshelves..and his childhood memories of that..and talking about the library van coming round..I remember that as a kid as well. My mother is totally voracious for books..all her life..not so discriminating as me..or reflective afterwards about its structure and characters...but just reads and reads and reads..

Fry is big behind the thing for saving our libraries from the cuts.

Hi Effers! Ben suggested I pop by. This is such a good idea. Give me 15 mins or so and I'll be back to enthuse further!

Right, yes, back.

Great idea. Did I say that? Quite apart from the visual impact it's a version of that 'what ten books do you have closest to you?' meme. I love other people's bookshelves. Although the wouldn't have to show the titles I suppose, as long as it made a good picture.

I'm going to give you a sneak preview of the thing I was hinting at in the novel writing thread earlier (shhhhhhhhhhhhh) : http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/brunel/U14992038

As you can see it's a series of tasks/ challenges/ competitions. Bit of tidying to do, but that's the idea.

Anyway, I think that this would fit right in with the ethos of Create. Plus it fits quite nicely in with some other things we're running/going to run like Z's booker prize thing and the novel writing month, so we'd want to do it soon.

I've just been discussing the mechanics of a photo comp with Tav as it happens, and it should be possible to get them up on site, as long as people can email them or upload it to a place we can access. We can blob the apparently. I don't know what that means, but it sounds promising.

Anyway, any thoughts?

I much prefer the idea I suggested as an *exhibition*. That's what I'm used to as an artist..*not* competition. I can't relate at all to that for art.

(Obviouslty sport is something entirely other and other areas..but not *art* for me.)

But I've put the idea out there now..and it's up to others whether it be a competition or an exhibition...or whether it even happens at all.

I've already got some great photos in my mind of how I might play with my own book shelves..photographically..and how cool that might look...but as for h2g2 I see that will be a communal decision.

That concept is something I need learn more about as its very alien to me as a way of working with other artists..but I will try to honestly face how things work here..and accept it..otherwise I have nothing to contribute.

Having a modded post in a thread is like having a you're not allowed to open yet!

B

Ah! The wrapping comes off.

It's slightly freaky to me that I missed that distinction in your first post, Effers. I'm so focused on what we are planning that I miss-read what you said.

It is a good idea.

Ben

Actually, Effers, I am totally cool with the exhibition idea.

I mean, we will run some competitions. We are running some competitions, but we will also run projects where, I hope, the taking part's the thing. In fact you may have just hit on a very useful word ('exhibition'). I've been searching for a phrase like that. I keep calling them 'challenges', which sounds a bit confrontational, but really what I mean is 'hey come and have a go at this!'

I'm feeling so alienated and insecure here at present..especially as this pre-mod drags on..and some of my closest friends aren't around..on top of all the 'loss' plus aggro directed at me recently..and the all round sense of the cataclysmic change in every way..that I'm not sure about it at all.

I don't really know how to connect it conceptually to do with exhibitions that I'm used to in real life for years and the curatorial aspect.

Suddenly its all internet..and like people don't have any knowledge of that whole history and tradition in real life that's gone on for centuries in art.

Yeah maybe competition will fit better..with internet thinking.

I'll get back to you at some point hopefully. But not before they stop this pre-mod thing.

When I think of all the abusive stuff I've had here of late from various people..like the car crash wish..and other stuff...and yet it is *me* on PRE-MOD..I can hardly believe it really.

I don't think I'm interested in doing it now if I'm honest.

I'll have a pop at the exhibition




RJR

Does it have to be bookshelves. A lot of my study books are in piles.

Piles sound cool

Hey it's good to get this show on the road again.

Oh you have to photograph those before you tidy them all away at the end of your dissertating.

I do think there would be interest, well as we see!

Look this is to do with Art.

And of course incredibly important.

And I can't now talk properly here because of the pre-mod thing.

The least apparent important thing like a pile of books thrown together without much rational thought could be the most fascinating thing as a piece of Art.

Once things are put into that context they can become very powerful.

So much to say...I'll shut up though

Ahhh it's good to see the mod's being kept in business

Actually, I do have a remarkably cool bookshelf, I'll put up some photos. The uprights are flooring blocks and the shelves are old pews. They had been in a pub and he indersides were covered in blobs of chewing gum. Well I assume they'd been in a pub ...

I only want to be part of this now if it's honestly represented as 'illustration' and attractive pictures...ie not Art.

But I'm more than happy to be part of it if its represented *honestly*.

It could be really cool yes, and fun.

I still think an exhibition would work better though. Competitions bore me unless they are to do with *absolutes* Eg in sport..you can't argue with a scoreline.

But we'd need a curator. Not everything might be accepted.

Actually Mrs Zen your thing does sound a bit close to art.

But it could just as easily be something 'artsy'.

And that is no insult. We all do it. I made my kitchen table out of car wheels and a piece of block board.

It's just when you've spent years reading artists' writings, philosophy to do with art, psychoanalysis, biographies of all kinds of artists writers and musicians..and christ knows what else..there's a bit of difference

Lets just call it something h2g2...to do with book storage...and the look of that in pictures.