Breaking the Rules

More writing

This weekend's task has been an article for one of the big daily newspapers - 1500 words. It's difficult getting the last article out of my head. A different approach is necessary so the focus is on the exhibition layout and the differentials between 'Breaking the Rules' and other exhibitions on Modernism, Undercover Surrealism, Dada etc. Cendrars and Klebnikov get another mention. And Futurism is looming larger and larger as the umbrella of all the isms - whether it's Marinetti in London, Moscow, St Petersburg, or being translated into Czech etc. I once defined the Dadaists as 'futurists who disliked futurism' - and there is a lot of truth in this. I end the piece with the Nazi Book Burnings of May 1933 - this included some of the works in the exhibition - Sander, Roh etc.

Ambient Sound

Geraldine rings to get me down to discuss ambient sound. The idea is to have a white space gallery-like introduction to the exhibition with a single Kurt Schwitters Merz painting with collaged printed material on its surface, as a preface to the noisy materiality of the manifestos, artists' books, little magazines etc. I want some sound to bleed between the two areas - a Schwitters reading of 'Ursonata' and Marinetti's 'Battle of Adrianople' poem. Both are text-based but emphasize phonetic qualities of words, consonants and letters. Whilst the Marinetti still has a figurative relationship to the real world - the onomatopoeia of explosions and machine guns, the Schwitters is more abstract, stressing the phonic qualities independent of any referent. But both are remarkably similar.

(My favourite anecdote is that the birds of the forest where Schwitters practiced the 'Ursonata' started to imitate him - and are still reciting it to this day!!)

David, the sound consultant, suggests a collage of the two. We look where to have the sound in the now cavernous void of the exhibition space and come up with four speakers on the pillar and oppposite wall at the bottom of the stairs between the intro and the main space. We discuss the intervals between silence and sound, and the need to be able to turn off for gallery tours etc.

Friday night

I'm feeling very guilty - I should have gone to Cassie's private view in Hackney tonight, but I'm feeling very tired and depressed - my football team, Blackburn Rovers, are now out of Europe. This morning I revised the People and City Panels for the exhibiition, and this afternoon sent off the item labels, minus a few loans and the record covers for the Legacy section. In between I did the Quarter 2 entries for the British Library business plan on Arts & Humaniies Strategy, Content Strategy and the European Digital Library, responded to some queries on the consultancy on Indian & Chinese Publications Strategy. I must remember I have to revise the Powerpoint slide on Research next week and respond to the European Grey Literature inquiry. I get an email from my previous institution: Tan has got the new library manager post - I had been her referee. That's great news. Bad news is that one of my MA students, Oliver, has died. I remember his photographs, paparazzi-style of people getting out of cabs and limos. Have 2 one-to-ones with my managers - Philatelic and the National Preservation Office - they are both doing fantastic things in very different ways. For a second I delude myself that I'm a good manager. Michele rings to ask me about EU projects we have or are still running, as she is preparing a funding bid for our superb International Dunhuang Project (if there is anyone out  there, this is well worth supporting - have a look at its website). I answer some queries about recruitment, research projects and check through the copy for the exhibition events. I call up some books I need for the exhibition. Tomorrow - Saturday - I need to do the press copy and the isms section of the leaflet. But on Sunday it's madrigals at my place - but one of the singers is an expert on my hero, the Russian Futurist, Khlebnikov, so maybe there's no escape.