B of the Bin?

It looks like the beleaguered B of the Bang sculpture which is the largest piece of artwork in the UK is set to be taken down.

Originally constructed to mark Manchester's holding of the Commonwealth Games in 2002, the artwork began to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons when the integrity of some of the 180 spikes began to fail.

Currently cordoned off, the local council have settled out of court for around £1.7m which covers the original sculpture cost of £1.4m plus the extra costs incurred keeping the surrounding area safe.

Some local residents wont be sad to see it go although I think that when any work of public art is removed from built up cities, there is always a tinge of sadness. I'd love to see the council recommission something in its place.

'Blogging' an exhibition

What do you do when you want to arrange an exhibition which includes work from all over a city? Well, why not arrange it via a blog app?

That's Exactly whats going on over on Flickr at the moment. This group of people are gearing up towards a public exhibition which will be based at a Manchester venue, yet to be decided. I came across the idea while placating my flickr addiction and I'm sensing that this brilliant idea is something which could really work well.

Readers to this blog may remember that I arranged a photography exhibition in nearby Wythenshawe after teaching photography basics to around 100 locals. I think that its when 'local' people get a chance to exhibit their handywork, we see art operate on a slightly different level than when its a 'traditional' artist whos work we are seeing. Its almost like we are glimpsing at life and our world through common eyes, not necessarily those of someone who represents their ideas in a different way. I suppose its everyday art, by everyday people.



I also think its great to see creative uses for new web apps such as flickr too. Ideas such as this take something from the virtual world and place it very much in the physical one. I know there are other social documentary projects underway on groups such as flickr and its common knowledge that groups such as the BBC are being encouraged to interact and engage through web platforms of their own and those from other providers too. Its encouraging and creating a network through services such as flickr and youtube where people can express themselves creatively and seamlessly, not just with others online, but those in their communities too.

And to cap it all off, I think flickr espeially can be quite inspirational. Even as it is, I see it very much like an online photography exhibition which centers around any topic of your choosing. You can find pictures from all around the world and from all levels of photographers, bloggers and artists. Again raw work from experts and everyday people, all in one place.



I will be paying close attention to the planned exhibition and if your reading this and you think you could help with a potential location, why not check out the group over on flickr.

These photographs (excluding the first) are currently being voted on for inclusion in the final exhibition. Please see the flickr group for further information.

Photo Credits in order of apperance:
B-of-the-Bang: Paul Hurst
Salford: 'Frannk'
CJC angle: 'Jonwild'

New year greetings

I just thought I'd take this opportunity to wish everyone all the very best for 2007.

Regular readers of this blog will know what to expect this coming year but if you are visiting for the first time today, you can expect comment on just about anything.

In the meantime, I will leave you with some video footage which was taken a few days ago when I went to watch the 'Blue Planet Live'.

The BBC filmed over 7000 hours worth of footage for the series, and during the performance, some of the highlights were shown on a 60ft screen whilst the musiical score was played in realtime by an orchestra and choir.

This was all lead by the composer, and it was a great evening of stunning images and music.

It was fantastic!

Best Wishes,

Paul

A week away...

Can bloggers take time off? Do we deserve time off or should we be chained to the computer terminal to continuously churn out our rants, ramblings and observations?

Partly prompted by this BBC Manchester blog post and also by a slight pang of guilt for not updating for a whole seven days, I found myself wondering to what extent and for what purpose do we blog at all?

I suppose for me, its partly to express thoughts and feelings which we all have but we don't all share. We all have opinions on most things but there isn't often an outlet, unless your a blogger of course!

My break over in the Lakes was great, I feel quite relaxed now (almost able to face Christmas... Well almost) It rained continuously for five days and nights but aside from a trip to Newcastle, my Girlfriend and I spent most of the time in our cottage, by the wood burner.

Anyway I am back now and I've returned to 118 emails and a load of work but just time to include one of my pics... Hopefully it will help me keep a sense of 'holiday peace' beyond tomorrows rush hour.

Manchester festive market

Christmas is close and with the Manchester festive market being in town, Santa must be taking the cover of his sleigh as I speak.



As I walked round (mulled wine in hand), I was amazed as aver at the variety of the various European food, art and crafts that were on display. I could have spent a fortune but instead limited my buying to a single bottle of Sasparilla. I had never tasted it before so I thought I'd give it a go.

It reminded me that often, its the simple little things which make life great fun. I really enjoyed walking around, drinking my 'winter warmer' and taking in all the different sights and sounds (and foods of course!)

If you in the area, or is theres a festive market near to you then please take my advice. Pay it a visit and try some of the foods on offer while you're there!

A cathedral of consumerism

As we get closer to Christmas, its obvious where the faithful are meeting in order to get ready for the festive season.

Today, the Trafford Centre was HEAVING! it was positively bursting at the seams with people who were starting to do their bit to bump up the national debt.

The shops were packed and I felt quite out of my element amidst all of these, clearly professional shoppers.

Recently in the news, some faith groups complained that the western, capitalist culture is slowly choking the life out of our nations spirituality. I'm not too sure, but I do think thats its pretty obvious where our priorities lie...
Jesus once commented "where your treasure is: there also is your heart". I wouldn't be too surprised if mine is still stuck in the Trafford Centre somewhere.

Photography Exhibition

Sunday was a busy day for me as I put the finishing touches to a special exhibition of photography which opens at the Wythenshawe Forum later on Monday.

The work will be on display for two weeks and the photographs have all been taken by my students who studied on a course which I developed (pardon the pun!) and delivered for Manchester city council.

The work started a number of months ago when another BBC freelancer and friend contacted me to ask if we could write a short course to introduce people to digital photography, so we got together and devised a four week course which was aimed at complete beginners, to show them the ropes and get to grips with some of the current crop of digital compacts.

I then tutored around sixty people from four different community centres around Manchester and we looked at the basics along with some of the more advanced techniques of how to get the best out of even the point-and-click digitals.

I suppose its a common mistake, but lots of people often think that you need to spend mega £££ to get equipment thats good enough to take an award winning photograph, and while it can help, I think most people found it refreshing to find out that its not a necessity. All thats really needed is a 'good eye' and a bit of luck by being in the right place at the right time.

Some of the group were just intrigued by what they could achieve with their new piece of kit whilst others wanted to incorporate photography with their own art-related hobbies and one lady (Janet) was learning how to take better pictures for her blog.

Whatever the reason for being on the course, I feel that digital photography has something to offer most people who give it a go and even as Damian and myself devised the course, I began to plan for a special exhibition which would be used to showcase some of the photos taken by those on the course. Its this exhibition which finally saw the light of day today and as we stood back from the pictures which had just been hung, I felt very proud of each and every photographer represented there.

It would be easy to finish my post be saying that the course went well and that I'd like to do another but I'm hoping we've achieved more than that. I'm hoping that we've inspired some people to take a closer look at the world around them and I hope that we've helped others to realise that they have the skills to learn and grow in areas that they never thought possible.

Sometimes, we may think that as we press the button down, we are showing people whats going on in the world outside of the camera lens, but quite often we are also allowing people a glimpse inside our minds and sometimes even our hearts too.



The photographs may be seen for two weeks at the Wythenshawe Forum, Manchester.

It might be good to talk... But it can be expensive too!

As per usual, I spent some of my weekend at the Trafford Centre and I think I managed to find what must be the most overpriced product on sale, anywhere!

Yup, forget £85 sandwiches, in one of the Jewelers I stumbled across an extra small mobile phone with an extra large price tag. For those who think their eyes may be playing tricks on them, they aren't, it really is £20,450!

I did nip in and ask if the handset was free if I take a 12 month contract but unfortunately it isn't... My eye for a bargain was maybe, a little too keen.

Here's a pic... With that built in arial, I bet the signal reception is still crap!

A big day for Mancunian Bloggers

With award categories including 'political' 'personal' 'arts' and 'culture' its going to be a mixed audience attending tonights first EVER Manchester bloggers awards bash.

I'll be there (of course!), loitering by the buffet table to mingle with my contemporaries and also to find out 'what the hell' an RSS feed actually is...

I've also hit upon what I think may be a totally unique idea. What if I take my sexy black Macbook down with me and actually blog from the event? I'll bet no-one else thinks of that idea... Sometimes I suprise myself with my creativity and originality.