Richard Paul
February 24, 2009
I recently won an Arts Council England competition part of the Own Art Scheme in which I chose art and furniture for a virtual lounge. I was amazed that I won for the West Midlands, but even more amazing is the prize itself! £500 to spend on contemporary visual art or craft in a gallery which participates in the own art scheme, free annual membership to The Contemporary Art Society membership collecting scheme – Blood and an expenses paid day trip to London exploring new works with the societies director. Wow!
This prize is nice and timely, firstly I am decorating my entire house and have fairly fresh plastered walls, secondly the day trip to London falls on my birthday weekend but most importantly for me, it represents that next step, educating myself at a new level about visual art. I have worked to generate sponsorship for visual arts and crafts and spend much time translating the artists vision, but I rarely get the time or money to self indulge in it.
This new education will be a great asset; I am part of a group of people in Birmingham who are forming to joint own a contemporary art collection. This genius scheme, The Collective was originally founded in 1999 by a group of London friends who occasionally attended private views, all liked the same painting but couldn’t afford to buy it individually; so they all chipped in and shared the painting in their homes. Five years on, they own a valuable collection of over 45 contemporary art works by the likes of Emin and Ofili, they commission artists directly and travel the world to shows on the profits from the occasional sale of paintings.
This morning I was delighted that an original print by Richard Paul landed on my mat, 33/100 Tautology 2008. Part of an ongoing series of deliberately simple photographic still lives of everyday objects. This art work was courtesy of The Contemporary Art Society for becoming a new member of Blood.
“There is no such thing as a thing-in-itself; every object has a raft of connotations ready to set forth depending on context. Pairing two objects suggests a relationship, and enhances or even generates particular connotations/narratives”
For once, one of my virtual loves will end up on my wall.
Richard Paul
Last Green Bottle 2007
Liquidity 2008
Spheres 2005
Tautology 2007
