The Chuckle Brothers

I'm sorry but the Chuckle brothers are the best thing on Kids TV. Firstly they look like no other person seen on telvision - it's difficult to say normal but approaching someone you may see on a bus or buying a hot pork sandwhich in castle markets. Secondly they operate in a post historic context. In 1979 with the advent of the goodies TV comedy reached it's progressive conclussion. All subsequent comedy is post historical and therefore not funny. The Chuckle brothers like contempory artist work in a context where all social and media references become the raw material where both nothing and everything is funny. In a recent show the "to me to you" catch phrase was given new life as the boys tried to move a piano for Stan the Man. Just like it's American animated counterpart the Simpsons the Chuickle brothers both define and reflect British society. you can watch 3 episodes back to back every morning.

White gloves and acid free

Just had really interesting meeting in Rotherham museum. The paddle tale deepens. It appears that it's original western owner was,may have, possibly , as long as it wasn't another person called Chalmers who happened to be American and not Scottish got eaten by Cannibles Hoo ray.

The strange thing about this work is that all the museum staff seem complicit yet they are held by the Dogma of proffesional practice. I'm not surprised that they question what they do and why they do it I'm just interested by the fact that they have such integrity and would never ever ever just make things up. Artists are always making things up.

The Curator of ehtnography was really good - at one point he suggested having a battle with his opposite number in Doncaster using paddles.

Francis the head of collections asked me if it mattered that the paddle had not been down the congo and was infact from New guini - I didn't really mind especially now it's owner had being eaten or as I said at the meeting "The indiginous people had "Captain Cooked" Him"

I'm sure I've seen swimming hats with wing mirrors on - or what is probably more likely I dreamt about them after banging my head swimming back stroke and decided to patent the idea then forgot about it.

Up Shit Creek

The paddle is causing uproar. The idea is to try and extend it's Narrative and in so doing give it a new meaning within the museum. To this end I suggested taking it to meet well known Rotherham celebrities such as the Chuckle Brothers and David Seaman. I also thought I'd take it to the pictures to see King Kong - I've invited Kate to the Zoo with me so we can photograph it with animals from it's past (Crocodiles?)

As I described these ideas to the senior curator it all seemed to be making sense even the connection between truth, fiction and metaphor and Conrad external fixators and buying a train ticket for it and telling people who asked what I was doing with a paddle that I was extending it's narrative and seeing if I could re invent it as a piece of social rather than ethnographic history.

The sticking point seemed to be my suggestion that I was going to use it to paddle a boat (Not a shed) across Rother valley country park. This was taken on the chin but as I looked into her gradually rolling eyes I could see the potential problems I was sparking.

So it's all very interting the museum are now researching the paddle for me - they say there might be a speer I could use instead - as within the Dogma of my current thinking I'd have to hunt impala or kill somebody with it I thought I should not really go there.

I'll Keep you posted - if the paddle is really important I may need to make a replica if it's not important they may de accesion it which would mean that after it becomes famous as the first Rotherham paddle to meet the queen it will have to go back into the collection but where?

I told my 12 year old daughter about the idea and she said "Dad you could just make it up" so if she gets it I think I might be onto something and can start my journey back down shit creek.

2006.2.2

+ Not exactly taking the paddle for a walk, but above, the result of applying two different methods for mapping [recording] part of the beautiful building that is Cannon Hall.

+ Not necessarily in the drawing room, on the moors (over the haha) or in yorkshire at all, but a catch up with all would be nice indeed!

2006.2.1

It's been a while and there's a lot going on! Fortunately, it so far seems to be revolving|evolving around the same ideas.

Still though, in the quest of finding a system that would record and impose some sort of order onto the material ideas that has been amassing during and after our visits to Doncaster and now Cannon Hall, I've been thinking about the possibilities for exposing one system by describing it -- processing and presenting it -- through the [visual] language of another. All of this, naturally, considered in the most non-scientific and non-academic of ways.
Immediately, I like the obviousness [undoubtedly etymological? must be, no?] of the electrical circuits ability to describe an organisation: expect examples of diagrams complete with notes on capacitors, resistors -- and potential circuit-breakers (there's always one) Through the 'library' of google, I've even found a system for reforming the 'capacitor' here and through the same search protocol, an example of Benjamin Franklin's Leyden Jar Capacitor (above) ... looking suspiciously like a museum object!

And ? ... although the reading evoked might be a sentimental one, the [immense potential for] narrative in such a seductive artefact (and language) seems impossible to avoid? particularly when, because of or despite the fact that some information is missing?

paddle rumours

steve,

we've been hearing rumours of you taking your paddle on a journey around rotherham, recording responses from passers-by. sounds great. we have been to cannon hall this week, and i was overwhelmed by the possibilities of decoration.

looking forward to catching up!