Some of you may recall me rambling on at various points in the past about a little booklet I once bought at a Glasgow School of Art Degree Show. It was by Angela McKay and it was called ‘The Art of Letterwriting (Is Not Dead)’. And it was ace. In fact, it remains one of those little artefacts that I could not bear to be without, and occasionally I dig it out of my Box Of Treasures and have a smile to myself. I really love how it's ‘letterwriting’ as all one word, and I find it kind of bittersweet to see the way Angela wrote ‘…. YET’ in the bottom corner of the front cover, because it seems so prescient, and in these times of instant communication I do find myself yearning for the days when we would send letters scribbled on the backs of old photocopies, tracing paper scraps, thin ruled pages of A4 or leafs torn from sketchbooks. And how we would cram all kinds of ephemera into the envelopes: train and bus tickets, movie ticket stubs from the GFT, tourist leaflets from our end of the world towns, expired coupons promising 10p off yoghurt, badges for bands no-one else in your town had ever heard of let alone loved, mix-tapes with hand made covers and a million daydreams. Of course maybe it’s just my age now. Maybe those ‘younger generations’ that John Sebastian once sang about are still exchanging such things. Who knows. And really, who cares? Because it’s not exactly Important is it? I’ve probably just been on holiday too long and need to start thinking about more serious issues, like VLE’s, Strategic Plans and Residuals. Or something.
But Angela McKay… yes… you see THIS was the reason for this blog post: Angela McKay will be the artist in residence at Preston Manor in September. Confusingly, that’s nowhere near Preston at all, but rather in Brighton on the sunny south coast. A short trip on the train from Victoria in case you London types fancy a day trip to the seaside (and why wouldn’t you?). Visitors to the Manor can meet Angela, see samples of her work and ask her questions on:
Thursday 13th September, 11am – 1pm
Sunday 23rd Sept, 2 – 4pm
The flyer says that’s ‘free with admission to the Manor’. Sounds like it would be a lovely part of a wonderful day out. And maybe afterwards you can write someone a nice letter about it.
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