Neal, Beggs

Shipsides, Dan

English

This practice-led research furthers Shipsides and Beggs (SBP) collaborative methodology of developing a motif to unearth the rich significance of anarchist philosophies as they are wrought through early modernist art and brought into popular cultural consciousness in relation to the Accolade Tree motif. In relation to anarchist concepts, through audio interaction within an experimental theatrical exhibition setting, the research also seeks to enable an experience within which the audience is an active component in the construction of aesthetic meaning. An exhibition of research consisting of bespoke constructed interactive audio-sculptural installation, sculptures, wall-drawing, print and interactive electronic audio. Alongside the exhibition was a performance, artist-talk/conference and a hosting of the Decimation in A-flat and D-minor vinyl record and live piano recital as complementary research. The research develops the motif enabling its agency to bring together multilectal references and understandings, drawing from art history, popular culture and philosophy. These include Reclus’ and Kropotkin’s anarchist ecological geographies; Pissarro’s and Cezanne’s tree paintings; Bowie’s enigmatic hand gestures; Chaplin’s absurdist strategies in Shoulder Arms. These are themes explored in The Anarchy Tree artist-talk. The interactive Accolade Tree audio-sculptural work centrally acts as a conceptual or theatrical ‘glade’ setting. The motif is also graphically developed as a series of screen prints, T-shirts and woven badges in order to extend the dissemination under the dynamic of collectivism. SBP’s long standing use of the phrase “Still Not Out of The Woods” (often used to describe still being in a personal or collective predicament) is further expanded as an interactive sculptural installation with the letters built as cajon seat-drum instruments, set around the theatrical space of the ‘glade’. Sheepish Wolf (sculpture), Woodstock (wooden bombs), the vinyl record and Twisted-Wire (wall drawing) augment the exhibition as a way to expand the historical and mythological narrative potential of the ‘glade’

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12/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 1/7wasSHIPSIDES	AND	BEGGS	PROJECTS	-	The	Lament	of	the	Accolade	Tree					_HomeCV	&	contactTextsBibliographyArtworksProjects12/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 2/7The	Lament	of	the	Accolade	TreeExhibition	(sound,	sculpture,	performance,	drawing	and	prints)SHIPSIDES	AND	BEGGS	PROJECTSLa	Cuisine,	France16th	June	to	30	September2018	The	Accolade	Tree.	Plywood,	varnish	and	painted	tape.	Approx	300cm	x	300cm	x	300cm.	2018Originating	from	fake,	constructed	bombed-out	trees	in	no-mans-land	(WW1)	which	acted	as	reconnaissance	posts,	we	havethen	mixed	this	motif	through	with	Shamanism	(masks),	Charlie	Chaplin	(Shoulder	Arms,	1918),	David	Bowie	images	(with	hishand	gesture)	and	other	popular	or	folk	culture	regarding	special	trees	(e.g.	The	Singing	Ringing	Tree).	Another	interest	intrees	comes	from	the	treeline	in	high	mountain	terrain	–	where	broadly	marks	a	shift	in	territory	from	habitable	to	non-habitable	-	so	in	a	poetic	sense	'we	all	live	beneath	the	tree'	-	ecoing	biblical,	folksong	and	modern	idyls	of	the	glade	(e.g.	'LeDéjeuner	sur	l'herbe',	the	'Soldier	and	the	Lady'	and	'Adam	and	Eve').	The	popular	song	'The	Lonesome	Pine'	(1912)	also	actsas	a	fun	and	pertinent	metaphor	for	this	sense	of	isolation	and	yearning	for	love	and	humanity.Tree	as	a	motif	also	feature	heavily	in	the	radical	shift	in	landscape	painting	as	the	Impressionists	and	their	forbears	turnedaway	from	the	slicker	motifs	of	the	Salon	to	a	more	direct	engagement	with	their	subject	and	an	embedded	practice.	In	a	waytheir	choice	of	the	tree	might	be	understood	a	deference	to	the	wisdom	of	the	natural	world	and	mans'	place	within	it	ratherthan	the	dominion	of	nature	or	romanticism	that	predominantly	previous	perspectives	wrought.	In	a	sense	this	work	plays	withthe	idea	of	trees	observing	humanity.	Perhaps	the	trees	were	(or	are)	regarding	the	painters	(or	us)	as	much	as	the	paintersregarded	the	trees.	The	lament	of	the	accolade	tree	(the	Cherry	Blossom	which	blooms	with	a	spectacular	flowering)	is	anopen	lament	for	humanity.This	sculptural	work	acts	as	the	centre	point	for	the	installation.	At	approx.	3m	high	and	3m	wide	and	deep,	the	Accolade	Treeis	designed	as	an	acoustic	device,	built	in	4	quarter	sections	using	the	construction	materials	and	techniques	of	acoustic	guitarmaking,	so	that	the	trees	amplify	any	noise	brought	to	it.	e.g.	via	the	wire	or	an	audio	vibrating	device.The	Accolade	Tree	as	a	graphic	motif	has	taken	several	other	forms	as	avideo	graphic,	wall	drawing,	a	large	scale	audiosculpture,	t-shirt	design	and	a	woven	badge	(editioned).	Here	it	is	also	developed	and	re-designed	through	silk	screen	prints.	More	info	here:	http://www.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/Accolade	print.html12/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 3/7The	Lament	of	the	Accolade	Tree	-	poster.	57x75cm.	2018A	silk	screen	poster	especially	produced	for	the	exhibion	in	an	edition	of	10	unique	hand-made	prints.	More	info	here:	http://www.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LATPoster.htmlStill	Not	Out	Of	The	Woods.	Plywood	and	electronic	audio.	Each	letter	44cm	x	34cm	x	width	dimension	variable.	2018A	large	scale	sculptural	text	work	-	some	letters	of	which	contain	various	electronic	audio	devices.	The	'W'	of	WOODS	for	instance,	containes	a	raspberry-pi	driven	sound	system	which	enables	the	audience	to	press	buttonsand	play,	overlayering	various	audio	tracks	and	loops	to	create	their	own	sound	track	within	the	space	(accompanying	theDecimation	in	A-flat	and	F-minor	record).	Each	letter	also	acts	as	a	Cajon	percussion	instrument	which	can	be	sat	on	andplayed.	The	Still	Not	Out	Of	The	Woods	phrase	is	a	long	standing	Shipsides	and	Beggs	motif	which	points	to	the	ongoing	state	ofsliding	from	crisis	to	crisis	(as	exemplified	in	Europe	by	WW1	to	which	we	geo-politically	can	connect	much	to)	and	neverresolving	situations	or	becoming	safe.	The	woods	tended	to	be	places	of	danger	in	previous	times,	however	today	there	is	atwist	where	we	must	at	least	ecologically	see	the	woods	as	being	a	vital	resource	and	component	of	our	futures	-	and	perhapsa	place	of	refuge.	12/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 4/7Decimation	in	A-flat	and	F-minor.	12inch	specially	commissioned	vinyl	record.	31mins.	Edition	of	4.	2018A	terrifying	policy	of	the	Italian	Army	in	WW1	was	that	of	Decimation,	where	one	in	ten	soldiers	were	randomly	selected	andexecuted	if	any	soldier	in	that	section	was	thought	guilty	of	cowardice.	The	audio	work	in	the	form	of	12”	record	vinyl	is	playedon	a	record	player.	It	takes	the	elevation	data	of	the	1916	Italian	mountain	frontier	and	transcodes	it	into	musical	partition,transforming	that	data	into	a	topological	sound	piece.	Configured	for	two	pianos	playing	in	chords	A-flat	and	F-minor	the	worktakes	on	a	beautiful	but	haunting	musical	form.Full	information	and	documentation	on	Decimation	in	A-flat	and	F-minor	can	be	found	here:http://www.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/DECIAF.htmlA	performance	of	this	electronic	work	was	developed	for	live	recital	by	professional	classical	pianist	Caroline	Scotton-Goulardtook	place	at	the	end	of	the	exhibition	(documentation	within	the	link	below).An	excerpt	of	the	audio	work	is	here:	https://vimeo.com/258876365Full	information	and	documentation	on	Decimation	in	A-flat	and	F-minor	can	be	found	here:http://www.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/DECIAF.htmlTw isted	w ire.	Painted	scotch	tape	wall	drawing.	Dimensions	variable.	2018This	image	is	derived	from	a	photograph	of	a	piece	of	twisted	iron	wire	which	we	found	whilst	climbing	Mount	Marmolada(Capanna	Punta	Penia,	3343m)	in	the	Italian	Dolimites.	The	wire	was	found	amongst	other	debris	exisiting	from	WW1.	Themotif	echos	our	lyrical	approach	to	engaging	with	the	conflict,	beauty,	pathos,	trauma	and	terrain	of	this	geo-political	context.ThreeminutesofDecimationfortwopianosinAFlatandFminor.ShipsidesandBeggsProjects2018from NealBeggs03:0512/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 5/7	The	exhibition	also	involved	two	performances	of	music	and	a	'conference'	performative	artist	talkThe	Anarchy	Tree	-	'conference'	performative	artist	talk.The	talk	gave	an	overview	of	the	origins	of	some	of	the	work,	espcially	looking	at	the	wire	and	the	tree	motifs.	It	then	gave	anexploration	of	anarchist	geography	and	practice	through	the	experimental	connection	of	our	work	with	that	of	Camille	Pissaroand	Paul	Cezanne.	The	ground	and	sources	covered	included	Chaplin's	1918	Shoulder	Arms	film,	David	Bowie,	Pyotr	Kropotkin,Elisee	Reclus,	WW1	fake	observation	trees,	the	concept	of	the	tree-line	and	elevation,	HG	Wells'	war	correspondance	andCamille	Pissarro's	ideas	about	life,	nature,	beauty	and	art	that	is	anarchist.	It	also	featured	two	songs	including	the	firstattempt	at	a	blues	version	of	Frontier	Soldier	and	an	adapted	cover	of	Laurel	and	Hardy's	Lonesome	Pine.THE	ANARCHY	TREE	for	further	information	click	here.The	documentation	video	is	presented	here:https://vimeo.com/35953957312/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 6/7	Additional	works:A	number	of	smaller	works	such	as	carved	bombs,	a	record	player	trunk,	arrows	and	a	wolf	are	all	ideas	from	previousprojects	which	were	relevant	to	redevelop	within	this	exhibition.The	wolf	appeared	in	a	project	in	Nantes	in	a	work	called	Lumiere	de	Loup	(Nottanum,	2017)	where	it	acted	as	a	double	edgedsymbol	of	threat,	fear	and	predjudice	(a	mythology	in	story-telling	and	amplified	in	modern	times	through	the	screen,	wherewolves	act	as	a	threat	to	society	-	the	other,	the	foreigner,	the	monster)	but	also	in	reality	as	a	beautiful	and	an	essentialcomponent	of	a	fragile	ecology.	The	standing	sculptural	wolf	made	here	is	new	and	produced	in	plywood	with	a	wooden	base.TheAnarchyTree48:5012/09/2019 Shipsides and Beggs - The Lament of the Accolade Treewww.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/LAT.html 7/7The	wooden	bombs	have	appeared	in	several	exhibitions.	Reflecting	a	curious	fact	that	in	WW2	wooden	bombs	supplementedactual	bombs	and	were	dropped	on	cities	in	daylight	raids	to	act	as	a	visual	display	of	strength	-	fooling	the	enemy	intothinking	the	munition	stocks	were	healthier	than	they	actually	were.	Upon	impact	the	wooden	bombs	would	have	disintegrated-	but	could	cause	significant	damage	in	themselves.	This	work	has	also	played	with	the	term	Woodstock	as	a	connection	to	thecounter-culture	festival	and	the	1970	song	by	Joni	Mitchell.	This	song	also	features	on	a	text	on	the	wooden	record-playertree-trunk,	where	the	tree-rings	act	as	pataphor	for	the	grooves	of	a	record	-	as	if	embedding	the	knowledge	or	wisdom	of	thetree-rings	into	the	knowledge	encapsulated	in	such	a	song	"we	are	stardust,	we	are	golden	-	we	are	billion	year	old	carbon"(the	Crosby,	Stills,	Nash	and	Young	version).The	arrow	has	also	appeared	in	previous	shows	in	an	inventive	sense	acting	as	a	pivot	in	some	works	and	a	gesture	of	futility	-here	where	the	arrow	is	pitted	against	the	metal	building	-	against	an	armour	it	seems	not	suited	to	penetrate	or	defeat.	Thearrow	has	also	acted	as	a	symbol	of	the	Standing	Rock	protests.		

The Lament of the Accolade Tree

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The Lament of the Accolade Tree

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