'... politics stand at the soft core of our time.  may that core soon soften further and may it leave our time free space for being free'  

from what is madness? by kurt schwitters, 1924/25 c.e.  

for crazy-kurt, crip-kurt, degenerate-to-the-nazis kurt - all was creativity.  kurt schwitters lived with what would now be labelled multiple disabilities & mental distresses from epilepsy via madnesses to heart condition ... brit-internment hastening his heartblown-end yet his art / commitment remained total ... his life wz expanding universes ov playful-undermine, ov serious-fun, ov yo-yo'ing-wtf-lol-against-the-mofo's ... how he processed the none-sense ov 'rational-world' in all its canons & cannons to subvert like nae other ... typefaces, fairytales, found, sound, installation, psychological collage & naming the collaging merz (partword torn from flier off-ov some bank) all belonged to the lifelong, total, commitment ov his ... when dada gave up he continues,  confusing the bbc into unplugging his ur-sonate, fleeing nazis twice he continues to build merz, brits intern him & hasten his fatal heart condition (us too, us too) but he built porridge-sculptures inside (they stank) which cleared the space & regained some freedom; released he eventually finds elterwater in the north (lake district) swapping more 'regular' art for food while continuing to curve barn walls, dying even as his naturalisation papers hunt him doon ... this final curve-barn is eventually transported across north-ov-england & into a pop-art toon gallery ... & we are wee & for treats we run around kurts unwall, barnstorming this anti-wall in hatton gallery till guards come & we freeze like much art-critic-curation ... on guards unclench we laugh-off&whoop again ... barn wall in a gallery & its no even straight?!  euro-crazycrip-kurt lifelong schwitter-subversions challenge the normcore, the numbcore canon&cannons-ov critic&curator&dealer(arms&art, both) ... these expanding universes on every front blow minds into finding personal liberation, gifts for next generations ov crazed-crips

thanks Dan Russell & Lindsay Nicholson for yr access support work.

for the Void Gallery Derry Waiwav we get to play with Derry artist & friend James King.

James King has been performing for a long time in various forms; very often in the street and frequently collaborating with others. E.g. Clowning at festivals, agit prop street theatre, street art performance ( junk sculpture, graffiti, walkabout happenings) and currently performance art.  Much of his work is spontaneous and intuitive, using vocalisation.  At open mics in pubs and elsewhere he has performed sound poetry and experimental gibberish.

Some of the work has themes related to social issues and concerns.  He has facilitated a broad reach of workshops in the community, and in education.

bbeyond.live/james-king/

gobscure performs-exhibits-makes-sound-art internationally/award-winningly, uses plural to reflect a broken-mind.  self-taught, we playfully reclaim spaces with other marginalised folx.  we reframe narratives, rewrite futures, offer love&rage.  our film urs for kurt (schwitters) was finalist in 100th anniversary ov dada, ica, london, 2016.  https://vimeo.com/162196747  

our latest solo show heartfelt is backed by MGC Futures Bursary, Graeae Beyond Bursary & Level Centre Residency alongside artistic advice / mentoring from Third Angel and Slung Low and is the final part of the trilogy including provoked 2 madness by the brutality ov wealth & rose carved in rain    

Web: gobscure.wixsite.com/info
SM: @collectortears

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?madness what is - 2nd July 2022

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dairyentry waiwavderrygobscure‍

arrived late due to (non-strikebreaking) ferry not understanding time. still several days ahead tho, so we slept. then ate. derry-artist-friend james king told of finding rings n then we found rings. health&safety (fluorojacketed) then told off collaborangels for dancing in / with a tree. tree kept dancing. as did pansies.milkweed. n pizzas. walked daily past h.q. of the killers of lyra mckee. sit on peace bridge where river was / is / will be european (wide n gentle) most folx nodding a tour friend-artist james king. vote now wz neatly stuck to multiple litterbins. a headof waiwav time we beached just over a v-unfrictiony-border and find childhood - anarctic cowrie - among sunshine picnicing as haar sweeps in from inch island. the next day one colloborangel poetried up ladder and sang of arctic cowries on waiwav time while others violined, dance under / with fabric, feather, walls, keys are jingled,order is not restored, sound with chalk is on floors. unicorn too. 2 minutes b4 waiwav scrabble-letters are summonsed - will it be dada? mostly it as la, baa, va -once da blank and a is found we wind ourselves into the washi-tape that reads handmade with love held in an x (kiss) n we all entrance offering out 'handmadewith love' for all (can never be enough love) - then slowly inscribe 'degenerate artist'crazy-crip kurts what is madness poem across instant whiteboard wall in a rainbowov colour which we then de-n-regenerate (gotta break language to remake) as the waiwav above plays / out ... lass n mam are transfixed that in this gallery they toocan write on walls, draw on floors (unicorn is theirs), are gifted pencil with poem on(it reads : kid asks what is poem, we gift 'em pencil), serious-fun is had as is tiramisu.ferry-back n gannets were homeheading to ailsa craig in trios. once home, fordays/daze we cannae move, worth every cowrie

artists were James King & collaborangels : Ann McKay, Caroline Murphy, EamonnO'Donnell, Nina Quigley plus gobscure. access support special thanx dan & linds who were graciously permitted a wee dada too

james king

‍a good journey. you are such beautiful and endearing persons and originallycreatively innovatingly pioneering. radically playful . kind friendly courageous .more in my heart than are wordful. clambro shugghug meudgsh. I had such a stuperunerzing time I would have paid you for the opportunity! thank you dear seans for inviting me. you are enormously generous in splitting the fee. kindest regards to dan and lindsay such solid warm and flexible angels. Jghtubdkf lfirjjrjjjfjfnfjksemahdj xyxyxyxyxyxyzzzzzz jmsmary cremin, director void, says : It was a pleasure to have you and your team here here and I am happy that you enjoyed your collaboration with James and the collaborangels. You created a great atmosphere and I really enjoyed the playful aspect of the event. I look forward to seeing the film and we will keep in touch withyou about it.

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