First Post...

...The Post That Hurts The Most, as the Mighty Boosh put it.  On with this social networking malarky then- the point of this blog is to continue the bombardment of information about what we're up to as photographers and artists; not content with filling our Facebook page with random info, we're now embracing the blogosphere, as this allows us to ramble about our work in even more tedious detail :)
   
   Basically this is a cathartic attempt to help us remember that we're photographers first and foremost and not always our day jobs, and furthermore, because even if the only people reading this are our families, a handful of our friends and a hacker in russia, it should theoretically convince us to get on with artwork and post info.  Motivation this way seems easier than employing someone to sit in our spare room banging a drum, rhythmically screaming "take pictures!" at regular intervals.  The tone of the blog will be somewhat irreverent and light hearted, as Amy and myself are paranoid about falling into the trap of taking ourselves too seriously, and using too much pretentious arty-twaddle language. 
   Of course, over time we may resort to that sort of language if we realise that being irreverent and not taking ourselves seriously is whats stopping us from being the next David Hockney, and finally achieving that swimming pool filled with gold coins I've been wanting for years.

So, here we go- a recap of what we're up to at the moment:

(or if that seems a little dull as an introduction, imagine a deep, gravelly voice like you get at the start of Battlestar or the A-Team, saying: "Previously, on Ribbon Art and Photography...")

EXHIBITIONS

   Amy is currently exhibiting a small selection of pictures from her Cumbrian Coast Series, as part of a mixed media show at Hand Made In Bradford/Fabric Gallery, which as the name suggests is in Bradford.  Right in the centre in fact, in the converted Zaavi/Virgin Megastore, which is now a rather splendid gallery.

   The project was a documentation of the remains of the heavy industry of western Cumbria, explored via the derelict remains of the railway lines which had once served the factories, foundries, military installations, towns, docks, and mines.  It basically involved Amy and myself wandering round the derelict buildings and radiation-drenched coastline of Cumbria, trying to dodge angry locals and paranoid security guards... it was kind of like "The Road" with slightly more cheerful weather.  It formed the main thrust of Amys third year at University, and was exhibited a few times in 2007/08 before being revived for this show.

The exhibition is "Jouneys and Migrations" and is showing until October.  Here, thanks to miracle of t'internet, is the home page for Fabric/Hand Made in Bradford: http://www.fabricculture.co.uk/

PROJECTS

   We went to Wales last week, but it wasn't all floating around the sea on inflatables or staring out of the window at sheep on distant rain-drenched hillsides the 5 days out of the 7 it wasn't sunny.  No, whilst there we took the opportunity of starting the long-awaited reshoots of another of Amys old projects, provisionally entitled "home is...".  The project involves various people sat around in domestic situations, in an armchair, with reading lamp, cups of tea, rugs, tables, and various other domestic paraphernalia, etc, but out about in the wild and wonderful landscape of Britain.

An interesting aside of being a Grown Up is that we're suddenly a lot more aware of ourselves and how stupid we look to random passers-by doing this sort of shoot- so whereas for say Bens "Happygoth" fashion shoot in 2007 we thought nothing of standing around a public park in the middle of the day photographing a girl in a stormcoat and spiky collar having a teddy bears picnic... nowadays, being older and wiser, in order to avoid embarrassing questions from the public/getting burned in a wicker man for stealing peoples souls with the Magic Flashy Box we get up at stupid-o-clock. 

   In Wales this involved us 'hilariously' mis-timing our arrival at Trawsfynned lake with the shift-change at the power station, complete with patrols by the ever-paranoid local Fuzz, random groups of teenage girls hanging around on street corners at 6.30 in the morning (why?!) and angry dog walkers who would walk 2 miles out of their way to come glare at us, not to mention drivers who would appear down otherwise dead-end roads with nothing at the end of them just to glower at us over their steering wheels.
   Strange place, Wales.
   Still, we got some pictures done, with myself modelling.  Some rather more elaborate set-ups are planned throughout the year with other people modelling, which should raise the tone somewhat, as theres a reason I stay behind the lens.  More in a future post on this project, and if you're one of our friends whos reading this, knows we are photographers, yes, you should correctly assume you will be asked to model; start thinking of an excuse not to participate now, theres a prize for the most inventive reason.

   Whilst in Wales, I decided to continue destroying what little was left of my social credibility, and went photographing trains again.  Still, a small reproduction fee in a magazine if you get published almost makes up for coach-loads of Brummie tourists jeering at you out of the windows as they rattle past.

   Amy, to my eternal jealousy, went down to London for the Olympic Cycling Time Trials, purely to cheer on, and photograph, our sideburned hero of the games, Bradley Wiggins.  Ribbon Salutes You, Sir.

   Meanwhile I continue to waste the precious gift of life by spending time making model kits and the like, for photography with miniatures.  Attempting to work in such a dead medium I put down to two factors: my deep love for the television shows of Gerry Anderson, and also my pig-headed refusal to learn the dark art of CGI.  My Steampunk project is officially on hold, being as I deeply suspect that once again I've missed the boat somewhat with a fad, and that the genre has now well and truly Jumped The Clockwork Top-Hat Wearing Shark.  So until Steampunk rolls around again, I shall just potter away on that project.

   Beyond that, its just getting stuff ready for open calls.  The rather smashing people at Cupola Gallery, Sheffield (http://www.cupolagallery.com/) have got some more open calls coming up towards Christmas, and being as we've managed to get stuff in with them in the past (and sold work! marvellous) we may bombard them once more with stuff.

   

   Right, that will do for now, assuming anybody has read this far.  This post will probably remain mostly unread in any case, being the first post.  Or will remain the only post on here, as real life interrupts rudely into the artistic process, or Artists Block descends to sit on our faces like a metaphorical overweight rhino... sitting on our faces.  For some reason.  Just picture that for a moment, I am.

Ben Bucki

Somewhere in Yorkshire.

Sat in a chair.