This is the blog for a project called VERSUS that IRONBBRATZ participated in during June 2010.  If you’re looking for more general information please visit our main blog at:  http://ironbbratz.wordpress.com.

Lots and lots,

Amanda

Our residency/’experimental competition against another art group’ has come to an end. The Ironbbratz have emerged victorious in many ways. Despite the challenges of time & budget, we have responded to the briefs set to us by the Market Gallery will great vigour & humour – and our shows just got stronger & stronger.
My personal take on the project is that the Ironbbratz have shown themselves to be a magnificent Art Fighting Force. Here is a list explaining why:

1. We collectively engaged very directly – and sometimes literally – with each brief. No ‘art school flannel’ was needed to justify where we were coming from. The creativity of our responses was in direct proportion to the discipline we imposed upon ourselves to make the brief really work. If – for example - we had a show entitled ‘Dogs’ then anyone walking off the street should know that. The challenge was therefore making the obvious surprising. Making the literal delightful.
2. The group dynamic responded very dynamically to each brief. There was no ‘this is what I do’ rigidity or egos obstructing the greater idea – everybody was either ‘a reed that bent in the wind’, or typically individuals would work in a different way. There was no artistic volatility, just versatility. But that is hardly the point – we all enjoyed working together. The individual vision became the group vision & vice versa – such was the group dynamic.
3. The Ironbbratz had fun. Despite many of our group being strangers at the beginning of this project, we are all now friends. This is undoubtedly due to the group being brought together through social contacts. We were all there because we were friends first & artists second. There is no doubt that this made all the difference. Effective, frank & open communication were vital to building a strong response to each brief ~ and because we were all fun & friendly people, the discussions were long & enjoyable. Not difficult & awkward. Lots of talking. Lots of working. That’s the secret of good group art.

What now? Many of us are probably wondering this. We’ve all been so busy & focused for the past month, that THE END is a … a…… …. At the climax of the Versus Project there was no coronation, no crate of champagne, no photo in The Evening Times looking like a grinning idiot. But it would be wrong to think that we left the Versus Project without a prize. We all feel better about our individual work – and importantly (and for me surprisingly) Ironbbratz has shown that intense collaboration can be tremendously liberating & fun; and an Art Group can be greater than the sum of its parts.
Oh yeah, and

4. We won.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spuddleyspudd/sets/72157624335123914/show/

set

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spuddleyspudd/sets/72157624335123914/

spudd

More time lapse fun.
Music. A Particularly Practical Particle*, featuring Noam Chomsky being bastrdised by Skizzwang**.
(*&**=spudd)

Photos to follow.

–

Amanda Dobbratz
Co-Director
IRONBBRATZ

Please see some photographs of the recent ‘Replicate’ show on Wednesday night – the after show truce soiree at ‘The Mutual’ – and some photographs of the preparations on the previous days…

Enjoy!

Innes

Linky to sound piece performed spontaneously live.

It goes on a bit….

Originally the assessment was due on Monday but as both teams had been having difficulty getting organised an extension was agreed till tonight.

IRONBBRATZ pulled together and produced an exhibition of Replicas, we each submitted a piece of work and everyone else had to replicate it either visually or methodologically. The room was then divided into ten sections and  fishing line strung between points on each board. Above each board signs were placed which replicated Market gallery’s score words as well as our own additions. The work was then assessed and ordered according to the accuracy of the replication then hung in that order. An animation was produced that featured the work cycling and Spudd produced a performance during the assessment. Stickers were also produced featuring reproductions of some of the work and they proved quite popular.

Please check back for some pictures which will no doubt appear shortly.

The next brief has been issued and is titled “for the common good”, discussions were again had, and will no doubt be had again, but I have faith that a grand effort will be made once again in the name of IRONBBRATZ and the Saturday grand opening will be worth attending. So you had better attend!

etc etc…

Go Go Ironbbratz!