I must be minted.

I am not going to change my spots or my filigree.

You can trawl through my Linkedin cv.  It’s pretty much all there, I have only left out the bits that include lying about lies.  I think, I am a seeker.  I don’t really know what that means.  Some years ago, I used the word seeker to describe myself in one word when I was attending a weekend course with an organisation called https://www.ncbi.org.uk.  Our course leader Liz Neat, whom I had already known for a couple of years back then said that she thought that was a good word to describe myself with.

I could write a book but, I wouldn’t know where to start.  I might even be seeking a place to start as I begin here, a seeker of things is not ever really aware of seeking anything till something is found.  Being a seeker is not the same as looking for a lost something.

My entire life so far has happened in little segments and there are no signs of any changes on the horizon never mind the latest pandemic.  I think it is time to accept that mini-chapters sometimes a dozen a day are fact of life for me.  I come from a large family and so that means large amounts of births and deaths, which cause large amounts of stop start.  As well as Christenings and Marriages and Funerals, I went to quite a few different schools and churches quite a few different jobs quite a few adult ed colleges finishing up with quite a few different kinds of qualifications, not that many marriages (two) by many standards three kids two grand kids and cats and dogs, rabbits, fish, snails and so on. I am well signed and sealed into the “gig-economy” which anyone talking about the gig-economy never seems to have a clue as to what it is like to live in. The way in which you are always your own worst enema and you are only as good as your last dump.

Before I try to get to grips with writing any more now, if you are reading this (yes you if you are still here) you need to know that I am a big fan of illustrated books for children.  I recently picked up a copy of ISBN 9780008354749 and on the inside flysheet the author says “Just remember to leave notes for everyone else…”

Pandemic is making me try to write about value for money.  I hope that I am able to explain why and I hope that I can explain that we need to be more inclusive in the skills that we decide to value in C21.  I have just this second heard on the news that it is almost certain that Joe Biden is going to be the next bloke to have a go at being the most powerful person on the planit!  I was hoping that it was going to be Mrs Obama not so long back.  Even my wife thinks that that’s too much to dare to think for C21. first quarter.

Like I already mentioned look at my Linkedin stuff.  I have never published anything else anywhere else.  If I think I have some “notes” as Oliver Jeffers put it on that flysheet, to leave for anyone else, they will be on Linkedin.  It’s the only online thing I have ever been able to work!  I don’t think I’m stupid but a lot of stuff on computers seems to be designed to make me feel stupid.  I have learned/am learning to try to stay away from personal IT ambitions.  I never even started writing until 1997 when I got my first computer by the way, because I was taught to hate my handwriting and my bad spelling from a very young age.

My work is about “live” or if you like “now” or what we might call ‘Time and Place’.  I could easily side-track from my intention at this point, I am though as determined as ever not to.

How

Can we adjust our mindsets around the value of community art and artists who wish to practise in local areas?

Value and cost and price

Judgement and measure and arbitration, decided by a favoured few.

Even the term “favoured few” that I have just used is offensive and also is part of the problem.  I am part of the same problem, I am struggling here now because, I readily judge without much thinking.  My judgement comes from the part of society that I was born into that I still live in.  It is a learned judgement or, if you like an indoctrination.  It is not based on my own learning or human instinct, or on my own time spent doing the work that I do in any way. Nothing to do with what I know and everything to do with what I have been taught and told to think, as if learning is all to do with being told what to think and do.

I suppose when the idea of money was based on the selling of “made” things and items or, how much gold a person or group of people had stashed in/under the old-fashioned Monopoly Board corner it was easier to understand.  A sack of coal took exactly so much energy to produce, which burned for so long in the hearth, it was very easy to work out how much in terms of money it was worth or how much it was worth in relation to other necessary goods such as a loaf of bread or a pint of beer (yes mate!).

Another measuring scale, is the rarity value scale,  the value of “the original” or perhaps the scarcity of the matter? For example, a Sistine Chapel ceiling, or a lost Vermeer carries enormous financial “clout” because as far as we know there is only one.  This is the scale which generally pertains to the fine art world.  It is a scale of measurement that is actually way more interesting than many of the creations that are allowed through the shop door, it is the world of art for money making art’s sake.  The afore mentioned examples illustrate this well, if a thing is unique the highest bid wins the person with the deepest pockets wins, it is a scale that is much more about the owner than the work itself the work does not even have to be appreciated by the owner owning the only one is all that matters.  A seemingly odd offshoot appeared through another route in the rarity market with the machine age. Early examples of mass-produced items are in great demand in C21.  It could be Romantic Nostalgia at work we are not sure? It could also be the scarcity aspect, the last one left?  Highly likely though accompanied by a very modern idea and the demand for perfection.  In a world where even the ballot box is challenged by world leaders nurtured in and by avarice alone.  The perfectly made uncorrupted factory item represents very high value. For example, what used to be classed as a very ordinary family car rolling off a production line in the millions will certainly command massive value in “perfect condition” the complete original fetching the highest prices, the as new pristine early model low production number all add value and price increase is infinite as is each new perfect part.  Yet another example only possible since mass production is “The Full Set” especially if a very rare item is needed to complete the set, a stamp collection with a “Penny Black” makes a good example in this scale.

Here on Linkedin

The Global Platform of the business savvy?  The experts?  The teachers and the trainers?  Who or what are we indeed?  We are all able to get our heads round what I have already mentioned on this platform one hopes?  After all, let’s face it the world of market forces is pretty damn simples.  If you want something and you are able to buy it there you are, you can have anything you can think (forgetting that we can only think money) of.

I am advocating that we release the monster that is “Community Art”.  Community art legitimized by its creators, Even.  Make no mistake! I am not proposing to support the Western excuse for “art in the community” which only thanks it’s sad existence by aping imagination.  I am not advocating valuing or costing or even pricing art delivered by government supported admin teams of organised box tickers for another Royal Anniversary.  The god forsaken world of the community artist gigging existence is prevented from expression and prevented from telling real stories by funding only intentional “money first” ideas.  Money first ideas start with government diktat.  Mere solutions that start with authoritarian popular demand such as, which bit of the problem will be cheap to fix and improve current version of authoritarian popularity?

Admin led art quangos are a sad injustice on people’s natural creativity.  Authoritarian and trust cannot meet outside the book of rules.  If there is a rule it exists to work.  The rule will be made to work.  Rules cannot be wrong rules only ever don’t work because people refuse to obey them.  An average free thinking community artist is standing no more chance of getting a paid gig for more than a decade past already.  I would be untroubled to cite what I have witnessed in my creative practise why that has stacked up to be, where and why people like me, find themselves somewhat desperately, trying to justify their individual existence’.  The powerful resistance to my existence as an artist or as a creative person in my world is part political and part state sponsored coercive education in support of the eternal conservative song which is nonpareil with the simplest rhyme of them all.  Me, We.

The Beginning

I distinctly remember a term used by my Geography Teacher back in the day, “Low Order Goods” and us the teacher’s students being set to work making lists of Low Order and High Order goods.  I sort of remember Low Order stuff being kind of essential, hair-cuts, news-papers, fish and chips, beer etc. and High Order stuff, was stuff like Caviar and Eight Track players and Venus De Milo.  I was at an all-boys R.C. school Ted Heath was the PM, Great Britain/Grande-Bretagne had just joined the “Common Market” it was 1973, we all wanted to be James Bond listening to Simon and Garfunkel on the Aston Martin eight track with Ursula Undress in the passenger seat but we all knew that we would be better off wishing for fish on Fridays.

Art is a low order good.  Art isn’t just about Roman Political Gods and Giants carved out of lumps of marble. It not about Leonardo’s painting of God on the cell wall.  Art is part of life.  People make art not art-markets.  People make art for all sorts of reasons.

A quick list of low order reasons that people make art;

For a laugh.

To make the place look nice.

To make themselves’ feel better.

To create records.

To celebrate.

To look/listen/touch/sniff/taste.

To make life less boring.

To share.

To entertain.

To join in with.

To sell.

I remember Mr Ballantyne telling us, his classful of cheeky Catholic truants and sinners to watch out how the low order goods suppliers would be the first to bounce back.  The bounce-back he was referring to was Harold Wilsons anticipated bankruptcy of the nation of Grande-Bretagne.  Harold Wilson actually did his very best to support the very Conservative Ted Heath’s decision to take the nation into the EEC the majority of Labour supporters were dead against joining.  So much so Wilson actually shouldered blame when people didn’t like it. Even pamphleting for it in the Labour election campaign in 1974 before becoming the Prime Minister of a hung parliament after Heath resigned.  Corbyn and Wilson would have got along well both normal men.

The Prime Minister and the Royal Family use art for exactly the same reasons as plebians and peasants. They look at magazines whilst they are sitting under the blow-dryer or sitting in the make-up room, just like you or I do or Ted Heath did for that matter.

The High Art Market is Essential in Life

Most people round our end think artists are Loony Leftists, when art itself is in fact ultra-politics at work.  If I take a look around in our locality or I bet if you took a look round your end, you and I can find examples of “Sponsored Art” all over the place.  I have dropped posts onto this platform (Linkedin) about it.  Please, do not be mislead by the title of the following link, there is an important word missing “NOT” from between “do” and “wish” which I complained about at the time, it isn’t anyone’s fault, it’s something to do with algorithmics. (Linkedin told me so)

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/i-do-wish-offensive-john-morrow.

I always positively love seeing any kind of art anywhere. Nothing gives me more pleasure than joining in with some sort of local populist views and getting stuck into a waste of public money.  The bigger the waste the better for me.  I will spare you the examples here as there are scores of them.  The above link is a key part of my understanding and make no mistake I highly value state sponsorship of art and statues and stuff.  Take a look here;  https://www.hullccnews.co.uk/12/08/2020/hulls-iconic-fish-trail-goes-digital/   I think the Hull Fish Trail is brilliant!  Read ISBN 978-0099268703

I am drifting off my original point

All art is about communicating. Human beings make art and human beings use art in every way where authority can’t.  Art asks questions.

There has been some crafty spivvy shenanigans’ taking place for more than a couple of decades in the alleged uk.  I would say from my point of view now that it began with “New Labour”.  The smooth operator who became PM in 1997 (estimated by Forbes at ￡60 million now) was very quick to use pop stars and artists to garner the “right-on” vote.  It worked for him for a decade in power. Anthony Charles Linton Blair courted anything that would get him anything any time any place anywhere a Martini Man perhaps?  Most people thankfully are not like right onand realised that Blair was/is a power-crazed loony not remotely labour, just a spiv in an unstable world.  He was voted out as soon as the penny-dropped but, of course the next one and the next one and so on have all been just as bad.  This is side-track danger territory for yours truly. I stand accused of working-class politics and I don’t care.

In 2001 the new massive super quango (Blair?), Arts Council England abolished the ten Regional Arts Boards saying that they were too expensive to run in a commercial sense or something.  Arts Council England took over everything. The upshot? Now we have all kinds of quango’s and do goofing admin charities/companies/bollocks registered all over the place (I am the lead artist for one of them https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11767633 only I’m no good at admin) anyone can set one up it takes time and effort but it is an open field if you can summon up the right skills.  Why not start one yourself and write begging letters to the ACE asking them what their next theme for their next project is?  You certainly won’t get within a sniff of funding as a sole trading artist anymore by the way so hurry up and set one up!  Jenny Arcuri is a leader in the field in the alleged uk.

The problem is that the system that they (the quango’s) are all working in is not fit for purpose. There is no real understanding of art in the sad said system.  All that happens now is that charity upon charity produce application forms for funding that are a simple list of the charity aims and objectives, even some of the charities look fundamentally dodgy, without even mentioning international scandal at large.  Lotto/Publicly funded admin led and admin heavy quango’s including some Local Authority efforts as well as all sorts of other “so called” public or community interest companies (inc. mine) can box tick an appropriate application form to get some dosh and it usually means a very small proportion of that “Public/Lotto money” hitting the ground where it is claimed by all and sundry to be heading, for the benefit of all and sundry.  This system certainly keeps people in work and keeps offices open and fills petrol tanks and settles a lot of phone bills. Which is absolutely fine by this artist but, What about the art on the ground and the creative thinking and creative play that we all need and most especially now?

Funding is not reaching its intended targets where the doing the do needs to take place.  Do not get me wrong, I am not against admin jobs I am though speaking as an artist and I am bound to be against admin tricks forcing me out of paid work.  Arts admin and artists must function side by side and not be admin led. We have administrators working against artists by telling artists what they must do to satisfy the funder.  If you want to buy art you can.  If the funder needs a certain type of thing the funder can purchase that thing in the Art Market.  Our PM answers to “bojo” the name of a clown.  A clown is a creation and is unmanageable a clown works as a clown. Clowns are real and seem to be dysfunctional (I thank my commedia training at Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds) but  Central Government propaganda box ticking since Tony Guitar Blair dumped regional arts has rolled working artists into 100% unpaid employment.  Too much of the Lotto/public funded billions that ACE claims to manage for the public gets spent on ef, aka executive function.

Self-employed people/artists/clowns like me are bound to look at things like this https://cdn2.rsc.org.uk/sitefinity/corporate/rsc-accounts-18-19.pdf?sfvrsn=c51beb21_2 and think. Take a look at the following pie chart yourself;  What ever business you are in there is something wrong here.  And do not forget the entire school “English” curriculum still massively supports the global product that we call “The Bard” and it still can’t get by without huge millions in subsidy?

I was a self-employed “sole trader” working in community spaces including theatres in the 90’s never making much money.  Even teenagers who used to turn up week in week out to my outsider art sessions used to quiz me on earnings and ask why I would work for such low pay.  I used to point out that they seemed to keep turning up to play drums with me so I would just keep turning up to do my bit. Whoops sorry the missing portion of the RSC pie-chart!

Top Left, Please donate!?

I would look at things like the above and see that a company taking more than ￡53,000,000 can’t get its production costs below that and is bank-rolled by ACE/lotto/Public funding by just under ￡15,000,000. I ask you, what might I think in a simple one-man business sense?

Working artists are not stupid. Working artists actually working as artists realise that the arts only stand like pillars of salt in the same way that any other market does.  In actual fact you and your accountants could probably make a much more solid case for Global Arts than you could for Global Finance.  Maggie Hambling is brilliant and worth every bean she gets.

Here we are in Pandemic

Here I am trying to justify community art.  Here I am trying to fathom a way of costing outsider/peoples art in a true community sense.  I made a list as to why we all need art.  My list throws art into the low order goods domain.  Do your own research.  I have thrown some numbers down and some reasons.  Make your argument chuck some brickbats at the Arts Council England about what they support and why?  Sir Nicholas Serota said; https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/shame-the-rich-into-giving-says-arts-chief-pls635q3s   Sir Nick was buying a yacht when he was employed at Tate Britain (public money) some of his part-time art student staff (paid from the same pot) were living in poverty in London.  I wonder what Uni he went to?

Low order goods are everyday items that people need wherever they come from in the global class strata.  The clown bojo says he wants to “level -up” well I wish he would do something about it.  He is going to end up levelled out if he doesn’t stop selling his pork-pies.  Don’t let’s start on pie.

The man clowning in the picture is still asking to be a world leader.

The man writing this is still asking for a minimum wage for working with art in the local community in 2020.

Following on from Sir Nick’s comment in The Times, Tuesday February 05 2019 the day before I turned 61 years, that I shared above.  I was prompted to make a comparison.  Not to shame anyone you must understand, if you do understand you will realise that it would be my poor old mam who would feel the shame not some overprivileged so an’ so with an MA that he bought for a few quid (to him) from one of the poshest three uni’s in the alleged uk!

I am the eldest of three kids.  I think that I might be the eldest grandchild on our mams side to have a Ba degree? Not the only one and not the first and the middle one of us has an MA (not bought) and the youngest one of us is the same age as PM Johnson.

It costs ￡42,501 per year to send your kid to Eton in 2020 where bojo went when he was a boy.  I was bound to wonder how much that would be equivalent to when I was seven years old.  I found a calculator that would enable me to do that along with a couple of other things.

I also found a copy of the National Insurance Act 1965.  If you have trawled through my misery and my sad cv (poor taste joke) you will have come across my writings about the loss of a significant adult in childhood.

You will have also come across that I come from a family of Hull Dockers.  If you know about Stevedores and Dockers you will know that it was a “gig” based type of work.  Dockers had to turn up and queue up twice a day to get a job if there were any available at all, there was no such thing as a proper job for a docker.  As soon as they managed to get a proper job some time in the 1970’s PM Thatcher and her hatchet men burned the Labour agreement that had taken since 1947 just after WWII to make and stating that loading and unloading ships and cargo was not simple casual work.  Earnest Bevin (appointed by Churchill) simply pointed out that without the dockers Winston would have lost his war and dockers deserved a job with pay any day of the week.

I have no idea whether my dad would have had sufficient NI contributions paid for our mam to qualify for a widow’s pension, I doubt it somehow, even though my dad was posted off to Palestine at the very end of WWII as he turned 18. I think I could find evidence to witness we were looking for rent.  She, our mam was 28 years old and stuck on her own with no income and three kids under 8 years old and no home to call her own.

Five bob in five bob out of the school saving account 1964 see below for 1965 state support.

She would have got ￡9/2/6    -    Nine pounds two shillings and six pence (about 46p in today’s money).

Now

zip back up to the bbc’s Steve Wright approved converter.

Our mam was widowed with three infants and no house to call her own on nine quid a week at the same time people were sending their kids to Eton with today’s fees ￡42,501 pa. That amount converted to the same 1965 time comes to well over three thousand pounds.  The equivalent charge to send one child to Eton for forty weeks in 1965 was more than ￡78 pw.  How is the clown bojo and his Bullingdon Club friends and vandals ever going to understand level in terms of money?

We have yet to see where the gig economy might take community artists post pandemic if indeed there is such as, post anything.  I can guarantee that my experience working in community based, arts will be claimed by someone somewhere to be being funded.  I know because, art on the ground works. I have witnessed it through my own work and I have friends who are equally dedicated to farting about without a proper job who have also witnessed well-being develop by sharing such nonsense.  I can feel the non-doing non-creative quango’s lining up getting ready to shove their ideas for free labour into action to keep their offices open on the back of the latest pandemic.

How does it work?  Ask the right questions and ask the right people.  It’s a long story like a voyage like an odyssey. Not at all like the story goes. More like notes full of wisdom for the future generations that never get published beyond the early years.  We could create hundreds of paid jobs for community artists with the right kind of management.

I was working on a drumming project in Grantham the town where PM Mrs Thatcher grew up in her fathers corner shop in 2001 it must have been just before PM Blair axed East Midlands Arts.

The word "minted" round our end means financially very well off say like Boris Johnson PM or Kieth Starmer MP or the other two just mentioned again.

Teenage lad; You must be minted John.

John (gigging drummer); What makes you think I'm minted?

Teenage Lad; Coz you’re always ‘appy John