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EXIT REVIEW (In collaboration with SPLICE)
June 28, 2003

The purpose of EXIT REVIEW is to respond, in a very rapid and small way, to the crisis in British art school education. Thousands of students pour out of art schools with nothing more than an antiquated solo studio practice model to shape their life and work as an artist. EXIT REVIEW is designed to plunge students into the publicly exposing process of a review, long before they have had time to build visibility in an art circuit. This process is designed to give the graduating artists informed feedback about their work- something which is strangely missing from the degree marking process. The project is also designed to give a fair analysis of the quality of the art education being given at Liverpool's three degree level courses. While this project focuses on Liverpool, in the future we hope there might be ways to develop it further.

In 1999 Matthew Arnatt and David Mollin began their project '100 Reviews'. This involved them visiting 100 exhibitions in a week and making fast-fire judgements on the work they saw. Following this the project was repeated in 2001, and in 2002 they invited 4 well-known writers to perform the same task. Not only did this draw attention to what a review can be and to interrogate the reverence of 'expert opinion', it also questioned the notion of objectivity and sought to playfully reveal the allegiances and factions which always colour opinion, especially in a scene like London. For EXIT REVIEW the artists won't be well-known, there is obviously a very different and lesser known scene, and the reviewers will be chosen for different reasons. However some parallels with EXIT REVIEW remain- the value of unadorned and conflicting personal opinion, the vulnerability of the reviewed, and also the exposure of the reviewers, who may risk their reputation, or, in this case, agonise with their conscience when dealing criticism to young artists. This is an interesting issue as although young artists may wince at harsh comment, we hold on to the belief that positive criticism will improve confidence and understanding, and negative criticism can do the same, making young artists more informed, tougher, sharper and angrier- good ingredients for continuing their practice.

EXIT REVIEW will commission a team of 7 reviewers to cover the 82? fine art students graduating from Liverpool Art School, Wirral Metropolitan College and Liverpool Hope University College. The larger team of reviewers for 'EXIT REVIEW' is not to give the reviewers an easier ride, but to enable each artist to receive 2 reviews, so the opinions can be compared. Each reviewer will be asked to give their written opinion on between 20 and 25 students, and also the show at each college as a whole. The reviewers will consist of local, national and international writers, and artists who write as part of their activities.

During an equivalent of 3 days (staggered periods to account for the differing times of the degree shows) days the reviewers will visit the art schools. A week later they will submit their reviews to Static, who will prepare them for small-scale publication and distribute them to the students and colleges. A week later all reviewers, students and public are invited to attend a one day event where the reviews will be made public. The reviewers will also be requested to select 3 student's projects to talk about, in context of a discussion about the art schools, and the condition of UK art education.

Liverpool degree show dates:

Liverpool Hope University College
Private View 23 May. Exhibition 24,25, 27, 28, 29, 30 May.

Liverpool Art School (Liverpool John Moores University)
Private View June 10, continuing weekdays until June 26.

Wirral Metropolitan College
Private View June 13, then every day until June 20.

EXIT REVIEW: Finale event
Saturday June 21

The speaker stands on a soap box, competing with other speakers to capture the hearts and minds of passers-by. The academic waxes lyrical about the chemical communication of synapses, while his audience check their watches. The politician desperately tries to win public support for an unpopular war, the crystal therapist competes with the local minister for clients in need of counselling. The passionate, committed individual has always attempted to change the minds of the masses: Jesus Christ, Cromwell, Lenin- receptive individuals picking up on the needs of a changing social climate, or remarkable individuals with a lone vision that others followed?

Before the enlightenment, belief in a God was assumed, presenting a relatively unquestioning set of rules on how to live your life. The development of the subject, within the enlightenment, allowed the privileged man to see himself as a self-defining individual with beliefs that were painstakingly constructed through learning and consideration. Today the failures of the Soviet Union and Nazism have led to a time where we, rightly, fear and view with cynicism blueprints for society. This is a marker of freedom from oppression on one hand, but at the same time it is increasingly hard to express or feel belief. Extreme freedom becomes a tyranny when we are scared to assert our own subjectivity in the fear of trampling on others'. In some sectors of life, such as our rights as consumers we become more articulate, as larger fields of action become closed or irrelevant. At the same time, this situation squeezes strong belief into an image of religious fundamentalism, for example, in a response to a Western society that can offer no hard and fast ways to live your life.

Through a series of live events, following the structure of Aristotle's 'Rhetoric', artist Rebecca Reid leads us through the attempts of the lone speaker to convince us of their message. Roughly translated from orthodox Greek, evangelism is the 'impressions of angels that fade'. The art of persuasion works on two levels, through the logic of the argument and the 'sound and spectacle' of gesture and tone,

'A convincing speaker and a speaker of conviction are not necessarily one and the same and yet there are no separate words for one who convinces by force of style and one who convinces by moral force. Perhaps it is not then a surprise that we tend to be suspicious of rhetoricians whether in the arena of politics, teaching or religion. '

Aristotle identifies all public speaking as an appeal to the emotions, saying that it succeeds in as much as it inspires the audience make to make an 'emotional purchase' of what is presented. The style of address is shaped, not so much by the content of what is being said but by the purpose of a speaker to arouse a particular emotion or combination of emotions. Some in the audience might consider that this is not a risk worth taking and prefer the heat of opposition to the sweetness of surrender. Some speakers use theatrical passion, others convey scepticism, in an appeal to capture objective minds.
Extreme expression of belief exists in science and art as it does in religion and politics. Whatever the outcome, what transpires is a dynamic ebb and flow between speaker and audience.

Throughout the Autumn Rebecca Reid will invite a number of speakers from various sites of 'Rhetoric' to convince the audience of their argument. The debate will shift from site to site, in search of a relevant home for persuasion. Be prepared to follow the pilgrimage from Static, to hallowed sites of learning, to the bar stool, the soapbox, the airwaves, cabaret den, city chambers and conferencing facility.

WILD
Coordinated by Jo Lansley
October 2002-October 2005

Static is one of three art organisations working with the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art to explore the relationship between the Biennial and its audience. Static chose to work with young artists, hoping to enhance their opportunities to develop their own projects, and also to broaden new artist's perceptions of their work, seeing intelligent organisational activities as part of practice. The WILD group have been meeting fortnightly since November. Innovative means were required to find a point of contact and consensus of action between highly opinionated individuals. Those members who wish will bid for a budget to carry out their own project, while at the same time a research structure devised by the group will explore the relationship between the projects and their audience. Findings will be presented at a symposium in 2004, then a new event or publication developed for the 2005 Liverpool Biennial. Look out for a WILD launch event in July.

Wish you were here 87.9FM
Sunday November 3, 10, 17, 24 9pm- midnight, 2002
Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, 'Independent'

Lead Artist Kelly Large

"Hello and Good Evening from 'Wish You Were Here'. My name is Mark and I will be hosting each 'Wish You Were Here' broadcast. The station is a temporary restricted service radio station which is broadcasting to Liverpool throughout November on 87.9FM. At this time, (9pm - midnight), every Sunday in November, 'Wish You Were Here' will be broadcasting works from artists, writers, social theorists and local people which explore ideas and experiences of the near and the remote using the voice and other sound. Some of the audio work has been commissioned from artists and writers especially for 'Wish You Were Here' and you will be the first to hear it. Other audio works, have been selected from sound archives spanning the last 50 years. We also have interviews with people whose daily lives give them a unique perspective on nearness and distance and requests from local communities"

'Wish you were here' was a project by Kelly Large, involving a temporary radio station broadcasting to Liverpool during the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art 2002. Four tightly curated late night broadcasts addressed a particular theme: 'Is There Anybody Out There?', 'Location, Location', 'You're Not From Round Here Are You? And 'The Real Thing'.

Static continues its conversation with Kelly Large, hoping to find new ways to explore radio's capacity to reflect or alleviate isolation, and to traverse boundaries of privacy.
Wish you were here is available to buy as an artists' limited edition.
More- Wish you were here Booklet

Bloomberg's New Contemporaries is a national annual exhibition presenting work by UK art school 3rd year and recently graduating students. In 2002, coinciding with the Biennial, Static hosted and project managed the show, leading to a temporary new development of the gallery space and a discussion with speakers including Julian Stallabrass and John Byrne.

Investigating the Culture Capital Process

Buy in/Sell Out
3-7pm June 6, 2002
At this date Liverpool Culture Company were just about to submit Liverpool's bid to be European Capital of Culture. James Heartfield (University of Delaware), Pedro Jesus Lorente (University of Zaragossa) and Sir Bob Scott, leader of Liverpool's Capital of Culture bid, were invited to discuss the relevance of the bid and whether culture really is the answer to both Liverpool's and Europe's regeneration. Liverpool was shortlisted and remains second favourite to win.
More- transcript of 'Buy in/Sell Out'

Continued Hostilities

BFO Invasion 'Room and Board'
June 11-August 3, 2001.
A troop of North America-based artists, BFO, invited Static, and other galleries in the USA, Canada and the UK, to play host to an invasion of foreign artists, and defend their cultural space with a team of local artists. No physical barriers could be built in the space, other means of defence, or creating 'hostility' were required. The visiting invaders were able to bring with them a 'kit' that had to be transportable as hand-luggage on their plane journey. The invaders would 'invade' within the timeframe of the show opening, which they anticipated the 'host' would arrange. As a consequence of this event, and unknown to Static a bizarre additional hostile event unfolded.
More- Dossier of Events