Future Note To Self

I used to be in the perfect crystal prison, a palace of solitude forged by mathematical gods but then I saw a pretty animal and followed it outside into a different world, then another moving thing, then another, then fell ill with radiation sickness in a black valley of sharp flint shards, and the red sky howled with rapist wolves, and through the dead wasteland I found my way back to my palace to find it smashed and dirty, a concrete cube two by two by two metres.

Films That Moved You

What was the last film you found moving? This seems to be rare with modern films, I can't really think of many "blockbusters" this applies to. Why? Is there something about these dreamy emotional films that makes them unpopular? That seems absurd, yet the facts speak for themselves. Here are some of my favourite films that moved me.

From the Life of the Marionettes (along with The Passion of Anna, these are perhaps my favourite Ingmar Bergman films, and so among my all time favourites!)
Wings of the Dove
Grave of the Fireflies
The Whole Wide World
Theory of Flight
Awakenings
Slipstream
Brief Encounter
When Harry Met Sally
Blue Velvet
V for Vendetta
The Hours
The Remains of the Day
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Brazil

What was the last film that you found moving?

Predictability and Freewill

There is an unusual paradox. Science exists to be predictable. The main aim of knowledge is to provide certainty to experience, to allow us to calculate what might happen if we did something, before we did it. On a basic level science exists to help comfort us in our belief that the sun will rise tomorrow at a certain time, but also give us the power to calculate future sunrise times, work out why the sun shines at all, and to control our environment and life as we desire. Yet despite this, there are, in quantum mechanics, areas of science that are fundamentally unpredictable. We might be able to say that a radioactive particle is more likely to emit at this time than another, but not exactly when. We can only measure the outcome. So, although science (and the universe and our lives themselves), seems to be reliably predictable, there is some fundamental level where it isn't. Why?

Prediction itself is a factor of belief and of freewill. Fundamentally, we need to feel free, that we can change things. If we could accurately predict the future, such that it was certain to be, then we would be forced to enact it because our actions would be a calculable part of the prediction. In a universe of perfect prediction we would have no free will at all.

The only options are that we accept that we have no freewill and that the universe is totally predictable (but have no power or ability to change it), or accept that the universe is not predictable but have free will.

Which is true?

First, what is prediction? Prediction is an idea of what might happen at a future time. It's a series of options. If I made the bridge from wood, it would be this strong. If I made the bridge from steel, it would be this strong. This sort of prediction relies on our choices. Are there types of prediction that do not involve human choices? Perhaps a scientist would say; I have an object of mass x and velocity y, so I can predict its energy of momentum absolutely, without involving choice. That equation is a fundamental truth. But is that the case? Can one exactly state the exact mass and velocity of an object without ever using judgement?

There are some measurements in quantum mechanics where the choices made by the experimenter have been shown to affect the outcome on a fundamental level. On a more simple level, in any measurement, the experimenter chooses what to measure. The choice to make the prediction itself is one of free will, to choose what to predict. Because of this reason alone there are no circumstances where a prediction can be made that doesn't involve some freedom of choice.

Freedom of choice is an inherent part of making a prediction because prediction is about control. A prediction is a tool to control the world, and for us feel in control we must have freedom. The two things are fundamentally linked. To make a prediction without any freedom to react to its consequences is pointless.

We want a universe that is fully explainable and predictable, but also want control over it. This is impossible. This is the paradox.

So if we had freedom of thought, then that would be unpredictable, we would demand that, but everything else must be predictable. This idea seems a little crazy. Might it be possible that some areas of the universe are fundamentally unpredictable, and that these areas are responsible for free will? That would solve the question firmly.

In that case, what would define the parts of the universe responsible for free will? And surely, we might also want to make predictions about people and how they think and behave? There are only two options; we have free will that is unpredictable, which would make social science and psychology impossible (and every day life somewhat haphazard), or we are fully predictable and free will is illusory. Is this too simple? Can there be gradations of freeness or predictive power?

Not really. We can't have totally accurate predictions and control over them. We can't see into the future, and control it. Everything works brilliantly when we accept that the limits to our predictive power are self-imposed limits of free will. A quantum measurement is exactly predictable, if we accept that we have no control over the prediction until the experiment has concluded. Yet, even outside of the quantum domain, in all experiments and predictions, this is a necessary trade-off. The reason predictions work so well in the macroscopic domain, the world of sunrise times and bridge constructions, is that we have more options, greater feelings of freedom to react to their outcomes. The less options in the outcome of a prediction, the less freedom we have, until we have no free will at all.

The Love Reliquary II Part 2

More reliquary work. So, the oak was bent, like most natural wood will be. Oak is a heavy dense wood but can have a dry and flaky texture that can split and change shape, especially as it dries. For the base of this artwork I needed a level surface, but also I wanted to stop the bark falling off over the years/centuries. Perhaps that's inevitable, but how can I minimise this?

I could inject glue, but adding more materials can cause more harm than good, as it will introduce new stresses. Generally, the simpler the better. I first cut and stuck a piece of 3mm MDF to the base, this will hold the thing together should it think about flaking. MDF is one of the most stable wood composites, it holds its shape really well. The base still wasn't flat though, that MDF curved inwards to mirror the bend of the oak, which isn't bad, it needs a tight fit to bind it. A second flat piece is needed, and some filling in the gap, so I stuck a second piece on, with wood filler between. Perhaps tile glue might have been a better choice. All fillers have different properties. Some more dense, some contract, some more flexible, some more adhesive. I went for a plain filler, as it was dense and reasonably heavy (for the base of a heavy object, this can be important). After sticking, I had a flat base...

Then I painted the edges of the MDF to mimic the look of the bark. The MDF is recessed a little, so that even if plain black or a neutral hue, it would look okay, this part will hardly be seen, yet, I thought it would be nice to mimic the bark a little. I used acrylic paint and more wood filler to add texture, although this time I used lightweight glass based filler which is less dense and has a foamy texture.

While doing that I stuck the doors together, checking that the paintings fit inside. The edges of these are all rough and uneven. I'll sand them all flat. Sanding the inside is tricky though, or nigh on impossible to get right with my equipment. For this we can set dreams of perfection aside, although there are many decoration opportunities.

The Love Reliquary II Part 1

The Love Reliquary was my first cabinet artwork, that is it was mostly woodwork, with painting added. It took so many months to make and all new techniques. The result was good, but very rough around the edges. It was extremely delicate, had 200 leaves of 24 karat gold all over it, and was so delicate that it's only been shown in public once...

It had some successes as a work of art and craft, but many failures. Some crucial elements were missing or lost (such as the poem on the front) the paintings were difficult to remove without risking damage, and the base was crude in appearance and function. So, two years ago I started work on a second cabinet. It will contain the same paintings as the original work...

The last two years have been tumultuous. The artistic successes of 2012 led to some acclaim in 2013. I exhibited around the country more in 2014, but that was a little like a solitary travelling salesman. I showed in London from August onwards, fell in love for the first time and spent all of 2015 coming to terms with the end of that, and was forced to severely limit painting due to lack of space. The only growth of that year was in live performance, piano playing, and exhibition experiences with two solo exhibitions including my first in London, and three months helping to manage an art retail space. All of those things were the best lessons in the business of exhibiting art and putting on a show.

This year marked my 10th year as an artist. I can barely learn more in craft or exhibition experience (piano playing excepted!). Now it's time to focus on producing the greatest works. My ambitions have rarely been greater. I wish I had the time and money to enact them all (donations welcome, and/or an orchestra or museum!), but I will enact those I am able to enact!

And so time to re-visit The Love Reliquary. The start is the simplest of forms, a plain chunk of wood which will form the base. The first reliquary was largely pine and plaster coated with epoxy casting resin. The new one will be M.D.F. with resin-cast doors and solid brass hinges.

ArtsLab Two Hour Launch Special

I'm now writing/editing this post at 09:07 on 12th September 2023. Originally this post marked the first ArtsLab episode, my first RedShift Radio broadcast. From that point, and for the next two-and-a-half years I blogged my ArtsLab programmes here on this blog. On Sep 10th, 11th, 12th 2023 I decided to create a separate ArtsLab Archive blog instead (like I did with ArtSwarm), so copied those posts there and removed them from this blog. You can find a link to the ArtsLab archive on this blog somewhere.

This post remains as a reminder of what those posts originally looked like. At some point after I left RedShift Radio the ArtsLab playlist was removed from MixCloud. RedShift became a community podcast-creation hub rather than broadcasting 'live', and at that point stopped being a radio station. The RedShift people felt more like a family than a work team, and all of my memories and experiences of ArtsLab and RedShift were happy. It was an honour to be part of Crewe's and Nantwich's smallest and best radio station.

ArtsLab with Mark Sheeky
Show Zero
Broadcast on RedShift Radio 23 September 2015, 2pm to 4pm BST.

Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896)
Kate Bush, Waking The Witch (1985)
etc.

All past ArtsLab programmes can be listened to on Mixcloud.

You can listen live during the broadcast on www.redshiftradio.co.uk.

Northern Artists: Eclectic Mix II

My art is in flux , as it has been for a few months, unsure of where to focus energy best, and trying new performance ideas. Today though, I've been at a meeting for this which opens next month. I'm one of 50-ish artists showing work and I'll be playing a newly composed piano piece at the public opening on Friday the 25th.

Northern Artists is a large and diverse group of artists formed on Facebook. Most of us are in the Cheshire and North Wales area, although at least one member is 200 miles or so south (but, still in the northern hemisphere)! Eclectic Mix II is our second group show, and as the poster says runs 23rd September to 5th November at Castle Park Arts Centre, Frodsham. The public opening is on Friday 25th.

The Anatomy of Emotions

Unforgettable live art performance coming in two weeks.