ORANGE PAINT AND FIBRE GLASS FRIGGIN SHEEP: A conversation about artists & communities & life
This is a transcript of another Twitter conversation between @rattlecans and the poet Martin Daws. It stemmed from my tweet, which reflected Martin's call for paid artists in place of multi-million pound art centres. I asked: "Instead of a £50m art venue, a city could pay 200 artists £25k a year for 10 years to work with communities; do what they want. What do you think?" This is what happened...
ORANGE PAINT AND FIBRE GLASS FRIGGIN SHEEP
Stephen: Instead of a £50m art venue, a city could pay 200 artists £25k a yr for 10 yrs to work with communities; do what they want. What do you want?
Rattlecans: What artists? The guy I went tae school wi or the guy fae the burbs who can speak the buzzwords wi finesse?
Martin: Why not both? I'm not decrying lack of access for marginalised groups. But this model cld let community artists define their own agenda
Martin: Good question re your schoolmate. Cant we let their community decide if they want 2 work with them?
Rattlecans: WTAF? Excuse me? Dae we "let" the twee wee fuckers in the burbs decide if they want tae work wi their Ain?
Rattlecans: Nawe. But Important People will hiv a hunner meetings tae decide if they'll "let" us work wi wan a oor Ain? WTAF?
Rattlecans: He wis BORN here. He GREW up here. He LIVES here. If he wants tae stick up a picture in HIS streets, then wtaf is "let" all aboot?
Rattlecans: Mibbes we should hiv meetins tae decide if we'll *let* him walk doon the same street he's walked doon every day fur 50 year tae!
Rattlecans: Here's how this works. We were a' telt at age 5 if we're all good and if we dae oor homework we'll get jobs.
Martin: This is about how to get him getting a wage for his contribution to his community. If he would like to choose that.
Rattlecans: He did. Instead of fucking aboot wi important people who don't keep promises but get paid to fuck folk about, Give him the fucking job
Rattlecans: Don't invite in ootsiders. Don't sit aroon givin it "Noo that ye kept YOUR side a the bargain, Us jumped up tits MIGHT *LET* ye hiv a job"
Rattlecans: Keep the damn promises Give him the job and go learn tae knit a fuckin jumper like everybody else
Martin: Give him the job is what I'm saying too. I could like to say that he is the important person.
Rattlecans: No in this world he isnae Nae schemer is ever the important person, and you know it
Martin: That is what I would like to change. For myself (as I am him - in my own place and time) and for everyone else who cld do the work too
Rattlecans: I'm no intae "contribution" Its another means of the middle classes tae measure us, make us jump thro hoops, compete instead of living
Rattlecans: "I controbuted a wean. Yer infertile and that means ye'll never contribute as much as me. Get in the gutter ye lazy cow" Don't think so
Martin: By "contribution" I mean getting artists paid to help themselves and the people they live and work with to generate their comnunity
Rattlecans: *generate*? Sorry, I'm no a social scientist. I just live in a place
Rattlecans: Dae ye mean "live"? Communities are living things. Or they were tae the twee wee fuckers got mair ugly than they already were
Martin: I'm not a social scientist either. I'm a poet so I shld be able to use words to say what I mean. Sorry if I didn't get my point across.
Martin: By generate I mean the community making decisions on change they want, and making the change happen.
Martin: I mean more than live. I mean thrive.
Rattlecans: I'm a nightmare! I know. Sorry Change? What's the fascination wi change? It's like ma Mawe constantly changing the wallpaper
Martin: Ha ha. Maybe she needs a local artist to help them design their own paper?
Rattlecans: I'm never saying that tae her. Ye mental? No happenin! Lols
Rattlecans: She'd come in wi wallpaper. AGAIN Da: "Oh, here we fucking go. Another fortnight of hell & fighting. Fuck this! I'm away tae the pub"
Martin: U won my respect with your passion. No worries. Change like "The arc of history is long and it bends toward justice" Martin Luther King.
Rattlecans: That change happens in twee wee fucker communities. They learn tae stop shafting us
Martin: Martin Luther King twee? No mate. In his own way he was hard core. He died for his beliefs. This is 4 everyone getting a shit deal.
Rattlecans: Nawe. MLK is never twee. He was in the twee wee fuckers' faces So they shot him
Martin: Thanks for this thread. You got me thinking on my feet. Respect to you.
Rattlecans: I was listening tae his three evils speech this morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8d-IYSM-08
Rattlecans: Thank you. Maist folk just go in a huff. Thinking is whit matters. Thank you
Rattlecans: He got that sick of her. He just refused. Decorating in oor hoose really was war. So she learned tae dae it hersel In the 70s it was all strong colours
She went oot wan morning and came in wi a weird blue paint fur the kitchen And for the living room she got *drum rolls*
Orange See if you knew where we lived. Fucking orange! Da "WTAF are you doing? Trying tae get us fuckin blown up? AFF! NOW!"
Martin: You're cracking me up.
Rattlecans: lols Thought ma Da was gaunnae hiv a stroke that night, running roon the neighbours "Paint!! White paint... gie me every drap ye've got!"
Martin: This is brilliant. Love it.
Rattlecans: It gets better. Ma Mawe's a Catholic
Martin: Now you're going deep mate.
Rattlecans: Honestly. Mixed marriage. Ye'd think she fucking knew Nope. It was "Whit? Dae ye no like it? I think it's nice wi the new curtains" lols
Rattlecans: Don't know if ye see it, but in ma mind, that orange paint is nae different fae the fibre glass friggin sheep Except the paint is funny noo
Stephen: Aye. No difference at all like... Orange paint and fibre glass friggin sheep... Brilliant!
Rattlecans: One's as insulting as the other Difference? Oor ceiling was painted o'er that night. Sorted The friggin sheep were there fur years