Cosmopolite: The work of Matt Tucker

Here’s another update on the Journalist training – it’s all getting a little intense now, everyone is finding out whether they're made of strong stuff. Someone has been booted off the course for poor attendance, and there have been murmurings of quitting from one or two people. But we are all supporting each other and we will all make it to the finish line!

A recent development: I have co-written a feature article with my lovely classmate Zoe Gray. Zoe and I attended a recording of a question and answer session on BBC Radio 5 Live - the show was broadcast during the Labour Conference here in Brighton. We were treated to a lot of high profile guests, such as: Jack Straw, Tessa Jowell, Kitty Usher, Caroline Flint and David Blunckett (with his faithful guide dog Sadie). The show was presented by the cheerful Victoria Derbyshire, who got us all to rehearse clapping and encouraged questions from the audience. It was great to be part of the recording of a serious live debate show, and also fascinating to see the logistics of a live broadcast – producers, presenter, and assistants moving round the audience with microphones on sticks.

Zoe and I felt the Journalism bug – we managed to get an exclusive interview with Kitty Usher, former Secretary of the Treasury (right), just as she was about to get a taxi after the show. We also got to ask a couple of questions to John Pienaar, former BBC Chief Political Correspondent. A great day for two budding Journalists!

Since then we’ve put our heads together and written an article for an upcoming student newspaper to be launched in the Brighton area – covering both Sussex and Brighton Universities and City College. Circulation should be around 35,000. Here’s a draft of it, changes are still to be made for final publication - so all comments are welcome to help with that process!

Thanks,
Matt

‘All's lost for Labour’: students speak out

By Zoe Gray and Matt Tucker

Brighton seafront is once again free from police with machine guns, suited MPs and campaigners armed with placards. The Labour conference, in all its frenzy, has come to an end. But with the general elections less than a year away, politics is still as relevant as ever for students in Brighton. With the country in recession, many of us are well and truly fed up: is there any hope for Labour?

We asked students whether Labour should win the next election. Jordan Pinto, 23, from City College Brighton & Hove, says: “Probably not, no. They've had 12 years now. They haven't come good on all their promises. I don't like the Conservatives either, there doesn't seem to be much difference between them all. People have lost faith in politics”.

Ashley Maguire, a 17 year-old student from Portsmouth college, told us: “University fees will put a dampener on my career. I am angry, I want to get on and do what I want to, but because of the fees I can't”. Ashley’s comment sums up what’s on the minds of many learners in 2009: student debt. The question of fees at university has been a contentious area of debate ever since they were introduced by David Blunckett in 1998.

Moreover, the sting of fees goes far beyond graduation day. Oliver Peart, 23, a recent graduate living in Brighton, has just been made redundant for the second time this year. Oliver says that the only way Labour can save themselves is if they connect with youth bases. He attended a recent recording of the BBC Radio 5 Live Show where some of the top MPs and Ministers of the Labour Party, such as David Blunckett and Jack Straw, were on the show’s panel at the Brighton Conference Hall. Oliver asked the panel how the government was going to manage growing student debt and graduate unemployment. The responses given did not convince Oliver. We spoke to him after the show: “Labour talk about achievements but don't talk about the future, they only do when reacting to a statement from the Conservatives. They don't appreciate the situation young people are now in. Student debt is between £12,000 and £30,000 – all because of tuition fees and the added top up fees. Labour has burnt a bridge with a generation of future voters”. It’s not just Labour that Oliver feels let down by, he adds: “Unfortunately the Tories also support the top-up fees, and the Lib Dems have now dropped their opposition to top-up fees”.

The scandal of MP expense claims was also a major issue raised at the radio show - the strength of feeling was clear as audience members asked whether there would be further resignations from MPs and if police prosecutions were in order for those who have been caught in the scandal. Tony McNulty, one of the MPs under investigation, looked uncomfortable when grilled by the audience at the BBC show about expense claims he made on a second home, which he shared with his parents. Tony McNulty is awaiting the findings of an investigation into his actions and preferred not to comment on the issue. Whether his name is cleared or not, nobody would like to be in his shoes. Wendy, from City College Brighton & Hove, said of Tony McNulty: “If he has any sense of honour he should resign”. Romany Sharp, 17, from Portsmouth college added: “Labour keeps defending what they've done but not saying sorry, not saying what they'll do to help”. Romany compared the MPs’ answers on the radio show with those at the Liberal Democrat Conference, which she attended the previous week, saying: “[Lib Dems] told us what their policies are, unlike Labour.”

Just as we left the BBC recording, we managed to speak with Kitty Usher, the former Secretary of the Treasury, who recently resigned during the expenses debacle, she told us: “Labour needs to set out a clear vision on what type of country they want to see. The public may be grumpy with us but they are not so in love with the other side. I firmly believe Britain does need a Labour government in the next phase”.

With opinion polls for Labour dipping steeply at the beginning of this month, the party have a big job on their hands to win back votes. It appears many students need to be reassured that now, more than ever, the current government has their best interests at heart. What better way to do this than to speak with students and to listen to their concerns and to explain their choices. As Kitty Usher says, Labour needs to find a way to connect with the people.

I am proud to have been published in the launch of a new London newspaper: The Blog Paper. 3,500 editions of the newspaper pilot were handed out last week on the streets of London and the Editors have kindly sent me a few copies to show my journalism classmates here in Brighton.

The newspaper is a weekly summary of the “best” user submitted content from the paper’s website. You submit articles on their website and readers vote for their favourites. Photos and artwork can also be submitted, and all content can be commented on. The difference to other free publications is that theblogpaper consists exclusively of user submitted content. Content is researched, written and contributed by members of the theblogpaper.co.uk. The community decides what is promoted to the publication, defining first of all what content is worth printing and second of all, what people are going to receive. It is a truly democratic newspaper.

My article in the first edition is about nudes on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth. Have a browse through below to read it – I’m on page 16.

Be great to know what you all think of this new publication, drop me a comment

I am keeping my promise of updating my blog with news of my NCTJ Magazine Journalism course.

This is the third week. So far the classes have all been about settling into the college with introductions between classmates and tutors, but now I can see the hard work ahead of me.

Today we had a Feature Writing class with an exercise in the final 45 minutes. We had to write two short pieces about a television programme, each in the style of a different publication. One article had to be written to be published in The Economist and the other had to be in the Broadcast Magazine. This meant writing in two styles on either end of the spectrum: factual and informative with The Economist, and colourful and conversational with Broadcast Magazine.

I wrote about the BBC's The Apprentice show and Lord Sugar's promotion to a government post earlier this year.

Here's what I produced (hastily written!):

Lord Sugar not so sweet

The hard-to-please man behind the Amstrad Empire and the BBC’s The Apprentice has come under fire for trying to juggle his glamorous television career with his new government position. Promoted from Sir Sugar to Lord Sugar in the latest Cabinet reshuffle, Gordon Brown has made the businessman 'Enterprise Tsar'.

The Apprentice has enjoyed national success, with its infamous phrase present in many a bantering conversation. You drop your pint in the pub: “You’re fired!”. You miss a goal in your local Sunday five-aside match: “You’re fired!”

With television awards on his mantelpiece, Lord Sugar may move from sweet to bitter if he is forced to choose between his Bafta-winning show and his government responsibilities.

It isn’t the first time the tyrannical boss has come under fire: last year he was accused of endorsing work place bullying.

Can he juggle the glamour of an award-winning reality television show with the pressured responsibilities of a government post? We’ll find out in the Government Board Room of the next election.

TV Programme to Parliament Seat

Sir Alan Sugar has been made a Lord this week as Gordon Brown announces the businessman an 'Enterprise Tsar' in the latest Cabinet reshuffle.

Lord Alan Sugar’s reality television programme, The Apprentice, takes 12 aspiring business men and women and puts them at the mercy of the formidable entrepreneur, taking them to the edge of their abilities.

The phrase “You’re fired” has become synonymous with the tyrannical style of the boss who only wants the best-of-the-best to work for him. Doubts have been cast over the show’s future, amid calls for Lord Sugar to choose between a government position and his prime time award-winning programme.

A NEW city, a new life. I have relocated to Brighton to attend the UK’s best-performing NCTJ course in Magazine Journalism at City College Brighton & Hove. The course is full-time and intense, but I am loving the challenge, the new people and the change of scene.

With two to three hours of shorthand a day, I am falling asleep with shorthand lines and squiggles in my head! I also have tutorials in Media Law, Sub-editing, Production & Design, Feature Writing and Public Affairs (my favourite so far!). The course is an intense blitz of learning for five months, followed by accredited exams next January.

City College Brighton & Hove is spread across one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the UK: a venue to music, comedy and art festivals all year round.

The main campus, Pelham Tower, is adjacent to Brighton’s famous The Lanes, the place to get your supply of tie-dyed shirts and herbal teas. But it was the remote campus of Wilson Avenue that became my first acquaintance with the college. I made the journey to Brighton on the hottest day in July with no air conditioning and an unwilling sat nav. I was not feeling ready for the two-hour exam and interview ahead of me.

But with bottled water and a walk around the area, I discovered why the college would be an ideal place to study and learn. A mile inland from the sea and above the city, the views are inspiring for any aspiring journalist stepping into the spotlight of one of the shortest and intense media courses in the country.

Now, in my second week of the NCTJ in Brighton, I have no regrets. Whether you are fresh out of school, or coming from the rat-race of employment, City College will give you the time and space to find yourself in a full-time education environment.

The fantastic photo above is Brighton’s West Pier. The pier is a steel wreck but looks beautiful in the evening with the sun setting - absolutely unique to Brighton.

I will be updating my blog with progress on the course, and with the articles and features I produce. All comments are welcome. I hope you enjoy the journey with me!

Matt

Flickr image from Dominic's pics' photostream

I am a marooned Plinth Heckler. Poor planning for my house-move has meant that the Internet will not be in my new home until a week Friday; I have no Internet platform from which to hurl encouraging and constructively critical remarks from. Plinth viewing is out of the question. For all I know, the Plinth could have been sabotaged by a rowdy group of protestors waving banners, or the Plinth has been shut down by a censoring government. Or it has been host to a succession of phenomenal Plinthers who have redefined Gormley's 'One & Other' through incredibly thought-provoking plinth activity. I suspect there has certainly been more nudity.

So, being isolated from the compulsive plinth-viewing that has gripped so many, one alternative is to move into the National Portrait Gallery (but I've heard the rent is quite high).

Such is the power of the Internet: without it I am a stranded Heckler. This is part of the modernity of 'One & Other'; it could only exist now, in this age of Internet globalisation. Would the Victorians have put the logistical effort into such an Artistic statement? Not when the only viewers would have been passing bankers and nannies with prams. Even fifteen years ago, before social networking and the rapid boom of the Internet, this project would certainly not have had the mass appeal it has received.

Gordon Brown said earlier this year that "a fast internet connection is ... an essential service, as indispensable as electricity, gas and water." The Private Eye poked fun at this statement by publishing a cartoon of two men begging on the streets of London, one holding a sign saying 'homeless', the other holding a sign saying 'slow broadband'. A cynical view indeed, but now that I don't have the Internet I can certainly see the logic behind Brown's reasoning. Internet may not be able to compete with food and water in the survival stakes, but it is needed to function and live in 2009 Britain: in employment and in social interaction.

oneandother.co.uk was reported as the most visited arts site of the month of July. A blog article by Lee Bryant published on the Headshift website this week sums up the integral part that the Internet and social media has played for One & Other, declaring that "The project has taught us some useful lessons about online engagement and what we mean by 'social', but overall it has boosted my faith in (online) humanity."

Many Plinthers have themselves explored the use of the Internet in original and creative ways. Here are just a few:

Plinthipaul used Twitter and his website to request suggestions on experiments he could conduct on the Plinth, including: "How far will a bouncy ball bounce? It's all very well chucking toast off a plinth, but what about something bouncy - will a ball leave the Square?!" and "Nudity on the plinth: How long can Paul spend naked on the plinth before being made to dress again." Smartly dressed and equipped with an array of crazy props, Paul's Plinth hour looked like a cross between the old TV shows 'Tomorrow's World' and 'It'll Never Work' - and just as entertaining!

Twitter users Dave Piper (@ontheplinth) and @peregr1n enjoyed delivering 'live on the plinth' updates to twitter and skype. Julia Gilbert (@catnip) also wanted to "demonstrate the benefits of web technology" by tweeting throughout her hour.

Poet Karen Head (@poetphd) combined creative writing with Internet technology by crafting a real-time poem with tweets. You can watch a report about Karen on American website time.com or watch Karen's full poetic hour here.

Two Plinthers recommended to me by hecklers on Twitter are Gunter and Jen Evans; let me know what you think.

The oneandother.co.uk site has been as much a platform for Plinthers as the Plinth itself; I hope it continues to be a fundamental and fun part of this project to the end. I leave you with a few quotes on the World Wide Web:

"The Internet is the world's largest library.  It's just that all the books are on the floor."  ~John Allen Paulos

"Looking at the proliferation of personal web pages on the Net, it looks like very soon everyone on Earth will have 15 megabytes of fame."  ~M.G. Sriram

"We've heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true."  ~Robert Wilensky, 1996

"Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed." - William Blake: English poet, painter, and printmaker.

With 42 days of Plinthing already behind us, 'One & Other' will soon be reaching its half way point in the project. As a Plinth applicant waiting in the wings, I've visited the Plinth several times over the weeks and seen some great Plinther action. It's impossible not to enjoy the buzzing atmosphere around the Plinth in Trafalgar Square, including overhearing lively debate on Antony Gormley's Fourth Plinth Art.

There has also been equally spirited debate here on the blog and in the media; countless topics of discussion created as a result of Plinthers' activities. Including, recently, the subject of nudity.

Plinther Simon caused a stir when he stripped off at 1am last Wednesday, only to be told to cover up after the police received a complaint from the public. As crowds cheered Simon on, he became a symbol of the right to freedom of expression on the Plinth, even inspiring a poem. He also ruffled a few feathers on Twitter - here are some tweets of displeasure:

@notfortoffee They shouldn't interfere! The police are there for safety reasons, not to censor the plinth! #oneandother

@Dave_Piper If 1000 folk can cycle naked around London for WNBR, why not a lone nude on a plinth? #oneandother

@notfortoffee Someone said "nudity is not illegal, it only becomes a problem when someone complains." So: Who complained? #oneandother

The complainer may not have been in the majority on this occasion, but they have made many of us ponder on where we stand on public nudity in 2009.

We've come a long way from previous attitudes; the Victorians couldn't bare the thought of the human body on public display. Objects that might resemble human anatomy were covered up by the prudish Victorians; piano legs were fitted with trousers, lest the shapely wooden legs caused impure thoughts. Perhaps public nudity as a taboo is a hangover from this repressive era?

Some think that the complaint against Simon was an overreaction. Simon wasn't arrested, whereas a 'Streaker' at a football match probably would be. So the intention behind an act of public nudity matters to people. Indeed, Simon was acting in the name of Art.

Does this mean that 2009 Britain is free and easy with public nudity if committed in the name of Art, in the spirit of artistic expression and celebration of the human body?

Like Simon's challenge to convention last Wednesday, there  have been similar challengers in the past. In the 1930's, The Windmill Theatre in London wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Moulin Rouge, Paris, by bringing the public nude to the people. The Lord Chamberlain was convinced to pass a law that permitted public nudity to be legal so long as the performer behaved like a motionless "living statue" - a phrase often referred to Plinthers! The living statues of the Windmill Theatre were known as the "Windmill Girls" and you can learn all about them in the film "Mrs Henderson Presents", starring Dame Judi Dench.

Perhaps there is a motionless nude Plinther out there, waiting to dedicate their one hour to an eighty-seven year-old bygone law?

The question of the boundaries of censorship has been hotly debated over recent decades, with one pioneer becoming a household name: Mary Whitehouse, a formidable activist in the 1960's who launched relentless "clean up TV" campaigns. Perhaps the complaint to the police about Simon's nudity was made by a relative of Mary Whitehouse: we may never know.

The Artist and the Nude go back a long way in Art history. In centuries past, nudity in painting and sculpture was only acceptable in a non-contemporary context; such as displaying a scene from Greek or Roman antiquity. In modern day, the life model is commonplace in an art class. But even this tradition fell under the glare of censorship this year when Channel 4's programme Life Class received dozens of complaints from viewers about the nudes filmed in art classes.

The UK has a long way to go to catch up with more nudity-friendly countries in the world.

It is widely accepted that airbrushed photos of celebrity bodies in the media do not promote healthy self-esteem; perhaps we have a duty to bring the human body, warts and all, into the public spotlight?

I leave you with a photo of a favourite recent Plinther who dressed up as a CCTV camera - letting us know that as we stare at the Plinth, the Plinth stares back!

Since Rachel Wardell stepped off the JCB crane on the 6th July, the Plinth has become home to some 340 people. From the active to the sedentary: there have been Artists, Campaigners, the employed, the unemployed, those with deeply personal stories to tell and those who wish to remain anonymous. All have had something to give.

Some have also asked for the public to give something back: charitable donations and support.

With the recession hitting public generosity hard, charity campaigning is a fitting use of time for many Plinthers. Many would argue that now, more than ever, is the time for us to give the most, as those worst affected by the economic downturn need help.

But is charitable campaigning on the Fourth Plinth an activity that stays true to the Artist's intention? A question that prompts subjective answers, but I think some critics may not see the link between Art and the act of giving.

The act of giving strikes me as being at the heart of Art: the Artist gives their creative expression, the viewer then receives and interprets the Art. Regardless of the Artist's intention of their Art, it is in the act of giving it to the viewer that their work takes form.

With this act of giving, the Art can then enlighten and inspire the viewer. The question 'But is it Art' is often bandied around: my answer is yes; if it inspires, enlightens, or prompts the viewer to act in a way they otherwise wouldn't.

My favourite example of Art that succeeds in doing this is the work by the MFPA (Mouth & Foot Painting Artists); an international Association of artists who paint by using their mouth or foot. The roots of the organisation go back to 1956 when the painter Erich Stegmann (right) and a small band of handicapped artists from eight European countries launched a self-help association.

Not only do I find the work of the MFPA highly accomplished and stunning, I also find it inspiring that the paintings are produced in a method that could be called unique and remarkable. The Art also raises money for charitable causes, as the MFPA sell prints of their associated Artists' work as postcards and greetings cards.

One member of the MFPA, Artist Alison Lapper, is no stranger to The Fourth Plinth. A marble statue of Alison appeared on the Plinth in 2005 when Artist Marc Quinn sculpted her when she was eight months pregnant. Taking ten months for Marc to complete, Alison called it a "modern tribute to femininity, disability and motherhood".

So are charity campaigners part of a true representation of the UK? Think back to the image of Rachel Wardell standing with calm dignity on that Monday morning, green lollipop in hand, declaring to the world the NSPCC slogan "cruelty to children must stop. FULL STOP." There is the answer; Rachel chose to express her greatest care and concern in her life; the welfare of children.

Rachel added to her 'performance' by saying "I wanted to show my kids now, and when they're older, that you can do and be part of anything, no matter how ordinary you are or feel." Job done; I am enlightened and inspired.

One & Other has had its share of Philanthropic Plinthers: from a man dressed as a poo highlighting water sanitation, to a Time Warping dancing campaigner for Action for Children.

Here are a few Philanthropists from the first week of One & Other:

Monday 6th July

09.00 Rachel Wardell, 35, from Sleaford in the East Midlands. Her aim was to raise awareness for the NSPCC.

11.00 Jill Gatcum, 51, an IT consultant from London, released 60 helium balloons. She asked the public to buy her balloons by making a donation to their favourite charity and hopes to create a portrait of modern philanthrophy in the UK via her website.

Tuesday 7th July

10.00 Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26 from Birmingham, dressed as a lump of faeces to promote water sanitation and then changed into a fish costume to highlight the impact of overfishing.

Wednesday 8th July

08.00 Jon Guest, 23, Newcastle, an activist. He said, "I will use my time to eat my breakfast and take a few photographs dressed as a tap, hand or toilet to promote the work of WaterAid."

18.00 Frances, 56, from Leamington Spa, used her hour to help the homeless charity Shelter, erecting a house of giant cards in the windy weather.

Thursday 9th July

06.00 Andrew Clark, a black-clad student from Dartford, said "I thought it would be crazy, fun and an unusual opportunity." He campaigned for diabetes awareness while up there.

08.00 Michael Bottomley, a lift consultant from Halifax, says: "The UK lift industry charity was set up to support the unfortunate in our industry. I will use my time on the plinth to sing ... 100% of the proceeds will go to the lift charity."

12.00 Julia, a human rights advocate from London, said: "While in Ethiopia, I came across the highly taboo, difficult subject of female genital mutilation, which affects over 3 million girls a year, across the world. I would like to use my hour to highlight these issues to anyone who is willing to listen."

20.00 Chris, a nurse from Aldershot, wanted to raise awareness on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. "During my hour in Trafalgar Square I will be dressed in the full RNLI crew kit of yellow trousers and jacket, yellow wellies and red lifejacket, as a testament to the dedication and bravery of our lifeboat crews."

Friday 10th July

21.00 Dianne, from White Notley, will celebrate the 140th birthday of the charity Action for Children. "My supporters and I will be singing and dancing along to the Rocky Horror Show's The Time Warp. I'm hoping people will come along to join in."

Saturday 11th July

13.00 Diana S, a debt caseworker for the Citizens Advice Bureaux from Yeovil, intended to "draw attention to the sterling work of CAB throughout the UK." She wore a sash and carried a placard bearing their logo.

14.00 Charlie, an office worker from Wolverhampton, also plays guitar in a band called Funcky Muckers. She said: "I may stand on the plinth with my fave Telecaster but I'm also trying to find a way to highlight the work of the disabled children's team I work for and the mostly unrecognised struggles of disabled children, their parents and carers as well as the team members."

15.00 Linda, from London, dressed in the red and white of her native Liverpool, including a T-shirt with the slogan "Hillsborough 96 Justice". She then released the balloons one by one.

.... if you don't like it, wait an hour and it will change!

What a week for Antony Gormley and the Fourth Plinth: media attention, protestor controversy, artistic debate, and a stream of crowds gazing up as Plinthians do their thing. The 168 year-old Plinth has probably never had so much attention in its stony faced history.

One & Other has been everywhere this week, I have even heard of television reportage in Canada. Picking up national newspapers on Tuesday, I found major stories on the project. My favourite is an article by Charlotte Higgins on the front page of The Guardian, describing the initial British self portrait as "a mosaic of polite rule-breakers, exhibitionists with a social conscience and slightly inept publicans". The Independent had a double page spread profiling the first ten Plinthians and positing the question 'is it really art?'

Perhaps the funniest items were cartoons in The Sun and The Daily Mail, one showing a bedraggled Gordon Brown standing on the Plinth with a 'Vote Labour' placard, and the other showing a trench-coated elderly man flashing the Trafalgar Square crowd.

One columnist who bought a personal touch to critiquing the project was Times writer Libby Purves. She traversed through London on Tuesday at 3am "past ragged sleepers and a lone street cleaner and scavenging, squawking seagulls" to see her brother Morris dance on the plinth at 4am. "So was my brother a piece of art?" wrote Libby Purves, "Actually, I think so."

Comedian and Writer Frank Skinner was certainly impressed, writing in The Times yesterday "One & Other makes me proud to be British ... [it] is a fabulous symbol of freedom and free speech."

Aside from Journalists and Art Critics, there is another avid audience for One & Other: Twitter followers! As fellow-blogger Tina-Louise asked yesterday "Is Twitter-heckling Art too?"; Twitter has become a place for continual commentary of Plinthian activity - One & Other became so popular on Monday that it was in the top ten Twitter trends in the UK! I'm not surprised; this website received 70,000 hits on Monday (with 260 welcome hits filtering down to my blog!)

I have to admit, I have been tweeting a lot this week (@matt_tucker if you're interested), with my tweets on the project reaching triple figures! But it's all part of the idea that is One & Other - bringing New Media and Art together - reinforcing Gormley's intention of making the public the focus of the Art.

If you are of the Twitter persuasion, don't forget to follow @oneandother. You can also follow @Plinthwatch, which is curated by guardian.co.uk. The team behind @Plinthwatch have been tweeting day and night, providing insightful comments for insomniacs across the UK.

So now the project is well and truly underway, a question has been flying around; 'Is it Art?'. Divided opinions are already appearing in the media, some calling it "middle class big brother."

I don't like Big Brother, I viewed series one (way back in 2000) and concluded that watching people trying to scoop media deals was not entertainment. But, I wholeheartedly believe there is a place for 'reality viewing' in Art and Culture. Television shows have used our fascination with the format to their advantage; selecting people who provide shock-factor entertainment to boost ratings, giving the medium a very bad name. I hope One & Other will change that trend. Do you think it will?

With spirited debate on the both sides of the argument, it has already achieved what I hoped it would: discourse between people from all walks of life, not just Artists and Critics.

As the project progresses through the weeks I'm sure it will lead me to many conclusions on British Art, but for the moment, I love it; my plinth-cam addiction was confirmed on day one.

Whether you love it or hate it, One & Other is here to stay for the next 93 days. So treat it like an unwanted relation visiting in the spare room, hogging the bathroom in the morning, or welcome it like an old friend, one who is going to stand on a plinth for your consideration!

I leave you with a couple of Youtube videos, the first is a highlight of Mark Korczak's hour on the Plinth on Monday at 8pm, nicely edited to give you a sense of the pace of the first day:

The second video is of aspiring Plinthian Doug Blane practising his plinth party piece; he wants to do a Yoga vinyasa Urdhva Padmasana upside down lotus pose on the Fourth Plinth. The beautiful scenery behind is in Aurlandsfjord near Flåm, Norway.

I hope he can hold that position for a whole hour - he might need a pillow...

Londoners awoke on Monday morning with a unique art installation in their backyard: members of the public will be standing on the 168 year-old Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for one hour - 2,400 Plinthians will take turns to occupy the Plinth until mid-October. I’m a plinth applicant and a blogger for the project on oneandother.co.uk.

As you may know, the Project kicked off with an unexpected twist; an apparent saboteur took a running leap at the safety net and clambered on to the plinth before the organisers could reach for their walkie-talkies. The man who scaled the Plinth, Mr Stuart Holmes, was acting in the spirit of the project – he was there to protest against actors smoking in films – but he was not a certified Plinthian. Gormley rebuffed the man when he shouted down for a microphone: “You should have brought your own! That’s the rules!”. Thankfully, Holmes gave up his place for the first Plinthian, Rachel Wardell.

By the end of this week there will have been over 100 people on the Plinth. Here are three of my favourites from the first day:

Jill Gatcum: Releasing balloons with charity request donations attached. Her second party piece was inhaling helium from a canister and singing “follow the yellow brick road” in a munchkin voice.

Scott Illman: The heckling from the crowd began for Scott as he used the prime location to promote 2-for-1 cocktail offers at his pub, showing that Art and advertising is not a popular combination. As the JCB crane came to take him away he was heard to say “there was a really nasty man down there” - it’s a good thing he didn’t read what people were saying on Twitter….

Suren Seneviratne: Dressed in a Panda costume ‘custom’ made by his girlfriend, Suren held a placard with his mobile number on and then paced the plinth as he chatted to strangers on the phone. The pacing actually got quite extreme in what appeared to be an impression of a Panda on Redbull.

Watching the Pinthians on webcam is a harmless pass time, but I have to admit - Gormley has led me into a bit of an addiction. What started as keen interest in a unique art project, has rapidly led to plinth-stalking as I check the plinth pinth-cam every hour. The solution might be to cancel my Internet Service Provider. Having said that, there is live streaming of the project below, courtesy of the ‘One & Other’ website. Come rain or shine, there will be a Plinthian for you to view.

So now the project is well and truly underway, there is the looming question ‘is it Art?’. Divided opinions are already appearing in the media, some calling it “middle class big brother.” I don’t like Big Brother, I watched the first hour of series one (way back in 2000) and concluded then that watching people trying to scoop media deals was not entertainment. But perhaps there is a place in Art and Culture for ‘reality viewing’, i.e. the largely unedited documentation of reality. Previous television shows have used our fascination with this medium to their advantage; selecting people who provide shock-factor entertainment to boost ratings, which has given a very bad name to the medium that is ‘reality viewing’. I hope Gormley will change that trend. What do you think?

Whether you like it or hate it, ‘One & Other’ is here to stay for the next 97 days. So treat it like an unwanted relation visiting in the spare room, hogging the bathroom in the morning, or welcome it like an old friend, one who is going to stand on a plinth for your consideration.

Flickr image from tiredoflondon's photostream.

[This article originally appeared on Antony Gormley's One & Other website, click here to view.]

Plinthers: you have been chosen! Excitement is spreading across the Internet; feverish blogging and happy Twittering has revealed some of the 615 men and women who will be standing in Trafalgar Square this July. But there are still 1,785 places up for grabs - it could be you.... With the final go-ahead from Westminster City Council last week, Antony Gormley's One & Other is taking shape and looks set to make this summer that extra bit special. Love it or hate it, it will get you talking!

For many Plinthers a realisation is dawning on them: 'what am I actually going to do on the Plinth?!' But inspiration is becoming contagious as more and more people are stepping up with amazing ideas. My personal favourite so far is Jill Gatcum who is releasing a balloon every sixty seconds - each balloon will have a different charity donation request attached.

I want to bring you an insight from someone who knows all about performing a 'one-man' show. When on holiday in New York last month, I saw a piece of Theatre that struck me as striking, unique and remarkably relevant to the task ahead for selected Plinthers.

Peter Neofotis (right) brings the ancient art of oral story telling into the 21st century with his solo shows. His performances are all his own words; short stories written about a fictional town called Concord in the American Southern State of Virginia. Narrating through an array of characters, Neofotis tells their tales from history, covering the end of the nineteenth century to the 1970's. Stories include that of a hunter who, after accidentally killing his wife, finds hundreds of vultures in his yard, and the tale of an albino woman who hears ghosts of America's past in the songs of birds.

Have you ever heard of a panegyric? I'll save you from reaching for the dictionary - the noun is an oration in praise of a person or thing. Peter Neofotis describes himself as such - a 'panegyrical performer', and it's not just the act of praise that he covers; there is a whole spectrum of emotions expressed on stage. Neofotis puts himself truly in the story; he feels it, he lives it, and he invites you, the audience, to be there with him in the moment. When I saw Neofotis perform at Dixon Place Theatre he became visibly caught up in the emotion of the tales, the plights of tragedy and joy, making me realise he means business when he is story telling. Straight from the opening line, you are there in the midst of an oration that will make you laugh, cry and then hold your breath as you await the finale. Here's Peter in action:

Many of Peter's tales can be read in his debut book, Concord, Virginia: A Southern Town in Eleven Stories, published next month with St. Martin's Press in the US.

Peter's work suits the One & Other experience. With no props on the confined space of the stage, he is his own Art. Like the audience that stare up at his one-man show: Londoners, tourists and webcam viewers will stare up at Plinthers.

I caught up with Peter to ask a few questions about his craft and his thoughts on One & Other - here's what he had to say:

Tell us how you became a panegyrical performer
When I was in my early teens, I would memorise large sections of classical dramas. My older sisters would then have these large keg parties with all their friends and have me perform for the crowd. My first routine was of the War of the Worlds.

What do you feel defines your style as a unique performer?
Even though I am doing a one-man show, the stories I tell are fictional tales inspired and about other people, archetypes that the audience can relate to as much as I can. Also, I am performing memorised prose to be published in the written form.

Do you seek any form of connection with your audience?
Absolutely. I am not telling the story to the audience as much as we are reliving the experience together.

What do you hope your audience will take away from one of your performances?
I hope my audience will feel empowered to ask questions about the human experience. How do we overcome our painful past while not falling into the sterilised eeriness of modernity? Can we see the failure of most organised religions while still holding onto life's mystical forces?

Do you think the desire to be artistically expressive is part of the human psyche, or something that only drives Artists?
I think it's part of everyone. People need to connect with others in a highly emotional way that is not sexual. Hunter-gathering man had this outlet through the campfire dance. People could scream and yell and chant all night long in a way that was fluid and open to communication between the performer and the audience. Some of the best stories I've read are expressions of pain by ordinary people who are crying from the wound of not being able to have an outlet for artistic expression. I think we need to be more open to fostering the artists in the whole human psyche, and I think the Plinth is a good step.

Antony Gormley is appealing to the public to represent humanity, do you think humanity is going to look good?
Susan Boyle recently showed that brilliance can shine from the most unlikely places - as long as we give it a chance.

Susan Boyle could be an applicant! What advice would you give Plinthers who are preparing to go up in front of the public?
Congratulations on taking a risk and putting yourself out there. It is the first step. Remember that it will be best if you go at with your all and have faith and comfort. Allow the art to speak from your bones.

Do you think there would be an appetite for a One & Other Plinth in the US?
Absolutely.

And if you had a place on the plinth, what would you do?
A story of mine called The Builders, a Prometheus Bound fable recast on Virginia's Natural Bridge. It is a dramatic reckoning between an albino woman,  chained black man, and the ghost of Thomas Jefferson - all on the edge of a precipice. Do you think we could arrange lighting too?

You would be welcome to bring your own lights. So are you going to be watching Plinthers on the webcam? And do you think we're going to get any shocking surprises?
Yes, I will watch. And yes, there will be some surprises. Someone totally unassuming will do something truly extraordinary.

Thanks Peter - I hope "truly extraordinary" is going to describe the sight of anyone standing up high on the Fourth Plinth!

Plinther Charles Hunt left a comment on the website here to let us all know he would be doing a costumed reading of Charles Dickens, and seeing as he appears to be a professional Voice Artist, we're in for a treat of a panegyrical nature!

Of course, Literature is no stranger to the art of monologues. The ones that stick in my mind are the witty and scheming soliloquies of Shakespeare's Richard III, as he bends down to the audience mid-conversation, delivering a line or two about the Machiavellian plot to unfold. Perhaps there is a Richard III Plinther out there? Any takers?

I want to leave you now with a question for Plinthers and potential Plinthers: will you be trying to engage your audience? You have an advantage over a statue of bronze or stone; you can interact! Will you be smiling, waving, pleading, lecturing, berating, or educating your audience? - Or any other verbs you care to think of?!

I’m excited about being a guest blogger for Antony Gormley’s One & Other Art project: the living monument of Trafalgar Square. Art critic Brian Sewell better watch out, he has competition ;) - take a look here.

I’ll be providing commentary and opinion throughout the project, alongside my fellow guest bloggers: Vincent, Jane and Hugo.

For those of you who don’t know: every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, a different person will make the Fourth Plinth their own. Once selected, the individual can use their time on the plinth as they like. One & Other is open to anyone and everyone from any corner of the UK.

I have the chance to express my voice of opinion on this historical Art venture - a great opportunity! Hopefully this wont be a hard task, there’s lots to say! I received some text this morning from a 'panegyrical performer' for my first blog post next Thursday. All will be revealed!

In the meantime, here are some facts I’ve searched out about One & Other :

Five facts about Antony Gormley

1. As a young man, Gormley travelled to India, returning to London three years later.
2. The Artist has used his own body as subject, tool and material.
3. One & Other isn’t his first large scale art installation; others include Allotment, Critical Mass, Another Place, Domain Field, and Inside Australia.
4. His most celebrated British sculptures include: Angel of the North and Quantum Cloud on the Thames in Greenwich.
5. Gormley’s Awards:  the Turner Prize in 1994, the South Bank Prize for Visual Art in 1999, Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997, and in 2007 he was awarded the Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture.

Five facts about Trafalgar Square and the Fourth Plinth

1. With its position in the heart of London, Trafalgar Square is a tourist attraction and one of the most famous Squares in the World.
2. The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars.
3. The Fourth plinth is on the northeast corner of the Square and was designed by Sir Charles Barry and in 1841 -it was meant to hold a statue of William IV, but remained empty due to insufficient funds.
4. It was in 1999 that the Royal Society of Arts conceived the Fourth Plinth Project; art work from three contemporary artists temporarily occupying the plinth.
5. The famous pigeons of Trafalgar Square are considered a problem by some; the sale of bird seed in the square was ended in 2000!

Five facts about Artichoke (Producers of One & Other)

1. Artichoke is a creative company that puts on extraordinary shows that change the way people look at the world. They work with the best creative minds to produce events that live in the memory forever.
2. They are the people behind the staging of 'The Sultan’s Elephant’ in 2006.
3. Artichoke is producing a festival of light in Durham in November 2009, and in Cambridge in 2010. For further information about Illuminata.
4. Artichoke is delighted to announce that One & Other is the first event in a series produced over the next couple of years in partnership with Sky Arts.
5. Hardly anyone knows that a secret tunnel runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. In May 2008, more than a century after it was begun, the tunnel was finally completed. An extraordinary optical device called a Telectroscope was installed at both ends which miraculously allowed people to see right through the Earth from London to New York and vice versa. Artichoke helped this vision come to life last year!

Five facts about Sky Arts (Sponsors of One & Other)

1. From Monday 20 October, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 2 HD will broadcast 36 hours of combined arts programming every day into millions of homes in the UK and Ireland.
2. Sky Arts 1 serves up contemporary programming, such as live rock concerts, documentaries and the celebrity ‘hijack’ series.
3. Sky Arts 2 is the home of Sky Arts’ more classical art content, fantastic new shows to look out for include a four part series called The Forgotten Painter – Edward Seago presented by Selina Scott; a new series of spectacular HD Metropolitan Operas including performances of Romeo & Juliet , Macbeth , Tristan & Isolde , La Fille du Regiment , Peter Grimes , La Boheme , Hansel & Gretel and Manon Lescaut.
4. The Sky Arts Artichoke Season is an ongoing partnership between Sky Arts and creative producers Artichoke.
5. You can follow Sky Arts on Twitter: @SkyArts.

Earlier in the year I featured a new song from Natasha Khan's Bat for Lashes here on Cosmopolite - a great musical discovery for me. Now I've come across 'Florence & the machine', who is starting to make it very big, I've already heard her a few times on BBC Radio 1.

The song 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it up)' from her debut album is very catchy, something you can play over and over. With the haunting vocals of Florence Welch, and a music video that looks like Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', this deserves to be a hit. Enjoy.

After a false start with Terminator 3, filmmakers are once again having a crack at the story of John Connor; the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. Set in the close future of 2018, Terminator Salvation follows the final showdown between mankind and killer machines. A stranger appears; a man whose last memories are of being on death row. John Connor must decide whether the man is sent to annihilate mankind or fight alongside the human resistance.

This latest instalment of the Terminator saga is bold and ambitious. Where Terminator 3 disappointed with strained dialogue and unoriginal plot twists, Terminator Salvation gives a different experience. The action sequences are spontaneous, spectacular and unrelenting, but can make you dizzy as your eye has to catch up with sequences spliced together disjointedly. However, you certainly wont be disappointed in its pace, scale of explosions, battles and fast speed chases.

Christian Bale fills the shoes of John Connor well. Watching him lose his temper on screen makes you realise you don't want to get on the wrong side of Bale; an actor who appears intimidating both in and out of character. You may have heard about Bale’s much publicised outburst on the set of this Terminator film; finding the stream of obscenities on YouTube isn't hard. If you haven’t, watch it here (WARNING - contains a lot of swearing). Bale’s apology on the incident included the claim that he was ‘in character’ at the time. That's method acting for you! Bale’s performance is strong and compelling, but at times a little overstated; being Batman may have gone to his head. When you hear the unnaturally husky Batman voice come out of John Connor’s mouth, you want to pass him a packet of cough sweets. But if you liked Bale in Batman then you’ll like him in Terminator Salvation.

Would a Terminator film be authentic if it didn’t include the Governor of California, Mr Terminator himself? Many of us grew up with the familiar sight of Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the killer robot from the future; the bad guy in the first Terminator film and the good guy in the second. Fortunately, Arnie does make a return, and he looks surprisingly well for a man in his 60’s - too well. An incredibly convincing CGI figure seems to have taken his place. The performance is almost indistinguishable from the man in the flesh, or should I say metal.

Terminator Salvation pays respectful homage to the first two Terminator films of the 80’s and 90’s. Repeated classic lines like “come with me if you want to live” and “I’ll be back” are real fan pleasers. The terrifying image of the polished steel Terminator skull and bulky frame from the original film is fully exploited in striking cinematography.

There are nods of acknowledgement to other classic action films throughout: Terminators resembling Transformers, a Mad Max-ian society in chaos, a terrifying similarity to the invasion of the War of the Worlds, and a touch of Shelley’s Frankenstein in the character of Marcus Wright. All the references make an enjoyable tale of science fiction horror.

The film does the Terminator saga proud as a fitting continuation, providing new characters and new concepts, nicely setting the scene for future films.

If you like the Terminator films - this is a must-see. And if you haven’t seen any Terminator films then go watch Terminator Salvation – you don’t know what you’re missing!

I have some blogging news: I’ve been made a website Co-Editor of London magazine The Other Side; the free magazine that offers a witty, insightful look into what's going on in the UK capital. I’ll be contributing to the ‘Going Out’ and ‘Film’ blogs of the website. Editor Sam Lassman has got big plans for the magazine, take a look at his Guardian interview.

Also, I have some more blogging news, which I’ll be posting about very soon….

There is another Bank Holiday Monday to enjoy this weekend, and with the next Bank Holiday being far away in August, it's time to make the most of the upcoming three-days. As per usual, I want you to get the best in Art & Culture – here are this week’s suggestions for London:

DISCOVER the myths and monsters of Japan with over 150 works by the nineteenth-century Japanese master printmaker Kuniyoshi, at the Royal Academy of Arts.

VIEW the work of the elusive graffiti/urban artist Banksy at the Andipa Gallery, a free event.

EXPERIENCE Brontë’s Wuthering Heights through the medium of dance. Choreographer/director Cathy Marston explores the relationships between the characters using Marston's lyrical modern ballet.

CELEBRATE your love of the spoken word with the Lambeth Readers and Writers Festival, now in its sixth year. Highlights include comedians and broadcasters Mark Steel and Arthur Smith in an evening entitled Comic Writing for the Mid-life Crisis, and South African novelist Gillian Slovo discussing her most recent novel, 'Black Orchid'.

COMBINE an Art Gallery with a duologue performance and and go see Tim Crouch’s England; an experimental piece of theatre where “your imagination is the theatre in which the thickening walls and failing beat of the protagonist’s heart is vividly displayed.”

ENJOY existentialism at its best with Waiting for Godot. Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Simon Callow star in Samuel Beckett’s thought provoking and humorous “masterpiece”, now also showing in New York.

SPEND a day wandering Oxford Street while it’s closed to traffic this Saturday and watch an outdoor showing of the forthcoming film 'Night at the Museum 2'.

For the students and teachers out there - I know it’s half-term next week - here are a couple of mid-week activities to refresh you for the rest of the academic year:

CATCH the Dance Fever with free outdoor dance workshops and performances, starting on Bank Holiday Monday with Bollywood and flamenco, ballroom on Tuesday, hula hoop and Lindy hop on Wednesday and salsa on Thursday.

RELIVE your childhood with the magical illustrations of Quentin Blake at Snozzcumbers and Frobscottle! The Wonderful World of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, now showing at the V&A.

Enjoy yourself!

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