Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: AACM Adamson Collection Trust Adolf Wolfli African Skies Aloise Corbaz Amelie Ravalec Art & Mind Artistic Heritage Ensemble Augustin Lesage David O Flynn Derk Reklaw diary drawings Earth Wind and Fire Edmund Monsiel Edvard Munch Francisco Goya frankiphone Hieronymus Bosch ICA John Maizels Josefe Marie Verna Kelan Phil Cohran and Legacy Mad Pride Mad Pride All-dayer Madge Gill Nick Blinko NTS Radio Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris 2019 Phil Cohran Raw Vision Magazine Sun Ra Arkestra Timmy Miller Has a Heavy Head William Blake
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End of summer updates (exhibitions, film screenings, art fairs, radio shows…)
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It has been half a year or so since my last blog post.. Some updates as we transition into the climax of an unknown winter…
Manchester Mad Pride All-Dayer, Sunday September 8th
This subversive celebration is coming up very soon, at the end of this very week in fact. I was invited to partake and have contributed a couple of prints to the visual art exhibition, as well as my film Timmy Miller Has a Heavy Head which will be screened in a programme of short films throughout the day. It is a rare showing of the film and no other showings are currently planned to take place. The event will showcase various artists spanning a vast spectrum of dynamic media for all your senses to glean. These are the co-ordinates:
Niamos, Chichester Road, Hulme, Manchester, M15 5EU
You can find further info here (where if you scroll down to a post from August 3rd, you can read my answers to a few questions that were put to me) or here.
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2019, Thursday 17th – Sunday 20th October
I’m proud to announce that some of my work will be on show again with the Galerie du Marche (Lausanne, Switzerland) at the seventh edition of the annual Outsider Art Fair in Paris this October. It has been surreal to be included among highly potent artists such as Aloise Corbaz, Edmund Monsiel, Adolf Wolfli and Madge Gill on what I have always considered to be one of, if not the, strongest stands at the fair.
The most recently completed diary drawing is on an A5 format (21 x 14.8cm). In some sort of unexplainable phenomena, it has resulted in several thousand more words than the previous diary of the same size, and contains more words than eight out of the ten A4 diary pages that exist, at almost 11,000 words in ‘bubble text’. Usually the word difference, especially in such close succession (months, not years), can be a few hundred more or less. This diary page will be on show at the fair. See here for further details.
Art & Mind film
I should mention the manifestation of this truly ambitious documentary film, Art & Mind, which attempts to chart evolving opinions, views and research regarding the convergence of mental health and visual art whilst considering a period of give or take 500 years. I was present at the premiere which took place at the ICA in April (where it will be shown as part of a double bill on Sunday September 8th again). There are dozens of further screenings scheduled globally, which you can find here along with the trailer and further information. The film is narrated by the unparalleled John Maizels, editor of Raw Vision Magazine, who was on the Q & A panel at the premiere alongside chair of the Adamson Collection Trust, David O Flynn and director of the film itself, Amelie Ravalec. From having viewed the film once, I recall my immediate response was a feeling of inundation. There were 350 or so images shown in the film (including one of mine), in a sort of suspended montage sequence. The film was divided into an array of sub-chapters, giving a short time to highlight each. It would not go amiss to re-edit this film and the extensive omitted footage, into a series of episodes, allowing more time for the information to flow. The sequence of images is beautiful and to see it on a big screen was fantastic. With such an amount to be tackled within the time frame of a feature film, and to summarise the centuries explored, naturally there is a lot left unsaid and, for example, failing to include non-Western art and non-Western interpretations of mental health assessment and behaviour, is significantly detrimental. I found the relentlessness of the on-going music under the interviewees words contributed to a somewhat suffocating viewing process, but paradoxically find the alignment of that to the subject, an interesting choice of formatting and that perhaps it in some way can work to the film’s advantage. Needless to say, I can’t wait to re-watch this film, probably several times. To see works by Bosch, Goya, Blake, and Munch contextualised with Lesage, Wolfli, Blinko, and an endless list of incredible artists, and practitioners active in various aspects of the field pondering on these works and how they were viewed in their time and since, is incredibly fascinating.
See’s To Exist Show, edition 179 – The Sphereology of Phil Cohran
I recently put a pre-recorded radio show together focussing on the extraordinary music of self-proclaimed ‘sphereologist’, Phil Cohran. A difficult task to fit what I can into two hours, especially after a very rich hour and twenty minute conversation recorded between myself and harpist Josefe Marie Verna (who’s majestic opening notes on White Nile, from the African Skies LP recorded in 1993 were my introduction to Phil Cohran’s music) , which I edited parts of into the show, as well as fragments of a phone conversation I had with Derf Reklaw who was involved in Phil Cohran’s Artistic Heritage Ensemble in the late 1960s. Cohran played in Sun Ra’s Arkestra for a couple of years as the 1950s turned into the 1960s, and is known for being co-founder of the legendary AACM. He invented the Frankiphone, a sort of electrified thumb piano, which was popularised by disciples of his who went on to form Earth, Wind and Fire. I get into details about all of that and much more. Most importantly, you can hear some of this great music in the show here.
My show is monthly and you can hear the next show in its usual format of me playing some of my records live and talking about them on September 22nd, 3-5pm (UK time) over at NTS Radio.
That’s All Folks!
I have some exciting news simmering and hope to report back soon. Meanwhile, back to your lives.
Take care,
Carlo.
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: abcd collection Adolf Wolfli Aloise Corbaz Brian Robert Gibson Carlo Keshishian Cathy Ward Circus Terminal diary drawings Eternod/Mermod Collection Ian Pyper Itch FM Joe Dub Liz Parkinson NTS Outside In Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Pier Makanda San Fransisco Street Music See's To Exist Show SFSM Uncooked Culture Who Cares? And Unkowns
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Winter updates
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2016
Greetings. As the last update was left on the ponderous note of anticipation for what was to come in the form of the Outsider Art Fair Paris, I shall provide you with the outcome.. firstly, I have written at length about it here for Outside In. Having just revisited this writing now, I don’t think I need to add much more here. The New York edition of the fair celebrated its 25th year earlier this month and it seems the momentum has really picked up in the last few years with more attendance, media coverage and general awareness seemingly bringing the field noticeably within view from in the shadows.

A sophisticated magnifying glass with built-in light, being used to look at a detailed Carlo Keshishian diary drawing. Works by Aloise and Wolfli visible in background
ABDC Collection
Following on from the Paris fair, I’m pleased to announce some of my recordings have found a home in the unparalleled ABCD collection. See here.
Radio Shows, Itch FM, NTS and Mixcloud: See’s To Exist Show / Who Cares? And Unknowns
For those that have been following my See’s To Exist Show Jazz based radio shows in the last few years, a metamorphosis is currently taking place. For various reasons, I’ve had to call it a day in regards to providing a weekly show at Itch FM, which has been a great experience and I will forever rep the Itch family. I wasn’t sure what form, if any, See’s To Exist Show will continue to exist as, and started to put in place the creation process of a new podcast which would not be restricted by genre or time in terms of how frequently new editions would come into being, or how much time they would each run for. This show is called Who Cares? And Unknowns, of which the first instalment has now been uploaded in two parts (clocking in altogether at somewhere around the 5 hour mark). This first instalment is focussed on Joe Dub, one of the West Coast’s best kept secrets in terms of underground Hip Hop (of the Americas). I first came across his music in the form of a cassette that was given to me in 1997-98, containing material by his then group San Francisco Street Music, that I would years later find out is titled ‘The Pride’. A cassette intrinsic to the development of my own approach to a lot of things, to this day. In a previous blog entry, I highlight some record adapters I designed for Joe’s current project, and we have had an interesting exchange since the turn of the last century. He has recorded with the who’s who of mythical underground West Coast artists such as Deeskee, 2Mex, Abstract Rude, Doc Lewd, Awol One, Circus, Liferexall, Neila, Dave Dub, Ellay Khule, and a near endless list of others. In these shows I provide a generous quantity of his recordings, more or less chronologically, including collaborations with Devin The Dude, Topic, Factor, Alex 75 and many more.. You can check part 1 and part 2 out now. Enjoy.
I am proud to announce that See’s To Exist Show will continue, keeping more or less the same format, but will now be a monthly show courtesy of NTS. The new show will be live on Sundays, 3-5pm, the first of which can be streamed on March 12th. Tune in for more of the same unparalleled magical Jazz gems from the dusty depths of our world’s near forgotten treasure crevices.
Toilet Diary
The current diary drawing I am working on has unexpectedly taken a different path. Firstly, it’s is more than four times the size than the previous sequence which were all A4. Secondly, in theory the idea was to draw just one hour each day of the year, so as to contain the entire year in a measured manner. I’ve allocated a premeditated dimensional area divided 365 times within the page. I began drawing it a few weeks before another little collaborative creation I’m involved in, in the form of a little human, was born into being in our world. A spanner in the works of course presented itself just a few days into drawing, and with my back significantly compromised, causing me to be bed-bound for almost two weeks, I have quite some catching up to do with drawing and recollecting my thoughts, channeling the fresh impulses, etc.. I’m sure it will be an interesting challenge to the end. Other interesting new diaries being kept involve monitoring toilet activity. Who’d have thunk it. Anyhow, here is a photograph of my new diary drawing in progress, with new little human catching some z’s alongside..
Short Film
I won’t give much about this away at the moment because I’m still not sure exactly what I will do with it, but I have been working on a short film for some time now and it is near completion. I’ve been working on it, on and off, for the last couple of years or so in terms of filming and editing. The ideas for it, however, have slowly been simmering for over a decade and it somehow found its way into being created, which initially I hadn’t intended on seeing through. More on this in the next blog entry (probably/possibly?!)..
Uncooked Culture ‘Spring Showcase’
The mastermind behind the Uncooked Culture initiative and Circus Terminal touring exhibitions,The Bag Lady Nok has put in place another exhibition showcasing works by artists associated with the movement. On this occasion, you can find works by somewhere around a hundred artists. Other than myself, these include Ian Pyper, Cathy Ward, Pier Makanda, Liz Parkinson, Brian Robert Gibson and many many more. Nok’s acquiring of the Bag Lady title relates to the near mythical process that has been her method in carrying hundreds of art works in one suitcase and putting exhibitions on in France, Spain, Solvenia, Holland, Suriname, Thailand, New Zealand and the U.S.A. This time around, she has set up just around the corner at The Walmer Castle pub in Notting Hill (London, UK). The address is 58 Ledbury Road, W11 2AJ. I’m not exactly sure how long the works will be up but I do know there will be a three day celebration in the upstairs bar area on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of March, so if you are interested in seeing some performances, hearing speeches, and mysterious improvisational happenstance intrinsic to the nature of the project, find yourself there within that window of time. On the evening of Wednesday the 1st of March, I will be DJing so if you are around and care to experience the exhibition with a soundtrack of rare spiritual Jazz potentially among other things, it’s a good time to peruse. I’ll leave it at that.
Until later..
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Boy talks Uncategorized: 27 Beats Alex 75 Art Brut Doug Shorts Edmund Monsiel Friedrich Nagler Galerie Du Marche Itch FM Joe Dub Mixcloud OAF Outside In Outsider Art Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Pallant House Gallery Raphael Lonne S.F.S.M. San Fransisco Street Music See's To Exist Show SFSM Three Quarters Westcoast Workforce
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Summer/Autumn updates
Outside In 10th Anniversary
Greetings. As usual, it has been a while since the last time I have posted here. Time passes, things accumulate, etc.. So, let’s get on with it!
Outside In have put a show together at Pallant House Gallery, in order to celebrate 10 years of Outside In, which is quite an achievement. It’s great that they can continue to carry out the work that they do and seem to be going from strength to strength. I have a couple of diary drawings in the exhibition alongside the works of other award winners. The show is on until the 30th October, so if you are nearby, do check it out! Also imperative to mention, something that really blew me away and was a total surprise, on exhibition in the DeLonghi Room at Pallant House, are some (many) collected works by Friedrich Nagler. Seriously incredible, faces created out of all sorts of materials throughout his adult life.. Some simple, others quite detailed and complex.. I can’t stress how great this exhibition is and urge anyone remotely near to go take a look, I’m not sure what the probability of seeing them again is, where or when, but I do hope it can tour for others to share this experience. These shows aren’t on for much longer, so check it out while you can!
Three Quarters Records
By now, I do have a somewhat dynamic history with a figure known to some as Joe Dub. He resides in Hawaii and first came to my attention in the last few years of the previous millennium for his work with the group San Francisco Street Music. He has gone through a few name changes and it is about to happen again, on this occasion to be coinciding with the launch of his new record label, Three Quarters. For their first release, Joe, alongside longtime collaborator Alex 75, handles the production for singer Doug Shorts on a 7″ called ‘Throwing Our Love Away/Slow Poison’.
I am proud to present to you all, a wooden 45/7″ record adapter that I’ve designed for the Three Quarters record label. It is my understanding that these will be available as a limited edition promotional gift with orders of the first release by Doug Shorts very soon.. Stay tuned for more info! In the meantime, you can read a bit more about Doug Shorts here.
Additionally, I have included part of an interview that I recently conducted with Joe Dub, in my 100th radio show for Itch FM (It is my 140th in total). The show focuses on the historical development of my interest in Jazz and I’ll be uploading it to my Mixcloud archive soon. It can be found on Itch FM’s archive already. Furthermore, I am in the process of putting together quite a thorough show focusing on Joe Dub and his music, which will include the full interview. I’ll provide a link to both of these as they become available.
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2016
It’s that time again.. October 20-23rd. Outsider Art Fair Paris, at Hôtel du Duc. A few dozen galleries and organisations from around the world will be exhibiting. I will have works on display with the Galerie du Marché (Lausanne, Switzerland). I’m in great company alongside favourite artists of mine such as Raphael Lonne and Edmund Monsiel, whose pieces are very rarely exhibited, so treat yourself to a trip and journey. Come see us! I will be writing my opinion piece for Outside In as per usual, so if you can’t make it, perhaps you’ll be able to gauge and glean something from that once it’s published. I’ll keep you posted, in any case..
Right, that will be all for now! I’ll be in touch again in due course..
Bright moments,
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Uncategorized: Andrea Joyce Heimer Castlefield Gallery Darren Brian Adcock David MacLagan Jenna Kayleigh Wilkinson Joel Lorand Marlene Steyn Mehrdad Rashidi Mit Senoj Nick Blinko Peter Darach Richard Nie Rudimentary Peni
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Inside Out at Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, UK
‘Inside Out’ at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (UK) / 4th March – 24th April, 2016
As promised in the previous blog entry, I am expanding on the topic of a current exhibition which features some of my work. At the time of writing this, it has been open to the public for just under two weeks and will remain open for just over a further month. I highly recommend a visit after having attended the preview night. The space is impressive, and the combination of artists and works make for a rich experience which should have something to absorb you into and intrigue you. I think it is fair to say that there is enough potency in this show to captivate beyond the much too often case in my experience of entering gallery, perusing ’empty’ feeling ideas/art for a matter of a handful of minutes at most, and sometimes even forcing further attention in case time might do anything in me understanding/appreciating the work, but more often than not failing to accept there is any substance of real value. I am so tired of that, that I wanted to write that sloppy sentence as quickly as possible and move on.
I have to send a big shout out to co-curator of the show show, David Maclagan, for his support over the last few years and for bringing me into this show. The work on display was co-curated with the Castlefield Gallery and I saw some interesting work that I was unfamiliar with until that point. Darren Brian Adcock‘s interactive pieces had a wondrous and original way of engaging with me. I had the honour or being in this group show with an artist I have admired for over half my lifetime thus far, Nick Blinko. This strangely put some sort of perspective on things, for me. In fact, and I hadn’t thought of this until now, but Nick Blinko’s original drawing used for the insert of his band Rudimentary Peni‘s first album ‘Death Church‘ from the early 1980s, being exhibited in this exhibition, is a result of some cosmic vibrations if ever there were any. A friend of mine in school made a compilation cassette for me, containing hardcore punk recordings from his record collection. It took him months to finally get round to finishing it and giving it to me. A song from ‘Death Church’ was on this tape, and I went to seek out the album after that. Purchasing it was my first exposure to Nick Blinko’s art, and right now you can see the original art for that album on show in an exhibition along with some of my work. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but something happened there!
I was going to write more, but I think I’ll leave it at that! I hope you can make it along to see some interesting work that doesn’t often get an outing. Vibrations courtesy of: Darren Brian Adcock, Nick Blinko, Peter Darach, Andrea Joyce Heimer, Carlo Keshishian, Joel Lorand, David Maclagan, Richard Nie, Mehrdad Rashidi, Mit Senoj, Marlene Steyn, Jenna Kayleigh Wilkinson.
Below are some photos from the opening.
Diary Drawing, Sept. 2015 – March 2016
Another diary drawing has reached its natural ending point. On this occasion, without filling the entire page. I’ve covered most of it though. There are a handful of reasons that I am aware of relating to why, one of which is how difficult I found using the pen that I chose. It was not very fluid and did not flow so well. This, in part, delayed the process by months. Anyhow, that’s the way it goes. It was not the sole reason, in any case.. Unfortunately, my scanner is not scanning the page straight, regardless of how straight the page is placed into the scanner, so I hope this temporary scan should do for now.. I guess you won’t notice too much either way though..
Lastly, I must mention I have been on some inspiring adventures lately. In contrast to the behemoths I normally post as blogs, and rather sparsely, I hope to submit somewhat more frequent and digestible posts, in which I’d like to focus on these adventures, for example. Until then,
Peace
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Boy talks: Ahmed Abdullah Amina Claudine Myers Carlo Keshishian Castlefield Gallery David Wertman David Wertman & The Sun Ensemble diary drawings Ed Blackwell Eternod/Mermod Collection Galerie Du Marche Joel Lorand John Sprague La Maison Rouge louis soutter Madge Gill Marion Brown Mehrdad Rashidi Nick Blinko Outside In Outsider Art Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Stephen McCraven Sun Ra Sweet Earth Records The Sun Ensemble theo
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Outsider Art Fair Paris, Castlefield Gallery, Sweet Earth Records and a Happy New Year..
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2015…
Greetings friends, family, fans, followers and spies. I thought I’d write one of these posts to update everyone on some of my activities before the year is out. Firstly, as I mentioned in the previous post in September, I had two drawings shown at the Outsider Art Fair Paris thanks to Galerie du Marché and the Eternod/Mermod Collection from Lausanne, Switzerland. I must reiterate how much of an honour it is to have my drawings in their incredible collection and to be shown at their consistently strong booth, having attended the fair for several years and been absorbed by the potency and selection. This was the first time that my works have been exhibited at the fair, and I was in good company on the wall with a Louis Soutter above me and a Theo below me, with a Madge Gill below that. As I said in my entry of reflections on the Outsider Art Fair Paris for Outside In‘s blog which can be read here: “In a weird way, I quite like being in the company of dead people who manage to speak from beyond the grave (and particularly in this way).” Quoting myself from other blogs, into my own. The future has arrived. Anyhow, for my perspective on the fair, click on the aforementioned link. The two diary drawings of mine that were shown were bought by the La Maison Rouge collection and a private collector.
Diary Drawing…
I am currently drawing the 9th in my series of diary drawings, with the intention to stop at the 12th, as I’d like to continue a painting that I began in 2011 and hopefully build a series around it. Below, you can see an image capturing a moment in the process of my current diary in progress..
Castlefield Gallery… Inside Out
I am pleased to announce that some of my work will be shown in Inside Out, an exhibition with a very interesting roster of artists, at the Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, UK. The show will be on from 4th March until 24th of April. For (a lot of) additional info, check out the first link in this paragraph. I’ll go into some more detail about this exhibition in my next blog post, but for now I will say I am very excited to discover I’ll have works shown alongside Nick Blinko, Joel Lorand and Mehrdad Rashidi.
Sweet Earth Records
I undertook a most pleasurable adventure in recent months, in an attempt to shed light on a somewhat obscure, short-lived record company that was active between 1977-1979. My curiosity resulted from a variety of ‘coincidences’ in regards to the records that were released on the label, most of which are rare and all out of print with the exception of Sun Ra‘s The Other Side Of The Sun which saw a reissue through another label in recent years. In my attempt to demystify the story of Sweet Earth Records, I managed to speak with John Sprague who kindly elaborates on his memories of performing and recording with David Wertman and The Sun Ensemble, as well as his involvement with the label and their releases. I also speak with the legendary Amina Claudine Myers about her album Poems For Piano ‘The Piano Music of Marion Brown’, I chat with the charismatic Stephen McCraven who kindly invited me in his home to speak on his classic Wooley The Newt LP, and lastly I interview the great Ahmed Abdullah about a Sweet Earth Records non-release and what would have been Ed Blackwell‘s first album as leader. As far as I know, there isn’t really even a synopsis of what Sweet Earth Records were about, online, let alone an exploratory show containing interviews with someone associated with each release to come out on the label, which is what I’ve managed to piece together. I hope you enjoy it. With that, I’ll stop typing and leave you with those two hours of audio Sweet Earth Records special / See’s To Exist show. Happy New Year!
Bright moments,
Carlo
Boy shows you his... Boy talks Uncategorized: Adolf Wolfli Aloise Corbaz Artlicks Carlo Zinelli diary drawings Edmund Monsiel Eternod/Mermod Collection Galerie Du Marche Hotel Elephant Madge Gill Outsider Art Fair Outsider Art Fair Paris Raphael Lonne Scottie Wilson
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Artlicks Weekend with Hotel Elephant, Outsider Art Fair Paris, Diary drawing..
Artlicks Weekend/Hotel Elephant…
Welcome once again or for the first time. If you are sitting in silence, let me take this opportunity to momentarily redirect you to the archive of my weekly radio shows, in case you’d like a soundtrack to reading my blog. Go here and pick any of the hundred or so shows I’ve executed in my life as a radio DJ thus far. Don’t forget to come back though.
My first bit of news is that I’ll have some work showing in London (UK) again, finally. This will occur between the 1st-4th October. The opening is on the evening of Thursday the 1st of October from 6-9pm and then you will be able to come and see the following few days (Fri, Sat, Sun) from 12-6pm. Courtesy of Hotel Elephant as part of the Artlicks Weekend. The address is 23 Harper Road SE1 6AW. This location is just a few minutes walk from Borough station, or Elephant & Castle. For further info, you can use your search engine(s) or try these links: 1 and 2 and here’s another.. 3
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2015
I’m very pleased to announce that some of my work will be shown at this year’s Paris edition of the Outsider Art Fair, thanks to Galerie du Marché and the Eternod/Mermod Collection from Lausanne, Switzerland. It is an honour to have works in their highly impressive collection containing master works by Aloïse Corbaz, as well as works by some of my favourite artists (Edmund Monsiel, Carlo Zinelli, and Raphaël Lonné). Madge Gill, Scottie Wilson, and Adolf Wölfli are among the legendary names whose works can also be seen in the Eternod/Mermod Collection. The fair runs from October 22nd-25th. See website for further details. Here.
Diary Drawing, March-September 2015
I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve completed another diary drawing. This time surpassing any previous shift in increments by a surprising amount, in regards to the amount of words contained in the drawing, which on this occasion clocks in at 11,273 words. The last couple of drawings were around 7,000 words each, and the one before that had the highest word count previously, at 9,539. Here is an image of the latest drawing.. (click on it for a larger view).
Thanks for reading (and listening?) Bright moments, Carlo