AND THAT'S MY STORY: CLARA CASIAN, ARTIST
I have been intrigued to find out more about the creators behind projects that I have been fortunate enough to see and/ or hear for a long time now so I've decided to do something about it. And That's My Story is a series on this blog that shares with you a bit about the creators I've met along the way and their journey towards fulfilling their dreams; it will run for as long as I can find people who are willing to share their story. Today, let me introduce you to the kind and talented Clara Casian.
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I met Clara waaaay back in March; she was one of the artists whose work was showcased at the Cornerhouse'Full Stop' exhibition. She ever-so-kindly agreed to meet up with me one fine Friday evening to discuss her work and get to know each other better. Her welcoming demeanour and passion for art & film were so evident, it made the interview seem more like a casual conversation and I really appreciated that. Chatting with Clara taught me a lot about not only face-to-face interviews but also the multi-layered world of art. It was a conversation I enjoyed greatly despite it taking me so long to transcribe and publish it - many, many, many words can be said in an hour and half convo let me tell ya! I am so pleased to finally be able to share with you all a bit about Clara's exciting projects and her thoughts on life as artist and censorship. To find out what we discussed that evening, please scroll on down (or up depending on what kind of device you are using).
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Shadowcasting project exhibited as part of 'Full Stop' exhibit at Cornerhouse //Source: Photo courtesy of Clara Casian
HELLO CLARA! COULD YOU PLEASE TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF?
Hello Mo! I'm a Romanian artist based in Manchester, with an MA in Fine Art and a studio at Rogue. My practice moves across various mediums; I've done drawings, sculptures, site specific installations and currently working with archives and film stills.
YOU ARE ONE OF THE ARTISTS WHO HAVE SOME OF THEIR WORK DISPLAYED IN THE CORNERHOUSE AS PART OF THE FINAL CORNERHOUSE PROJECTS EXHIBITION 'FULL STOP'. CAN YOU PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT ON YOUR PIECE, SHADOWCASTING, AND HOW IT ILLUSTRATES YOUR FEELINGS TOWARDS THE ICONIC BUILDING?
This is a continuation of a series of works dealing with mapping space, my relationship with the site and its history; tracing and navigation of a particular space using materials that are non-permeable/permanent to mark its fleeting changes. The work was also referencing the BBC radio programme, The Shipping Forecast, in terms of using navigation and adding a creative dimension to the way you are travelling across the site. For the Cornerhouse project I made a series of drawings using the back stairs area of the Cornerhouse building, tracing with chalk the stairs as light was shifting through the site. The final images were a mix of photographs and drawings, produced through performance and mark making .
HAVING LIVED IN MANCHESTER FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW I CANNOT SAY I HEARD OF SAVOY BOOKS BEFORE WATCHING YOUR SHORT FILM,' CORRIDOR 2'. HOW DID YOU STUMBLE UPON THIS STORY OF CENSORSHIP AND THE STORE'S RESILIENT OWNERS?
I was invited by the Exhibition Centre for the Life and Use of Books, an organisation based here in Manchester, to make a video in response to early Corridor zines which were published by Michael Butterworth in the 1970's (from ’71 – ’76). In 1976 Michael along with David Britton founded Savoy Books - an independent publishing house based above a locksmith shop in Didsbury . Savoy Books was severely persecuted by the police from the 70’s up to the 90's and this Corridor 2 magazine, that I based my short film on, was the first one that felt the affects of censorship. Due to a provocative cover by Bob Jenkins and a short piece of writing by Paul Buck it got refused to be printed, stocked and distributed.
Savoy Books published a wide range of content, experimental and provocative writing and graphics, pushing boundaries in terms of format and language. Their inspirations ranged from hispter surrealism to classic horror writing and it borrowed experimentations that fitted into speculative science fiction writings by the likes of JG Ballard and William Burroughs. So my short video is looking at all of that, considering the censorship battles and raids led by James Anderton and looking at using sound and image in a structural way, breaking away from an illustrative/descriptive approach. Whilst researching for this project, I also started looking behind the history of alternative publishing in Manchester interviewing different bookshop owners and independent publishers such as Paramount Books, EJ Morten, Didsbury Village Bookshop and Mike Don who started Mole Express.
WHEN YOU SENT ME THE LINK TO YOUR SHORT FILM, I WAS AMAZED AND OVERWHELMED TO HEAR ABOUT THE NUMBER OF RAIDS THE BOOK STORE HAD AND THE REIGN OF CENSORSHIP. I WANTED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THEIR STORY AS I FELT IT IS AN INTERESTING TOPIC
It is really niche subject and there's a lot to uncover, links and ramifications going back to the new wave Science Fiction magazine New Worlds up to the underground film scene, Beat Poets and the UK comic strips. I'm particularly interested in the legislation behind what was regarded as obscene and its obscure boundaries, and how later, censorship provoked Savoy Books' activities, attracting much needed notoriety at the expense of their enterprise.
NOW THAT YOU ARE TAKING YOUR SHORT FILM THAT STEP FURTHER, WIDENING THE SCOPE ALMOST BUT DEVIATING TOO FAR FROM YOUR ORIGINAL IDEA, HOW HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR PRODUCTION TEAM TO HELP YOU WITH MAKING YOUR FEATURE FILM, 'A SAVOYARD'S FIRST BRUSH WITH CENSORSHIP'? OR ARE YOU GOING TO BE A ONE WOMAN BAND?
The feature does not really require a large production team as it is mostly just sifting through content and it’s a case of collecting bits of archived footage from BFI, North West Film Archive and the BBC. I also have some footage shot in the 90’s by Jay Jeff Jones, an american poet and playwright and early contributor to Wordworks, who himself wanted to make a Savoy documentary in the 90’s - featuring unseen visual records from Alan Moore, Michael Moorcock, John Coulthart and Michael Butterworth. These unseen records will be intertwined with found and archival footage and new interviews with Savoy contributors and its supporters.
I’ll be working with a lot of obsolete material and bits of footage sourced from various sources for which the colour grading and sound will be facilitated by the production team from artplayer.tv, an online video platform developed by FACT, Liverpool.
WOULD THIS BE YOUR FIRST FEATURE?
Yes, my first feature length. The process of working on the feature length evolved rather organically so I see the feature length project as being an extension of the short film that was commissioned by the Exhibition Centre for the Life and Use of Books.
A Still from Clara's Film 'A Savoyard's First Brush with Censortship' // Source: Photo courtesy of Clara Casian
OKAY, SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, WHAT STAGE IN PRODUCTION ARE YOU IN NOW?
I have already started exchanging conversations with Savoy contributors and scheduling in dates for meetings/interviews. Also looking to appropriate the social and political context to a more contemporary time frame, so I’ll be using the archival info to embody some of the actual concerns. For this I already started to work with contributions from contemporary writers that have collaborated with Savoy in the past, which will be used in building the script.
IN TERMS OF THE WORK THAT YOU DO, ARE YOU THE KIND OF ARTIST WHO IS SOLELY ABOUT THE STORY OR THE PIECE OF ART THAT YOU ARE CREATING OR DO YOU HANDLE THE BUSINESS & MARKETING ASPECT OF YOUR TRADE AS WELL?
It’s good for an artist to receive support in terms of marketing and distribution because that gives you the time to make your own work which is important.. and making a career out of what you do as opposed to just having a practice because that includes an understanding of all aspects that comes with pushing your work.
WITH THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR PRACTISE AND HAVING DONE ALL THE WORK YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR, WHAT WOULD YOU CLASS AS YOUR MOST CHALLENGING PROJECT?
Challenging… I think it’s always growing, researching and learning more about the cultural history of the place and what I can do in terms of the medium. At the minute I am l interested in image, form & sound and seeing how that plays in a kind of moving image context in a non-descriptive way. I am also interested in re-constructing archives and adding a contemporary element to it that feeds from actual concerns. I have some future residency projects on the line as well which will help push my work to unfamiliar grounds, researching mental health and outsider art through personal archives in Preston and experimenting with analog material for a project in Bristol.
A Series of Drawing Performances at Piccadilly Place // Source: Photo Courtesy of Clara Casian
SO WITH YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR WORK, IN TERMS OF CHALLENGING BOUNDARIES, HOW DO STAY INSPIRED TO KEEP GOING?
I try to work on multiple projects at the same time, I also have a rather process-led approach to making work where research findings and current interests can shift in between projects, bringing the work or the processes to unexpected territories.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE A CLEARER IDEA OF WHERE YOUR PRACTISE IS GOING, DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVISE FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL UNDECIDED, STILL SEARCHING/RUNNING AWAY FROM WHAT THEY TRULY WANT TO DO?
I should've perhaps taken a break before starting the Masters as I wasn't clear of where my practice was going back then. However my work was developed organically and I have met some brilliant people and collaborators along the way that helped shape my research interests for further explorations.
AND LASTLY, SEEING AS I DO LIKE TO TALK ABOUT MOVIES, WHAT ARE 5 FILMS THAT LEFT YOU INSPIRED AFTER SEEING THEM?
Okay, five films that have inspired me are:
[*] Swandown by Andrew Kötting
[*] Self Made by Gillian Wearing
[*] Adam’s Apple by Anders Thomas Jensen
[*] Festen by Thomas Vinterberg
[*] F for Fake by Orson Wells
.... And that's my story.
Clara Casian can be found here: FilmMaterial || Vimeo
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And there we have it! Thank you Clara for being so patient with me, sharing your work with us and for kindly agreeing to take part in this series. I hope you found what she had to say interesting and now have a few new films to check out as well. Until next time!
Mo x