Jimmie Durham: Drawing
The exhibition was composed of drawings made between 1989 and 2020. Many of these drawings sort of looked accidental, or more an exploration of drawing as a form of writing. They record interventions, often made on old discarded papers that had had a previous use and in this way, former narratives were allowed to continue, now read as traces or memories that existed between the cracks of Durham's interventions.
Jimmie Durham on drawing
Durham states that it is impossible for him to use drawing to imitate reality. but in many ways he disembles and in fact drawing was something he did throughout his career. It could be argued that he used drawing to record the processes of reality, rather than trying to document its appearance. Durham stated in relation to his drawing activities, “our civilization is basically made of scraps of paper, and we have too many that were used once and then became useless thereafter, as is most of our history, or as we wish it were ”.
Jimmy Durham: Smashing
One day I was in Glasgow visiting my daughter and I had a chance to go and see what was on at the then Glasgow Sculpture Studios. What was on was a film of Jimmy Durham, who was receiving objects given to him in a small office with a big desk. As he took these 'donations', he cursory examined them and then proceed to smash them up.
In his text ‘Creativity and the Social Process’, he stated that ‘our perception of the purpose of art, as we produce it, must be eminently practical’ (1993: p. 69) and that it should be produced in order to help people interpret their world so that they may be better able to change it in positive ways. (Ibid: 71).
Coming across Jimmy Durham in Glasgow was a welcome reminder that art can have a social purpose. Calling your work 'art' should I feel matter, and matter in terms of what sort of civilisation we live within and aspire to. Art I really think, matters and it can create this mattering through the weaving of the various entanglements it finds itself connected to. Hopefully, especially if the art is well made, it can be a transformational portal for those who wish to see the world as a dynamic process of universal creation. I have in a past post written about the etymological roots of our word 'art', pointing out that the Proto-Indo-European root of the word 'art' was the morpheme 'rt', which was associated with the dynamic processes of universal creation. Other words derived from ‘rt’ include right, rhetoric, worth, rite and ritual. 'Rt' was to do with ‘creation’ and ‘beauty’ as well as moral and aesthetic correctness; being concerned with what was 'right'. I always had a sense that Jimmy Durham was also concerned with what was 'right'.
Jimmie Durham: Self portrait 1986
I'm not sure he actually was of North American Indian heritage, but he definitely used the idea of the Indian to open up territories of thought. That was the thing about Jimmie Durham, you began to think he was one thing and then you decided maybe he wasn't. He often left you in the dark, on purpose and as he did, you wondered what was 'right' and 'wrong' about what was happening.
Smashing is typical of Durham's critique of Western society and its obsession with the ownership of things. His work is often linked to his commitment to the recognition of Native Americans and the Civil Rights Movement. This initial focus then broadened to become a critical view of the hierarchical systems that govern society as a whole. In 'Smashing' he dressed as a civil servant and sat behind a desk. Then as people come into his 'office' and presented him with their things, he violently and systematically destroys each object. His actions when repeated over and over again, suggested a certain type of bureaucratic brutality, one that has often been employed by Western societies as a process that enables the powers that be to 'get their way'.
I sometimes despair over how our present society is constructing itself, sensing a return to fascism and as that happens there is correspondingly less and less interest in art. But I'm sure Durham also used to despair over whether or not his work ever affected anything or anybody. But when I was watching 'Smashing', I did feel a sense of righteous anger and relief that artists' works are still capable of making statements about what it feels like to be in a world that doesn't feel right.
I recently read Fremeaux and Jordan's text, 'We are nature Defending Itself' and it is an excellent read if you are despondent and feeling that activism can never succeed when faced with the realities of the wider world. Finding alternative voices is important during a time when one voice seems to dominate everything. I do try hard not to despair and I hope I shall continue to try to find ways of making images that help myself and hopefully others find a more mythic connection with the cosmos, as well as to find glimpses of wonder in the everyday. If my small contribution can keep just a tiny fire burning, then all is not in vain and hope as they say, 'springs eternal'.
A wing emerging from mud
References:
Durham, J. (1993) Creativity and the Social Process. In Durham, J.A. (ed.) Certain Lack of Coherence: Writings on Art and Cultural Politics, London, Kala Press, pp .69–71
Fremeaux, I. and Jordan, J., (2021) We are 'nature' Defending Itself: Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones. Pluto Press.
See also:
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