Q-Joseph beuys? A-Yes. Biro on paper hidden in sensor fitting, 05

Taking inspiration from "I Like America and America Likes Me", a piece which saw (or didn't see) Joseph Beuys hidden under black fabric during his transit from Germany to New York's Rene Block Gallery, a drawing of the artist was rolled up and hidden behind a sensor fitting in the Corner house Gallery, where I would sit for 8 hours a day for over three years . Once in the gallery Beuys would spend 8 hours with a wild coyote over a period of three days. During the drawings time behind the sensor the gallery went through a change over period were the room was busy with technitions painting the walls. After the change over I looked to see if the picture was still there. The picture had been removed and replaced with "Joseph Beuys?" written on the back. I wrote yes underneath and replaced it behind the sensor.

Attendance Figures, Water colour pencil on paper, 09

Attendance Figures is a new piece made in response to Contents May Vary's Issue 3 call out, simply titled does the Spectator Run the Show, edited by CMV's Liz Murphy. The marks are based on the tally system used by invigilators to count footfall throughout galleries that don't fork out for clickers. The image is chosen based on its figerative subject and the high level of visitors that flock to see it, even when it was stolen.
Issue 3 will be launched at the Best of Manchester Awards at Urbis, where Contents May Vary will disgrace themselves and show that even a runner up can steal the show.

Baiser De La Mort, Pencil on paper, 2009

Baiser De La Mort (Kiss of Death-French) was created in response to the fairly open brief set By Manchester based curator Mike Chavez Dawson. The show entitled Kiss Of A Life Time was an investigation into the meaning of the kiss in the modern world. The artists were asked to create work to be shown solely as prints for the show which toured Manchester, Newcastle and London.

Slurped in Honk and the Best of Manchester Awards. 2009

Slurped, 2008. Bic Biro on paper coffee cups with plastic lids

The focus of this investigation has been on the re-emergence of drawing in contemporary art, the partial absorption of graphic/street art into the art world/market and the conflicted slap dash approach in recent anti art manifestations. Having abandoned drawing once myself in favour of an aesthetic more commonly found in minimal or vintage conceptual art, I have returned to the practice treating its neglect as a personal element to be considered equally with its use on used coffee cups and the disjointed narrative found in the backgrounds of the personalities depicted. The portraits (drawn in old pens scavenged from the work place) are sourced mostly from discarded newspaper articles and Glossy magazines, which detail or berate the exposure, rise and fall of themselves and or the institution to which they are connected.

List of persons nominated.

Agyness Deyn

Ruben Rausings founder of the troubled Tetrapak packaging dynasty

Reginald Perrin (The Rise and Fall of)

Father Clancy The Singing Priest exposed as leading a different life with a love child in tow.

Max Mosley

Jay-Z at Glastonbury

Rachel Goodyear

Richard Shields

Spooning 2008. Bic Biro on wooden teaspoon.

One of my early tasks in art was learning to depict an altered image thanks to the physical and material qualities of a certain type of object.One of my later tasks in art was to question the conceptual, physical and material qualities of the same type of object, which lead to an otherwise impossible transference of the altered image.

The work for Honk was initially made on my Lap in the Gallery I was working for at the time. To return the work to a gallery setting was something that influenced the nature of its display. Once a cup had been completed it was usually placed under the chair and a new one would be started.

Trollee Trolla De Da

Alongside coordinating ANTIFREEZE with my fellow Contents May Vary Cohorts, I was able to make some work of my own to show on the momentous, roasted and blusterous day.

Trollee Trollaa De Da
What everyone wants and what everyone gets our seldom the same in a world full of division and diversity. Some us have money and taste and some us have nothing but we know what we like. Art might be for everyone but not everyone is for all art. Everyone’s a critic and everyone’s got an opinion. This work created for ANTIFREEZE brings together what everyone wants, what everyone gets and what everyone voted for as their favourite in Manchester City Art gallery.

Small self Portrait Bic Biro on paper 08

This drawing is a response to the epic Large self portrait by Chuck Close. The glasses, cigarette and nonchalant expression in Close's painting have been replaced with headphones, Biro pen and my gormless looking head. I have always thought of Close's skill to be something to aspire to but at times ultimately pointless today.
This Rendering in the lowly Biro and considerably smaller scale at around 10cm hopefully illustrates the divide between our practice.

Image copyright Richard Shields.

Drank and Drawn

Work from Drank and Drawn at Cup Cafe in Manchester. June - August 2009.

Marcel Duchamp placed found objects in critical conditions, Sol Le Wit created blue prints for works that’s could become sculptural objects or wall based drawings often at the discretion of curators and graffiti artists can turn any wall into a canvas with or without sanction. These acts create alterations in the everyday resulting in the controversial, the thoughtful and the criminal.

Combining objects and image making gives me the opportunity to both highlight and alter the perceived worth of an object and it’s intended use. Drawing on objects with an existing purpose can give an extra layer of meaning to the images depicted and potentially undermine the effort of labour.

For the most part the public display of my work has been within a site-specific, non gallery setting, dealing with the social and functional history attached to the environment chosen. When asked to create work for Cup Café I felt that the first challenge would be dealing with the commercial, display based nature already prevalent within the store.

Other elements attached to Cup Café are its location within an area rich in creative industries and as an artist hangout. Another important factor not to be forgotten is its coffee and the smoking area. There are few artists I have met who do not need regular coffee and smoke breaks to recharge an often over worked mind and such has it been with some of the most influential artists throughout modern and contemporary art history. With this in mind I began to think about how I could turn the respite into the work. Through use of the internet and the ubiquity of the materials I employ, I have been able to create a series of pieces fusing my practice and the shared experience of coffee and cigarettes.

All images copyright Richard Shields.

Dark Drawings

Dark Drawings is an ongoing project that plays with tacit fear and interpreted narrative through cliched scenes from the horror genre. Each image can portray a setting imbued with menace or merely an everyday (mostly night) situation. When finalised the collection will be given to a number of viewers from different backgrounds to select a series of drawings for which they will create a story. There are no boundaries, limits or suggestions put upon the authors interpretation . Each image is drawn under dim light in Black Biro Medium. The image fourth from the bottom (Door 2008) was recently printed as a limited edition postcard in issue 1 of Intercity mainline, lanched at Spike Island open 2009.

All images copyright Richard Shields

http://www.intercitymainline.co.uk/