Correspondence from Tim Brennan to Richard Carew 6 August 2010

Dear Richard Carew,

Many thanks for your letter dated 17 July. Your reflections upon your own motivations of enquiry into our material past are extremely useful in relation to the work I pursue. I can see why you might have reservations as to the naming of my practice as ‘radical’. Indeed one of our more recent humanist scholars, Raymond Williams suggested that any venture that is publicised as being ‘radical’ invariably is not. And so I am taking a gamble here.

My approach has been to enquire into our ‘doing of history’ and to free the material traces of this process (processes) from contemporary categorisation. Examples might involve the following objects that emerge from artistic and historical events are often understood within the terms of sculpture; ‘artefact’ (professional); ‘find’ (amateur/professional) or ‘antique’ (commercial). There is interplay and slippage between their status but ultimately, as taxonomical conventions, they go unquestioned. In 2010, this limits our ability to understand the entire materiality of our lives beyond that of the saleable (commodification). I am therefore calling upon the terms of, ‘Antiquarianism’ as a means to manoeuvre through this problem. ‘Antiquarianism’ for yourself was perhaps ‘radical’ in the sense that it was ‘new’. It is ‘radical’ now, in part because it is ‘old’.

I will indeed consider the use of the walking stick beyond that of its practical function. It is as much a ‘wand’, ‘pencil’ or ‘spade’ etc. as it is a tool for steadying oneself along a walked path. I am looking forward to peering through that which appears obvious ‘to define the outlines of oppressione and conflicte that stande beneathe, before and above’ us.

I feel that we have a close affinity with regard to the above.

Kind regards

Tim Brennan

Correspondence from Richard Carew to Tim Brennan 17 July 2010

Right trusty, I grete you well

I write this missiue to you sir on this, the seventeenth day of July, being the historic anniuersary of my birthe in Fifteen Hundred and Fifty Five, from my seate in Cornwall’s Antonie. I haue obserued your undertakings for some years and haue understoode them in recent times to be of the persuasion of a radikal antiquary, this being of your own naming and productione. It is kind sir, that you thinketh of the political nature of the antiquary but you haue yet to conuince me of the riske and argumente nascent in your practice.

I take this opportunitie to remind you of the uery radikal nature of my own inuolument in things of an historicke and learned nature. To this we can adde my own partaking in the illustrious college of antiquaries to whiche I was elected a member in Fifteene Hundred and Eighty Nine. Throughoute I attempted with zeale to display the devastations of time make so swiftly upon all things and how this affekteth our own being and relationshipe. This projecte was indeede stifled by the sad loss of our princess and the ascending of the prince in Sixteene Hundred and Three. It was with greate misgiuing that our societie had to formerly dissolue lest it be acused of treasonne and so our undertakings needeth to go under the grounde of oure faerie isle.

And it is but unto the grounde that I wishe to draw your attentione. When you walketh out on Plymouthe hawe with your stickes in congregatione understande well that what you see in surrounde is but merely an allusione and that behinde that mirage lies the uery political structure of our times. Reade it well. Use, forthwith the stickes to define the outlines of oppressione and conflicte that stande beneathe, before and above ye. Persevere in establishing what ye haue begun, and continue to employ Labours upon those things, which were worthy of them; that so they might not be drawn into Oblivion themselves, by that which they would rescue from it, and that Time might not rob them of aught more considerable than that which they should restore.


I curry not with smoothing termes,
Ne yet rude threats I blaste:
I seeke no patrone for my faults,
I pleade no needlesse haste.


Your seruante of intereste

Richard Carew

We went walking

Went walking with these fellows last week.
Come along to TRACKS on the 11th September to see what they are planning.

More info here shortly...

Ambulation.

Ambulation at Plymouth Arts Centre

The Itinerant Toolkit is pleased to finally announce that the 2nd Edition will be hosted by Plymouth Arts Centre from 14th August-10 October 2010 as part of the exhibition 'Ambulation'. The toolkit will be working on 2 commissions with Artist Tim Brennan and architecture cooperative ad:HOC
Please check for more updates.

For more info on Plymouth Arts Centre go here

The Itinerant Toolkit Edition no.1 pdf book

Finally got the findings of the project together and put it all in a pdf booklet for download here:

Itinerant PDF.

If you have any comments/feedback, or questions would be great to hear from you....

Stay tuned for further developments for the next edition of the Itinerant Toolkit.
BW
The Keeper of the Itinerant Toolkit.

Edition no.2?

Currently developing the next stage of the toolkit. Under consideration is:

How do you carry your itinerancy?

Interview idea/ becoming itinerant.
Spend a week (s) travelling around europe interviewing people and presenting the findings.

Or collaborating with an artist...