A road trip gives shape to the stories you can tell. A blank page is a challenge to some, as is an empty calendar, but I have never found it hard to fill the spaces.
I LOVE this idea - being sent out on a road trip (in a van of course!) - and being asked to report back by Sunday. I would worry that there would be nothing significant to report because everything seems to have to be so exaggerated these days. But of course the sight of any bird and the interest in the bowerbirds about your breakfast are wondrous events. I always enjoy reading your words Bert, and I wonder when you did report back - did you read these words or ad lib?
It was a really interesting commission! I also wondered if what I had to say wouldn't be a little too mundane, but I managed to tease it all out into a contemplative set of stories. A fun gig and I'm tempted to put out feelers to see if I can do something like this in other places!
I had 24 hours to prepare a 'script' of sorts when I shared it back to Lakes. Basically putting my thoughts into a more artful shape, but allowing for a little bit of ad lib as well. This essay is a reworked and abridged version of that.
I also presented it with a sequence of field recordings! There's some talk of creating an audio installation at one of the FLOAT venues, so when you're next in Lakes, you may be able to listen to it as well.
Beautiful writing as always. I love the lure of the birds. And yes, that feeling of ‘I’ll see that next time’ as though this journey is a precursor for the ‘real’ trip. I do it all the time. I hadn’t recognised what a trap it is. Thanks.
It is a trap - although adding the alternate journeys onto our mental maps can be interesting.
It helps that I'm hopeful of getting back to East Gippsland before too long. It is a real shame, though, when you do the dress-run in a place you'll never get back to...
I LOVE this idea - being sent out on a road trip (in a van of course!) - and being asked to report back by Sunday. I would worry that there would be nothing significant to report because everything seems to have to be so exaggerated these days. But of course the sight of any bird and the interest in the bowerbirds about your breakfast are wondrous events. I always enjoy reading your words Bert, and I wonder when you did report back - did you read these words or ad lib?
It was a really interesting commission! I also wondered if what I had to say wouldn't be a little too mundane, but I managed to tease it all out into a contemplative set of stories. A fun gig and I'm tempted to put out feelers to see if I can do something like this in other places!
I had 24 hours to prepare a 'script' of sorts when I shared it back to Lakes. Basically putting my thoughts into a more artful shape, but allowing for a little bit of ad lib as well. This essay is a reworked and abridged version of that.
I also presented it with a sequence of field recordings! There's some talk of creating an audio installation at one of the FLOAT venues, so when you're next in Lakes, you may be able to listen to it as well.
Beautiful writing as always. I love the lure of the birds. And yes, that feeling of ‘I’ll see that next time’ as though this journey is a precursor for the ‘real’ trip. I do it all the time. I hadn’t recognised what a trap it is. Thanks.
It is a trap - although adding the alternate journeys onto our mental maps can be interesting.
It helps that I'm hopeful of getting back to East Gippsland before too long. It is a real shame, though, when you do the dress-run in a place you'll never get back to...