England native Paul Ramshaw has been making art and music since the 1970s. The former London College of Music senior lecturer recently relocated to Bradenton, where he can collaborate with a wealth of local artistic talent.
For Realize Bradenton’s upcoming ArtSlam, Ramshaw has teamed up with Frank Enright of Sarasota HuB; Jeff Hazleton, a 3D visual artist; and with Courtney Smith and Leah Verier-Dunn, of Moving Ethos Dance Company, to create Elision. Elision will combine electro-acoustic sound with video and performance (dance) to confront and explore topical political themes, on both a local and global scale.
In the midst of the creative frenzy leading up to ArtSlam, Ramshaw found a moment to catch up with Patch.
What type of subject matter does your work typically explore? I look at the meanings of social constructions of knowledge that are both promulgated by empowered interests and also apprehended by various interest groups. My work explores the ambiguities between the intended message and its interpretations. I look to contemporary political and social events for my source material, and then utilize various mediums such as sound, moving images and dance to resolve the issues I discover.
Artists or individuals who have influenced you:John Cage (music creativity and thought), Antonio Gramsci (politics), Dante Alighieri (politics and critical theory of society — The Inferno, Purgatorio andParadiso), Robert Cox (politics) and John Rawls (politics— A Theory of Justice). Other influences include Abstract artists like my brother, Ian Ramshaw, and Mark Rothko. I am also influenced by studies that look at the overlap in developments and expression in technology, art and music, and social and political events, such as war and peace, abortion and the concept and illusion of freedom.
How would you like your art to influence others? I would like those who experience my work to be able to receive an emotional response that is unexpected, unfamiliar and challenging. I hope that my work opens awareness to new understandings of the self and the other. I have found that by removing familiarity and creating ambiguity – for instance, by removing any familiar rhythm or melody from a musical piece – I can make my work harder to pigeonhole. If you make things ambiguous, it keeps the brain working. That way, my work can reach people emotionally because they can’t classify it based on any preconceptions they may have.
What is most appealing about the art scene in Bradenton? There is an open attitude toward art here, though there needs to be more in terms of venue. There are a great deal of opportunities to get involved and create, both alone and with others.
Are there any changes you would you like to see in Bradenton’s art scene? I would like to see a defined venue for events that has an open-access collaborative agenda.
Where do you look when you need artistic inspiration? I look to people and governments; their actions and statements.
A word of advice for aspiring artists: Try to focus on the things that seem unnoticed by others. Look between the cracks of the things that are named.