Hey for Lubberland!

Twin Birmingham artists Simon and Tom Bloor have hired a British Waterways working boat over the summer, are doing it up in 'dazzle camouflage', and will be inviting people aboard for free trips around central Birmingham during the summer.

It's a project hosted by the Ikon Gallery in Brindleyplace, and I guess it's art.  They are calling it Hey for Lubberland, and here's the Ikon Gallery's description: 

[It] involves a working canal boat covered by a colourful canopy. Made according to ‘geodesic’ principles, popularised in the 1950s by visionary thinker Buckminster Fuller, it will provide shelter for passengers while they browse through an onboard library of books on utopian design.

The boat canopy decoration is decorated with the Bloor’s interpretation of dazzle camouflage, a type of graphic patterning developed by war artists for naval ships as a means of confusing the enemy. Known as ‘Razzle Dazzle’ during the First World War, its success was limited (as was that of Fuller’s geodesic design).

In this way, the Bloors manifest their long-standing interest in obscure history and flawed idealism as embodied in fine art, architecture and popular culture.

The title Hey for Lubberland! is derived from a 17th century English ballad about the New World, mistaken for utopia, but in fact a kind of fool’s paradise.

The boat transports passengers around Brindleyplace.  Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5pm, admission free. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

(There's an excellent article about dazzle camouflage here.)

You probably already know what I think about modern art.  I think true art needs to have an element of skill - of manual craft - about it.

This doesn't sound like art to me.  Like so much of what passes for art nowadays, it's more like a premise for a philosophical discussion.  Like the first five minutes of In Our Time, before you, you know, switch over to Radio 2, or like being invited to tea with an Oxford don.  

In Hey for Lubberland! I think the premise is that you are supposed to consider the nature of utopia.  Judging by the fact that so many people nowadays sell their houses, throw back the keys and take to life afloat, that's no bad premise to start a discussion.

The dazzle-camouflage of the boat will perhaps help to throw you off the scent if you start to question the whole premise of the project.   In fact, the success or otherwise of the project will hang on how spectacularly - how skillfully - the Bloor brothers have painted the boat.   In that sense, done well it will definitely be art.

The song of the title can be found on Wikipedia as 'An Invitation To Lubberland' 

Comments

[Andy]

As far as i understand it, painting the hull walls is an 'integral part of any dazzle scheme' on boats during WW1 and after to deter torpedo attacks, How many U boats are there on Birmingham's canals?!
Personally i though it was a great idea, i went on it with my two kids and had a great time. As for it being art, the people that made it are artists, and it was organised by Ikon Gallery so I guess it must be art!

[David L]

We have been seriously thinking about doing our 58' cruiser stern narrowboat in dazzle, but this version was so bad it was enough to nearly put us off. Looking at my notes for our paint job, I see they haven't made any attempt to do the hull walls - an integral part of any dazzle scheme. Also, thier dazzle geometry is overly simplisitic and repetative. I think that with much more effort and artistic skill a *much* better job could be done.