Wednesday, 24 March 2010

LOUDER THAN BOMBS. CONTRACTS.

Contracts are important in any working environment. They don't have to be scary, they can be friendly, like a party invitation or a check. Every worker in our factory has to sign one. We wrote it by translating the suggested contact in the TSB Business Start Up Guide into our own language. It reads as follows.....
1. I hearby agree that work in this mill is of exchangeable value to be negotiated.
2. Prick Your Finger encourages a refreshment interval every 30 minutes and expects workers to practice expressive movements during this period.
3. Prick Your Finger mill expects workers to take psychogeography trips when needed.
4. Job title (to be chosen by worker)................
5.In case of accident please contact............6. Pensions. Craft is for life and this is where you start paying.
7. Prick Your Finger requires 30 seconds notice to be given by you the worker on leaving the mill.
8. Prick Your Finger Mill Worker's Union will be formed when the time is right.
By signing this contract I agree to all of the above statements.
Date....
The Small Business Guide, was lent to us by our big business sisters at Tatty Devine, and has proved most beneficial over the last couple of years.
Louise made these pay slips which each worker gets on clock out. the chap in the middle is William Morris although it looks a bit like Stephen.

LOUDER THAN BOMBS DAY 5. ANALYSIS.



Louise collected data all week and correleated it on the wall of her office. There were pie charts for time spent by individuals, tally of visitor numbers, and graphs showing how much yarn we produced as the week progressed. Information came from Clocking In/Out sheets and forms to be filled out next to each machine.

LOUDER THAN BOMBS DAY 5. ACCIDENTS.



Every factory has to have an accident book, and below is Louise keeping a tally of pain endured. We don't usually expect the boss to shed blood, but David Falkner, director of Stanley Picker Gallery, pricked his finger so badly, that we had to ring NHS direct, and when Louise applied a bandage, it glowed, like a shining light to be directed by.
And these girls trimmed so many pompoms, they got blisters on their fingers. a

Saturday, 20 March 2010

LOUDER THAN BOMBS DAY 4. THE TEA TROLLY.


Tea Trolly has given her all this week. Louise bought her from a junk shop, and I made Situationalist cloths. The print is taken from the a Situationalist diagram, which links ideas of experimental behaviour, psychogeography, architecture, creating situations etc; which are all things we should be thinking about on our tea breaks.Trolly comes down in the lift, and has her own pathway marked out in red tape around the gallery. She's slowing down a bit because fleece gets stuck in her wheels.Louise made this film to show us a minute in the life of Tea Trolly.

LOUDER THAN BOMBS DAY 3. OVERTIME!


Working overtime, the beer came out and so did our friends from Soho. I explained the fluctuating voltage problem to David.
We burnt a lot of calories dancing, so Louise had a lot of data to collect from the pedometers.
Nervous Stephen pulled out all the tunes we needed and Hilary led the dancing line, round and round the tea trolly circuit.
There was devistation...
A good time was had by all,
and it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Jackie, who makes everything run smooth and safe at Stanley Picker Gallery.

Friday, 19 March 2010

LOUDER THAN BOMBS. SPINNERS.


Jake came all the way from the Isle of Wight!


LOUDER THAN BOMBS DAY 3. BUCKETS.



Buckets lowered for dying with Kool Aid. Water taken from upstairs kitchen. DK Swaledale dyed orange and blackberry.