Castle & Elephant

An extract from a conversation between Elizabeth Rowe (E) and the Classified department at Coventry Classifieds (C).

E - How are you?

C - Yeah not too bad, errrm, obviously I’d spoken to your friend is it Hannah –

E – It’s Hannah yes the curator of the project.

C - Once we’d got to the bottom of the problem, well not problem but once we’d got to the bottom of what you wanted to do – my collegues in Coventry were under the impression that they were pictures, well I was saying to Hannah there are certain things we can’t put in, when you submit something on line it goes through to our scrutineers who decide whether they are going to put it in the paper or not– you hadn’t stated if they were free or for sale or anything like that and to our eyes it didn’t make much sense. We had the pictures then a caption and according to Hannah this is someway you want people to perceive the picture or something like that?

E - There were four inserts I put in that were a quote from a Milan Kundera book called the ‘Unbearable Lightness of Being’ and it was just to do with how in your day to day life you might spot little co-incidences that allow you to make some sort of sense of what is going on or make meaning for yourself.

C – You see to us that didn’t appear to be an advert – it looked like someone had out a picture on with some writing and there seemed to be no relevance in our eyes, I’m sure there is in your eyes because you know what it relates to with the picture.  Well not a picture it’s a collage isn’t it?

E – No they are just pictures I have selected.

C - This is slightly different from what I was told earlier.

E -There were lots of restrictions in terms of how it might work best and I didn’t think collages would work very well – you wouldn’t be able to see them   So I went for a collage in terms of the four pictures and how they might work in the classifieds.


C – Alright ok – this is I was given the impression earlier that these were pictures you’d produced yourself.

E – Well I’d selected them, re-photogrpahed them and prepared them and put them with certain bits of text for print in the newspaper

C – well basically how things sit to summarise an advert regardless of whether it is for sale for a price or whether it is free – it has to say what is for sale – so we need to say picture for sale even if it then says free at the bottom

E - What about if it said ‘idea for sale’ – would that be acceptable just because I’m not selling a picture

C -  Well if I had ‘idea for sale’ then the picture them the quotation then the price then your telephone number would that be acceptab;e

E – Yes that sounds good – does it have to have ‘idea for sale at the start of each one.

C – Well yes – you see this is the problem we are having that we do all sorts of advertisements but in its own right if you want to book the space to use for something in the paper then it is trade.  And then you have this thing where it is pictures but when you say an idea errm, alright say I put that in for you– if Joe Bloggs was to ring you up what would you say to them?

E – I’d say I’m an artist and I was approached by this curator called Hannah and I make a lot of work out of mass produced printed material – lots of collages but I’m really interested in how people read images to make some sense of the world around them

C – ok

E -I’d say quite a lot Chris because I’d go on to explain the work in quite a lot of detail.  Really it’s about having that conversation, just like you and me are now, it would be about it was really interesting with the articles for sale slot in the classified because it goes out to so many people.  Not just in Coventry but Hinckley, Nuneaton and Warwickshire as well so there is a massive audience there. Normally, generally only other artists or people in the art world see my work so it was a fantastic way for lots of people to see my work and I imagine most people wouldn’t call but maybe, I was interested in how they would decipher those four pictures and the quote

C – one of them we definitely wouldn’t be able to publish

E – Is it really problematic

C – Yes, I’m afraid we there are strict guidelines on advertising.  I’ll be honest with you we’ve had enough problems trying to get around trying to possibly publish this anyway. So all right I phone you up then you say about the work etc then I would see you and get this picture?


E – No,  it would be that we talked about the work. We would just have a conversation about it. Because I imagine people who rang me up would be people who were interested already and wanted to find out more.  I don’t think a lot of people have access to art or understand contemporary art or feel comfortable talking or thinking about it.  So on one level I was making this work as a way of starting conversations about art. Where they could have a conversation with an artist and if they were interested I could tell them about the show that this work is part of at Elephant & Castle in Coventry.  So new more varied people get to find out about the project

C – So basically people would ring you up and then at some point you would go and by the way this is going on and talk about the exhibition?

E - That might be part of the conversation.

C – Bear with me – I need to speak with my boss about this – I’m just going to put you on hold.

 C- Right ok I’ve just have a word with my manager and I can see what you want to do and where you are coming from my problem is you aren’t selling an item you’ve said to me you’re selling an idea, although you’re not even selling anything. But indirectly as much as you argue against this I think it is a trade advert.


E – But what is the definition of trade though Chris? Because to me it suggests some money is being made out of it somewhere along the line and I’m not going to make any money out of putting this work in the paper or all of the conversations I’m prepared to have with strangers.

C – Then what is the point in you putting this in the paper then?

E – I suppose just because I’m interested in it as a concept, that I would be putting images and text in a section of the paper that is all about buying and selling and interrupting that economy.  Or reconnecting them with a system of exchange that I think is more valuable.

C – Like what?

E – Well, thinking.