An introduction to normalife©

normalife© is a project-based group working in collaboration with artists and institutions to produce a wide variety of cross-disciplinary endeavours. normalife© was founded by Adam Walker, Ant Macari, Rhoda Morrow, George Vasey et al. in 2004 and specialises in the development, planning and execution of art-based projects that relate to both the avant-garde and popular culture. Negating the alleged boundaries between high and low art, normalife© produces exhibitions, networks, publications, films/screening and apparel that are intelligent, thought-provoking and accessible.

Artistic creation is like sneezing; an uncontrollable itch followed by an instant release of contagious germs, floating around, inactive until someone breathes them in and insures the survival of the germ. Good art has the ability to creep under your skin, eating away at your defences. Art makes information playful, slowing the eye down to meditate on specifics. Like sneezing, being creative and imaginative is fundamental to the body. Consuming art is a creative collaboration and making art is a normal act, we say! Normalism is the new formalism!

normalife© is spelt in lower case with no capital letters; in consolidation with the typography and ethos of Herbert Beyer who taught at the Bauhaus. In an age of the mechanical press it was more utilitarian to only have one alphabet as it saved both time and money. The Bauhaus believed in a type of anonymous artistry that inflicted everything from painting, fashion to furniture design, this is where I would situate our aims.

normalife© is an inclusive collective and encourages collaboration; the structure is aided by the creative input of others. normalife© aims to filter disparate ideas into cohesive projects. Modernism aspired to the collective will and the universal language, normalife is a collective effort but its power resides in individuals and idiosyncrasies, collaboration every day makes us work, rest and play.

GV