I wonder what I expect to get from writing?  Like art I'm not that bad at getting going when I have a clarity of purpose.  Art could be about sense-making, it could be elevated to near spiritual levels, the Shaman or Mystic who becomes the embodied figure around which the people of a community cluster.  The great signifier regardless of what is signified or not signified.  This is one role of the artist in generating social cohesion, the Joseph Beuys role where a life becomes art and the relationship is mutual.

Talking to Andrew McMillan yesterday and we were thinking about art forms.  How important is it for a poet to present as a poet? What does having a poet in the room do to help people who do not see themselves as poets write poetry?  We thought about this in relation to the idea of a workshop and I think we decided that having a poet in the room can legitimise peoples' writing.  It is hard to say this without sounding full of ourselves but if it is true, at least for some people, then it needs to be said.

So in taking this seriously and not reducing things to a list of ingredients then culture plays a role in social cohesion.  A breakdown of the culture we have in common can present problems as we rub closer and closer up against each other.  Artists' role in developing social cohesion is then the interplay between a number of individual facets that resonate in a complex field of actions and reactions.  Firstly artists can be critical and question givens, they can break down existing structures and come between people by presenting singular or binary world views.  I often say we do not sign the Hippocratic Oath, we can do harm.  Secondly they can introduce robust forms such as poetry that can allow for people to be heard over other more accepted forms such as "consultation meetings".  These forms are only robust if they are constructed with integrity within a framework that allows them to be aware of themselves and the edges of their forms.

For me on my project at the adventure playground I am isolating myself from the 'form of sculpture' and thinking of it more as making.  I am making something useful that is seen as having value and ambition.  I am trying to re-kindle my own ambition and this is an ambition for art to be of use.  This is not instrumental it is a search for relevance in a chaotic world where making play equipment has an authentic and relevance use value.

I have just listened to Ivor Cutlers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkKnnAK7E-U  I think this is the art I really like.  It's about whimsy which is a good word.