LDR Interview - 13/05/08

Excerpts from an interview with LDR, the arts company behind 'sfumato' at the Victoria & Albert Museum, consisting of Alan Fielden (absent), Neil Keating, Dan Marsden and Sean McKenna,




Quiche Lorraine: Speaking individually, what right now is your favourite colour?

Sean: Red
Dan: Purple
Neil: Royal Blue

Q.L: Germany or Brazil?
Sean: Germany
Dan: Brazil
Neil: Brazil

Q.L: Sundays or Saturdays?
Sean: Sundays
Dan: Sundays
Neil: Usually Saturdays
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Q.L: Regarding the public face of LDR, what would you assume are the main misconceptions of LDR, just from the show 'sfumato'.

Neil: That we're all deeply psychologically damaged.

Q.L: Is that a misconception?

Neil: Well that's arguable. I could claim some degree of sanity.

Sean: I suppose we'd be seen as quite artsy. We never intended to be artsy. But it might have come out that way. I suppose we are artsy, in some way or other.

Q.L: I understand some part of the intention [of 'sfumato'] to be of accessibility.

Neil: I think we wanted to not be obscure, we wanted to not be artsy, we wanted to not over intellectualise, but we did all those things.

Dan: Yes. Absolutely

Neil: And I think it came across that way as well. Maybe you need to resist those things to make them stronger. I don't think theres something wrong with that necessarily. To be honest I think anything that was communicated in public was at the same time a misconception and completely accurate.

Q.L. laughs.

Neil: It just depends how you cut it.

pause

Sean: I have something on the name, as you mentioned that. Because it was just letters and it didn't convey any particular of idea within itself...I don't actually have that big a problem with it, but I think its just, the same as just complete abstract aesthetics...

Q.L: Yes. If people were to assume from the name LDR, which is said to mean...um...the meaning is up to the perceiver, if someone was to assume that through calling yourself LDR that there is a lack of interest in your public facade...

Sean: Well yeah, its almost deliberately being evasive and not clear, opaque.

Neil: I also think some people suspected that LDR really did stand for something and it really did stand for something quite amazing that would be so great, and it just became this esoteric thing, which it never really was...but its also interesting because people who knew us, still know us I suppose...had a very sort of, 'For fucks sake there they go again', but then people who didn't, they didnt even question it, they were like 'Yeah you're called LDR someone else is called Flying Horses of the Apocalypse who cares', it doesnt matter...so I think the context is very important.

Q.L: So within that context what other names did you consider?

Sean: Oh no, just don't Alan, just don't open it up.

Q.L: My name's Quiche Lorriane...

Sean: Oh Quiche, don't open it up Quiche.

Neil: 'Last Night a Dramaturge Saved My Life', that was one of my favourite.

Q.L: That's a wonderful name.

Sean: I quite liked the 'Knights of Shod', I think everyone had an affection that.

Neil: And of course at one point National Art Service.

Q.L: They all would have added a different context to the 'sfumato' title, or taken away...

Dan: Yeah. If it had been 'Knights of Shod' it would have been very confusing. I think people would have laughed a lot more, during the performance they would have felt more comfortable laughing.

Sean: I just don't know what on earth people would have got out of that, if it was this show that looked like that, it was called 'sfumato', but the company were called 'Knights of Shod', what are these people actually trying to do? Which may have been the case anyway...

Neil: But then, it's very difficult to create satire which has that tension, is it serious, is it not, and I think that would have come closer to that.