This event is one of a series organised by the Royal Acadmey and featured Tracey Emin talking to David Dawson. I must admit to being unaware of David Dawson which was does not reflect well on me as he was Lucien Freud’s assistant for twenty years and one of the curators of the self-portraits exhibition that I visited a couple of weeks ago. As well as being Freud’s assitant, Dawson studied with Emin at the Royal College of Art in the 1980s and they have remained friends ever since.

The conversation was quite wide-ranging with Dawson speaking mainly about his time working with Lucien Freud and curating the current exhibition. Emin was much more personal talking about her work and motivations; she is passionate about being an artist and one of her main themes was that she has got to where she is not just because of her talent but also through hard work.

Another of her other observations was the need to be fearless as an artist. This is something I failed at as, although I think this was meant in the context of confronting uncomfortable truths, when told not to take photographs of the event I duly complied, hence the image I have is of the a couple of empty chairs rather than artists in conversation!

Another point that Emin and Dawson disucssed was a comment from David Dawson about Lucien Freud. Dawson stated that Freud painted people that he found interesting in rooms that he knew. This was somehting that Emin agreed with and she went on to explain how her work was was personal and intimate, in particular the sketches she made of herself with her mother as her mother was dying. I think this is something I need to do more of, take more photographs, not necessarily for my course but generally.

The final insight that Emin and Dawson offered, and one that is relevant for me as I prepare to send of my assessment submission for Context and Narrative, was that no artwork is finsished until it has a title!

I enjoyed this event and I think there are things I can take out it and use during my studies namely; be fearless, work hard and title your work.