So what happens when you have your first 4,000 word essay due for your v. expensive and renowned MA course?

Obviously, you think of a topic, plan it, write it. Hopefully (and especially if you get non-work guilt like 24/7 heartattacks) with plenty of time to spare.

Forget it, if you are writing on contemporary art.

Is it on show in London? No. Can you see it elsewhere? No. Can you write about it? No. Damn.

Annoying as this is, it also leads to some prominent questions; How do we write about a discourse which is very much still in full swing? How does chance form what we write about? How, in an environment of art over-stimulation does something stick in your mind? What if I don't want to write about something with no images? (-2 marks for bad presentation I'm afraid).

What if we do not want to write about work in institutions (ie work's already chosen to be enveloped into the canon or put up for sale), does that mean writing outside the institution cannot be done- but then are we writing an art history or an institution history?

This can surely only get worse with cuts to the arts which will reduce exhibition budgets and money for the proper archiving and making available of mixed-media and performance based artworks. These are sad times.

Wish me luck for the essay...