by Ron Sombilon Gallery

Proposal – six glass houses for Derry/Londonderry

Image by Stan Bonnar
DATE: 1997

DESCRIPTION: This proposal was for six glass houses to have been sited in Orchard Street, Derry/Londonderry, in Northern Ireland. The site is adjacent to the city wall, on either side of the Newgate Bastion, and the wall at this place would have been an integral component of the artwork. Each glass house would be sixteen feet long, seven feet wide, and nine feet high, and be of 13mm toughened and laminated glass construction in an anodised aluminium and Irish oakwood frame. Each glass house would contain soil to a depth of about two feet, with three horticultural luminaires suspended above the soil. The soil would be taken from the exact line of the political border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, being thoroughly dried and sterilized before installation.

1997 ARTIST’S STATEMENT

INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT: – Thinking which seems to prevail in the West, in the latter half of the 20th century, has begun to question how we construct the world as such. We read that spoken language is the basis of this structure, and that our linguistic relationship to the things around us is representational. We re-present things in the physical environment by words, and by doing this we are able to fix them into a linguistic world structure, as objects standing in reserve for the use of a technological society. This is how we have capitalised on our relationship of dominance over them. That we have begun to question this dominance or ownership, has perhaps been prompted by recent events in the physical environment. Much contemporary art tries to deal with the relationship of subject to object (or the denial of this relationship) and of our understanding of time on which it founds itself. This often results in works of apparent abject, naked desperation, because when social structure is placed in jeopardy, there is no world. My current thinking concerns an anomaly in this artistic setup, in that it is precisely just that. What I say is that these experiments can never be anything more than the examples of how to deconstruct, and not actual deconstructions, so long as they take place under the auspices of the construct ‘Art’. What is so intriguing about this project in Derry/Londonderry, is that it will take place in a street, of a city, of land that has known abject desperation. There is no need to find it, or manipulate it into art. It is simply here in people’s memories, and this could lay open the unique possibility for real development in language. I anticipate that people will write on the surface of the glass houses. This writing would be essential to the experience, and the catalyst for its meaning. But to discourage the possibility of more vigorous inscription, and to encourage a feeling of personal and community investment in the work, we should develop a strategy aimed at creating the right atmosphere around the project, and for disseminating information about its basic elements. As part of this initiative, I could live and work on site, for the duration of the project.

CONCEPT: The glass houses pertain to their situation, and they perform as one component of a work of art that can be viewed and thought about. Like any work of art, they operate at the periphery of colloquial language, in a domain of ambiguities. I can attempt to write some of these down, but the list is by no means definitive:

•With careful design and construction, the six glass houses could be seen as special places of sacred nurturing. Almost like small temples. But they would also be empty of life, with dry sterile soil, almost like dust. Their internal space would be quite distant. Is that the distance of the spiritual or of the incarcerated?

•A warm glow from the horticultural luminaires inspects the soil for signs of life, but it also gives a dark, and distant glimpse of prison lighting.

•The soil they contain is taken from six places on the exact boundary between two political structures. It has become thoroughly mixed up in the process, and it rejects all claims to ownership.

•The city wall is an important part of the artwork. The impregnability of its defensive structure as such could be interrogated, when seen through the glass houses.

•Territorial marking is a language composed equally from territory and marks. It is already well established in Derry/Londonderry, and is a language perhaps more symbolic and spatial than signifying and linear. Because the soil within the six glass houses would reject any claim to ownership, when the first writing does take place on their surface, a new more poetic syntax would be formed. A written language that cannot be derived from dominating speech, but which can only be written as a subtle difference from the surface on which it is written.

•In effect it would reduce ‘territory’ to ground, and reinstate marking as arche-writing.

•A mythogrammic language such as this might have ancient associations, and to refer to Doire or Daire seems right. This is why the main stanchions and beams of the glass houses are to be made from Irish oak wood. The whole space here could be an oak grove of the mind.

Basics of a note investing business
You are starting a business that will take time and effort. This is not a get rich quick scheme.
It is very important that you realize that and that you are willing to put some serious work into it.

One of the first things you need to do as you start your Notes business is to write Goals. Make sure you know where you are going with the business. Included in this newsletter are some areas suggested areas for goal writing. Put some thought into them and be personal and specific.
1.Personal Goal. (something you want to do or change with yourself)
2.Physical Goal. (Something for the body. Exercise, nutrition…)
3.Relationship Goal. (Something to strengthen a relationship in your life, partner? Friend? Family?…)
4.Family Goal. (A goal for close family? Extended? Your own? Future family?…)
5.Financial Goal. (What you want out of this business. Long term and then break it down to a weekly process)
Organization
Once you have your goals down it will be time to organize your business and get started;
1) Get a planner for weekly schedules. (Computer, palm, notebook, Franklin Covey, Day runner…) This will be used for both the time management of your business. Know when you are working in the business and what you are doing with that time. This is crucial to your success! I recommend that you use an electronic device that will beep at you to remind you when you have things to do. If you will make sure you schedule yourself and the time you are going to spend with your business then you will find more success in your business.
2) Also for taxes. The benefits from taxes will pay for your business within the first or second year! Make sure you get some competent advice on this subject.
Note Business Basics
It is important to understand what the “note business” is all about. It is very important that you realize that we are not talking about investing in property in the note business. A note investor is similar to a Stock investor. The main difference is that the person investing in stock does not have a guaranteed return. The note investor has a guaranteed return on his investment backed by the Real Estate. The actual investment is just the payments being made on the note.
One of the important aspects of the note business is to completely understand the investment involved. Perhaps the best way to clarify this is to give an example: Johnny seller wants to sell his house for 0,000 and he has had it on the market for a while. Finally someone comes along and says they are interested in buying it but they do not want to get a conventional loan. They can put a down payment down but they would like Johnny to “carry the balance” in a note. This means that the seller and the buyer will create a contract that states that the buyer will pay Johnny $ XXX per month for XXX# of months. They have just created a note. Johnny sells the home and gets a down payment and then starts to receive the payments each month. Johnny is a note holder. He no longer owns the property. He sold it. He does own the note which states that the payor has to pay him each month for the privilege of claiming ownership for the property.
Many investors these days are looking for 1st position notes only. They are often not interested in second position note. If they are purchased they are going to be at a very steep discount. This is a great area of the industry for you to start investing in if you are looking to buy notes. To help you understand some of the lingo of the business I will give you a list here of some definitions:
•Real Estate Note: A Real Estate Note is a written document that states a promise to pay for a Real Estate purchase and the terms of that purchase such as the amount due, payment amount and interest rate and length of time to be paid…Real Estate Note, Trust Deed Note, Mortgage Note, Promissory Note, Land Contract are all the same thing.
•Seasoning: Seasoning is the life of the loan. If it has been around for a year it is considered seasoned. If it is less than a year old it is considered unseasoned. Unseasoned notes can still be very good notes to deal with. This is not the only deciding factor in selling a note. I have personally made money on notes that were unseasoned so I recommend you do NOT limit yourself to just seasoned notes. Work with anything that comes your way.
•LTV: Loan To Value which is the total loans or liens against a property divided by the value of the property then converted to a percentage. (ex. .85=85%)
•Equity: opposite of the loan to value figure.
•Amortization: length of time to pay off the loan in full with current payment setup.
•Balloon: Lump sum payment usually due at the end of the note term. (interrupts the amortization)
•Wholesale Offer: This is an offer from a note buyer when they are NOT planning on paying the closing costs.
•Retail Offer: This is an offer a note buyer when they ARE planning on paying the closing costs.
•Underlying Loan: This is a loan that the note holder owes held by a bank.
•Investor: person who will be buying the note for this deal.
•Broker: person who works for the Investor. Does the paperwork and a lot of the prep work for the investor
•Finder: Person who finds the note info and refers it to the broker or investor.
•Note holder: Person who sold the property and holds the note.

A break down of the business process;

•Foundation work & Preparation
•Finding and Marketing to note holders
(This will require a marketing budget and maybe a few marketing campaigns.)
•Gather the information and find out their expectations
(Here you will want some sort of database to assist in keeping track of details.)
•Present the note to investors
•Present an offer to the note holder
•Complete the deal with paperwork and follow-up

Bringing it all together:
In conclusion if you are looking to start your own note investing business you should start with writing some clearly defined goals so you know what you are looking to achieve. Make efforts to be organized as a business and understand the industry you are getting into. Below you will find some resources that may be helpful for you as you start this business:
vistaprint.com for free business cards!
Toll Free Number: It will be important for you to setup a toll free voicemail number in order to get more calls coming in from your marketing. Note holders will be more likely to call if they don’t have to pay for it. So, don’t forget to get your number. You do not need a new phone line put into your house for this. These numbers are completely independent of any phone line. You are able to check the messages right on your computer.
Suggested Reading: “The Millionaire Next Door”
Suggested courses: CashFlow Investing by Mike Wood