15th January- Group Critique (Interim show part 1) (Exhibitor)
15th January-
Group Critique (Interim show part 1) (Exhibitor)
This afternoon, together with the curators and a group of tutors, we discussed the curation of our work into the exposition 'unveiled truths'. This meeting covered many topics. We discussed the strengths of the show along with any limitations. My main critique was the fact that there was no 'opening event' or publicity that was pushed for people to become aware of the exhibition. The documentary has also not yet been publically been released to be viewed. This limits the life of the art therefore in a relational aesthetics sense. The less people that know there is work up there then the less that can engage with the themes of the work. I am sympathetic to the fact they had the christmas break and therefore when we came back things were rushed and intense over a short space of time. Further to this, I feel that these shows are a great learning experience and what the shows lacks can often be a sign of what the curators were struggling with and therefore could improve upon.
The internal struggles, conversations and interactions are not seen in much of the documentation, this is such a shame. The interactions internally between us artists and the curators are what much of the show is made from. There is a linear concept of how a show or exhibition should be constructed, this construction was used a template for our 'unveiled truths' show and what will also be used as part of the show I am curating. What is not seen in this template and not often considered as the show itself is the interactions and personal correspondents between individuals. I am hoping to document these more readily as we install our show and interact with the artists that we are curating.
We also discussed the positioning of work through the project spaces. The tutors observed that there was a lot of work within the space. This was seemingly true. Much of the work demanded that level of space and other pieces, such as my own, were set away from the wall which demand space in their own right. In the group we also contemplated the concept of sound within a space as there was a loud fan as part of one work and also a tape that could be played. The alternative was to listen to the sound through headphones instead of the tape. This gave the viewer the option to remove themselves from any other audio in the exhibition. I felt, and expressed, the fact that sound can be very intrusive and as someone who produces a lot of written work, can intrude into the viewers world very easily. This may then remove them from engagement with my writing. We discussed this as a group and concluded that my work may have been better suited to the smaller space. It was very clear to see who had done more for the curation group in terms of organisation, however, this is not also a credible thing. Many people did not have much say in where and were meetings were held or filming for the documentary. This will always bena struggle while working in a group. I personally have never enjoyed group work (not to be mistaken with collaboration) due to the unreliable and uncommitted nature of many people. Collaboration on the other hand is very different as you are choosing who you are interacting with creatively and you can work with those who are more committed and likely to come through by being helpful and productive. This exhibition has been very insular and will only attract a crowd of individuals that are already in the institution, this is also something I raised in the meeting. I personally have been working more on things that remove me from the institutional setting. This may mean that we did not put our all into the exhibition in which our art was part of however for me, that falls more heavily upon the curators than us as exhibitors. It has been experimental and challenging to work the way I did for this show, it has also been interesting curating those individuals and seeing if they function more naturally as curator or artists (or both). Reflecting on this experience with the tutors has been helpful as they raised documentation options that I had not considered prior to this. Talking with people from other courses to see what they thought of the work and exhibition is something I plan to do and transcript as part of my documentation.
Group Critique (Interim show part 1) (Exhibitor)
This afternoon, together with the curators and a group of tutors, we discussed the curation of our work into the exposition 'unveiled truths'. This meeting covered many topics. We discussed the strengths of the show along with any limitations. My main critique was the fact that there was no 'opening event' or publicity that was pushed for people to become aware of the exhibition. The documentary has also not yet been publically been released to be viewed. This limits the life of the art therefore in a relational aesthetics sense. The less people that know there is work up there then the less that can engage with the themes of the work. I am sympathetic to the fact they had the christmas break and therefore when we came back things were rushed and intense over a short space of time. Further to this, I feel that these shows are a great learning experience and what the shows lacks can often be a sign of what the curators were struggling with and therefore could improve upon.
The internal struggles, conversations and interactions are not seen in much of the documentation, this is such a shame. The interactions internally between us artists and the curators are what much of the show is made from. There is a linear concept of how a show or exhibition should be constructed, this construction was used a template for our 'unveiled truths' show and what will also be used as part of the show I am curating. What is not seen in this template and not often considered as the show itself is the interactions and personal correspondents between individuals. I am hoping to document these more readily as we install our show and interact with the artists that we are curating.
We also discussed the positioning of work through the project spaces. The tutors observed that there was a lot of work within the space. This was seemingly true. Much of the work demanded that level of space and other pieces, such as my own, were set away from the wall which demand space in their own right. In the group we also contemplated the concept of sound within a space as there was a loud fan as part of one work and also a tape that could be played. The alternative was to listen to the sound through headphones instead of the tape. This gave the viewer the option to remove themselves from any other audio in the exhibition. I felt, and expressed, the fact that sound can be very intrusive and as someone who produces a lot of written work, can intrude into the viewers world very easily. This may then remove them from engagement with my writing. We discussed this as a group and concluded that my work may have been better suited to the smaller space. It was very clear to see who had done more for the curation group in terms of organisation, however, this is not also a credible thing. Many people did not have much say in where and were meetings were held or filming for the documentary. This will always bena struggle while working in a group. I personally have never enjoyed group work (not to be mistaken with collaboration) due to the unreliable and uncommitted nature of many people. Collaboration on the other hand is very different as you are choosing who you are interacting with creatively and you can work with those who are more committed and likely to come through by being helpful and productive. This exhibition has been very insular and will only attract a crowd of individuals that are already in the institution, this is also something I raised in the meeting. I personally have been working more on things that remove me from the institutional setting. This may mean that we did not put our all into the exhibition in which our art was part of however for me, that falls more heavily upon the curators than us as exhibitors. It has been experimental and challenging to work the way I did for this show, it has also been interesting curating those individuals and seeing if they function more naturally as curator or artists (or both). Reflecting on this experience with the tutors has been helpful as they raised documentation options that I had not considered prior to this. Talking with people from other courses to see what they thought of the work and exhibition is something I plan to do and transcript as part of my documentation.
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