Evaluation of Unit X

While I did not collaborate with other students in a particular piece of work, I did engage in regular discussion with other members of the 'Ruins' group about their work and the exhibition in general. I found this to be a big help when curating the exhibition as I had a vague idea as to what could be expected from the fine artists in the group before officially beginning to set up the exhibition space. By engaging in discussion with other members of the group, who also work in different studios, I found that it offered a fresh perspective when looking at their work and being able to offer advice. Additionally, I found the variety of opinions beneficial in developing my own practice and body of work for Unit X and the exhibition.
            By attending all scheduled group meetings with the 'Ruins' group leader, Richard Page, I was always aware of what was happening and they also allowed me to become familiar with photographers and film-makers, which was also a big help when curating the exhibition. During these meetings, I found that as a group we all had similar ambitions for the exhibition. The interdisciplinary nature of working with people from other courses was that it opened up a great deal of discussion about ways to exhibit, and each course was able to offer fresh opinions and advice in response to other courses' work and how best to exhibit it. I learnt a lot about my own work from these group discussions and found that people from other courses suggested directions and possible ways an audience might engage with my work that I had not previously considered.
            When it came to curating and setting up the exhibition, the previous discussion and engagement with other members of the group was very beneficial. We had formed good working relationships and found that we were able to work well as a team. As curator, the relationships I had formed with people across the courses were extremely valuable when it came to displaying work because it meant everyone could freely voice what they wanted and discussion was very easy. However, the attendance of a great deal of people in the group was very poor which slowed down the process of putting work up. A possible reason for this might have been the fact that, unlike other groups where attendance was a lot higher, other than curatorial roles, other roles had not been assigned and so possibly people did not turn up simply because they were not aware of what was actually happening. Despite this, those that were there relatively consistently over the three days of setting up worked extremely well together and I in turn really appreciated all their help and advice. Evidence of this could be seen in the way a lot of people arrived with work very late in the setting up process: everything by this point was on display and it was difficult to find space to exhibit their work, and so by discussing and compromising with other members of the group, we were all able to solve this problem.
            Overall, the skills I developed during Unit X were extremely valuable as they increased my confidence as an art practitioner and in my ability to work well with other people, as I was previously apprehensive of this aspect of the Unit. I was able to find creative, practical solutions to solving problems and I was very proud of the work and effort I put into the exhibition. The relationships I formed with fine artists which I had not previously in the year will continue throughout my degree and prove to be beneficial should further group work be required. Should there be any criticism or possible improvements about Unit X, it would be that information was not communicated as quickly and efficiently as it could have been. A lot of the information being sent out also could have been clearer. However, in spite of this, I learnt that I was able to work under pressure and quickly make decisions based on the information at hand. I learnt a great deal during Unit X and enjoyed the Unit as a whole.

My Exhibition Space of the Unit X Exhibition, 'Ruins'

Some images of my work didn't come out very well due to the light being behind the work, but as a whole I was really very happy with my space and the way I had presented my work.

Curating the Unit X 'Ruins' Exhibition

The initial set up of the exhibition was slow due to the late delivery of the cardboard. There were discussions about the best way to utilize these boards in an exhibition and it was decided that the best way of using the card was to tape three pieces of card together to make a triangular prism which would then be stood up vertically to create three walls to exhibit on.
        A problem with the material used to make the boards was that it wasn't strong enough to hold up large canvases and frames, but in some ways this worked in our (the curators) favour because it gave some indication as to where some of the work should be situated, i.e. the lighter pieces such as photographs, drawings and small canvases had to be put on the boards.

         

When it came to setting up my own work, I knew I had to be flexible with where the work could be displayed. Due to the number of windows and adjacent pillars that would not have been suitable to mount work on, I decided to use this space to hang my work: one canvas piece in front of the window and another hung in front of, and thus obscuring, the pillar.

     

The first problem I encountered was how I should suspend the canvas pieces. The ceiling tiles didn't lift up in front of the window and so I had to locate thinner hooks that would fit through the holes of the ceiling tiles. A useful feature of these hooks was that they were also slightly longer.

Once I had set up my own work, and had temporarily located a space for each person's work, I began setting the work up of those who could not be in to help set up. Some of the pieces had instructions attached with suggestions on how they would like their work to be exhibited. When considering where to place work, I had to ensure that photographers weren't bunched together and likewise for fine artists, but in some cases, photography pieces had to be displayed on the walls facing away from the window to reduce the glare on the images, meaning that in some areas, there were 'pockets' of fine artists' work and photographers' work. In spite of this, I found that it didn't compromise with the way the exhibition flowed. The film making students, of which there only seemed to be one group of three, exhibited two films in one of the smaller office rooms through a projector. Also in this room was a fine artist's film, and both pieces of work really complimented one another.

The image above shows a floor plan of the 'Ruins' exhibition. The green stars indicate which pieces I set up/displayed while the blue stars indicate which pieces of work I curated. I worked closely with the members of the group that came in during the set-up time and ensured that they were happy with their space and offered advice if they wanted any. I also aided them in setting up their work and making decisions about the best way to hang/stick/pin work up.

        The image below shows two pieces of work, one by a fine artist and a photographer that I curated and set up. In the case of the fine artist's work, we had to find away to attach the plaster pieces to the board securely, which was difficult because they were so heavy. We discussed placing them on plinths but I decided that they were best displayed at eye height, where they could be fully appreciated. This also meant that we could include another piece of their work, for which we build a plinth. There was a great deal of deliberation between myself and the artist as to whether to include the broken glass wind chime, but after finding a location and height at which to display the piece so that it complimented the display as a whole, we decided to include it.

 Also visible in the image above is the photography piece on the right-hand side that I set up. The photographer had left guidelines as to how she wanted the work to be exhibited, and I was able to meet that request. I was very happy with how both displays came out - and that both the plaster pieces and the letters stayed securely to the board and pillar right the way through until Friday morning when we had to take them down!

I wasn't able to take a great deal of pictures as I went along due to always being busy, but as a whole I was very happy with how the 'Ruins' exhibition looked and proud of myself that I had helped a great deal to make it happen. I learnt so much by curating this exhibition and while it was demanding and hard work, I really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again. Most of all, though, I enjoyed working with other students, from photography, fine art and filmmaking, and helping them to bring their own ideas about what they wanted from the exhibition to life.

New Century House: Before Setting up the Exhibition

This image shows the 'Ruins' section of the exhibition before we began setting up.

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Shown above is the floor plan of the space that has been allocated to the Fine Art, Filmmaking and Photography Unit X exhibition. From this, I'm able to work out approximately how much space will be available. The limited space means that myself and the other curatiors are to find innovative ways of exhibiting work. The images below show some of my ideas with regards to how I may exhibit my work:

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Ruins Meeting - 01/05/14

A useful aspect of this meeting was that by bringing some of the smaller pieces I had been working on with me, I was able to get feedback from fresh eyes and people who aren't familiar with my work. This feedback sparked up new ideas and concepts which I hadn't considered before. A strong point that was discussed was the relevance of the materials I worked on: the fact that one of the pieces I brought with me was made on a pillow case transformed its meaning. A pillow case suggests something personal, as you dream and sleep on it, you leave an imprint on it with the weight of your head, your skin and your hair, which was a profound idea and tied in perfectly with the angle from which I approached the theme.
         In addition to this, we discussed different ways that these pieces might be exhibited. One suggestion was that rather than displaying them on the window, they could be placed in a light-box, which also gives them a sculptural element and works in the exhibition space's favour when considering the small amount of wall space there is.

'RUIN LUST'

"Ruin Lust, an exhibition at Tate Britain from 4 March 2014, offers a guide to the mournful, thrilling, comic and perverse uses of ruins in art from the seventeenth century to the present day. The exhibition is the widest-ranging on the subject to date and includes over 100 works by artists such as J.M.W. Turner, John Constable, John Martin, Eduardo Paolozzi, Rachel Whiteread and Tacita Dean."

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/ruin-lust

DIY ZINE & POSTER WORKSHOP @ The Holden Cafe, 02/05/14

 
Click Here to view one of the videos played in the presentation

Translucent pieces: Installation

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The left piece in the image above may need to be cropped for the composition of works to look 'right.' The works are displayed in a general diagonal direction because I feel they should all be viewed from a similar height, as a means of drawing focus to the details.

I particularly like the two images above: the structures and colours compliment each other.

I would next like to focus on different ways of displaying the larger unstretched canvas pieces, such as hanging them, displaying them off the walls or draping them. I need to keep in mind the size of the space, which might be very limited, but as I will show in the next blog post I have also considered using the windows in the exhibition space...

Further work:

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Tutorial 30/05/14

Points discussed and to be reflected on in the tutorial:

• How do the pieces relate to each other? How could that be used to the work's advantage in the exhibition? Explore different ways of displaying the works together and how it illuminates, discusses and approaches the theme of 'ruins.'
• Deconstruction plays a large part in the making process of these works: what happens when they are reconstructed? Together or in a space etc, consider the possibilities of this approach.
• How will the pieces be received by an audience? What could be done to enhance engagement of the pieces or piece with an audience?
• How could these pieces be displayed that compliments the theme of 'ruins'? Think about structures, using the exhibiting space to my advantage, unconventional ways of displaying work that enhance the pieces. Consider frames, build surfaces/walls to display on, how the pieces are to be attached to the surface or walls and would or should this add to the piece(s)...
• The smaller translucent pieces work well together in their subtlety: without seeing the large unstretched canvas piece in its own space, it's difficult to determine how well this would work in the exhibition. Look at and explore the correlation between the smaller pieces in temporary exhibition spaces or approach them as if setting up an installation. Consider this also for the canvas pieces: for example, could they be draped, suspended off the wall, hung in the middle of a room, what would spotlights do to the piece.

Work in progress

My second piece working on unstretched canvas: I wanted to work more with the canvas itself and so in this piece warped and manipulated the surface more severely. I added a series of washes with water colours and acrylic paint and worked on the abrasions and rips in the canvas with materials like charcoal, graphite and conte crayon. Initially I was only going to work on it in this way but while I liked certain aspects of the piece, such as in the right image shown above, I did not think the piece worked as a whole. It looked unfinished and underdeveloped.

To combat this I began adding materials such as mod roc to the surface in order to vary the texture and add dynamism to the piece. I think the weight of the mod roc gives it some grounding and situates the piece more firmly in the space as an object rather than a flat, unfinished 2D image.

The image above is the stage I am at now with this piece of work. The loose white wash of acrylic brings the textures together as one surface and accentuates the abrasions. It now sits well alongside the first canvas piece, which it did not before. They now both suggest the same ideas and themes but explore them in different manners and through different materials and I think this a successful aspect of the two unstretched canvas pieces.