Mixed Media Module: Mixed Media Essay

The Curator’s Eye

By nature, human beings are designed to be different. One’s creativity and perspectives are entirely subjective due to the psychological processes taking place when viewing and responding to art. The same painting, sculpture, installation or photograph will trigger different emotions depending on the viewer’s perception. A work of art is considered to be the artist’s discourse, representing the vision projected on the canvas of his mind. In order to transmit that perspective accurately, more than one artwork might be produced, therefore resulting in the creation of a series.

Most likely, the final stage of such a body of work shall be shaped under the form of an exhibition in which the discourse can be observed, analysed and understood. Approaching this subject matter with the perspective that ‘an exhibition of art is like an utterance, or a set of utterances, in a chain of signification’ (Ferguson, Thinking about exhibitions, Exhibition Rhetorics, p.183) helps define the manner in which display of art is perceived. My Mixed Media project entitled symbolically, The Curator’s Eye aims to provide different perspectives upon the process of curating an exhibition.

In order to achieve that, I have interviewed 5 creative practitioners who come into contact with this process on a regular basis. The curatorial process seems to be a simple task at first but when observed closely, it becomes complex and involves commitment, visual aesthetics as well as effective communication. ‘Who speaks TO and FOR WHOM and UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS, as well as WHERE and WHEN’ (Ferguson, Thinking about exhibitions, Exhibition Rhetorics, p.183) are aspects which have to be considered by the person in charge of curating an exhibition.

Lauren Wright, curator at the Tuner Contemporary located in Margate, United Kingdom, has stated in the interview about Subject to Constant Change by Rosa Barba that the artist ‘thinks about her exhibitions as a conversation between her creations’. In this case, the works of art speak to one another, in the context of a gallery space, where the viewer is able to assist. This setting differs to the one present in the Chris Beetles Gallery, situated in London. In that space the viewer takes part in the conversation because the artwork addresses him directly. According to Olivia Post, Captain Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition tells the ‘story of polar exploration’. The images on display speak to the viewer, for the creative practitioner who produced them and is no longer able to address the observed directly. The conditions under which the dialogue takes place, regardless of who participates in it, are essential when displaying art.

An exhibition space can be used to display work belonging to a particular artist or it can contain artwork belonging to a wider number of practitioners. This situation may lead to challenges faced by curators. Jenna Banat refers to the experience of Photofusion Salon 2012 as being a ‘stressful curation’ because of the increased number of prints belonging to various artists, which had to be displayed in a reduced gallery space. Group shows usually imply that works of art, which might be similar or completely different, may be positioned next to each other. The viewer’s attention might be distracted and therefore, the impact of the dialogue might not be as strong.

Another aspect, which has to be taken into consideration when curating an exhibition, is where the utterance takes place.

Karen Shepherdson, curator of her exhibition entitled Close to Home has provided insight on how the location influences the impact of a discourse by stating the following: ‘When you show work taken close to home away from home, it’s fine because it has a sense of difference to where it’s been shown.’

Associating distance with a feeling of liberation is logical because the pressure and anxiety to succeed is reduced in comparison to showing work in the same place where it has been produced. Displaying her work in The Burton Gallery in Broadstairs, which is ‘Close to Home’ means she feels more exposed but it is also an excellent exercise when it comes to explaining own ideas and concepts to other people who might be students, colleagues and fellow creative practitioners.

Furthermore, the temporal setting in which the work is displayed also influences the nature of the artistic discourse and the manner in which the dialogue takes place. James Smith is another artist who has curated an exhibition containing his own work. Temporal Dislocation was produced as a result of attending an MA course at the Royal College of Art. The work had been shown in the End of Year exhibition in 2012 before being displayed at the Photofusion Gallery in London. Having a solo show shortly after finishing an MA reflects a strong photographic style and vision. This is the feeling transmitted to me by the body of work and the artist’s description of the curatorial process: ‘To curate an exhibition means taking the viewer on a journey of distance and proximity.’

The other four descriptions of the curatorial process ranged from one practitioner to another. Lauren Wright perceives it as ‘a process of framing an experience of an artwork’ and Karen Shepherdson describes it as ‘the final stage of a difficult labour’. Olivia Post defines the process as ‘a new experience’ through which ‘knowledge is gained with each show which is on display’. Last but not least, Jenna Banat refers to it as being ‘extremely challenging, with a wide range of aesthetics’.

From my perspective, the art of displaying art matches the characteristics outlined by the answers provided by the five interviewees. The ideal and most complex response would encompass all the views on the process. It may be formulated in the following manner: ‘Exhibiting art is a process of framing the new experience of an artwork produced as a result of difficult labour, through which knowledge is gained with each challenge surpassed. Curating an exhibition means taking the viewer on an aesthetic journey with a wide range of distances and proximities.’

In conclusion, when thinking about exhibitions one should not attempt to find a single definition for the process and should rather ‘recognise this area of communication we might call the “discipline of exhibiting”.’ (Celant, Thinking about exhibitions, A visual machine, p.373).

Bibliography:

Books:

1. Mieke Bal, 1996. Expository Discourse. Routledge

2. Emma Barker, 1999. Contemporary Cultures of Display. Yale University Press

3. Roland Barthes, 1977. Image, Music, Text. Harper Collins Publishers

4. John Berger, 2008. Ways of Seeing. Penguin Books

5. David Dernie, 2006. Exhibition Design. W. W. Norton & Co

6. Reesa Greenburg, Bruce W. Ferguson, Sandy Nairne, 1996. Thinking about Exhibions. Routledge

7. Philip Hughes, 2010. Exhibition Design. Laurence King

8. Paula Marincola, 2006. What makes a great exhibition?. Ocean Graphic Printing

9. Shirley Read, 2008. Exhibiting Photography. Focal Press

Videos: