Learning to exhibit

Some artists work in secret, satisfied only to push themselves in their search for clarity or enjoyment of the process.  I find I am a bit of an exhibitionist, loving the burst of laughter at a wry comment on something I am striving for.  Laughter is best, which is an odd statement, as I usually work on things where there is little reason to expect anyone to find things funny.

I have been making myself learn about exhibiting.  I have been helping the curator at Hardwick to exhibit on the wall of the cafe and the Crush Hall Cabinets on FCH campus.  This required putting out an open call for exhibitors, (I used Curatorspace, they had a free trial for one use), selection and hanging of the works.  I received so few submissions -it seems students are busy with other things, so everyone who submitted participated in the exhibition, though not all pieces were hung.  It was interesting working with Sarah Bowden, the Curator, as we looked at the pictures and the tall blank wall, two technicians ready on a scissor lift,  and decided where to put each piece.

I have never been through the process of balancing images like this before, even though I have exhibited and hung friends and family shows.  One piece (a newspaper collage of Castro by Angie Hunt) was positioned first in the centre, and then the rest added carefully around it.  Three small black and white detail images were not hung in a row, as might be expected, but were separated to add punctuation between images which needed a breathing space between them.  We stood together doing the 'up a cm, left five' bit for a while, and I was relieved that generally my instincts matched Sarah's.  When most of the pieces were up she left us to hang the rest.  One piece proved complex to hang, a cascade of electrical ties that were intended to be strung on a structural beam across the window.  It made the point that anything unusual needs a proper installation diagram supplied ahead of time.  Even the little monochrome images proved a little difficult as we didn't know which way up they should be hung (close-ups of leaves) as there was no indication on the pieces themselves.  A 'this way up' or arrow on the back of pictures is a useful thing- we found the artist and hung them correctly, but another thing to specify in advance in this type of process.  Perhaps a disclaimer in the call out would be sufficient - if you don't mark the canvas or provide full installation details, we will 'hang as we see fit'.

Only one person submitted a 3d piece for the cabinets- a small piece of cast concrete. With a little coaxing Fi Hill, a second year BA student, filled both cabinets with an exuberant display of her experimental cast concrete, plaster and textile pieces.

I also submitted a piece for the Wilson Gallery's new phone box display in the middle of Cheltenham.
I found out about the opportunity a few days before deadline- to make disposable pieces the correct size to fit in the window panes of these old red phone boxes - either one, eight or sixteen images.  The sizes meant that my first idea, to print onto acetate, wouldn't work, as I would have needed A3 acetates, so I printed on paper.  I awkwardly photographed my face and hands through coloured glass, using my phone, and these were then increased in size to meet the specification.  My acceptance letter  included the sentence "The panel met today, and they were very impressed with the intriguing nature of your work and how it relates to the phone box environment. The panel were also impressed with your accurate response to the formatting brief."  This seemed a little surprising until I went to see the display to discover that very few people had works that accurately fitted the phone box dimensions.

The big challenge of the month was to submit to the British Glass Bienniale.  Submissions needed to be media quality, and glass is a tricky thing to photograph well.  I hired a third year student to photograph my three pieces.  This was a very interesting process, as she wasn't photographing with the camera tethered to a computer.  I had expected an interactive process but was unable to see the work she did until it was complete.  The work was very precisely photographed but looked rather forensic- and I wanted drama.  As she was completing her dissertation with the same deadline as the submission I attempted to photograph the pieces myself, and submitted a mixture of her photographs and mine to the Biennale.  I submitted not because I expect to get in - this show has world class glass, but because the process of submitting needs to be learnt like any other.  How to chose work, how to photograph work, how to meet project briefs etc.  One of the difficulties in working with glass is that other people go 'oh wow!' even when the actual technical quality is poor.

Scanning the University opportunities notification I spotted internships at an exhibition of outdoor sculpture near Cirencester.  I can't manage that kind of work and am already participating in the Open Studios in Cheltenham, but I followed the link to the artists call for the show.  Submission was nearly over but they were still looking for some glass, so I hurriedly photographed and measured two pieces (the large red gecko and the Antarctic Porthole) and submitted.  I'll make sure I visit this year, and hopefully when it runs again, in two years time, I will have some excellent works on suitable stands/supports and properly photographed.

The Corinium Museum in Cirencester held an exhibition of art inspired by the Cotwolds. I submitted a glass panel of Bluebell Woods, and was selected.  At the private view I felt a bit sheepish (sorry) that I had taken such a restricted view of the what the selectors were looking for.  There were lots of pictures of curly headed sheep and charming scenery, but there were also so edgier pieces of ceramic, tweed and paint.  
   
I also attended a Masterclass on Hospitality as part of John Walker's The Zany Capsid exhibition at the Hardwick Gallery- where we made costumes and practiced the notion that as bar staff/jesters we could take any query or comment and use it to make the gallery attender feel comfortable - this was recorded, and the video includes my take on the process, based on a five year old I once interviewed about some art at their school. 

So, a busy period.  I am hoping that some reflection on these various processes will allow me to take a more planful and measured approach to exhibition.  I did launch myself at the process in an attempt to make myself aware of the issues, and thought it best to consider and record them before I forgot.