Monday, November 29, 2010
PAM curators & 50/50 exhibition
Pam Curators and the 50/50 Exhibition
I really enjoyed the 50/50 exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. Not necessarily for the works of art in the exhibition themselves, although they too were appealing, but rather the story behind the exhibition. I found it endearing and refreshing that all the works belonged to a modest couple in New York who had been collecting for decades. They were able to collect over 4,500 works of art on a modest income and stored them all in their small apartment. Their personalities came through in their collection within the pieces that they had, and the similarities between them. Their collection also said a lot about them by having many of the pieces been given to them personally by the artists themselves. They developed relationships with the artists and a name for themselves as collectors. It was interesting looking at the exhibition from the stand point of the curator. It was decided that the collection would be split up and divided into 50 pieces for 50 states. The pieces were randomly selected, after DC got their picks and then sent to museums around America. As the curator it was their job to figure out a way to display the works in a cohesive manor. The exhibition flowed like this; the first works to be displayed were those of more well known artists. Then it moved on to technique and process of making the art. The voice that sang out most from the collection was those of the collectors and their personalities along with the thought that most of the pieces wouldn’t have had the chance to be shown in such a way if not for them as well.
When were able to have one on one time and learn about everything that goes on and all the work involved in making exhibits and how the Portland Art Museum operates I was astounded by all the efforts. I didn’t know the time, money and science that goes into making the Portland Art Museum what it is. They already have exhibitions planned two years in advance, and they cost millions to bring to actuality. There is science behind the lighting, the temperature and the wall color. And they even pay attention to tribe affiliation and wishes when it comes to Native American exhibitions. One thing that was said that really stuck with me was, “curators do more than just hang up art work with a hammer and a nail. The should be called preservers, because that’s what they do. They Preserve art.” I thought that was really neat and encapsulated all that a curator does.
I really enjoyed the 50/50 exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. Not necessarily for the works of art in the exhibition themselves, although they too were appealing, but rather the story behind the exhibition. I found it endearing and refreshing that all the works belonged to a modest couple in New York who had been collecting for decades. They were able to collect over 4,500 works of art on a modest income and stored them all in their small apartment. Their personalities came through in their collection within the pieces that they had, and the similarities between them. Their collection also said a lot about them by having many of the pieces been given to them personally by the artists themselves. They developed relationships with the artists and a name for themselves as collectors. It was interesting looking at the exhibition from the stand point of the curator. It was decided that the collection would be split up and divided into 50 pieces for 50 states. The pieces were randomly selected, after DC got their picks and then sent to museums around America. As the curator it was their job to figure out a way to display the works in a cohesive manor. The exhibition flowed like this; the first works to be displayed were those of more well known artists. Then it moved on to technique and process of making the art. The voice that sang out most from the collection was those of the collectors and their personalities along with the thought that most of the pieces wouldn’t have had the chance to be shown in such a way if not for them as well.
When were able to have one on one time and learn about everything that goes on and all the work involved in making exhibits and how the Portland Art Museum operates I was astounded by all the efforts. I didn’t know the time, money and science that goes into making the Portland Art Museum what it is. They already have exhibitions planned two years in advance, and they cost millions to bring to actuality. There is science behind the lighting, the temperature and the wall color. And they even pay attention to tribe affiliation and wishes when it comes to Native American exhibitions. One thing that was said that really stuck with me was, “curators do more than just hang up art work with a hammer and a nail. The should be called preservers, because that’s what they do. They Preserve art.” I thought that was really neat and encapsulated all that a curator does.
collateral matters @MCC
Upon first entering the exhibit, my first instinct was to reach out and start touching and navigating through the paperwork that was neatly hanging in slip covers along the first two walls. It is a know fact, that in most museums, the displays and works are off limits to the curiosity of your fingers, and so I only quickly flipped through a few pages after noticing my fellow classmates were doing the same. After listening to Kate Bingaman and Clifton Burt speak about the exhibit that they collaborated on, everything made sense. The exhibit called for interaction. Everything was intentional from the way things were hung, to the time line on the far wall of the exhibit. They wanted the visitor to have a similar experience to the one they had when going through the paperwork and collateral trying to figure out how they were going to put together the exhibition. They thoughtfully picked out the most interesting pieces from each file and ordered them in chronological order and placed each individual paperwork in each individual case in a cover slip and then hung them together on a orange clip board. These hung all over two whole walls. Each one telling a story. On the far wall was a time line, spanning from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. Having the collateral from the different eras lined up in juxtaposition called attention to the changes that were taking place due to advancement in technology and society. In the 40’s the collateral was small, imageless and painstakingly hand written or typed on a typewriter. Further along the time line images start appearing, works start to get larger, there becomes a focus on the artist and color appears. The time line ends in the 80’s because collateral takes a turn as the world starts to get logged into the web. After Kate and Clifton finish speaking and give us free range to play and explore I tried out the type writer, making a spelling error in almost every sentence, while others practiced their penmanship at the stationary station and some read through the clips boards or other collateral story lines behind the glass panels. The fascinating thing about this exhibit is that it calls your attention to all the unseen work that goes on behind an exhibit that makes it actually happen. It shows the changes of our society, from single handedly writing every resume one did and snail mail to looking at where our society stands now with all our technological advances. The exhibit shows the hard work of the people behind the scenes and brings them into the foreground, who would have never guessed that what they were doing would be looked at as a form of art within itself. These collections of collateral should be appreciated for their stories and personalities, for the work and the time that is represented by all the many, many pieces of paperwork. They give a look into people’s lives and of our society’s past that is seemingly being replaced with e-mail, internet and monotone Times New Roman. It’s not that, how we do behind the scenes today is bad, indeed it’s quite quick and handy, but rather our past should be appreciated and thoughtfully perused.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
5. Five images of five artworks by artists who use appropriation.
Artist:Aleksandra Mir
Title: Che Guevarra Collage
Media: Collage on paper
Year: 2006
Bio: Born 1967 Lubin, Poland. Citizen of Sweden. Lives in NYC, USA and Palermo, Sicily.
Artist: Barbara Kruger
Title: Untitled, Your Every Wish is Our Command
Media: Gelatin silver print
Year: 1982
Bio: Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. Much of her work consists of black and white photographs overlaid with declarative captions—in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique. The phrases in her works often include use of pronouns such as "you", "your", "I", "we", and "they".
Artist: Jeff Koons
Title: Balloon Flower
Media: High chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating
Year: 1995-2000
Bio: Jeff Koons (born January 21, 1955) is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces.
Title: Clown Skull
Date: 1989
Media: Plastic
Description: Relics Series
Bio: Vik Muniz was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1961. He is a visual artist who lives in New York City, USA. Muniz began his career as a sculptor in the late 1980s after relocating from Brazil to Chicago and later to New York. His early work grew out of a post-Fluxus aesthetic and often involved visual puns and jokes. His most famous work from this period is “Clown Skull”, a human skull augmented w/ a clown-nose shaped protuberance.
Artist: Mark Tribe
Site specific public art project
Title: Carpark
Media: Film
Date:1994
Bio:Mark Tribe (born 1966, San Francisco, CA) is an artist and curator interested art, technology, and politics. He is focused on developing a critical understanding of the complex
and interdependent relationships between technology and culture.
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