Exhibition design + contemporary encounters

This research is practice-based and explores the role of exhibition designer, the parameters of exhibition design and the exhibition design techniques that affect the experience of art in an institutional setting. Investigating the design methodology of current standard institutional practice in contemporary art display and audience engagement, techniques and strategies are researched, tested and developed to activate gallery space as medium. The research investigates techniques that can be constructed and implemented in exhibition design that provide engaging experiences for the viewer that are manifold in an institutional context

Ways of seeing evaluation

Copyright @ 2011 Brunel UniversityThis report summarises the evaluation of Ways of Seeing, a community arts project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and hosted by the Lightbox, Woking, Surrey from 2008-11. The people involved have had remarkable experiences, choosing how to take part in each stage of preparations for a major public art exhibition. All those involved had disabilities, primarily arising from mental health issues but also including physical disabilities. The project was skilfully designed and led to enable them to make a significant contribution, enhancing their well-being and resulting in the Ways of Seeing exhibition which was widely appreciated. The Lightbox is an award-winning museum, housing a permanent local history exhibition as well as touring major art exhibitions. The Ingram Modern Art collection is on permanent loan, with regular exhibitions of work from the collection. Since the Lightbox opened in 2007, it has had a stated intention to promote local community involvement, successfully obtaining external funding to support this work. Ways of Seeing was the most ambitious project to date, aiming to exhibit selected work from the Ingram Collection alongside art created as part of the project by local disabled people. The emphasis on ways of seeing reflected an interest in their diverse perspectives, especially in relation to long term mental health problems. A steering group was set up, with members from local mental health initiatives and an evaluation team from Brunel University. The project started by orientating participants to how art is created and exhibited, with a series of visits and workshops on major art collections and artists’ studios. This stage successfully attracted a range of people and was followed by taster workshops of different art techniques. Then participants examined every item in the Ingram Collection and agreed a selection to inspire their own artistic responses. All-day workshops were convened, covering the same techniques as before and giving everyone space and time to get started. Curation of the exhibition gathered pace as final selections were made from participants’ art works and the Ingram Collection. The exhibition offered opportunities for everyone to have selections of their work exhibited to the public alongside the selected work from the Ingram Collection. A video artist captured the project in film and an MSc occupational therapy student from Brunel University undertook independent interviews of participants. It is clear that this multi-stage and carefully considered approach was highly successful in engaging people who are often excluded from arts events and venues. It was also successful in engaging the public in an innovative and thought-provoking exhibition, challenging assumptions about mental health and promoting the benefits of participation. The willingness of the Lightbox to host and support the project was essential. Based on tolerance, respect and a sympathetic curiosity, with clear and skilled leadership, the project enabled participants to make significant changes in their own lives.This study was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund

Under the Surface: Surrealist Photography

Accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, February 27 through June 1, 2014. Foreword by Frank H. Goodyear III; essay: Conceal and reveal : layering techniques in surrealist photography by Andrea Rosen.https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/art-museum-exhibition-catalogs/1012/thumbnail.jp

Whanaketanga/Evolution : exhibition report for Masters of Māori Visual Arts at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

"Whanaketanga | Evolution, focused on technical construction and application using various materials. As art evolves, we find new ways to express concept, thought and imagination. This Exhibition Report is aimed at maintaining customary concepts and techniques using new materials, not customarily associated with Māori weaving such as cane, chain, screen mesh, perspex and plastic. Whilst the customary use of Māori woven taonga serves a utilitarian purpose, the challenge was to show new ways of thinking aimed at creating new forms of art not necessarily seen before. This biography of a decade of practice as a weaver begins with works completed over the past two years, submitted and exhibited as part of the Master of Māori Visual Arts journey. The exhibition is supplemented by previous works to demonstrate a personal evolution into new works employing non-customary materials."--Forewor

Museum and Exhibition Curation Techniques in Nazi Germany: An Analysis of Curation and Its Effects on Art, Artists, and the Public

Museum development in Europe changed rapidly from the middle of the 19th century through the end of World War II. This development included elements of exhibition design and curation techniques. The combination of these elements created a space for the changing public to acquire new opinions and knowledge of artworks. With the addition of governmental powers influencing the museum design, museums became buildings of education for many different purposes, at the government’s disposal. In Germany during World War II, the Degenerate Art Exhibition was designed as a counter exhibit to the Great German Art Exhibition. This exhibition’s purpose was to give an approved Third Reich education to their public: the knowledge of identifying Aryan versus Degenerate Art. Curational techniques developed from the mid-18th into the 19th century were changed and manipulated to suppress the opinions of the public into a submission to the ideology of the Third Reich

Application of the travel cost method to estimate the economic value of cultural goods: Blockbuster art exhibitions

In recent years a growing number of studies have started to apply non-market valuation methods to estimate the economic value of cultural goods. The majority of these studies use stated preference techniques, such as the contingent valuation method. This study discusses the application of the travel cost method to estimate the economic value of a specific type of cultural good: special exhibitions. The empirical work focuses on the touring exhibition the ‘Ages of Mankind’, one of the first and most representative examples of a blockbuster art exhibition in Spain. This is the first time, as far as we know, that this method has been applied to a large temporary exhibition and is one of the few applications of this method in the valuation of cultural goods.Blockbuster arts exhibitions, non-market valuation, revealed preferences, travel cost method, cultural economics.

Raising The Machine.

This paper supports the Masters of Fine Arts exhibition, a collection of sculptural pieces, at the Tipton art gallery in Johnson City, TN. from March 21st through March 28th, 2011. Raising the Machine showcases my exploration of forms using fabrication techniques found in metalsmithing and other media. Discussed within are the concepts, techniques, and materials used to create the forms including images and works from the exhibition

Understanding Perceptions of Community though Community Art and Storytelling from National Louis University’s Rotating Art Exhibition

Understanding Perceptions of Community though Community Art and Storytelling from National Louis University’s Rotating Art Exhibition Abstract This paper presents the formation and execution of the first rotating artist exhibition at National Louis University. The exhibition’s curators organized and prepared for the exhibit in fall and winter terms in 2018 and showcased the work at each of NLU’s six campuses throughout the spring term in 2019. A top priority for the rotating art exhibition was to keep the exhibition truly inclusive, meaning advertising and promoting the opportunity to students, faculty, staff, and alumni across each campus. The exhibition would also be a time to showcase art in any form. The artists came from 3 of the 6 NLU campuses. The group was comprised of 4 undergraduate students, 5 graduate students, 1 staff member, 1 adjunct faculty member, and 2 alumni of NLU. The forms of art submitted to the rotating art exhibition were also very diverse, in that we received 2 digital photographic pieces, 1 song, 1 poem, 2 drawings, 2 paintings, 1 pottery submission, 1 published children’s book, and 3 mixed media (combining 2 or more forms i.e. painting and construction paper and/or drawing) pieces. With a range of artists and art forms brought a wonderful variety of stories depicting community. The curators of the exhibition then created an Artists Reel capturing the stories of the artists and the messages behind the artwork and this was featured at the 2019 Society for Community Research and Action Biennial Conference in 2019. Recommended Citations Helguera, P. (2011). Education for Socially engaged art: Materials and techniques handbook. New York: Jorge Pinto Books. Rappaport, J. (2000). Community Narratives: Tales of Terror and Joy. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(1), 1-24. doi: 10.1023/a:1005161528817 Schuermans, N., & Loopmans, M. P. & Vandenabelle, J. (2012). Public space, public art and public pedagogy. Social & Cultural Geography, 13(7), 675-682. doi: 10.1080/14649365.2012.728007 Abstract This paper presents the formation and execution of the first rotating artist exhibition at National Louis University. The exhibition’s curators organized and prepared for the exhibit in fall and winter terms in 2018 and showcased the work at each of NLU’s six campuses throughout the spring term in 2019. A top priority for the rotating art exhibition was to keep the exhibition truly inclusive, meaning advertising and promoting the opportunity to students, faculty, staff, and alumni across each campus. The exhibition would also be a time to showcase art in any form. The artists came from 3 of the 6 NLU campuses. The group was comprised of 4 undergraduate students, 5 graduate students, 1 staff member, 1 adjunct faculty member, and 2 alumni of NLU. The forms of art submitted to the rotating art exhibition were also very diverse, in that we received 2 digital photographic pieces, 1 song, 1 poem, 2 drawings, 2 paintings, 1 pottery submission, 1 published children’s book, and 3 mixed media (combining 2 or more forms i.e. painting and construction paper and/or drawing) pieces. With a range of artists and art forms brought a wonderful variety of stories depicting community. The curators of the exhibition then created an Artists Reel capturing the stories of the artists and the messages behind the artwork and this was featured at the 2019 Society for Community Research and Action Biennial Conference in 2019. Recommended Citations Helguera, P. (2011). Education for Socially engaged art: Materials and techniques handbook. New York: Jorge Pinto Books. Rappaport, J. (2000). Community Narratives: Tales of Terror and Joy. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(1), 1-24. doi: 10.1023/a:1005161528817 Schuermans, N., & Loopmans, M. P. & Vandenabelle, J. (2012). Public space, public art and public pedagogy. Social & Cultural Geography, 13(7), 675-682. doi: 10.1080/14649365.2012.72800

Out of China: Monumental Porcelain

Working collaboratively with teams of local craftsmen in a Chinese manufactory in Jingdezhen, Aylieff has explored how technologies can be adapted to produce appropriate, original and unique contemporary sculptural expressions. Her research has resulted in artworks using an extreme scale not typically associated with porcelain. During a series of residencies in Jingdezhen, Aylieff investigated local traditional ‘blue and white’ ceramic techniques, including glaze application, decorative brushwork and firing methods. This body of research was primarily presented through four exhibitions, two with associated texts. ‘Out of China: Monumental Porcelain’ was an Arts Council-funded solo exhibition of work by Aylieff. During 2008–9, the exhibition toured to three venues: Barn Gallery, West Dean; Gallery Oldham, Manchester; and Lightbox Gallery, Woking. An associated book was published with text by Aylieff and an essay by Professor Emmanuel Cooper. ‘Contemporary Craft Comes to No.10’ was a joint exhibition of work shown at No.10 Downing Street in 2011. Aylieff was one of eight leading makers whose work was selected to be shown. Porcelain City Jingdezhen, a joint exhibition by Felicity Aylieff, Roger Law, Ah Xian, and Takeshi Yasuda was shown at the V&A Museum (2011-12). The exhibition focused on the rich language and history of Chinese porcelain and present-day life in Jingdezhen through contemporary ceramic production. The publication Porcelain City Jingdezhen, which accompanied the exhibition, included an essay by Aylieff: ‘Scooters, Buddhas and water lilies’. ‘China’s White Gold’, an exhibition held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2012-13), featured eight of Aylieff’s pieces, including four monumental works. Pieces from the exhibitions were acquired by public institutions and for major international collections including the V&A; Shipley Art Gallery; York Museum, and Chatsworth House. During her residency at Jingdezhen, Aylieff was interviewed for the BBC4 television documentary Treasures of Chinese Porcelain (2011)

5 x 5: Conceptual and Technical Challenge

Goals for the Week to Week Project As an undergraduate student pursuing a BFA, the apotheosis of my education is to find and develop the content for my art and convey it in the form of my capstone BFA exhibition. My creative research for this project consisted of building a finished work of art each week during a five-week time period. The intent of the project was to expedite concept development and increase my personal technical speed while focusing on craftsmanship and design. Having seven days to respond to a content prompt, I was challenged to focus on creating without overthinking design or the technical aspects of making. This allowed me to explore various techniques, as well as learn from my successes and failures. As Bayles and Orland describe in Art & Fear “you learn how to make your work by making your work”. The culmination of my project revealed a pattern and a core concept that is prevalent in the body of work I have produced and can help me design future series