Things to consider in our exhibition space

There were lots of things about the space that we need to find a way round for the actual exhibition. The floors were horrible, there were only a few sockets around the room which led to wires trailing across the floor in a few places (which wasn't an issue at the moment as the space is not open to the public, just a window display), items such as an old fan were obviously no longer in use but still attached to the wall, a fire escape and lots of wires in one corner(which will be difficult to alter), and the lighting and ceiling seemed pretty poor. These things can easily be dealt with by a lick of paint and removing an nails, bolts etc in the walls. Problems such as the metal poles next to the window in Unit 4 are more difficult to deal with, these are issues we will have to work around rather than try to eliminate.

Site for our Exhibition

It was really interesting going to the site today. The Art in Unusual Spaces project is trying to find a use for unused shop spaces in Leeds and it is the perfect opportunity for us to take advantage of the free space. Initially I was distracted by the interior of the space, small details that would have to be rectified when we are to exhibit in there. Below are some of the pictures I took today.

Being part of the marketing team one of the main aspects we need to think about is how we are going to get people to come. What sort of advertising do we need to do to promote ourselves to the maximum. When we were looking at the space today the curator, Yvonne, was reinforcing the fact that a lot of the people who will come to our exhibition will just stumble upon it, and too many themes will be confusing and works will clash. Being in an old shop, in a still functioning shopping centre means a great deal needs to be considered to make the venue work for us. Once we have decided on a theme we can start to decide the best way to promote that, not simply handing out mountains of flyers for people to immediately throw away. I have found a website for printing, Face Media Group, who can print anything onto a huge range of products that are more interesting than a flyer, i.e. mugs, stickers, balloons, memory sticks, pens as well as tickets and invitations etc.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Peter Randall-Page

Me and Chikae went to visit Yorkshire Sculpture Park a couple of weeks ago. It was freezing cold and we were walking round in the mud - it was a really different to your usual gallery experience! I found that you really appreciated the work as the grounds were so large that you could walk around for hours seeing a piece of sculpture in the distance and try and locate it. It was really quiet when we went, only a handful of other people there so it did make the space seem a bit too big for the amount of works that were there. This was one issue that I felt let the sculpture park down, as an art venue it is not ideal as all the work seems lost in the grandeur of the grounds, it is obviously more tailored to a family day out. There were a couple of galleries within the grounds that were very interesting. One was the 'Underground gallery' underneath a large grass bunker with a long corridor with about 5 or 6 large rooms off from it. This was where they had one of the featured artist's work, Peter Randall-Page, a mixture of his sketches and tester pieces, and then some of his final huge sculptures. We noticed that in Gallery One it was noticeably darker than in the other rooms, the lighting was very soft and lit the sculptures very gently so that they did not appear to be so dominating. I found it very interesting to have a room at the end of the gallery, 'The Project Space,' where all of his sketch books, drawings, and maquettes were available to see. I really loved this as it meant that you got more of an insight into the process that the artist went through to get his final pieces. With works such as sculpture it is often difficult to guess the process behind the piece. It can be especially difficult as most metals and clays can be altered and painted so that they have any effect desired, and you are often not allowed to touch the sculpture to give you any clues about material. There was a huge difference between viewing the sculptures outside in the vast grounds, and having this intimate relationship with the piece in a relatively small room. The pieces seemed much more abstract when they were just placed in the centre of a room, like an alien life form that you could walk around and be intrigued by. When the pieces were out in the fields around you could see them from miles away, you are almost drawn towards them to try and work out what it is you can see.

Using the natural surroundings can be very difficult to do, there were a couple of pieces that we saw that just didn't seem to work such as the piece below by Paolozzi - they reminded me of 'plop art' and I felt they were really out of place in the site and didn't seem to have worked with the site itself. There was one piece that seemed like a giant umbrella, blown inside out, with various random objects stuck to the ends of the spires, that was awful. It didn't add to the surroundings, it didn't work, and it looked very out of place next to the other pieces - unfortunately I can't find a picture of it! When we set up our own exhibition this is something that each person will have to consider carefully, ideally each person should choose their site in response to their pieces, however we have to make our pieces work in the space that we have available. Prior to visiting the park I did not realise the importance of this, and thought that it would just look right once it was in a gallery setting, but now I realise that I have to think about my work in this way.


Paolozzi


There were some pieces that worked really well with the juxtaposition of their work and the grounds, such as Shaun Pickard's 'Unnatural' (below), a series of illuminated signs attatched to the trees. These pieces would have been great to see at night time, they had a photograph in the gift shop and you could really see the depth there was to the piece. Lighting is extremely important when showing your work, especially when it is a piece that involves light in the artwork itself.


Shaun Pickard

Vote for Best Photograph!

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Some students from Leeds College of Art have been nominated

Picture Hanging

This is a great website if you're stuck for ideas of how to hang your work, there are loads of options and some really effect glass shelving and cables for displaying hanging work

http://www.artestuff.com/

How to set up and Art Exhibition

Found this link with the basic steps to setting up an exhibition, when you have to start totally from scratch its good to have something to go back to, however this is a very simplified list! A lot more consideration is needed to have a successful exhibition

How to guide

Looking at the audiences involvement with art

The way that art is present to us as a viewer is integral to the meaning and impact that it has on us. Many aspects have to be considered when presenting a piece of artwork that seem insignificant in comparison to the actual work itself, however can often define how we view it as art. When you enter a gallery your first instinct isn't to look at the fixings on the walls, the plinths or the way you are directed through the exhibition, you are almost always drawn to the work itself. This is not an accident or just coincidence, but is a very methodically thought out process prior to the hanging. The smallest details must be thought about to ensure that the artwork is always at the forefront of the audience's mind. The way that a piece is hung must work with the piece rather than clashing with it, the artist and curator will have extensively considered the height of the artwork,the distance that the audience should view the piece from and other important factors such as lighting and the walls behind. At exhibitions of minimal pieces the walls of the gallery must not detract from the work in any way, some galleries chose to re-plaster and re-paint the walls to ensure the work can be appreciated fully. It is rare that you will enter a gallery and be distracted by wires trailing across the floor with sockets and electrical equipment visible, the way each piece is presented is a carefully thought out metaphor for the work itself.