In this week’s blog, I’d like to introduce my current thoughts on personal curating projects.

First of all, regarding the curatorial theme, the key words I have decided at present are feminism and negative emotions. Basically, I plan to curate an exhibition about negative emotions in women.

Secondly, about the exhibition form, I will adopt the online way to display. I might use modeling software to build a model of the exhibition hall and then put the exhibition on a virtual reality platform such as spatial. Spatial is an online virtual reality space, which enables people from all over the world to know different exhibitions through the Internet. As for why I choose Spatial software, to some extent, the concept of Metaverse  is a hot topic at present. “The term metaverse was coined in 1992 by science-fiction writer Neal Stephenson. Its most basic definition refers to “the concept of a fully immersive virtual world where people gather to socialize, play, and work.” It is a simulated digital environment that combines augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, and social media principles to create areas for rich user interaction that imitate the real world.” (Laeeq, K. , 2022). The virtual reality exhibition is in an exhibition form with the nature of the meta-universe. People can watch the exhibition through the form of the network, which is a very convenient way to watch the exhibition, and this method reduces the time and expense of the audience. The next video is about Spatial：

 

Thirdly, I would like to invite female artists from all over the world to participate in this exhibition. In addition, I have obtained written approval and email approval from most Chinese female artists who can provide their works to participate in my project. （figure 1-5）But for now, I’ve only invited five female artists from China. It may be a challenge for me to invite female artists from all over the world to participate in my projects.Therefore, I gave up inviting artists from different countries and regions.

Figure 1 Written consent from Siyuan Dong

Figure 2 Written consent from Jingshu Zhang

Figure 3 Written consent from Xiaoya Ran

Figure 4 Written consent from Xinyue Luo

Figure 5 Contrast from QingWang

Please Note: All photos related to the written consent and artist contract are prohibited from reprinting and use.

 

 

Reference list

Laeeq, K. (2022). Metaverse: why, how and what. How and What.

 

Feb 22, 2023

Here is a link to my presentation:

https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_fzx5eozb

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Feb 14, 2023

This week’s blog contains two parts. One part is about what I learned about Tuesday’s seminar, and the other part is about my preparation work for my personal curatorial project this week.

First, part one. On Tuesday, I attended an Embassy artist-run gallery seminar where they shared their planned projects and related materials. The information that I found very useful was that they prepared a lot of materials about the planning stage, such as posters, artist introductions, CDS, tapes, maps, etc. This made me realize that when planning an exhibition, different materials should be prepared to introduce different contents of the exhibition to the audience. For example, to introduce the artist to the public, a booklet about the artist and the artist’s work can be developed in advance so that the audience can learn about the artist and the artwork.（Figure 1）

Figure 1 Embassy artist-run gallery displays material during Tuesday’s class

The second part is about the progress of my curated project.  First of all, the title of my exhibition is WHY. Through the artist’s works, the negative emotions of current women (18-25 years old) are displayed, stimulating the audience to think about why women in this age group have these different negative emotions and looking for the reasons behind their sadness. The exhibition form is mainly online, and the exhibition mode is White Cube. “Particular to the white cube is that it operates under the pretense that its seeming invisibility allows the artwork best to speak; it seems blank, innocent, unspecific, insignificant. Ultimately, what makes a white cube a white cube is that, in our experience of it, ideology and form meet, and all without our noticing it.”  (Filipovic,2005) Secondly, I invited five female artists to participate in my project and they were briefly interviewed by me. For example, the artist Zhang Jingshu’s dance works. Her work reflects the different eyes and disrespectful treatment she suffered as a woman in everyday life. (Video 1，The video has been licensed by the artist)

Video 1 Artist Zhang Jingshu’s dance works

Thanks so much for reading my blog this week.

 

Reference list

Filipovic, Elena. “The global white cube.” The manifesta decade: Debates on contemporary art exhibitions and biennials in post-Wall Europe (2005): 63-84.

Feb 11, 2023

The first part is a visit to theTalbot Rice Gallery.

key words： temperature, light (lighting and natural light), space of the building, sound, elevator, safety passage, treatment of electrical wires, entrance and exit. I was impressed that the exhibition should fit into the space. How to use space reasonably is a very time-consuming and energetic thing, not only to ensure that the interior structure of the building itself does not change but also to add or reduce the movable wall at the appropriate time. This is an Angle that I did not pay much attention to during my undergraduate study. Reasonable use of space is a very important part of exhibition planning. For example, the use of elevators and safe passages in exhibitions.

The second part is what I learned in  90-minute seminar  at old collage.

My key words are theme, budget, artist.On the one hand, communication between curators and artists is important. Because curators need to invite artists to cooperate and borrow relevant exhibits, draft memorandums and contracts to prevent artists from quitting midway. The other side is budgeting. （Figure1 ）For example, the price of a group exhibition is different from that of a solo exhibition. The price of an artist customizing a work of art for an exhibition is different from that of an artist lending his or her work to a gallery. Things that are done for specific exhibitions cost a lot more. In addition, the price of transporting art is also very expensive, which requires the purchase of certain insurance, after all, many galleries and museums will only borrow exhibits after the curators buy insurance for the exhibits. Of course, theme and good image are also important.

Figure 1 The spreadsheet James handed out about the budget

The last section is about my thoughts on the James seminar. If an exhibition is held at Talbot Rice Gallery, what subject do I want to hold the exhibition, what artists will be invited and where will the exhibition be held? First of all, my topic is feelings. Secondly, I would like to invite German artist Anne Imhof. I wanted to play a video of Anne Imhof’s Faust on the wall of the Talbot Rice Gallery on the third floor using  film installations. Faust is a work made by artist Anne Imhof for the German Pavilion in Venice, 57th International Art Biennale. It uses physical actions, space scenes and sounds to express various emotions, such as pulling.Obviously, the Talbot Rice Gallery’s architectural material is not suitable for Faust‘s performance, which incorporates a lot of glass elements. If we rearrange the gallery, it will add a lot to the budget. In addition, a one-minute sculpture area will be established. In this place, the audience can choose to pose as they wish, such as in meditation. But do it for at least a minute. The goal is to express what they’re feeling right now. Of course, viewers can also watch the video and leave. （Figure2 ）

Figure2 Plan of the exhibition

Video: Faust

This is my blog for today’s event and what I learned.

 

Jan 31, 2023

There are three things I want to write about in this blog post for week two. One is about my understanding of this week’s reading materials; the other is about my analysis of the cases in Seminar class this week and the exhibition forms I need to learn.

First, after looking at this week’s text. I realized that curators are the link between works of art, artists, Spaces, visual experiences, new media， the public and so on. Curators need to think about a lot more than just exhibits. As O’neill (2016) said, the perception of the curator has shifted from being a caregiver to a curator who plays a more creative and active role in the production of art itself. Therefore, it also affects my choice of exhibition theme, exhibits and exhibition story line. How to construct a complete exhibition story line is a matter worth thinking about.

In the second  part, I want to talk about the case studies discussed in Seminar this week. At the Seminar, Tianai Zhang and I, as members of Green Basho Group, were assigned the case study of Jupiter Artland. We analyzed the case from 11 perspectives, including Vision, Aim, Ethics, Vlaue, etc. （figure 1）

Figure 1 Analysis by Jupiter Artland in Miro

In the third part, through reading this week’s three articles, I realized the importance of public art exhibitions. Pay attention to the importance of public participation when planning projects. In art projects, we need to consider the public as part of the exhibition rather than as an outsider. This is because, Lacy (1996) points out that this element of audience participation in the origins of public art gives the work relevance within the community, not in the usual sense of public art that promotes the appreciation of art, but by providing this art with the potential to impact the lives of people inside and outside the community. Thus, the audience can be seen as part of the art. When the audience participates in the exhibition and interacts with the art, the audience will bring meaning and value beyond itself to the artwork to some extent. Reading Lacy’s text also made me realize the importance of the audience in any art project.

That’s all my blogs for this week, thanks for reading.

 

References

Lacy, S. (1996). Mapping the terrain : new genre public art. Seattle, Wash: Bay Press.

O’neill, P. (2016). The culture of curating and the curating of culture(s). Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England The Mit Press.

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Jan 27, 2023

In my opinion, Minor Curating and Major Curating need to be contrasted. On Wednesday, I went to Talbot Rice Gallery and Rhubaba gallery. By comparing these two places, I think Talbot Rice Gallery is  major example  and Rhubaba gallery is  minor example about Curating.

“Talbot Rice Gallery is one of Scotland’s leading public galleries of contemporary visual art.” (The University of Edinburgh, 2022)  

The exhibition I went to this time is QiuZhijie. Qiu Zhijie’s exhibition is held at Talbot Rice Gallery ‘s historic Georgian gallery. It is obvious that Qiu Zhijie has combined the map with the Chinese military idiom. This exhibition, to some extent, reflect the character of the monument and counter it in their own way. “While monuments do highlight historical connections, they can never replace public and individual responsibility for critical recollection and remembrance.” (Thea and Micchelli, 2009) Besides, in the map drawn by the artist, you can shine a purple flashlight on the picture and the English font will appear.It’s a good way for non-native Chinese speakers to understand the meaning of the picture. ( Figure 1) 

Figure1 Qiu Zhijie’s painting after being irradiated

“Minor Curating keywords: humour, humility, Curating, biennale academicism, post – postmodern, irony, nonsense, global/utopian, local/incomplete, productive, disjunctions, curator as prism, photographic, abstraction.” (Hunt, A. ,2010)

“Rhubaba Gallery and Studios is an artist-run organisation in Edinburgh with annual programme of exhibitions and events. ” (rhubaba.org, n.d.)

Since Rhubaba Gallery’s gallery and studio closed in 2021, and I couldn’t find information about recent exhibitions and events on their social media. So, I just follow them on instagram. Then I went to its website, and when I checked its website, there was only one about job recruitment in 2023.（figure 2）I’m sorry to see that Rhubaba Gallery is in a difficult situation, but I have to admit that they are a good team, they have big dreams and they are trying to grow and survive.

Figure 2 Screenshot from Rhubaba’s websit

To sum up, I think that Minor Curating and Major Curating are relative and temporary to some extent, and perhaps one day Rhubaba Gallery will also be Major Curating. But I quite agree with Hunt’s description of minor exhibitions.  Irony is a good means of artistic expression.

 

References

Rhubaba.org. (n.d.). Rhubaba | Information. [online] Available at: https://www.rhubaba.org/information [Accessed 19 Jan. 2023].

Hunt, A. (2010) Minor Curating? Journal of visual art practice. [Online] 9 (2), 153–161.

Thea, C. & Micchelli, T. (2009) On curating : interviews with ten international curators / by Carolee Thea. First edition. New York, N.Y: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers.

The University of Edinburgh (2022). Talbot Rice Gallery. [online] The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/node/7012 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2023].

 

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Jan 19, 2023