Through reading Xiaotong’s blog, which is a very careful account of her learning process, I firstly appreciate her careful study habits and the fact that she has completed her assignments in full as required by the end of class, and secondly, I have learned a lot from Xiaotong’s writing that I had not previously focused on.

In the first week, Xiaotong introduced her understanding of art organization through her own experiences of seeing exhibitions, and through the artworks, she was able to draw attention to her thinking about the development of feminist environments and her knowledge gap ‘surrealism’. In the second week, Xiaotong had her initial curatorial ideas, and I think she shifted her interest to PLAY, TIME, and HUMAN in conjunction with Jake’s research from the previous semester, which I understand was also a continuation of her interest in education in conjunction with her open learning blog from the previous semester. This also meant that Xiaotong’s learning shifted from a fragmented collection of interests to building her own network of knowledge, which was able to support her curating project research and output well.

In week four, the students asked the arts organization EMBASSY “Who is more important to successful curating, the audience or the artist?” This was a difficult topic to balance. I think this topic also set the stage for Xiaotong’s own curatorial thinking later on, and she found the answer to this question in the lecture – a certain degree of conflict to create a balance. The problem was that the main body of her idea in the second week appeared out of nowhere, and it was clear that the curatorial content and form were being catered for through this sudden idea, which was very rigid, like a ‘filler’, and did not reflect the thinking process very well. This was a problem that I felt had not been solved until the curating synopsis came out in week 8, and I hope it can be improved.

In week six, Xiaotong summarized and reflected on the relationship between the artist, the artwork, the audience, and the curator and began to think about the methodology. In week seven, Xiaotong began to focus on the curating project itself and found artists in the MA CAP program that fit her theme. In week nine, the return to the Talbot Rice Gallery exhibition, where the real curators taught the students how to set up the exhibition, focusing on the relationship between the exhibition space and the artworks, was an inspiration for Xiaotong. She began to think about the relationship between art and commerce and then worked on the balance between the commercial and academic attributes of art as a curator, in a non-public institution. This is a question that arises in the course of developing her own projects in a roundabout way to think about her long-term career and the industry. The relationship between commerce and art is still a debate not only in the developed Western art market but especially in the age of fast consumption, how art does not become a working vehicle for a consumer society is also something that curators deserve and should focus on. From this section, I think Xiaotong’s view should be middle of the road, although her view is more towards the academic curatorial role, I think her content in this piece should best connect with her previous thinking because she has so many thoughts and opinions about curating and curatorial work content and action, which can become another main line in the dark beside her project, which builds This can be another thread in the dark besides her project, which builds her curatorial philosophy.

Back to Xiaotong’s first question(Do you agree with my interpretation of the “game, time, and humanity” perspective in my exhibition? If not, what are your reservations?), From all of Xiaotong’s blog posts, I think her main line is still relatively clear, and I was impressed by Xiaotong’s personal focus and coherent learning output and expression and appreciated her way of learning. In other words, I think it’s as if she has paved the way for a lot of preliminary content, but in the end, it feels like she’s trying to give the audience the impression that she’s trying to express a message. Perhaps this is not Xiaotong’s intention, but I think it is a narrative problem. “In our childhood, we are eager to learn different skills, to be praised by our elders. However, “as time continues to leave its However, “as time continues to leave its mark on us,” the memories of childhood become more precious and painful to remember.” This passage, at first glance, makes sense, but on closer inspection, I think there are some logical problems.

Is play necessarily linked to learning skills, does it lead to learning behavior, and why are the memories of play precious and even painful to remember? I think this does require a lot of additional definitions to explain it. Once these connections have been explained, it still comes back to Art. Whether Play is used to explain art or Art is used to interpret play is a question that needs to be addressed in this project, rather than simply quoting from articles that do not illustrate the curators’ attitudes and opinions.

Taking about her second question(What do you believe constitutes the “utopia” of human existence?) that my answer are:

  • Universal equality and access to resources and opportunities regardless of one’s race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic background.
  • A peaceful and harmonious society where conflicts are resolved through non-violent means and everyone’s human rights are respected.
  • A sustainable environment where humans coexist with nature and preserve natural resources for future generations.
  • A culture of creativity and innovation that encourages exploration and experimentation, leading to continuous advancements in science, technology, and the arts.
  • An emphasis on personal fulfillment and happiness, where individuals are encouraged to pursue their passions and interests without fear of judgment or limitations.