When asked about the difference between group shows and solo exhibitions, from the reply of the curator of the Talbot Rice Gallery, “fairness” is the keyword in a collective project. It refers to the limited gallery spaces being distributed equitably to respective artists. In the context of our collective project, it points to the juxtaposition and consideration of the dynamic interaction between related curatorial elements such as the time arrangement mentioned by JL.
Having different contemporary themes and dispersive exhibitory locations, I relate our seemingly disjointed positions in the group project with an experimental curatorial project executed by the Chinese curator Feng Boyi The Domino Plan In The Space/空间的多米诺计划 (2009) and adopt its methodology as our curatorial scheme through contemporary re-contextualization and reinterpretation. Initiated in 2009, the curator brought in 9 different artists who focus on diverse artistic approaches and mediums (Art.China, 2009). Feng conducted a “3+3+3” strategy in which artists were assigned to install works in consecutive orders, through which the latter would have to make adjustments to the layout to be compatible with the overall exhibitory structure (Feng Boyi, 2024).
According to Feng, artists are dominoes that perform diverse artistic gestures in the exhibition. Borrowing the conception to reflect on our collective narratives, Edinburgh will be the first stage that initiates the show and it will go on and pass to another city, within which the curatorial project as dominoes will be swapped, changed or replaced during the procedure. Much like the concept of mondialité developed by Édouard Glissant, wherein the notion of the archipelago symbolizes an interconnected platform for exchange and sharing (Kontova & Obrist, 2017), the suggestion from Adam is to expand the continuity of knowledge and experience with the incipient domino project and further involve into a broader network. With the same spirit, Hans Ulrich Obrist reflects on his curatorial practices by stating that “exhibitions are learning systems (Lynn, 2011)”. It is our aspiration that the domino project embodies this concept, establishing a system that fosters collaboration, and dialogue, and seeks junctures in a global age.
Figure 1. The poster of The Domino Plan In The Space (2009). Image from the memoir of the curator /I’m with the Future in Front of Me: Feng Boyi’s Curatorial Past/我与前面的未来在一起：冯博一策展往事 (2024).
Figure 2. Invitation of The Domino Plan In The Space/空间的多米诺计划 (2009). Image from I’m with the Future in Front of Me: Feng Boyi’s Curatorial Past/我与前面的未来在一起：冯博一策展往事 (2024).
Figure 3. The front and back cover of the Zine of The Domino Project I design for the group.
Figure 4. The template I design for the group. Each member will then use the template to design the page of their own project and then I will compile all the content to be the final work.
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Reference:
Art.China (2009) 空间的多米诺计划/The Domino Plan In The Space. Available at: http://art.china.cn/tongzhi/2009-06/02/content_2936811.htm (Accessed: 20 March 2024).
Domino Plan In The Space/空间的多米诺计划 (2009) [Exhibition]. China. June 6, 2009 – August 30, 2009.
Feng Boyi (2024). I’m with the Future in Front of Me: Feng Boyi’s Curatorial Past/我与前面的未来在一起：冯博一策展往事. 1st edn. Beijing, China: Peking University Press, pp. 261-293.
Kontova, H. & Obrist, H. U. (2017) The Better Biennale.International ed. Vol. 50. Milan: Giancarlo Politi Editore.
Lynn, V. (2011) Curators on the move Hans Ulrich Obrist in conversation with Victoria Lynn.Art and Australia. 49 (2), 241–245.
27 March 2024 at 10:50
test
29 March 2024 at 00:16
Your blog as a whole stands out for its clarity, well-structured organisation, and cohesive progression. It provides a wealth of comprehensive content, spanning insightful reflections on curatorial theories and practices, as well as research findings relevant to your individual project. It serves as engaging reading material, offering a glimpse into an emerging curator’s thoughtful analysis, valuable observations, and infectious enthusiasm.
Beginning with reflections on art institutions and the medium and topic of your individual project, your blog demonstrates a keen awareness aimed at propelling and promoting your independent curatorial research and practice. You delve into the intricate dynamics among curators, artists, and the public, as well as the relationships between art objects and their exhibition spaces. Notably, your statement about your curatorial goal—“to avoid making it a display room of a pile of poor images” and “to create an appealing and convincing narrative”—in Week 5 Research Update: On Image and Independent Curating is commendable.
In addition to the semiotics and media theory you have mentioned in your blog from Roland Barthes and Carolyn L. Kane which strongly support your motive for the exhibition focusing on the poor images, it is also suggested that you bring in a visual anthropology perspective; it might help enrich the methodology and disciplinary context of your exhibition and strengthen its internal logic. For instance, an image-anthropology methodological framework that “pays attention to how images are accepted, viewed, and talked about” and “includes a viewer’s perspective of image reception and consumption” may help you further research the existence and significance of poor images, and develop a dimension of criticism as well as curating formed on the basis of it, through a deeper exploration of the relationship between image-makers and image viewers (Yang, 2023).
Most of the essential elements of curatorial practice are aptly addressed in your blog, encompassing considerations of space, site, layout and texts, among others. While each aspect may not be explored in exhaustive detail, you effectively illustrate them with pertinent case studies, visuals, and theoretical references in a rigorous manner. However, there is room for further development in terms of integrating quoted ideas with your personal perspectives. Admittedly, the textual budget for a blog post limits the extent to which this can be achieved, yet striving to interconnect and elaborate on these ideas could enhance the depth of your analysis. For instance, in Week 7 Archives and Contemporary Museology, endeavour to discuss how the views of Bishop, Groys and Glissant are intrinsically linked and distinguishable from each other by comparing and contrasting them. Moreover, consider how you can actualize the concept of “trembling thought” within the framework of contemporary museology, as advocated by The Hunterian (2023), and the context of your curatorial project and exhibition space. Such comparative analysis and contextualization can enrich your narrative and offer readers a more comprehensive understanding of your curatorial approach.
Furthermore, to enhance and further complete the blog, some additional writing is suggested in your research and reflections on collectives and collaborative work, though you have a post recording and introducing our group project. It may also include the role of our group as a collective, as well as detailed collaboration between the artist and you as an independent curator.
Regarding the overall design, your blog is easy to navigate with a reader-friendly layout. Considering the number of posts that have accumulated, it is recommended that you add tags or categories to better archive and provide indexing.
The Hunterian (2023) The Trembling Museum. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/visit/exhibitions/exhibitionprogramme/thetremblingmuseum/ (Accessed: 28 March 2024).
Yang, Y. (2023) “Image-Anthropology”: The Viewer’s Perspective and the Dimension of Criticism in Visual Ethnography[J]. Sociological Review of China, 11:5, 44-64.
29 March 2024 at 00:19
Your blog as a whole stands out for its clarity, well-structured organisation, and cohesive progression. It provides a wealth of comprehensive content, spanning insightful reflections on curatorial theories and practices, as well as research findings relevant to your individual project. It serves as engaging reading material, offering a glimpse into an emerging curator’s thoughtful analysis, valuable observations, and infectious enthusiasm.
Beginning with reflections on art institutions and the medium and topic of your individual project, your blog demonstrates a keen awareness aimed at propelling and promoting your independent curatorial research and practice. You delve into the intricate dynamics among curators, artists, and the public, as well as the relationships between art objects and their exhibition spaces. Notably, your statement about your curatorial goal—“to avoid making it a display room of a pile of poor images” and “to create an appealing and convincing narrative”—in Week 5 Research Update: On Image and Independent Curating is commendable.
In addition to the semiotics and media theory you have mentioned in your blog from Roland Barthes and Carolyn L. Kane which strongly support your motive for the exhibition focusing on the poor images, it is also suggested that you bring in a visual anthropology perspective; it might help enrich the methodology and disciplinary context of your exhibition and strengthen its internal logic. For instance, an image-anthropology methodological framework that “pays attention to how images are accepted, viewed, and talked about” and “includes a viewer’s perspective of image reception and consumption” may help you further research the existence and significance of poor images, and develop a dimension of criticism as well as curating formed on the basis of it, through a deeper exploration of the relationship between image-makers and image viewers (Yang, 2023).
Most of the essential elements of curatorial practice are aptly addressed in your blog, encompassing considerations of space, site, layout and texts, among others. While each aspect may not be explored in exhaustive detail, you effectively illustrate them with pertinent case studies, visuals, and theoretical references in a rigorous manner. However, there is room for further development in terms of integrating quoted ideas with your personal perspectives. Admittedly, the textual budget for a blog post limits the extent to which this can be achieved, yet striving to interconnect and elaborate on these ideas could enhance the depth of your analysis. For instance, in Week 7 Archives and Contemporary Museology, endeavour to discuss how the views of Bishop, Groys and Glissant are intrinsically linked and distinguishable from each other by comparing and contrasting them. Moreover, consider how you can actualize the concept of “trembling thought” within the framework of contemporary museology, as advocated by The Hunterian (2023), and the context of your curatorial project and exhibition space. Such comparative analysis and contextualization can enrich your narrative and offer readers a more comprehensive understanding of your curatorial approach.
Furthermore, to enhance and further complete the blog, some additional writing is suggested in your research and reflections on collectives and collaborative work, though you have a post recording and introducing our group project. It may also include the role of our group as a collective, as well as detailed collaboration between the artist and you as an independent curator.
Regarding the overall design, your blog is easy to navigate with a reader-friendly layout. Considering the number of posts that have accumulated, it is recommended that you add tags or categories to better archive and provide indexing.
The Hunterian (2023) The Trembling Museum. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/hunterian/visit/exhibitions/exhibitionprogramme/thetremblingmuseum/ (Accessed: 28 March 2024).
Yang, Y. (2023) “Image-Anthropology”: The Viewer’s Perspective and the Dimension of Criticism in Visual Ethnography[J]. Sociological Review of China, 11:5, 44-64.