Week 10: Practical Research – Publication – Gurrl Dinner: A Cordial Invitation
I decided to treat the Menu for Gurrl Dinner as a form of publication, offering a form of physical companion document that reflects the content of the event while also acting as a record of the activities that the participants completed. This was influenced by the Week 9 reading, Publishing as Artistic Practice, by Anne Gilbert (2016), in which publishing is recognized as a medium through which artistic meaning can be construed.
I conceptualized the menu as a further extension of the artwork/art activities featured in the workshop. As a result, we decided on elements that iterated the curated aesthetic design of the space. Gilbert (2016) noted that publishing as artistic practice leads to an overlapping product that, in the case of Gurrl Dinner, can engage with both artistic and curatorial themes, as well as graphic design and documentary elements. I handwrote all the lettering while balancing readability and aesthetic qualities and illustrated a border with swirling art nouveau-style vines that wrapped around the outline to reflect the natural material that we anticipate making up a component of the table scape décor. This was then printed onto 160 gsm paper via the ECA click-and-collect print services. I recognized that thick paper has a more official quality to it while also mimicking the material thickness that is associated with menus distributed in dining establishments. I printed 32 A5 copies on two pieces of A1 paper, which I then cut to size using a paper guillotine. By utilizing the larger paper size, I was able to reduce costs by £30 compared to using an external printing service that provided A5 printing facilities outright.
Harry Mayston, Gurrl Dinner Menu (2025), digital drawing
Harry Mayston, Gurrl Dinner invite (2025), digital drawing
Conclusion
In completing these tasks, I have had the chance to reappraise the act of publishing, putting the theory as presented by Gilbert (2016) into practice. The publication can be more than just a site for documentary but can be considered an extension of the presented artwork. Publication is versatile; thus, to realize the most effective process for creation, we must identify the value that the product seeks to achieve. Within the remit of Gurrl Dinner, though I approached the publication as an extension of the artwork, I also recognized that it acted, in part, as an informational or documentary item. As a result, readability was a necessity and shaped my process to be more like that of a graphic designer, deciding on visual qualities that promoted a standard layout, with alterations made in subsequent versions to make the text thicker for ease of communication. In opposition, the featured written content, such as ‘Get stuffed’ and ‘conceptual consumption’ on the invite, was intended to express the theoretical artistic content that we brainstormed in our original group meeting.
Individual Project Application:
By completing this task, I have identified the process that I would have to undertake in implementing a publication into my individual speculative project while reducing costs to a minimum. Additionally, by undertaking the conceptual and practical elements of developing a simple resource, I believe that it would be feasible to propose that this is a task that I would be able to fulfil as a curator.
Bibliography
Gilbert, A. and Hannes Bajohr (2016). Publishing as Artistic Practice. Berlin: Sternberg Press.
