'Exhibitions have become the medium through which most art becomes known'
Ferguson, Greenberg and Nairne in The Curatorial Turn: From Practice to Discourse, in O’Neill P, Issues in Curating, 2007
Is this something you agree with? I do not agree with this. There are so many forms and avenues for art to be created and shown, experienced or explored.
What do we need to enable us to continue to practice? A space or some space, a nook or corner may be enough; time, perhaps a tea break or an entire day dependant on your circumstance, materials or means to produce; most importantly ideas and passion, enthusiasm, love, mania, fascination, obsession, fanaticism, fixation, compulsion, appetite, interest, addiction.
Who are the professionals we may encounter? Gallery owners, managers, marketers, curators, agents, critics, writers, academics, educators, studio mangers, artists, designers, performers etc
What do we understand of their roles? Most peoples role is to make money (cynical I know), broaden awareness of the arts and artists (possibly genre specific, cultural specific etc), fulfil proposals, create proposals, facilitate shows, generate footfall, embrace movements and trends, facilitate community, educate.
How do we define a professional practice? As an artist is largely depends on your personal goals, but I feel a professional practice can be defined by communication, visibility, building relationships, representing yourself and your work, producing and exhibiting work in a format that suits, possibly participating in residencies, commissions, collaborations etc
What does a successful practice look like? Such a loaded question. I would say it is one that fulfils its goals, is focused and evolving.
Presentation, Practising and Making - A list of ways to practice, make and present art, compiled by MA1 students, 06.11.17
- Galleries
- socially engaged practice
- site specific work
- Digitally, networked (online)
- Reading groups
- Critique groups
- Artist led support groups
- Studios, shared spaces,
- events (both public and private)
- Talks
- presentations
- performances
- Collaboration events - with brands, or businesses
- Commission - public, private, joint ventures, self-funded
- Art markets,
- Scholarships, internships, fellowships, grants, awards
- Workshops,
- art activations
- Art nights (here these are evenings when all the galleries collaborate to extend opening hours for the public, music is playing and caterers are available)
- State funded arts education
- Art Bars
- Mail Art
- Zines
- Artist-run-centers
- Film festivals
- Residencies with alternative partners - parks canada, nature museum….
- Nuit blanche type festivals
- Public intervention
- Performance
- Awards and prizes
- Online galleries
- Video Art
- Conceptual Art
- Cafe
- Biennale
- Art Fair
- Art Hub
- Online art product shop
- Street market
- Via internet events - Images, video
- Large scale public installations or sculptures
- Spaces such as playgrounds
- Private and public spaces, even commercial settings such as restaurants
- Graffiti and even artist created stickers
- Events and performances
- Creation of experiences that engage people in a particular way
- Posters
- Public spaces, murals, studios, craft fairs
- Youtube,
- Make art as a group, or individual, across lands or with neighbours
- Alter environments
- Empty buildings
- Books, magazines, postcards, diaries, sketchbooks, photocopies
- Sound
- Light as art
- Computer generated art
- On walls, inside/outside
- Noticing, documenting, communicating, gathering, curating
- Public spaces and places
- Performance
- Video film photography
- Interacting with different disciplines
- Use creative skills in non-creative activities
- As means for another objective
- Using any material to express or to communicate or to share
- Presenting/showing it in any place that feels in line with what I as creator feel like the right place
- Individual practice
- Group work
- Open calls
- Self directed making
- Public commissions
- Private commissions
- Object based
- Installation
- Social situations
- Street
- Online
- Create time and space
Do national and international shows like Venice Biennale, Documenta and so on, become places or events that legitimise certain forms of practice or curatorial style? I would say yes, for better or for worse. They are trend lead and definitely have a bias surrounding the exhibitions. Are exhibitions always ideological? No, it depends on where, who, when and why the exhibition is taking place. You could say that if the exhibition is fulfilling is goal then technically it is ideological to a point, that ideology may simply be to show art for arts sake, or to drive home a political message, it may or may not be successful in doing the latter but it was still ideological in its presence. Are models of exhibition financially, geographically and culturally driven, politically governed and/or for social benefit? Well... yes, and no. Not all of them, it may simply be to display the end of a collaboration, or project, which could be seen as cultural but not necessarily the main cause. Socially the artists and the audience may benefit form the exhibition so that could be an aspect. Is art a spectacle? Yes, and no, if you mean a 'grand spectacle' then no, not all art meets that criteria, but as defined by the dictionary, spectacle is a visually striking performance or display or an event/scene regard in terms of its visual impact - subtle works can have an impact as well as more obvious pieces.Is curating a legitimate practice, and if so, who legitimises it? Yes, it is, its legitimised by the organisations that employ curators, the universities that not educate/train/certify curators, the artists that hand their work over for exhibition and the audiences that attend the hung shows.Does putting art into a gallery put it in quotation marks? I think it does unfortunately, and I really mean the unfortunately. In the same way that creating exhibitions legitimises the work of curators, being present and represented in exhibitions legitimises artists who can build a Cv around the number and location of exhibited works. Discuss self initiated opportunities vs opportunities via/from outside agencies Again I think this can come down to legitimacy. Gaining recognition, or a place on a preexisting opportunity that has been experienced by other artists or will be in the future can show outside support for an artists career, self initiated opportunities can do the same but may come under judgement for the lack of legitimacy. Professional Practice Plan (PPP)A working document that starts in year one and continues until you finish study. It is intended to act as a career plan, it is continually revised and kept current over the length of the course.In year one, the PPP is between 500 – 1000 words. Submitted for assessment in June 2018.The plan should be written to include the following, which should be used as a guide and is not exhaustive.1.A summary and map of your practice in professional terms.2.A plan that sets out your aims for one year ahead, three years ahead and five years ahead. It is about dreams and aspirations, but needs to be realistic.3.Includes identification of networks, notes on the need for skills or facilities acquisition, appropriate ways of presenting your practice (e.g. website)Each year the plan is re-worked, amended and added to.Headers for document:Profile BIO: Katie Venner-Woodbridge (b.1982, London, U.K.) is a conceptual mixed media artist living and working in Dubai, U.A.E. Venner-Woodbridge’s work explores the ways in which pattern and routine facilitate human life, but also the ways in which breaking patterns and systems can provide both opportunity or discontent. Through disassembling and reassembling patterns, her work examines anxiety and disruption as both positive and negative forces. It challenges the boundaries between beauty and awkwardness, and between manageable quiet spaces and the uncomfortable containment of chaos. Venner-Woodbridge has exhibited in various group shows in both the U.K and U.A.E.Personal DevelopmentBusiness card - important for networking in Gulf region.CV – relevant to artWebsite – katievennerwoodbridge.comSocial media links – insta, behance, twitter, fb, pinterest, dribble, blogs - how to develop them, which to develop and whyComplete MACommunity Future plans – applications: sikka, , Artist In Residence, research, postsecret (how do I get in), Critical Dialogues, CAD6.0, Project space M Proposal, JJ proposal residency, arts related job for stimulation.Research Proposal for ProfDoc - explore research further and make it more specific to arts.Reflection Need to put in time frame and concrete goalsPractical Issues Finances, location, access, family.
Image 2: paper collage and acrylic in sketchbook, 21.5cm x 27cm
Image 3: Paper collage, ink, cartridge paper and photoshop, 21cm x 29.7cm
Moving Forward:2 questions about the work.How could the work be upscaled in dimension, but keep the fine detail? I find this thought overwhelming but it keeps reoccurring.The work tends to be shown in a clean, uniform (crop, size, technique etc.) way, there is an element of striving to find order in the chaos; would taking that order deeper in to the work, ie looking at it from a clerical/archivist point of view help develop it or confuse the narrative?More details can be found in the following posts:
Referencing Coates embroidery book, considering other stitches... but choose to continue with chain stitch, although changed to reverse chain stitch as the paper was not as flexible as the fabric I usually work with is. Note to look for Tambour needle in Dubai. (UPDATE 30/11/2017: no Tambour needles available, manage to find a Ari needle, this doesn't have a latch to hold the thread in and is super fiddly, will need to practice).
Began with the Japanese 24221 paper. Has a fabric like texture and although looks delicate and translucent it has a sturdy fibrous feel.
The technique created anxiety as I was concerned that the paper would tear while stitching which meant the process was longer than stitching on fabric.It is this physical and mental tension that I find stimulating, linking back to the elements of communities within cities jostling and looking for balance, one slight misalignment and chaos, in a manner, can result. The next piece was the Akashi-Ya paper.This paper was a little more fragile and also more fibrous but not as bonded, hence the fragility.
scissors beneath the paper to show the translucency. paper, cotton, 33cm x 24cm,
This need pre-marking with holes. I've been doing it with the other papers for ease but I could stitch them without punching first, the acetate is tough though. It's ridges and, of course, plastic rather than paper. It's transparency is almost too much though, not providing any muting of a layer beneath, rendering the fractures to be seen on the at the space opacity but with some distance of the layers if spacers are used. Acetate does also come in matte which I believe provides some opacity but the texture at the moment is lost on my. there is no sensuality of the touch, it doesn't bring texture to the fractures, it mimics the slickness of the city. Due to this I will not be using it for future experiments other than as a transfer medium for printing etc. The acetate is also unforgiving because you can see the back of the work, the threads hanging and and the 'temporary' knots that I'm too lazy to stitch in to the work to hide! oops!
scissors beneath to show transparency. acetate, cotton, 33cm x 24cm,
a much thicker paper out of the ones used so far. too thick and large to attach to the embroidery hoop, also this is not helpful as the paper needs to be turned to complete the stitches as it is very difficult to guide the needle through without looking. The 'translucent' term here is slightly misleading as it really isn't particularly translucent, maybe slightly thinner than standard printer paper.
Screen-print testing in the studio on papers. Trials on Japanese papers to see how they respond to the ink before they are stitched. A couple of screens did not expose well as the Japanese papers were not transparent enough/the exposure wasn't long enough. I have exposed with tracing paper and printer paper before but not in this studio so I was reluctant to push the technician out of their comfort zone.
I used black ink and then as it ran out I blended in white to create a variegated effect and eventual subtleness of the print in white on the white paper. Time was limited so I managed 20 pints on the Japanese papers.
I also created 3 'play' prints on standard A3 cartridge paper making noise by moving the screen around the paper haphazardly between print layers, I also did this while the ink was wet so ink was picked up and moved by the screen in the masked areas.
Screen-printing seemed like a natural process for work lead by repetition and meditation. ink, print, repeat. I enjoy the quiet of the process, but also the way it can create visual noise through layering. However the prints themselves feel quite lifeless, flat and uninspiring.
Initial thoughts are for the screen prints to be used a 'noise' or background, perhaps have elements of the fractures drawn out in stitch, embellished or embossed by the thread. Or to use them to create book forms, perhaps fracturing the pattern down further through folding.I opted to use a far more complex fracture for the screen printing, lengthening the process due to time taken to draw out the patterns. Perhaps a better option would be to screen print the simplified fractured patterns as overlays, but this does not sit well at the moment, they feel precious, like they need to be protected... perhaps even... 'elite', higher in status than the other fractured patterns and therefore tended to in a different manner.
Regarding thoughts of the work, is to make the layers seem 'touchable' to bring the city and its hierarchal levels 'within reach' - sensual qualities of materials important to re-import the sensuality of data removed from quantitive research.