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Print Arrangements

I think in this instance I’m feeling more positively about arrangement 3 as it recognises the pairing of the images and give a good amount of space between them for the work to breathe. However I also like layouts 1 and 2 as their linear format denotes a journey or narrative in that you come across each image in turn. The then parallels the journey the form has gone through.

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Plinth arrangements

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Possibilities for placement of information text.

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Washing station set up for final exhibition. I wanted the front side open so the approach to the space is more inviting. I decide upon 2 hand washing bowls to lessen potential for people queuing there will also be a jug (for replacing the water if required) and a basket (for disposal of soiled wash cloths) under the stand. The console shelf will carry first aid kit and blog journal

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Having decided upon Arial as the font as it is slightly better spaced and therefore easier to read than calibri I am now considering the layout of the text.

I think centre aligned with the title over 4 lines works the  best

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Considering fonts for the information text I am actually most drawn to either Arial or Calibri. This may be because they are the fonts I’m most used to seeing and am finding comfort in the familiar but they also seem more free from association and implied connection.

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Disclaimer/Instruction Text

As Part of this Exhibition You Are Invited to Handle Fired and Unfired Ceramic Vessels

 Please wash your hands.

The pots can be handled, passed on, returned.

The soft forms will evolve.

Once complete, the soft forms will be protected.

The outcomes will be displayed for 4 days.

The unfired forms will be fired and made permanent.

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First new cast. I’ve decided to go for a 25cm cube as this will match the perspex vitrines and plinths I’ll be using. Have deliberately left the surface reasonably rough as I found it interesting and appropriate to leave the index of the casting process retained by the outer surface in place. I therefore only dressed the surface enough to remove corner spurs and define the cube

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My original cast from the from I produced. 

This is starting to show it’s age now as I’ve been using it since  November and a few cracks are starting to appear in its base which doesn’t bode well. The turning and dressing of the outside of the cast was also fairly time consuming. The other issue I have is that I will need 3 identical moulds for the preview night and if I cast 2 new ones they wont look as aged even if I clean this one up it’s going to stand out as I cant now re-dress the surface as this needs to be done before the cast is dry. Think I will need to create 3 completely new casts for the exhibition.

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Tutorial report with Matt Hearne on the 31st July 2017

Introduction:

In this reflective review of the tutorial of my exhibition practice I will be analysing the impact of the discussion with myself and Matt Hearne on the 31st July 2017. The principle area for analysis will focus upon discussion arising from my initial proposals for the potential exhibition of my work. The second section will analyse the influence of suggestions for contextual study to support my exhibition practice. The final section of the review will draw conclusions and attempt to create a directional focus for development.

Discussion of current practice:

The tutorial began with an initial explanation of my current considerations in terms of exhibition practice. I talked through the work I propose to show and how I plan to show it in the space I have proposed. The concept of providing potential for hand washing in the adjacent toilets was questioned in terms of it being removed from the interaction when it is clearly part of it. On reflection, I now feel that my initial idea of having hand a hand washing station as part of the exhibition may have been the best way to approach the health and safety issues related to residue being left on the hands after handling wet clay. The concept of having a large bowl of warm water and towels available was suggested. On reflection, I feel that this would be the best solution and fell that a large porcelain bowl and white towels would create the right aesthetic. The idea of washing both before and after was suggested and that the presence of such a washing station would act as a signifier for the interaction about to take place and what I am asking people to do. There is also a ritualistic element to the concept of structuring the washing of hands into the interaction which I am very drawn to.

The displaying of the Blog on a PC on a display case was questioned in terms of this adding another layer of exhibition practice which is not necessary. I had been labouring under the preconception that all work had to presented in the exhibition due to the published guidance. This being the case I had assumed that all practical 3D developmental work would need to be present for external moderation and similarly all video evidence of interactions would also need to be made available. The best solution to this would be to present the blog so video could be viewed along with all developmental work. Matt assured me that simply printing off the content of the blog in a selective and discriminating manner to highlight the development of the work would suffice. This would then only require the folder of printed evidence and would not necessitate the buying of a display case and the booking of equipment. This would also ameliorate requirements for an electrical socket. Video footage could be presented via stills.

The suggestion was made that the digital prints would not have to be exhibited in the same space as the interactions and could the interactions take place in an open central space with the prints exhibited on a wall in some other part of the room. This idea seems cogent as in my first draft exhibition plan  I planned to separate the digital print form the interaction space. The reasoning behind this was to provoke questions regarding identity and ownership in the work described in the “what I am Trying to achieve” post (see appendix 4) from my blog. It was discussed that potentially the prints would best be viewed after interactions has occurred.

The suggestion was made that I appear to be taking myself out of the process in terms of the interactions to some degree but that this could be taken further. Bearing in mind current medical concerns would it be better to remove myself from the process completely? This would require me to script the entire process and take the role of director, would I need to script my exhibition hands? Do I actually need exhibition hands if the process is scripted? Could the script be left behind to form part of the residue of the performance? Could instructions be generated and if so what for would they take? Suggestions of small instructions cards given out by exhibition hands to vinyl text on a wall or a large printed poster. I think a large printed poster would be the best option for me at this point as the idea of the poster as an informative vehicle would be the best. Vinyl text I feel would potentially become part of the wall and may be considered an object of contemplation rather than an instructive vehicle and cards given out by exhibition hands would require exhibition hands to take on a further role in addition to removing wet vessels form moulds and handing out vessels for handling.

In terms of instructions/ scripts in whatever format in decided upon the date could be indicated and they could be open to interpretation and be as simple as:

·       The Pots Can be handled…

·       Please wash your hands…

·       The forms will evolve…

·       The resultant forms will be displayed for 4 days

·       The forms will then be fired and in doing so made permanent.

The instructions will become part of the artwork as will the washing bowl.

It was discussed that some of the walls of the space are rendered with porcelain tiles and it would provide a nice context to exhibit my adjacent to one of these.

It was also considered that on the assessment and external moderation days that the interaction would need to be staged but that this would also be a test of the coherence of the work. I should just be able to come in, take a soft pot out of the mould, place it on a plinth and leave and everything I want to happen should happen. This will need a little unpicking as my intention is for a handled soft pot to be placed on a plinth and covered with a vitrine which will also form part of the performance. I feel that if this is included in the instructions if may make them somewhat prescriptive. At the same time however it would also give the viewer potential for deciding what which point a soft form has “evolved enough” so I will need to either have an exhibition hand available on the 24th and 25th for this to occur or leave instruction with the tutors. Conversely a slight adjustment to the instructions could read:

·       Please wash your hands…

·       The Pots can be handled, passed on, returned…

·       The soft forms will evolve…

·       Once complete, the soft forms must be protected…

·       The outcomes will be displayed for 4 days…

·       The now dry forms will be fired, made permanent…

 This is something I will need to trial to see if viewers fully realise my intentions with this kind of instructional format.

 Suggestions for contextual study:

 Bruce Nauman’s body pressure performance text was signposted in terms of providing a context for instructional formats within exhibition practice.

Peter Liversadge published books of performance proposals and scripted actions some of which are available at Baltic.

Identify what your core priorities will be over the next 2-3 weeks:

My priorities for further development will need to focus on resolving my exhibition practice and approach and considering the methods by which my intentions are communicated. Trailing exhibition practice via negotiation of the space will be the main priority and transporting plinths and work into the space will be an immediate priority before I have surgery on the 11 Aug. I will also need to finalise my exhibition instructional format/script and test this prior to assessment

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Contextual reference Dan Fisher’s “Bowl” photographed at the Shipley Gallery on Sat 29th July. Clearly the level of manipulation required to create such a saturation of texture via handling of the material requires a great degree of consideration and no small amount of engineering. as a result this clearly doesn’t happen by either chance or unconscious action but the links to my practice are clear. It would be great be able to achieve something similar through my own practice but I have observed that once the pot starts to deform people unconscious reaction is to hold the same holds that are already recorded as opposed to creating new ones and so marks tend to cluster around deformities rather than spreading evenly across the surface. The Aesthetic is great though.

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Prompted by considerations of exhibition practice I returned to the Rothschild collection at the Shipley Gallery in Gateshead to look at how the works are exhibited. Clearly the space inside the display cases has been dictated more by the shapes and sizes of the pieces rather than by a structure defined by the vehicle they are displayed in. The use of glass shelving, clear perspex plinths and number blocks removes any barriers to viewing the pieces so that overall effect is one of the works floating in a void rather than standing in a display case. Reflecting on this alongside my own considerations of how to display developmental work is leading me to the conclusion that using a manufactured display case like the console table may be too structured, but using the laptop table and adding further perspex shelving beneath the glass top may be something worth considering. I think that either way some degree of adaption may be required for the unit to be completely fit for purpose.

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In terms of exhibition practice I’m looking at possibilities for stand for PC which will display blog which will also double up as a display case for test pieces and developmental work. The wooden console table feels more substantial and in some ways references Victorian vitrines for displaying collections of objects. On the other hand the metal framed laptop table feels more contemporary and may work better aesthetically with the perspex cubes on plinths which will hold wet vessels as the dry after the interactions have taken place during the preview. I would also need to to install a shelf in the bottom of the Metal Console Table to create more display space. I feel that I’m probably leaning towards the wooden console table at present.

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Some results from the practical sessions planned into the curriculum which will covered ceramic forming, firing and glaze experimentation in and a workshop in making glass from raw silicates underpinned by teaching of the chemistry and material properties and processing

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Henry Rothschild Memorial lecture: 7 Months on;

Since attending the Henry Rothschild Memorial Lecture on 22nd Nov 2016 I have been mindful of the limitations of the curriculum in terms of ceramic technology in the Faculty I manage. However weighing this up against time limitations continues to be a struggle. Made a break though a few weeks ago though when one of our science staff approached me regarding a new element of their curriculum which covers material technology in ceramics, glass and aggregates! We now have a range of practical sessions planned into the curriculum which will cover ceramic forming, firing and glaze experimentation in and a workshop in making glass from raw silicates underpinned by teaching of the chemistry and material properties and processing.

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What I am trying to achieve:

In essence the work I am producing is designed to provoke a hierarchy of engagement.

On a basic level I am hoping that the audience will engage with the physical sensation of handling the material, be it fired or unfired clay, and simply enjoy the interaction as simply that; an opportunity to feel and connect with the material

On the next level I am hoping that the audience will also engage, on an intellectual level, with how this interaction connects them with ceramic practice. I hope that particularly when handling the fired forms they will consider and question the identity of the previous handlers who’s interactions are recorded in the form and that this in turn will provoke a connection to the practices of the makers who have played a part in making the ceramic articles they come into contact with in their daily lives.

On a more conceptual level I also hope that the recording of the audiences interaction with the vessels also raises questions regarding perceived ownership, authorship and identity  of ceramic materials and that consideration of the permanence of the material, once fired with their finger prints recorded in the surface, could potentially be the longest surviving record of their existence.

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Final exhibition plan