#objectifexhibitions

[emmapriem-blog]

Final moments

May 17th, 2016

Dear reader,

Today is the last official day of the second semester and this afternoon we will have our final official meeting with our curatorial group, Anthony, Sara and Chloé. It has been an incredible journey, which has exponentially been accelerating. The exhibitions opens in less than a month and the deadlines of the interviews, publication, press releases and all other things that still need to be finished are taking place at an alarming rate. I have to admit that I am barely keeping everything together due to the combination with other deadlines, but I still feel very responsible to our Montevideo exhibition and I am very persistent in bringing this to a successful closure.

Looking back on the process I am really glad we had the opportunity to create this exhibition with the group as it is. Although we are a small number of people, the diversity among us and our personal qualities have been working in our advantage. The one who took charge in the things we had to do differed each time and this happened naturally. I therefore experienced the whole curatorial process as something we have accomplished as a group and the dynamic between us has made it possible to succeed. When I would have to curate an exhibition by myself in the future that would be really different and a lot harder, but I will keep the things I learned from Antony, the seminar and Montevideo with me.

When I think of ‘further research’ or a next curatorial project I would like to curate an exhibition in a space such as Montevideo. That is: a space that was not created to exhibit art at first, but has to be treated in a creative way to transform it to the perfect location to inspire artists and look at art from a different perspective. I have some friends that are artists themselves and with my background as a Cultural Studies student I think I could think of putting together an exhibition in which different art forms meet each other. When my Master’s degree is finished, I would really like to reflect on what we have done with a clear and calm mind and take the lessons I have learned to a new project.

I will try to keep you updated regarding the process and the opening of the exhibition in June on this blog. I will make and post photographs to produce a kind of visual essay of the upcoming and final month. Furthermore, I hope to see as many fellow students, relatives and friends at the opening of our exhibition because it is really going to be something. Although we were all newbies to the curatorial world and we would not have succeeded if we had not have Anthony as a guide, I believe we have accomplished something wonderful and I am very proud to show it to everyone.

All my best,

Emma   

[emmapriem-blog]

Abandoned harbour houses and the struggles of curating

Week 5, Mar. 8th 2016

Hello!

Last week we had a view of the old Harbour houses where Montevideo was once located. Unfortunately, the last bits standing were the outer walls – the rest had all vanished, or rather: was broken down. Surrounded by scaffoldings and fences, the inner space was pretty hard to reach. However, we took the bold step of climbing over the fences and were able to enter and walk the original cobblestones that previously belonged to Montevideo. The site, as you can see on the last picture I posted, was overgrown with greenery and looked like the reconstruction has been put to a halt. After some research I did afterwards this turned out to be true. The lousy weather combined with the adrenaline of climbing the fence and the cultural history this industrial space emits made this field trip truly marvelous. We were not able to track down the polished cobblestones which were used for an exhibition in Montevideo, though Annie Gentils went back after us and hopefully we will find out whether she was able to find them this afternoon.  

 Today I read an interview with Jens Hoffmann and Maria Lind in which they discuss their opinion on the possibilities and boundaries of exhibiting artworks. Below I put a couple of their statements on which I commented with regard to our upcoming Montevideo exhibition.  

“For me curating is about formulating a certain theory or argument, based upon which one makes a selection of artworks or other objects with the aim of creating an exhibition in which those objects and artworks are displayed to the public.” – Jens Hoffmann The ‘argument’ I think we should make in our exhibition is transferring the innovative character, importance within Antwerp’s art scene and achievements in the field of attracting the most excellent artists both nationally and internationally Montevideo embodied during the 1980s. I think it is unfortunate – especially after already meeting so many inspiring people speaking to us about the art and the atmosphere related to Montevideo – we will not be able to literally include art works that were once exhibited in Montevideo. However, I hope we will find a way we can find a way to represent the context and content of Montevideo’s exhibitions.  

“And so have many other curators who have simultaneously embraced other ways of allowing art to exist. It is about what makes the most sense in relation to the kind of art, the time, and the place.” – Maria Lind This also adds to the point in my previous remark: in addition to the archive of the gallery, I hope we can discover or generate other materials to add to the exhibition. Therefore we have to embrace other ways for Montevideo’s art to live through.

“Perhaps all of this also has to do with my interest in objects as elements that carry and speak about history, and how we experience them when we see them in a museum. I am interested in the idea of staging and the theatrical experience, which grows out of my studies in theater.” – Jens Hoffmann This idea might be interesting for our ‘historical’ exhibition as well. “Objects as elements that carry and speak about history” – it would be wonderful to display the cobblestones I mentioned in the introduction, but hopefully we will be able to find additional ‘small’ objects embodying Montevideo’s history.  

“It is important to be able to, when appropriate, go beyond the pure facilitation and “caressing” of art. Being subservient can be good, even useful, but sometimes we also need to take up the challenge of art and answer back. Which for me means taking art and artists super seriously.” – Maria Lind I was remembered of our lecturer Antony Hudek reading this statement. Since the beginning of the seminar he stresses that we have to take in mind and please all people involved. We have to guard the transparency and objectivity of our exhibition in which different perspectives come together.  

Source: Hoffmann, J., & Lind, M. (2011, November 29). To show or not to show. Retrieved from http://www.moussemagazine.it/articolo.mm?id=759#top 

So much for this weeks post,

Goodbye!