Thursday 1st November~Don’t feed us bread

We finished up our work today, putting the finishing touches to our pieces and looking at what we need in time for the exhibition opening tomorrow. Around 2pm Alan arrived at the bothy to take a look around the space and as a group we had to make some decisions on where works would go. The visitors experiences had to be taken into account on a lot of levels, how they can move around the space and if we need everything in the space. I had planned to have a seat in front of my work but removed it as we didn’t have a lot of leg room around and realised that I didn’t need it in the first place. We also had the problem to solve of some works being hidden behind others and trying to make every work be seen or thinking about whether that is ok and can it be discovered by the viewer.

Where do we go and what are we called

We each took a look at what was needed from the viewpoint of a visitor to the exhibition and looked at each of our works and what we thought about their positioning and how it could change. I think this is really beneficial in a group as you can’t always see what is needed for your own work because you’re too close to it.

Once we were happy with the space, a name was needed for our exhibition. We had planned on using an image of the swan from outside we had seen all week but we decided upon an image of the bothy as this was more symbolic of our experiences during the two weeks. After some brainstorming we decided as a group that the name would be ‘Don’t feed us bread,’ motivated by the swan and our feelings towards being in that location, next to the gallery.

Questioning

Below is the final poster for the exhibition:

Monday 29th, relating back to our project

At the beginning of the second week in the bothy we were tasked with writing a proposal that would be relevant to everything we had done in the first week but also developing our specialism project we were all involved in. As you can see from the above image, we were all in deep thought this day and quite absorbed in our own projects so we didn’t take a lot of photos!

I can’t speak for everyone but I found it a bit difficult to consolidate what I’d learned in the first week into a proposal for my project. We gathered as a group in the bothy afterwards and had a mini-crit where we voiced what we were proposing to do. We had a discussion about how a proposal can be quite final and box you in sometimes with the idea of it so maybe next time it would be interesting to write each others proposals.

The rest of the afternoon was spent making responses individually and thinking about how we can incorporate this into an exhibition at the end of the week.

Pigrock Bothy Project – Day 3 (morning)

Self directed time in the Bothy, continuting to producing work in response to our chosen pieces of work in the gallery. We also had a chance to watch the second video within the gallery.

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Then at the end a chance to display all work produced in the first two days:

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Using the existing space and collaboratively displaying everyones work, grouping them together and trialling different display options. This would later become the preparation for the afternoon task.

Pigrock Bothy Project – Day 3 (afternoon)

On our 3rd day we had to think about how we would display all work completed so far in a gallery setting.

Splitting into two groups (1) Curators (2) Installation team.

Curators were responsible for deciding how and where work was to be displayed in the Bothy space and Installers were to take direction from the curators to actually displaying the works. After a period of time the teams would switch and make further changes if needed.

First Installation/Exhibition:

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2nd Installation/Exhibtion:

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As curators, we had consider and understand space available, grouping of artworks and navigation around the space for the viewer. Also, we needed to have clear communication and instructions for the installers.

As installers, we took direction from the curators and at times used our own judgement on how to display individual items. We had to adjust displays based on feedback from the curators. We were also restricted in tools to hang and display the pieces.

Overall, we felt we made good use of the space and furniture. We had considered navigation around the exhibition and how each section worked together.

At times, it was hard to not get involved in moving items as a curator and not to make display decisions as an installer.

We were also considerate and carefully when moving and displaying other peoples work.

Finally, it was a combined effort from both groups that contributed to the final layout. Taking the best bits from both displays to form the final exhibition.

Pigrock Bothy project: Day 2

today we were instructed to produce further responses relating to the written work we had done which was inspired by an artwork we were drawn to in the NOW exhibition at Modern One. Individually, we make a range of 3D responses from both our written responses and the artwork its self. We were given limited materials (paper, tape, string, fishing wire etc.) which encouraged us to focus on particular aspects and ideas we were interested in. We then responded to this through drawing. We found this process similar to the way we had learned at the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop last year, which consisted of making then drawing in response then responding to that drawing and so on and so forth. Although I feel some of us found this process frustrating we did produce some interesting responses which we will continue to work upon tomorrow.

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For our next task we worked in groups of three, using a similar procedure of making and responding, however, this time, we were to respond to photos each other had taken. It was interesting to see how each individual would take something different from the photo to inspire their own, this resulted in a series of images which differed in subject matter but formally had connections, such as pattern, shape, and line.

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Pigrock Bothy Project – Day 1

In the morning we had a tour of the gallery with curator Dan Brown.

Looking at the ‘Now’ exhibitions which included the work of Monster Chetwynd, Monya Flannigan, Henry Coombes, Betye Saar and Wael Shawky.

Monster Chetwynd is the main focal point of the exhibition which included pieces of work in response to the galleries archives collection.

And the other 4 artists connect to the exhibition through challenging the convention in the way they have produced their pieces.

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I’m the afternoon we were given the task to write both a descriptive piece of writing about a chosen an artwork as well as a personal reaction, describing why we were drawn to the piece of work and collecting information from the wall description.

We were then given a photograph of people we didn’t know but were known as artists or other celebrities/historical figures. Drawing upon their image we then wrote a short description of who we imagined them to be, basing their personality of their appearance. Using this we were then asked to write a letter to this fictitious character, inviting them to the gallery. We then went back to the piece of work we initially wrote about, this time writing from the character’s perspective. This was an interesting way of finding a way to see the work from a different perspective, we were also given prompt cards which had a single reaction such as discussed, scared etc. We based this bit of writing around this which helped to think about all the different ways a work could be interpreted. It was also interesting to see how everyone interpreted their character and the way they viewed the work.