Selecting Works

Due to the event being a community based art project, for the Barne Barton Event, we had a duty to show as much of the work as possible and to represent the artwork within the community the most effectively. We set out a floor plan prior to the event of where each element would go and then work from there. This was very different to how we had first imagined curating the event. However it allowed us as a curatorial team to learn to be flexible and accepting of different circumstances.

This was due to the main selection of the works being done on the day of the event, as this was when we had got access to the photographs. This process was done after preparing the space, the curatorial team went though the photographs and selected the best and dismissed some that we’re bad quality. This allowed us to begin to narrow the numbers of photographs however still insuring pictures of the children were within the exhibition. This process worked very well for this type of event and the curatorial team thrived at these circumstances. It was at this point the curating of the event was down to Reiss, Tess and I, outside agencies gave us full control.

 

Printing

Printing for the Exhibition:

• Information Plaques
• Kinterbury Creek
• Tony Whitehead Photographs
• School Pieces A3
• School Pieces A4
• Bonkers Bunting
• Love Barne Barton Flyer
• Love Barne Barton Poster
• Love Barne Barton Exhibition Guide
• Mantle Gardens Flyer
• Mantle Gardens Ticket

When creating the posters and flyers, there were initial problems getting access to external agencies logo’s as these were often lost in emails however we were able to sort these through large amount of negotiation through email. most of the group were able to upload documents through the drop box, however we still used emails to confirm final edits before printing.  Other issues that arose were the size of the prints from the photographs of the school pieces, this was then decided by the curatorial team to print these in various sizes.

With regards to printing and William Danby’s photobook, the curatorial team discussed with Gem and Kim that we felt it would be better for the budget and for the website interaction it would be best for the photographs from the booth to be posted online and exhibited in the Mantle Gardens archival exhibition. Gem and Kim allowed us free rein on deciding how we approached this. We decided the photographs would be available to view after the archival exhibition giving the community an incentive to visit the archival exhibition and the website.

It was important to us as the curatorial team to try and budget ourselves and cut costs wherever possible so in order to do this we rang various printing companies in Plymouth for quotes, including even using our own printers at Plymouth College of Art, Kall Kwik, the Printing Press etc.  We decided to use Bretonside Copy for the duration of our printing for the event as not only did they work out better value for money, they also allowed us discount for large amounts of prints, and student discount. Not only this but their service was very good, and they did help us with some minor tweaking on the flyers to help us achieve the quality desired, I can’t thank them enough for advising us on this free of charge. Not only were Bretonside helpful we (the curatorial team) and other external agencies were very pleased with the quality of the prints.

With regards to how we were able to get the budget to print the process was a little tricky, as we would have to ring up Kim whilst at the printers for her to pay over the phone over 3 times. This was due to us having to negoitate for Take A Part to pay it out of their business account and then invoice Edith Doove who was holding the Budget for Take A Part. This was due to us not being able to fund this and then refund through the budget.

Exhibition Plan

The exhibition Barne Barton Loves Art is to be held at Tamar View Community Complex on Thursday the 13th of February from 3pm – 6pm.

Within the exhibition will be consist of:

Lobby Area:

Website station – Siobhan and Ellena will have a laptop near registration/entrance area for people to sign up to mailing list and look at BBroots website.
Siobhan will photograph community with a blackboard with ‘Why I love Barne Barton..’ photogrpahs will be uploaded  onto the website and facebook to encourage participation and interaction.

Social Club Main Exhibition Room:

‘Where it all started…’ – A3 and A2 photographs of art events and projects within the Barne Barton community for example the Mural at the Barn and the Kinterbury Creek Totem Poles (The Green men). Allowing the community to embrace the presence of arts in the area.

School Pieces – A3 photographs of the Riverside School Pupils dressed up with road signs

Tony Whitehead sound piece – Interactive listening station with sound map based on the creek and walks in the area, Tony Whitehead will vbe present to talk about the project to the community

Bonkers Bunting – Kath Howard and Tiffany Smith will supervise a bunting making station during the event, encouraging children of the community to make bunting for the fashion show which will happen during the event. Documentation of previous bunting events will also be present.

Kitt Hill Commission Station – Catherine Dilloway will discuss with community ideas about renaming the nursery.

Dom Moore Station- Dom Moore will discuss with the community ideas about the mural, showing large scale print of the mosaic helping to illustrate it’s size.

Dancefloor:

Film screenings –Screen previous films Stiltskin film, Tall Ship film on projector at intervals or on loop throughout exhibition.

Bonkers Bunting Fashion Show –
The fashion show will use love themed songs, Pat Patel will organise this playlist on his sound system already at Tamar view.

L shaped Veranda:

Photobooth- Williams Danby’s interactive photobooth and costume area.

Stiltskin- Hired Children’s entertainment (will be family orientated) in hope to bring in audiences.

Refreshments – 
Organised and funded by community/time bank

(This can be viewed on Floorplan)

Within the budget of £1000:
Kit List

Lobby Area:
• Website station –
• Laptop
• Business cards
• Chalkboards
• Chalk
• Camera

Social Club Main Exhibition Room:

Tony Whitehead sound piece-
• Laptop (provided by Tony)
• Headphones (provided by Tony)

Bunting station –
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Glue/stapler/sewing kit

Kit Hill Commission –
• Signage
• Stickers

General Display
• Tables (Tamar view Storage)
• Display boards (Tamar view Storage)

Dancefloor:

Film Screenings –
• Projector – (Tamar Views)

Bonkers Bunting Fashion Show –
• Photography
• Prizes
• Playlist – organised by Pat
• Lighting & Sound – Pat on DJ Booth

L shaped Veranda:

Photo booth –
• Booth – William Danby
• Laptop
• Printer – ink and photo paper

Stiltskin Entertainment –
• Stiltskin – councillors fund to pay, needs to be confirmed*
• Chairs (already in space)

Other:
Publicity – Printing –
• Flyers (a5)
• Interpretation plaques for each exhibit
• Exhibition guides (a5/a4?)
• Images – (a3)
• Posters/signage (a3)

Travel-
• Travel for kit – van (Gem’s Partner)
• Travel for Interns

DEADLINES:

PUBLICITY
• A5 flyers – Deadline for flyer design to be sent to Kim – 24th Jan
• Press release actioned after review by community, Edith to send to college marketing department
• Possibly contact the Herald?

OTHER 
• Exhibition guide – interpretations on each exhibition element and a map of the space (also will feed into website content)
• Follow up and discuss elements with curatorial team on exhibition in Studio 11 – Saturday 8th March (PCA Open day)

Marking with 302

Although my Open Call for Bloomberg has been included within my Cura 302 mark, this was only on my reply to my open call. It is for this reason I have included all of my further documentation which was required for the second round of selection for Bloomberg. Further explaining the piece’s and the curation of the installation. 

Rocio Boliver

‘Rocio Boliver, a performance artist born in Mexico city in 1956, uses performance as a tool to criticise the ideological expectations that the women who live in Mexico are burdened with. Her performances are a way of her controlling her own life, therefore removing boundaries and fear of losing fragility. Her performances similarly challenge censorship and the forbidden, which permits her to deconstruct her own beauty and strength through the use of pain, sex and other elements within her work.

Boliver feels that this gives her the upper-hand, empowering herself with the ability to disturb and awaken others from the monotony of contemporary society. She regards performance as a safe space whether performed in a gallery, in a street or any public space. A space to express herself without being regarded as non compos mentis, really testing her bodies boundaries whilst draining the mundane from the realm of being. Boliver’s frequent references to sex are simply due to her interest in the iron curtain and expressing the forbidden’s severity. If it weren’t sex that were censored she would investigate something else that was.’ (Williams, 2014)

VestAndPage

VestAndPage formed in 2006 is made up of VErena STenke andANDrea PAGnEs, together Verena and Andrea have been collaborating through the mediums of performance, film, writing and curating. Through their collaboration Andrea was able to explore the expectations of social and personal norms, additionally resonating with Verena’s interest in challenging various conditions of the present. Collectively they produce work that investigates memory and union through pushing their body’s limits through transitory liminal states. It was from my experience of May Day Workshops, with Andrea and Verena I have felt the confidence to push performance within my work.

Installation

The installation itself collates through the three piece’s to address and allow the audience to think about current issues with regards to sex and its development in modern sexual freedom, permitting them to ask is it or has it really been accepted in contemporary society?

The use of both videos within the installation conducts investigations into Laura Mulvey’s theories within Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, 1975, that cinematic separation allows the audience an authentic voyeuristic experience. This can be achieved through the effect of lighting, darkness and shading. This promotes the ideas of exhibitionism and connects the performer/video and the audience to their repressed desires. It is accountable to these ideas and elements of my previous practice that within the installation I only place two chairs back to back for viewing the video pieces on opposite walls. I feel the audience better equip to these undertones when viewed without various distractions.

To enter the space the public will enter through a centre partition in red curtains an insinuation of penetration of the space, soft red light will highlight both the podium where the speech performance will take place and the text pieces will remain following the performance, and softly light the two red leather chairs placed arch to arch imitating the shape of the vulva facing both video projections, projected from above.

Ideas of how the installation come together were informed by Edward Keinholz, Roxys, 1960-61. In which he imitates the room of a prostitution house by using furniture and lighting to emphasis his installation. This helped to inform my decision on the chairs I have selected; worn Edwardian chairs slightly different in form however the broken spring cushions are covered in (wipe clean) red leather (See images bellow).

Own Photography

Own Photography

Own Photography

 

Example projection of video and text piece (sizing)

Own Photography

Own Photography

 

Speech Performance:

Speech Performance:

The speech performance will work with fake narrative, exploring the expectations around sex work, inviting the audience to experience and authentic reading of experiences that surround the line of work. The text will be kept anonymous as it is being collected through conversations with the subject. This development came about due to the implications of being unable to work withmany texts as they weren’t within the public domain an example of this is To beg I am ashamed, 1938, Sheila Cousins.

Upon further research there are currently hourly talks occurring on BBC Radio 4 presented by Jenni Murray. Within these discussions Murray has been addressing the issues surrounded by prostitution and whether or not there should be a jail sentence for men who pay for sex. Throughout the week’s morning sessions, Murray interviews various prostitutes with varied experiences and opinions on their present and/or past work, further discussing the separation between prostitution and trafficking.

The spoken durational performances at each venue will allow the audience to further question and examine the issues surrounding sex work and its current position within contemporary society. It is due to the content that will be expatiated that the piece itself will not be for sale, or reproduced after Bloomberg, 2014. However, after the performance, for the duration of the event the text pieces will be left within the installation as a reminiscence of the performance. Lit by the same soft red spotlighting (similarly to those found in darkrooms) that will attract the glare of the public eye through the performance on the opening night.

 

Censorship

Censorship:

‘It is arguable that censorship within the art world will cradle people from elements in society that they haven’t had the chance to perceive their own understanding of. With regards to sexual context in art it seems questionable to constrict what is shown due to the accessibility of this society.’ (Williams, 2014)

‘It could be argued that just as people have the right and freedom to not look at pornography on the Internet, people have the choice to not view works they deem harmful to their personal attitudes.’ (Williams, 2014) These ideas have recently been raised within the BBC documentary Porn: What’s the Harm, 2014, statistics claimed from a survey of 1000 subjects 7% had viewed porn on the internet from the age of 10 or younger. In comparison to this the acceptance of both the nude and sexuality within the gallery environment allows the audience to similarly decide for themselves whether or not to connect with the piece.

There are various examples of artists who use censorship to strengthen their concepts and example of this is Vito Acconci’s Seedbed, 1972. By removing himself from the act of masturbating within the gallery space and placing himself underneath the floor, he forces the audience to become a sexual object becoming part of his own sexual fantasy.

‘However, censorship itself is paramount when used as a tool within artistic practice. By Censoring we are able to draw attention to certain elements instead of removing these all together; inadvertently emphasising the contrary. This can be achieved through selection, hiding or removing e.g An example of this is Sous Rature, Jacques Derrida.’ (Williams, 2014)

Title

Title:

The title of the installation is an appropriation of the 1989 film Sex, Lies and Videotape. The film, similarly to the installation questions the context of viewing for spectatorship with regards to voyeurism, and how this can be implicated through the audience’s experience (permitting them to take on the role of the ‘voyeur’). Within the film Steven Soderbergh creates anexploration into the regulations of intimacy and trust when considering communication of our sexual preferences. Soderbergh also investigates the way some people regard the issues around sexual activity or masturbation and how we censor ourselves and the confidentiality of this content (otherwise being regarded as an extrovert).