Our first curatorial project seemed to go down well! All who experienced it enjoyed it and we got some good feedback. We actually managed to get 6 hours of content from over 70 submissions (big up Curator Space). We had numerous technical difficulties on the day a huge number of them due to the mac-pc divide. However we still managed to show the films and should have a full set of photos once we get them back from the photographers of the event.
We’ve also finalised the payment for the exhibition with the group of us from CSM meaning that we have another exhibition to prepare for on the 28th and 29th of next month at Bones and Pearl Gallery (check em out >>here<<). The initial plans were to have a publication and to stage events over the two nights but how much of that has stuck we don’t know. This could be a good opportunity to exhibit ‘It's the canapés that shade me now’, the work where we get our mothers to prepare the snacks for the event and the table is left until the end of the exhibition. This would be a side work and we would also have a slightly more performative or presented piece if possible. This could either be us turning off the lights and doing a reading of the descriptive texts of famous works for bind people or hiring an actor of sort to act as a school-teacher reading out ‘The White Crayon’ as if it was to a class of 5 year olds.
Something we’ve been considering recently is the renaming of the sims painting works. Perhaps giving them individual titles that the game applies automatically and then have a name for the series. Going back into what we found interesting in the first place was the stereotype that was encompassed if not in forced. The notion that this is what being an artist is and being ‘good’ at making art is making things that mimic the world around you as exactly as possible. There was also this idea that learning is linear; once you’ve attained a certain level of expertise you’re never able to access the lower levels again. So a key concept to the work is learning; the lack of learning about art from anyone playing the game and the bizarre way learning is portrayed in the game. The other is choices that have been made in relation to this learning; someone, somewhere has decided this is what being ‘good’ at art looks like. The quote by Seth Godin “Learning is not done to you, it is something you choose to do” springs to mind so perhaps ‘Learning is Something You Choose’ is a nice reference to that. We could also turn to Socrates, “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” ‘Abandon the Vessel, Protect the Flame’ might be something to consider too. it’s on the list…
p.s we still don’t have any internet *crying emoji face*