Showing Your Work SESSION TODAY

We asked Mei to bring drawings to the session and we would discuss various thematic options and physical determinants on showing them, primarily at a Thesis Outline Approval (TOA) meeting but with a view to using the Gallery at Grand parade and beyond. In the procedures of the course we try to emphasise the role of the images - that discussion of progress, the pace of work, the organisation of time, the conceptual integrity of your project is best expressed with recourse to imagery either in developmental work or in sequences.

The planning of Soon SunÕs transfer display - the rehearsal showed that the philosophy and techniques of display were entirely based in what looked good together - colour, event, interest - and any space was immediately seen purely as an exercise to get more shown. That the students who came from the MA course at Brighton had better experiences in editing and planning.

That the panel at TOA needed a clarity of expression in the way your images were deployed, and that time for viewing and a critique was limited - too limited to allow for confusions and repetition. The impossibility of the Bohemian response - ÒFind it for yourself...Ó to your viewer See previous notes on the balance and timing of the visual work, and the orchestration of written and verbally delivered statements.

I asked Ming Chang to repeat his experiences at a recent TOA when he had booked a room and designed a show.

We selected groups of three images from those brought in by Mei to demonstrate different points - the arrangement

• by scale

• by medium

• by composition

• by a hidden game

• by number

• by Greenaway classification

• by other classification

• by subject matter

• by reference to a grid in the paper etc etc.

The default method of showing work just uses the ÒTasteÓ factor - that things Ôlook good togetherÕ - this is not sufficient. This is flabby thinking. There is no such thing as inexplicable taste - only personal conceit and snobbery.

We worked on a checklist of considerations when putting up your work

• lights - the overall level of light; the lighting of the principal images; reflected versus direct lighting. The viewer with a dedicated light source (torch, Roman candle).

• sequence - how the images are to be viewed (left to right ; right to left ; the ambient view of the other works ; the place of the windows and doors. Viewing distance and point size. Viewing distance and colour separation.

• environment - the need to strip back to the required condition of the room ; putting spare tables elsewhere; sheets over ugly objects; the pursuit of the designed environment for your work ; locking doors; masking windows etc

• the condition and colour of the screen surfaces ; the condition and colour of the wall surfaces

• the balance of panels and walls and tables; the role of the plinth. Mention of the option for information on screen.

• wall structure - two contiguous walls ; the provision of another but separate. Formal possibilities of the corner space.

• captioning; how explicit -; the balance with written statement; the need for clear sequence for the panel ; see Soon SunÕs clear large letters to show the sequence of past work/ present work/ the plans for the PhD.

• text on screen - choice of font and point size for captions and text - correspondence between caption and written plans. Close gathering of defined terms.

• the presence of developmental work - siting near and clear relevance, the choice of a key image from the sketchbook -indicative sequences selected and enlarged from sketchbooks. Diaries and planning documents.

• the role of research folders - the ring binder with clearly marked subdivisions of appropriate and relevant imagery The need to keep to a format for describing any particular image that is important to you

• catalogue titling of imagery -

UK title then original if appropriate

size - in centimetres

medium - details of vehicle, specific mode of printmaking

provenance - kept short, who owned it where to be found now notes -

any statement

• titling of films quoted (discussion here with Megha) title - UK, original, variant date - director production design editor sound where quoted in the literature and a range of allied trades (choreographer, sound design, titling, camera operator, focus puller, production company, producer - but more skill specific than quoting the painting say.

• citations (see previous memo) name, title of publication, publisher, place of publication, date of publishing - keep to this scrupulously.

• what you expect of the viewer, record exactly the experience you intend in as much detail as you can achieve, remember Yung HsienÕs expectations for the container. DonÕt be afraid to be bossy in orchestrating the experience (it is called dirigisme) DonÕt let people just wander about, unless it is an attempt at sowing confusion (legitimate).

• the journey through the show - to be mapped out - no detail too small - the point of arrival - the entrance - the exit.

• techniques of installation (oblique, mysterious, appeal to the play instinct - imaginative projection/display of non two dimensional features that if smell is invoked, it could be contained in a box in which the viewer puts a hand. A series of small installations, each testing an aspect of the project. Serving tea and food as part of the project.

• the element of Sheer Cheesiness - all pervading joss sticks - culture specific music (Chinese, Indian - the danger of High Camp, the attractions of High Camp) GENERALLY as we see your display, how clear are your intentions and how effectively have you displayed all material in an inter-dependent way. The role of the monitor with digital information is another thing.

It is worth saying that it can be part of the display/installation but remember the limited numbers of viewers at any one time. END