Dark Side of the Moon

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CHELSEA LANDING COLLECTIONS PROJECT:

‘Dark Side of the Moon’

14th November- 12st December 2017

CHELSEA Landing, E Block, Chelsea College of Arts

For this project we were set a brief with a two-week deadline; it was to produce an exhibition on the CHELSEA Landing, on the top floor of the E Block. This meant that in larger groups of seven or eight we had the task of curating a show that involved the collections at Chelsea, whether using the Special Collections from the library, or anything of interest that members of the Curating and Collections staff owned.

CHELSEA Landing team- first meeting (L-R) Ileana, myself, Manasa, Kay and Dominique (Photo credit: Irene Wang)

Methodology

To kick off the task, we called for our first group meeting and highlighted all the fundamental points within the brief that we were given. The first point that we took into consideration was the usage of the collections. We were unsure whether this was compulsory so we questioned our tutor about it, to which informed us that we could curate with whatever we wanted; we didn’t have to necessary use the collections from the University. The second element that we had to consider was the manner of the space in CHELSEA Landing. As mentioned in the brief, it states that the Landing is a semi-public gallery space, with students from other courses at the University regularly passing through. With this meant that we had to be selective in the works that we would choose, as they had to be secure, pathways between the three doors had to be clear for heath and safety, so taking into account all of this information it was only appropriate that we all visited the space in the flesh, as a group and wrote down any first initial ideas that members of the team wanted to propose.

Viewing CHELSEA Landing space for the exhibition (L-R) Ileana, Manasa, myself, Kay, Euphy and Dominque (Photo credit: Irene Wang)

The landing space in itself is a fairly wide area with a lot of potential to either use the floor space for vitrines, or even hang work up in frames. Our ideas at this point were becoming fairly ambitious as we felt we had a lot of space to contend with, and we were eager for the exhibition to be as engaging and unique as possible, especially with this being one of the first big public displays since starting the course.

After discussing a few ideas we were back to square one and a lot of us were incredibly frustrated as we searched for inspiration and motivation. Morale was fairly low so we had a weekend to go away and think of potential ideas. Eventually, on the following Monday we met in the ESW as a group and a couple of the team members were going through the archive draws in the workshop space and pulled out a large mirror card poster with ISBN 978-1-907118-48-7 written on it.

Birds eye view of Chelsea archive in ESW, Process of selecting artworks (left) ‘Book 1/1’, Fiona Banner, 2009, Poster using Block Print on Mirror Card, 45 x 64cm (right) Unknown (Photo credit: myself)

Straight away, the poster got us excited and we were all really keen to learn more about it, so we researched in greater depth about it, trying to put into the search engine all of the information we could about the poster. It was through this research phase that we found out it was called ‘Book 1/1’ by artist Fiona Banner in 2009. What struck us the most was that the poster was actually an artwork from a series she made. Each print in the edition is the same, yet each with a unique ISBN number, registered under it’s own title. It’s interesting to highlight that every published book includes an ISBN number, so relating to this notion of multiple copies and something that contains knowledge was something we were all very excited to explore further.

This then led us onto a new idea; incorporating our first initial thoughts and feelings towards the poster; Fiona Banner’s ‘Book 1/1’. When we first discovered it, we were completely unaware that it was in fact, an artwork from a series of multiple copies that she had made of ISBN posters and we were fascinated to play on this notion of artwork taking the form of items you wouldn’t necessary expect. We made it our aim for the exhibition to focus on displaying objects that at first glace have no value or meaning but are actually examples of conceptual art and create the feeling curiosity and intrigue.

Our next task was to explore the Chelsea archive and Special Collections, and discover whether or not we could potentially use these artworks in the show.

During the first week of our induction week on the curating course, the collection specialist Gustavo Montero, gave us a guided tour of the Special Collections that Chelsea has obtained over the years. Within this session he showed us an array of artwork that was included in the Special Collections, one being Martin Creed’s ‘Work No.88' that is essentially a sheet of A4 crumpled into a ball. This work to me was fundamental in terms of looking at conceptual art and having no limits or boundaries anymore so, I proposed to the group that we should get in contact with Gustavo about possibly letting us exhibit the Martin Creed artwork for the show. At this point, we were aware that we were very limited with time, and also the time requesting the artwork was short notice so we weren’t expecting good news.

Since our idea was mainly involving the Chelsea collections, we asked our tutor, if he had anything he could loan us. Fortunately, he did, and they were really highly considered pieces of artwork. Many of these included, ‘The Nam’ by Fiona Banner, ‘The Xerox Book’ published and created by Seth Siegelaub and Jack Wendler, Joseph Beuys’ ‘Filzpostkarte’, a selection of wooden postcards by Jenny Holzer, taken from her ‘Truisms and Survival Series’, three copies of Bruce McLean’s ‘King for a Day’ and Daniel Spoerri’s artist book ‘An Ancecoted Topography of Chance’.

Drawing our attention to the artworks we had selected, it became apparent that we were exhibiting examples of printed matter so we outlined this as a key aspect to our show; objects such as posters, postcards, catalogues and artist books. By this point, we had been notified by Gustavo through email that we would be unable to use the Martin Creed work, because it required 3 months of waiting time; this includes all the loaning forms, insurance and other policy requirements. This however was a good learning outcome for us as it informed us that for artworks that we want to use from the Special Collections at Chelsea have to be done very early on, and take a long time to receive. Fortunately this wasn’t too much of an issue for us, as we had anticipated this might be the case.

Our last discover was an artwork that team member, Ileana pointed out and had realized that we could use for the exhibition; this was an artist book that she had obtained for her own research from the book shelves in the E block. The artwork, titled ‘Profeminist WHITE FLOWERS’ by Sands Murray-Wassink was an artist book containing 432 pages of love. It contains personal content about the artist’s life, sexuality including images, diary segments, private letters and artworks he was fond of. The artwork was an insight into his journey from a year of his life (2007-2008). By the end of the book you are assumed to know everything about him, from his character, to his beliefs, tastes, emotions and friendships. The book was extremely fitting as from the outside of the book; you would not expect what is contained inside.

Our next task was coming up with a name as we were ready to start dictating roles and preparing the tasks normally that are undertaken behind the scenes of an exhibition; such as the press release, the room layout, the poster, social media and finally the big installation.

The name was the first job we decided on collectively. We had several to choose from, some more obvious than others, but one of the girls suggested ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ as it brought a level of curiosity to it. It connected with what we wanted to try and communicate, as we were interested in the idea of a container being an enclosed space of knowledge and information; displaying artist’s ability to enclose their ideas and hone them into singular materialistic form.

Our roles within the group were dictated firmly; myself and another member of the group would produce the press release, another would handle the social media, a couple would produce the marketing features- i.e. the poster designs, etc, and another would take care of deciding on the room layout and ensuring our bibliography was put together and referenced accordingly.

My own job for this exhibition was mainly to focus on producing the press release, which proved to be difficult at times. Not only was it a collaborative task between myself and another member of the group but, there was immense amount of pressure and responsibility to get right; as a written piece of text that accompanies the exhibition, it is either the first or last thing people read when viewing the show as it helps them figure out what they are seeing. Already myself and my co-worker had different opinions on this concept as I understood you should give some description to what you are presented with, as a guide. However Ileana disagreed and felt we should present them with no information about the work we were including. Her idea was to make it the viewers’ job to work out what the show is trying to communicate, themselves. This confusion and disagreement of ideas meant that the rest of the team were very uncertain which approach to take and it required our tutor to sit down with us all and come to a mutual agreement of what we should include within the press release document.

In the end, he also believed that due to us including some well-established artists in the exhibition, they all had to be mentioned within the press release, along with a short description of what their work entails alongside it. By doing this, not only did we achieve the best of both worlds as all of the artists were considered and cited within the press release, but also promoted a selection of great artists, that might not have ever been exhibited together before. These names would evidently attract people to come and see the show.

PRESS RELEASE:

DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
14th November- 12th December 2017

CHELSEA Landing

Curated by Kay Kaiqu Gong, Evie Knighton, Ileana Tu, Irene Yiran Wang, Dominique Wong, Manasa Vempali & Euphy Zhang

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

------ 2 Corinthians 4:18

Some regard art as the information exchanged between the artist and their viewers, creating a dialogue between what is seen and what is unseen. This idea of a container being an enclosed space of knowledge and information lies at the heart of Dark Side of the Moon.

Displaying artist’s ability to encompass their ideas and hone them into singular materialistic forms, such as paper and print is demonstrated in works exhibited here at Chelsea Landing. What is seen in the vitrines and frames are artworks which embrace complex ideas; The Xerox Book, an exhibition in book form marking an attempt to show work outside the gallery situ; King for a Day, a book containing 1000 pieces of artwork yet to be made; The NAM, a lengthy ‘unreadable’ book describing Vietnam films; The Profeminist WHITE FLOWERS, containing 432 pages of ‘love’; The Book 1/1, each print appears identical yet each ISBN number displayed is unique; An Anecdoted Topography of Chance, an artists’ book displaying a one-man show ‘snare pictures’; TORTURE IS BARBARIC, a one line statement printed onto wood and Filzpostkarte, an artist multiple made out of felt postcards.

Paradoxically these artworks were created in order to make art accessible outside of the context of the gallery or museum. We invite you to look beyond what is visible, to approach the dark side of the moon.

List of works:
1. THE NAM/ Fiona Banner, London: Frith Street Books, 1997

2. Book 1/1 / Fiona Banner, Poster using Block Print on Mirror Card, 45 x 64cm, 2009

3. An Ancecoted Topography of Chance/ Daniel Spoerri, USA: Something Else Press, 1966

4. Profeminist WHITE FLOWERS/ Sands Murry Wassink, 2007

5. King for a Day/ Bruce McLean, London: Situation Publications, 1972

6. Filzpostkarte/ Joseph Beuys, Postcard made with Screen print on Felt. 10.5 x 15 x 0.9cm, 1985

7. TORTURE IS BARBARIC, PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT taken from Truisms and Survival Series/ Jenny Holzer, Postcard with silkscreened text on wood. 9 x 14cm,1996

8. The XEROX Book/ Seth Sieglaub, Carl Andre, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler, Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and Lawrence Weiner, USA: New York & Jack Wendler, 1968

Site Map for list of works

Installing our exhibition was a fairly easy task as we already had easy access to everything we needed. We were given the four vitrines and made it our mission to complete the installation in good time so that we could clean the vitrines from fingerprint marks and dust. The cleaning was a tedious job, as it required the whole team to help; some would clean the glass inside and out, whilst the others held it up.

Installation shot of receiving four vitrines (L-R) Irene, Dominique, Kay and Ileana (Photo credit: myself)

In terms of the artworks we were exhibiting, we had one final decision to make; that was which postcard from Jenny Holzer’s ‘Truisms and Survival Series’ did we want to select. In the end we decided that the form and physicality played a huge role in the exhibition, relating to this theme of printed matter, therefore we decided to select two; one with the text, the other showing the back details of the postcard. The text (out of the fourteen others) that we selected was ‘TORTURE IS BARBARIC’ hinting to this concept of ‘torturing’ the viewers with not being able to touch the work. Sealed in a frame or vitrine only gave access for the audience to look and observe the artwork, highlighting the problematic component of this exhibition; sometimes in order to gain the full capacity and meaning of art, you must have a personal interaction with it in order to understand it’s message and with these objects being not ‘typical artworks’ enforced this notion we discussed early on in the process.

One issue we did have with the installation was installing Joseph Beuys’ ‘Filzpostkarte’ (felt postcard). Along with Holzer’s piece, we were keen to exhibit them both together next to each other. Holzer’s wooden postcards were fairly easy to assemble and place into a frame as we could use special tape allowing it to stick to the back of the frame; enabling it to showcase both the red text (TORTURE IS BARBARIC) and the minor detailing on the back of the post card. Beuys’ piece however was much harder to assemble; this was due the felt material being so precious and valuable, applying any tape to the back of it had the potential to ruin the artwork, therefore we had to come up with another alternative.

That alternative was to drill extremely small holes into the wall where we wanted the work to sit, and place small golden hooks that would hold up the postcard, and essentially mean the work could be ‘framed’. We took the back off, of the frame and applied it directly to the wall covering the artwork so it could be seen through the glass. We were determined to complete this task and was happy with the outcome.

Installation shot (left) ‘TORTURE IS BARBARIC, PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT’ taken from Truisms and Survival Series, Jenny Holzer, Postcard with silkscreened text on wood. 9 x 14cm, 1996 (right) ‘Filzpostkarte’ Joseph Beuys, Postcard made with Screen print on Felt. 10.5 x 15 x 0.9cm, 1985 (Photo credit: myself)

‘Dark Side of the Moon’ poster designed by Dominque and Kay on Adobe InDesign

The poster that we produced for the exhibition was a design that a couple of the girls within the team collectively created as they felt it would generate good promotion and marketing leading up to the private viewing. The poster went down really well and we, as a team, had lots of good feedback on the night, about the design.

The private viewing was in itself an incredible experience; not only due to the fact it was our first one of the course but because of the amount of people we met throughout the night. One person that a few of us met was, artist Fiona Banner who came to visit the Richard Wood’s exhibition over in CHELSEA Space. It was only by seeing our poster around the venue that she noticed her work was being exhibited as well upstairs on the Landing, and she was really curious to see what we had curated. She told us that she was really impressed with how we exhibited her ‘Book 1/1’ poster and also ‘The Nam’, and was thrilled that it was the poster that inspired the concept for the show.

Group shot at Private Viewing for CHELSEA Landing, (L-R) Dominque, Euphy, myself, Irene, Kay, Ileana & Manasa. (background) ‘Book 1/1’ Fiona Banner, 2009 (foreground) left: ‘An Ancecoted Topography of Chance’ Daniel Spoerri, 1966 right: ‘Profeminist WHITE FLOWERS’ by Sands Murray Wassink, 2006 (Photo credit: Sarah Millet)

Visit from Fiona Banner at the Private Viewing for CHELSEA Landing, left: myself right: Dominique (behind) ‘Book 1/1’, Fiona Banner, 2009 (Photo credit: Sarah Millet)

In terms of our critique, it started off with a handful of us from the group to explain the process of the CHELSEA Landing show and what initiated our first main set of ideas for the space. We each explained our curatorial decisions and thought process throughout our journey, explaining why we selected specific artworks over others and generally fed back to the rest of the class what our aims and objectives were.

The overall feedback we received that it was an elegant and well-displayed exhibition with evident thought and consideration towards the placing of each artwork. For example the direct conversation between ‘Book 1/1’ and the frames on the opposite side of the room; they communicated this idea of multiple distribution and mass purchase, meaning, they are sold and dispersed to their consumers, very quickly and maybe at times, their value isn’t as regarded as much as it should be. Beuys’ idea of the postcard being this glimmer of hope and reassurance, especially during the war highlights this point much further. These everyday items hold value and beauty and sometimes it is about looking beyond what you see, and delving a little deeper.

The criticism that we received from the class was that the lack of interactivity was frustrating and especially for the artworks that are meant to be handled and experienced it almost became a ‘boring’ exhibition as once you could see the work, that is all you could do; see, therefore some people didn’t stay in the space that long. After this point was highlighted I did point out that it was within our brief to ensure the artwork was contained and secure as it is a semi-public space with a vast amount of people passing through everyday; however I did see the point that they were trying to make. Almost in a way this relates heavily into my own research and how important accessibility and interactivity artwork has to be in our day and age. An audience can experience and gain so much more out of an artwork if they are able to use a multitude of senses; including touch, as it gives them a personal contact and engagement with the work, therefore they have a stronger possibility of remembering it for longer.

Evaluation

To conclude, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ was a well-considered, first attempt at exhibiting in a semi-public and renowned space. We demonstrated good research skills once we finally selected our exhibiting artwork; making sure that we followed a particular strategy on our Google Docs page, keeping each other informed and updated. We analytically selected our artworks with the aims of exhibition firmly in place from the beginning so that we were only showing the best work we could possibly display within the time frame that we were given. This fed in with our subject knowledge being complete and up to scratch, ensuring that everybody knew the dates of the work, titles, etc. Also ensuring everybody understood the concepts of the works; offering our own ideas and impressions on connections with each artwork. In terms of experimentation and risk taking we were adamant to showcase Joseph Beuys’ ‘Filzpostkarte’ and in particular, displaying it in such a way that even our tutor didn’t think we would be able to. It was incredibly fulfilling as we were really keen to include the Joseph Beauys work and it was even an achievement for us to showcase work of such highly reclaimed artists.

Our personal and professional development had exceeding improved throughout the duration of the task as we originally started with ambitious and uncertain ideas that would not have been achievable in the time frame that we had. Finally both our collaborative and independent working was a combination of good and bad. At the start of the process, no-one was really making any firm and stable decisions in terms of moving forward so I decided to take it upon myself to gently lead the group and initiate plans of actions; for example using a check list to ensure that each task was completed, and dictating roles to everybody so that they were partaking in elements of the curatorial task. Working with a group with mixed ethnicities at times was a challenge, as for some, English was not their first language. However, in certain tasks such as writing the press release, it required reciting over again to each other what our aims and intentions were and sticking to not making the exhibition too complicated that it frightened viewers off, however having a small amount intrigue and curiosity, which I think we achieved.

Installation pano shot of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (L-R) ‘Profeminist WHITE FLOWER’ Sands-Murray Wassink, 2007, ‘An Ancecoted Topography of Chance’ Daniel Spoerri, USA: Something Else Press, 1966, ‘Book 1/1’ Fiona Banner, Poster using Block Print on Mirror Card, 45 x 64cm, 2009, ‘The Nam’ Fiona Banner, London: Frith Street Books, 1997, ‘The Xerox Book’ Seth Siegelaub & Jack Wendler, USA: New York 1968, ‘Filzpostkate’ Joseph Beuys, Postcard made with screen print on felt, 10.5 x 15 x 0.9cm, 1985. ‘TORTURE IS BARBARIC’ two postcards taken from ‘Truisms and Survival Series’ Jenny Holzer, postcard with silkscreen text on wood, 9 x 14cm, 1996, ‘King for a Day’ Bruce McLean, London: Situation Publications, 1972 (Photo credit: Irene Wang)

Installation of right hand side: (L-R)‘The Xerox Book’ Seth Siegelaub & Jack Wendler, USA: New York 1968, ‘Filzpostkate’ Joseph Beuys, Postcard made with screen print on felt, 10.5 x 15 x 0.9cm, 1985. ‘TORTURE IS BARBARIC’ two postcards taken from ‘Truisms and Survival Series’ Jenny Holzer, postcard with silkscreen text on wood, 9 x 14cm, 1996, ‘King for a Day’ Bruce McLean, London: Situation Publications, 1972 (Photo credit: myself)

'King for a Day’ Bruce McLean, London: Situation Publications, 1972 (Photo credit: myself)

‘The Xerox Book’ Seth Siegelaub & Jack Wendler, USA: New York 1968 (Photo credit: myself)

Installation shot of left hand side: (L-R) ‘Profeminist WHITE FLOWER’ Sands-Murray Wassink, 2007, ‘An Ancecoted Topography of Chance’ Daniel Spoerri, USA: Something Else Press, 1966, ‘Book 1/1’ Fiona Banner, Poster using Block Print on Mirror Card, 45 x 64cm, 2009, ‘The Nam’ Fiona Banner, London: Frith Street Books, 1997 (Photo credit: myself)