This seminar took place (unlike any of the other seminars) in a number of different venues each of which focused on a particular persons work - the glasgow art festival being what it is, we were able to experience several exhibits during the session, amongst others were a look at some of Joseph Beuys' work in the huntarian museum and art gallery, David Shrigley's exhibit in the Kelvingrove art gallery and various works in the Tramway visual arts gallery including another rendition of '24 hour psycho' by douglas gordon.
The one overwhelming feeling which the shrigley and beuys exhibitions gave me - was one of dissapointment - the former suffering from being situated in the kelvingrove art gallery's darkest corner, not to mention the roughshod nature of the way in which the work was placed (the space could of done with being twice the size of what it was). Due to this lack of structure the average viewer is left baffled by the apparent lack of narrative and is in fact bludgeoned with what are seemingly irrelevant objects that do not support each other, from both an
ideological perspective or a practical one these are the prices that we pay when choosing to exhibit in this manner. In short, i believe this would be an incredibly disappointing experience for someone who knew nothing about the work before hand, but this show does however raise the question: 'does this show exclude the public or does it in fact encourage them to investigate further into the artists work? And why would the latter be desirable?' From first hand experience, i can say that when you take the time to research something it can prove to be highly rewarding on a self affirming level ... is this what we are doing as creators of such art today?
The joseph beuys show also suffered from a chronic lack of cohesion - with the work showcased as stand alone pieces reflecting beuys' practice throughout his career, we are shown a glimpse of what the artist was trying to do but it does not even begin to scratch the surface of what his ethos was. in contrast to the shrigley exhibit - the huntarian provided ample space which was sparsely populated by the samplings of beuys' work which included fat in cardboard boxes and a chair festooned with fat as its cushion and a small amount of his 1000+ drawings which he created throughout his career, once again i could not help but feel that they had bitten off more than they could chew with this show as the significance of the work was lost in the execution of its presentation. perhaps i am being too critical, but to me these two shows seemed
very 'safe' to me - it was as though the curators were simply going through the motions, there was nothing innovative or creative in the way the shows were put together, and as a result the work's impact was diluted to the point where it was not worth my time.
After this the class visited the tramway gallery, where we were treated to a wholly different experience. entering the building you are struck by the spacious and lofty reception area - another noted contrast to the previous two venues - where you are almost suffocated by design of the space - here the room is well lit, spacious and pleasent. firstly we chose to visit the work of Christoph Buchel - 'last man out turn off lights', a surreal jaunt through a narrative that is as haunting as it is invigorating, Buchel does not simply place objects, he invites you to participate in the work, creating a carnival like atmosphere of muted excitement and exploration. to me this offers scope to a work far greater than positioning it within a vitrine and proclaiming it art, by participating in a work you are afforded the ability to engage with not just what is on front of you, but the founding principles that brought the work into being. you actuate the work, and in true democratic fashion you contribute to the experience as a whole - and at some point you gain a measure of ownership over the work, which is what makes this particular variety of relational art unique and powerful. were it not for Britain's religious devotion to so called health and safety participants would have been able to engage with the work to the extent in which the artist intended (something which i gather caused no small amount of frustration to buchel) which was for the participant to be able to actively search through drawers, investigate closed documents and generally allow our inquisitive nature to take us wherever we may want to go.
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