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The exhibition build is almost over. It has been a lot of ‘hard graft’ but we are almost there. My plinth has taking quite a bit longer to build than I expected. I have never built one before so I wasn’t completely sure of the process and it was something of a learning curve. I’m glad I allocated enough time for it as it needed a lot of coats of paint. I should have coated it with PVA glue first, but I only learned that when it was too late. Also, because the wall which it was going to rest against was covered with wood, I couldn’t see that instead of a skirting board there was a deep step. So I had to alter the base to fit the wall. After the necessary alterations it was finished. Here is a picture of the finished article:
I spent a couple of days painting and cleaning the ‘Light Space’ room where my work is going to be shown. I also spent a good amount of time looking for a list of things for other people (plinths, extension leads, screws, etc.) as well as trying to help sort out some people’s problems with the look of the space to ensure their work is best presented without affecting the work of others. I must thank the staff from the Media and the Photography resource centers for their help with the installation of work, as well as the 3D resource center for their help with the building of plinths. These are a few photos of the space (notice my plinth and iMacs on the right 
) :
These are a couple of photos of the week before the exhibition. Still some work to do in the room. My movie can’t be shown full screen as there is a lot of light reflection on the iMac’s screens. To solve this problem I have reduced the size of the movie and I have introduced a white border around my movie that minimizes the reflections.
After deliberating on what kind of plinth to build to house my moving image piece, the fact that I am going to have access to three iMacs has made me come to a decision. I am going to build a simple long plinth upon which the computers will sit.
Before I came to this conclusion I researched the possibility of mounting the iMacs on the wall. I found out that there was a wall mount that was compliant with VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) standards and it seemed like a great simple solution. The problem was that it only worked on 24″ screens and the ones at college are 20″. There were some adapters for the smaller screens that would mount them without removing the stand and it involved being attached to a long bracket…a little unsightly.
VESA compliant wall mount
So, this is the sketch of my plinth with the measurements:
To represent my work within publicity for the show I have chosen an extract from the final version of the video and a few of the valves. The reason why I haven’t chosen the full typology is because its orientation is portrait and it will look too small on the projection. For the same reason I choose just one of the valves to represent my work on the postcard and to have continuity I have done the same for the catalog and website. I look forward to seeing all of it.
MADA10 website: http://www.mada2010.co.uk
MADA10 Facebook: http://en-gb.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=216061&id=123235641039024
Short Artist Statement:
This project observes functional architecture from the industrial era and its environment, exploring this study through methodical photographic documentation. It comprises the mixing of digital and analogue technologies and engages with the materiality of the output surfaces to effectively capture the suspended and timeless state of its primal subjects.
1. Show reel
2. Postcard
Finally I have finished printing the second lot of six valves. These six plates had to be inked twice as after the first day of inking the resulting print was not satisfactory. The pressure of the press was equal but it seemed that it needed to be a little tighter. Also, as another factor, the plates may have been rubbed too much, so the result was quite light.
The second day of inking the plates I made sure that Paul Atkins (Print Making Resource’s manager) double checked the plates before inking and he also put more pressure on the press. This time the press was so tight that two technicians had to turn the wheel. The print came out well. Finlay Taylor (MA Print Making tutor) was there and he was very complementary of the result. Paul Atkins has requested an edition to be part of their archive. I’ll probably do this during the assessment week.
I have now photographed the two sheets of valves and taken them to the framers. I have chosen a hand made and painted white box frame with no mount board so the print will be floating. This style is quite minimal, modern and extremely good quality, which is something I was looking to achieve as again I am trying to encapsulate the industrial era feeling of the images and make a parallel with our contemporary times.
Elements of the frame
Frame detail
Floating mount detail
After all this work I am really looking forward to seeing them hang on the wall.
It was a short tutorial but a good update. I showed Andy the first typology on Intaglio Printing- the 6 valves I just printed on a sheet of Somerset satin paper. He was very happy with the achieved result. It has taken a lot of effort to produce this piece, but I think is been worthy.
We also went to see the room where my work is going to be displayed and I explained what Derek Yates, the tutor for FDA, plans to do with the room. I have been in conversation with Derek Yates and David Cross to keep updated about the BA and FDA exhibition plans and how they are going to affect the spaces where we will be exhibiting. We discussed about the need of power points and internet connections. I think that the rooms will have everything we need for the show.
‘Is It Over’ is an exhibition from a selection of emerging contemporary artists reacting site specifically to the conceptual and physical properties of a derelict World War II bunker situated underground in Dalston, East London. The Bunker sets the stage for the selected artists to create a platform in which we can trace through their work the links across their practices and disciplines creating a dialogue between contemporary art and a space that has been long forgotten.
The bunker was built during World War II amidst the modern art movement and remained unused and derelict from that point on. The exhibiting artists and their practice carry with them the characteristics and lineage of contemporary art into a space that closed its doors sixty years ago. This exhibition hopes to engage with a space of the past and resuscitate it with the creative ambitions of the present.
Xavier Antin, Rupert Burton, U Jae Chung, Maurice Citron, Isaac Cordal, Callum Cooper, Chris Paul Daniels, Steven Emmanuel, Esmeralda Munoz-Torrero, Jan Lun Lee, Genetic Moo, Robert Nicol, Emily Paige Short, Richard Thomas
The Bunker@
The Print House
18 Ashwin Street
London E8 3DL
Curated & organised by Jan Lun Lee
The following are the images of my work on the exhibition. The photographs were taken by Alexis Matilla. This exhibition has been a good experience for the show build as there was a lot to organize. The bunker conditions were not ideal, but the space it offered was fantastic. It was a lot of work but still a very good chance to experiment with the outputs of my work and also think about how size affects the materiality of the referent. I had to run a soft proof on the negatives of the large prints to make sure they could cope with the size, but it worked very well. I was happy with the result and I got a very positive feedback.
This tutorial was an update after Intaglio printing the first plate that was made with a stochastic positive and an aquatint screen. The result was quite satisfactory so I showed Andy and he was quite pleased with the results as he said that the texture of the paper complements the image and it gives it the extra context of the old method of reproduction. I also showed him a digital mock up of how the valves looked as a typography. He suggested that I experiment with the layout and also with how many I would like to present. This is my research:
Valves typology
In December 2009, after writing my paper – titled Pursuing the Archiving of History- and having observed the documentary approach of the Bechers and Polidory, I set my mind into arranging my images into a typology. Thus aiding the contextualization and archival feeling of the project. This was recorded in my blog photo intaglio – print making.
The following are different layout proposals for the valves typology. I need to take into account the size of the biggest press (91.5cm x 130cm) and the size of the biggest Somerset Satin paper (152.4cm x 122.0cm- 330gsm, next size down = 76cm x 106cm)
I am inclined to present my typology as shown below – 12 valves on an horizontal arrangement – but I am not sure if the size of the press will allow for the length. I need to consider the space that the roller takes on the overall size. A solution would be to have them printed on two different sheets of paper and then framed together. I have yet to make a definite decision.
Today I attended a session on how to prepare for a degree show. It was very informative. The following are key point which I believe to be very useful for our show.
Things to Remember for Degree Shows (and other solo projects…)
(Kindly provided by Medeia Cohan-Petrolino and Eamonn Maxwell)
>You may think the following reminders are very obvious, but you would be surprised how many artists at degree shows have none of the following recommendations sorted.
>Always price your work. Be careful not to underestimate your worth nor overprice it.
*For films
1. For films, editions of 5 (plus artist’s proof, that you keep) works best, on DVD.
2. When somebody buys it, you are to give an exhibition copy and a storage/archive copy.
3. The going price now for films (one edition) is £150-350.
4. Number them in odd numbers (edition 1, edition 3…).
*For installations
1. The price for installations includes your artist’s fee and the total cost of equipment.
2. Don’t sell your installation piecemeal- include all pieces of equipment.
3. If somebody wants to install your work in a gallery/space, the installation fee is £175 per day.
>If applicable, always know how many editions are in your series before pricing and showing your work; it’s a good idea to keep that number under 10 to begin with.
>Always, always, always provide a legible business card with current contact details.
*Keep those business cards; make a mailing list.
>If applicable, discuss the possibility of commissions with interested parties. However, be careful with making too many accommodations when commissioning work.
*Every buyer is a start of a relationship.
Other important tips:
*Research the galleries.
*UK galleries don’t use contracts.
*Put things into writing.
*Don’t sell everything.
*Keep artist’s proofs.
*Be mindful of your work’s ability to be displayed anywhere.
*For presentation of work, it should be professional and well-done.
*The University also helps you after you graduate, they can connect you to galleries, institutions and collectors.
These are some images from the Islington Art and design fare. I found that a few of the artist where interested in the industrial aspect of the city. I managed to speak to one of them about his work although the only reason he gave me about working with this theme is that he lived nearby and he liked it. I guess that the fact that these kind of buildings are around us and that they obviously a little different from the norm is enough to inspire the creative mind of Londoners.
I found the first illustration of a sliced factory quite interesting as in some way i would like to dissect my buildings too.
I visited the exhibiton by Tony Oursler on Friday. Firstly I saw ASL 2008+2G2BT 2008 and then I went onto the next room to see Booby-trap. I was fascinated by the installations and the technique used to create them, the way everything was set up from one video projection. I thought that the way he creates sculpture out of projected images is very impressive. I can see why Oursler considers himself an artist rather than a video artist. The question was, did the technique override the message? was the message clear? there was a lot of obvious clues about what the installations where about so in that sense it was clear. As far as the technique overriding the message, I guess for me it did.
About how the work was presented, I think it was quite a successful curation of the work. The downside would be the fact that sometimes the sound was quite intrusive from one installation to another. Another question would be if the wall mounted pieces where adding anything to it, they were not shown at their best as the light condition was low, but I guess the validity of them being there comes from the theme of obsession, obsession being a question of excess. I found the image bled of the cigarrete forest quite distracting and surprising considering the precision with which some of the other installations where projected. Personally I didn’t really understand the paintings next to the £10 note. But I enjoyed the humour of his X-Doll 1992.
In general I think it was a good exhibition. On the gallery’s website they write: “Oursler’s scenarios constantly invoke the very human wish to lose oneself in fantasy.” I guess he achieved that.
