The Alabama Art Display is one of the projects I developed during my time as an intern for Creative Campus. I sought art submissions from student artists of any major for this project. Several buildings on campus are now enhanced with artwork created by University of Alabama students. I thought the Alabama Art Display would be a great opportunity for student artists to be able to display their work on various locations on campus and to enrich more University student's everyday life with the presence of art.
Before artwork is placed within a location on campus. The office members form a selection committee to pick out the pieces they would like to have on display in their workspace. These individuals act as curators. The works they select to display among their work space will inevitably be a reflection of their office members. Art serves as a visual representation of ideals, interests, values and truths. It is interesting to set up the artwork and watch the selection committees discuss which pieces would be best. In The Curator’s Moment, Michael Brenson states that “The organizers of these exhibitions, as well as other curators around the world who work across cultures are able to think imaginatively about the points of compatibility and conflict among them” (Brenson, 56). One student who submitted work is a computer science graduate student from India. Her work was chosen by the law school to be displayed in their interview rooms. Although on a much smaller scale, I have enjoyed linking our University’s separate “cultures” through this exhibition. I believe art is universal and can act as a bridge between groups.
Kocur , Zoya, and Simon Leung. "The Curator's Moment." Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Print.
I think that this project is a great way to put a curatorial job into the hands of people less familiar with art. Artists, art historians, and contemporary theorists are often conditioned to think about artwork a certain way. They tend to often over analyze a piece and make too many symbolic connections. However, law professors can appreciate a painting solely based on its aesthetic value. These "curators" are able to judge for themselves what they think is most appropriate for the walls they will look at for months to come. I think that it is a more fair way to select art than someone outside the office and totally removed from the location selecting the artwork for them.
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of judging structure do you have in place? How exactly does the committee chose the work, and more importantly, how do they decide what isn't worth being chosen? In my short while in the art history world, I have been introduced many times over to the idea that in order to get your foot in the door of fame through art, it is all about who you know. It would be interesting to see how these things are decided on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteDo you feel that there have been biases in the process? Perhaps to more figurative art over more abstract, or towards ideas instead of aesthetics? How does your group deal with the balance between these aspects of a piece, or does it deal with it at all? As Catherine said, you are deciding the work that will change the very context of the room it is displayed in for months to come. This is a very important, very influential power that not many people acknowledge as present in the curatorial process.
That being said, what you are doing is very impressive. It is refreshing to see no-names and non-studio majors being given the chance to exhibit their work, the pieces that they have imbued with their own self. Is there any way to get in contact with the organization? Do you have a website?