Quite right, Joshua

To take a risk as a curator is to be open to both possibility of not knowing an outcome, and the possibility of failure. To develop a conceptual framework for a show, yet remain open to any possible result, any imaginable visual or material destination, to embrace the ambiguities and contradictions – this risk taking can be a liberating process. It’s important to unfold this process as transparently as possible, so that the curatorial framework/structure becomes, in a word increasingly naked to others.
Joshua Decter, At the Verge of…Curatorial Transparency in The Edge of Everything, Reflections on Curatorial Practice, 2002, edited by Catherine Thomas, the Banff Centre, Alberta.

Olympic

My drumming teacher at school (circa 1976) was one Jimmy Grossart. He taught Kyle and me the rudiments, coaching us to pound away on circular black rubber mats, learning the basics as well as some exotic rhythms, like Bossa Nova and Rumba. Our usual tuition time was Friday morning’s instead of Chemistry but one week we had to meet him at the back of the school stage where he had set up his own reel-to-reel tape player connected to two large speaker cabinets, “Right lads, listen to this” and on came some jazz drumming, I’d like to think it was the 1952 Drum Battle between Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, me against Kyle, but I can’t be sure. But we were blown away and would never give up. Mr Grossart was also the bandleader of the Edinburgh Jazz Band; the drummer was in charge driving from behind. We were asked to join band rehearsals one dark Thursday evening and we had to meet in Market Street in Edinburgh, in the New 57 Gallery, which was in the same building as the Fruitmarket Gallery. We both took the drumming seat for a number; my one was American Patrol, which had a short drumming solo. I was conscience of sitting in a space, which had paintings and white walls, spot lights and a desk with a typewriter. I remember the paintings were graphic, flat, grey and red, powdery. I realised that we were practicing in an art gallery. This was the space I would work in 10 years later and install exhibitions. I came back again and saw a Laurie Anderson exhibition the next month.

Anti-space

In the article, ‘The Curator's Task: Opening up Space and Time’ , Mary Jane Jacob comments on the relationship of the audience to art and explains that the curated experience needs to be “a more open ended one and less formally interpreted and directed by the museums”. The project ‘should not just be an exploration of direction or substantiating a thesis, proposition or locating an answer but about going deeper and seeing where it goes’, so this is about projects that you do, letting them go and see what happens, giving things time to evolve and develop. Its also about the time to give people the experience the work, which is again another thing, which is also related to the text by Lindsay Hughes, where she discusses viewing art as an experience, illustrating the point by the experience of visiting the Saatchi collection when it was housed in County Hall, central London. The artworks was displayed and there was nowhere to sit and contemplate the work, its as though he was showing what he had acquired, and not enabling people the time to get to know the work, Jacob also talks about the time the artist has taken to make the work, they have taken the time to make the work so you must give the audience the time to view it and experience the work. These ideas are close to my own ideas of curating an experience, Hughes talks about not having a space or needing a space, her text is called, do we need new spaces for experiencing contemporary art there’s dissatisfaction with curatorial practice today, with some critics suggesting a need for a deeper understanding of audiences and their engagement with art practice the article aims to consider and examine types of curatorial practice which focuses on the viewers engagement.

1 The Curator's Task: Opening up Space and Time Curator 49 no3 283-6 Jl 2006
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=XAGZXO4KQ0HJLQA3DIKSFGOADUNGIIV0 accessed 15/5/08

Risky Business

A common attitude from recent discussions it seems has been about taking RISK, pushing ideas and possibilities as far as they go. It could well produce an amazing event, output, solution, possibility or experience. Sophie Hope ( B+B, http://www.welcomebb.org.uk/
- Curator/artist) came up to Gray’s from London via Bristol and worked for a couple of hours with 8 PG students on a textual/video workshop. The aim was to consider your own work and something which has happened to you but you really want to try an explain what really should or could happen. So we were able to disguise ourselves to express what we really thought about it all. Starting texts were , Audre Lorde's short essay: The Master's Tool's Will Never Dismantle the Master's House' (in Sister Outsider, 1984) in conjunction with the summary of the DCMS' Creative Britain report (2008): http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3572.aspx
showing that we need to pursue risk and identity and creativity or we will all end up doing the same things and controlled by bureaucracy.
Katie Nicoll (independent arts producer, Glasgow) also came and talked about her recent projects (Hidden Garden, Tramway, Glasgow; Jardin Public, Edinburgh). Major production values and high in health and safety procedure to produce the projects. Katie showed skillful negotiation style and experience to produce creative, dynamic works which took risks but ultimately had to accept certain compromises to exist.