GOODS In

GOODS In was a success, hard work but I loved it!

There is also potential for Minda and I to use it again so watch this space and then come visit that space...

These are some pics of the show from the front and back of the space.




The two most popular pieces from feedback so far were the balancing ladders by Matt Roberts and the performance/interaction based on a platic fantastic (sp) piece by a.a.s.




now....onto the next one :)

lots of love,
a very tired your conscience

come...one and all!

Smart factory - home to GOODS In....






....and i love it!

to the warehouse, with lots of love

dear smart warehouse,
how i love thee...
...all clean and almost dust free...
...minda's magic wall hiding all your sins.....

...sigh....

i cant wait till the 28th!!!

to Bath, in the sun

Sunday I went to Bath where Caitlin and I checked out the gallery space that I will be curating Miss Griffith's first solo show "Cuckoo" as part of Fringe Art Bath...

The day was hot and sunny, I bought fudge and cookies, Bath is a beautiful city and the space is perfect!

All in all, a very good day!

lots of love,
your conscience

to Crit; love to laugh

Last night was the critique that accompanied the Wunderkammer show...

...crit's are important for me as an early career curator as it makes me answer questions about my practice that I would not have necessarily asked myself. For Wunderkammer it seemed an even more obvious thing to do as there were students involved and being able to critique your work when taken out of its usual context is a great experience and opportunity to continue the growth of your practice...

...or so I would have thought...

There was a distinct lack of students at the crit, other than a few of the ones involved (even not all of them turned up!) there was one student present! However, there was sufficient representation from Birmingham Art Peeps that meant there was a constant debate and points were continually being raised.

What was said was insightful, Kate and I held a united front even though there were various points we disagreed on, our points were raised though not argued out in front of the crowd.

The performances caused most debate and discussion between Kate and I and the people at the crit, David and Ed both being vocal in how they felt and reacted to the situation, being objectified to such an extent.

Thank you to Harminder Judge for contributing massively to the discussion, raising several good points about the performances, especially how and when the performances stopped and how the characters exited the space and their persona's; he was very much on the side of the Lace Gimp and his restrained and intuitive exit. He also vocalised the question of why there were so few students at the crit, especially as the exhibition is in their foyer space, as was the crit!

Also Emma Bowen, always someone you want to have at discussions as she will keep the ball rolling. Emma was not at the launch of the show so her opinions were based more around the central Wunderkammer and what was left in the other two cabinets - the remains of cheeseface discarded around the case and the lace suits laid to rest empty of body. The linear qualities that she picked up on that ran through all three cabinets were central to the curation of the space. She also brought various thoughts into discussion surrounding labelling and the relationships between objects, performers and cabinets.

Liz Short from Crowd6 also had issues with the labelling, however for her there was too little information.

For me the crit went very well and some very useful points were raised. Thank you to all for coming along, except for two tutors who were there and didn't contribute a thing until the very end to just Kate and I. Think we would have all appreciated their input rather than just their eerie silent presence.

lots of love,
your conscience

Wunderkammer = Wunderful

Am pleased to write...

... that last night’s preview went very well indeed! The crowd was plentiful, the performers dramatic, the cabinet curious, my co-curator sparkling and the photos…I am yet to look at.

Thank you to all involved, particularly a couple of Crowd6-ers who helped with cabinet lifting/moving throughout the evening.

The central cabinet looked amazing and I would like to take it and everything in it home with me. The archival pieces were beautiful especially the three medals and two trophies. Also, the part of a painting frame seemed to optimise the oddities that are to be found within BIAD’s archives, as the painting and the other three sides of the frame are no where to be found…anywhere!

As for the current students Claudia Simm’s “Consuming Sartre” works, Tim Robottom’s “Cascade Series” and Ana Benlloch’s clock were all particular favourites.

As for the performance, former students Ed Wakefield AKA Cheeseface and David Miller AKA The Lace Gimp went down a storm. The restrained Lace Gimp causing a stir with its uncomfortable movements and Cheeseface with his total stillness. These performances becoming more extravagant as the evening went on, an hour and twenty into the show The Lace Gimp, inside a very steamy cabinet, was let out; the top of the case removed and a white sheet then covered him. After a perfect amount of time he arose and was guided away out of the entrance hall of Margaret Street. Cheeseface was soon to follow, less steamy but more irritated by people tapping the glass, leaning onto the tops of the case and putting their glasses on top (behaviour the art going audience should have known better not to do!). His exit more spontaneous, quick, he ripped off his mask and stood staring at his remains, the utensils etc he had been buried with in state.

Though both of their exits unplanned they were perfect!

I am really happy with the responses so far from this project and have loved every minute of putting this together with Miss Pennington-Wilson and Minda - our cleaning saviour and my hero!

Onto the next one!

Lots of love,
Your conscience

WUNDERKAMMER

Foyer space, Margaret Street, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, B3 3BX

10th - 16th April 2008

Curated by Kate Pennington-Wilson and Charlie Levine


Wunderkammer steals its mode of display directly from the past in the form of museum display and the renaissance cabinet of curiosity, however it looks, imminently, towards the future; the uncertain future of contemporary curatorial practice, contemporary art forms as well as the school itself.

Birmingham School of Art is an untapped visual resource within the Midlands. Its corridors, staircases, archive and studios are laced with activity, excitement and intrigue. It is little wonder then that current and former curatorial students there have decided to expose this. Kate Pennington-Wilson and Charlie Levine, in collaboration with Birmingham Institute of Art and Design Archive, are presenting three cabinets of curiosity, housing previous and current students work.

The show is comprised of a combination of works from current students; the result of exploring the studios within Margaret Street, and pieces chosen from the archives which date back to the mid 1800s. This cabinet displays a collection of old and new curiosities, which directly examine how the school has grown and how the practice of ‘art’ and curation has progressed since its establishment over 100 years ago. This juxtaposition of objects suggests a rough time line and highlights certain patches of intrigue within Margaret Streets extraordinary history. Due to the works being mixed together the links and connections become abstract and entwined, it is not a chronology of Birmingham School of Art students, but rather a Wunderkammer; a cabinet of curiosity.

On the opening night two former students of Margaret Street, David Miller and Edward Wakefield, will be placed inside cabinets as if scientific specimens on display, reminiscent of the earliest forms of museum display. Both becoming characters inspired by their time at Margaret Street, they hint at immortality through two very different approaches but at the same time contradict this notion by ‘lying in state’ reaffirming the traditional view of the museum as housing ‘dead artefacts.’ Miller’s performance appears quiet, reflective, restrictive and intimate against Wakefield’s manic and loud self-installation. After the preview evening Miller and Wakefield’s empty clothes will be all that remains; an eerie echo of what once was.

By singling out specific works and allowing a viewer to examine the objects through a self-composed narrative Wunderkammer extends as a work of fiction; a tale that was once told and will be re-told for generations yet to come.

Contemporary artists include: Ana Benlloch, Bethany Giles, Chiara Gill, Rachel Mary Haines, David Miller, Karen Moore, Kieran Palmer, Claudia Simm, Matt Steele, Stuart Tait, Edward Wakefield and Mike Wheeley.

Wunderkammer: 10th - 16th April 2008* 10am till 5pm
Preview: 9th April 6-8 pm Critique: 16th April 6pm
*Not open on weekends