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
