Logbook Entry #17
The opening is less than 2 weeks away, so things are really quite hectic. First, though, to catch up on what I have been up to:
Production meeting with Jonny Farrow- this was extremely helpful and I was able to really get started on some logistical points. We spoke about the possibility of actually making parabolic speakers- Jonny kindly looked into this, but in the end we found that stores here didn’t carry the right equipment, so I am going to resort back to the original plan to have speakers for the videos (from 52 Weeks)
Budget and catering meeting with Fidan- she helped me get the Arts Center to cover catering for the opening (as the other capstones are having catering at their openings). That way, I have a bit of leeway with my budget, which is certainly comforting.
Loan conditions meeting with Maya and Laura L.- we had a few conversations and follow-up detail questions to Laura M. at The Third Line in order for Laura L. to feel that we will have done everything we could to ensure the safety of the 2 Babak Golkar sculptures that will be shipped here through Hasenkampf (now confirmed for arrival March 24th). One of the main concerns was around the piece Deranged (concrete, plastic flowers and ceramic vase + stand) because it has the interactive element that one can add coins to it- it functions like a coin collector you might have at home. A concern was if this needed to be indicated, and if it had to be returned with the same (or more) coins as when it arrived.
Another concern was that Laura M. indicated was that the work is intended to be installed near the entrance of the space (again so it can function as a coin collector). At first I was worried this was going to throw off the layout and the development of the exhibition, but Maya made me realize that with the movable walls, and the opening space to the exhibition functioning more as a lobby, it can still be placed at the entrance to where the work begins, and the first image will still be the upside-down Mona Lisa. A question still under consideration for both of the sculptures is whether we will need to use stanchions to make sure they are safe.
Title- choosing a title has been really hard and took a long time with a lot of very helpful input from anyone I could ask, really. In the end, I decided to stick to: PROBE: an investigation of contemporary institutional critique (even though I changed my mind and was hesitating for a while between that and Object (n./v.) ). ‘Probe’ has the connotation of scrutinizing (‘a thorough investigation into a matter’), and even the first definition listed (‘a blunt-ended surgical instrument used for exploring a wound or part of the body’) relates to the idea of this art as a tool (a tool to explore, to expose/make us aware, to apply pressure, etc.). I prefer the idea of ‘probing’ as investigating the term ‘institutional critique’, different practices, and as even having the possibility to respond to, to probe, the work in the exhibition.
Design meeting(s) with Dasha- Darya Soroko is doing all the visual design for the exhibition, which is so great- she is very creative, makes beautiful designs, and is really helpful to keep the process moving. We began by planning the timeline/genealogical chart for the exhibition and discussed the brochure, the catalog essay, and the book that will be made after the exhibition as documentation. We then had to focus on the banner/flyer/invite design, as these would be the first to be printed and I wanted to get them up before the start of Spring Break so that people see the information. Then, once we had a design for these, the same visual ‘identity’ will be applied to the other components. Just yesterday morning, we printed out 3 final banners at the library, and I had 2 printed as roll-up banners at Emirates Express (which I picked up today). The design goes off of the scientific imagery of the word ‘probe’. There is an interactive element- a hanging physical magnifying loop that the viewer has to hold up to the middle of the banner to read the subtitle ‘an investigation of contemporary institutional critique’.
Just this morning, I went and bought magnifying glasses, chain from which to hang them, and frames from IKEA for the Serkan Ozkaya Dear Sir or Madam works- he indicated that he had used simple IKEA frames and then just used the glass. I also completed the translations for Ozkaya’s work this weekend, and also got the versions he has used in the past for reference.
Right now, there are conversations happening with leadership and arts faculty about the danger that including the Gulf Labor puts this exhibition into a grey area in terms of legality- the way it is presented (how it is framed within the exhibition) and how private it will be are in discussions. There are a few works from the project that I won’t be showing as they will most easily be thought of as criticizing the government (the issue legality in question with this work). For the rest of the project, it seems that I will be able to show it, but how this will be done is the main question. So, the banners that I printed (which list the artists’ names) at least for now cannot be put up yet. I may have to remove their names to show them around campus.
It has been amazing to feel all the support from my mentors and faculty as these important conversations are taking place. Because they are so late in the game, there is certainly added pressure, but I have to manage to balance this and not let it stop me from getting things done and figured out- I just have to keep going and get the answers as they are finalized. If anything, it is pushing me to finish my wall text even sooner- although this is hard to do while continuing to finish editing my catalog essay, doing midterms/midterm assignments, and write a rough-draft of my reflection essay for the capstone seminar.
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