What is Curating?

Ken Jones (left) & CMDC student Gary Nasca (right) hanging a poster for “Loud & Clear,” North Bank Artists Gallery, April 2012; photo by Nicole Buckner

Curating comes from the Latin word curare, “to Care”

• Care about each individual work

• Care about the audience’s experience with the works, both individual & as together as a whole

• Care about the larger effort that involves all of the work CMDC student Hunter Crawford assisting

visitor at “Electronic Literature” with work, Seattle, WA, January 2012; photo by Kerri Lingo

Curating involves Aesthetic, Material, & Spatial practices

Curator’s

aesthetic

Audience’s

aesthetic

Space

Material Object

Aesthetic Practice• Originally a branch of philosophy that focused on beauty

• Critical reflection on art

• Personal perspective, judgment and taste––sensibilities one brings to a one work; includes both the curator & the audience

“Autovation” produced by CMDC students spring 2012 for OMSI; photo by WSUV MarComm dept.

Material Practice

“Autovation” produced by CMDC students spring 2012 for OMSI; photo by WSUV MarComm dept.

Can involve tangible & intangible material objects & spaces

Material Practice: Three types

Virtual works in physical spaces

Physical works in virtual spaces

Jim Bizzocchi’s Re:cycle at the MAC Gallery at “Electrifying Literature,” in Morgantown, WV, June 2012; photo by Kerri Lingo

John Barber’s Brautigan.net archive of the of American writer Richard Brautigan

Andy Campbell & Judy Alston’s “The Nightingale’s Playground” (2010) published on the web

Virtual works in virtual spaces

Spatial Practice

Three spaces used for “Electrifying Literature,” Morgantown, WV, June 2012; photos by Kerri Lingo

Tap each screen to see how each space was used for an exhibit

Affordances & Constraints• The features the work affords & constrains us for experiencing it

• The features the space allows for showcasing the work

• The level of support (e.g. funds, assistance, materials) a curator has to execute ideas on behalf of the work and the space “VJ Fleet” produced by CMDC students fall 2009;

created by artists in residence Julie Andreyev and Simon Lysander Overstall; photos by Dene Grigar

Curatorial Design“Contemporary curating practices that influence aesthetic experience associated with the art of exhibit” (7).

“Critically informed approach” that considers the work in relation to the space in which it is exhibited.

Anne John & Kathi Rick’s video installation in window of the Koplan Blg., Vancouver, WA, June 2010 during “Windows into Art;” photo by Dene Grigar

From Vince Dziekan’s Virtuality & the Art of Exhibition

In-Class ActivityDirections:

Working with the other members of your pod, study the items provided you and, then, develop an idea for how to present them (e.g. theme, concept). Select those items that fit your plan; set aside those that do not. Arrange the selected items in a way that makes sense for your plan.

Be prepared to explain your choices.