Planning for the exhibition
These are images and plans that I posted on Facebook to aid with planning of the exhibition
Final posters posted and shared on Facebook for the exhibition
A copy of my pages from the Catalogue
Exhibition Catalogue
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Installation at the Gallery
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Preview Evening
A very successful preview evening at The Plumbline and Orchard Gallery St Ives
Heidi next to her portrait
Kind words
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Pictures of the Exhibition
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Review
– Reflection of the Exhibition
Our first visit to the gallery was after
the Tate, visit in November, first impression was that the gallery was a bit on
the small side. I photographed the space
to see how our pictures would fit. It
made me reconsider size of my portraits and prints and also concept to change
to a more art based way to photograph.
After exposing other ideas (see work book)
apart from the change to digital, I decided to carry on with the project as I
first conceived it.
The second visit was a few weeks before the
exhibition at which time I photographed the whole of the gallery. There was some concern from the class that
the space was small so I drew up a floor plan numbered each wall and posted the
plan with photographs numbered to correspond with walls, therefore people who
hadn’t made it to the gallery could choose which was they wanted to exhibit on.
This seemed to work well and everyone got the space they wanted.
When it came to hanging the work splitting
the times into two days because of the limited space was a really good idea so
we were not all getting in each others way and all worked well.
Having someone that knew the gallery
hanging our work was a real bonus as he saved a lot of time it may be worth in
the future where possible to have a similar person next time. It saved all of
us a lot of stress on the day. Looking
around once everybody’s work was up worked well together.
The film show was shown in the little
theatre above the art club in St Ives and worked excellently. Having a set time at which to attend gave it
the feel of a cinema experience. Only
spoilt slightly by broken blind. Screening the museum projects first added context
and flow to the evening and leaflet with the running order with times was a
good idea so we knew whose films were being shown and how long they were
expected to last. Having a comment sheet
on each table was another good idea and encouraged everyone viewing to leave
comments. I think this is where the
photograph exhibition may improve with a better way for people to leave their
thoughts and feedback. The comment book
didn’t seem to work.
Despite my reservation about the gallery
and the size of the exhibition space on the evening of the preview it worked
well with a good natural flow throughout the gallery that people seemed to
following in and around each of the exhibitors works. The shape of the gallery also helped with the
ambience as well with its layout giving separate areas people could explore and
spend time looking at the work and drew people into each different area of the
gallery.
I liked the idea of having the books all on
one table and promotional material all on one bench, although I believe some
may have been slightly upset that they were under his work which I understand may
be next time when planning where to put the pictures it could be included so it
either is away from peoples work or check that the person is happy. By Monday they had been moved to another area,
which was better.
From a personal point of view the space I
had was right for the size of the portraits, although I could have done with them
a little higher. I maybe should have
just exhibited two but wanted after all the work to show the three. This was
only a slight negative for me though.
Having two different venues worked well and
gave a good feel that it was more of a bigger event by moving around the town.
It would have been a good idea at the film
show to have them posted as a video site such as Vimeo so they could be viewed
again for some that missed it and it advertised at the end of the show and on
the leaflet. They were all very good
quality film, which would be worth viewing again.
Some of the groups’ comments mentioned that
one or two really didn’t think they had enough space. Also that St Ives was a little too far away
for people to travel. From a personal
point it wasn’t that I thought it was too far away but the exhibitions duration
was a little short and the gallery was not open on a Sunday when most of my
friends were off, so a lot of people were unable to get to see it. For the FdA
we exhibited in Truro and a lot more of the people I knew saw the exhibition as
Truro is much more accessible to a wider audience. I would not put it in the Lander though maybe
find another gallery as it should be different from the FdA as most of us had
experienced that.
Having said that St Ives is regarded as one
the art places in the world to visit so it’s a balancing act and maybe a few
days more added to the exhibition or a different venue in St Ives. I do understand a cost implication in this
but worth exploring for future shows. It also added to a wider audience to the
exhibition with the local interest especially on the preview evening with
friends and family invited and the catchment for the gallery through the day of
holidaymakers and art enthusiasts visiting St Ives for it’s reputation as a
cultural center of excellence.
It was discussed what we thought as
students about moving the final exhibitions into college. I think this would be a backward step as
putting these up in college will be seen by people who are used to seeing
exhibition on a regular basis in the foyer, so maybe will not engage with it as
a whole new audience would do in a gallery.
It also helps with professional practice giving good experience on how
to put on a real exhibition and how in an outside environment from college you
need to adapt as things change and maybe go wrong. It also looks better on a CV that you had
exhibited a professional studio or gallery.
It was also mentioned that the final specialist production might be
themed but I thought this was not a good idea it would limit creativity and
could lead to students not showing the passion or enthusiasm for the subject.
Due to the limited space I did a small
booklet to compliment the exhibition prints, which was a good idea for me as I
am continuing this series after the BA to make it into a full book.
One other observations is the PR this time
seemed to drift and drag and also felt like it was late getting the posters,
invites and promotional material out. We seemed to start early enough but there
was a lack of urgency from some of the students getting pictures and
descriptions for the booklet.
On a positive I thought picking Toms
picture for the poster, as it was an inspiration and very striking and wherever
I placed the posters it stood out from anything else. I have never been sure
about the cover of the catalogue but it stood out well in the gallery maybe it
will grow on me one day.
Overall a well, produced and fun exhibition
enjoyed every minute of the preview day from the installation, the movie show,
dinner with some of my fellow students and the preview evening made it one of
my better birthdays.
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