CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE
CLICK HERE TO GO TO: http://tinytents.tumblr.com/
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
THE MUSING IDEA: A Paradigm Shift
 |
| CLICK HERE TO VISIT ONLINE |
Nina Simon is currently working with the McPherson Center in Santa Cruz, California as the Executive Director of The Museum of Art & History. Nina is also the author of The Participatory Museum and she has presented many papers and written many an essay on museums – one being Going Analog: Translating Virtual Learnings into Real Institutional Change – http://www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2009/papers/simon/simon.html
The Abstract: "Museum technology professionals have spent the last several years advocating for, experimenting with, and expanding the Web presence of museums. We’ve created museum spaces on-line that offer free access to visitors all over the world and increasingly invite visitors to talk with each other, take content away with them, access and remix parts of the collection that aren’t on public display – in short, to do things that aren’t possible in the real museum.
The Abstract: "Museum technology professionals have spent the last several years advocating for, experimenting with, and expanding the Web presence of museums. We’ve created museum spaces on-line that offer free access to visitors all over the world and increasingly invite visitors to talk with each other, take content away with them, access and remix parts of the collection that aren’t on public display – in short, to do things that aren’t possible in the real museum.
But now we should be going in the other direction and applying the methods and lessons of the Web and Web 2.0 to the museum itself. How can museums be more like the Web? How can they be open 24/7? How can visitors customize their experiences? How can museums become places to talk with other visitors and sneak into the most interesting drawers and move things around?
This paper advocates for museum Web technology professionals to take a broader view of their roles within their institutions and focus energy on translating their knowledge to the onsite experience. It presents models and case studies for how to do this kind of translation from virtual-to-real space, both strategically (so that curators, directors, and boards can sign on to the vision) and practically."
"Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the rhetorical flourish - a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language. Moreover, metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along perfectly well without metaphor. We have found, on the contrary, that metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature." (Lakoff and Johnson 1980)
The National Vending Machine – Building a community of objects
 |
| Click here to visit & explore online |
The National Vending Machine (Nationale Automatiek in Dutch) is place where visitors to a museum can buy historical objects. The objects are both historical and recognisable, like a light bulb or tulips. Each object tells a story about Dutch history, which visitors can read on an attached label, see as a video or discover on the project’s website.
The idea is to build a community of objects. Visitors can contribute to the exposition by telling their story about the object they bought or by suggesting new objects ... Click here to read more
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
A BOOK: The Participatory Museum
"At the end of 2009, the National Endowment for the Arts [USA] released a sobering report on the state of arts attendance in the United States. The authors didn’t mince words; in the preface, they wrote, “The 2008 survey results are, at a glance, disappointing.”Over the last twenty years, audiences for museums, galleries, and performing arts institutions have decreased, and the audiences that remain are older and whiter than the overall population. Cultural institutions argue that their programs provide unique cultural and civic value, but increasingly people have turned to other sources for entertainment, learning, and dialogue. They share their artwork, music, and stories with each other on the Web. They participate in politics and volunteer in record numbers. They even read more. But they don’t attend museum exhibits and performances like they used to.
How can cultural institutions reconnect with the public and demonstrate their value and relevance in contemporary life? I believe they can do this by inviting people to actively engage as cultural participants, not passive consumers. As more people enjoy and become accustomed to participatory learning and entertainment experiences, they want to do more than just “attend” cultural events and institutions. The social Web has ushered in a dizzying set of tools and design patterns that make participation more accessible than ever. Visitors expect access to a broad spectrum of information sources and cultural perspectives. They expect the ability to respond and be taken seriously. They expect the ability to discuss, share, and remix what they consume. When people can actively participate with cultural institutions, those places become central to cultural and community life.
This book presents techniques for cultural institutions to invite visitor participation while promoting institutional goals. Community engagement is especially relevant in a world of increasing participatory opportunities on the social Web, but it is not new. Arguments for audience participation in cultural institutions trace back at least a hundred years. There are three fundamental theories underpinning this book:
- The idea of the audience-centered institution that is as relevant, useful, and accessible as a shopping mall or train station (with thanks to John Cotton Dana, Elaine Heumann Gurian, and Stephen Weil).
- The idea that visitors construct their own meaning from cultural experiences (with thanks to George Hein, John Falk, and Lynn Dierking).
- The idea that users’ voices can inform and invigorate both project design and public-facing programs (with thanks to Kathy McLean, Wendy Pollock, and the design firm IDEO) ... Click here to read on
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
RESEARCH & PERFORMANCE: Independent Curators International
 |
| Marina Abramovic, The House with the Ocean View (2002) Sean Kelly Gallery |
FOREWORD: Increasingly Independent curatorship is where we are finding the sharp end curatorial practice. 'Institutional Curatorship' all to often is marked by ultra-conservatisim and outmoded status quo practices. However cultural producers are embracing dynamic new approaches to their work and likewise, audiences are much better informed, and much more demanding, than it has traditionally been assumed that they are.
The game has been lifted by independent curators and researchers. They are blurring borders and challenging the once reliable 'safe practices' dished up by institutions. This research focusing upon performance art is an exemplar of where we might find the critical thinking.
 |
| Click here to visit the site |
By Mariana Azevedo, Sakina Namazi, Shannon Ryan, Keeli Shaw on November 1, 2011 Posted in Dispatch
As an artistic classification, the term ‘performance art’ is fairly contentious within the contemporary art world. Over the past 40 years, the artistic practice has evolved to encompass myriad forms and titles in an attempt to adequately categorize the genre. Artists, curators and scholars readily agree there are historical sub-movements within the genre, such as body art, live art, etc., but the term ‘performance art’ has been largely accepted as the definitive term and subsequently integrated within both art historical and popular discourse. Some argue the classification of ‘performative’ is misleading and antithetical to the conceptual basis of most works done in the 1960’s and 70’s. The term portends theatricality and therefore misconstrues or alters the intentions of the work because of the association with entertainment.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
An Exemplar For Online Curation
 |
| Click here to visit the online collection |
"As part of the MCA’s redevelopment, [its] online pilot project showcases 28 works from the recent MCA Collection: New Acquisitions in Context. This online resource, over time, will become a key component in showcasing the MCA’s expanding collection of contemporary Australian art ... The first selection represents a cross section of current art practices. Making these works accessible online is an important step: it reflects the Museum’s ongoing commitment to providing high quality educative and accessible resources and the institution’s determination to disseminate the wealth of ideas encapsulated by artists in their work – ideas that not only draw attention to but confront many of the social, technological and political challenges we face today ... Click here to read more"
Curation and keeping up in the 21st Century
Manifesta Journal is pleased to announce the launch of its third series. The format of Manifesta Journal(MJ), like the Manifesta biennial, is a changing model. It aims to facilitate a platform for a critical analyses into international curating and biennials in general. Every six editions, a new editorial team from diverse areas of Europe and beyond is invited to develop a different concept for the series, reflecting on contemporary Europe and the world.
For the first time in MJ's history, MJ #13–18 will be available for free online. Readers will also soon be able to order a print-on-demand issue.
About: Founded in 2003, Manifesta Journal is an international journal that focuses on the practices and theories of contemporary curating. Manifesta Journal is an independent project, initiated by the Manifesta Foundation. The format of Manifesta Journal (MJ), like the Manifesta biennial, is a changing model. It aims to be both self-reflective and critical toward international curating and biennials in general, but also toward its own functional mechanisms. Every six editions, a new editorial team from diverse areas of Europe and beyond is invited to develop a different concept for the series, to reflect on contemporaery Europe and the world ... After the comprehensive grammar and manual for contemporary curatorship established in the first six issues of Manifesta Journal, MJ #1–6, by Viktor Misiano and Igor Zabel and which continued in the series of six issues that were realized between 2009–2011 by Viktor Misiano, Senior Editor Nathalie Zonnenberg and Associate Editor Filipa Ramos, Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez as Chief Editor and Virginie Bobin as Associate Editor have taken over the editorial work of the Manifesta Journal for the upcoming six issues, MJ #13–18. Manifesta Journal can be regarded as a porous platform to reconsider ... read more here
•••
The canon of curating: At the heart of MJ’s 11th issue, “The Canon of Curating,” lies the question on how the canon of curating is to be defined. If “a history of exhibitions” must be written what should its parameters be? In art history, the canon has been losing ground since the 1960s, when the study of “great artists” began to be replaced slowly by the study of the conditions surrounding artistic practice. This shift was also demonstrated by curators of the time. Nevertheless, within the practice of curating, the canon seems to occupy a noteworthy position—if only because some curators still feel the need to “curate outside the canon.” In the Historiography section, Bruce Altshuler explores the discussion and research around the complex establishment of an exhibition canon. Simon Sheikh notes in his contribution that it is important to keep the inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms of a canon in mind and reconsider the .... read more here
•••
Ethics “The true art of a curator is an art of compromise.” No doubt Pierre Restany's bon mot reflects the reality of curatorial practice. Curators are dealing with different and often alien interests—political, economic and social. In realizing their oeuvre, they must always satisfy the requests of politicians, sponsors, managers, artists, professionals and large audiences. What are the limitations of this art of compromise? Does an art of compromise also presume a consciousness of what should not be a matter of compromise? These are among the many questions that lay at the ground of Manifesta Journal 12 on curatorial ethics; these questions ultimately also try to examine whether ethics is a secondary consideration for curatorial work, or inextricable from the process and ..... read more here
Monday, December 19, 2011
THERE IS AN ART MUSING PARADIGM SHIFT IN PROGRESS
 |
| CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE THE SITE |
Galleries around the world are collaborating with GOOGLE to broaden the ARTmusing experience. In Australia the National Gallery of Australia is working with copyright holders to make their work in the NGA's collections more accessible. Apparently, if artists do not agree to their work being made accessible in this way, well it will be pixelated. There is always a bureaucratic solution available for CULTURALrecalcitrants isn't there!
Watch out for the galleries unwilling to play with GOOGLE and especially so for their reasons for not doing so. Chances are they'll be vacuous! ANYWAY the chances are that there will be some DUSTeating collections to watch out for too.
A MUSINGplace For Now
 |
| CLICK HERE TO GO THERE |
In its own little way this MUSINGplace is not only going places its getting there as well. Like all good MUSINGplaces this one comes with full bag of ideas – [1] [2] [3] etc. – it wants to push and invites you to interrogate ... but HEY isn't that why we go there?
WARNING
DO NOT GO THERE
IF YOU FIND IDEAS
THREATENING
Banksy's Gift to the World for Christmas 2011
 |
| CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
For all those out there who regard graffiti as a SIN think again. The world's GRAFFITIpope, Banksy, no longer has to lurk surreptitiously around in dark allies with his spray cans and stencils if he has something contentious to say. All he has to do now it seems is dial up a gallery and they'll welcome him in – and especially so if he wants to challenge an idea like Christmas at Christmas.
Banksy has just unveiled a new GRAFFITIsculpture, a bust of a priest with a pixeled-out face in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. He, Banksy, is "responding to the child abuse scandals in the Catholic church, he had this to say “I’m never sure who deserves to be put on a pedestal or crushed under one.” ... Click HERE and HERE for sources
Banksy just keeps on giving and now he has gone 3D, one could even say multidimensional, with his placement of his Cardinal Sin, in Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery in the UK. The Gallery and Bansk, or is it the other way round, collude to respond at Christmas to the "child abuse scandals that the church seems to be known for these days, features a face taken off and replaced by blank bathroom tiles. Banksy noted in a statement ... I'm never sure who deserves to be put on a pedestal or crushed under one." Banksy's Cardinal Sin sits in the gallery next to religious works dated from the 17th Century.
 |
| CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
The BBC has quoted Banksy as saying, "I love everything about the Walker Gallery—the Old Masters, the contemporary art, the rude girl in the cafe. And when I found out Mr Walker built it with beer money it became my favourite gallery. The statue? I guess you could call it a Christmas present. At this time of year it's easy to forget the true meaning of Christianity—the lies, the corruption, the abuse."
CLICK HERE TO READ THE WALKER MUSEUM'S TAKE ON IT ALL
A VIDEO THAT EXPLAINS THE MUSEUM'S POSITION
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BANKSY
When museums, artists and 'patrons' muse together all kinds of unexpected things become a possibility!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
COLLECTING: The Art in Collecting Krap
There is an art to collecting krap and if you CLICK HERE you just might get an insight into how you might broaden your mind with KRAPart
Saturday, December 17, 2011
MARKETING A MUSEUM WITH CITIZEN PHOTOGRAPHY
 |
| CLICK HERE TO GO TO SOURCE |
The Bonnefanten Museum has decided, it seems, to not only engage with its visitors but also to actively engage them in the museum's marketing.
Under the marketing banner "A museum with YOUR view!" it asks visitors to send in pictures of the museum and get a chance to win a prize. Rather than issue its visitors with a list of DO NOTS & MUST NOTS it has pared down its rules to a minimum and ALLOWS ITS VISITORS TO TAKE/MAKE PHOTOGRAPHS/IMAGES quite clearly.
The museum intends publishing the received pictures on its website with attributions. Once a month, the most original picture will be selected out of all the sent images with the lucky ones wining a prize. Now there is win-win idea for you with visitors encouraged to ENGAGE with the museum and it artworks.
This not a particularly novel idea as there are many museums and art galleries who have overcome their overactive paranoia about people 'stealing images' from their collections. For example, in Tasmania, MONA's policy of allowing visitors to take photographs in the museum and its art is PAYING BIG DIVIDENDS – you see the visitors are social networkers using their cellphones and BLOGS to share their MONA experience and encourage others to 'come see for themselves'.
You just cannot buy that kind of advertising!
This is not only smart marketing it is VERY smart marketing!
 |
| CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE MUSEUM |
About The Museum
The Bonnefanten Museum was founded in 1884 as the historical and archaeological museum of the Dutch province of Limburg. The name Bonnefanten Museum is derived from the French bons enfants ('good children'), the popular name of a monastery in Maastricht that housed the museum from 1951 until 1978.
In 1995, the museum moved to its present location, a building designed by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi. With its landmark cupola overlooking the River Maas, it is one of Maastricht's most prominent modern buildings.
Since 1999, the museum has become exclusively an art museum. The historical and archaeological collections were housed elsewhere. In 2009, the museum celebrated its 125th anniversary with the exhibition Exile on Main Street.
About The Collection
The combination of old art and contemporary art under one roof gives the Bonnefanten Museum its distinctive character. The department of old masters is located on the first floor and displays highlights of early Italian painting and Flemish and Dutch painting from the 16th and 17th centuries. Exhibited on the same floor is the museum's extensive collection of Medieval sculpture. The contemporary art collection is exhibited on the second floor and focuses on American Minimalism, Italian Arte Povera and Concept Art.
DRAWING: Stripped of sentimentality and subjectivity
 |
| Click here to visit the museum |
Extended Drawing
18.09.2011 – 15.01.2012
Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman, Richard Serra
Extended Drawing focuses on a specific aspect of the work of American artists Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra. The exhibition shows works in which line and drawing are taken beyond their original boundaries.
The exhibition brings four artists together, who belong to the 'classical' generation that gave direction to American art from the mid-sixties. These four artists have consistently used drawing in their zeal to strip art of easy (false) sentimentality and an over-emphasized subjectivity. Their endeavour to achieve universality leads them to a far-reaching objectification of visual means ... Click here to read more and for a virtual tour
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
ELEMENTO: Lirio Salvador's music & instruments
"It's an attempt to integrate music, performance art, sculpture, and audio art, all into one". His band Elemento produces oriental industrial noises and experimental music using his own instruments that include strings, electronics, winds and percussion.
Sandata ng lolo ni tatay Meaning "Weapon of my Grandfather's Father" the instrument was created Lirio Salvador, a native of the Philippines, using found objects. It is played like a cello, though it sounds nothing like one. The resonators are made from mixing bowls, and is amplified by a magnetic pickup.
Sandat 3RB Created by Lirio Salvador using "found objects". The Sandat 3RB is a bit like a fretless guitar, using regular guitar strings which stretch the door-spring to produce industrial oriental drone sound effects. It is a "free playing" instrument that can be played by anyone.
Planet Stainless Created by Lirio Salvador using "found objects", Planet Stainless is an improvised amplifier that creates natural vibrating effects when used. It is made from various pieces of stainless steel kitchenware, including pots and bowls, which create its sound effects.
 |
| A Surreal Concert by Lirio Salvador & Elemento at ArtScience Museum |
Experimental Music band ELEMENTO founded by LIRIO SALVADOR
Elemento - They're not Musicians
Monday, December 12, 2011
LOOKING TOWARDS AN IDEAL 21st CENTURY ART MUSEUM
”Just Before. The Ideal Museum”
Zuzanna Janin, 2007
"Just before the winner of the competition to design the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw was announced, Zuzanna Janin travelled all over the country with her TeleviZJon project to ask artists how they would imagine the "ideal museum." Janin's para-documentary engages contemporary artists in the ongoing discussion about the museum. Made in artists' studios, the film shows the places where "it all begins," where art is made. Though an ideal museum can never exist, the question is in itself relevant and topical. By expressing their ideas and visions, artists will be able to co-operate with architects and curators in determining the shape of the future Museum of Modern Art."
What a breakthrough, a bureaucracy seeks to find someone who not only knows a few people but is interested in engaging with them to find out what they are interested in and interested in achieving. We can only hope that it is a catching idea.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
eva International Biennial
eva International Biennial of Visual Art, Limerick City, Ireland
19 May–12 August 2012 Curated by Annie Fletcher
eva International (formerly ev+a) would like to announce that the 2012 biennial will be curated by Annie Fletcher, Curator of Exhibitions at the Van Abbemuseum. An international open call for proposals launches today with the deadline for submissions: 31 January 2012. Please see www.eva.ie/open-call or contact info@eva.ie for further information.
Annie said of her appointment: "Everywhere we look and everything we read right now seems to tell us we are at a new juncture. We are at an unprecedented moment of change – whether teetering on the edge of a financial precipice, or witnessing extraordinary new articulations of protest. This year eva International will attempt to tap into this feeling of imminence by understanding how artists define and explain the status quo in relation to global events. What are we on the verge of? How do artists envisage what is to come and what is to be done?"
Founded in 1977, eva International is an artist-centred biennial of visual art that works with acclaimed guest curators to present innovative exhibitions across the city of Limerick, Ireland. Artists' projects are selected through an international open call for proposals and exhibitions take place in both gallery and non-gallery spaces. A programme of talks, workshops and events accompanies the exhibitions and provides further opportunities for audiences to engage.
Since being founded, eva International has gained national and international acclaim, and is recognised as Ireland's preeminent exhibition of visual art. Previous curators include: Angelika Nollert & Yilmaz Dziewior (2009), Hou Hanru (2008), Katerina Gregos (2006), Dan Cameron (2005), Zdenka Badovinac (2004), Apinan Poshyananda (2002), Salah M. Hassan (2001), Rosa Martínez (2000), Guy Tortosa (1996), Jan Hoet (1994), Germano Celant (1991), Saskia Bos (1990) and Rudi Fuchs (1985).
Woodrow Kernohan, Director of eva International said: "eva International is delighted that Annie Fletcher will be the Curator for the 35th edition of Ireland's biennial of visual art in 2012. We are looking forward to working with her and the selected artists to create an exciting programme of exhibitions and associated events that will animate the city and forge links across Limerick and beyond."
About Annie Fletcher Annie Fletcher is currently Curator of Exhibitions at the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, and tutor at De Appel, Amsterdam. Recent presentations include solo exhibitions or projects with Jo Baer, Jutta Koether, Cerith Wynn Evans, Deimantas Narkevicius, Minerva Cuevas and the long term project, "Be(com)ing Dutch" with Charles Esche (2006–2009). She was co-founder and co-director of the rolling platform "If I Can't Dance, I Don't Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution" with Frederique Bergholtz (2005–2010), and Co-Curator of Cork Caucus with Charles Esche and Art / not art (2005). As a writer she has recently contributed to various magazines including "Afterall" and "Metropolis M", and is currently on the editorial board of "A Prior" magazine.
eva International 2012 is supported by The Arts Council of Ireland, Limerick City Council, Limerick City Gallery of Art and is in partnership with the Van Abbemuseum and Visual Artists Ireland.
For further information please see www.eva.ie or contact info@eva.ie
Open Call for Proposals Deadline: 31 January 2012"eva International and Annie Fletcher would like to invite artists from all over the world to propose new or existing works for inclusion in eva International 2012.
Proposals can be made in any medium. Selected artists will be supported to produce new or show existing works in Limerick City, Ireland from 19 May – 12 August 2012.
Proposals should be made through the online submission process. Supporting materials can either be uploaded through the online submission process, sent by post to Limerick City, or delivered by hand to Limerick City or Dublin.
Artists can make up to 2 proposals and there is a submission fee of €20 for 1 proposal or €30 for 2 proposals.
Please note: eva International is a not-for-profit organisation. Submission fees support selected artists and contribute directly to production, transportation and exhibition costs.
If you have any questions please contact info@eva.ie"
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
A TRULY GREEN CHRISTMAS: Culture in Action
 |
| CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE IMAGES |
This is something that municipal councils EVERYWHERE should pay attention to – its CAN DO and culture in action.
For a third consecutive year the city of Kaunas, Lithuania approached artist Jolanta Šmidtienė to assist with their annual holiday decorating. Recognizing the city’s somewhat dire financial state the artist challenged herself to build something that wouldn’t rely on any administrative funds set aside for the event.
JUST LOOK WHAT THEY GOT ... an enormous 13-meter tall Christmas tree made from nearly 40,000 recycled green bottles and zip ties. At night the tree is lit from the inside resulting in a glowing, translucent, emerald green spruce that’s already making headlines across the country – soon the around the world too you would hope.
Wouldn't it be wonderful IF next Christmas, or for some other festival, YOUR local council facilitated something like this!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)