ARTIST CALL 4 - D.Dowley - Miniature Gallery Context

EVALUATION :

Curatorial practice develops mainly out of the examination of artistic practice. General wide- reaching observation over time will evolve into the formation of ideas for exhibitions and other art projects. The impetus may be a particular artist’s work, or a certain trend or phenomenon in art. (Love, 2010 p16)

Which supports my decision to make a traveling sculpture for the Miniature Gallery Exhibition. Call 4 has made me consider the nature of the work I have produced in a curatorial context but it has also been inspired by taking the Sited/Off Sited element of Call 3 further into studio praxis. My previous work used a large floor area (4x4m) and a supporting wall. This has been superseded. This work needs a floor space (1x1m) with no supporting wall and it can moved, assembled and disassembled very quickly. 

The work represents a balance between curatorial practice and the artistic process which is the intention behind the delivery of these combined modules which makes up the new critical and curatorial practices element of the Fine Art Degree. There is a resolution in this final piece of work which will be captured in its placement within this show and how it visually communicates with the other works.

to be completed

CALL 4 : ARTIST STATEMENT

Call 4

ARTIST STATEMENT : Miniature Gallery Context

There is no greater Artist than nature.

This work is a manmade sculptural offering to the omnipotence of nature and the fragilty of human kind. Using left over left overs and found materials from a journey to The Gower Peninsular,The Traveling Gower Beast glorifies a chrome reflected kamikaze flight into other worlds through portals of light and dark. 

The work is inspired by the cycles and eclipses of the Moon as seen in the cogs and wheels of The Antikythera machine, a  mechanical device that computed the positions of the astrological signs on any given date, past or future. It was discovered in an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea and dates to approximately 250 BC. The designer/builder is not known, but because of its similarity to other mechanical devices known to have been designed by Archimedes, it is probably his work. 

The maneuverable sculpture is completely self contained and is made up of hinged parts that unfold when it has reached its destination. The inevitability of life, the possibility of death and potential for rebirth are available, for sale, in this one woman band traveling show.

CALL 4 - Proposal - Miniature Gallery Context

PROPOSAL :

“Narrative is not achieved by painting to a world beyond the art work; it is improvised out of formal conjunctions among objects” (M.Prince/ M.Balka, 2010, frieze) 

I intend to make a free standing sculpture that reflects my experience of working within the wild environment of the Gower Peninsular using roadside detritus found on the journey to this destination and reclaimed materials left in Studio 11.

I will attempt to reflect the essence of The Gower Beast, the cycles and eclipses of the Moon as seen in the cogs and wheels of Antikythera machine a mechanical device that computed the positions of the astrological signs on any given date, past or future. It was discovered in an ancient shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea and dates to approximately 250 BC. The designer/builder is not known, but because of its similarity to other mechanical devices known to have been designed by Archimedes, it is probably his work. 

Also I will be exploring balance, weight, gravity, power and movement using manmade readymades in an interior space.  

The traveling sculpture will be completely self contained and will be made up of hinged parts that will unfold when it has reached its floor space destination via a curatorial directive. It is a curators dream work because it can be wheeled into any position, easily set up and if necessary on a daily basis which is innovative, performative and exciting.

Figure 1 

White sun bleached driftwood stands, balancing, in the wet sand of the shore line - A totem offering intervention, co creating with the constant repetative cycle of the natural world.

The Gower Peninsular, Wales.   

(DDowley, 2012)

Figures 2,3,4.

The essence of the Gower experience is brought back into  Studio 11 and reflected in The Gower Beast. The cycle of the full Moon, dawn into dusk, day into night. 

The inevitability of life, the possiblity of death and potential for rebirth are available for sale in this one woman band traveling show.

(DDowley, 2012)

EVALUATION SIted/Off Site and Exhibtion

Sited/ Off Site Exhibition in The Lobby 

Studio 11

 PCA

11/05/2012 - 1/06/2012

THE WORK

Fitting my work into Call 3 followed the ideas set forth in my proposal but what is more important is that the real challenge came after the planned event. It was represented in the form of how the documentation could be conceptualized rather than the artwork created. It is here where the research came into play and the real work started and with more time, I feel is yet to be completed in the form a new sculpture and publication that includes lists, drawings, poetry and photographs.

My research into Jeremy Dellor’s, Memory Bucket and his comment on the films conclusion, “It’s a romantic thought that nature goes on no matter what man’s sins” is captured within my documented tryptic and was a conclusion I came to myself during this expedition. (Dellor,2010)  The documentation represents a female triumvirate that highlights our frailty when confronted with the omnipotence of Nature and without the usual studio props the work had to rely on what was available within the environment which resulted in the unexpected exploration into balance.

How the methodology changed externally was that with my collaborators, the natural environment became  fundamental co creators in that its power and existence affected contributed and altered the work that was created individually within it. In this context, from a curatorial standpoint, with the Lobby exhibition in mind the need for documentation was in fact paramount to the success of this project as a record for future audiences. 

THE SHOW

“Curating is examining, researching and documenting a collection with the aim of making it accessible to the public. This is done through careful interpretation of the objects, space and text to curate an informative exhibition” Most of which were touched upon to some degree within the curation of this exhibition by the Cura team.(Arvanitis,2012) 

It was a particularly difficult show to curate because of the sheer quantity of flimsy different sized material, frames and monitors that had to be housed and secured in a relatively small space. The team made a point of creating a list with any special artist requests concerning the work and then worked hard to respect them.

Dale works very hard to position Daniella’s 10 un-mounted photographs centrally and evenly, a job made impossible by using a spirit level on the sloping door frame. Kate and Laura are an effective team and take over sorting this right hand area of the show single handed.

(Fig 7- 12 above)

Unlike the Lift gallery exhibition this was different in that there were very few larger objects to work the other smaller pieces around but there were two main cluster groups. The team did a good job but important decisions about how to place the 5 monitors and Daniella’s 10 6x4 photographs were not resolved adequately and as this quote indicates “The organisation, discussion and presentation of information including objects, facts and opinions, in order to create value and meaning to be understood by the public” is in fact paramount to effective curation when working in a team. (Arvanitis,2012)

The suggestion to have the 5 monitors in a line on the main left wall was a good one and this could have been reflected on the opposite wall with the placement of the 10 photographs which needed to be placed at eye level. 

The team had to start somewhere so monitors were randomly placed and the photographs were positioned off centre and lopsided above the double doors. These decisions were made quickly and without a collective agreement. When the process really got going the team worked mostly in twos with little group discussion and without a collective curatorial objective. 

As with any exhibition if an artist has a film on show they should be responsible for turning their monitors on and off. If these artists are working in Studio 11 and these monitors are still turned off there is no excuse for this lack of care and reflects badly on the exhibition as a whole. This is an on going concern and should be dealt with accordingly by the team. 


This was a very challenging exhibition to curate effectively with the time given and the numbers involved and I learnt a lot by simply watching and taking photographs. The team did the best job they could with or without the ideas I have discussed.

EVALUATION : ARTIST CALL 3 - Sited/Off sited

Figure 1 : Nature Co-Creating Triumviri

(Dowley, 2012)

Submitted document for Artist Call 3

EVALUATION :

‘Art work that takes from the everyday...is it an act of salvation to save the mundane from the negligence that surrounds it.’ (Highmore, 2002 p24)

Fitting my work into Call 3 followed the ideas set forth in my proposal but what is more important is that the real challenge came after the planned event. It was represented in the form of how the documentation could be conceptualized rather than the artwork created. It is here where the research came into play and the real work started and with more time, I feel is yet to be completed in the form a publication that includes lists, drawings, poetry and photographs.

My research into Jeremy Dellor’s, Memory Bucket and his comment on the films conclusion, “It’s a romantic thought that nature goes on no matter what man’s sins” is captured within my documented tryptic and was a conclusion I came to myself during this expedition into the wild. (Dellor,2010)  The documentation represents a female triumvirate that highlights our frailty when confronted with the omnipotence of Nature.

How the methodology changed externally was that with my collaborators, the natural environment became a fundamental co creator in that its power and existence affected contributed and altered the work that was created, individually within it. From a curatorial standpoint the need for documentation was in fact paramount to the success of this project as a record for future audiences beginning with The Lobby Exhibition which was curated on Friday. 

This was a particularly difficult show to curate because of the sheer quantity of unframed multiple sized documentation that was presented including  Ai to A4 foam board, frames and large monitors. All of which had to be housed and secured in a relatively small space. The team made a point of creating a list with any special artist requests and worked hard to respect them. 

Reference list / bibliography

Dowley, D., 2012. Nature Co-Creating Triumviri. The Gower Peninsular, Wales. Artist Call 3 Group Exhibition, The Lobby. PCA

Dellor, J,. (2010) Memory Bucket- Manchester, Crawford and Jeremy Dellor [online]. Robert Leeming Word Press.com. Available from http://robertleeming.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/memory-bucket-manchester-crawford-and-jeremy-deller/

Highmore, B., (ed). (2002) The Everyday Life Reader. USA & Canada : Routledge

ARTIST STATEMENT Call 3 - Sited/ Off site

One aspect of my work is that it is a comment on the conflicts of Modern existence and the challenges I experience living, breathing and feeling in a society that is propelled forward by consumption and alienation. I rescue detritus, throwaway objects, bringing them together and reassembling them in such a way as to give them a new life and narrative. 

This will be the 5th ‘BIG’ project I have been involved in with either Kensa Rescorla or and Jess Young where we push and challenge ourselves over a period of time and record our individual and group experiences as a way of exploring art practice, communication, endurance and site specificity. 

The intention behind this piece of work is to drive together to the Gower Peninsular in Wales where we will explore on foot the national Park in order to find a site where we will spend two days creating our individual artistic responses to the chosen environment and the off sited element of artist call 3. 

My interpretation and documentation of this expedition into the unknown can be found in a tryptic of black and white photographs which captures the essence of female artists co creating within the dynamic and powerful aspects of nature.

ARTIST STATEMENT - Call 1 The Lift Gallery

One aspect of my work is that it is a comment on the conflicts of Modern existence and the challenges I experience living, breathing and feeling in a society that is propelled forward by consumption and alienation. 

I rescue detritus, throwaway objects, bringing them together and reassembling them in such a way as to give them a new life and narrative. 

My intention is to alter the work throughout the exhibition exploring my reaction to the emptiness of the modern popular idealized female figure which is at once adored and discarded. The result of this exploration is an object driven rubberized plastic consumptive abyss.

ARTIST STATEMENT 2 - THE PUBLICATION

“I find stuff, anything, everything and what this stuff has in common is that nobody wants it. 

It’s the left over leftovers, discarded objects not fit for a bin because if they were I wouldn't find them.

I especially covet objects from arterial economic highways along which I travel. Objects that have been altered by random acts of violence or abuse like the wheels of commerce rolling over drinks cans and animals, the space and life punched out, extinguished, flattened, ripped and torn.

This work is about giving a voice to silence, the minority, marginalized, discarded, voiceless leftovers of lives, my life, ruled by consumption and alienation.”

Before starting my degree at PCAD I worked in both building and photojournalism. I travelled a lot and used 35mm black-and-white film to record my experiences. Since coming to college I have explored a number of different mediums including film, abstract painting, wood and metalwork. The culmination of this exploration can be seen in my most recent work, a towering three dimensional structure made entirely of discarded rubbish, including a broken rusty satellite dish, wood and the residues of previously made art work, smashed rear view mirror and coloured plastic. 

Although the medium I am now working with seems miles away from my original photographic work, I am still motivated by two recurring themes: Journeys and people or things which have been marginalized or discarded. The photographs in the book give the impression of three stages of the Studio 11 structure and the journey, the transformation it has been through. I have enjoyed using an old medium to capture the essence of the new one.

Gower Peninsular Expedition

Gower Peninsular Expedition, a set on Flickr.

Here I have captured a two day art adventure with fellow Artists Kensa Rescorla and Jess Young in the amazingly beautiful Gower Peninsular in Wales. This is the 5th in the of 'Big' adventure series. The aim was to choose a location somewhere in the UK where we would start off on foot with the intention of finding a site we could respond to artistically over a two day period. Also during this nature residency we have also created work for an off sited Artist call 3. My title for these works are ;
J.Y - New beginnings
K.R - Steps
D.D - Nature V Man
records of which can be found in amongst these photos.