Sunday, February 22, 2015

Print Gallery Reflection

The idea of a gallery in my opinion will continue to be a feasible one since it is one universal method of presenting one's work to the public domain. Artists cannot expect immediate public attention if they believe there is something aesthetically intrinsic or valuable about their work that people need to take note of, thus the gallery is a fantastic way for artists to make professional entrances into the art world. The show we had this week does not hold that much in stake, but it at least provides a good tutorial on how one curates a gallery event. A person hosting such an event should be mindful of the attractiveness to visitors pertaining mostly to its accessibility. That person cannot expect those people to line up to look at portraits, especially in a small room, so there should at least be some complementary drinks, snacks, and books to accommodate them. I believe the purpose of a gallery is to not only show appreciation of art, but to also instigate conversation about it, and a way of inviting that is food and beverage as well as books corresponding to their respective portraits to discuss over in greater detail. The contents of the gallery should also extend outside the small room that it is being held in, and our show did exactly that with our snacks and drinks.

My experience preparing for this show was interesting to say the least. The process of printing photographs and hanging them as portraits is in of itself rudimentary, but understanding the organization of a small event provides a valuable lesson in teamwork and management. Cooperation leads to strong results, and I believe we achieved just that. Many people came in on opening day, and they were respectful and appreciative of our work, and I think that is perhaps the best that we could ask for, especially for a show held in a relatively small room in a densely packed building, among many more accessible locations. Size aside, I felt the room fit with the photographs tonally right, with the portraits exhibiting many different moods and the aesthetic of room being rather neutral and not pertaining to one theme alone. The noninterference of the room also allows for a more open feel and more room for free discussion about the artwork.

The books are probably a more preferable form of presenting our artwork because visitors get to appreciate more of our work than the limited number officially displayed on the wall. I noticed more people gather around the pedestals where the books were located and how there was more discussion going on there than at the walls where the portraits were hung. Perhaps there is a subconscious button in our minds that switches our talkative sides off when we venture near the walls as opposed to when we gather around the pedestals.


1 comment:

  1. I also preferred the books as a form of presenting our artwork. Hanging up our photographs created a nice gallery, but having seen all of the work our classmates put in to making those books, I feel like the full collection of photographs tells a much more complete story than just two select ones hanging on the wall.

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