Curation in context – with TC McCormack.
This strand will take account of the ways in which exhibition making can be understood as a widened field, and well as viewing it as an extension of your practice. We will explore many of the contexts that inform curatorial practice and consider how it can support realising your own artworks in an exhibition context.

We will consider curation as an extension of an artist’s creative practice, we will look at the role and rise of the Artist-Curator and explore how this role is different to a curator, and consider how this role can be empowering and asks you to extend your enquiry into new fields, to invite all manner of possibilities; to take ownership of art’s interactions in public realm (exhibitions, etc.). Plus we shall consider the differences between project spaces, arts institutions and galleries. Your creative practice will be drawn upon to develop a project, which will involve developing a curatorial proposal. I will also invite you to change your perspective.

Curation can take many forms, here are just three examples; viewed together they offer a useful overview, to help us start to understand the curatorial perspective. ‘ Artist Curator’ a practising artist who also curates shows, runs not-for-profit spaces from which they exhibit their and other artists work, often operating outside the commercial art world, and can equally be seen to work with public arts spaces. ‘Curator’ taken from the classical tradition of museum curator, a curator who is resident within an arts institution with discreet gallery space(s).

The institution can be of any scale, although it retains a secure funding income. ‘Ausstellungsmacher’ (a German term) means; ‘one who puts on an exhibition’, this position deliberately distances itself from the Classical tradition of the Museum Curator, instead it speaks of amore functional pragmatic role. Ausstellungsmacher constituents might include; manager, administrator, diplomat, amateur, author of texts, financier, researcher, communicator, transporter and guard. Over our sessions we will discuss the contexts of curation and the wider nature of the discipline…as a form of artist practice. You will be asked to develop a curatorial proposal.

My idea for a curatorial proposal is one that is feasible and within the environment i found myself.
It would be an exhibition of my peers within a certain framework of art which is textual, mark-making, mindfulness and workshop-based.
I found myself drawn to four artists whose work I feel correspond or relate to each other in interesting ways.

I would locate the exhibition at Bloc Projects in Sheffield which I find to be the right size and intimacy for a show of four artists.
I am familiar with the dimensions of the building and previous shows etc.

The artists I have in mind have all agreed on being a part of the exhibition apart from one artist whom I haven’t had a chance to speak to.
Let’s visit those artists in person.

Aleatoric Drawing (Utilising Perec)

Timothy Hardman
Studying an MFA in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam |
An artist who writes

https://www.instagram.com/1710.film/

Creating a line drawing by transcribing the novel over a grid constructed using the order of letters by common usage in American English Tim fastidiously and with precision scribes these lines and it’s hypnotic to watch and fascinating.
I would love Tim to be on site and use this piece in the exhibition and for the audience to hear his process which I think is vital to this exhibition.
Tim could also incorporate some spoken word from other projects as is work is based primarily on text.

Tim’s mark making and the sound that creates draws me into the process of another artist Johnsey who works within art communities and is focused on the therapeutic process and catharsis of mark-making. https://www.instagram.com/johnseyartist/
In a recent exhibition his work was a series of drawings made by automation which was quite crude and erratic but a reminder of the joy of drawing with its randomness and repetitiveness.
The sound from the machines and the scribbling made me think of the parallels of Tim’s work which was precise lines drawn by a human.
This correlation between the automated, human and precision with chaos makes these two works gel together with their juxtaposition.
I couldn’t locate any of the work as an example but believe me it will work and Johnsey is the only artist I haven’t asked yet.

There is a link to the next artist which I feel is a big part of the previous work and that is mindfulness and Jack Mackness who draws geometrical shapes using a system and a process I was privy to in a peer workshop. https://www.instagram.com/jomackness/
There is a system of drawing straight lines which reminds me of Tim’s work and those controlled lines are so different to Johnsey’s mark making but therapeutic and cathartic as well.
It would be great for Johnsey and Jack to host a workshop in the space as I feel audience participation is part of the process.

Which brings me to my final artist Yazleigh who is incredible she uses text, digital, analogue, sculpts and draws and is great with workshops which again I was involved in.
I feel that Yazleigh can adapt her work to any environment and she will be able to assimilate her environment with her work.
Yazleigh incorporates text into her work often she uses coding to get the results that she needs and her work is a mix of traditional, digital, text, images that coalesce into one whole. https://www.instagram.com/p/C27ov3NoFsiTocsGswsBGjLjJmBkLstRh01dqw0/?img_index=1

I wouldn’t be a part of this exhibition I feel my work is different to these artists and that would detract from the overall feeling and ambiance of the work and the artists.
I feel there is a cohesion to the work despite the different approaches.
I don’t have a title for the exhibition but the one I’m interested in is perspicacity: the quality of having a ready insight into things; shrewdness.
This title leaves enough ambiguity for the artist and audience to draw different conclusions from the work.
The internalisation of the work and oneself can lead to a self-awareness and create a mental wellbeing.
The acuteness of art and its mark making creates within an artist a moment of clarity which everybody can intuit and draw from the same well of creativity.

Perspicacity
is a group show in association with Bloc Projects
71 Eyre Street
Sheffield
S1 45B



Contacts:
Russell Jones (curator)
Rusty’sArtWerk (russelljonesblog.com)
07903435154
senojllessur@gmail.com




This proposal introduces an exhibition, titled “Perspicacity”,
the quality of having a ready insight into things; shrewdness.
The title leaves enough ambiguity for the artist and the audience to impart meaning and draw different conclusions from the work depending on their own personal experience.
The internalisation of the process of mark-making can lead to a state of self-awareness and create a mental wellbeing.
The acuteness of art and the process involved creates within an artist a moment of clarity and vision that everyone can intuit and draw from the same wellspring of creativity.





It involves:
-Tim Hardiman, Johnsey, Jack Mackness and Yazleigh
-works include an aleotoric drawing, drawings made by automation, geometric shapes and text based artwork.
All artists will be involved in some workshop.

Perspicacity
Perspicacity is the name of the exhibition which I have an interest in curating.
It is an exhibition of my peers working within a certain framework which is textual, mindful, concerned with mark-making and workshop based.

I recently attended a testbed exhibition at Persistence Works based in Sheffield which utilised these artists different styles and approaches that felt like they still had a link and cohesion.
Whether that is the sound of the process or the marks made by a human hand or automation or the feeling of catharsis through drawing straight lines to form geometrical shapes.
I feel the workshops and hearing and seeing the artists at work creates an inclusivity to the work and bridges the gap between artist and the audience.



This quote sums up my feeling for this exhibition:
“Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.”
Kurt Vonnegut



I believe I have selected artists who represent this quote to its fullest and their work will not only stand its ground individually but also benefit from the surrounding artists that compliment each other. As a curator I am not exhibiting my own work as I feel it would be a distraction and it would affect the ambiance of the artists material I have chosen.





Tim Hardiman
MFA student at Sheffield Hallam
An artist who writes. https://www.instagram.com/1710.film/

Tim has Created a line drawing by transcribing the novel over a grid constructed using the order of letters by common usage in American English Tim fastidiously and with precision scribes these lines and it’s hypnotic to watch and fascinating.
I would love Tim to be on site and use this piece in the exhibition and for the audience to hear his process which I think is vital to this exhibition.
Tim could also incorporate some spoken word from other projects as his work is based primarily on text.

Johnsey
MFA student at Sheffield Hallam

Tim’s mark making and the sound that creates draws me into the process of another artist Johnsey who works within art communities and is focused on the therapeutic process and catharsis of mark-making. https://www.instagram.com/johnseyartist/

In a recent exhibition his work was a series of drawings made by automation which was quite crude and erratic but a reminder of the joy of drawing with its randomness and repetitiveness.
The sound from the machines and the scribbling made me think of the parallels of Tim’s work which was precise lines drawn by a human.
This correlation between the automated, human and precision with chaos makes these two works gel together within their juxtaposition.

Jack Mackness
MFA student Sheffield Hallam

There is a link to the next artist which I feel is a big part of the previous work and that is mindfulness and Jack Mackness who draws geometrical shapes using a system and a process I was privy to in a peer workshop. https://www.instagram.com/jomackness/
There is a system of drawing straight lines which reminds me of Tim’s work and those controlled lines are so different to Johnsey’s mark making but therapeutic and cathartic as well.
It would be great for Johnsey and Jack to host a workshop in the space as I feel audience participation is part of the process.
Jack also incorporates text into his work and is fond of haikus to express how he is feeling. These texts alongside the geometric forms create a sense of serenity and thoughtfulness.

Yazleigh
MFA artist Sheffield Hallam

Which brings me to my final artist Yazleigh who is an incredible artist she uses text, digital, analogue, sculpts and draws and is great with workshops which again I was involved in.
I feel that Yazleigh can adapt her work to any environment and she will be able to assimilate her environment with her work.
Yazleigh incorporates text into her work often she uses coding to get the results that she needs and her work is a mix of traditional, digital, text, images that coalesce into one whole. https://www.instagram.com/p/C27ov3NoFsiTocsGswsBGjLjJmBkLstRh01dqw0/?img_index=1
I am less constrained with Yazleigh in what she would produce as she is highly versatile and adaptable in a space and I feel like using one set piece of work wouldn’t do her justice.
I am confident in her abilities to work within this exhibition space.
As an example I have included a picture of her text based work but please check out her Instagram for examples of her installations.

Technical Specifications
Overall the exhibition is adaptable in terms of shape of the space arrangement.
Bloc is just a small white room which should house four artists comfortably as the majority of the work will be wall based.
Johnsey’s work will take up most space and I feel his work would be more suited for the middle of the room on a table which can also be used for the workshops for all the artists.
Johnsey’s work is automated and portable and runs from its own power source which is a link of batteries.
The exhibition is not expensive to install and an assistant may be needed for advice at the reception area which can be a volunteer.