VCE Studio Arts + VCD

Example student responses:

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Question:

Identify 3 main gallery types and discuss how their role differs.

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Low-Medium:

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"Commercial - A commercial gallery is where artworks are able to be viewed and purchased by customers. Artists put their artworks into a commercial gallery to be sold by the gallerist, the gallery director. A sales commision is in order between the gallery and the artist usually at a  40% - 60% rate. 

Public - A public gallery is a government funded gallery where artworks are only to be viewed and are not up for purchase by customers. In a public gallery the exhibition duration usually lasts anywhere from 3-5 months. Additionally these gallery spaces also incorporate a permanent collection of artworks which are unique to that specific gallery, this bringing visitors from various locations just so they can view these works. 

Artist run - "

High:

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"Between these three galleries each of the roles differ. They all have different reasons to exist and roles that they conduct.

Commercial galleries, such as Daine Singer Gallery or Flinders Lane Gallery, differ to public galleries, such as the Bendigo Art Gallery or NGV, in the fact that commercial galleries sell artworks (this is their main purpose; to yeild a profit) for an artist whereas public galleries do not. Although this type of gallery may contain a cafe or gift shop where money is earned. Additionally artist run galleries, such as Blindside or Kings Artist Run, also sell artworks but the money is usually put back into the running of the business, not to make a profi, though this is not their main role. Their aim is to gain exposure, allow artists to be experimental and to learn about the art industry..

Commercial galleries and artist run galleries are both similar in the way that artists can become publicly known. Selling artists allows for opportunities of interest from buyers and can increase the chances of becoming a renowned artist. They also take a commission, such as at a Commercial Gallery such as Daine Singer, they might take 45-55% sale commission to cover overheads, pay staff and gain a profit, whereas at an Artist Run Initiiative such as Westspace, they might take 15-20% and that is put back into the running of the business.

Differingly, public galleries are there to educate the public about the art world, to collect art and act as custodians of art. This means, they are taking care of the art for future generations. So galleries such as the NGV have a conservation team and measures in place to prevent damage, but also to restore artworks where necessary. Many public galleries such as Heide, NGV, Geelong Art Gallery, hold workshops in order to educate and teach the new generation about the way art is created and why it is important. These gallies also have resources and publications available on their website for students and teachers, such as those that can be found on the Bendigo Art Gallery site." 

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Question:

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With reference to an exhibition(s) that you have attended this year, discuss the different methods used in presenting artworks in different exhibition spaces and the possible artists’/curator’s intentions behind their chosen methods.

Medium:

"The curator is responsible for the exhibition proposals, planning and coordination of exhibitions, working with artists, and selection of an artwork, essay writing, research, catalogue, titles content and description labels. 

Bigger exhibitions such as Moma at the NGV may have multiple curators for specific aspects of the exhibition. Samantha Friedman is the associate curator of drawings and prints, Juliet Kinchin is the Curator of modern design, Christian Rattemeyer is the Harvey S. Shipley Miller associate curator of drawings and prints and Miranda Wallace is the Senior Curator of International Exhibition projects at the NGV. 

Miranda Wallace would be in charge of initiating a collaboration with Moma Gallery in New York, creating the Moma exhibition in the NGV. They would want it to able to be set out so that the exhibition will be representing them and also as a promotional advertising to attract the interest of the views to visit the Moma Gallery in New York.

The positioning of the artworks is carefully planned out; Moma wanted it to be set out in a way where the audience will be able to make links within the artworks that surround each other, so specific artworks or artists may be grouped in order for that vision to be carried out. Moma consisted of an opening room which hosten Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat to cater to the traditionalists, but further on, visitors will be able to see how art has been stretched to its limits with a ball bearing from 1907, a space invaders game from 1978, an airport lounge and a set of emojis from the late 1990s.

 Emojis that have been placed in the same setting as Van Gogh artworks was done intentionally to push the audience to rethink their understanding of both. Works from 1886 and 2016 have been placed together because the curators believe that they have something to say to each other. Despite the interesting take on the positioning of artworks, Moma was not the perfect set out gallery. Unfortunately a few poor decisions such the placing of the famous artwork ‘The persistence of memory’ by Salvador Dali. The famous 1931 painting was situated in an awkward position; it is the first artwork to be seen when transitioning from the previous room that was full or art deco. The painting is placed on a wall and when crowds come to admire it, the space and pathway gets occupied quickly, and so people are forced to move along and do not get to have the satisfaction of taking in the presence of the famous artwork."

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Very High:

"Numerous methods are used when presenting artworks in different exhibition spaces with the intention purposefully thought out and planned in detail by the artist or curator. When observing both public and commercial gallery spaces, a pattern in the methods of presentation arise. Public Galleries such as the NGV plan the layout of each exhibition months or even years in advance. This highly thought out approach to planning the presentation of an exhibition brings out precise intentions for each decision. For instance, the recent MOMA exhibition presentation drew the visitors through each section of works by country of origin and art movement. The intention behind this method was to create a sense of logic to the placement and to educate the visitors on the progression of 130 years of contemporary and modern art, through the exhibition's line up of seminal nineteenth and twentieth-century artists as well as many significant twenty-first century artists. This method was achieved by grouping particular artists or artworks together in certain sections of the exhibition. This is evident of the beginning of the exhibition where the transitional space has a line up of works such as Van Gogh’s oil painting ‘Portrait of Joseph Roulin’ (1889) and Paul Cezanne’s oil painting ‘Still life with apples’ (1895-98). Both of these paintings, as well as the other works in the lineup, are from the oldest time period in the exhibition. The curator from the NGV, Miranda Wallace’s intention was to create a loosely chronological exhibition. Starting the exhibition with these particular artworks leads the viewer into the expressionist section of the exhibition. The intention behind this method is that as Cezanne and Van Gogh influenced expressionism, the connection will create an educational flow which explains to the visitor the progression of these art movements. This is represented by artworks such as Ernst Kirchner’s ‘Street, Dresden’ (1908) oil on canvas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘ La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge’ (1891-92) oil on cardboard. Similarly, the curator has composed eight loosely chronological thematic sections which explore the emergence and development of major art movements. This is evident in the largest section of the exhibition, ‘Things as they are.’ This particular section encompasses the varied conceptions of the 1960s and ‘70s, from the Pop Art movement of artworks such as Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn Monroe’(1967) screen prints and Roy Lichtenstein's ‘Drowning Girl’ (1963) paint on canvas, and the Minimalism represented by works such as Jasper Johns ‘Map’ (1961).  (NGV, 2018)(Lowry & Ellwood, 2018) This method of presenting artworks is also applied by commercial galleries such as the Flinders Lane Gallery. This is evident in the grouping of artists in each section of the exhibition space. Flinders Lane Gallery runs three exhibitions at a time within its gallery space, which allows the grouping of artists and themes within a small space. Although the method is quite similar to the aforementioned method, the intention is quite different. Commercial galleries have a purpose to sell the art they display. This purpose changes the way artworks are displayed in the exhibition space. The method of grouping the artworks according to artist makes it easier for the visitors to explore each exhibition and to see the differing artwork available for them to purchase by the one artist. This provides a range of choices for the consumer. The themed spaces also increase the sellability of artworks due to the pleasing aesthetic created. During Flinders Lane Gallery’s exhibition of Gina Kalabishis’ ‘Bundanon Floor to Sky’(2018), the Director, Claire Harris and the FLG team, in conjunction with the artist, designed the arrangement and presentation of the exhibition. Kalabishis’ largest piece of art is the focal point of the exhibition space. Using the method of creating a focal point is effective in directing the viewer's attention towards the eye-catching piece in the center of the exhibition space. Thereby creating a flow around the space. The visitor is drawn into space and then moves to other pieces which surround the main artwork. Pedestrians can also view the piece from the large windows looking in from the street. The intention behind this layout is to use size for dramatic effect and to purposely attract people from the street who want a closer look, leading them into the building and art exhibition space. (Flinders Lane Gallery, 2018) Drawing visitors in through the display of the art is not a method used during the MOMA exhibition at the NGV. While gigantic posters are presented on the side of the NGV building advertising the MOMA exhibition, the exhibition space itself is closed off so that there is a sense of intrigue and mystery to the exhibition space. Visitors are required to pay to be able to view the exhibition. 

Earlier this year the NGV displayed multiple artists within the same exhibition space as the MOMA exhibition. This one however represented contemporary artists from this decade. Unlike the MOMA exhibition, it represented all type of artists from across time and culture. The method when displaying the NGV Triennial exhibition in early 2018, was to dedicate a section of the exhibition space according to artist. Each artist carefully chosen by Senior Curator Simon Maidment, displayed different representations of contemporary art in the twenty-first century. A lot of installation pieces were displayed in this exhibition which each took up an entire room. This method of display is backed by the curator's intention to focus the visitor's attention on one piece at a time and to become entranced with the particular space. By starting off the exhibition with an interactive installation by Yayoi Kusama titled ‘Flower Obsession’, the curator was able to instantly engage the audience with the exhibition space. This continued with other installations which encompassed the audience. This method focused the audience's attention on a particular artwork. 

Another method used by public galleries such as the NGV and Geelong Art Gallery is transitional spaces which allow the visitors of the exhibitions to understand the change in theme or art movement. A single artwork may also be display within the transitional space to begin to next section of the exhibition. This is illustrated by the placement of Salvador Dali’s painting ‘Persistence of memory’ (1931) in the second transitional space which leads into the section titled ‘Inner and Outer Worlds’ within the NGV International MOMA exhibition. The intention of the curator when employing this method, particularly with the placement of the Dali, was to begin the section with a piece most visitor would recognize. This is to create an easily identifiable theme for the section. This was the intention behind the method of using transitional spaces. The brief gap enables the visitor to process what they have seen and to understand that this is the beginning of a new movement or theme. The placement of the Dali, however, does hinder the flow of the exhibition. Due to the popularity of this particular artwork, more visitors crowd around the piece effectively blocking the entrance to the next section. This was contrary to what the curator intended for this particular transitional space. An unadorned wall of a transitional space would be more effective and is employed in other transitional spaces during the MOMA exhibition. This, however, was a large improvement from a previous exhibition back in 2017, put on by the NGV title ‘Van Gogh and the Seasons’ which feature the artworks of Van Gogh. The exhibition became crowded because of the lack of spacing out and effective use of the method of transitional spaces. The Geelong Art Gallery also uses this method but dissimilar to the MOMA exhibition only uses one or two. In the recent exhibition title ‘Contemporary Art Prize’, one transitional space was employed. The wall of the space was adorned with a single small artwork by Natasha Bieniek titled ‘Mirrorscape.’ Like the Dali in the MOMA exhibition, this painting hinders the flow of the exhibition but not as badly. Commercial Galleries do not employ this method, rather they section of two or three spaces for individual exhibitions. Temporary walls are used to create the different spaces in both public and commercial galleries, allow the exhibition space to be transformed and altered according to each exhibitions requirements. (Frost, 2018) (NGV, 2018). (MOMA, 2018)"

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