Spatial Sequences

When I was further reading into Tschumis' practice, he started to discuss the frame [A term I have often come across when reading about spaces but gallery spaces and paintings]. He discusses that the frame permits the extreme formal manipulation of a sequence within a space, where frames can be superimposed giving one an endless narrative. 

During my seminar with Robin, the suggestion [with enthusiasm] came up about the recording of my movements through my gallery spaces/sites using film. This is a media that I have not used before in my work, but would very much capture the truth of what is taken place [as I have have many peers mention that my model movements appear restricted and robot like]. What would be great to experiment with and explore is what Tschumi outlines as the possible forms of narrative and the impact that they potential have [imagine if these were then shown in a gallery? the audience watching what they have be doing . . .moving through space] 

The following are the formal strategies in how one could present a sequence: 

A Repetitive Sequence

A Disjunctive Sequence

A Distorted Sequence

A Fade in Sequence 

An Insertive Sequence.

Narrative Spaces Lecture 06: Krijn de Koning [Turner Contemporary]

Two projects were discussed this morning that overlap. 1:The Turner Contemporary located in Margate, designed by David Chipperfield and 2. Krijn de Koning who exhibited at the Turner Contemporary and the Folkstone Triennial. 

Turner Contemporary: Townscape and beach are embedded through the gallery space [located on a site where the existing boat houses sat] known as the "Big shed of art by the sea". A cultural centre where things happen and people should come, It was designed with this intention in mind. The spaces take their quality form the production of art "Bringing art to the front door". The plan and elevation mirror that of a series of objects "Sea buildings" that become a sequence of spaces and a series of volumes.

The existing inside/outside relationship and landscape created brings the beach in and creates an openness with large windows and planes that give you views through and out onto framed views of the corresponding landscape. Windows and doors have been used to punctuate the space and create the perception of a larger space than that planned. Long perspectives are created and aided by the vats amounts of borrowed natural light. This again creates a dialogue between internal and external. 

Krijn de Koning: Installation at the Turner Contemporary deals with an existing place - his work in this way is deemed site specific. The installation exhibited at the Turner Contemporary was also repeated in a false cave "Victorian grotto". The same work located in two very different spaces. The series of architypical structures [thresholds/frames] consist of a subtle pastel like palette but is highly noticeable. His deconstruction of spaces and reinsertion makes the installation a "spatial intervention". This balance and play between art and architecture paying on the "dwelling/house" as a spatial experience takes influence in scale from the site in which it is situated within, yet also contracts and expands shifting the viewpoints. A sandwich of colour and texture mapped against the buildings own interior and facade that somehow finds itself becoming a labyrinth [part architecture and part sculpture] to connect inside and outside. 

The work installed into the victorian grotto was depicted by Kroning as "Interesting consequences" that one could take a piece of work designed on the principles of its on sites intentions and to place it into a non-relational site. 

I thought this mornings presentation had really opened up another layer to my project in considering the interventions I have created that are site specific but what would happen if I started to combine routes and place these into one another? how would that then shift the perspective and participation in the gallery in the ideas that these routes would ultimately lead you to walls and non existing points where the route perhaps penetrates through the walls.

Manhattan Transcripts [1976-1981]

Recent theoretical research has brought me to read and reference the ideas and work of Bernard Tschumi and his manifestos on architecture. In particular I have looked at the visual analogy of his "Manhattan transcripts" project to connect to the conceptual way that I wish to present my work ahead of the critique on Thursday. 

Just provide myself with a little bit of context [All of which was taken from the Manhattan transcripts book in the library]. The Manhattan transcripts differ from most architectural drawings insofar as they are neither real projects nor mere fantasies. Developed in the late 1970's they proposed to transcribe an architectural interpretation of reality. . .To this aim, they employed a particular structure involving photographs that either direct or 'witness' events [also identified as a programme] . . .at the same time plans, sections and diagrams outline spaces and indicate the movements of the different protagonists into the architectural stage set. 

Because my work has strong links to conceptual art and has taken much reference from the 1960's/1970's artists who were questioning ideologies of space, interventions and the audience, I gave myself a set of rules [in the same way the transcripts did] to determine the structure of what I would present at the critique. I wanted each presentation sheet to become almost a set of dis-junctions but at the same time could be read together, meaning that I could juxtapose particular visual elements that could be read both individually or as a collective [obviously the last thing I want to do is confuse my peers and tutors even more]. The structure for each sheet involved having the following evidenced: 

- A piece of text [or multiple texts]

- Photograph/s

- Diagrams

- Technical elements

Personally I think this structure worked really well in not only visually supporting the narrative and conceptual ideas behind my work, but the challenge of presenting in line with the context of your work and that process of selection [that Pete has discussed] that enables my work to communicate my ideas and intentions without my presence.

Gargosian Gallery Models PT2

Gargosian Gallery Models PT1

I have finally competed my Gargosian Gallery models. The set of three which will be presented as a collection have their floor plate cast in concrete, white/light plywood walls and my linear "spatial intervention' in red acrylic. I am really pleased with developing early on a more practical approach and skill-set [become confident in working in those spaces and can now build off of these first models].

Development points:

- The internal form/proposal will change so I need to consider the material of this

- Think about the joints of my walls and if these do indeed need to be painted

- Develop a more refined presentation stand [exhibition approved]

- Use sharp sand only in casting my floor plates. Build a lid/top so that I can get a real flat smoother finish and mix up a stronger batch of cement and sand

Seminar 01: Groups A&B mixed

The seminar seemed very close after the tutorial last week and although I understand a week is a good amount of time, showing a constant increase in body/volume of work is difficult, especially as I have been spending a lot of my time either reading theory or in the workshop working towards completing my Gargosian Gallery models [ahead of the first formal critique next week]. 

That said I was placed into a group with Robin [who isn't my personal tutor] so this was just another good opportunity to re-explain my project, show everything and where I was with it all and to get another set of feedback. I think spending a lot of time in the studio has really paid off as I seem to capture these extra 5-10 minute sessions with Pete where I can ask further questions or we can strike up a conversation that then gets Pete talking about my direction and working progress.  

The seminar I feel went really well, with Robin flagging up some additional references and points to develop. Both tutors seems to really embrace the typology studies and Robin referred to these as "the space having a dialogue with the space" which I though was a real interesting point [leading back to my initial question of a an exhibition in a space about the space]. My peers flagged that the movements felt controlled and not completely natural which is correct, I discussed that having this methodology of documenting the space through my step count and turns does require some form of conscious decisions to be undertaken as it is a method of recording data and has to be as accurate as possible. Overall I feel I am in the place of pondering reflective thoughts where maybe on a daily or weekly basis I wont produce masses but will start to become more directive with my theory and practice meeting, which should really support the completion of my study plan.

Feedback points:

- The curational role/rules: set of rules that outline how spaces are composed ahead of exhibitions

- The derive [drifting in space] Consider notions of the unintentional journey

- Revisit galleries and become more natural in movement [and the documentation of this] we discussed the idea of using cameras at particular height to record my sequential movements within the space

- Think about the dialogue between Artist & Space, Curator & space, Space & Space

- look at the Situationists

- Think about other ambiguity rules that can be applied when visiting these space.

I am starting to question if the inclusion of the White Cube Gallery's will be too much [a total of 5 sites]. The Gargosian collection seems to work well with its three sites, same architect, and can provide me with a basis to propose multiple outcomes within and across all of the sites. I now need to focus on collecting and bringing everything together ahead of Thursday Critique.

Laser cutting appointment

This morning I had my laser cutting appointment with Isabelle working in both acrylic and plywood to cut out my perimeter walls and linear form [taken form my step counts]. I Chose plywood in the end as it was the whitest/lightest material in reference to "white gallery walls" [I also didn't want to start painting my models but allow the materials to play their part].

My main focus for these models has been not only to have a series of conceptual models that explore my narrative but to work with a range of relevant materials and to build my skill set up [also start to engage with the workshops and technician who always have to become your best friend]. Really easy to set up using adobe illustrator and ensuring everything isn't overlapping. I now have my components ready to start assembling in the wood workshop.

My concrete floor plate casts are still setting and drying out and although I now know they are not going to give me the exact finish I wanted originally, they still hold the material qualities that I desired [The technicians seem to love the finish however??]