Hi all, great observations at PAM Yesterday.
I don't know if anyone else thought about this, but at a certain point I became amused at our intense group discussion about the framing and the context of a works placement, as primary and the work it self as secondary as other museum visitors walked by. They must have been really confused, or thought we were nuts, or maybe thought it was interesting, I don't know but I though it was pretty funny, and illustrative of how we can learn from what we have around us in all kinds of ways!
I want to re-cap a little bit here of some of what we talked about.
The serial landscape presentation of James Lavedor
Kiki Smith's incorporation of sound, and her very immediate raw (no frame rough edges, no tacks) presentation.
The general minimal use of frame through out the contemporary section.
Darren Waterston's (as well as others) use of a gap between the frame an the piece- we discussed various reasons for this strategy.
Sue Coe's painting on unstretched canvas, placed in a frame but hung by visible hooks and grommets within the frame.
Gilbert and Georges "artist framed photographs" which were hung directly and "haphazardly" on the wall and then covered by a lotech framed sheet of glass suspended over them- kind of like a vertical vitrine.
Robert Ryman's formal presentation of Cardboard and Enamel paintings.
Scale! Considering the scale of your work for the space it will be in, since in this case we have the luxury of knowing.
Robert Longo's Mississippi Mud, there was lively debate about his framing adding to or detracting from the piece with good points made for either point of view.
Some key points: Because this is a group show and because our theme is so "loose" I have instructed you to include explanatory text with your piece. You should consider this text as part of your "framing" Also consider the tone of this text, for example you wouldn't use a fat Sharpe to do a scientific rendering, likewise you might not want to use academic or overly direct language to describe a more subtle or nuanced idea. You want our drawing and your text taken together to convey your intent.
Again, think about scale.
Also think about intentionality- is there any way you can point to your intention to have your work hung the way it is, (for example Sue Coe's inclusion of grommets and hooks within the frame.) I know we have a lot of constraints, as was pointed out, you may not be able to put your piece in a traditional frame even if you wanted to, but think about all these things, you may come up with a surprisingly simple and effective strategy to enhance the viewers experience of your work.
I encourage you to leave a comment with more information about the trip yesterday, we will have a recap on Tuesday too.
Have a great week end!
Sandy
