Creating my own Exhibition (4): Research, Virtual Exhibitions

Creating my own Exhibition (4): Research, Virtual Exhibitions 

Tracey Emin, Thriving in Solitude, acrylic on canvas, from Virtual Exhibition, I Thrive on Solitude, 15 June, 2020 - 2 August, 2020

Introduction

Due to Lockdown I have decided to produce my own Virtual Exhibition of  recent works on my theme of how human activity interacts with the natural landscape north and south of  the Humber Estuary.

A Virtual Exhibition will be a lasting resource which I can put on my website and use in other situations for promotional purposes, such as presentations and as a backdrop to future exhibitions in gallery sites.

I did a lot of research online about current virtual exhibitions and other resources available, and I describe below some of my findings, which I have summarised.

Research: 

My WhatsApp Group of Fellow Artists

I have been supported during this lockdown period by my WhatsApp Group of fellow artists who, in the main, are associated with the Print Workshop at The Ropewalk, Barton. Each day we do an online Art Quiz, provided by the Guardian Newspaper and supported by Art UK, an online resource. We then discuss and compare our scores. Members of the Group also put online useful information and links about current exhibitions, television programmes on art topics etc., as well as some of their own work. I include some of the information received from them in the notes below.

My Weekly ZOOM Meetings

Each week since the beginning of April, I have been meeting up on ZOOM with fellow artists and  Tim Needham, a Master Printmaker, who leads workshops at the Ropewalk. Tim provides an online demonstration each week of a different technique or approach to printmaking, often explaining what can be done at home during lockdown when there has been no access to the facilities at the Print Room (acids, aquatint box, press etc.). In previous blog entries I have described how I have used some of those methods, such as Gaugin and Degas's mono printing techniques. We also show our own work, share ideas and useful knowledge about information on the internet or television, for example, we have discussed the presentational skills of Grayson Perry and the format of his programme and that of the televised Life Drawing Classes.

Tracey Emin, 15 June – 2 August 2020, White Cube, “I thrive on solitude”

https://whitecube.viewingrooms.com/viewing-room/19-tracey-emin-i-thrive-on-solitude/

This Virtual Exhibition shows 13 works of acrylic paintings. These are small interiors of the house Emin has lived in for the previous 20 years and from where she is now moving on. The images evoke memories e.g. her mother’s ashes. There are two “arranged” tableaux of her works on a dining table and one with a candle, which includes furniture in an everyday setting. The paintings are simply presented. The viewer scrolls down paintings one at a time, and the individual title, size and medium areprovided. Some extra information,  themes and ideas behind the works, is included at two stages.

There are no vocals.

The presentation was professional and user friendly. I think that the simple presentation worked well and drew the viewer into the subject matter of the paintings.

Picasso and Paper: virtual exhibition tour, Royal Academy

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/picasso-and-paper-virtual-exhibition-tour

A view of the Picasso and paper exhibition, Royal Academy

The exhibition opens by scanning some of the rooms and exhibits. In the background there is piano music, but no vocals. The camera zooms in on individual works and gives titles, medium, date, and location of each gallery. The exhibition is laid out in  chronological order and in periods of the artist’s work. A brief explanation of each period is given at the beginning of each section. The video automatically scrolls down.

I felt that the presentation was too long and it was difficult to hold the viewer's attention for such a long length of time (about 40 minutes). I think the reason was that the exhibition was not designed to be a virtual event. The show was already in existence  and had to be closed, so they tried to include all the exhibits.

Musée D’Orsay, Paris
“From Station to the Renovated Musée D’Orsay”.

https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/from-station-to-the-renovated-mus%C3%A9e-d-orsay/ARK7SK5T

This virtual exhibition included a history of the museum, its building and its collection and began  with a number of historical photographs and drawings. The layout was clear and logical and very visual. The format was interesting and held the viewer's attention.

Louise Bourgeois: Drawings 1947–2007

https://www.vip-hauserwirth.com/online-exhibitions/louise-bourgeois-works-on-paper/#top

Louise Bourgeois made daily drawings during her seven decade-long career. This is Saville Row Gallery Hauser & Wirth’s first online exhibition and is a celebration of the French-American artists pieces in ink, watercolour and pencil. The gallery is also launching Dispatches, a new series of videos, events and features to keep connected with artists in isolation. 

The opening contains a photo of her at work in her studio. We scroll down and there are quotes linked to the works. She speaks on the video and explains her practice (briefly), saying that all her works are based on “unconscious observation” and her childhood, which has never lost its “magic”. These few  words made the show personal to her, and was a good touch.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

https://www.metmuseum.org/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York covers three sites, which are all combined in its new digital platform on Google Arts and Culture. Among the online exhibit highlights are spotlights on Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, the art of music through time and a new look at Vermeer. The Met also has a timeline of art history on its site, where you can study the development of artistic practice from 8,000 BC to the present.

There is a good choice of exhibits. The viewer can zoom in on detail and explanations are  superimposed on the top. I chose to look at “A New Look at Vermeer”.  There was a written explanation on the left, and the gallery of works to the right. It was all very clear and interesting.

Andy Warhol, EXHIBITION TOUR: Tate Modern

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/andy-warhol

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962

This exhibition is a major retrospective and is the first Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern for almost 20 years. Due to corona virus it was put online. As well as his iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans, it includes works never seen before in the UK. Twenty-five works from his Ladies and Gentlemen series – portraits of black and Latinx drag queens and trans women – are shown for the first time in 30 years. Curators Gregor Muir and Fiontán Moran discuss Warhol through the lens of his immigrant story, his LGBTQI identity, and concerns with death and religion. The rooms are organised according to themes and there are written explanations.

As one would expect, this is an excellent online show. The exhibits are iconic, but there is also much information about the artist as well. I think that this is an important aspect to include.

Conclusions

I did a lot of research and have concluded that the simpler presentations work best. The emphasis should be on the works themselves, rather than showing off the technology. Some personal details about the artist adds background and interest. Explanations can be alongside works or separate. Zooming in on pictures is good as the viewer can then see detail - as if the works are really in front of you. Themes are beneficial as they add insight to the concepts behind the artist's practice .I will create my own virtual exhibition by building on these findings.