Exhibitions—the need for context

Anyone connected with the sale of pottery 1s very aware of the overriding confusion felt by the
average person on the street towards ceramics and the purpose for which they are intended. For
those not in the know about glazes and food safety, the world of ceramics is a confusing one and
often off-putting if context is not clearly explained. Often the utility and versatility of a piece are
misunderstood. As a gallery assistant, I find a lot of my time 1s directed towards trying to clear up
this confusion for customers, in particular in the peak of the tourist season. The other day a lady
asked if a chopstick bowl was safe to use for food. Our old favorite 1s, of course: “What 1s this bowl
meant for?” It’s easy to pass judgment on questions that to many of us have obvious answers, but
really people’s ideas of “ceramic art’ and ‘functional objects’ often don’t mix. Sometimes an empty
bowl 1s only half the picture to the customer.

Having just curated last month’s jewelry and sculpture gallery exhibition, Sin Deep: Dualism of
Wearable Art, 1am particularly interested tn the idea of context and relating 1t to the presentation of
exhibitions. I was interested to discover the reaction to a full installation context for the last show.
My aim was to stretch the possibilities of use for the exhibition space at the front of the gallery. It
was an insightful learning experience to see how people interacted with artwork within the space.
It was interesting to see people moving naturally into
a space they feel familiar with—that of a domestic

66 . interior. After spending time in the area, they interacted
We have five er1o ef spe g time e area, they interacte

easily with art works, tn this case, trying on jewelry. In

senses, though our set up, jewelry was displayed in half-open drawers,

hinged boxes, in hatboxes, as well as on, in and around

often we only think other props, providing an entertaining and intriguing

environment to peruse the pieces.

in terms of the A lot more can be done to promote work, whether
vi SU al wh en it your audience 1s familiar or unfamiliar with 1t. We have

five senses, though often we only think in terms of the

comes to art.” visual when it comes to art. To engage to the fullest

with customers, it is 1mportant to be aware of every

Pe aspect of stimulation. Exhibitions in particular should

be about providing an entertaining venue and special

presentation of work, particularly for openings. It’s about giving people some interest as well as
helping them to visualize in a wider context, while they are in the environment of your work.

Through visual stimulation, you invite viewers into a space they might otherwise have not noticed.
As well as the presentation, it 1s the environment that is conjured up for the viewer that generates
their feelings towards the work at the heart of it. Its about appealing to people’s tastes on as many
levels as possible. It’s up to artists (or the curator) to suggest the variety of ways in which they
can display and use such work and fuel the viewer’s imagination through the display itself, before
they can even question it. If we don’t make function and versatility obvious, we can’t expect an
encouraging response and the sales to follow. So much of the time, people are more interested 1n a
product once they know something about it from talking about it with the artist or those on hand.
If we can initially display as much of that information as possible through presentation, they are
more initially attracted. By offering an exciting general space, in turn you can entice the viewer to
then specifically engage with the products within it. This creates a more lasting memory of the work.
Context is key!

Katharine Ducker, M.A.

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