9.21.2009

MIA curator for a day

If I were asked to curate a showing at the MIA using the pieces in their collection this is what I would come up with. My show would be called Unnatural Selections. The show would include the following works to be seen in this order.

Constant Troyon,
Landscape with Cattle and Sheep, c. 1852-58
Oil on canvas


Harry Jackson
Stampede, 1958-59
Bronze, Wyoming jade base


Antoine-Louis Barye
Theseus Combatting the Minotaur, c. 1846-47
Bronze


Benjamin West
Destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet, 1804
Oil on panel


Roxanne Jackson,
Lyubia Twins, 2009
Ceramic, glaze, flock


Roxanne Jackson,
White Diamond, 2009
Ceramic, platinum gold luster, flock, glaze

All images taken by Dave Kvam at the MIA unless otherwise noted.

My layout of the works would be in such a way that it connects the pieces and directs the narrative.

Image coming soon.
having trouble uploading.


You would enter through a large doorway to see set directly a head of you is the painting Landscape with Cattle and Sheep. Up against the wall on your right would be the sculpture Stampede. From there would brought over to your left to see the sculpture Theseus Combatting the Minotaur. All of these works would be displayed in the standard museum format of being well lit on white walls. To the left of Theseus Combatting the Minotaur you start to see a change. In the corridor the white walls turn to grey and then black. This corridor brings you into a dimly lit room with black walls where all the pieces are in heavy spotlight. The first piece you see after going through the hall would be Destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet. To the right of that on the floor against the far wall would be Lyubia Twins, lit like you see it in the picture above. Directly above that mounted 9 feet up on the wall is White Diamond. There is no exit in this room so to leave you must go back the way you came in to the exhibit.
The purpose of this new arrangement is to get a narrative across of how our view of the cow as cattle has changed so drastically and to hopefully make the viewer think about how that shift applies to other aspects of our daily lives.

4 comments:

  1. Excellent explanation of why you grouped them like this. Cool idea as well. I like the transition from white to grey to black. I think you were reading my blog over my shoulder on that one. I am very impressed with the way that it makes you draw parallels with your own life and opens up to different insights depending upon the viewer.

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  2. Good. Nice selection of work and choice of imagery to support your thesis. I think you need to explain a little further HOW it has changed specifically, and how the images themselves, and not as much about their setting enhances what you want to get across to the audience. How do the materials change and does that affect the viewer in any way as well? Great images. Nice colors on the blog as well.

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  4. just from first only observing the images you did a very nice job of choosing six separate images that mesh incredibly well together. Not solely by subject matter but by emotion. Through each piece i get a sense of turmoil and agony, as if each of the animals are being put through an agonizing experience together, they are really strong images, together as well.

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