Thinking about ‘Surfaces’

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 3, Surfaces and Strategies, Week 4

I have been actively visiting as many photographic shows, events and galleries in the last few weeks to catalogue the style of surfaces that are used to show work.

I will make brief comments on each entry; I have made images as I perambulate around various spaces.

Hung printed fabric, in series, suspended.  BCU Visual Communication Degree Show.  June 2017

A wet plate collodian demonstration at Redeye Hothouse 17, Sheffield, June 2017

Contemporary Daguerreotypes by artist Jo Gane – part of this programme Summer 2017 BOM 

A wobbly iPhone image – Sophie Hedderwick’s work (reviewed by me in a previous CRJ entry) now hanging and for sale in Bar Opus, Birmingham. June 2017

Head and body gear for Mat Collishaw’s VR show Thresholds, Birmingham launch June 2017.

Beat Streuli – translucent window transfer imagery, main entrance, Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow https://en.mocak.pl/ May 2017

Inserting myself into a gallery installation, Krakow, May 2017, image by Simon Fremont

Main Programme Curator Gordon Macdonald, Krakow Photomonth Festival, May 2017 http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/the-war-from-here/ show in a contemporary gallery space Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art

Myself being interviewed for Falmouth University, talking about the MA in Photography

Main Programme Curator Gordon Macdonald, Krakow Photomonth Festival, May 2017 http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/we-also-dance/ describing French street dance.  Large scale paper print fixed directly to gallery partition.

4 images.  From the UFO Show, Krakow Photomonth Festival, May 2017 http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/divisive-moments/ papers and books in cases, wall mounted prints, video and slides, plus reflective wall finishes.

National Museum, Warsaw, May 2017, medium scale acrylic panels and publications in boxes. http://www.mnw.art.pl/en/

 

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), Manchester, May 2017 work by Michael Wolf, intimate show with the theme of gloves and mops http://www.cfcca.org.uk/exhibition/michael-wolf/

 

The remaining images are all from the show Strange and Familiar at Manchester Art Gallery – devoted to a whole floor at the top of this city centre gallery.

Work was all mounted behind glass and hung, with a small number of exceptions, plus a dark room with the video by Hans Eijkelboom

Extract from http://manchesterartgallery.org/exhibitions-and-events/exhibition/strange-and-familiar/

Curated by the iconic British photographer Martin Parr, Strange and Familiar considers how international photographers from the 1930s onwards have captured the social, cultural and political identity of the UK.

From social documentary and portraiture to street and architectural photography, the exhibition celebrates the work of leading photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rineke Dijkstra, and Garry Winogrand. Bringing together over 250 compelling photographs and previously unseen bodies of work, Strange and Familiar presents a vibrant portrait of modern Britain.

Exhibition curated and organised by Barbican Centre, London.

In each case I photographed the introductory panel then chose the image that, to me, reflected intent to the greatest degree.  Note – as displayed here each artist is cited after the image.  Visited in May 2017.

Making (an impromptu) Video

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 3, Surfaces and Strategies, Week 3

As part of the through tour made of Krakow Photomonth Festival 2017 main programme http://photomonth.com/en/main-program/from-the-outside-looking-in/ (all links accessed 18th June 2017), one of our days as a group commenced by visiting the show based on archives of ‘UFO’ sitings which was a testament to truth or fabricated ‘realities’ in photography and narrative shown here http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/lookout/ we then arrived to hear curator Gordon MacDonald provide a guided tour of the show http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/we-also-dance/ focused on aspects of dance and sub-culture in the UK from the 1970-90’s which included large-scale, wall mounted prints, video and sound.

My course colleague Jo Sutherst and I plucked up the confidence to find Gordon in an ante-space after his tour to ask him a few questions and chat about what it is all about.  We were really thrilled that he engaged really effectively with us.  What also provided pleasure was the fact that a video came out of it, via Jo’s iphone, at which point I became the principal host of the questions and conversation.  The video link is seen here as it has been posted up to YouTube.  What it does prove is that in tackling an interview preparation is of key importance as I stumbled into now realising that Gordon had in fact curated the whole of the main prohgrmmme at the festival (an oversight on my side), but then it was a matter of serendipity.

 

YouTube video

Extract from the main Festival web site;

“Gordon MacDonald is a curator, writer, artist and publisher based in Brighton, England. MacDonald was founding Editor of Photoworksmagazine (UK), co-founder and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Brighton Photo Fringe (2003–2014), and is currently founder and Director of GOST Books (London, UK) until 2016. He is also one half of the creative partnership MacDonaldStrand alongside Clare Strand”.

After this we saw another of the shows in the series http://photomonth.com/en/portfolio/diana-lelonek-a-new-archaeology-for-liban-and-plaszow/

Practice Learning

This was a useful new ‘surface’ on which to describe insights into photographic work.