Fantasy Curatorial Exercise

Yesterday we presented and discussed our first writing assignment. Really interesting works presented, and very different.

Then we split into teams of two to play "Fantasy" Gallery Show - we curated a show to a theme (which Laura related to the types of work or themes we'd chosen to write about.)

It was a fun exercise. Laura teamed up with me (there are five of us so she got to jump in to make up the numbers.) Our theme was Indigenous artists/themes - and we were concentrating on North American as that is my specific interest and background.

As it was a dream show we could choose works that we would never have a chance in hell of actually acquiring/borrowing to exhibit!

First here is a rough sketch of our gallery layout with positions of the works... (with scribbled notes I'd made of things to check out later!)

And here are the works to be included with some notations.

Buffalo Hunt Charging Back by George Catlin (c. 1830s) - this is not specifically the work, but we wanted to include one of his works, reproduced very small to place at the bottom of a plinth, out of sight, with a work of an indigenous artist over top. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Catlin

Cowgirls & Indians by Sarah Sense, 2018.  She incorporates traditional weaving patterns over top of things like movie posters. http://www.boiseartmuseum.org/exhibition/sarah-sense/

Mirror Shield Project by Cannupa Hanska Luger. This was a protest display in 2016 at Standing Rock in North Dakota. We want to hang the mirror shields used in the protest from the ceiling of the gallery to reflect the other Indigenous art. http://www.cannupahanska.com/mniwiconi

Potato Peeling 101 to Ethnobotany 101 by Jane Ash Poitras, 2004. This is a large (25 x 9 feet) mixed media work. https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/jane-ash-poitras-new-acquisitions-of-contemporary-first-nations-art

Soapstone carving of an Inuit hunter inflating a seal carcass by Charle Kalingoapik Angutigirk, 1975. In the collection of the British Museum. This was the piece we would place on the plinth covering the George Gatlin image. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_2012-2049-7

Spirit of Haida Gwaii by Bill Reid, 1986. There were two bronze casts made of this sculpture, this one, referred to as the Jade Canoe, is on display at the Vancouver International Airport in the International Terminal. It is truly spectacular in person! It is 3.89 x 3.48 x 6.05 metres. The other is at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_Haida_Gwaii

The Scream by Kent Monkman, 2017. https://www.kentmonkman.com/biography

Most of the works are, in various ways, depicting Indigenous experiences at the hands of the colonizers. The sculptures are contemporary examples of traditional Indigenous art that show the uniqueness of the forms.

I enjoyed doing this in class and could have spent a very long time searching out more works to include... I think I could have ended up curating the entire square footage of the Louvre with Indigenous art and depictions of how those cultures have been affected by colonizers.