More on Curating

I spent some time this afternoon updating my artist biography, resume and statement for display at the open house on Saturday. Now it's time to get serious about choosing which works to display and how best to group them.

Have you noticed that once you show an interest in something, all of a sudden it's everywhere? Such seems to be the case since I started thinking about this "curating" thing. First there were comments on Artbizcoach.com, then on Thelma Smith's blog (see this post for more and links). A few days later, I picked up the latest issue of The Sandpoint Reader and found this in an article titled, "Sandpoint's Art Economy" by John T. Reuter:

My attraction to the arts...has always been about the journeys within yourself that they can lead you to. However, art not only talks to us, but also to itself.

Particularly interesting are the conversations that paintings, sculptures and other works can have with each other when sharing space in an exhibition.

A painting's meaning can radically change depending on what's hanging next to it. How a set of pieces are arranged can change the meaning and sense of an entire gallery or museum. Sort of like how rearranging the furniture in your house can change the way you feel when you walk into your living room.

I wish the entire article was available on line. It goes on to talk about bringing together people from different realms of the community to share ideas each group has been talking about and see what they look like in a new context. Perhaps I'll share more on this in a future post.