We discussed the different threads that emerged and then disappeared and then re-emerged over the course of the six days. Rich conversations had transpired, covering numerous topics including nationalism, identity, regionalism, abstraction, environmental issues, landscape, globalism, surface activation, mark making, perspective....there were many. There were new discoveries made about local artists, regional practices and the national art scene - all through an investigation of our rich collection.
We discussed the traditions of the institution and of the profession, we considered the restrictions inherent in curatorial work, only to discover that these restrictions were countered with freedoms. We talked about the origins of the collection, how it may have been developed, who made decisions, how the public would respond to the exhibition, whether or not any one was following the blog.
We talked about the colors of the wall and how it serves as a mechanism to harmonize works, we cursed the limitation of our lighting system and our gratefulness for Shelly (the framer) and Guy (the photographer) and Devin (the student who taught us how to blog).
At the end of the session, with two Smack Down's under our belt, we agreed that it was time to embark on a structured project to strengthen the archival resources on works in our collection. Using the two Smack Down exhibitions as a starting point, we will undertake to develop a process to build our archive.
Now, time to get ready for tonights opening...
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