On the 28th of January I visited the Usher Gallery and The Collection for the first time in the process of creating my site specific performance, with both of these museums will provide the location and inspiration for our performances. The Usher Gallery is primarily for artworks and sculptures, with some artefacts, whilst The Collection is mainly concerned with archaeological items. However at The Collection there is an exhibition from the 31st of January to the 10th of May called Viewpoints concerning what is art. The exhibition’s intent is to provoke thought on where art comes from, how it develops, what it is for, how it works, and to generally encourage thought on many aspects of an artwork that aren’t always considered. This concept for the Viewpoints gallery is one that I find fascinating, and could easily become an element of performance. Similar to the idea of what makes art is another gallery in the Usher which contains paintings, called ReconFigure Paintings, which have had the people in them painted over in triangles in colours of a similar tone. The artist behind these works, Andrew Bracey (who lectures at the University of Lincoln on fine art), said that he can either be seen as destroying the original works, or saving them as they are of little financial or cultural value. I believe that the works of this gallery could be a good starting point for a performance, as it ties in with the concept of the Viewpoints exhibition and provides much to think on concerning the value and context of art.
Raphael from Bracey, A. (2011)Andrew Bracey-ReconFigure Paintings[online] Available from: http://www.andrewbracey.co.uk/page33.htm [Accessed 2rd February 2015]
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