The site we were provided with for Site Specific Performance was The Collection Museum and Usher Gallery. I have been a frequent visitor to both the museum and the art gallery prior to beginning the module and knew what to expect. We were given the opportunity to explore the site, both inside and out, and gather ideas for our performance. After a brief talk from the curator of the museum and our lecturers on our code of conduct and what we can expect and gain from working within the environment. The talk also included an insight into the incredible hard work that goes into working as a curator and behind the scenes at galleries and museums. This was eye-opening as the complexity of working with pieces of art and artefacts was astounding, going as far as being delivered in a certain orientation. This aspect of the gallery and museum inspired me as an area I would like to research and develop further for my performance.

We were then given the chance to see an exhibition hanging. This was a great experience as it gave the whole class a unique opportunity to see some of the art that was being included. I found this aspect of the visit particularly interesting as it allowed me the opportunity to see pieces I had not experienced in The Collection before. I noted the difference between the older art and the newer and found myself more attracted to the newer work. Following this we were then set our tasks for the first week to help us engage in the space. We were presented with an envelope that included two images of pieces being included in the upcoming exhibition and two statements. We were tasked with responding to the two statements and then developing a performative text relating to at least one of them.

My first statement was seek out a period in history that you don’t know much about and make note of something you didn’t know before. I knew that the museum as a whole engaged in history that I had less knowledge on and so I found it easy to locate information I did not already know. I found barrows were monuments built to the dead. They were large mounds covering a series of stone built chambers, which were burial places for the community. In Lincolnshire they were built on the chalk slopes of Wolds about 5000 years ago. My second task was to locate an item that speaks of unspeakable history. I found this to be more of a struggle as I didn’t feel the museum spoke about periods of history that were deemed unspeakable. I felt that unspeakable related to more to human history. I used this as an opportunity to visit the gallery where I encountered my object. A bronze sculpture of the head of Paul Robeson (1928) by Jacob Epstein. Paul Robeson was an African American performer and political activist. This seem to speak of an unspeakable time in history because of the civil rights movement in American and the challenges African American people faced due to racism.

I feel my first visit to the site was valuable and worthwhile and allowed me the opportunity to look at the surroundings as a performer; not just a member of the public. This was enlightening as I was able to experience the space in a different way, and was able to look at spaces in different ways. I also found it gave me a greater understanding of the hard work and effort that goes into running a gallery which I have a new found appreciation.

post one image

Cited

Image –

Hang Your Artwork like a Pro viewed on 04/02/2015 from:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gallery+hanging&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=AGfRVLz6E43saILOgLgC&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643#hl=en&tbm=isch&q=gallery+hanging&imgdii=_&imgrc=Au0d0sJBkglOdM%253A%3Bb95uer2Xas_X_M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.finearttips.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2009%252F07%252Fhanging-art.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.finearttips.com%252F2009%252F07%252Fhang-your-artwork-like-a-pro%252F%3B453%3B302