Research – Page 9 – The Collection Of…

‘First Impressions’…

Tom Baines / January 29, 2013April 11, 2013 / Concealed Illusions, Research, Space

From our first impressions of ‘The Collection’ it is apparent that there are a large number of spaces, both large and small, that a “Professional stranger” (Govan 2007, p122) can interact with and view with a fresh outsiders perspective.

We began to look at conventional ‘spaces’ from the site such as:

and

However we found these to be too stereotypical of an actual theatre space, although their architecture was intricate, interesting and very abstract. We then decided to look at the places within ‘The Collection’ which were less obvious:

Here we can see even the structure of the building itself poses abstract and interesting thoughts to us as performers. The architecture of the walls continue past the window, instead of the window framing the building. Also the display cabinet is not pushed up against the window which in turn creates an unnoticed and empty space. (modeled beautifully by Sam!).

We sat in this space and listened to the environment around us which was surprisingly loud and vibrant considering a museum is a space for thinking and observing. This small space was filled with the echos of conversations, footsteps and even voices coming from the wall itself. The sound wall stretched across the width of the building with speakers positioned along it; however some of the speakers were hidden in the small, apparently unused space that we occupied behind the cabinet. Which poses the question, why are there speakers placed in an area unused and unnoticed by the public?

From this we are starting to look at the museum’s potential as a performing space and the usual places that are unknown to a stranger’s eye and are asking ourselves, what could happen there?…

Works Cited

Govan, Emma and Helen Nicholson and Katie Normington (2007) Making A Performance: Devising Histories and Contemporary Practise. Routledge: London

Origins

Eloise Grace Henshaw / January 28, 2013May 10, 2013 / Nova Inventa, Research

Monday 28th January

Usher gallery

Dan Hunt

In today’s lesson we really started to look at the site that was delegated to our group. As this was the first time we had seen the site, there was so many stimulus and from the offset we had many ideas as a group.

some of the main topics for exploration this week was:

If you enter a space as a stranger you are able to explore the unknown.

Look at the space through different eyes.

Building is a visitor attraction. It wants people to come in to it and explore – how can we use this to our advantage?

Another thing that we wanted to explore as a group was –

Some Stiumulus and Ideas

As a group we found different things in and out of the gallery that evoked something from us as individuals and as a group.

This is something that inspired us as a group to the look in to the way in which things are concealed and exposed under different circumstances. When the tree is in full bloom, the ring cannot be seen. As opposed to when the tree is bare, the ring is left exposed for all to see. As a group, we discussed the idea of exposing a space as part of our performance and the way in which this could be achieved.

This painting was of particular interest to us as a group. As, to us, the painting represented the way in which people that come to visit the gallery interpret the same art in different ways. The idea that in a gallery, everyone is looking at the same thing but each piece can mean something different to each person is something that I personally find interesting.
What service does the building provide to the city?

Method adopted for this week:

Sit for 45 mins and study a space. Sit and listen, write down everything you hear

Outcome:

We looked closely at how a space can influence people’s behaviours. Our starting point was the cafe. Whilst sat studying the space as a group, each of us has different experiences.

Ellie:

Whilst in the cafe, I decided to focus upon the behavioural traits of customers in the que. I found that there was overt politeness between customers that were conforming to the rules of the que! I also noticed some one pick up a bag of crisps at the start of the que, then slyly put it back in the incorrect place when they decided a biscuit was more to their fancy. This exercise helped me to be aware of everything that is going on in a space around me, and almost find some comedic factor in everyday actions. It was ionteresting to see what kinf of ideologies there were in place about the way in which to act in a cafe.

Daniella:

For me. It was about focusing on the conversations that happened within the café. I took a moment to listen to a group of elderly women talking…
‘My mothers a bit lazy, when I found my dad had two Marks & Spenser dinners on Christmas day, her justification was ‘well it was M&S’
This led me to think about how although they were in a very public setting, within an art gallery, their conversation had nothing to do with the art. I understood this as the space having no boundaries, they were totally free to speak their minds and not controlled by the setting they were put in.

Alicia:

Whilst sat in the café we listened in one other people’s conversation in order to gain understanding of the spaces influence. Whilst waiters commented on the weather or objects such as peoples specific food orders, others who sat around tables and chairs with family and friends discussed topics that had no limits or boundaries.

A group of women discussed vegetables, whilst and elderly couple talked to their grandchild about her food. This proved to us that the space is a comfortable environment that allows people of all ages to feel relaxed and safe.

Tequila:

It was interesting to observe to what degree the gallery had affected its viewers I sat in the cafe and started writing down the conversations people around me were having. Even though what they were discussing had no relevance to and showed no inspiration from the gallery, it showed the different uses of the space; social space, visual space.

Keep your eyes open for our blog posts!

Authors- Ellie Henshaw

Word Count: Eloise Henshaw – 476 (out of 751)

First thoughts to the Collection Gallery

Francesca Maria Izzo / January 28, 2013May 13, 2013 / Evaluation, Inspiration, People, Research

Today, for the first time, I visited the Collection Gallery. We got to look around both galleries which hold to different style of exhibitions in two separate buildings. The one in the Collection provided historical informational which was educational and therefore targeting and appealing to children, especially with the games and dress up sections. The Usher Gallery which looks like a manor house, is the home of paintings, sculptures, plates and clocks. This gallery definitely felt like the most sophisticated out of the two, appealing to an older generation and people interested in art.

Throughout our time here we were given the task to sit or stand in an area of the Collection Gallery and record everything that you see and hear. I chose the cafe as that seemed to be the area which was the most busy and thought it would be interesting to observe what people were talking about and who used the cafe. I found this very successful as I recorded a lot of observations from what the staff did and the noises I could hear, to the observations of what I could see from the cafe when I looked out of the windows. This made me acknowledge the architecture of the building as I was looking around. I realised the cafe was downstairs and not on the same level as the rest of the gallery, which made me think the cafe is a place where visitors or other people not visiting the gallery can come to and get some peace and quiet from their busy schedules. As I looked out of the window I could see a tree with a diamond ring on it and wanted to know what it meant, whether it was meant to be there and why.

My first thoughts of the building opposite the cafe (the education room) made me think the building is like a puzzle as there is so much to explore and what may at first seem accidental could actually have been done purposefully to make you explore the building like you explore the exhibitions in both galleries. As there was a massive space in between the cafe and the building opposite, I could imagine people walking around during a performance like a promenade piece.

The layout of the cafe also made me think about how I felt as a customer at the cafe. Where I chose to sit, by the window in an alcove, I felt hidden and separate from everyone else in the cafe even though the cafe is a big room. This made me think whether other people who visit the cafe notice this feeling too and whether some people decide to sit there to be alone and away from the chaos of the rest of the cafe and even from their busy lives. As a person who spends a lot of time socialising and having a busy schedule, it felt nice to be able to sit alone in a peaceful place and observe everyone around me.

With these observations and thoughts about where the audience could be, could this be a potential performance space?

Initial Response to ‘The Collection’ and ‘The Usher Gallery’

Chloe Doherty / January 25, 2013March 5, 2013 / Possessed Time, Research, Space

After finding out our chosen site, we decided to visit The Collection as a member of the public to gain a firsthand understanding of the space. Whilst there, we explored the current ‘Past to Present’ exhibition and this inspired the beginnings of our ideas for possibly creating a piece focusing around the progression of time. A stand-out feature of this exhibition was the ‘Languages from the Past’ audio talk, which elaborated on different readings from Lincolnshire’s past. The use of headphones was a departure from the traditional museum experience. This ingenuity reminds us of the work of Janet Cardiff and inspired us towards the idea of incorporating audio and other sensory stimulants, moving our piece away from a purely visual field.

When exiting the exhibition, we noticed a faint whispering, only later to discover speakers integrated within the walls. We found this to be an interesting device to capture visitor’s attention without overpowering the rest of the exhibition.

The museum, however, was only half of our designated site so we ventured across to The Usher Gallery. This was an inspiring place with a number of contrasting exhibits; ranging from the classical statues of antiquity to a modern photographic interpretation of an African-American ‘Last Supper’.

‘The Last Supper’ by Faisal Abdu’Allah 2003

Incorporated in between these era’s, were representations of British arts featuring pastoral scenes. One particularly intriguing feature was the 1795 ‘Pineapple Dish’. The fact that something we consider as common and everyday as the pineapple was seen as exotic and important enough to have its own item of specific crockery, highlights how perspective can change over the passage of time.

L: ‘Pineapple Dish’ by William ‘Quaker’ Pegg 1795

The idea of time is something which was highlighted as the one constant throughout the Usher Gallery; almost every room featured some form of clock or timepiece. This triggered the idea of time as an abstract concept as opposed to something which we can attempt to define on the face of a clock. This led us to using the notion of time as a stimulus for our piece, focusing on the various perceptions of time such as: a historical epoch, something quantified by the use of watches and clocks, the aesthetics of both the inner and outer workings, and the way in which time can be used as a healer but equally recognized as a force of decay.

Authors: Chloe Doherty, James Barker, Shane Humberstone, Tabitha Hilton-Berry

Looking at a ‘New City’

Holly Rudd / January 24, 2013May 9, 2013 / People, Research

When we first approached the subject of site specific we walked around the city of Lincoln trying to explore the environment in a way that we had never before. We were asked to look for specific places, such as; the best place to find an old couple holding hands, the worst place to pass wind, the best place to build a tree house and so on. To begin with we walked into the centre of the city, but then our course took us on another direction. We ended up somewhere that neither of us had been before. When we were in the areas that we had experienced before it was as though we were looking at them differently because we were, because we were looking for something in particular we paid more attention to the city that we so often pass by in an unfamiliar manner. ‘It’s that city, or one like it – this city, but not this one’ (Etchells, 1999, pg 76) Etchells quote from his book certain fragments sums up our feelings towards our new discoveries whilst wandering around Lincoln.

During our exploration I discovered a new love for the city itself, it developed deeper meaning and created new experiences. Whilst exploring new areas of the city I felt and excitement to uncover something I did not know before.

We found the best place to go sledding

The best place to discover true beauty

The best place to find yourself

The quote from Etchells is from an article within which he looks at the relationship between creative process and the practices of everyday life. This is what we were doing during our tour of the city; we were exploring the possibilities of performance whilst also looking into everyday situations, finding creativity from pedestrian actions. By looking for specific criteria we discovered creativity within each act. The worst place to sleep rough; we discussed where this might be, if there is anywhere that is the best place to sleep rough, why you would and what your circumstances might be to get to this point, from this discussion in our pair we decided upon performance concepts and ethical points. We then realised that this had never really been a topic that either of us had overly thought, it wasn’t until looking deeper into the city that we discovered these ideas.

Our journey took us on a 3 mile walk around the city, I found potential in a few of the sites for performance and for new discovery, it would have been interesting to explore these options further if we could have chosen a site but this exercise really opened my eyes into looking at things differently and so I feel that when we visit our site I hope I will be able to be open minded about it and look at it from a performance perspective, the same way that Etchells can view a city as a new city entirely.

Etchells, Tim (1999) Certain Fragments, New York: Routledge