NOW MUSEUM / NOW YOU DON’T an exhibition by MAAIKE BAKKER
Catalogue submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Magister Technologiae in the Department of visual art Faculty of art, design & architecture University of Johannesburg for the exhibition Now Museum / Now you don’t at Nirox Projects | Arts on Main
NOW MUSEUM / NOW YOU DON’T an exhibition by MAAIKE BAKKER
NOVEMBER 10- DECEMBER 1, 2013 | NIROX PROJECTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Nirox Projects for granting me the opportunity to host Now Museum / Now you don’t (2013) in their exhibition space. I would also like to thank the Nirox Projects curator Neil Niewoudt for his curatorial professionalism and organisational input. Furthermore, a sincere thank you to David Paton, my supervisor. His constant encouragement, patience and enthusiasm greatly contributed to the development of the exhibition. I also acknowledge the FADA Visual Arts department for their overall input and general guidance. I express my deepest gratitude to Jonathan Lennox for his engineering input and general patience and time that was invested in assissting me with the technical aspects of Writing / Re-writing (2013). I also thanks Lee Ruppert and Matthew Beyers for their professional carpentry services and their particular attention to detail. A big thanks to Anne-Lise van NIekerk for the high end photographic documentation of the exhibition. A final thanks goes out to my family and loved ones whose endless support knows no boundaries, as well as my friends who shared this journey with me. Maaike Bakker
ARTIST STATEMENT
The exhibition titled Now museum / Now you don’t presents a body of work that introduces the notion of the ephemeral and intangible without making any claims to be, themselves, intangible and ephemeral artworks. The intangible here refers to the artworks of an immaterial nature, and the ephemeral alludes to works created out of a medium with an inherent expiration date, that does not only influence the lifespan of a work but also informs it conceptually. Now museum /Now you don’t therefore sets out to address the perceived instability of the ephemeral and the intangible aspects inherent in many cross-disciplinary contemporary artworks. The exhibition serves as a form of ironic evaluation of art conservation practices and curatorial approaches to re-presentation as well as a foregrounding of ironies involved in re-staging works that intentionally act against principles of permanence. In Now museum / Now you don’t meaning is held just at bay, circulating and deferring between the works, manifesting itself in the intangible and liminal that establishes itself in between the instruction manual and the work it serves. The works themselves offer bits of information and details which might seem to point to the next work, yet eventually clearly point back to themselves, a seemingly reflexive process. Various bits of data which serve to support some of the exhibited works are ultimately also presented as works of their own (framed works and artist’s book) and eventually no longer serve the purpose of informing other works but end up becoming independent works of their own, no longer serving as information.
The instruction manuals featured alongside some of the works aim to engage the audience, inviting and challenging them to evaluate whether sufficient information is provided in each of the manuals to result in an accurate re-presentation if followed closely. These manuals also offer the audience the opportunity to take a manual and to attempt a re-presentation of their own, allowing them to act in the capacity of a curator, exploring the parameters and variabilities in the works. The viewer therefore has access to the information behind the exhibition, and can ‘own’ parts of the exhibition, and thus become involved in the relationship between the data and the featured installation. This therefore foregrounds the notion that the essence of a work lies in between the data of the work and any re-presentation there of.
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___/___ ( 2013)
___/___ (2013) chains, door slider locks, black paint
___/___ (2013) installation detail
T HE WAY T HINGS ARE ( 2013)
The way things are (2013) mirrors cut to specific dimensions
The way things are (2013) installation view
ARCHIV E V O L. I ( 2013)
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Archive vol. I (2013) framed giclee prints arranged according to instructions
Archive vol. I (2013) framed giclee prints Arranged according to instructions
200mm funnel diameter= 180mm
funnel diameter= 120mm
funnel diameter= 150mm
400mm
75Ëš
400mm
funnel holder diameter= 75mm
funnel holder diameter= 90mm
funnel holder diameter= 100mm -
125mm funnel diameter= 120mm
funnel diameter= 150mm
circle diameter=30mm
400mm
210mm
50mm
50mm
160mm
distance between circles =21,5 mm
800mm
Archive vol. I (2013) framed giclee print detail
M AUS O LEUM ( 2013)
400mm 400mm 600mm
500mm
1500mm 500mm
1200mm
1200mm 700mm
Mausoleum (2013) ash wood, glass, dust
Mausoleum (2013) detail
Mausoleum (2013) installation detail
WRIT IN G / RE-WRIT ING ( 2013)
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Writing / Re-writing (2013) manual
Writing / Re-writing (2013) installation view
Writing / Re-writing (2013) installation detail
F OREVER IS A LO NG T IM E ( 2012-2013)
Forever is a long time (2013) manual
Forever is a long time (2013) installation detail
Forever is a long time (2013) installation view
N O W MU SEU M / NOW YO U DO N ’T artis t’s book ( 2013)
Now Museum / Now you don’t (2013) artist’s book
Now Museum / Now you don’t (2013) artist’s book detail
Now Museum / Now you don’t (2013) artist’s book detail
DRAWING / RE-DRAWING ( 2012-2013)
Writing / Re-writing (2013) installation view
Writing / Re-writing (2013) detail
20ยบ ( 2013)
125mm
circle diameter=30mm
400mm
210mm
50mm
50mm
160mm
distance between circles =21,5 mm
800mm
20ยบ (2013) detail
WRI TI NG / RE-WRIT IN G a proposal ( 2013)
Writing / Re-writing a proposal (2013) lasercut Fabriano, pencil on drafting film
THE WAY THI NGS ARE abridged version ( 2013)
The way things are abridged version (2013) lasercut Fabriano, pencil on drafting film
THE WAY THI NGS A RE ab r i dged version: components ( 2013)
Writing / Re-writing abridged version : components (2013) lasercut Fabriano, pencil on drafting film
M AUS O LEUM a plan ( 2013)
Mausoleum a proposal (2013) lasercut Fabriano, pencil on drafting film
M O O N PAN ELS ( 2013)
Moon panels a proposal (2013) lasercut Fabriano, pencil on drafting film
I NSTAL L ATIO N V IEWS O F T HE EXHIBIT IO N
MAAIKE BAKKER ©