Feedback from Collaborator: Stephen Clarke

Stephen admitted that he had low expectations at the beginning of the process, he had seen other virtual galleries that looked ‘Sims-like’, flat and unreal. However, the finished gallery excelled expectations and he began to feel that the virtual landscape was a real place. There was also a realisation that a gallery can be made to fit, in complete opposition to a traditional (real and expensive) exhibition. He felt that the gallery design made sense of his work and gave form to an unstructured project.

He believes that whilst being web-based extends the gallery to new audiences, he feels that it would appeal to select interests similar to consumers of specialist photo zines, like Cafe Royal Books.

Stephen felt that this opportunity arrived at the right time. He thinks that we are on the cusp of a virtual land grab and likens it to the American mid-west land grab (Oklahoma land rush) of 1889. He sees the opportunity for projects, such as this one, to carve out a space for themselves, again, similar to Cafe Royal Books which produces single project photo zines that fit into a larger series documenting ‘cultural and social shifts in Britain and Ireland’.

Reflection: Aaron Tonks

I proposed the collaboration because I wanted to design a gallery and exhibition for a specific body of work to see if it supported it, added or detracted from it, to see if any ‘new ideas’ presented themselves (to be surprised), to see how I could improve it, and I wanted feedback about it from within the industry.

An online search will quickly reveal that many virtual galleries fit the stereotype of traditional galleries, but they don’t need to. Indeed, a real-world gallery typically in the guise of O’Doherty’s classic ‘white cube’ gallery (O’Doherty, 1986) is a compromise that allows curators to utilise the same space to frame many different types of artwork. There are a few examples built to house specific works of art such as the Rothko Chapel and Monet in the Orangerie museum but they are hugely expensive. However, there is no such concern in the virtual world as the only expense is time and there is the ability to design and create something completely original and atypical.

In the end, I believe I was able to create an expressive, sympathetic and immersive virtual gallery that successfully supported Stephen’s photographs. It did indeed give the project structure and the virtual environment framed the subject matter and helped to engage the viewer.

Summary: Collaboration and Compromise

Very often, a curator must find a compromise between the artist’s wishes, the artworks, the gallery and the viewer and having the freedom to change one of those elements can make that compromise easier to achieve and in this instance, the gallery, a complete creation in response to Stephen’s work, meant that I was able to address some of his concerns along the way and potential areas of friction did not materialise. A compromise did not need to be made. Working with Stephen was a pleasure.

References

Clarke, S. (2020) “Alien Resident.” Chester: UK. Information (no date) Café Royal Books. Available at: https://www.caferoyalbooks.com/information-1 (Accessed: September 23, 2022).

Jacob, M.J. (2016) What makes a great exhibition? Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Kipnis, J. (2016) What makes a great exhibition? Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Marincola, P. et al. (2016) What makes a great exhibition? Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

O’Doherty, B. (1986) Inside the White Cube: The ideology of the gallery space. Berkeley: Univ. of Calif. Pr.

Storr, R. (2016) What makes a great exhibition? Philadelphia, PA: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.