Fraser Whiting - glossary of terms

Glossary of Terms

By Fraser Whiting

Glossary of Terms – A set of terms defined according to the artist. The terms included in this glossary relate to the artist’s practice and studio outputs and are offered as a way for a viewer or reader to understand broader themes around the work. It must be noted that a glossary written by the artist has its own bias and is not neutral. It is also not necessary to read or know the contents of the glossary when viewing artwork by the artist. The things that the terms define are not wholly defined by the limited writing found here.

Monograph – A big book on a single artist.

Usually containing the following: images of the artist’s work at excruciatingly high resolution and a lot of them; an opening text written by someone who is directly impacted by the success of the artist, think of a director of a commercial gallery that

represents the artist; conversations (interviews) conducted by gallerists or critics who enjoy name dropping as many references as humanly possible in the space of only a few printed pages. If you are lucky you might be able to find cheap copies of pre-loved monographs online, if not, expect to sell an organ to buy one. Monographs glorify artists and the institutions who represent them. The books allow for understanding the artist and their work from one point of view – the art industry, where monographs are supplements to be bought and sold and aid in the selling of the artist’s artworks.

Art Industry – Economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods.

Context An inescapable framework applied to everything. A mug in a kitchen is a mug used for drinking coffee. The kitchen’s context is that of domestic practicality where things have

uses and are made to be used. A mug in a gallery is possibly an artwork. The context of the gallery and its four walls places the context of art object onto whatever crosses its threshold. An object can have more than one context surrounding it.

is a constant act of upkeep usually undertaken by low paid workers in institutions.

All this work is usually nonvisible and isn’t usually considered by the casual gallery visitor.

Exhibition Deeper Meaning – The ephemeral ‘thing’ which art goers/consumers/viewers/ visitors try to obtain from an exhibition and the artworks contained within. It is presumed that deeper meaning is present within all artworks, although this may not be the case. If no deeper meaning is found it may leave art goers/viewers/consumers/visit ors deflated and lacking motivation to come back to the gallery. If people think they have found the deeper meaning, the shorthand for it is that the person ‘gets it’.

Maintenance – Dusting the sculptures, conserving the paintings, painting the walls white, and keeping the vitrine’s glass fingerprint-less. Maintenance

A space for objects. A grouping of objects or arrangement of objects or grouping of arrangements.

Normally there is a thematic element uniting the artists or artworks included.

Exhibition Practice An exhibition practice is an arts practice where part of the artwork is enacted by or made possible due to the context of the work being in an institution. Examples of artists with exhibition practices would be Joëlle Tuerlinckx and Ghislaine Leung. Usually work made by an artist with an exhibition practice is critical or aware of itself being shown in an institution.

Group Show A show of 2 or more artists.

Usually, the show has a thematic link between the artists. For example figurative painters, or for a separate show a group of conceptual artists, or another example might be 3 people who all make art around the idea of home or place.

The ’Real’ World – The world which we inhabit.

The Art World – The world which we inhabit.

Object A physical thing in the world.

Art Object – A physical thing in the world which is viewed in the context of art. For example, a painting in a museum, or a scrunchedup tissue in an art gallery.

Typically, the art object is bought and sold by collectors, it is preserved and maintained, and therefore has

a greater status than that of the object.

Arrangement A group (2 or more) of objects, art objects, wall pieces, drawings, or any other thing which are placed together. Usually, arrangements try to hint at a connection made between the two or more things placed together. A full exhibition can be an arrangement, or multiple arrangements can make up an exhibition.

Wall Piece A piece of wall which is moveable and hung or placed on the floor. Made from plasterboard and stud timber it is usually plastered and painted with wall paint.

Occasionally shelves and other wall fixtures like picture frames or display stands are attached to the painted surface.

Wall Painting A painting applied directly to the surface of a wall. The overall size is dependent on the limitations of the space

and titled after the colour of the wall paint used. The colour titles usually have significance to the space they are shown in.

Podium A podium is a 3-dimensional structure like a museum plinth or a retail display stand.

Similar to apparatus used in trade fairs, shops, and gallery and museum spaces in which an object is placed on its top face, usually to promote the object to a higher status, or to add value to the object.