Callaborative projects The Graveyard Project
Objects from the graveyard -co-coordinator Personal aim of the project: to gain experience in widening participation, to push myself out of the education comfort zone The aim of the exhibition was to allow volunteers to gain experience and confidence in the new area by opening up the roles available. Widening participation and showing what oblong has to offer. Volunteers involved Max Wootton Glenys Steel Karen Clarke Deirdre Diver Sarah Binless Daisy Craik Megan Alexandria Bolton Stephanie Bryant Rosie Curtis Although I enjoy organising events, this is my first hands-on experience at putting on an exhibition. As a co-coordinator, my roles included keeping up the communication between volunteers and students, managing and raising the funds and producing the publication for the project. For this, I had to work closely with each participating artist in order to assist with the documentation and artist statements for the catalogue. As a dyslexic myself, writing is not strong point for me. I felt had a better understanding of the difficulties some of volunteers from oblong faced when writing their statement. To help each volunteer, I used a list of simple questions specifically tailored to their peace (example on page ) The difficulty I had with the catalogue was how much to edit the statements. As I wanted the publication to be a professional promotional tool, I felt the need to edit the answers into a smooth statement without changing them completely. Certain jobs were passed on to the volunteers, such as creating the poster for the event (Glenys and Deirdre) distribution of this and the making of the catalogue (myself and Jamie).
I worked very closely with Max, designing creating and curating a sound, image and object sculpture. Using the old speaker to give an experience of the graveyard. the sound recordings played out at different volumes, so every now and then you would get a rumble of wind and leaves echoing around the space which really tied the whole exhibition together. Was very happy with the event on the day, however there were points in the run-up that I thought it was all going to go to pot. Raising money To cover the costs of the project (materials, printing costs, petrol, paint etc) I put on another tea party, with tables for group activities and refreshments to encourage people to sit and relax in the space. Using circle tables grouped together, I wanted to create a space that allowed people to converse and get involved in the activities. Out of this, I have been offered a space in oblong to start my own cafĂŠ style art room that would be run by myself and the volunteers at Oblong which I will be discussing in greater detail with Oblong after I graduate.
Initial meeting about the project. kerri megan daisy me Discussed: what the event is about, what we can offer, what we would like to get from it, the roles available and the amount of time we can contribute
‘ I was interested in joining this project, not only because Kerry is my friend, but because I was eager to work in the field of widening participation, and push myself out of my comfort zone i.e. the possibility of leading taster days and working with a wide range of adults with different learnign capabilities. we approached students who specialised in different areas so that could accumulate a wide skill set and technical knowledge which could be passed on to the volunteers. I offered my services in photography, as there were many volunteers that were interested in that area.
Notes from the first meeting with the volunteers at Oblong ¬Objects from the Graveyard Meeting One: Oblong, Pat Regan room. (Notes) In Attendance: Max Wooton, Glenis Steel, Karen, Deidre (All Oblong), Kerri Butterworth, Sophie Gilbert, Daisy Craik, Megan Bolton ( Leeds College of Art). Introduced ourselves and discussed our interests and ideas. Introduced the project again and the possibilities and opportunities. A taster day on the 16th April at Leeds College of Art in Ceramics and Casting, the opportunity to create and exhibit work, the chance for collaboration, help to organize an exhibition. Highlighted the importance of the project from a social perspective. The history of the place and the forgotten memories. A glimpse into the social conditions of the time. Also an awareness of the anti-social behavior that happens on the site today because of it’s lack of care. Although response does not need to be about this the Graveyard holds a lot of mystery and beauty too. We are capturing a moment of how it is now. Gateways are currently doing up the church have they got plans for the Graveyard? Ask Emma to contact Gateways re this. Will need to contact Gateways to get permission to be on the site. Kerri Needs to join Yammer, Oblongs internal communication network so I can keep everyone informant directly. Glenis highlighted that we need to be careful about laws to do with rubbing on old stones etc. example of Giggleswick . Look into this do we need permission? Glenis enjoys working on photoshop and is developing a basic tutorial to pass on to others. Deidre enjoys the dark aspect of the project she is fascinated by skulls and anything gory. Doesn’t consider herself creative but likes to make weird cards. Karen likes photography, she’s been doing lots of graphics too so would maybe be interested in helping design publicity.
Max loves art and is very creative enjoys ceramics and painting and is part of the media collective, the gardening group and the ceramics group Sophie works with objects and memory and is happy to help and experiment with film, video, sound. Daisy is interested in Gorilla Gardening and has a lovely idea to use the shoes in the graveyard as planters to plant back into the ground. Perhaps people could sponsor a shoe on the night? She also has ideas for a kids book based on a range of objects found at the Graveyard. Megan is interested in working with sound, she is quite new to this but keen to experiment. She also has an Idea to make an Interactive bottle music piece with the empty alcohol bottles on site. Kerri is interested in a range of objects but is focusing on a plastic stiletto shoe found in the mud. This ties in with the Barbie/ human doll theme she was looking at for dissertation and the sexulisation of Western culture. We bought in a range of objects found in the graveyard and also some photographs taken of the objects. We bought magazines, pens and paints with various paper and card. As we chatted we created collages exploring words and images that would act as a mood/ inspiration board. Was a good idea to bring larger card too as Glenis, Deidre and Karen worked on one together, I considered that this could be a less daunting option to a non art audience. Everyone cut out and stuck down images as we chatted and got to know each other. It worked well to have an activity based meeting allowed for a free flow of conversation.
Project brief: Objects From The Graveyard Collaborative Site Specific Art Project
Concept This project is a response to the Graveyard at St Marks Church, Woodhouse; it is a fascinating and slightly eerie place that has fallen into a state of disarray over the years. The church has, until recently been unoccupied. The Graveyard is full of discarded objects and has been vandalised over the years too with decorative parts of gravestones broken and missing. The people buried there seem to have been long forgotten, from reading the gravestones it is apparent that many of these people have been skilled crafts people and upstanding, well-respected members of their community. This project will bring a group of students and Oblong volunteers together to create an artistic response to the site; these creations will be shown in a one-night exhibition at Woodhouse Community center. Objectives - Create an opportunity for participants to develop their skills in their chosen specialism. - To raise awareness of the graveyard and highlight the need for regeneration. - To organise and be a contributing artist on an independent exhibition. - Establish new relationships between organisations involved and participants. Expectations – Commitment to attend 3 creative workshops, which will take place between 7th and 25th April 2013. (16th April taster day at Leeds College Of Art in ceramics and casting, other dates to be confirmed) – To produce an artistic response to the site, medias will include drawing, photography, film, sound, ceramics and casting. – To attend and contribute to the organisation of the final exhibition. Date to be confirmed. Outcomes –Experience in showing in and organising an independent exhibition from start to finish. –Opportunity to develop skills, try new media and work alongside fellow participants. –Foundations for developing the project in the future. Contact: Kerri Butterworth 07707 028660 kerributterworth@gmail.com
Suggested research Graveyard related: http://www.yorkshiredailyphoto.com/2010/07/church-of-st-mark-woodhouse-leeds.html http://arts.pallimed.org/2008/03/welcome-symbolism-in-graveyard-art.html http://www.prairieghosts.com/grave_symbols.html http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Archaeology/Guidance_Historic_Graveyards.pdf Found Object related: http://artsy.net/gene/use-of-found-objects http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2012/01/16/found-object-art-13-sculptures-made-of-reclaimeditems/ http://www.josephcornellbox.com/menu.htm http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/12/non-trashy-recycled-and-trash-art/ Exhibiting related: http://www.finearttips.com/2011/06/how-to-stage-your-first-art-exhibition/ http://www.ehow.com/how_5737414_hold-first-art-exhibition-results.html http://ezinearticles.com/?Six-Tips-on-How-to-Put-on-a-Memorable-Art-Exhibit&id=3782263 If you have time to visit local galleries and see what work is there and how it is displayed etc this will help when thinking about exhibiting your own piece.
The taster day As part of the project, Kerri had organised a taster day in ceramics with the volunteers from Oblong. As the main aim of the project was to introduce the idea of corresponding to a brief and specific site, we started the day by visiting the graveyard and documenting it. we also had the opportunity to work with clay, to make either models on moulds of and around the graveyard. I personally, had a very strong reaction to the site. I felt very uncomfortable and aneasy walking across the gravestones which came as a surprise to me As I had no preconceptions or issues with graveyards before. So, rather than taking the hands-on approach of taking moulds from the stones themselves, I worked on capturing the sense and ambience of it. As you can see in the photograph, I recorded the sounds of the wind, trees, and walking around the space. through this session we also gathered objects which we could respond to when creating for the final exhibition. That day, Max discovered an empty wooden speaker case while exploring. as I was using sound, and Max photography and video we decided to join forces and create a mini installation in and around our found object.
Working collaboratively with Max Aims: to work together and to pool ideas in responce to the speaker and the graveyard. - to introduce max to new ways of developing an idea - to showing the benefits of using a sketchbook
Although I have collaborated with individuals before, I have had little experience in working with adults outside the education safety net. I approached this is if I was teaching a taster day in developing ideas. I spent for our afternoon working with Max in the studios, introducing him to working with projections, sound and how to incorporate them within an installation. We started with my old favourite, mind mapping, to learn more about our interests and experiences as well as each other. we were able to successfully blend our ideas together. In the previous meeting at the graveyard, Max had taken video as well as photographing the site which worked perfectly with my own current area of interest, using back projections in the internal spaces objects, Mt practicepresenting it in an unusual way
incorporating different sences
wind
leaves rustling
birds
photography
sound
branches snapping and creaking
responding to the graveyard from inside Preojections onto
Into
moving image as the showreel projector house
found objects
used as part of a piece or the main focus
The speaker
projecting from within onto external surfaces – show real?
Creating a screenwhite paper across the back of holes
back projection through the speaker and onto the front screen
putting sound back into empty space- linking more of the senses to give an impression of the site
using reflections- keeping things hidden
working on angling and composition -the finished effect
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Excerts from Max’s project sketchbook
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-Finished piece Hidden speaker inside the empty casing playing sounds from the graveyard (looped) photographs projected from inside and bounced off a mirror and back onto the speaker itself. Soil to represent the graveyard, shovel and comment book-an addition on the day.
The big day: To cover costs of the event I put on another tea party, to raise money to put towards the final show fund. taking place in the community centre, we involved participating the activities alongside the exhibition. We want to create a space where people could spend time and relax, take part and appreciate the art.
Rough diary sketch of poster design from the design meeting with volunteers
Diary notes Discussions with Kerri on curation and catalogue I only write down the key things I need to remember as I sound record the rest for myself
Example of question framework sent to each of the volunteers to guide their artist statements for the catalogue