Posts Tagged ‘London’

Friends of the Westminster Reference Library welcome you to their place. Watch their videos and discover what is the life of a library today. (More coming soon)

See more videos from the Welcome to My Place project.

The theme of the Dreams of Progress exhibition and most of its videos have been set before I found the hosting venue. I still wanted to arrange the exhibition so that it links to its physical context, or at least doesn’t deny it. I first looked at the history of the Westminster Reference Library, which is well known for being built on the former house of Isaac Newton, Lord Macaulay famously stating saying that the home of Sir Isaac Newton would be “well known as long as our island retains any trace of civilisation”. I was tempted first to incorporate this reference to the description of the exhibition because it fits nicely with the theme of progress. Later, I found it diminishing. I felt that it was denying the current function of the building. I was then inclined to instrument the fact that the space is a library, its mission of education for all is a dream of progress by itself.  I decided after all to not introduce any connections with the library in the theme of the exhibition. What was much more tangible was the help from the staff of the library, which was felt by every visitor.  The Dreams of Progress exhibition was in this space because of the help of its staff and their utopian vision of what a library should be; it came from their own initiative, not a mission statement.

During the exhibition, the staff of the library displayed books related to the theme of Utopia and Progress, which I found marvellous.

Next: The exhibition space

The exhibition space

Setting an exhibition space within the reading room of the Westminster Art Reference Library is a very exciting opportunity but also a big challenge. It must not disturb the daily activities of the library but still make enough of an impact and it should provide excellent conditions for the viewing of the videos. The tactic I opted for is to encourage a one-to-one experience between the viewers and videos by providing an intimate space where visitors can sit down and relax while looking at the videos. However, one of my responsibilities as a curator is to promote the art works exhibited in the space. I believe it is necessary to display physical signs of the importance that one attributes to a piece of art, in order that it is noticed and can be evaluated appropriately. The legends offered the perfect support to mark this statement. I hung them on the walls as if they were works of art themselves, they stood behind the television screens though so that were not the primary focal point. Instead, they signal, without imposing, to visitors that the videos are not randomly selected but artefacts worth careful attention.

The second decision I had to make was how to group the videos. The space and my budget did not allow one screen per work. It may not be suitable, as it would mean someone would have to change seats for each video, some of them last only a few minutes. So, how to group them? The case of the Microsoft video was simple, I got a separate dvd from Microsoft and so it had to be on a separate screen. The “Discovery of Magnetic North” video being the longer and most immersive one, I decided to play it alone on the only projector. I separated the rest of the videos in 3 groups:

• 3 utopians visions by corporations
• 2 artistic reactions to today’s ongoing progress along with a an original vision of the future. The 2 artistic reactions and the futuristic video are all colourful and entertaining.
• 3 artistic views at the past

Associating the videos this way creates a dialogue between the videos sequenced on each monitor but also between videos played at the same time on different screens, not far from each other. This dialogue purposively generates tensions and similarities.  Though the corporation videos are grouped on one side of the room, they were not isolated but well linked with other videos:  ‘Some things won’t change’ and  images of ‘Discovery of Magnetic North”  for example.

Interaction with visitors remain basic. They could add their email address to the guest book and take a program and flyer with them. I felt this was appropriate for an exhibition of this size. The philosophical debate and children’s workshop provided large enough spaces for dialogue.

Next: Legends and introduction to the exhibition

The curatorial practice is not only about setting up the theoretical framework of an exhibition, writing and selecting artefacts. It is also about federating people around a project they understand is beneficial for them. Dreams of Progress was my first exhibition, it gave me the opportunity to gain experience on every front:

• Getting the permissions from artists to display their work and getting additional material. Overall, I got the permission to use all the work I wanted to use but the artists’ responsiveness was really varied. Some were excited about the project and very supportive, some had to be reminded many times before delivering their part.

• Getting permission from Microsoft and Squint/opera. This was very easy and I got all the help I needed in obtaining the dvds. Utopian visions from corporations generate a lot of criticism in the public but corporations seemed to be very open to discussion. This experience made me less cynical about their views as they make the first move after all.

• Finding a venue, the Westminster Reference Library, and then a sponsor for some the video equipment, Westminster Arts.
• Marketing the exhibition by sending the press release to art websites (it was featured on www.artrabbit.com and www.criticalnetwork.co.uk), distributing flyers to venues around the exhibition, putting posters in the Library.
• Marketing the philosophical debate by contacting the philosophical groups in London, philosophical colleges, members of the library, putting the event on facebook, upcoming, eventful.

As part of the Children’s Art Day 2009 and the Dreams of Progress exhibition, a storyboarding workshop was organised for the pupils of the year 4 from St Clement Danes School. Children learned how to create storyboards from pre-existing video material. Besides the fun and practical experience gained from the workshop, kids also learned how the same video footages can be sequenced to create many different stories;  how what is showed everyday on TV is not an exact representation of reality but the result of a montage.

Children used the footages from the  utopian video ‘Design for Dreaming’ (General Motors  – 1956) to create their storyboards. The workshop was inspired by the ‘Same video, different use’ collaborative project initiated by the video artist Remyyy; where artists can each post online their remixes of the same archive video. The best storyboard from the workshop has been transformed in a movie and posted online next to the contribution from video artists.

Winning storyboard of the year 4 from St Clement Danes School.

During the workshop, children were first presented with the original video. I showed them thereafter an example of storyboard (two of them were created before the workshop:  ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘I had a freaky nightmare’). The kids were split in 4 groups, each having in front of them a little less than a hundred printed images representing scenes from the movie. They randomly picked up a sentence to start their story with, e.g. “1..2..3..Action!”,  “This is the future”, “Dance to my beat”, “It was a freaky nightmare”. The groups had 40 minutes to create their storyboard, made of scenes from the original movie and of texts that they could add in between. In the last 10 minutes of the session, the groups presented their storyboard to the rest of the class, so that pupils could vote for their favourite story.

The winners when they presented their storyboard to the rest of class.

Everyone listening at the story of the second group.

The third group busy making their own story.

The fourth group starting their storyboard with the teachers.

The storyboard of the fourth group.

The children didn’t have any problems understanding the concept of sequencing movie scenes. The main challenge they experienced was to not replicate the original film but to invent a new story; which they succeeded after a short time necessary to distance themselves from what they’ve just seen.

The storyboarding workshop would not have run so smoothly without the commitment of Rossella Black from the WRF, all the volunteers helping out preparing the session and the facilitation of the teachers from St Clement Danes School.

A philosophical debate about Utopia and Progress was held at the WRF in July 2009, as part of the Dreams of Progress video art exhibition. The debate attracted around 50 people from various backgrounds, including professors from London universities, philosophical students, art curators and engineers.

In these days of economical, environmental and sometimes ideological uncertainties, the debate took a look back at our previous visions of the future, how they materialised and the way that they relate to the dreams we nourish today. The debate was punctuated by projections of videos, questioning the meaning of progress, between modernism and post-modernism, individuality and utopia, human nature as opposed to mega structures.

Philosophical debate on Utopia and Progress

The predictions for the 60s from General Motors in 1940 served as a perfect introduction to the concepts of Utopia and Progress. I asked the audience their first impressions, to describe the vision presented in the video, if it is realistic and what were the assumptions made. The video attracted a lot of interest because I think it embodies so many of the modern utopias.

In the second part of the debate, I showed the Productivity Vision for 2019 by Microsoft, the Future of Cities by the Danish Royal Academy of Architecture and the Tokyo.future by Ian Lynam. I asked people what kind of utopias and progress the videos showed, what were their assumptions and why they were made. The vision by Microsoft monopolised first the attention, it was perceived at the same time inhuman and very realistic. The Future of Cities was unexpectedly the most controversial video of the debate. Some people felt that its message was closer to their preoccupations, others thought it was not that different from the other visions and that its humanity was only superficial. The last video from Ian Lynam was sadly a little lost in the debate even if its screening got great reactions during the exhibition.

In the last part of the evening, I showed the Mardi Gras video from the artist Keith Loutit and McCool!!! from Julian Roberts and Namalee Bolle. I asked if the videos were showing utopias or dystopias. Because of the previous videos and the discussions that followed, the reference to McDonald’s was heavily debated. The Mardi Gras video was well received but came a little late in the debate to really be properly exploited.

I got many positive feedbacks from the participants of the debate. The use of the videos worked very well in engaging the audience and the contributions were challenging. It was only an introduction as two hours is just enough time to open up the conversation. Some important questions about the nature and role of contemporary utopias started to emerge by the end of the debate. One problem I didn’t anticipated though is that my selection of videos biased a little the debate towards a judgment on corporate visions, avoiding sometimes the more difficult question to define our own utopias.

You can find here the philosophical paper that I prepared for the debate, updated with some of the arguments that were raised during the evening.

(press release)

6^th – 18^th July, Westminster Reference Library, London, free admission

Short movies from international artists have been gathered along with corporate videos to form the Dreams of Progress art exhibition. Taking place at the Westminster Reference Library between the 6^th and 18^th July, the event will showcase past and present visions of the future.

In these days of economical, environmental and sometimes ideological uncertainties, the exhibition ‘Dreams of Progress’ will take a look back at our previous visions of the future, how they materialized and the way that they relate to the dreams we nourish today. Videos of utopian visions will be presented along with the sensitive perceptions of emerging video artists.

Predictions for the 60s from General Motors back in 1940 are juxtaposed with the recent vision of Microsoft for 2019; bitter-sweet feelings from early memories of the artists Richard Jerousek and Brian Phillips are confronted with the galactic voyage of Tokyo imagined by Ian Lynam.  These videos and more will question the meaning of progress, between modernism and postmodernism, individuality and collective dreams, human nature as opposed to mega structures.

The videos will be displayed at the Westminster Reference Library, in the heart of London’s West End. The exhibition space, opened to the art reading room, will provide a relaxed environment to view the videos in tranquillity.

The exhibition is curated by Christophe Bruchansky as part of the Curated Matter project, a non-profit venture dedicated to the organisation of exhibitions that catalyse social innovation. The Dreams of Progress exhibition features a philosophical debate which considers the existence and possibilities of utopias as well as the fear of dystopias. Part of the national Children’s Art Day program, a workshop will be organized to teach children how to create artistic films from pre-existing video material. They will be encouraged to exercise their critical thinking by remixing the utopian vision from the video ‘Design for Dreaming’ from General Motors (1956).

Christophe Bruchansky, curator of Dreams of Progress, says “I’m very proud of this exhibition. I was impressed by the quality and diversity of the art videos and I’m pleased to present the work of emerging talents to the London public. The theme of progress is particularly appropriate in a period aspiring for change. I hope that visitors will be as inspired as I was by the exploration of past and present utopias, obsolete ideals and forward thinking visions. I’m also very grateful that Microsoft and squint/opera allowed the display of their videos for the exhibition. They offer along with the corporate videos from the Prelinger archives a rich material for thoughts on utopias and progress.”

Rossella Black, event commissioner at the WRF, says “Our wish is to generate a sense of excitement and inspiration. The aim of these events is to use a creatively dormant space such a traditional Library as a resource, study and temporary hub of debate and interaction, a ‘creative city’ which opens up to a new and ever changing audience.”

Art videos by Adam Pelling Deeves (UK), Julian Roberts and Namalee Bolle (UK), Keith Loutit (Australia), Ian Lynam (Japan), Richard Jerousek and Brian Phillips (USA), Sam Fuller (USA), Urizen Freaza (Spain) and Misty Woodford (USA).

Visions of the future by Bell, The Danish Royal Academy of Art, General Motors and Microsoft.

Westminster Reference Library

6^th – 18^th July, Mon – Fri: 10am – 8pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm

35 St Martin’s Street, London WC2H 7HP

Nearest tube station: Leicester Square, map

Free admission

Supported by

More details on http://curatedmatter.org/dreams-of-progress/