Drafting an Exhibition Call Exercise

Step 1. (Review each of these sites and take careful notes about the structure of the calls. )

Step 2. (Answer the following: What information is found in each of these calls?  How is that information organized?  Consider the design choices in each call.  Name one positive aspect of each of the call's organization of information and one negative aspect.  How does the design relate to/ reflect the content of the call?)

           http://chicagoartmagazine.com/2010/04/6th-annual-national-self-portrait-exhibition-call-for-submissions/

                     Awards, exhibition catalog, size restrictions, and submission fee are the bullet points in this call.  It is short and sweet and straight to the point.  I like that it is very specific on how to compile and format your entries.  For example, in submitting photos they MUST be LASTNAME_Title.jpg at a 300dpi, no bigger than 1500px wide.  In having very specific details, the curator can insure that all entries are uniform.

           http://www.box13artartspace.com/20112012-call-for-proposals/

                     This call was even shorter than the last.  And it went even more into detail of submission and limitations.  They included a request of a letter of intent or exhibition proposal, which I think is a great idea because then the gallerist can get a personal feel of what the artist is trying to say and how they imagine to exhibit their works.  Along with this in their contact info, they request Title and description, concept and physical details.  They also ask you to include requests for space and any special needs or equipment.  It is very important that the gallery be prepared to incorporate all these diverse pieces and having this information up front allows them to visually imagine the space before receiving these pieces.  To stay organized as an artist and as a curator, they ask to give a list of your works with #'s corresponding to the #'s seen in your image slide show.

           http://www.akimbo.ca/18558

                      This call was my favorite by far, because it has a graphic design element that appeals to me as a graphic artist.  It is an art show, I feel that although it is a call, it should still have an art feel to it.  It doesn't need to be extreme, just a simple graphic at the top with the title.  They introduce themselves in the first paragraph talking about their intent and who they would like to see involved.  I really like that they are targeting local artist to cover their cities community.  I thought it was a little odd that they ask for 5-10 images of older work, but I guess they may be looking for a specific look.  Overall, I really like the format, I would just include a little more info on what to expect through the process.

Step 3.  (Devise a template for a call for Northcutt Steele Gallery exhibitions (fall 2016) at Northcutt Steele Gallery.  Focus on the structural elements of the call.  Do your best by emulating the other calls you have reviewed and we will discuss in person.)

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Fall Call to Any and All Aspiring Artists

Introduction:    The Northcutt Steele Gallery is a free admissions gallery devoted to educating its students and also allowing them an opportunity to exhibit their work in a professional environment.

Intent:   As lent approaches us, too often the thought is one of doom, gloom and guilt.  Lent is a time to make a new resolve, roll up our sleeves and make some personal progression.  This call is to invite artists from MSUB and the community to consider the seven deadly sins as they manifest themselves in Contemporary Western society and in individual lives.

There are two opportunities to get into this show.  The juror will select works that will be exhibited in The Northcutt Steele Gallery and the Northcutt Steele On-line Gallery.  The juror will also select works that will be shown in the on-line gallery only.  This allows for more works to be seen beyond the square feet physical limitations of the gallery.

Deadlines:   The show will be on display October 1 through the 15, 2016.  All submissions should be sent by September 1st, 2016 (Midnight central time).  We will be sending out an email no later than September 14th whether you have been selected or not.

Accepted Media:   Sculpture, Installation, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, ceramics, assemblage, collage, mixed media, and artist books.

Limitations:   Your submissions will not be excepted if they have been exhibited previously.  Also, there is a size limitation of____________________________________.

Please include:   

* Contact information (First and Last name, telephone number, email address, etc.)                    

* Title and description, concept and physical detail (Are there 'weak' areas of your work if being handled?)

        Also in this list include #'s of your works that correspond to the title of your images     submitted.

* Requested space and any special needs or equipment you are not able to provide.

Submission:   Artists may submit 3-5 entries.  Images must be submitted as a 300dpi, 4"X6" format.  Please submit all images and or written documents in the following formats:

                             LASTNAME_Proposal.pdf

                             LASTNAME_img001.jpg

                             LASTNAME_bio.pdf

<Enter link here of desired location of submissions>

Additional Information:   Artists will be required to send and retrieve their work to us at their own expense.

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Contact your curator with questions:

Northcutt Steele Gallery

Liberal Arts Building, 1st Floor

1500 University Drive

Billings, MT 59101

Dr. Leanne Gilbertson, Gallery Director

(406)657-2903

Leanne.Gilbertson@msubillings.edu

Vanessa German

Vanessa German

I believe that after discussing how the gallery was set up with Leanne, I wouldn't change a thing.  The traffic flow seems very fluid, and the larger pieces are anchored on either side of the gallery.  She also explained that she chose to use the pieces that use colors of the flag in an "every other" pattern, including the introduction of the actual flag.  She also mentioned that she chose the baby clothing with screen print on them to be the most "provocative" pieces in the window to lure viewers.  All of these make sense.

Before having had heard her explanation, I would say knowing that Vanessa is a performance artist; with the division of floor material, I would have put all of the three dimensional pieces on the carpeted floor and put all the two dimensional pieces on the far wall, along with a podium (optional) and platform, centered in front of the two dimensional pieces for a performance area.  (Stage if you will.)  While she was here to make performances, it would have been excellent.  But now that the show still stands without her presence, the show being set up this way would have been lacking.  I do, however, feel the spacing and location of the pieces were as perfect as you could get!

When I first saw the show and researched Vanessa German, I felt the show and her pieces felt a little "witch doctor" and "voodoo" vibe.  I watched several of her performances and interviews, at which point I wondered if she used this visual reference due to her heritage reference, or if she truly believed in such things.  She has a performance piece called "If my hands were anything other then hands", where she talks about a friend with cancer and how she wishes she could just heal her with her hands.  She also has helped several children in need of some clean extra curricular activities on her very own porch.  She talks about God in both of these instances, so I wondered if she is a spiritual person?  Does she believe in both Faith and Magic?  Another thought was, (and I was too scared to ask...but I think I know the answer anyway), "does she still feel that she deals with and struggles with segregation today?

She is a child-like, humanitarian

"The struggle still lives"

I was very impressed by her depth and knowledge of "her" heritage.  I am ashamed to say, I didn't know half of the history that she talked to us about.  Specifically the parts of slavery prior to coming to the U.S..  It also made me wonder, "what would I paint/sculpt/have a voice or opinion about as an artist?"  I think that is what is so great about her work, as a person of reasonably similar age, is her passion.  What do we in Billings, Montana feel passionately about?  And, as far as the older generation appeal, I think they may find her work fascinating as it has a lot of reference to their living history.

Just to compare, I wanted to add a few other gallery set-ups.

Northcutt Steel Gallery, Montana State University, Billings

I am not sure that I like that the pedestals are not consistent, but I do like the titled backdrop!

This seems to be set-up in a circle, as to not allow entry into the center and control flow on the out skirts.

Vanessa German Inspiration: Lupe fiasco - kick push ( official video )

Ms. German stated that not only did she address segregation and the only useful purpose for propaganda was as decoration, but she also talked about the misrepresentation and instilled limitations of black people, such as; "black people don't swim", "black people don't ski", and "black people don't ride skateboards", just a few that I could recall that she had mentioned.

Post #2- Billings Depot_Student auction

January 30, 2015

"Today we will be completing a real, live placement/design exercise in preparation for our Art Student League auction"

My group was assigned with section B, the center wall space.  We had the largest three dimensional piece to set as center stage for the entire auction.  Aside from that, we found four pieces to be rather colorful and/or powerful in content, as well as being fairly larger in size.  We considered these to be our "stoppers" or "anchors", if you will.  So, by setting the larger three dimensional piece as the center and then placing these four "stronger" pieces parallel from our center point, this was our starting point.  There were two of our four "starting" two dimensional pieces that had a directional sense that we had to take into account, too.  

After creating a specially satisfying starting point, we then filled in trying to create space between the color and black and white, as well as, the medium from the smaller.  With having four three dimensional pieces, we ran into the problem of having the proper amount of podiums for our 3-D works.  We had one long rectangular podium that we tried to set apart from the wall, to display a small 5X7 framed two dimensional piece.  However, it was more disruptive to the flow than anything.     

So, we decided to hang this on the way...as seen in the right hand picture below.  

I think the biggest problem we ran into was the lack of materials to hang or display this work, and the lack of similarities as it was a student show.  We ran low on materials to hang pieces from the wall, and the easles provided were of low craftsmanship, meaning that the sturdiness was questionable.  It was also hard to stay uniform in titles as they were all displayed as well as could be, 'not uniform.'   Also, as pointed out by one of my groups members, our largest three dimensional piece (meant to be the shows anchor) was hidden behind cocktail tables running down the center of the gallery.  Had it have been a more "prominent" show, I would to have liked to set it up on a platform or even suspended it up above the ground.