Research Report

‘The Term “site-specific art” is still controversial because there is dissention as to whether it applies to work made specifically for a site (e.g. a public art sculpture such as Richard Serra’s works or Gormley’s Angel of the North or the Trafalgar Square Empty Plinth initiative) or to work made in response to and encounter with, a site.’ (McIver, date unknown,)

Site-specifity is a subject which is frequently under discussion in relation to contemporary art, and it is with this in mind that I will write a research report reflecting on my studio activities and development and commenting on my decision making processes for my final group exhibition, taking place in August, for my masters course.

Figure 1

I am one of four artists exhibiting in the show titled, ‘Just to Say’ (see figure 1). The exhibition will be in two venues in Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, studio E25 (see figure 2) and an empty shop in the Cowgate (see figure 3).
Figure 3
Figure 2

Collectively we decided that instead of constructing a contrived link between our practices to get past the fact that we were ‘forced’ into exhibiting together for the masters degree show, we decided to create a definite connection to our exhibition sites as we were lacking an obvious cohesive element.[1] As I work site-responsively, this approach was beneficial to me, as I would naturally be taking into consideration the affecting factors of the sites such as architectural quirks.
Figure 4

In order to devise a collective statement we walked in dérive-like fashion from the college to the Cowgate (see figure 4), and the statement is taken from our recorded chatterings as we walked. This will give our viewers enough of an insight into our relationship to each other and to our location, that they will have an understanding of how we responded to the exhibition sites collectively so we can then individually present our varying practices. We intend to produce an exhibition catalogue which will include the collective statement, but also links to our individual websites and blogs.

Our two exhibition venues are very contrasting types of spaces for showing art. The studio in the college is part of a public building, a space designed for the creation and presentation of art, it is also very close to our studios, and it could be described as ‘a white cube’. On the other hand, our second space, the empty shop has its own identity and fixed connotations. It is evidently a shop, more specifically a copy-shop, whose function was to house the selling of a service to the public. It is an unusual place to exhibit art, in that is not designed for it, in the way that galleries are, i.e. there are no angle-poised artificial lights to position accordingly; the walls are rough and inconsistently painted throughout. However, copy-shops have been utilised frequently by artists for exhibiting group shows in Edinburgh[2], thus making our venue less ‘unusual’. Our audience will be aware that the site was evidently once a shop and this will influence how they view our work, and this will inevitably affect what we make for the space and how we curate the show. ‘Anselm Kiefer said that no empty space is really empty: everywhere is filled up, “almost claustrophobically” with all the traces of the past. Artists working site-responsively are working with these traces or “ghosts” as raw material, aware that whatever we put into a place will be mingled with whatever was there before.’ (McIver, date unknown)

In a sense we have conflicting spaces, the ‘white cube’ which is designed so that ‘the outside world must not come in’, ‘the art is free, as the saying used to go, ‘to take its own life’.’ (O’Doherty, 2009, p. locate), and the copy-shop which is already part of the outside world and the work exhibited will have to fit into it. In my opinion, the work shown would have to embrace the site and respond to it, rather than the site being overlooked and recreated as a white cube. As all of my work responds to the space in which it is placed, and I don’t make autonomous objects that are ‘to take their own life’, I will value both venues, and will find ways to utilise the exhibition spaces to display my work as they are intended, as the aim of my practice is to make the viewer aware of the spaces that they inhabit.
Figure 6
Figure 5

In the copy-shop I plan to make a site-specific work that is dependant on the architectural space, and ‘as Daniel Buren wrote [,] that any work which does not take into account the architectural framework in which it is inserted runs the risk of being reduced to nothing, site-specifity is not only a way of working but also a central theme of the interventions,’ (Calderoni, O’Neill (ed), 2007, p.68) with this in mind I plan to make a model of one of the rooms (see figure 5) and place it in the room to be viewed through a hatch. (see figure 6)
Figure 7

Figure ?The hatch is a perfect way for me to pursue my interest in optics and viewing devices. Previously, I have constructed periscopes to create portals that transport the viewer to another space or place (see figure 7), and the hatch will act in a similar way, as the viewer will look into the model of the room through the opening of the hatch, and even though they will be unable to physically access the model, they will still be able to enter the ‘real’ room through a door and be able to draw comparisons from the two separate, but the same, spaces. I intend to ‘point out’[3] the dynamics and spatial qualities of ‘Green Room’ to the viewer by creating the duplicate room, so they will think about their bodies in relation to their surroundings. I am responding to the existing architecture of the shop to suit my way of working resulting in a coherent site-responsive work.

Figure 8Another artist who has worked in a similar way is Roman Ondak who exhibited a scale model of the Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern (see figure 8). The work was called ‘It Will All Turnout Right in the End, 2005-06’, which the Tate website says, ‘constitutes a kind of stage-set for viewers, providing a platform for fictions to unfold. It is a remarkable work which playfully questions notions of power and hierarchy.’ (unknown, 2006) Interestingly, the model was then exhibited in the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, which throws the idea of the work being for one site only, even though it seems to be site- dependent to the Tate Modern. I am interested in this idea that the gallery itself can become the art[4], but in the case of the copy-shop it is crucial that the model remains within the site of the gallery as I want the viewer to question their relationship to the space that they are immediately in contact with – the gallery. The Turbine Hall is a far more recognisable space for viewers to make connections with, and so it can be exhibited anywhere.

Figure 9
Figure 10At the college, I intend to make full use of the site, although our ‘gallery’ is contained within E25, by creating installations in two stairwells, which the viewers will either happen upon or be directed to via information and maps (see figure 9) that I will place in E25. I will paint a large scale wall drawing in E25, taken from a pen and ink drawing I did of the formation of the banisters in the sculpture stairs in ECA. (see figure 10) I will also show models inspired by photographs I have taken of stairs in Edinburgh. The work that will be in E25 will be a direct response to the stairwells both within the college and around Edinburgh, so it will be site-responsive and also city-specific. If I was confined to C25 I would find it hard to get across my ideas about people taking notice of everyday spaces, and so by creating immersive environments within the stairwells and the copy-shop, i.e. spaces that people can enter and move within and experience with their sensory perception, I will have utilised specific ‘everyday’ or insignificant sites. The wall drawing in E25 is a logo for my stairwell work and is located amongst the other artists work. I will use E25 as the ‘hub’ from which the viewers can seek out the sites of the two stairwells. (see figures 11 and 12)
Figure 12
Figure 11

In a similar way the artist Richard Wright has recently completed a permanent wall drawing in the stairwell of the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, called the ‘Stairwell Project’.(see figure 13) Wright has used the domed ceiling to create a subtle painted intervention in the stairwell. When I visited the work I did not notice the work immediately as I was looking for something at eye level, but I now realise that ‘Wright injects complex works into often overlooked architectural spaces’ (unknown, 2010) and states he wants to ‘change the way you are drawn through the space’. (2010) He has succeeded at the Dean as his work forces the viewer to look upwards while moving through the space.
Figure 13
Figure 14I work with a similar intent to Wright, but use different methods to make the viewer aware of the architecture nature of the stairwells. In one site, I will install a sound work which will reverberate around the space as the surfaces are very hard and lacking absorbent material. The sound piece itself is the recording of a marble passing through a plastic stepped marble run. (see figure 14) The sound of the marble going from A to B communicates my interest in the ascending, descending and transcending quality of stairs - the way in which they symbolise a change in mental state. The sound will emphasise the importance of the space between the start and end point. I will ensure the speakers are out of sight so the viewer will not immediately know where the source of the sound is.

In the second stairwell site I will create a spiral in the empty well space with strips of tape, to make the viewer aware that an invisible form exists, that only becomes visible through intervention. I have been experimenting with different types of tape to see which most effectively shows the spiral. Figures 15 and 16 show trials in masking tape and gaffer tape. I prefer the way the gaffer tape stretches across between the banisters as the sheen on the upper side reflects the light, but having tried the two opaque tapes I will use a transparent tape to create the spiral as I want the natural light to penetrate through the work.

Figure 15
Figure 16

The trial and error aspect of making this installation means that the site becomes my studio. I cannot make the work separately then install it in the way that I can with the sound piece. Being able to work within the space, and over time building up the layers of tape to complete the installation, will allow me to ‘live more on staircases’ (Perec, 2008, p.38) which will give me time to research other people’s behaviour when they move through the stairway.

All the work will be in situ for a week, after which the sites will return to their original state, but ‘ghosts’ of the art work will remain and viewers who pass through after the work has been dismantled will remember the temporary altered state of the space. ‘[T]he definition of site-specifity is being reconfigured to imply not the permanence or immobility of a work but its impermanence and transience.’ (Kwon, 2002, p. 4)

In conclusion, my studio practices over the year have influenced my decision making processes for ‘Just to Say’, and I am aware that the site-responsive nature of my work affects how I react to the sites I exhibit in, influencing the work I make and also the way in which it is exhibited. These processes allow me to create connections between my ideas, the work itself and its eventual situation.



[1] Paul O’Neill writes that, ‘large-scale international group exhibitions have tended to lend themselves towards thematic shows. It has been argued that such projects prevent artists from realizing their ‘true potential’ and even that this emphasis on the curatorial project has quite serious implications for the status and roles of art and artists.’ (Rugg, Sedgwick (ed), 2007, p.24) Realising this we opted for not forcing a theme or link between our practices.

[2] The Minuteman Copy Shop in Edinburgh’s Tollcross has been used a few times for exhibitions, an example of which was ‘7 Minutemen’ in 2009. A review of the exhibition can be viewed at www.studentnewspaper.org/culture/776-review-7minutemen.

[3] Annette Messager wrote, ‘Mostly I believe an artist doesn’t create something, but is there to sort through, to show, to point out what already exists, to put into form and sometimes reformulate it.’ (Johnstone(ed), 2008, p.12)
I like this way of thinking and use it when I make my work.

[4] I have been unable to find any theory about the ‘gallery becoming the art’ only the exhibition itself becoming the art. David Buren’s theories about the ‘exhibition of the exhibition as a work of art’ are mentioned in ‘Issues in Curating Contemporary Art and Performance’, (Rugg, Sedgwick (ed), 2007, p.22-3). When I say I like the idea of the gallery becoming the art I think of Richard Wilson’s ’20:50’ site-specific installation at the Saatchi Gallery where the reflection of the gallery in the oil meeting the real space is the art, so the over all image the viewer is seeing is ‘just’ the gallery. Thus the gallery is the art, or at least the subject of the work.





















References
Doherty, C. (Ed.). (2004). Contemporary art from studio to situation. London: Black Dog Publishing Limited.
Johnstone, S. (Ed.). (2008). The everyday. London: Whitechapel and The MIT Press.
Kwon, M. (2004). One place after another: Site-specific art and locational identity. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: MIT Press.
McIver, G. (unknown). Art/site/context. Retrieved 09/07/10, 2010, from http://www.sitespecificart.org.uk/6.htm
O'Doherty, B. (1999). Inside the white cube: The ideology of the gallery space. London, England: University of California Press, Ltd.
O'Neill, P. (Ed.). (2007). Curating subjects. London: De Appel.
Perec, G. (2008). Species of spaces and other pieces. London, England: Penguin Classics.
Rugg, J., & Sedgwick, M. (Eds.). (2007). Issues in curating contemporary art and performance. UK: Intellect Books.
unknown. (2010). Gagosian gallery. Retrieved 30/07/2010, 2010, from http://www.gagosian.com/artists/richard-wright/
unknown. (2010). Roman ondak. Retrieved 04/07, 2010, from http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/ondak/
Bibliography
Booth, R. (2010). Artists' creative use of vacant shops brings life to desolate high streets. Retrieved 04/07/10, 18/02/2009, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/18/slack-space-vacant-shops
Galazine, S. (2010). Review, 7 minutemen. Retrieved 14/07, 2010, from http://www.studentnewspaper.org/culture/766-review-7minutemen
Kavanah, G. (2000). Dream spaces: Memory and the museum. London and New York: Leicester University Press.
Rand, S., & Kouris, H. (Eds.). (2007). Cautionary tales: Critical curating. New York: Apexart.
Shaw, B. Who’s driving? the artist as curator. Retrieved 07/06/2010, 2010, from http://www.radiotaxi.org.uk/abbeytaxi/taxigallerywebsite/whosedriving.pdf
Stamenkovic, M. (2004). Curating the invisible. Inferno, 9, 1-2,3,4,5,6,7,8.
unknown. (2010). Richard wright:The stairwell project. Retrieved 10/07, 2010, from http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/10006782-richard-wright-the-stairwell-project/


























Images

Figure 1: Poster designed by Diane Melot, digital format, 2010

Figure 2: ‘From college to Cowgate map’, Catriona Reid, 2010, drawn on google map, 20cm x 15cm

Figure 3: ‘Studio E25, ‘Just to Say’ venue’, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 4: ‘Copy-shop, ‘Just to Say’ venue’, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 5: ‘Green Room photograph’, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 6: ‘Hatch into Green Room photograph’, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 7: ‘RSA work at Art’s Complex exhibition, ‘Quotemarks’’, SLR photograph taken by myself.

Figure 8: ‘It will All Turnout Right in The End’ , Roman Ondak, 2006, image found at:
‘http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gbagency.fr/medias/It_Will_All_Turn_Out_Right2_web_-1255896105.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gbagency.fr/fr-22-Roman_Ondak.html&usg=__FQl1I17KlcMeqfjiV8w-U4XAoo4=&h=709&w=578&sz=274&hl=en&start=13&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=EIZcWEIKFfsaLM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Droman%2Bondak%2Bturbine%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26tbs%3Disch:1
accessed:17/07/10

Figure 9: ‘College Map showing installation sites’, Catriona Reid, 2010, mixed-media

Figure 10: ‘Floating banister’, Catriona Reid, 2010, pen and ink drawing, 40cm x 45cm

Figure 11: ‘Sculpture stairs’, ECA, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 12: ‘Photography stairs’, ECA, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 13: ‘Stairwell Project’, Richard Wright, 2010, Dean Gallery, site-specific wall drawing, digital photograph taken by myself.

Figure 14: ‘Plastic marble run’, image found at:
http://www.autismcoach.com/Marble%20Run.jpg accessed: 27/07/10

Figures 15 and 16: ‘Photography stairs tape trials’, ECA, digital photographs taken by myself.