Display 'there and then' presence and coexistence
URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
Location:
P1 OPINNÄYTTEET D 2015 Sawaya
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Authors
Date
2015
Department
Major/Subject
Spatial Design
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
148
Series
Abstract
This thesis is about art exhibition design undertaken under the particular conditions of presenting conceptual artworks in historic preserved buildings. When undertaking such a project, there are many key considerations including unique special characteristics of the building, the conceptual idea of the artwork, preservation regulation, circulation requirements and the installation itself. Jae Eun Choi is a Korean conceptual artist who held an exhibition in the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic which was built as the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia. The exhibition was called ‘The House that Continuously Circulates’ and brought together a variety of photography, film, sound and object installation. I was involved in the project as a spatial designer to realize the conceptual artwork within the exhibition venue. The exhibition space in the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia is very historic and highly preserved by the National Gallery. To create an exhibition there required understanding of space and technical knowledge of installation. Every exhibition has its own context of both exhibits and venue. They must be distinguished first. They are not always the same but have relationships with both their theoretical and historical background. Art has its creator, the concept, and a social and cultural context of the time. The venue has the location, history and a cultural role of the space and the building, as well as the current conditions as an exhibition space. Understanding the context of both the art objects and the venue are the main components of the exhibition and provide clear requirements and necessities of the exhibition design. To understand this relationship, the context of the project in Prague is compared to various historical and notable references of art, architecture and exhibition design. Through the experience of designing an art exhibition in a historic building, it became apparent that I dealt with the design of the space through particular ways of thinking; how can this space obtain unique conditions that are only happening in that place at that time, and how can the artworks and architecture merge without harming each other. Through this process, I developed a concept for designing such space, which I refer to as ‘presence and coexistence’. In order to achieve this, a certain starting point is required; what is the meaning of the artworks and therefore the premise of the design, and what must be understood to exhibit in the specific context of conceptual art in a historic building. Even with this knowledge, to create space with presence and coexistence, a methodology is recommended. The methodology I have developed includes three key design considerations; the environment, the scale and the points of contact. The environment is about seeing conditional elements together. The scale is about considering the actual size of the space and the artwork in relation to each other. The point of contact is about the specific installation details. These are not specific details or tools of design but methods of how to solve particular issues and considerations for spatial design in this context. Having a method for solving such issues and knowing the particular points to look out for contributes towards a strong design concept and the power of the design realization. The ‘House that Continuously Circulates’ exhibition in the Convent of St. Agnes ties this context and the method into one theory.Description
Supervisor
Kareoja, PenttiThesis advisor
NN, NNKeywords
display, art, space, historic, architecture, exhibition