characteristics of movement, arrangement, and temporality identify this practice as being choreographic
Early Lines
The early imaginings of Clew started in 2015 with an email from English instructor and poet Todd Hearon. He wondered if we might pursue an exhibition project that showcased his new book of poetry, No Other Gods along with the paintings of his colleague, Boston-based painter Deborah Barlow. Jung Mi Lee and Jon Sakata joined soon after and the project took flight.
Unfolding & Unfurling
Planning unfolded through numerous discussions, emails, texts, and studio visits. We held approximately 20 meetings. In addition to the ones that were scheduled, there were many spontaneous conversations and conferrals each week, since four of us were on campus and saw each other almost daily.
Co-Orientation
The participating artists were committed to the uncertain and at times unruly process of collaboration. Todd and Deborah had been friends and colleagues for a long time. Jon and Todd, sometimes with Jung Mi, had collaborated. Jon and I had collaborated. But we had not all worked together. The combined disciplines of the artists (and myself) included poetry, painting, theatrical production and directing, acting, musical performance and composition, installation, sculpture, sound art, video, dance, performance art, and writing, among other areas. I believe we were (and are) all skeptical of the challenges of superficially ‘mixing’ the arts in some sort of institutionally-sanctioned form of interdisciplinarity. It is my observation that we were all, already, deeply interdisciplinary in our orientation, as well as being experienced with collaboration. Everyone was committed to the long hours of making, rehearsal, practice, prototyping, and building the project.
Shifting Positions
My initial role in Clew was to activate all of the curatorial, administrative, operational, and mission-related aspirations into play during the process: to make sure the exhibition revealed itself as fully as it could—conceptually and materially. This almost immediately turned into a more immersive involvement. During the installation process I was, and was viewed as, a collaborator. Another artist. This is reflected in some of the articles about the exhibition and in some of the gallery talks and events, but not in the exhibition invitation, press release, or on the website. I had to step in and out of these multiple roles repeatedly, sometimes within a few minutes’ time. This is one way curatorial dramaturgy operates.
All, and Then
If I occupied all of these roles plus functioning as the curatorial dramaturg, the project advocate, and an embodied through line for the project as a whole, I was also an artistic researcher. Some of the activities of these myriad roles, and the idea of shifts in position, are examined in more detail in other places in this exposition and within the dissertation, Assembling a Praxis: Choreographic Thinking and Curatorial Agency.
These movements, a continuous give and take, with linked, but different, perspectives at each turn, suits my choreographic leanings...
Other Contributors
Many others contributed to this project (as is the case with all of our programs), including: dedicated and enthusiastic gallery staff who installed much of the exhibition and contributed ideas and solutions throughout the process; our gallery associates who helped with installation and who kept the gallery open during weekends and events; student curators, who led programs and coaxed their peers into the disorienting world of Clew; talented people in our Facilities, Dining Services, and Communications departments (to name only a few of the departments), who helped create exhibition components, experiences, and narratives; outside contributors who provided graphic design services, custom exhibition components, and printing; and the audience who came: alone, in groups, on outings, or for events and workshops. The space itself, the building, the materials, and even the weather contributed. All of this, collectively, along with whatever looks like the “finished exhibition,” is the curatorial. It is bound up with our efforts to promote a welcoming atmosphere and hospitality to artists and guests alike (which is also why I have some links to the work of outside artists and projects.) It is hard to separate the elements. Curatorial endeavors would not function without the full presence and participation of these other partners. I highlight them here as a brief thanks.
