"Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!"
In a conversation with a somewhat reluctant potential participant of #class the other day, I tried to convince him the conversation would be more civil than most such attempts to bring persons with widely disparate goals together for a session of mutual understanding, because the moderators of the event were quite adept at using humor to help folks see where they had things in common. Indeed, I consider humor perhaps the most effective means of helping people with plenty of reason for skepticism let their guards down long enough to see where they might see through to some agreement on issues.And so, with all my cantankerous ranting recently about our current submissions policy and the lack of time in my day, it was the humor of one of the proposals for #class that disarmed me and led me to agree to do it. An anonymous proposal titled "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!" has just enough charm and goodwill woven through it to get me to set aside a chunk of time to do what I had been convinced I couldn't do. Of course, the care and consideration with which it was conceived was an important factor here as well. Here's the website for the event, with guidelines for how it will work:
"Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!"Please note, the event requires that anyone wishing to participate submit images through the website's submittal form. Please do not snail-mail or email images directly to the gallery if you expect to have us comply with the rules above. Please also DO NOT bring your art to the gallery in person if you expect to have us comply with the rules above. It won't work that way.
The Rules (roughly):
- Artists will submit one digital image to "Shut up already. I'll look at your art"
- Mr. Winkleman and guests will view the image for no less than 10 sec.
- Mr. Winkleman and guests will be monitored by a volunteer as they view the work to assure full compliance with the rules.
- Mr. Winkleman, his guests and the Monitor will sign a certificate of viewing stating the image has been viewed
- Mr. Winkleman and his guests will have no obligation to provide representation to any of the artists, make any comment about, or critique any of the images.
- Once an image is viewed by Mr. Winkleman and his guests the artist cannot complain that their work is not being considered by a professional gallery for one year from the date of viewing, Mr. Winkleman and his guests will be absolved of any further obligation to take complaints by artists that their work is not being considered by a professional gallery seriously for one year from the date of viewing,
- As Mr. Winkleman and his guests view the images, they will be available on the internet to be viewed.
OK, so what do you get out of this if you participate? It's hard to say. Kind of depends on what you submit or who volunteers to be my guest on any given day. I would hope other dealers would be willing to look as well from time to time (hint! hint!), so that even should certain work not be quite right for our program it might be just what another dealer is looking for.
One commenter on yesterday's thread asked:
But Mr. Shut up,My first response to that is "Well, that's just what you get, Mr. 3-dimensional Fancy Pants, thinking you're too good for the 2-dimensional world...."
How is that fair to sculpture?
Not everything can be viewed and understood from 1000 pixels on a screen.
Actually, sculpture is not the only medium that isn't as well represented by "1000 pixels on a screen." Video, performance, installation, etc., etc., are equally at a disadvantage. Most dealers, though, having spent years and years looking at slides or jpegs first and then the actual three-dimensional or time-based work afterward, can probably garner more from a flat image than most other people can. Still, as Mr. Shut Up responded:
for sculpture I would make a four frame composite image 1000 by 750 to be viewed full screen will probably be optimum.There are tons of events planned for #class that I am very much looking forward to, but none I'm as centrally involved in as this, so I'm creating a specific thread for it here (before it gets started) to get other such feedback about how it's set up. What else (other than the question of what you're actually going to get out of it if you participate) would you note about the Rules?
Labels: #class, art galleries
posted by Edward_ at
7:48 AM
32 Comments:
Sweet. Ten seconds is a good long look.
This is wonderful and hilarious. I love it. And I hope -and imagine- there will be some surprises coming out of the viewings!
If the last post about artwork and wall color is any indicator as to people really wanting to get their work seen then I hope you have big servers and a lot of bandwidth. : )
Sounds like fun actually. I love to page through New American Paintings and Photo Annuals to see whats going on and to look for something that really stands out.
10 seconds is more time than I see most people spend looking at pieces of art, in galleries, museums, the street, magazines. I'll take 10 seconds! This is amazing. I am so sending something to you so I can hear you rant about spending so much time looking at artwork...
This is great, just sent a performance image in. Ten seconds is like an eternity! Have fun.
how was the process Patrick? Work ok?
Yeah, it worked great, the image uploaded almost immediately. I set it at 1000 at the largest dimension and 300 DPI if that is any help for the others submitting. Thanks for doing this, such a great opportunity!
Very generous. And very (i presume) stimulation overload ;)
So where are the images?
The comments are live on the net?
It's kind of a little Chelsea's Got Talent.
Cedric C
wow thanks Ed and thanks to all who have participated so far , nearing 100, I have monitored the progress and see the need to add a few instructions for submitting,
please fill out all the form data but if you are feeling lazy most important is e-mail, country, and make sure to choose a file to upload.
Mac users, make sure the file has a .jpg, .jpeg, extenstion as an example: myfile.jpeg,
and hit the submit button once, and wait, once the file is uploaded, and your data enterered you'll get a message saying so.
and lastly one image each please, I will be deleting duplicates, if I'm in a good mood I'll send an email asking you to chose one, if my panties are in a twist I just might delete both
if you have submitted two (you know who you are) I'll be contacting you to chose one, or send a new image.
I will only be monitoring the files and data I won't be viewing the images, but they will all be run through a script to make sure the image is 1000 pixels max dimension, then resized to comply, I doubt that the image will be degragated but if you want to assure the image is viewed the way you intended, make sure the file complies.
all this helps assure things run smooth fro Ed when he and hopefully other dealers(hint, hint) view the images, we don't want technical difficulties using up Ed's generous donation of his time.
so far countries repesented are:
Canada, France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Portugal, and the U.S.
not as many nations as the Olympics yet, but at least their host nation is represented, good job on the opening ceremony Canada.
this is great, when's the deadline? - THANKS!
Great project but where/when will the images/comments be published? The hashtag site? The project's website? This blog?
Thanks.
images will be accepted right up to the last day of #class, but better make itthe day before the last day but there's no guarantee so get an image in as soon as possible.
as per the images, they will be viewable via a slide show once they are viewed by Ed and guests.
Where? definitely the project website and blog, not all details are fully flushed out and subject to change, I'll keep you posted.
and anyone who wishes Ed and guests view their image but doesn't wish the general public view it can email shutupalreadyilllookatyourart@gmail
and request that their image only be viewed by Ed and guests.
the website will stay up for at least one year and submissions accepted, after #class there is no guarantee of an image being viewed by Ed, but hopefully things go well and perhaps occasional an artworld insider or two will be bored with puppy videos on youtube and take a look (hint, hint).
(who am I kidding no one tires of puppy videos on youtube, there just couldn't be enough, but the web is big and there's room for everyone.)
oooh I submitted but I had to do it twice because in my haste I didn't see the line about the email until I read the confirmation...
"OK, so what do you get out of this if you participate? "
I would love the signed certificate...
Diedra
had already caught that, its actually been a common mistake to hit the submit button twice subsequentially submitting the same data and image twice, the way things are set up right now in that case the image actually writes over itself on the server and two data entries are logged and I delete the incomplete log, so far everyone who submitted complied wonderfully, with a few exceptions of larger images, (you know who you are)which will be resized and because the images will be viewed using the time the file was written to the server, when I resize the image it goes to the end of the line so please keep your images to 1000 pixels on the max dimension, and the file size to less than 1mb
I'm sure Ed will be moving on tomorrow with a new post, I will continue to answer questions here, but feel free to go to the project blog to ask questions about the project, and I invite you to raise questions about the issues being dealt with and continue the discussion, you can even challenge the soundness of the project, and that of its custodial point of origin.
Thanks again to Jen and Bill for #class and to Ed for being a gracious host and enthusiastic participant.
I guess it is quite some work, but it would be awesome if you could video the viewing, say with a digital photocamera make little 10sec clips for every image viewed, then post these on youtube or next to the art. No edit needed, just the upload. This would make this a public event not only for the artists but also for you the viewers. And I would LOVE to see how this goes and what you say, or not, about my work.
I wonder, what if a critique (say, Roberta Smith!) was present, and if evaluations from dealers, curators or critiques would lead to different results.
Cedric C
I guess it is quite some work, but it would be awesome if you could video the viewing
It shouldn't be too much trouble. Everything taking place in the main gallery is being webcast...if we used a wireless laptop, we could arrange to have the viewing broadcast...not sure you could see both the image in question and the response of the viewers (faces) in the same shot, but we can try.
I found the following statement on the "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!"blog.
"Authorship is again challenged by the need for participation by respondents to an open call for artists to contribute, not just those who submit work, but anyone who forwards an email that says you might be interested in this or know someone who is, or even someone who tells a friend about it over a drink with friends, all partial authors in their own right."
Authors? While it's commendable that you, Ed, make yourself available in a variety of ways, particularly through this blog, I feel "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!" is more of a "conceptual" (art) piece than a demonstration of any real interest in the art of unrepresented artists. There certainly will be a lot of monitoring, certifying, documenting, cataloguing, and posting, and that seems to be your (or at least your collaborators') focus: to make a "conceptual"(art) work that is itself composed of the participation of many people.
Not that an apology is needed. You and your collaborators get something (a piece), and the artists get some exposure. And because of their eagerness to get attention for their work, artists are an easy catch (or willing participants). I'm just bothered by the your/your collaborators' impetus to define the event as something loftier than what is. It's all a bit fanciful, if not pretentious.
And that goes for "#class," too.
In case it's not clear, the text on the "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!" website was written by the anonymous proposer of the project. I merely agreed to participate (for the reasons stated in the post). I have in no way defined it.
Having said that, I'm nothing if not fanciful and pretentious.
It's a good question to ask to the organizers: how sincere is #class
or "SUAILAYA"? Is it a "work of art" in itself or a genuine invitation for a gathering of events?
Can a curatorial project be a work of art in itself? I have suspicions about that, but I know it's a case-by-case issue. I remember a show of old communist films that was presented as a "work of art", and I opposed it because was unfair appropriation.
I mean, tell me that you curating a film séance, but don't take films from others and call it your art piece.
In interelational arts, doors are open to abuse of human experience (like a tv show that traps unknowing people in urban farces). I have in mind this artist that decided to meet strange people in the street and secretly record and write down the conversations she had with them after inviting them in a restaurant. That was awful!
(ok, maybe that example is not so interelational, but you get the idea)
Cedric C
It is actually a very good question.
Even though I'm framing it as an event in which "participation is the medium" (can't help my pretentious self, you know), the artists themselves are indeed sincere and will be creating drawings and other works of bona fide art throughout the show.
So, I guess the answer is that #class is not a piece, per se. It is a real and sincere series of events, many of which are tongue-in-cheek, but with a real goal of learning what alternatives to the current system might be culled from the accumulation over the month of ideas and debates.
Ed, you are in good humor today! I would have told Anon 11:05 to shove it, especially as s/he is anonymous. It's kind of like the carping about BYOA at X. I didn't find that the concept really suited my needs as an artist, so I didn't put work up. (I did go and see it because I was in the area on that afternoon, but that's not the point.) But I didn't feel the need to trash it. A lot of people got something worthwhile out of it.
Does anyone really feel that the organizers of #class, or the sub-project ShutUpI'llLook, are claiming that this will be the event to change life as we know it? If you don't think it's worthwhile, don't participate. There are only a billion other things to do instead.
And this endless desire to define everything - is this an art piece itself, is it a collaboration between all the participants, is it an actual opportunity for people to get their work seen, is it taking advantage of artists desperate to get their work seen (maybe that was a complaint about some other event) - Jeez Louise, we're are adults and can decide for ourselves whether to participate. If it sounds like fun, like an interesting experience, like an opportunity, a performance, a conceptual piece that you want to be part of, do it. If not, don't.
OK, rant over. For now.
Oriane brings up a point of interest
#class, or the sub-project ShutUpI'llLook, are claiming that this will be the event to change life as we know
BYOA, #class, SUAILAYA, aren't "changing life", they are a response to "life changing", living in a shrinking world, instant communication, the ever elusive methods of copyright protection, the battle between copyright infringement vs the open exchange of information and ideas, the disappearing line between professional life and personal life, the ability to define the parameters of our own personal privacy.
I can't speak for the motivation behind #class, but for SUAILAYA it is in response to a changing world.
It takes a little time for us to adjust when things change, now we are having to learn to adjust to the next change before fully adapting to the last, we adapt the time it takes to adapt only have the time between changes speed up, so we turn to each other to gather bits of information and throw our bits in so we can put together a fuller picture and clearer understanding more quickly so we become better equipped to cope. as is stated on the SUAILAYA blog
Promote the spirit of diverse people overcoming apprehensions , and working together to achieve something they could never achieve on their own, with everyone contributing , a greater good is achieved.
what that good is, I'm not sure, the first obstacle would seem to be just simply overcoming suspicion and coming together.
Actually, often with this type of gallery-invasive (I mean this in an architectural sense) participational art, the actual "art piece" is simply the physical "settings" (furnitures)
and a guideline for the programming (which varies each time the piece is set up).
If there isn't anything special about the "settings", than it's usually a curatorial project, like artists gathering at an open-grass picnic, but I've heard (and disputed) all sorts of stretchy artistic intentions.
In the case of SUAILAYA, the website can be the art piece, a little like a virtual Yoko Ono wish tree, but it's not so much appropriation, because it's not the people's art that builds the piece rather than the spectacle of the commenting and interactions that are left about them. It's just meant to reveal a process that is usually hidden or randomized (myartspace), like a tiny 1-day talent show.
I doubt it will be useful for an artist, but, really, who knows?
It's supposed to be funny.
Cedric C
Well, 10 seconds is not such a short time.
After all it is a third of a commercial,
the equivalent of 10 to 15 good sneezes.
You can easily eat 5 dumplings in 10 seconds,
click your mouse 20 times, may be more,
type 100 characters, if you are really fast,
have a slow and prolonged yawn,
or do a really good stretch, you know a yoga stretch.
No, 10 seconds is not such a short time.
Now, keep your eyes on that screen,
I just uploaded an image! HM
this is such a great opportunity and of course i went right away to do it, but i kept getting a message that the file wouldn't go through. All my files are 300 dpi and pretty large, so i thought i should try a small one, which worked. unfortunately it was puny!! so my one shot at this was a puny tiny crappy file!! how much should i hate myself? i don't think you get a do-over, do you? lol
i couldn't take it. i resubmitted a 300dpi image; it's the same painting, just a better image. don't hate me
I'll be happy enough just to not have to complain that my work has not been considered by a professional gallery for one whole year.
What a load off my mind. I'm going to get so much more done in that time...I can feel it.
The First session of "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!" took place today. Ed spent far more than ten seconds on most images giving each a fair viewing often making comments or thinking out loud, occasionally having quick discussions with William Powhida who had come over from the #class "Workspace" for a quick view. In all Mr. Winkleman spent a little over an hour and viewed around 60 images.
The images viewed by Ed today can be viewed on the "Shut Up Already...I'll Look at Your Art!" blog in a slideshow which displays each image for ten seconds. Each subsequent session will be posted.
Thanks to all who participated, if you see your image in the slideshow as per the aggreement stipulated in the rules, you can not complain that your work is not being considered by a professional gallery for one year from today.
If you see your image and object to its inclusion on the blog email me and I will remove it from the slide show.
shutupalreadyilllookatyourart@gmail.com
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