March 1997 / Planet of the Arts 55 iWWWV The Institute Notes from the Trenches The Continuing Saga of the Grad Show The reasoning is that it takes a week to clean up after the show and to get the space ready for summer school. Looks like less space and less time are the trend. by Ilze Bebris ere we are, half way through the last semester, the very last semester, if you’re graduating this ee a era ee ee year. Its time to start focusing on that great With a budget of some $20,000 you'd think | = oN rite of passage, the Grad Show: We'll be the We could have quite a splash. As it works out, | Grad Show Space Allocation I biggest grad class ever, 190 of us, but how will _ Using last year's budget figures of $23,944.14 4 I this mass of creative energy and talent reflect the funds are quickly eaten up. Roughly the I (for those who ignored or lost the original form or 1 in the grad show? From all indications, looks budget allocations were as follows: I third year students who wish to graduate this year) I like the Grad Show will look much like last year’s show, except : I I smaller with more of us competing for smaller spaces. And 1996 Grad Show Expenses Check at least one: because we're being assigned space according to our area as Materials and Supplies $10,905.97* I i opposed to being thematically grouped we will be competing Clean Up $2,647.72 I _— Tasteful art I with one another for space. Our work will be presented as Documentation $1,935.51 l Be I individual voices rather than part of an ongoing conversation. | Additional Security $1,774.66 I eon biackelvet I Sitting on the grad committee | am overwhelmed by the Storage (walls) $1,288.28 1 Ceramic Ashtrays i great Grad Show machine. The Grad Committee was meeting Student Monitors $5,392.00 I = l and decisions surrounding the show were made long before __ Total $23,944.14 I ___ House | students were included in the process. When we were invited to join the committee in January, it was already aforgonecon- *Of this $7,610.20 is a one time expense for j ___ I don't care ! clusion that the show would be organized much as it was last | wood for walls which are in storage for this I | year. We are three year’s show, 2 banners, | <= ed I mudent mens fdesigns ae ee 4 ____ Installation room with sand, cedar bark or dripping water I media, and studio) on a a . recorders. _ l I committee of sixteen. We It looks like we’ve got the You may have 4 ee eee i are a small presence, in 2 noticed that there is no I j the face of a large warehouse model again. allocation for lighting. Please indicated your preferred area and return to the Scott Gallery a.s.a.p. machine. However, we This is because there ! I can let you know how Will 6 10 excl clei Mea ees ace ee a EC the process works so that lighting beyond what we find ways to make ourselves heard and to encourage third year students to start taking back the show in September of next year. But for this year it looks like we've got the warehouse model back again. Although the idea of curating the show thematically was brought up both at the Grad Committee meeting and at the Grad Show meeting on Jan. 30th it met serious opposition from faculty and staff. Apparently thematic curating has been tried but it proved to be too unwieldy. The first time it was tried, several years ago, the end result was eighteen separate themes and faculty found it difficult to locate their students. A subsequent effort by students organizing themselves seemed to eat up all the time and energy of those involved. Therefore we’re back to the warehouse model: photo in one area, painting in another, 3-D in a third. Each area will have a coordinator who already exists in the rooms. The problem is that the building (yes, the expensive new building) can’t carry the extra load and extra staff are needed to turn lights off and on at night and in the morning, creating added expense in an already strained budget. : It seems the grad show is being squeezed into smaller spaces and smaller time frames. Is this the best we can do? If this show is sup- posed to be a learning experience, what exactly is it that we are learning? Certainly not accessibility or how to communicate with an audience. It begins to beg the question, is this the best way to have a Grad Show? Is ECIAD the best venue for a Grad Show? By the way, did you will assign individual get that grad form spaces. With this Ht filled in? (check one box approach it will be diffi- With a budget of some only, no crossover cult if not impossible to allowed) $20,000 you'd think we could have quite a splash. contextualize the work. If the primary consid- erations for placing work are administrative, context becomes almost impossible to achieve. Seems we've forgotten our audience in the expediencies of organizing the show. What are we communicating here? Who are we talking to? Are we just clusters of painters, photographers, film makers or are there larger conversations going on here? How can we show that there is a larger conversation going on when the voices are separated from one another and the medium of the work dictates their placement? How can we expect any audience to make sense of 190 pieces of work without some curatori- . fined go rt oe : oe fot uchiha con, aietcome 47 You numbskull... ART MATERIALS EXPO this gap. at Robson Square isn’t until April 26th & 27th. CHECK YOUR LIGHT YEARS !!! We might as well go in to Opus and do some grocery shopping. In case you missed filling it, in your rush to put together a thematic proposal and submit it to the Grad Committee before it really is too late, we've provided you with a late bloomer’s form located at the top right-hand corner of this page. Clip it out and drop it off at the Charles H. Scott Gallery. Don’t delay, do it today! Stay tuned to this channel for further notes as the Grad Show approaches. <@ Scene from the farewell pub night for Vera Traff and Rick Robinson, February 14, 1997 to. the Scott Gallery and the Concourse Gallery in the north build- ing. In the south building we'll have the Atrium, the painting studios, painting and drawing classrooms, as well as the theater for film. Design will have their usual spaces: the graphic and industrial design areas. Seminar rooms in the south building won't be available this year. Why? A couple of reasons were given: there’s not enough time between the grad show and summer classes to get the rooms ready, one of the seminar rooms was badly damaged last year and required a fair amount of time and resources to repair the damage. Going by numbers, last year only nine people used the seminar rooms so it was concluded that the space was not well uti- lized. But then, how many installations can you put in one seminar room? Seems that one installation per room is the way it works. How will installations be accommo- dated this year? Will money be spent to build rooms in the allocated spaces or are we to conclude that installation artists will be subsumed by 3-D? The show opens this year on May 10 and comes down on May 26. Checking my calendar, this looks like two weeks instead of three as it used to be in previous years. Te year, showing space will be limited OPUS FRAMING & ART SUPPLIES for out-of-this-world art supplies Notes from the Trenches (WW The Institute March 1997 / Planet of the Arts 55 The Continuing Saga of the Grad Show by lize Bebris cere we are, half way through the last semester, the very last semester, if you're graduating this year. Its time to start focusing on that great Fite of passage, the Grad Show. Well be the biggest grad class ever, 190 of us, but how will this mass of creative energy and talent reflect in the grad show? From all indications, looks like the Grad show wil look much ike lst year’s show, except smaller with more of us competing for smaller spaces. And because we're being assigned space according to our area 35. ‘opposed to being thematically rouped we will be competing with one another for space. Our work will be presented 25 individual voices rather than part of an ongoing conversation. Sitting on the grad committee 1 am overwhelmed by the ‘great Grad Show machine. The Grad Committee was meeting {and decisions surrounding the show were made long before Students were included in the proces. When we were invited ‘oon the committee in lanuaty it was already a forgone co: clusion thatthe show would be organized much as it was last year. We are three Student reps. (design, ‘media, and studio) on 3 committee of sixteen, We ‘are a small presence, in the face of a large machine. However, we fan let you know how the process works so that ‘we find ways to make ourselves heard and to encourage third year students to start taking back the show in September of next year. But for this year it looks like we've got the warehouse in Although the idea of curating the show “was brought up both at the Grad Committee meeting and at the Grad Show meeting on Jan, 20th it met ‘Serious opposition from faculty and staf ‘Apparently thematic curating has been tried but it proved ‘to be too unwieldy. The fist time it was tried, several years, ‘ago, the end result was eighteen separate themes and faculty found it difficult to locate ther students. A subsequent effort by students organizing themselves seemed to eat up all the ‘time and energy of those involved. Therefore we're back to the warehouse model: photo in ‘one area, painting ia another, 3-D in a thd. Each acea wil have a coordinator who will assign individual Spaces, With this, approach it will be diffi ult if not impossible to contextualize the work if the primary consid erations for placing work are administrative, Context becomes. almost Impossible to achieve. Seems we've forgotten our audience in the expediencies of organizing the show. ‘What are we communicating here? Who are we talking to? ‘Are we just clusters of painters, photographers, film makers or are there larger conversations going on here? How can we. Show that there isa larger conversation going on when the voices are separated from one another and the medium of the work dictates their placement? How can Wwe expect any audience to make sense of 190 pieces of work without some curator al help? No artist statement, no matter hhow thoughtfully writen, can overcome this gap. With a budget his year, showing space will be limited to the Scott Gallery and. the Concourse Galley in the north build: ing. n the south building we'll have the ‘Aitium, the painting studios, painting and ‘drawing classtooms, a5 well a5 the theater for film. Design will have their usual spaces: the graphic and industrial design Seminar rooms in the south building ‘won't be available this year. Why? A couple ‘of reasons were given: there's not enough ‘ime between the grad show and summer Classes to get the rooms ready, one of the ‘seminar rooms was badly damaged last year and required a fair amount of time and resources to repair the damage ‘Going by numbers, last year only nine people used the seminar rooms so It was Concluded thatthe space was not well ut lized. But then, how many installations can you put in one seminar room? Seems that ‘ne installation per room is the way it ‘works. How will installations be accommo: dated this year? Will money be spent to build rooms in the allocated spaces or are we to conclude that installation artist will be subsumed by 3-0? ‘The show opens this year on May 10 ‘and comes down on May 26. Checking my Calendar, this looks like two weeks instead fof three as it used to be in previous yeas OPUS The reasoning is that it takes a week to clean Up after the show and to get the space ready for summer school. Looks like les space and less time are the trend ‘With a budget of some $20,000 you'd think we could have quite a splash. As it works out, Using last year’s budget figures of $23,944.14 the funds are quickly eaten up. Roughly the budget allocations were as follows: 1996 Grad Show Expenses Materials and Supplies $10,905.97" Clean Up $2687.72 Documentation $1935.51 ‘Additional Security $1,774.65 Storage (wall) $1,288.28 Student Monitors $5392.00 Total $23,944.14 *0F this $7,610.20 isa one time expense for wood for walls which are in storage for this year’ show, 2 banners {and 8 auto repeat VHS recorders It looks like we've got the “os” my nave warehouse model again. noticed that there sno allocation for lighting This is because. there will be no. additional lighting. beyond. what already exists in the rooms. The problem is that the building (yes, the expensive new building) can't carry the extra load and extra Staff are needed to turn lights off and on at fight and in the moming,