| Description |
3º of Separation is a series of three one-day discussion events taking place in Spring 2011 and organised by Jo Coupe and Catherine Bertola Each of the three events will have a different emphasis, based on commonalities by between our work: Time exploring the relationship that works have with time, in relation to how the work is experienced, how work changes and evolves over time and the association with history and a sense of mortality Materiality looking at the importance of materials and process in the making and in the meaning of the work, potentially touching on ideas of beauty, craft and the importance of authorship in the work Site and Context examining how works are developed in response to ‘sites’, from specific places to the use of more personal and found objects in the work, and how works are transformed by the context in which it is experienced The selection of artists is based on the principle of degrees of separation – there being apparently only 7 degrees of separations between any two people on Earth. For each event, we will start by inviting one artist each from the region, someone with whom we feel some affinity or resonance with our own practice in relation to the focus of the event. These two artists will then be asked to invite an artist on the same premise, and finally that artist will be asked to do the same. This chain connection will create three diverse groupings of eight artists, brought together purely on the basis of their work. By adding an element of chance, we hope to cut through different generations, geographical boundaries and existing networks of artists in the North East. At each event, the eight artists will give a short presentation on their work to the group, with an opportunity for individual feedback and peer review. Over the course of the day, a series of questions and comments will be identified, which will then form the basis of a formal group discussion. The whole emphasis of the event is on honesty, generosity and creating a sense of community that places artistic practice at the centre. A different ‘guest’ will be invited to each event, a leading writer/curator/academic or another artist, who we feel will be able to offer a valuable insight into the work and the ‘focus’ of the particular event and bring a critical value and weight to the project. The guests will be asked to participate and respond to the work and conversations, culminating in three new commissioned texts that will contextualise the work and the conversations in a broader critical discourse. These three texts will then be disseminated via this website, which also includes information on all the artists involved. A beautiful limited edition publication will form the culmination of the project, to include all three commissioned texts and information on all the artists involved. |