As a conclusion and dissemination of my covert residency at the V&A, I am making a downloadable PDF print, cut, fold and make museum box, which can be filled with cut-out printed objects.
It’s a museum in a box, curated by the individual.
The V&A objects, now fabulous treasures, once in currency.
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I had various ideas about making treasure boxes. There’s such a feeling about all those beautiful and intricate boxes at the V&A, compartmentalised boxes for sewing kits or drawing materials, or personal care, or other secrets. I had the idea for the downloadable box pretty early on in the residency. What if all leaflets in museums and galleries could be thus transformed – it’s so difficult to keep even lovely leaflets – postcards are better,
The project needed to be – something to do / make / product / game / publication
Origami – more low-tech than 3D printing – 2D like 3D – 11/2 D.
Museum quality – the plethora of judgements.
Museum shop – the psychology of wanting.
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Making was a delight. I love making stuff and coming up with practical solutions. I made it a theViewergallery project – my project site and persona which is low-tech / handmade / digital.
http://theviewergallery.blogspot.co.uk/
All my sites, projects and personae essentially overlap, but I find organising things like that productive and facilitating to all those multi-tasks.
I thought it would be better to just record the making video without a rehearsal, and I think it’s ok – if I did it again it would just be different but probably not better. I was talking to an art student recently about trusting the moment, and believing in what you can produce at the time. You’ve got to trust yourself, and not have some vague plan to go back and draw better or make marks better – continuing to work on a thing and post processing is completely different, and also full of moments to trust. It’s very like that with video footage – you do everything possible to get it right at the time, and that’s what you’re capturing, that time, as best as can be got, with a flavour of that moment. Somehow there has to be as much control and planning, technique and knowledge as can be mustered, and then the spontaneity of the moment. My work may not look much like it, but I think owes something to my musical training in that there is practising, and then there is the performance.
Some stills of Making The Facsimile Box.
It’s like recording a performance in one take, rather than splicing and mixing recordings together for a sort of manufactured perfection. I’d rather go for the concert performance with graininess, because then all the subliminal parts match. That how I take and use video footage.
Some intriguing boxes at the V&A:
