Tweetartcrit: The Spectacular of Vernacular
By Rene Meyer-Grimberg
The Proposal:
I would like to write a piece while walking through a specific exhibition.
For example, the Spectacular of Vernacular at the Walker.
The writing would be a mixture between my personal reactions, and the processing of media/arts writing about the exhibition that I would read on my phone while in the exhibition, and react to in a short 140 character writing. I will also tweet it – so the form online will be a collection of the tweets. (Tweets will include the links to articles I am reading)
Is this art criticism? You decide.
Tweetartcrit.
Not twittature, but tweetart, tweart, tweetartcrit.
Let me know if the idea appeals to you. (I can tweak it)
tweetartcrit Rene MG
Today 3.12.11 i will tweet #art critique/ criticism from #http://t.co/8GtWaVI. @Walker art center. What is #vernacular? #spectacular?
Entering the @walkerartcenter.music from the ampitheater projection on the wall. stop to watch the #landscp.des.where is#bit.ly/ieAFSv?
yfrog.com/h2tzicpj yfrog.com/h03cjwmj
#vernacular “a term used to describe amateur or regional forms of expression that tend to be more homegrown than high-end”…humble forms
Can be nuanced and loaded symbols, full of hidden messages. see chris larsons bridge to no where to start. Messge not so hidden. To where?
Raw wood in slick white museum. mount the stairs. One way more stairs into museum hall. other to outside. Cont. Thru glass yfrog.com/h0t3uhxj
Natural materials in an unnatural space. Rural vs. Urban. Visitors see and experience without needing to know about #art historical context
A buck on the wall covered with bling. head turned back to the wall. contradicts the stuffed stare at you prize. Prefer blinged version. Hi/lo?
#Thrift store paintings next to #walker evans yarn and formica, buttons on linen, tapestry pieces,cut paper ribbon… yfrog.com/h3qzlgcj
#jeffrey vallance tells stories of objects +places them in elaborate reliquaries. Does it mean less w/o art history? yfrog.com/gzy0nouj
Mediv reliquaries have stories. Where they came from. what was in them. why it was kept. to ponder usually @artinstitutechi bit.ly/gVsFxN
A quilt of hand knit stuffed toys afghans sewn together “puritan work ethic” nostalgia for “preindustrial age” material weight more than actual
#mike kelley “love hours” in the form of knitted comfort toys or handmade candles. Common comforts and more personal than the label says.
Both materials and subject matter imply the vernacular some obvious some not. Some just Altered captured images #william e. Jones
Jones takes farm sec images in rapid projection with a black dot starting small dancing around, images get closer, dot larger. Then restart.
Artists #appropriate, borrow from common goods alter and reframe. Elevating the common to the museum wall. Spectacular? By whose definition?
Yet making viewer try to understand the vernacular part of each piece. usually the materials. How clever is the transformation? #art
Sitting in with the jones, a #curator walks by with a visitor. she explains the black dots are the whole punches FSA used to destroy rejects
Jones aligned the dots and made close ups.3 not rejected e #evans on the wall in the room. why not explain this to visitors? Lost chance.
A grommeted piece of canvas with a pleasant seascape by #kerry james marshall refers to #w.homers gulf stream. bit.ly/gMWJo7 compare.
The perfect exhibition company would be a curator. Or an ipod/pad with links to all references loaded in a list. Open for visitors to add to
“this exhibition explores #art’s ongoing relationship to a tangible, locatable #reality…the notion of cultural specificity in contemp#art
“these pieces plumb the mundane to unexpected depths, demonstrating that an aesthetic doesn’t have to be rarified to be resonant” #j gabler
#art forum review at bit.ly/f53tJV quoted in the last tweet. J. Gabler. Exhibition worth experiencing, maybe even understanding.
Spect. of vernacular implies big words to describe common objects being made extraordinary as #art on #museum white walls. My critique?
Curator and #jim shaw talk about his pieces in bit.ly/fmyRIm jim says conversations about art intimidate even the highly educated
O the irony of collecting vernacular in the halls of the Walker, since there’s so much vernacular to be had everywhere, yes?
Tweeting the show is a cool idea. Despite the short format, it would be hard to tweet such concentrated content over an entire exhibit.
It would be cool to create a hashtag for quodlibetica or art crit or something separate to encourage gathering of arts criticism from the field of users wandering through museums and galleries. Is this done? It could be.
Walking in the presence of giants here. Cool thinking all around!
Thanks for good info :)