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Beryl Graham: Summary of

13.10.2001
> transcript  


Speakers:>  Beryl Graham

A summary in table form of major points from the day.

Still working on this!

SUMMARY
Matt
MediaLounge
Clive
FACT
Carol
Creative Time
Hannah
C-Plex
Beryl
Crumb
Space Small, a 'waiting area' for small business offices, a first contact, near the cafe, near the market, in a converted old building. Things are on wheels to move around if not working well where they are. Chose HoloPro screens because important to work in daylight. Big, purpose built, modern, in the nightclub district. Based on established FACT identity. Big gallery, smaller 'box' space with sunken sofas, bars and cinema spaces on the top floor. Clive is artist-advisor; the keyword is 'flexible' spaces for what artists need. 'Both Massless and Moist'. Some projects have no body (such skywriting with planes) and some are in the in the massive brick space of bridge arches (cold and damp). Also, interactive works in very public places like Jim Campbell's light walls. Tactics/places/ audiences. Community led initiative from the Black Country. Ambitious, stunning building, which includes training, lifelong learning, community projects, public art and Gallery X. References to popular attractions and serious art discourse. Community/ quality/ local-international are keywords. In all spaces, the conflict between 'linear' approach (clear, prescriptive, which can help those inexperienced in art spaces) and the 'radial' (loose, open,but doesn't annoy the experienced). Also, between individual use, and group experiences.
'The
Lounge'
Discussion of whether it is a domestic lounge (sofa, near market) or airport lounge (clean, waiting)? Has space with sunken sofas, and is in the gallery and louche bar quarter. A louche lounge? Did have 'amazingly comfortable' loungers for in the Massless Medium show, adding comfort to a large and intimidating space. Dotted rest and 'picnic areas' around ramps. Must attract people in and have good spaces for socialising e.g. cafes. Lounge infers a social space, and soft/informal, which some artists object to.
Time Planned in 3 areas:
'5 min area' With passive information panels.
'10 min area' with stand-up interaction.
'30 min area' with sit-down terminals.
Video can cease to be a 'time-based medium' when in a gallery. A history of short glance-times for visual art galleries (30 seconds maybe if very lucky) makes it a particular problem for interactive works and video. With a history of installation rather than video, 'we work in seconds'. Minutes seem like a luxury. Science museums and theme parks DO do studies, but sometimes this is in order to herd people around as in The Dome. Even so, exhibits are often 'a bit too long'. Users 'need to know the level of 'commitment' in advance' My research showed a very rough average of 7 minutes for some sit-down single-screen artworks, much less for stand-ups. Some evidence that women in particular spend shorter times on pieces where their own body image is on screen, or very open to the view of others.
Staffing Reception staff need to be on board. Invigilators need special training, especially for disability access. Security staff in many different public locations need to be briefed, as people ask them first. Planned to have 'Ruttlers' in all spaces to help. Serious Games had specially trained extra staff.
Audience Is mainly building tenants, their clients, students and cafe visitors. Did research for ACE - organisations had a certain idea of how they were perceived, which wasn't always true! With projects like sky writing, 'we get to use 'a million' a lot'. Gallery events are mostly 'young, Caucasian'. Projected to be the diverse local community and UK tourists. Some science centres audience studies will be on Crumb. Will try to get Clive's ACE report. Art galleries please reveal your studies!
Concerns Would like to commission more 'content'. Shifting focus from tactical temporary projects to longer term programming. That a range of priorities might be tested in this transition. New media tends to get treated as a novelty. Avoiding the bad examples of 'theme-park' thinking with little content (the Dome, for example). Barbara London criticises 'The Novelty Hustle' of passing fashions. How can we aim for longevity and seriousness? How can we fill these new spaces?

 

 
Keywords:

  installation
  time
  space
  interaction
  lounge
  audience
  video
  museums

People:

  Beryl Graham