As a navigator north studio holder, I was naturally obliged to take part in the group show ‘Cluster’
I was thinking about a few things:
- How people engage with art
- Why don’t they do it in Middlesbrough
- What art are we actually ‘allowed to see’
- What barriers face us when we seek art to look at
My art installation was simple – I simply painted a vase of flowers in traditional oil paints, except instead of painting the flowers, I painted the individual colour pixels, giving the impression of a censored subject. Contemporary painting is wonderful like that, you can paint whatever you like.
I framed it traditionally and installed it in the gallery.
At the same time, I had a digital gallery created by the boys at Wetdovetail design, and installed a painting of the flowers, uncensored, digitally, in the cyberspace gallery.
Back in the real world, I provided a QR code under the oil painting, stating that the art wasn’t available in our reality, and they’d have to visit the website.
I was going to put the digital gallery behind a paywall, and charge for it. But we weren’t supposed to profit from the exhibition so I couldn’t do that.
What I was thinking about is thus: What art are we allowed to see? As a working class audience, who decides what we can see? Art as ‘content’. What is put into public spaces? What is popular? The engagement of art is so low in Middlesbrough, why? Is it us, or is it the art? Is art not meeting us on our level? Or is art, like most everything else, behind a pay wall – in the town centre (travel, pay to park), in the galleries (Intimidating? 9-5, we’re working) etc.
During the exhibition, I was delighted to see people actually using their phones to visit the digital gallery, to see what a painting of a vase of flowers looks like.
I really feel like we need (as artists) to start thinking of ways to engage people (normal people) with art in new ways… I don’t know, I need to think more about.
Aimee Charlotte 