The Order of Things, An exhibition, seminar, public art commission and publication on the relevance of Systems to contemporary art practice
- Submitting institution
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University of Gloucestershire
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 20
- Type
- M - Exhibition
- Venue(s)
- The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of first exhibition
- January
- Year of first exhibition
- 2017
- URL
-
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
-
- Research group(s)
-
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- Yes
- Additional information
- This exhibition, seminar and publication was devised by Bick for The Wilson gallery in Cheltenham as a means of building wider collaborative practice and public discourse concerning the contemporary relevance of Systems as a uniquely British movement and derivative of concrete and constructive art. Commissioned by a regional museum lacking confidence in the curation of modern and contemporary abstraction, the project took a discursive approach with particular emphasis on building audience confidence in little known but highly engaging subject matter. The relationship between historic understandings of Systems in visual art practice and a contemporary re-working and re-appraisal of the preoccupations of this British Art grouping was examined through the prism of contemporary art. Key to the approach was the emphasis on the humanity within such approaches to art practice, examining how this is manifest in both historic and contemporary work related to Systems. The exhibition therefore used the practice of 13 contemporary artists as a lens through which to explore a range of approaches to the general idea of system in the twenty-first century and specifically Systems as an art movement. A central aim was to make ‘difficult content’ accessible through a lively and aesthetically engaging exhibition display and broad range of discussion through a public seminar and temporary public artwork. Underpinning this was the idea of placing cutting-edge contemporary art in a new context and making this accessible to a public and student audience for whom such work would otherwise be only available online and in books. The public art project by participating artist Guy Bigland, placed in bus stop advertising cabinets around Cheltenham town centre, emphasised the enigmatic and playful aspects of the project.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -
