Helen Carnac started her lecture ‘Presenting outside the box’ by expressing the relevance of presentation to her, since most of her broad-ranged activities lead to a presentation in some shape or form.
One of those activities is jewelry making. With this, she does not work up to making ‘a piece’ or final result. To her, every step in that process is equal. Important is that she is making marks, if it is by drawing, working with wire, metalwork or a combination of that.
(Helen Carnac is inspired by other disciplines of art, such as choreography (Rosas) and minimalist music (Steve Reich) that allow the process to be seen.)
In the traditional white-cube gallery spaces, there is no room to show the process of making. But, to Helen Carnac this is just the resting point in a development. She pointed out in her lecture that she needs to present outside the box, so the process can be seen.
(She used a photograph of a road in Wisconsin to illustrate this process: because of extreme weather the road is being repaired constantly, leaving always changing marks.)
Helen Carnac talked about how collaborating with others can be a great way of redefining presentation. An example is the joint exhibition ‘Dialogue 5’, which was held in 2006 on a London double-decker bus. This bus traveled between multiple exhibits, emphasizing the journey that is made during the process of making art. Or, the exhibition between Helen Carnac and 4 other jewelry artists, called ‘Process Works’. The plan was to show the entire process of working, filled in individually. As the curator, Helen Carnac was disappointed for a brief moment because the gallery insisted the work should be behind glass. On top of that, there were final products to be displayed. Later she felt the glass was a good protection for the delicate pieces, whilst the evolution in process was clearly visible in different stages, right up to a finished piece.
Another way of communicating ideas and presenting them has taken shape through a blog. Contemplation on the subject of sustainability, (by several disciplines, not just jewelry) grew into the slow-revolution-movement. This then became a physical exhibition, curated by Helen Carnac, and toured the U.K. The involvement of the public is very important in this project. The readers were encouraged to comment on the blog, while the audience at the exhibition could also join in, by knitting a huge, constantly changing, object. The object resembles the connections, lines, webs and clusters of the internet, both visually as well as in concept.
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During her talk, Helen Carnac mentioned, that through playing with presentation in collaboration with other artists, not necessarily jewelers, she finds out how she works herself. By curating exhibitions she finds how creative a jeweler can be. The input of the audience can also play an important role. Sometimes the audience gets specific assignments. In one exhibition, jewelry was handed out, and asked for it to be returned in a few hours, which obviously led to interesting discussions.
Her latest exhibition was in San Francisco, USA, where she collaborated with furniture maker David Gates. She made 2D ‘corners’ out of old enamel stoves, and he made 3D ‘corners’, which incorporated her work. There, the challenge of presenting, lay in the fact that the gallery was very protective over the work being displayed in the open. Through lots of talking, a compromise was achieved.
Helen Carnac finally spoke about another, most recent activity, leading workshops. By walking, she explored the USA, (Penland-North Carolina and Seattle), Russia (Moscow) and Belgium (Antwerp). Every time she did not know the place, but let the students guide her on the walks. Each time, there were different challenges, leading to different presentations, way outside the box.
- Broes van Iterson -
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