Exhibition Research - West Midlands Open

After visiting the West Midlands Open Exhibition the group and i formed many ideas and knowledge on how to structure a successful exhibition.

We identified the 'conventions' of Display by;

1. Identifying the way in which the art is displayed; photography, film etc. 
   

The majority of the work on the walls such as painting were at eye level. Although some of the works were higher on the walls as this is the view point of which the artist wanted.  The sculptures were below the eye so that viewer can get a perspective from top to bottom. projection/ video work are displayed in a dark room for obvious reason of a clear image.

     2. Looked at how the 2D and 3D works relate.

Therefore we can conclude that the 2D works relation to each other is that they are hung on the wall for the majority of the time. 3D works share the relation of being below eye height and mainly in glass boxes or on plinths. However some 3D work is hung walls if this is how the artist wants the work displayed. 

      3. Analysing all aspects of the hanging i.e height, spacing etc.

The artwork on the wall is hung by screws on either side hidden by the pieces. The works on the walls are all 1 meter apart as this is enough spacing for the viewer to be able to focus on one piece at a time and are hung at eye height. 

      4.evaluated the way in which the artworks were grouped together.

There is no definite way in which the artworks are group together as the works are exhibited to be sold. however my judgement would be that the works are grouped together depending on the sort of works people are looking to buy. for example portraiture, nature, abstract. Therefore everything the buyer would be interested in will be in the same area, like a shop is displayed. Also to differentiate the different groups of work there were different coloured walls which the work is displayed on. This makes it easier for the buyers to see the different sections of the exhibition. It also challenges the idea of displaying artwork in the white cube. 

     5. Evaluated the overall quality of the exhibition display.

Personally i believe the exhibition was a success for versatility of art works which people are interested in, so all types of people are attracted to the exhibition. However how the artworks are grouped is a little confusing, although i'm aware the art works are to be sold, not just to take pleasure in. Therefore i think it's fair to conclude that the exhibition was a success for its purpose, however it was simple and not something i would recommend.