Critical Focus: Study of an Arts Centre
Introduction
Critical Focus: Study of an Arts Centre is a film and inquiry into the ‘backstage’ work of a visual art gallery, created by Dr. Laura Harris.
The film focuses on the two-week installation and opening of an exhibition at Bluecoat, Liverpool’s centre for the contemporary arts. In atmosphere, materials, and meanings, the ‘install’ is set apart from the typical presentation of the contemporary art gallery. Here, the skilled gallery technicians emerge as the authors of the space and art objects present physical as well as aesthetic challenges.
Critical Focus borrows visual techniques from contemporary artists’ moving image and resists a documentary style of filmmaking, foregrounding instead the sensory and spatial elements of its subject.
*** NEED TO ADD IMAGE GALLERY ***
Content
Project aims
- To make visible and public the ‘invisible labour’ of gallery technicians
- To reflect the skills and materials of an exhibition installation
- To question conventional ideas of authorship in the visual arts
Project dates: Feb 2017-April 2018
Outcomes & legacy
- Exhibited as part of the exhibition that it documented
- Screened in arts and academic events
- Hosted as ‘Image-Maker in Residence’ for The Sociological Review
The people involved
Laura Harris is a cultural sociologist interested in the overlap between visual methods and artists’ moving image. She is currently an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology, University of Edinburgh, working on the project ‘Artful Sociologies: Exploring Avenues for Interdisciplinarity between Sociology and the Art World.’
Partners included:
- The Bluecoat, Liverpool’s centre for the contemporary arts
- Economics & Social Research Council (ESRC)
Want to get involved in research with the Binks Hub?
If you've got an idea for a research project – or are already working on a research project – which you'd like to talk to the Binks Hub about, please just send us an email. We'd love to hear from you.