This section will deal with the most frequently asked questions and issues on Documentation and Support materials.
General InfoRemember when sending your packet of support materials, to send a check list of what you have included so the person can keep an inventory and not miss anything you sent them. Also make sure everything you send is labeled with your contact information - so if it gets separated from your pile it will be easier for the recipient to get it back to you.
Support material usually consists of the following: short bio of the artist(s), past reviews, resume(s) of the artist(s), information on the organization/company (brief history, mission statement etc.. if applicable), documentation of the work (slides, photos, video, catalog, etc.), corresponding slide sheet, etc.
You should have the ability to put a support packet together in one day and/or have two packets of support materials on hand ready to go! Always have plenty of copies of your materials on hand.
Directing the viewer where to look:
When Sending copies of reviews/press- Highlight the area(s) you
want the person to look at. The same holds true for a catalogs, anthologies,
etc. Use post it notes to indicated what page/areas you want the person to
look at.
Documentation
One should always document their work. No matter what discipline you are
in. Documentation or samples of your work are usually required when applying
for grants and competitions. It is very important to have good slides, photographs,
video tape recordings, clean easy to read manuscripts and/or impeccable recordings.
As a general rule, MAKE sure that what ever you send is of the best quality.
If you can afford it, hire or barter with a professional photographer, videographer/video
editor, etc. If your budget is limited, you can send good color copies of
slides/photos (sometimes this is the best way to send images).
The question of sending a CD with JPEGs comes up more often. Not all places have the technology necessary to view CDs. Call before you send a CD to see if they have they accept them for review. Also remember that technology does fail, so i it might be wise to send slides or a print out and a CD. Chances if you are sending an unsolicited proposal, they will not call you to let you know they couldn't access the CD. The same holds true for DVDs- call to make sure they can watch it. Most places can listen to sound/music CDs.
Save all reviews and press stories/coverage about your work. Also save any letters you receive that praises your work, as well as favorable comments from the gallery sign in book. This can all serve as documentation.
Documentation should be geared to the persons/organization you are sending the packet to. For example, if you are sending a package to a curator in the hopes of them coming to your show, you might want to send them a slide sheet of consisting of both past work that relates to the work you are currently working on, as well as the current work you are showing. Reviewers/critics like to see a small selection of photo/slides of the works that are going to be in the exhibition (one or two). Remember, if your budget is limited, you can send good color copies of slides/photos.
Documentation tips/issues for new genres/performance arts/large scale works:
If you are a performance poet- SEND a good sounding videotape of your
work (not a mere tape recording).
Installation artists might be better served by documenting their work both by slides and by video (especially if they are using sound in their work).
We are finding that installation and other artists who make large scale works (theater set designers etc.) are better off sending good 8"x11" color copies!!
Keep the video documentation support material short or have it cued to the best shortest part of the tape (indicate to the viewer how long the cued part is and what they are watching).
If you work on several series at one time and you want to include all of them in your documentation materials, it is best to include a sampling of all the series (two-four images) and indicate on the slide sheet that which series they are part of.
CD rom & other "advance computer technologies" support materials- before you send a CD Rom or any other kind of "advance computer technologies" make sure the organization you are sending it to is equipped to view it.
PHOTO/SLIDE Documentation
Photos:
If your budget permits, you should have photos of work. If your work is
a performance in nature and you're applying to do a new work, send images
from past productions. Have the photos done by a professional photographer.
The quality of the images must be good. The size of the photos can range from
3"x5" to 8"x10" -- again depending on your budget.
Make sure on the back of the photo that you have the indicated which is the top of the image and also include artist's name, title of work, date and the photo credit (who took the photo). It is best not to write directly on the back of the photo. You should write the information on a sticker/label. Never send originals or your only copy of an image.
Slides:
Invest in having good slides. Project your slides to make sure they project
well. Check the viewing order of the visual support materials you are submitting
carefully (slides/photos etc.). Make sure the viewing order makes visual
sense to viewers. For example, if you are submitting a diptych- submit a slide
of the entire diptych first, followed by the details of the piece (this goes
for 3-D/ installation as well).
Slide labeling:
The general rule for slide labeling is that you are consistent in the way
you label your slides. It is best to use computer generated slide labels-
they look the most professional. Always indicate which is the top of the slide.
Your name, title of the work, year and dimensions of the piece are usually
what is included on the slide. If the slide is a detail of the work, you need
to state it on the slide label. Usually you don't need to put the dimension
of the work if it is a detail slide. (if the detail is an object, however,
you might need to also put its dimensions to indicate the scale of the detail
piece to the overall piece). For labeling the dimensions of your work, you
just need to be consistent on how you do it (ie use abbreviations to make
it clear to those viewing your slides: ((h) x (l)x (w)). It is best to number
your slides with pencil that way you can easily change the numbers!
Slide list:
You should always send a slides list with a sheet of slides!! The
slide list should be typed. (there is an example slide list at the end of
this section). It is in the slide sheet that you can expand on the materials
you use, if your work uses text/language it is here that you can give a sample
of it, etc.. it is important that if the work you are submitting is part of
a series you should also indicate it on this sheet!
Annotated/descriptive
slide list:
This sheet is
sent with the Slide list, never in place of the slide list. In this kind of
slide sheet you can really expand on the work and cross reference the slides!
(an example is included at the end of this section). It is best to include
this slide list if your work is content heavy and/or series based.
Examples
(once again we have made our executive director give
us her slide sheets!)
Slide Sheet (One of Kathleen Bitetti's slide sheets 20 slides)
1. UNTITLED
1991
Goldfish bowl & water
LIFE SIZED
2. UNTITLED
1991
goldfish bowl, glass mug, monopoly game money and cards
LIFE SIZED
3. UNTITLED
1992
wooden picket & graphite
LIFE SIZED
4. SHELTER
1992
Installation
LIFE SIZED
5. SHELTER
1992
Installation
LIFE SIZED
6. SHELTER
1992
Installation
LIFE SIZED
7. SHELTER
1992
Installation
Detail
8. SHELTER
1992
Installation
Detail
11. UNTITLED
1994
Installation
Collaboration with WAC (Women's Action Coalition)
THEME: How to cover up your bruises with makeup.
12. SOME DAY MY PRINCE WILL COME
1995
bed frame, wooden pickets, nails, pillow, graphite
Text on pillow: Some Day My Prince Will Come
LIFE SIZED
13. TO HAVE
1995
bed frame, barbed wire, lose pins and needles, pillows, graphite
Text:
headboard: Loneliness
Foot board: Denial
left pillow: To Have and to Hold
right pillow: To Have and To Harm
LIFE SIZED
14. TO HAVE
1995
Detail
15. HOSTAGE
1995
Crib, rusted metal, pillow, graphite
Text on pillow: Hostage
LIFE SIZED
16. PURE
1996
bassinet, water, cloth, plastic, graphite
Text : Pure
LIFE SIZED
17. INNOCENCE
1996
bed frame, 3 sheets of glass, pillow, graphite
Text on pillow: Innocence
LIFE SIZED
18. WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?
1994-7
Egg shells, wooden table and chairs, wooden boarder, graphite
LIFE SIZED
19. WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?
Detail
Text on table: cycle of violence wheel
Text on wooden boarder:
top: (words from pop song "Every Breath You Take" - all
in lower case and in a run on sentence)
everywordyousayeverygameyouplayI'll be watching youo can'tyouseeyoubelongtome....
Bottom: WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF? (all in caps not run on sentence/
appears 3 times)
20. WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?
Detail
Text on chair: Witness
Annotated Slide Sheet
(corresponding descriptive slide sheet by Kathleen
Bitetti)
In the early nineties my work began to become more conceptually based and sociopolitical in content (slides 1-2). In 1992, I began stenciling text by hand onto objects (slide 3). Hand stenciled text/language has now become a very prominent feature in my work and I continue to use the same stencil and medium (graphite) that I used in 1992.
Shelter (slides 4-8), the collaboration with Women's Action Coalition- Boston Chapter (slide 11) and "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" (slides 18-20) are from a body of work entitled, "Forever Hold Your Peace". It is a large scale installation consisting of 11 large sculptural components that I started in 1992. "Forever Hold Your Peace" is an attempt to show a person's life from start to "end" who is in a battering/ abusive environment. The majority of the art work addressing domestic violence does not show the whole picture of what it is like to live with such violence on a daily basis. Nor does it demonstrate the long time line of domestic violence. It is the goal of this body of work to recreate the long nightmare of domestic violence and to show the underlying thread of violence/danger that under pins such relationships.
While Shelter recreates a room at a Battered Woman's Shelter, the WAC collaboration examines how women who have been battered learn to cover their bruises with make up. The piece, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" depicts "the fragility of family dynamics". The kitchen/dinner table is often the site were family disputes erupt. The cycle of violence wheel that is stenciled on the table is an educational tool used by those working in the prevention of domestic violence. The white eggs shells, that surround the table and chairs, refer to a common metaphor used by women in battering relationships: "walking on egg shells". The title of the piece, taken from a popular fairy tale, is juxtaposed on the wooden white boarder with the lyrics of the popular Police song "Every breath you take". It is a pop song that is often misinterpreted for a love song, but under closer examination without the music, one realizes that the song is about stalking, obsession and ownership of women. The placement of the two texts on the white boarder quietly stresses the violence and fear that is entwined in our society and destroys many of our families. I am presently working on completing another component of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?". It is a high chair that has the word "Witness" stenciled on it (slides 20). Like the table and chairs, it sits in the middle of a bed of egg shells. On the white wooden boarder that surrounds the piece, the text "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? is juxtaposed with the following sayings: "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil... monkey see monkey do".
The five works/beds (slides 12-17) are from a series of 10 beds entitled, "Weary Heads"*. I began the series in late 1994. These life size beds are beautiful objects, but they are also very dangerous. These works transform an object, that usually provides comfort, into one that has nightmare qualities. Both stenciled text/language and pillows with text are prominent elements in my "Weary Heads" bed series. Presently, I am working on completing two more of the beds in the series. I hope to show all 10 beds in a gallery setting in the future. *(Three of the beds are also components of the series"Forever Hold Your Peace" and are the works that inspired the Weary Heads series)
