Reflection on Exhibition and Art Practice Now. James Turrell - The Development of an Exhibition

Abstract

The Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich owns over 150 prints by James Turrell. A selection of these will be shown in an exhibition in autumn 2024. In the seminar, the development of an exhibition is explained on the basis of this concrete project. The students learn about the artist's work, read specialist literature and conceive various forms of exhibition displays.

Objective

The students learn how to conceptualize an exhibition. They will become acquainted with the work of James Turrell, have read the most important literature about him and can contextualize and critically question it. They discuss the original works in the Graphische Sammlung, learn about the techniques and understand the differences between proofs and different states of a print. Likewise, based on their knowledge, they conceive a proposal for an exhibition display in the application "Digital Curating" of the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich.

Content

The artist James Turrell, known for his light art, created his first ever print in 1984 with "Deep Sky". He was inspired to create the seven-part aquatint series by the publisher Peter Blum and found the ideal partner in the Zurich copperplate printer Peter Kneubühler. From the estate of the Peter Kneubühler Foundation, the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich owns over 150 prints by James Turrell, including those created in connection with his gigantic landscape project "Rhoden Crater". However, they do not have the purpose of a planning instrument, but are independent artistic formulations of abstracted corridors, light shafts and sky observation rooms. On the basis of the originals in the Collection of Prints and Drawings and by reading the most important texts, students will become familiar with Turrell's work, with particular attention being paid to his points of contact with other disciplines, such as land art, architecture, astronomy, mysticism, earth sciences or the psychology of perception. The students are introduced to the conception of an exhibition. Based on the knowledge they have gained about James Turrell, they will finally create a proposal for an exhibition display with the help of the application "Digital Curating" of the Graphische Sammlung ETH Zürich. These proposals will be discussed in the seminar.

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