A Teachers Guide to: Jo Baer Towards the Land of the Giants Simon Martin UR Feeling 10 April 21 June 2015
Purpose This guide aims to support teachers to explore and develop practical responses to the current exhibitions at Camden Arts Centre. Outlined are exhibition notes, exhibiting artists biographies and short gallery-based activities which can be adapted for Primary, Secondary and SEN groups. Camden Arts Centre offers a limited number of subsidised Ceramics and Mixed Media workshops for all age groups. Schools can also book the Drawing Studio at the Centre (free of charge). See the Planning your Visit section at the back of the guide for more details. Cultural Learning Alliance, Key Research Findings: The Case for Cultural Learning, 2011 1. Learning through arts and culture improves attainment in all subjects. 2. Participation in structured arts activities increases cognitive abilities. 3. Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree. 4. The employability of students who study arts subjects is higher and they are more likely to stay in employment. 5. Students who engage in the arts at school are twice as likely to volunteer and are 20% more likely to vote as young adults. culturallearningalliance.org.uk
Jo Baer About Towards the Land of the Giants Towards the Land of the Giants draws a lineage from Jo Baer s minimalist works of the 1960s, through her experiments with figuration in the 1990s, to the emboldened Palaeolithicinspired aesthetic that can be seen in her current work. Central to the exhibition is her most recent series, In the Land of the Giants, which she has been working on since 2009. The six paintings in the series reflect her life-long interest in history and science and depict esoteric and evocative imagery from her years spent in the remote countryside of County Louth, Ireland. Baer sees the ancient marks, which she references in these later works, as a midway between abstraction and figuration. The curation of the show particularly draws our attention to her consideration of composition as a means of stimulating a more active way of looking, as well as exploring the other threads which weave her work together, such as abstraction and figuration. Key themes Abstract Minimalism Neolithic Composition Figurative #landofthegiants #jobaer About Jo Baer Amsterdam based, American artist Jo Baer (b.1929) emerged as one of the key figures in the Minimalist art movement during the 1960s and 70s. She is best known for paintings characterised by precise composition of line and space and her use of the very edges of the canvases. In 1975, Baer moved to Ireland where she was fascinated by the Irish landscape and presence of Neolithic standing stones around her home. In 1983, she dramatically announced I am no longer an abstract artist and turned instead towards figuration and symbolic imagery, which she termed radical figuration 1. Although from the early stages of her career Baer was interested in the genealogy of prehistoric periods, eschatology and the convergences between humans and nature, her work began to reflect these interests more prominently after her move to Amsterdam in 1982, and became focused on these themes in the 90s. 1 Jo Baer, Paintings 1960-1998
Simon Martin About UR Feeling UR Feeling is a video installation and poster. It is the third part in a series of works made by Simon Martin, following Carlton (2006) and Louis Ghost Chair (2011). UR Feeling differs from these earlier works in that it is not narrated by spoken word - its communication is evocative and it is the first time Martin has worked with people rather than objects in his films. This work takes its title and direction from a quote by architect Peter Eisenman in conversation with the architect, theorist and critic Charles Jencks, discussing the redevelopment of Santiago de Compostela s historic city centre. They will feel in the alleyways something, but it s not quite medieval and it s not quite modern. It s something else. In other words, my whole idea of affect is that you experience something, you feel something, you see something, but you can t quite explain it. It has an Ur-dimension to it something between understanding and not, let s say. Martin had an exhibition with the same title at Camden Arts Centre in 2012. This can be seen as a preview or research for the current exhibition. The new film is made up of a collection of discrete entities which include performers following a set of instructions and a soundscape featuring found sounds and a reconstruction of the sound of a lyre (an ancient harp-like instrument) that was excavated from the ancient site of the Mesopotamian city, Ur. Key themes Mythology Popular Culture Memory Object Movement #URfeeling #simonmartin About Simon Martin British artist Simon Martin (b. 1965) works with video and sculpture to reflect upon material culture; he is interested in how we understand ourselves through social structures, mythologies and collective memory evidenced in art objects, mass media, popular culture and the built environment. Simon Martin graduated from the Slade School of Art in 1989. He lectures at Goldsmiths College on the Masters in Fine Art Programme. He lives and works in London.
Activities Towards the Land of the Giants A Manifesto for looking Look at an artwork; what do you see when you Stand far away Get close Stand on your tip toes Sit on the floor Turn your head to the left Turn your head to the right Lie beneath it Stand to the side of it Questions - Can a painting be an object? - Can an abstract artwork have a recognisable image in it? - Jo Baer describes her later paintings as a midway between abstraction and figuration, what do you think she means by this? UR Feeling Performance Mapping Response Simon Martin gave the two performers in the film in UR Feeling a set of instructions which they interpreted for the film. Watch the film and try to imagine what instructions the performers are be responding to. Give these instructions to a friend or your teacher and ask them to perform them. What do you think of your friend or your teacher s performance? Questions - Why do you think Simon Martin has chosen to work with people, rather than objects in this film? - My whole idea of affect is that you experience something, you feel something, you see something, but you can t quite explain it. It has an Ur-dimension to it something between understanding and not, let s say. - Peter Eisenman Have you ever had an UR Feeling?
Events Our programme of events expands on ideas within the exhibitions, residencies and projects. Events are free unless stated; please book a place online or by calling +44(0)20 7472 5500. Film Screenings and Book Launch: Simon Martin Wednesday 29 April, 7.00 9.00pm Camden Arts Centre and Film and Video Umbrella present the launch of Simon Martin s new publication which examines his trilogy of films Carlton (2006), Louis Ghost Chair (2012) and UR Feeling (2015). Performance: Rie Nakajima Wednesday 6 May, 7.00 8.00pm Rie Nakajima works with installations and performances that produce sound. Her pieces are often composed in direct response to unique architectural spaces, using a combination of kinetic devices and found objects. Tickets: 4 ( 3 for Friends & Conc.) Exhibition Talk: Agnieszka Gratza Wednesday 13 May, 7.00 7.45pm Writer Agnieszka Gratza leads a talk on Simon Martin s exhibition, UR Feeling. Tickets: 4 ( 3 for Friends & Conc.) Performance: Altered States Wednesday 27 May, 7.00 9.00pm Students from Central Saint Martins present a series of live works responding to the current exhibitions by Jo Baer and Simon Martin. Exhibition Talk: Sophie Williamson Sunday 21 June, 3.00 3.45pm Camden Arts Centre Exhibitions Organiser Sophie Williamson gives a tour of both exhibitions on the final day. Make & Do Sundays, 2.00 4.30pm Every Sunday throughout the exhibitions, families with children can drop in to the Drawing Studio for free creative activities based around the exhibitions. Led by artist Mónica Rivas Velásquez, the activities are fun and suitable for all ages.
Images Installation view of Jo Baer: Towards the Land of the Giants at Camden Arts Centre, 2015. Photo: Valerie Bennett
Images Installation view of Jo Baer: Towards the Land of the Giants at Camden Arts Centre, 2015. Photo: Valerie Bennett
Images Installation view of Jo Baer: Towards the Land of the Giants at Camden Arts Centre, 2015. Photo: Valerie Bennett
Images Installation view of Simon Martin: UR Feeling at Camden Arts Centre, 2015. Photo: Valerie Bennett
Images Installation view of Simon Martin: UR Feeling at Camden Arts Centre, 2015. Photo: Valerie Bennett
Planning your visit Camden Arts Centre offers a range of activities for School groups including: Ceramic and Mixed Media artist-led workshops for Primary, Secondary and SEN groups A Teachers Tour or Workshop for each exhibition Free 10 minute exhibition tours led by our Education Team Use of our Drawing studios free of charge for self-led workshops such as those included in the Teachers Guide. (Bookings can be on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays, subject to availability) Lunch Groups are welcome to use the Drawing Studio (subject to availability) and Camden Arts Centre s garden to have their lunch. Staffing Adult to child ratio (not including Camden Arts Centre staff) must be: 1:5 for under 5 year olds 1:10 for 6-11 year olds 1:15 for 12 16 year olds 1:20 for 16 18 year olds Parking Disabled parking is available for disabled visitors. Please telephone the bookshop on +44 (0)20 7472 5500 to book this space. How to find us Camden Arts Centre is based in North London on the corner of Finchley Road and Arkwright Road Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG camdenartscentre.org +44 (0)20 7472 5500 Underground: Finchley Road, Hampstead Overground: Finchley Road & Frognal Bus: 13, 268, 82, 113 For more information and bookings please contact Caroline Moore caroline.moore@camdenartscentre.org / + 44 (0)207 472 5515