'Condition Report'
Various Participants at Johannesburg Art Gallery'Condition Report' is a group exhibition that offers visitors a rare opportunity to glimpse the fascinating world of curating. Produced by postgraduate students from the Curating Exhibitions course at the Wits School of Arts, the exhibition offers a series of responses to rarely seen objects from the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) collection, including German Gothic wooden sculptures, Chinese ceramic roof tiles and Indian temple figures carved in stone.
According to JAG’s contemporary art curator, Musha Neluheni, “these are the oldest objects owned by the museum. They were brought to South Africa under mysterious circumstances in the 1950s and 1960s and do not fit in with the rest of the JAG collection, which mostly comprises European and African art from the 17th century onwards”.
The student curators interrogate these objects, their position, and histories, grappling with the truths about the objects, and revealing the realities of curatorial processes that are often hidden from the audience.
'Condition Report' consists of twelve individual statements within one exhibition. It offers individual interpretations of these objects whilst at the same showcasing the students’ collective thinking in putting this show together. The displays extend to other collections within JAG, allowing the audience to view more pieces from this world-class collection.
The title, 'Condition Report', refers to the conservation and presentation aspects of a curator’s relationship with artworks. As an artwork moves from dealers to collections to exhibitions, curators make notes through “condition reports” that are used to track aspects of the physical condition of an artwork. The term also refers to the collection within which these objects have been placed for over fifty years, and the effects of the collection policy on artworks and the institution itself.
Cost: Free Entry
For more information... Megan t 011 447 6543 e megan@intotogallery.co.za
Please note: this event does not take place on the following days: 03 November, 10 November, 17 November, 24 November
29 October - 29 November
