Phantoms of Asia: Bits and Pieces

One of the challenges of contemporary art is that artworks may be created for a particular space or a particular time. As a result, instead of shipping finished artwork from studio to museum, for the exhibition Phantoms of Asia we have found ourselves moving around a lot of bits and pieces for artworks that won’t be fully realized until the final installation.

Adeela Suleman, Untitled 1 (Peacock with Missiles) with added elements, 2011. Ink on paper. © Adeela Suleman. Courtesy of the artist and Aicon Gallery. Sketch of work to be installed for Phantoms of Asia.

This is readily apparent for site specific installations, such as Sun K. Kwak’s masking tape drawings. But even works that look ready-to-hang may not be.  For example, Jakkai Siributr’s Karma Kash & Carry is assembled from existing materials but also includes elements that the artist must create on-site during the installation. We don’t exactly know what the complete work will look like.

Materials for Jakkai Siributr, Karma Cash & Carry (2010) are inspected in advance of the artist’s arrival.

This results in a dynamic relationship. Museum  curatorial and preparation staff have to work in concert with the artist to make sure that we communicate the artist’s vision while remaining aware of how our gallery spaces work.

Exhibition Designer Marco Centin inspects images for lightboxes being made for Poklong Anading, Anonymity, 2008-2011 (ongoing project), a series of nine lightboxes with black and white Duratrans prints.

For example, a number of works in the exhibition are digital in nature and require lightboxes, screens, or other built viewing spaces.  In producing these spaces, artistic intent meets mundane concerns — can we get the right light bulbs? Are the electrical plugs in the right place? Is the color just right?

Components for Ringo Bunoan, Passage: The Blanket Project, 2007, ready to be painted in the museum prep shop.