MA Sculpture spent the day attending exhibitions, focusing on how we were recording our experiences as a form of research. We were asked to make at least five ‘records’ at each exhibition. These records should reflect the holistic experience through notetaking, drawing, sound recording, object collection and photography.

In essence, this day was an exercise in paying attention to how we were paying attention. We needed to record with intention – an investigation that could inform our practices, not just evidence of attendance, or hoping for passive absorption of inspiration from simply being in the presence of art (of which I have occasionally been guilty). This approach led me to question not only what I was seeing but also the intention of the artist/curator/institution – what did they want me to be seeing?

It was also a useful exercise in affirming the forms of recording that were most useful to us individually – I found that I tended more towards notetaking of impressions and taking close up/detail shots whereas others preferred taking short videos or making quick sketches.

This day demonstrated the value of approaching gallery visits with the same kind of rigor that we might approach other forms of research. It allowed for an expansion in the ways we are experiencing art as viewers and getting the most out of exhibitions from a research perspective. We can carry our observations through to the presentation of our own work – what was effective, what was distracting, how were certain atmospheres achieved, etc. This is particularly important to my practice as I am looking to develop interactive elements in my work. In the setting of an exhibition, this interaction hinges upon the ways in which the work is presented, e.g. a viewer will not touch or move an artwork if they don’t know or feel they should.