Abstract
The wardrobe is an intimate space, a place where we build our identities through the layers of clothing we choose in the morning that reflect what we take into the world that day. Likewise, the artist’s studio is an intimate space, where an artists’ identities take shape through a blend of influences—life experience, artistic practice and technical skills, and intentions for social or environmental action. In this participatory research project, the researchers/curators enter the studio spaces of five artists, who identify as women and lean into forms of feminism, socially engaged participation, and action. During the studio visits, the researchers offered their assistance in the studio with whatever the artists needed and engaged in deep conversations about life, work, identity. The research approach was a form of phenomenology called reflective lifeworld (Dalhberg, Dalberg, & Nyström, 2008), which encourages multifaceted listening, responding, and relationship building. This paper describes the steps of the methodology and how reflective lifeworld phenomenology may offer a path for reimaging feminist curation. Emergences of feminist curation themes were captured through two analysis approaches. One relied on the researcher/artist interactions in the studio spaces through conversation and participant observation. The second involved the researcher curators’ own artistic practices as forms of analysis—called curatorial fieldnotes through mixed media, letterpress, bookmaking, and weaving. This paper features initial research analysis and findings from an upcoming book and rethinking how the studio can be incorporated in exhibition spaces in art museums; thereby, encouraging visitors to enter the artist’s wardrobe.
Presenters
Ann Rowson LoveAssociate Professor, Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation, and Liaison to The Ringling, Department of Art Education, Florida State University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Lifeworld Phenomenology, Feminist Curation, Arts-Informed Analysis, Studio in Exhibitions
