Curator's Tour for Courtauld Alumni
Posted by admin | 30th January 2013
Last week, Alumni from the Courtauld Institute of Art were treated to a curatorial tour of current exhibition, 'Judy Chicago and Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick, Tracey Emin: A Transatlantic Dialogue', led by curator and fellow Courtauld Alumnus, Rachel Dickson. Here, recent graduate, Rosie Wardle shares her experience of the exhibition.
Arriving at the gallery for the tour, I did not know what to expect from the exhibition. I was unfamiliar with Judy Chicago’s oeuvre aside from her renowned work The Dinner Party, the installation that, for many people, Chicago’s name immediately brings to mind. As Ben Uri curator Rachel Dickson guided the group through the gallery, I was immediately struck by the intimate and personal nature of the work, and by the varied media and techniques employed by Chicago, from photography to embroidery. The smaller scale of the works selected for the exhibition were a contrast to the large installation work for which Chicago is best known, and combine to create a fascinating survey of her work.
A highlight of the exhibition for me is Autobiography of a Year (1993-4). I found this to be the most revealing insight into Chicago and her art, and the piece was also fascinating from a curatorial perspective. A visual diary of 140 drawings which cover the walls of an entire room in the basement gallery space; the viewer is physically submerged within the work upon entering the room. The drawings are arranged chronologically in a long spiral across the walls. Rachel explained that this was the first time that the piece has been displayed in the UK, and furthermore the first time it has been displayed like this; in its two previous US showings it was arranged in a linear format. By displaying the piece as an almost 360 degree installation, Rachel wished to create a “wholly immersive experience” where the work entirely surrounds the viewer. Seeing the work displayed in this way for the first time, Chicago was apparently so taken with it that she would consider this format for its future exhibition.
Loosely sketched and combining image and text, the drawings themselves are a personal and emotionally frank portrayal of a year. The visual narration of the year begins in June, with a colour-code of 10 emotions, from ‘happy’ to ‘suicidal’, helping the viewer to better understand each drawing. Looking closer at the content of the work, it becomes clear that this was a traumatic year for Chicago. Anxiety over the reception of The Holocaust Project, the culmination of eight years’ work, is a major aspect within the piece. A drawing dated November 1993 states “The hardest part was having people say: You can’t draw”. Moments of deep self-doubt and frustration are portrayed: “What is the color of desperate?”…“What color is the void of traveling / lecturing / promoting / defending”.
There are also moments of positivity and wry humour in the work; her love for her cats is highlighted, with Chicago stating in one drawing “Basically she preferred her cats to most people”. Cats are indeed a recurring subject throughout the exhibition, with works such as Caterotica and Self Portrait as my Six Cats (both 1999). Her husband, photographer Donald Woodman, is also a prominent figure in the piece and Chicago’s relationship with him is explored further in other works such as My Accident (1986).
The overall impression of Chicago’s year is a turbulent one, with many of the images heavily coloured in grey and black, indicating depressive and suicidal thoughts. The curation of the piece certainly serves to heighten the emotions portrayed, the enclosed space intensifying the viewer’s experience. Autobiography of a Year is just one example of the diverse selection of Chicago’s work on display at the Ben Uri. I would highly recommend for anyone who hasn’t yet visited the exhibition to do so before it closes on March 10th. It is a rare chance to see a collection of fascinating and intimate Judy Chicago works exhibited in the UK.
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