Rmit Gallery Education Kit

RMIT GALLERY EDUCATION KIT

MasterMakers 6 September – 9 November 2019 RMIT Gallery

Since the 1980s, leading Australian and international Gold and Silversmithing artists have delivered and participated in masterclasses in the RMIT School of Art which has had a profound impact on the training of the craft in Australia.

This major exhibition explores the masterclass legacy, showcasing both recent works of the visiting ‘master makers’ and work produced at the master classes, as well as recording the cultural, artistic and technical shift in contemporary jewellery and object.

Featuring beautiful handmade work, intricate detailing and an incredible array of materials and unsual combinations, MasterMakers is a celebration of skill and devotion.

Curator: Mark Edgoose Featuring artists:

Ruby Aitchison, Helen Aitken-Kuhnen, Robert Baines, Nicholas Bastin, Peter Bauhuis, Dianne Beevers, Doris Betz, Renee Bevan, David Bielander, Julie Blyfield, Zoe Brand, Helen Britton, Sue Buchanan, Melissa Cameron, Bifei Cao, Pamela Chan, Yu Fang Chi, David Clarke, Anna Clynes, Katie Collins, Conversation Piece (Beatrice Brovia & Nicholas Cheng), Anna Davern, Helen Dilkes, Bin Dixon-Ward, Joungmee Do, Mark Edgoose, Sian Edwards, Ian Ferguson, Karl Fritsch, Emi Fukuda, Eli Giannini, Kiko Gianocca, Allona Goren, Rowena Gough, Wayne Guest, Caz Guiney, Marcos Guzman, Mary Hackett, Kirsten Haydon, Peter Hoogeboom, Marian Hosking, Katherine Hubble, Linda Hughes, David Huycke, Naoko Inuzuka, Kazuhiro Itoh, Nicole Jacquard, Tassia Joannides, Cara Johnson, Hermann Jünger, Jiro Kamata, Jung-Hoo Kim, Inari Kiuru, Wendy Korol, Daniel Kruger, Otto Künzli, Andrew Last, Benjamin Lignel, Sue Lorraine, Carlier Makigawa, Stefano Marchetti, Marion Marshall, Chris Massey, Claire McArdle, Kelly McDonald, Lindy McSwan Sam Mertens, Karl Millard, Yutaka Minegishi, Marc Monzó, Shelley Norton, Michaela Pegum, Jana Roman, Lucy Sarneel, Elise Sheehan, Debbie Sheezel, Bettina Speckner, Michelle Stewart, Leah Teschendorff, Elizabeth Turrell, Renée Ugazio, Manon van Kouswijk, Michael Wong and Aurelia Yeomans.

MasterMakers Curator’s Statement Mark Edgoose

Curator Mark Edgoose during the MasterMakers installation

The evolution of the RMIT Gold and Silversmithing masterclass has been one of shared experiences; a hands-on, immersive encounter working with experts to facilitate knowledge through collaborative investigations. The master classes are where makers learn new ideas and strategies of working from fellow makers. For many, this has been a transformative experience revealing new ways of thinking and enabling new practices to materialise.

Through the evolution of divergent masterclasses strong networks have been formed. In addition to encountering new skills, methodologies of working and testing new technologies, practitioners have spent many hours shaping ideas with others. Strong international friendships with contemporary jewellery makers, galleries and engagement with collectors have been forged.

Closer to home RMIT has been the anchor research institution which has clustered with other organisations, notably Gallery Funaki and the NGV. With that comes exhibitions, collectors, conferences and seminars. The fact the masterclasses make the work real and tangible firms up all these activities and supports Melbourne as a leading centre for contemporary jewellery and object making.

In the front gallery we obverse some of the context and thinking that takes place in the masterclass. The evolution of process is an essential ingredient to the outcome of the work and situates the masterclass as an enabler for the makers to define their practice and the world around them.

MasterMakers celebrates a commitment to and passion for craft and the consequences of technique resonates from the work of these masterful makers.

MasterMakers Public Programs @ RMIT Gallery

Friday 6 September 12.30 – 1.30 pm Curator’s Floor talk With Mark Edgoose

Tuesday 10 September 12.30-1.30 pm Mentoring: Process & Outcomes Yu Fang Chi (curator) & Kate Rhodes (RMIT Design Hub)

Thursday 19 September 5.30-6.30 pm Making is Knowing Convenor Prof Kit Wise, Dean, RMIT School of Art With artists Eli Giannini, Tassia Joannides & Prof Michael Trudgeon RMIT, Design Director Crowd Productions

Friday 4 October 12.30-1.30 pm Artist reflection With Bin Dixon-Ward, Nicholas Bastin & Marian Hosking

Tuesday 8 October 11- 12 noon Skills, designs & creativity With Mark Edgoose

Thursday 31 October 5.30-6.30 pm Coveted relationships: the collector & the jeweller Convenor: Katie Scott (Director Gallery Funaki)

Event @ Site 8 Gallery, RMIT School of Art Bld 2 Lv 2, Bowen Street (off Latrobe St) Tuesday 8 October 4.00 – 5.00 pm ‘Formosa on My Mind’ Master Class Floor Talk Prof I-Ying Chiang (Beatrice) National Tsing Hua University & Prof Robert Baines, Emeritus Professor, RMIT University

Caption: Bin Dixon-Ward 2012, Double Tumble Ring and Tumble Ring, Nylon, Acrylic Paint, Photo Jeremy Dillon

MEDIA RELEASE MasterMakers celebrates skills and originality in contemporary jewellery

Lucy Sarneel (Netherlands) Starry Sky Limousine Drive, 2013 Zinc, acrylic paint, varnish, lapis lazuli, wood and nylon thread.

A bold, unexpected and daring exhibition of contemporary jewellery that charts four decades of Gold and Silversmithing masterclasses run by RMIT’s School of Art will dazzle at RMIT Gallery from 6 September.

The 84 artists in MasterMakers have either taught a masterclass or have attended one of the workshops. The 200 extraordinary works on display reveal the influence of three generations of boundary pushing which test our understanding of contemporary gold and silversmithing in new and unexpected ways.

From taxidermy to textiles, 3-D printing to recycled materials, as well as unusual combinations of precious metals, MasterMakers celebrates the intricacies of the handmade, the importance of ideas and the mastery of skills and techniques.

Starting in an era before digital communication, social media and the ubiquitous Instagram feed, the persistent regularity of RMIT’s masterclass workshop series since the 1980s and the international standing of the Gold and Silversmithing Studio at RMIT has brought jewellers, students and practitioners in contact with leading makers from around the world.

Lead by practitioners from a remarkably diverse range of backgrounds, genders and identities, the intense, in-depth, and often immersive experience of working with experts has been transformative for generations of students. The workshops offered participants a steady succession of makers from the UK, USA, Japan, the Netherlands and Germany, such as influential jeweller Lucy Sarneel from The Netherlands whose distinctive use of fabricated zinc is inspired by her local architecture.

According to curator and lecturer Mark Edgoose the workshops had a profound impact on the training of the craft in Australia, fostering international contact and communication, and leading to the sharing of skills, methods and philosophies of making. He recalls Melbourne jeweller Bin Dixon-Ward first learning 3-D printing in a workshop run by American artist Nicole Jacquard in 2010.

“The masterclasses enabled new ways of working and thinking about the possibilities of contemporary jewellery, especially at a time when ideas were primarily disseminated via books and magazines and international travel wasn’t commonplace,” Edgoose said.

“They also helped build a community of makers as the workshops were not part of the teaching program and were open to both practicing jewellers and students, so the influence and impact was widespread.”

MasterMakers showcases both recent work of the ‘master’ makers who taught the workshops over the decades, as well as work they produced at the masterclasses, alongside recent work by those who participated in the workshops.

A complementary exhibition Insistent. Gestures curated by Taiwan-born jewellery artist Yu Fang Chi, an RMIT PhD graduate, will also be exhibited at RMIT Gallery alongside MasterMakers. The result of an early career curator mentorship program offered by the Melbourne Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennial Radiant Pavilion, the exhibition brings together the exquisitely detailed work of five artists who live, work or were born in Asia.

What: MasterMakers and Insistent. Gestures When: 6 September – 9 November 2019 Where: RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne Opening Night: Thursday 5 September 6-8 pm Opening Speaker: Virginia Trioli, journalist, author, radio and television presenter Website: https://www.rmit.edu.au/events/all-events/exhibitions/2019/september/master makers

From trash to treasure: inside the Master Class

Nicholas Bastin in the studio, and (left) Nicholas Bastin, Pink Egg (detail), 2013. 18ct gold, polyurethane resin, BioResin, wood, collected plastic object, nylon thread. 515 x 90 x 55mm. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Jeremy Dillon

What makes a masterclass so potentially life changing for creative practitioners is the exposure to new skills, ideas, ways of thinking and an opening up of cultural aesthetics. That was certainly the case for RMIT lecturer Dr Nicholas Bastin, whose artwork reveals the legacy of a week-long RMIT workshop in the mid-1990s with acclaimed Japanese jeweller Kazuhiro Itoh.

Bastin is an artist who makes jewellery objects and works on paper, based on the fusion of popular culture mythology with historical artefact. He has a BA, Fine Art (Honours) MA, Fine Art and Phd from RMIT University.

Itoh (who died in 1997) was a lecturer at the Hiko Mizuno College of Jewellery in Tokyo when he conducted a masterclass at RMIT School of Art’s influential Gold and Silversmithing masterclasses.

A bold new exhibition of contemporary jewellery that charts four decades of these masterclasses will dazzle at RMIT Gallery from 6 September. A large necklace by Nicholas Bastin on display reveals the enduring legacy of that encounter.

The 200 extraordinary works on display in MasterMakers reveals the influence of three generations of boundary pushing by visiting master makers, which test our understanding of contemporary gold and silversmithing in new and unexpected ways.

Astute observers will note Bastin’s necklace features a large round egg – it is a plastic vending machine trophy, prized by pop culture aficionados because of its rarity (pink is an unusual color for the plastic eggs popular in Japanese vending machines).

“I always had an interest in Japan but didn’t get to go there until I got an Australia Council residency in Tokyo in 2004,” Bastin said. “The workshop with Itoh opened my eyes to a new way of looking at combining precious and non-precious materials and utilising popular culture, which is something that I explored in my PhD.”

Bastin said it was Itoh’s use of found materials such as off cuts, discarded objects, and even what some regarded as rubbish that was of interest. Itoh – whose work is in major international collections such as the V & A Museum in London, played with the inherent qualities of the material that existed outside societal value.

“To prepare for the workshop we had to collect boxes of rubbish and I actually found it a real challenge because Itoh’s approach was so different from ways I had been used to working and thinking as an artist.

“In fact, I felt I was a failure in the workshop but happened was I came out of that masterclass with a profoundly new way of working with materials, and I realised that I enjoyed the experience because it was difficult, it challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone.”

A workshop master class is intense, with participants only having a few days to produce finished work from concept to final result, rather than the usual semester long production process in a university course.

Itoh’s master class reverberated with Bastin years later, in surprising ways. His necklace Pink Egg, on display in MasterMakers, combines the found plastic pink egg with the handmade resin beads, and the contrast of the cheap plastic egg with the precious 18 carat gold clasp.

In his upcoming exhibition Conjuring Poiesis, at Albert Street Gallery (5-14 September) with artist Katherine Bowman, Bastin continues the exploration of recycled materials and combinations of precious and non-precious approach in his artwork, which takes Greek mythology as a starting point.

“I explored Japanese popular culture and super hero mythology in my PhD and this new exhibition builds on contemporary fiction in jewellery object and art making,” Bastin said.

“I am fascinated by how the superhero stories have become our modern archetypes and are bigger than ever in popular culture.”

YU FANG CHI Q & A -By Lee Pham Young career curator mentorship with Yu Fang Chi – curator of. Insistent. Gestures

photos of Yu Fang Chi and Kate Rhodes

Yu Fang Chi is a Taiwan-born jewellery artist, who currently works and lives in Melbourne. She has a PhD from RMIT University, School of Art, and is the curator of a Insistent. Gestures, a new jewellery exhibition at RMIT Gallery.

This is an independent (though concurrent) project from Master Makers, where Yu Fang gets an opportunity to undertake a mentorship program with Australian curator Kate Rhodes, from RMIT Design Hub.

Yu Fang works across different facets of jewellery practices and collaborates with diverse artistic fields; her practices involve repetitive fiber-related techniques, which can be connected to the traditional domestic art process. Her artwork has been exhibited in international institutions.

Throughout her career, Yu Fang has met different artists and has maintained these connections for many years. She has brought five of these artists who live, work or were born in Asia, together in Insistent. Gestures, to explore personal narratives, diasporic identity and the use of repetition.

“I always loved their work and feel there is a connection between these artworks’, she said, and was pleased they agreed to participate in the group exhibition.

9 Insistent.Gestures evokes ideas of determination and bodily experience in the artworks, and Yu Fang says the use of repetition is the centre core of the artist’s works in the exhibition.

1. How did you design the exhibition?

It is my intention that people could walk around and look at how the artists made the works I have placed these works on the walls, because I want them to be viewed as sculpture, and for the audience to engage with the pieces.

For instance, with artist (Kazumi Nagano) work, each strap is made of Japanese paper, weaving twisting, folding all together. Each structure has a visible line within. If you look closer, you will see all the pictures. If I put behind glass, you won't be able to see the work in depth.

With artist Cyrus Tang’s work, the artist recreated the structure of old government houses in Hong Kong in the gallery, using an infinity chamber, which you view through peep holes. Peering through these is almost like looking into the body of the building.

2. What were you trying to achieve with the exhibition design?

You can read this exhibition as a book as you walk around. I hope as the audience could see the journey of these artists and engage with their ideas. This is the reason I didn’t put any artwork in the middle of the gallery space. Instead, I put everything along the wall, as I hope people can walk around, view the work, and collect and hold the brochures of the designs.

3. What problems if any did you encounter in the curatorial process?

There are several problems that I met while designing and curating this exhibition. For example, throughout my mentorship, I worked with Kate Rhodes and we were thinking that it might be a good idea for the artists speak in their own language in their artist statements. However, even after talking to the artists, it can be difficult to get insights into aspects such as the role that repetition plays in their process.

At the beginning, I wanted to share the making process to the audience, but then I thought it is not necessary, or useful. I needed to be open-mind because the curatorial process is not only about myself, it is about how to best represent the artists’ work.

10 I do not want to use the curatorial project to only speak my language.

4. What restrictions or constraints did you have with the exhibition space at RMIT Gallery?

Oh yes! For example with Cyrus Tang’s work, her idea was to display her work in a totally dark space, which was impossible to create. Luckily, I had several discussions with the wonderful technical team, and that we use a long storage space behind the wall, where we could transfer the designs and put Tang’s work, with peep holes in the gallery space enabling them to look inside. When I designed the layout for the works, I needed to make sure that their work was a priority.

5. What restrictions or constraints did the works impose? The works were created overseas, so I needed to have insurance, shipping and so on – plus, the shipping is quite expensive! Luckily, this curatorial project was supported by Radiant Pavilion, City of Melbourne and Creative Victoria. I was extremely lucky to be selected in the mentorship program and undertook the guidance from curator Kate Rhodes. Both directors of Radiant Pavilion, Claire McArdle and Chloë Powell provided me with all the administration and promotion supports. Dr Mark Edgoose and the curator of RMIT Gallery Helen Rayment also generously help me for finding and arranging the suitable exhibition space. Without their generously support, I won’t be able to accomplish this project.

By Ly Pham, media intern, RMIT Gallery

Glossary

Allegory: The representation of abstract ideas and concepts in narrative, dramatic or pictorial form

Anodising: The coating of metal, often aluminium, with a protective surface through electrolysis. This coating can be dyed in a wide variety of colours. assemblage: Object made of unrelated things which are joined together, not necessarily buy traditional goldsmithing techniques bezel setting: The earliest method of setting stones into a piece of jewellery. The bezel is a band of metal that has been shaped into the size of the gemstone to be placed. The setting is then soldered to the piece of jewellery and the prepared stone is placed into position. backlogging: creating a dark layer on the metal surface by oxidising die-cutting: cutting shapes out of sheet material by passing through a profile made of a harder material. electroforming: a form of electroplating in which a metallic surface is built up on a non-metallic substrate by the electrolytic deposition of metal atoms within a chemical bath. enamelling: An opaque or semi-transparent glass or substance applied to a metal surface for protection or ornamental purposes. engraving: The process or art of cutting or carving a design into a hard surface. fabrication: building a form by construction, from wheels or other parts, involving soldering or mechanical fixing fly-precessing: mechanical process for forming sheet metal, using downward pressure provided by a spinning bar or “fly-wheel” forging: make or shape a metal object by heating it in a fire or furnace and hammering it fusing: is the technique of joining two or more pieces of glass by heat in a kiln gilding: is any decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold to solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt" granulation: fusing of small balls of metal onto a parent metal surface

12 kiln-worked glass: also called warm glass, is the working of glass, usually for artistic purposes, by heating it in a kiln. The processes used depend on the temperature reached and range from fusing and slumping to casting. lost wax casting: reproduction of a form, originally wax, by pouring molten metal into a mould. oxidation: development of a naturally dark surface layer on metal alloys through the action of the oxygen, by some combination of time, heat and chemicals photo-etching: etching sheet metal by applying the intended surface pattern through a light-sensitised resist planishing: flatten (sheet metal) with a smooth-faced hammer or between rollers. repoussé: a decorative technique used to form metal, hammering from the back, using shaped punches spark erosion: a manufacturing process whereby a desired shape is obtained by using electrical discharges (sparks). The process depends upon the tool and work piece not making actual contact. spinning: turning sheet metal into hollow forms by forcing over a wooden metal or nylon shape called a chuck, while rotating it at high speed in a lathe white-cooked silver : chemical process, involving submersion metal in hot acid solution which causes the surface of silver to retain a matt white appearance wrought: refers to metals which are beaten into shape with tools.

Research by Amy (Jiajing) Wu.

Inside RMIT Gallery: Preparing for an exhibition

Intentions as a gallery space

RMIT Gallery is the University's premier exhibition space.

It presents an engaging and thought-provoking program of exhibitions and events; featuring emerging and established Australian and international artists working across visual art, new media, sonic art, design, fashion, technology and popular culture.

RMIT Gallery is committed to showcasing RMIT research outcomes and cultural stories, and to presenting exhibitions and events that are relevant to the student population and experience.

Professional roles in the gallery

RMIT Gallery has a small team of permanent staff who work collaboratively to run the gallery, maintain the RMIT art collection and provide students and the public with an engaging exhibition program. There are also casual staff, volunteers and interns that support the gallery staff in a variety of gallery operations.

Curator, Galleries

Provides leadership and guidance for gallery staff, guides gallery strategy and manages the gallery budget (including sponsorship and fundraising). Provides curatorial oversight for exhibitions and plans the annual exhibition program.

Exhibitions Assistant Assists the Director to coordinate gallery programming. Manages logistics (including freight and insurance) and works with the installation manager to coordinate exhibitions. Liaises with artists to ensure that works are realised according to their vision in the exhibition context.

Curator, Collections Looks after the university’s art collection and acquires new work for the collection. Manages displays and distribution of art across the university. Manages access to the collection through exhibitions, research and online.

Engagement Manager Plans how the public and the university community can engage with the galley and the RMIT Art Collection. They coordinate the gallery’s publicity, managing public programming, social media and education tours.

Operations Coordinator Deals with the day to day management of the gallery and budget, supporting all staff to ensure exhibitions run smoothly. Manages front of house operations and coordinates volunteers and casual staff.

Exhibitions Installation Coordinator Responsible for the design and installation of exhibitions. Ensures artworks are installed safely and securely.

“Curating is 20% flair and imagination and 80% administration, collaboration and management. You need to be able to think ahead and see around corners. You cannot make a successful exhibition without the 20% but you can ruin a great idea if you cannot bring an exhibition together.” Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate London (Adrian George, The Curator’s Handbook, 2015).

Preparation and presentation of the exhibition

Lighting

We use ERCO gallery track lighting which is a flexible lighting system that allows us to add and remove lights, manipulate their positions and strengths. https://www.erco.com/products/indoor/track-system/erco-track-104/en/

OH&S issues RMIT Gallery encounters OH&S issues, but they vary depending on the exhibition and the environments. Our priority lies with the safety of the artworks and the visitors. We ensure that exhibition spaces are accessible for large groups, wheelchair users and prams; monitor low lighting levels for people with low vision, and ensure the floors are stable and dry. Some contemporary artworks have particular challenges involved, like strobe lighting, water or heat.

Temperature, humidity and pest control RMIT Gallery maintains the gallery environment at a temperature between 18-22’C. A stable temperature is very important to maintaining the condition of artworks, particularly if the works are old or in a fragile condition. We also have IPMS (Integrated Pest Management Systems) that monitors pests and hygrothermagraphs monitoring the relative humidity of the gallery spaces.

Transportation of art works We use specialist artwork transport companies to transport artworks, whether that be locally, nationally or internationally. By using specialist freight companies, we are ensured that our artworks will be cared for. These companies use humidity controlled trucks, have qualified art handlers as staff, and take extra special care of the cargo. International Art Services: https://www.iasdas.com.au/ Artwork Transport: https://www.artworktransport.com.au/ King and Wilson Essential Art Services: https://art.kingandwilson.com.au/

Storage of art works Artworks are wrapped in specialist materials (tyvek, glassine, bubble wrap) and stored so that we can rest assured that their condition is stable. Our collections storage sites are temperature controlled; the 2D works are hung on storage racks and 3D works are usually stored in crates.

Exhibition design

The exhibition design process starts with a concept development, an assessment of available space, the amount of works to be displayed, how the audiences will move

16 through the space, and the safety of the artworks and requirements such as noise isolation. The curator and exhibition coordinator work closely with the exhibition installation manager to assess the technical requirements and practical aspects of putting the exhibition concept into the

physical space. This phase assesses resources available and lighting requirements, as well as budget, visitor experience narrative and traffic flow. Considering the visitor perspective is a vital part of modern exhibition design. How people use the space is very important, making allowance for activities such as public programs which include artist talks and panel

discussions, often with large numbers of audiences who need to be accommodated comfortably and safely around the artworks.

Exhibition Design – Master Makers

Mark Edgoose in the main gallery space with the large vessel display cases during the exhibition installation.

In the MasterMakers exhibition, two enormous angled cabinets fill the main space (Gallery One) at RMIT Gallery. Curator Mark Edgoose likens these to ‘vessels containing works’ and says he was interested in presenting small works of gold and silversmithing in a non-traditional format.

“I didn’t want to have traditional showcases, but at the same time, I was conscious of the works on display needing to be protected,” Edgoose said.

The vessels have no top, but the Perspex side extend far too high for that to be a security risk. Also intriguing are the sloping angled of the two large vessels –

17 allowing works to be shown at different heights ranging from 900 to 1200 mm. Instead of the plinths being different heights, the objects are at different heights.

The large space is transformed with the dark blue walls, which provide a brooding and introspective backdrop for the objects hung on the walls, another nod to breaking with tradition. With the low lighting, the dark walls concentrate focus on the artworks.

In the small adjacent gallery (Gallery Four) the walls are blinding white, the display cases stark and enclosed. It is a more traditional space, but also a contrasting one. Edgoose explains he intended this space to be a ‘breather’ and visual contrast to the dark main space, but also had to abide by the protocols of the lending institution from which many of the works were borrowed.

The front gallery space (Gallery 2) is devoted to context and thinking, taking viewers into the essence of what a master class is. Here, drawings, photographs, quotes from the artists and many models created in the workshops are displayed. “This room is all about the thinking and the doing that goes into the works,” Edgoose said.

Conservation and Preservation RMIT Gallery works to international museum standards of best practice. All our artworks are stored in specially designed artwork storage spaces and are handled by trained technicians. If an artwork needs repairs or conservation, we will send it to a conservation specialist. https://commercial.unimelb.edu.au/gccmc-conservation-services King and Wilson Essential Art Services: https://art.kingandwilson.com.au/

Exhibition promotion RMIT Gallery utilises owned, earned, bought and shared media across all platforms – print/ digital/online Owned – our own rmitgallery.com website; RMIT Gallery university website; RMIT Gallery, YouTube Channel, RMIT Gallery soundcloud; EDMs (Electronic Direct Mailouts); printed invitations and public program list on postcards distributed around tourism and cultural venues by DrawCard. Earned – response from media via sending out media releases, approach to media and reviewers Bought – paid advertising in art magazines, online listings, radio ads Shared media – active in social media: Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn