LE SET VITRINE

Etienne Bernard, Antoine Marchand, Frédéric Teschner and several students

26.10. – 10.11. 2009

Following Kurt Finsten's proposal to make an exhibition in the KBH Kunsthal's shop windows, we envisioned a curatorial project engaging critical, analytical and creative skills, realizing an exhibition within an art school implied to consider a particular context. Since it was essential for us to involve the students from the beginning of the process, we decided to follow the format of a curatorial program. It allowed them to reflect on their own work while thinking about how to present it, and more generally, to learn about the question of exhibition making. This approach also engaged the question of their individual works in relation to the group, since each project had to relate to a larger theme decided during the first week of the workshop.
Due to the sometimes corroded aspect of the windows, and the potential deception linked with expectations, the students decided to use the word 'decay' and the myriad of meanings that can be associated with it, as the common theme that each of them would explore.
While such a theme could lead to some baroque realizations, we encouraged the students to think in term of an economy of means and to keep in mind historical precedents such as Minimalism and the Conceptual approaches rooted in Duchamp's invention of the Ready Made.
As curators and graphic designer, exchanging with the students forced us to reflect on our own practice and to think about how to share and transmit our expertise while creating the space for the students to find their own answers.
Etienne Bernard
Antoine Marchand
Frédéric Teschner