If You Could: Collaborate
A visit to the If You Could: Collaborate exhibition leaves visitors buzzing with ideas and excitement about what happens when creative minds get together. Alex Bec and Will Hudson of If You Could invited 33 creatives to collaborate with someone of their choice, giving them 12 months to develop a final piece. The brief was completely open so the curators had no idea what the outcomes might be.
On first impressions, the pieces in the exhibition seem to be un-related. There are no visual or obvious themes running throughout. But with a little time, the connection becomes more apparent. There is a real depth and mystique to each piece, created by knowing that there was more than one individual behind it. You find yourself stopping to imagine the conversations, the disagreements and the laughter that put each piece together.
And for the creatives, the final product is just a small part of a larger process. They’ve had the opportunity to think about what they can do, and how much further they can stretch their practice by getting together with someone else. They’ve been encouraged to be critical of themselves and each other, and think outside their usual realm of what is creatively possible.
Calligraffiti: Craig Ward/Sean Freeman/Alison Carmichael
There are the collaborations which provide a solution: Fred Butler/No Days Off’s campaign for an 8-day week, BCMH/Smith & Weightman’s alternative currency, and Praline/The Model Shop’s new font based on architectural shapes. There’s the conceptual and abstract, where you’re keen to be let in on the ‘secret’ between the collaborators, or at least part of the conversation – when did Job Wouters/Roel Wouters decide what to wear for their film about numbers and the Rainbow spray-painting machine?!
Some collaborations are more practical, where artists chose to combine their specific technical skills: the illustrative Rob Ryan/Michael Marriott chair, Sam Messenger/Bart Long’s abstract canvas in vinyl and timber, and Jim Stoten/Andy Rementer’s series of illustrations. And then there are the collaborations where it looks like a whole lot of fun was had developing the ideas: With Associates/Anthony Dickens interactive timepiece, Chrissie MacDonald/Marie O’Connor playful figures in wood and scrap material, and Karlssonwilkier/FrankDeRose music track (this is BRILLIANT!). Details of all 33 collaborations can be found here.
The exhibition catalogue (available for £15) includes interviews with all the creatives and looks at the collaboration processes in detail (interesting to know that the most common challenge for the collaborators was managing their time). The exhibition runs until 23 January, and it’s an essential visit if you want clear examples of the potential of creative collaboration.
www.ifyoucould.co.uk/collaborate
January 17 2010 02:42 pm | Collaborators and Creativity and Examples and Teams
