We Used to Think It Was Fine

November 13th, 2015

Operating out of a space that is not fully our own, Postcrypt Art Gallery consistently faces various physical limitations. Our shows, located in the basement of St. Paul’s chapel, have therefore typically adhered to the standard exhibition model implied by the chapel’s official rules for the gallery.

Perhaps these constraints, along with the conventional modes of displaying art in the “white cube gallery” setting, have resulted in different layers of complacency in the act of viewing an artwork. The painting rests too comfortably on the wall; the object is static on the white podium. The viewer knows of these existing contexts and passes by without challenging why it exists the way it exists.

As of now, the official restrictions are, as follows:
All artwork should be properly secured to the wall.
All artwork not secure to the wall will be discarded after 24 hours.
All artwork left on the wall must be covered by the curtains.
All artwork cannot use the curtains in their mode of display.
No nails, no amplified sound, no balloons, no cheese, no beer.

The accumulation of these works in the gallery would result in activating the passive viewer by bringing a heightened consciousness to the act of viewing.

postcrypt art gallery

We Used to Think It Was Fine

Gallery