Mary Curtis

Mary Curtis

Mary Curtis is a New Zealand Jeweler currently lecturing at the Manukau School of Visual Arts, her work consists jewelry made from functional 3D objects with historical value. Curtis is a collector of objects, like Frances Hansen, not only is the work important but the way it is displayed is just as important as the work itself. "Stuff" was a a show Mary Curtis held that involved 70 pieces of hand made jewelry displayed inside a glass case, the pieces of jewelry were scattered in a random composition inside the case. I personally didn't see the point in making it that way at first, but when Curtis explained how the pieces are so small, it would be a great way of displaying it as one big piece. I also realized that the pieces are so small and scattered, that the display forces the viewer to move in closer and engage with the artwork more. Curtis not only has a unique way of making work, but she also thinks about every other variable when presenting it. I personally don't have much experience with presentation of work, but seeing her work and her installations make me realize how I should take installations seriously.

Personal Experience with Presentation

Coming into art school, I thought the process of making work was the most important part of art making, seeing as it was the longest process, I spent more time thinking about making art work than presenting it. During the painting brief this year, I had prepared 3 main works to display for my final, preparing the work was difficult enough, making 3 main works and preparing experimental works to support those works was time consuming, my thoughts were knowing that I had finished, I wouldn't have to worry about anything else but hanging my works up on the wall before the due time. However, hanging the works up was not the only thing I had to worry about, Frances Hansen advised me to think hard about how my works should be displayed. First off, I had to decide which was my strongest piece and second, how would i present these as works that show development over time. This took me a good 2 hours of thinking, but i eventually came to a conclusion and presented my work with a linear composition, showing my strongest work at the top, and the bottom two as my supporting pieces. The experiments were placed in an order according to the time they were made, the earlier pieces on the bottom, and the latest pieces on the top. I thought this was a good way of presenting my work and showing how they developed over time.