The show in the Camberwell Space is called Thingness: The Collection. It presents a curated selection of the Camberwell Collection. Objects that originate from a circulating collection used by the London County Council, later the ILEA for educational purposes and circulated in schools between 1951 - 1976. The catalogue has some interesting starting points to consider around the meaning of materiality and my interest at the moment in how objects hold the history of their use and the people who worked with them.
After lunch it was time to consider the role of the catalogue both as an object at this moment in our history and specifically its role within the final show - as ever it was interesting to present all the catalogues that have emerged from the course since 1986 onwards and to spend time discussing the politics, intentions and desires of the particular groups and to examine the narratives that explain why the catalogue looks like it does. For me its also about remembering the conversations and people who made the work, how they have taught me so many things over the years and to think about where they are now. The catalogue as an idea still has a particular meaning for the students of Book Art and their understanding of the physical object in relationship to the role and function of the on-line digital 'catalogue'.
Managed to see Matthew Derbyshire at The Bloomberg Space - a fascinating commentary on museology beautifully crafted and presented. I must of been communicating something today as I was presented by religious material on 3 different occasions - my favourite to add to my collection.
