Conrad Armstrong
Bold Counsel
26. ledna 2009

Výstava Bold Counsel je výsledkem spolupráce Conrada Armstronga s jeho pěti přáteli. Conrad vybral několik předmětů ve svém ateliéru. Jejich seznam zaslal svým přátelům. Zároveň jim adresoval prosbu o to, jak s nimi má naložit. Dle došlých instrukcí následně postupoval. Výsledné instalace či akce dokumentoval. V samotném galeriiním prostoru prezentoval dokumentaci, korespondenci, mapku, na níž byl patrný domov adresátů prosby, a na závěr pak jeho vlastní řešení instalace předmětů.

Více a lépe autorův text:

Bold Counsel
Conrad Armstrong with Jenny Volvovski, Christopher Butler, Julia Durgee, Michael Delucia, and Douglas Campbell

This exhibition is the result of a simple process, which entailed acts of curation, creation, and execution. The stages employed in this process were as follows:
1. I made a selection of objects from my studio.
2. I sent a list of those objects to five friends.
3. My friends wrote me instructions as to what to do with the listed items.
4. I followed their instructions and documented the process.
5. I installed the original objects, the instructions, and the resulting documentation and artefacts, in this show.

Some important notes to be made:
• The objects used are things I either found on the street or had amongst my possessions. Some have personal significance, others do not. Prior to this project, I had used all of the items in temporary constructions made in my studio.
• The friends that I asked to participate are all either artists or designers working in the U.S.A. I chose these people not only because they are friends, but -importantly- because I admire their work.
• I followed the instructions to the best of my ability. However, I may not have been able to follow them to the letter for practical reasons.
• All but one friend sent me instructions. I have presented the email conversations between myself and that friend as a work in themselves.

The motivations for producing this work are as follows:
• To draw parallels between the accumulation of stuff and the accumulation of friends, and the unavoidable “curation” of both.
• To conflate the role of the artist, the curator, and the craftsperson.
• To lend monumentality to the objects selected, simply by having people with better things to do to decide their fate.
• To bring outside influence into the Czech art scene.

In terms of my previous work, I see this project as being a way of reconciling my tendency towards nostalgia with a desire to make freer, fresher work. With this frame of reference in mind, I see the selection of both objects and collaborators as nostalgic, while the unpredictability of the received instructions as a control factor. Ultimately, the work in this exhibition is both mine and not mine; a fact that I find immensely satisfying. Furthermore, in the variability of the tasks I was instructed to do, it is possible to see many different approaches to art-making, all of which I consider valid and compelling.