Getting round to writing took some time...a bit unsure as to the approach. A brief comment about the exhibition of last week at the Met Gallery, Perhaps Nothing, Perhaps Something. After a bit of thought on the experience it occured to me my main thoughts were concerned with the non physical conditions of the gallery space. By this I mean the atmosphere of the place, how this is affected by uncontrollable factors. Galleries can be quite confusing places to begin with, personally I tend to feel intimidated at times. Particularly at the Met opening, I observed the type of people who were there, typically looking creatives. It made me think about the codes of conduct people must learn for this situation. I think perhaps each Gallery can carry its own sense of space, which inadvertantly controls the behaviour of the audience, effecting their involvement. The Met Gallery space is relatively small divided by a wall in the centre, work was positioned on either side, some free standing, some mounted on plinths on the walls. People were taking up most of the space, crowded around the work, with little personal space it was difficult to appreciate. Just a thought, perhaps there is an expectation at a viewing more so at at any other time to feel as though you should be engaged in the work. An exhibition opening is an event in itself that makes us aware of being required to have some sort of experience, whether it be with the work itself or the people there. Perhaps there are too many distractions when viewing work; such as its positioning close to other work and so on. I find interesting the invasion of personal space you often feel in an exhibition setting; the sense of tension between members of the audience, you are being indirectly observed whilst you are aware of others, or maybe this is just me? This could be something to think about and a factor that could be controlled, perhaps in allowing a limited number of people in at any one time, I like the idea of work being viewed in a solitary way. Plan to visit some ongoing exhibitions in Leeds & possibly a few in Manchester over the weekend, will be interesting to observe the differences discussed.