A few words about the proposed catalogue for “Landscapes & Livestock”, a loan exhibition from the Tennant Memorial Gallery:
As the summer looms, I’ve set a goal—several, actually—for the next Agincourt exhibit. One of them is already well underway: the catalogue for L&L. Initially, I had thought there might be forty works purportedly lent from the “Community Collection” in Agincourt. But, as the selection process proceeds, I’m reluctant to limit the number; six months ago, forty had seemed like a huge number, but it’s already grown to fifty-five or more, with several more waiting in the wings. If you should see me lugging a white ring binder around town, don’t ask. I’m likely to tell you what’s in it.
The format is simple (though I’m hardly trained as a registrar and may have overlooked important elements):
- ARTIST, Name of (with dates of birth and death, when known) [Some artists are real people; some are invented, and I’m disinclined to leave clues to which is which.]
- Title of Work [with some graphic convention to indicate whether the title is 1) known, authentic, and assigned by the artist; 2) assigned by someone other than the artist; or 3) invented by me]
- Date of the work, if known
- Medium and dimensions (in inches, height preceding width)
- Date and circumstances of the work’s acquisition by the Community Collection
- And then a more or less standard catalogue entry, including some information on the artist as well as the work’s connection to the community. You’d be surprised how much fun it’s been to imagine each work as a fragment of local history, a piece of material culture. Just remember this: some of what you may read is true; some is totally fabricated.