Titles

Quoted text begins.question - How then do you label them in an exhibition? Do you use
'untitled' for every piece? And if so, how do you differentiate between
pieces?
End of quote.

I use a numbering system based on completion date. ie. the
piece I am currently working on will be form 204 or 304
depending on what month I finish.

Quoted text begins.thought - Many viewers are lazy, and will not make the effort to study a
piece in depth if there is no obvious 'way in' to the piece via a title.
End of quote.

Well I do basically agree with this, and it was part of the point I was
trying to make. Many people today just do not want to think very much, but
rather want everything laid out in front of them. It's the result of our
multimedia, mass instant gratification culture, and is the creation of our
times. Please-- tell me what to wear, how to look, what to eat, what to
drive,where to live, how to live, how to feel, how to think-- thank you very
much.

Anyway, I do not do the gallery thing anymore, but do occassionally
participate in shows where I have had the pleasure of observing people spend
a long time contemplating and meditating on untitled pieces free to enjoy
their own experience, and the frustration of answering the question "Why do
you call it THAT?" in reference to titled pieces. As I mentioned in my
previous post, every piece has a name to me, and sometimes that name does
become part of the piece's identification. But only if the form is obviously
suggestive of the name. The more purely abstract forms are mearly my
meditations, and I prefer to let them be the same for the observor. Those
viewers who are too lazy to find their way into a piece of abstract
sculpture are not ever going to get it no matter if a piece is titled or
not.

Just my opinion, and I'm sure that it is not a majority opinion at that, but
what the hey, it's the way it works for me.

Good sculpting in 2004 everyone
John VanCamp / JVC Stoneworks
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