Marina Azizyan «Little Exhibition». Catalogue
The catalogue for the «Little Exhibition» of Marina Azizyan, held at the Borey Gallery in November 2022. The catalog style was based on the idea of a design without design. The objectives were also to make a low-budget publication and to convey the «favour» of the exhibition.
A painter.
Marina Azizyan is in her workshop. Photo by M. Dmitrevsky
Marina Azizyan, as a producer artist, collaborated with the best domestic writers, directors, and balletmasters. She was involved in the production of twenty-five films, a number of which were included in the gold fund of the Russian filmmaker. She has published dozens of dramatic, ballet and opera performances in theatres in Russia. Author of graphics and paintings, works of applied art, craftsmanship (pachwork). The works are represented in private collections and numerous museums.
Exhibition
The exhibition took place at the legendary Petrenburg Gallery «Boray». The fashion method can be called salon (in Western tradition it is called «Peterburg», which creates quite interesting combinations of work among themselves.
The Little Exhibition does not have a specific theme, and it presents various ways of creative work by Petrburg artist Marina Azizyan, allowing it to be considered in its entirety.
The numbers on the walls play an important role by referring to the names of specific works and their cost. The internal numbering of the exhibit is the only numbering in the catalogue.
When we get to the exhibition, we can’t be abstracted from the interior of the gallery itself, the nuances of its surroundings, the convenience, or the inconvenience of planning.
All these elements create a «float» from the exhibition, which I think should be reflected in the catalogue.
Concept
In my work, I was inspired by the idea of «vernacular» (from lat. vernacular in the meaning of sponge speech) described by V. Creechsvok in the work «No Designer». He describes it as a design created by: (a) not designers (b) amateurs who are not necessarily in love with their business © pure artists who have taken on «unclean» applications. That’s what I thought I’d do. I wanted to create a catalogue that, in its format, would refer to the meagre visual presentation of the gallery, the day-to-day nature of the event itself, but would also capture the first feeling from the exhibition received by the visitor and document it.
Catalogue characteristics
(a) Low budget (office paper seal, standard din-format) (b) borrowed printing (type find from external presentation) © Asceticity (without complex technical and design solutions) (g) Attention to details (d) Trying to save the «fragile» from the exhibit
The format of the publication is A5 (composed in half A4). It solves one of the problems of a small budget. The grid appears only in the third part (text) and is a six-column with fields of 1 cm. The catalogue uses two types of paper, a white colour seal and an eco for everything else.
Cover
The cover is a scan of a real A4-sized poster (in photo), and the designer is unknown.
Structure
The catalogue is visually divided into three main parts: • a black and white report from an exhibition • a «Cluster stick» with selected works • a text and description part They repeat the customer’s behavior at an exhibition: first impression (discussions of the exhibition), the brightest memories (chosen works), interest and subsequent self-search (recert on the subject).
1 part
I took a picture of one piece on my mobile phone. It’s not just about the work, it’s about the atmosphere.
2 parts
The second part presents the artist ' s chosen works. Boxed white paper notebook.
As an «incoming» in the second part, the reader is given a list that clarifies the numbering of the works on the exhibition itself and in the catalogue. It’s a scan of a real pryce list found at the exhibition.
3 parts
The third part consists of three different types of text (article, interview, letter) acting as an artist ' s reviewer based on the impressions of the exhibition. Each text has its own text principle, depending on the structure.
Development of the topic
As a follow-up to the topic, there is the idea of creating a series of similar catalogues for small, little-known public Galleries, such as the Czarscosel Collection or Novicula Artis Gallery. These could be catalogues made without ordering an institution, which is part of the concept.
The covers are also covered by the actual posters of the exhibition (1 Borey Gallery, 2 Novicula Artis, 3 Czarscasel Collection)
