Friday, 31 January 2014

Professional Practice: Lee Corner

To get us prepared for the 3M Buckley Centre visit on the 4th February 2014, our professional practice lecturer Lee Corner gave us some encouraging and helpful advice.

First of all, we were introduced to the Commission Checklist and discussed some possibilities that we might have to consider when communicating with a commissioner:

- Can't guarantee the client is the commissioner.
- Danger of chinese whispers (things could get mis-communicated)
- Ethos of building- what goes on? what are their values?
- 3M- ecofriendly, contemporary, growth, business.
- Find out their limits.
- What if personal ethos doesn't match clients ethos?

After much discussion, the whole class came up with a final Commission Checklist to consider when we go to the building:

  • Space and lighting
  • Fit to colour scheme
  • Limits? Open-minded? Appropriate!
  • Funding for resources- time/ money/ people
  • Inside/ Outside
  • What kind of people work there?
  • Health and Safety- practicalities
  • How many pieces do they want? Can we create multiple works?
  • Size of work?
  • Accessibility? Are we curating it?
  • Long lasting materials? How long will it be up for?
  • Collaborations?

We also decided on some questions to ask while we were there, and also things to look out for:

Questions (Don't ask questions you can research- show interest)


  • Previous art work? Consider reaction/ repetition
  • Are projections allowed?
  • Size restrictions?
  • After initial ideas, can we check health and safety?
  • Will they or us be doing risk assessments?
  • Interests? 
  • How many works are they expecting?
  • How many sites are available?
  • How do we keep in touch? Invite them to the studio.
  • When can we access the building? Curation?
  • How long is the work up for?
  • Who views it? Can anyone say no? Who is it?
Look Out For

  • Colour
  • Lighting
  • Space
  • Style
  • Windows
  • Existing objects
  • Shapes
  • Surfaces
  • How it's used- who? How?
  • Facilities
  • Temperature
  • Mood; feel of building
  • Context
  • Workers
  • Noise- bleeding

With all these things in mind I feel prepared to visit the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre and take plenty of notes. A post will follow once the visit has been completed.










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