THE JOY OF SHOPPING - DISTURBED?

After perusing the images of the Gallery Shop of the Art Gallery of NSW ‘installation’ by Akin Atelier, see - https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2023/04/visualizing-beauty-gallery-shop.html, one is prompted to wonder about the bookshop/shop experience. On entering a bookshop/shop, one becomes involved in another field of impression/expression; different feelings arise as one brings not only eyes that seek, but an arising intrigue that inquires, searches, and relates; this being so whether one is fronting either a book or an object. There is an outgoing quality involved in this circumstance that is alert with an array of receptors and hopeful expectations. Attention is given to the things on display, presenting a seeking/observant attitude with a certain casual openness- a willingness to see, to accept, and to assess: a wanting to, revealed in a keenness to explore. There is a latent excitement here that becomes sensed as the joy of place, that is engaged with the hope of discovery, of finding something, something that has some substance/connection to one’s jigsaw of life: maybe just one more piece might be revealed - by happenstance; or might it be synchronicity?

There is a stark difference between the gallery experience and the shop experience. In the gallery, life seeks substance; a subtle, enriching experience that involves a quiet knowing/ gentle revelations. Things in the shop are considered differently: they can be touched, fondled, investigated; they can take the core of one’s attention beyond the gallery’s formal, observation/appreciation – its objectively controlled, deliberate self-consciousness. In the shop, one peruses with a particular interest; investigates in different relaxed ways, while attending to/caring about the things on display alone, rather than their surrounds. The books and other things offered here become what the shop is about, not the shelves or the concept of their forming/making.

So one has to wonder about promotion of the 'installation;' and to be concerned with the translucence of this fit-out that has become the heart of the idea that gives a dominant backlight glow to the display, that, no matter how mysterious or glorious it might be, creates a contrast that silhouettes rather than illuminates the centre of attention: the items for sale. The brightly fuzzed surface of the ‘experimental’ shelving system establishes a glowing plane, a demanding surface that distracts. Glass does this differently with less certainty as ad hoc reflections and glare spots disrupt contemplation: it is a common gallery problem – see: https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2014/02/reflections-and-shadows-california-here.html; but this place is about sales; it is an ‘installation’ that aims to sell, rather than being an assemblage for perusal and admiration as an artwork itself, even though it might claim to be an ‘immersive first-of-its-kind large-scale resin’ project in an art gallery. This apparent ambition to have the shop 'installation' considered for 'arty' viewing, causes one to question the gallery shop design; to wonder about its base premise/intent as explained by the architects. One does wonder why ‘the other’ curvaceous, stainless steel pieces one sees in this shop area are not mentioned or spoken about by the designer. Were these supplied by someone else? Was there not enough resin to include these as luminous adjuncts?

The question is: why not display the items on sale in the very best possible manner instead of using a slick, bespoke, translucent support that diffuses background light and fuzzes vistas to create a glowing, highlighted surround for the items being sold; forming a gleaming distraction for the core enterprise?

One can recall those exciting dark corners of antique shops and bookshops in which one has discovered a fulfilling gem when a beam of light catches a particularly fascinating form or illuminates letters on a spine that alert. There is something in the joy of shopping that is disturbed by the brilliance of dazzling, backlit displays that seem more appropriate for pretty perfume bottles, and colourfully glowing liquors where transparency is enhanced, rather than for framing the solid surfaces of ceramic bowls and books.

The role of the fabric and form of the shop should not be forgotten: it is the catalyst, not the centrepiece; the shop needs to promote and facilitate display to maximise the advantage for sales; it is not the core exhibit.

NOTE:

The detailed display images of the Gallery Shop have been extracted from the illustrations in https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2023/04/visualizing-beauty-gallery-shop.html