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Artist, curator and former visual arts coordinator at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts (BOPA), Gary Kachadourian has curated another large group show – that is, as large of a show he could manage within a 225-inch space. Currently on view in the Minstallation Gallery at the Creative Alliance, the Forum of 40 Champions is an exhibition inspired by the vast Gaming world of Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, and World of Warcraft.  Here, each artist was asked to create their own warrior.  Kachadourian has brought together 40 artists from diverse backgrounds in an exploration of imagination and fantasy.  According to Kachadourian, The idea for the show and its location “evolved together.” What started as a conversation between the curator and artistic director R.L. Tillman about “what he would do,” proves to be an exuberant and lively way to say adieu to this innovative art space.

Radar Redux: Can you tell me a little bit about the selection process for Forum of 40 Champions, were the artists selected first, or did they have to propose a champion in order to be included in the show?

Gary Kachadourian: I wrote up the premise for the exhibition, got the okay to go ahead from the curator of the Minstallation Gallery and I invited the artists to be in the exhibition.  Once they accepted they could do what they wanted as long as it fit the basic parameters.  I like it best to work this way.  It allows the artist to be spontaneous.  Below is what I sent each artist.

Dear ____, would you be interested in doing a piece for an exhibition I am organizing? Below is a description of the exhibition.

Forum of 40 Champions

Forty champions, each possessing a special power, have been invited to create a warrior to enter the Minstallation Gallery and face the special powers of their peers.  Participants will create their warriors to occupy a 2 x 2 inch hexagon of space, flying included.  Participants may use existing gaming stands and modify figurines from any of the gaming and fantasy products or may create their own using Sculpy or similar modeling materials.  D&D 29 sided dice and Warhammer 40,000 measuring sticks will be provided.  Gaming rules, gaming cards and booklet will be developed during the course of the exhibition.

NOTE:The gaming part is something that may be discussed and experimented with after the show opens.  Once we see what all of the characters are we may have sessions to discuss how they can be integrated into some form of game and maybe a booklet or game cards to go with it.

Scale
A figure that resembles human size should be about 1 ¼ inch tall.  Figures, of course can be larger than this but should stay in the 2×2 inch hexagon.  It is possible that your figure can extend beyond this size but please contact me before doing so.  Ceiling height for the Minstallation gallery is 14 inches so figures can not be taller than that.  Total floorspace is 16×16 inches so all of the figures will be in very close proximity.

Participants
The final list of participants is currently being compiled.

Curator
Gary Kachadourian

Installation and Logo Design: Eamon Espey
Sound By: Witch Hat
Minstallation Gallery
http://minstallation.blogspot.com/
Located at the Creative Alliance, Baltimore
Date; Feb 26 – April 10, 2010

RR: This show is the last of the Minstallation Gallery, a gallery that consists of a meager 225 square inches. How was working with such a small space and do you think it has been successful as an art space?

GK: I think it’s been an excellent space.  R. L. Tillman thought up a smart way to be a curator/gallery director without the massive overhead that a life sized space requires.  Over the course of the space’s existence three of my favorite installations have occurred there, Geoff Grace’s highway billboard slide piece, Post Typography’s transmittal machine and Matt McConville’s (check spelling) model of a sculpture studio with attached story.  I’m sorry to see it end.

RR: In your own artwork, you create life-sized images from small-scale drawings.  How does this current show relate to your own ideas about art as mimesis, and the role of art in fantasy v. reality?

GK: I’m a fan of the scale model/miniature and have been infatuated with this from my earliest youth.  It definitely informs my art and in the case of this show informed my curatorial process.  That said the show was also about just the observation of this vast fantasy and gaming network (including video games) that exists.  This is something that really grew after my age group (I was more WWII army men, airplanes and ships, I was young before Vietnam went wrong).  In exhibitions like this I just try to find a root idea/process that brings artists with often very different sensibilities together.

RR:  From your experience as both artist and curator, how do the two compare?

GK: They feed each other; they are similar on many levels. Curating helps create stuff you’d like to do but aren’t good at. It is a process of art from an outsider perspective. The difference between artist/curator and an art historian curator is that it is based on emotional feeling without considering historical precedent. You curate shows you’d like to see.

RR: You are currently in the MFA program at UMBC.  As someone who is about to graduate and wants nothing more than to be out of school and into the art world, it is hard to imagine coming from your position at BOPA and deciding to go back to school. Why? And how is it going?

GK: School is great, after 22 years of doing a 9-5 job with ongoing responsibilities that never go away it’s great to be in a situation where my only real worry is my work.

RR: Finally, who is your favorite champion in the forum? What would your champion’s powers be?

GK: My favorite power was “fanciness”.   I can’t pick one favorite warrior from what’s in there.  There are too many I like and my favorites change each time I think about it.

Creative Alliance at the Patterson
3134 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224