Finishing touches in a world of making

They are so important, but can be easily overlooked, or rushed in a state of panic, driven by a time pressure, one that consumes the brain and forces an unhelpful pace of thought. I am reminded of a past moment, and how it unfolded in a positive manner..

It's May; a colleague and I have arrived in a studio. A basement room, pretty hot due to a brief spell of what I now refer to as Season 1 COVID weather, when the first UK lockdown started and we had a peculiar societal blend of horrific information, furlow for many, and so much sun that the garden became for me, my natural habitat. I was lucky.

We are here to help with hanging work for a student's degree show. A wall hanging that has received embroidery, and 3 panels stretched with latex and then worked over with text. Even though we are here to help present the work in the best way possible with available time and resources, I don't give too much to looking at it in these moments, or attempt to decipher any meaning. Although it would be revealing and probably open a philosophical dialogue, these conversations fail to recognise the subtext, hidden slightly below the surface of a sweltering day, with a deadline looming for the artist. 

The work is on the floor in neat piles, waiting for the attention of technical staff. It is hoped that they have a neat solution, one that will display it in the best light. We have a plan. The student presents as gentle, endearing and very appreciative of the help that they have not yet received. I sense a slight nervousness, lightly dressed with pre gratitude. Subtext.

The trick is to put as much decision making in the students hands, without overwhelming them. A successful approach allows them to control what is happening, in a meaningful and positive manner. If I was helping my partner's daughter get dressed, I’d say, ‘you choose the colour of socks you want, and I’ll help you put them on’.

And so we start. Tell us about your vision here. Don’t be concerned with how that will be achieved, just with what you want. Write the shopping list, we will help you navigate the Isles of Costa Del Lidl. Firstly, do you have a sense of where the images will sit on the wall? Are they spaced equidistantly or arbitrarily? And now we have all the info we need in order to put all minds involved in the same ballpark.

Now the fine tuning. There are some things that are commonly shared amongst people, in general. Most have two hands, all of us feel the weight of atoms in our muscles, and if we hold an object in our hands, our perspective of it is limited by the length of the arms and so, our judgement. Some aesthetic judgements require more than one person if they are to be made helpfully. Sometimes you need the help of more than one pair of hands.

This is not always automatically asked for. There are many reasons for this, little nuances that exist within the interactions between people. So we offer the help, and structure it in order that everyone is doing the correct job. My colleague and I don’t need to decide on the precise position of the work, so I don’t need to see it. We stand by the wall and offer the work up in an approximate position. Between the 2 of us it's manageable. We could stand there for 10 minutes if need be, but we won’t need to. 

‘Ok Bruce, help us here. Tell us to move the work left, right, up, down. (Simple language, simple instructions). Take your time, give it a minute, this bit is important, really important, and you should take a bit of time over this decision. I’m not saying that we are at your beck and call, but don’t be afraid to guide us. That is your role here, and do exercise it. Remember, you have a vision. Communicate it.’

I think that it’s about offering reassurance within a helpful framework. Education refers to this as ‘managing expectations’. Keep the student in control, but make sure their road sets them up to succeed, rather than trip over in a relentless stumble of frustration and anxiety. 

So I am thinking about how we modify this approach, and apply it to conversations we have with our clients? How can we help them, help us, so we can help them? We listen, we suggest, we guide, and it's all done softly. No hard sell here. In this way, everyone is happy, and has a nice time on the way to getting what they want!