'This Gallery is Beneath Me'

- An excerpt from pre-show promotional material

Hi there! It's QUETZAL, founder of STOOL. It has been a wild ride since the start of this project, and it's time for a bit of a retrospective. The purpose of this blog is to:

1. 1. Give background info on the concept of the show & how it came to be
   2. Give some context to the work within the show
   3. Talk about the night itself

Having said that, let's get into it!

Conceptual Beginnings

This show was unplanned. Or rather, after seeing the 'venue' for the first time, we knew it was something special that deserved to have work within it.

In December of last year (2024) STOOL gathered to outline our plans for 2025. This included discussions about multiple conceptual focuses, the first of which we were to execute being 'Studio Vermin.' While we ended on a much more focused theme, the original concept was a lot more loose and "vibe" based. Here are our original notes:

(notes written myself)

As you can see by our minimal guidelines, this project began very differently from how it turned out! I was originally fueled by the desire to be taken seriously as an artist, as well as my general disillusionment with large art institutions. Being that STOOL is all about breaking down barriers for all artists by creating a network of multi-medium individuals, the very gate-keepy nature of these places are something we wanted to make work in opposition to.

Of course there was also the aspect of labeling ourselves as vermin, which I think for me was important in saying the quiet part out loud for how many of these institutions see anyone who is not already in their circle as inferior.

While I think the feeling behind these original notes made it through to the final show, they ended up taking a back seat to more overtly political messaging (because of how quickly things began to go downhill after a certain person returned to office). Here is more from our initial 'Vibe Board':

As well as a second vibe board that came after our initial photoshoot:

This board was a lot more precise in outlining the messaging of the show.

The Work to Make it Real

While having an art show in a drain sounded cool, we were left with a lot of obstacles in making this happen. To name a few:

1. 1. The entrance was very slim, getting things in and out would be difficult
   2. There was a very heavy swinging steel door at the entrance
   3. We would need to clean the drain, which was fairly dirty
   4. It was beyond pitch black inside
   5. The location was right next to a residential area
   6. The location was right up against a busy street
   7. The walls of the space were cement, hanging art would be difficult

Quite a lot of time and effort went into figuring out how to solve these issues, especially considering we were on a very limited DIY budget. At the inception of this project we had also not yet to brought in our two members FRANCIA and CHANCLAS, who ended up being just as vital in providing solutions to gallery issues as they were making artwork. 

We ended up using ratchet straps to hold the gate open the day of, and cleaned / swept the drain to make it more presentable to our visitors. Big shout out to CHANCLAS for showing up early despite some crazy setbacks to help get everything tidy. Luckily there wasn't anything dead buried in the rubble, though I did end up personally getting an eye infection from a hidden dookie by the door. You can see my eye starting to swell up the day of the show. :,(

Our first attempted solution for lighting ended up being very effective, so we lucked out a bit on that front. We utilized battery operated amazon "light pucks" that had pre-placed adhesive on its underside. This allowed for dim, yet intentional pointed lighting where we could play with shadow. While a flood light may have been more effective on a technical level, we really wanted to build atmosphere, tension, and anticipation while visitors moved through the space. 

Here are light tests during different stages of production:

Originally, the lights were going to be a lot warmer!

When it came to the pieces that required wall mounting, we ended up with some off brand amazon command strip hooks that could supposedly carry 10 lb. The one we got in particular had reviews complaining that it destroyed peoples drywall when they tried to remove it, which gave me some confidence. Although the dusty concrete wall probably lessened its weight capacity, it worked fine enough. The only issue we had throughout the show was when one of the masks fell near the end, but after being reinforced with a second hook it held up fine the rest of the show.  

While we solved all of the technical issues, one problem that wasn't ever going to get fixed entirely was the locations proximity to others. 

We luckily managed to keep a low enough profile on this event as to not arouse too much suspicion, but some attendees were being a bit careless and entering the spot while cars had their beams on the hill in front of the entrance (again, busy street in a residential). Cops were eventually called and drove in laps just out of sight during the de-install, but everything had been taken out when they actually drove by to look. Lucky!

At the same time as we worked on solving these larger issues, we also had to worry about getting our individual work done. 

Artwork Deep Dive

Our first time on camera together! Get in depth insight to each artist and their work in our latest video: 

(Introductions end and discussion begins at 9:42)

Artists standing by their work:

A silent walkthrough of the gallery the night of the event:

Final Thoughts

Since STOOL's inception in 2022, it has always been a goal to have events like 'This Gallery is Beneath Me.' It is a bit surreal to see it come to fruition 3 years later. I remember dreaming about something like this while developing what would eventually become the foundation of STOOL. I would be lying if I said I wasn't proud for pushing through the many, many obstacles before and during the planning of this show and maintaining the same general vision since I was 20. 

Making something from nothing is hard! Of course, it would be a lie to say I did it alone. I am very grateful to have had many people believe in my vision throughout the years. From those who directly helped to make this event possible, to those who lent help to build foundations in our earlier years, thank you. 

There is more to come soon.

- QUETZAL