Hi Matt - thank you for your presentation and the opportunity to learn more about museumtrade and your process for maintaining institutional knowledge. The empty blue tape rolling competition and putting the various brands of spackle through their paces were really fun. You are placing much needed attention on the process of how exhibitions are brought to life. I think of the exhibition designer as the conduit between the curatorial vision and making that vision a reality - at the end of the day nothing happens without a skilled and informed exhibition crew to make that vision tangible for a museum audience. Some of the other presentations at the conference touched on the importance of archiving the exhibition design process – Martha Fleming’s interesting talk Floppies, trannies, a CAD and the blues: unearthing the traces of late 20th-century exhibition practice cites the Eames office who had the resources and foresight to do this well – but this is the exception rather than the norm. If exhibition makers in the past had been better equipped to preserve their institutional knowledge then possibly all of us researchers would be better served at this point in time as we gather what little there is on the exhibition design process rather than been left with the final result. Your point about lifting our heads for a minute to reflect and share best practice is really important – not just to foster future innovation but also to build a history of critical practice and theory that will result in better recognition for the field of exhibition making and creative excellence. Thanks.
Hi Matt, I'd also like to thank you for a wonderful presentation discussing the pragmatics of fostering innovation and the importance of preserving institutional knowledge. I especially appreciated your suggestion about filming art handlers and other museum staff demonstrating different techniques or approaches. I think this could be especially useful for preparators and art handlers learning the house style in terms of matting, framing, etc., while also leaving open the possibility for innovation and new techniques. I also liked your emphasis on acknowledging the agency and expertise of museum staff by having everyone contribute to learning about new techniques, solutions, etc, as when you discussed new ways of printing labels. It's so important to let staff know that they're respected and appreciated for their work; after all, it's why we hired them! I could see this being the basis for a wonderful series of training videos for supervisors and other administrative professionals.
I don't have a question per se, I just wanted to congratulate you on a fantastic presentation.
Sara
Wow thank you Tim and Sara, I was really fun to think through things that I take for granted.
Tim, thanks, yes there are so many touch point between design, curatorial, education, and installation; often the lines blur. With ever tightening budgets there are quite a few people who wear many hats. It's nice to hold onto some of that information for future generations.
I agree that more attention can be paid to the design process, adding a layer of transparency to our process gives folks in other departments at least the notion of how much goes into mounting an exhibit. They will then be better equipped to not only appreciate the end product but will be better prepared to engage with the design process from the outset.
Sara, thank you, yes, archiving is really great for the install staff. Pulling other departments into the process I've helped shape the design process. If installations extends their capabilities, by innovating, it gives the design team more "tools" to play with. With new capacity comes new ideas, it's an interwoven relationship and I just really love working in museums for this very reason.
It looks like I just missed meeting you at DMA, I spent a week there doing research on the C3 area in 2009. I met other McDermott folks during an "opening" behind the scenes in the offices. It seemed like a nice place to work. BIG staff though, I kind of enjoy the mid-sized scene where you can be a little more nimble. Then again, we don't get to mount exhibits like DMA has, excellent stuff!
All My Best,
Matt
@timothymcneil
@sarawoodbury
