MOVING ART
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THE NUMBER OF ARTWORKS AN EXHIBITION INCLUDES OFTEN DETERMINES HOW COMPLICATED IT WILL BE TO GET THEM TO THE MUSEUM.
For the Nancy Baker Cahill exhibition, there was only one artist’s work being showcased, but often getting works to the museum can be a much more complicated endeavor. Staff must plan for aspects such as the location of works and how to transport them, how to orchestrate shipping them from many locations and the sheer physical requirements for moving them. The process often requires detailed logistical planning and can take quite some time. Depending on the size of the exhibition, the number of works being borrowed or purchased and the necessary fundraising when acquiring works, the whole process can often take years.
None of this would be possible without the diligent work of museum registrars, who manage and monitor every move of works. Registrars arrange transportation and movement logistics, make sure pieces are moved with care and keep a record of the condition of works throughout the process. Whether pieces are from the Georgia Museum of Art’s permanent collection or on loan from an artist, a collector or another institution, this is no small task. When “Through Lines” was still being planned and designed, registrar Amber Barnhardt was also hard at work get- ting loan agreements and contracts signed and ironing out other details that make it possible to get works to the museum.
DESIGN
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WHILE REGISTRARS ARE WORKING ON THE LOANS PROCESS, CURATORS ARE CHOOSING WHICH WORKS WILL BE PART OF AN EXHIBITION.
When the checklist of works is (mostly) finalized, exhibition de - signers begin building a digital, to-scale version of an exhibition using 3D modeling software. Collaborating with curators to bring their vision to life, designers must consider a variety of factors to create a polished exhibition that museum visitors will enjoy. Which sections will be important? In what order should pieces or sections be arranged? Which objects illustrate the theme of the exhibition? Which layout makes sense? These are all major questions that de- signers and curators plan and discuss many months before works are installed. For “Through Lines,” chief preparator and head of exhibition design Todd Rivers and curator Kathryn Hill worked with the artist to meet the technological needs for the exhibition. Marable and Baker Cahill walked through every detail of the exhibition checklist and model to develop a first draft layout. With two site-specific installations, the artist’s input was especially vital.
The design of an exhibition is integral to great visitor experience. A good flow in a gallery space, with a layout that gently guides visi - tors to works and information, can give visitors space to contem- plate, find inspiration or have discussions along the way. Aesthetic choices, such as font and color scheme, also play an important part in exhibition design, noted Marable. “The color and text elements serve to enhance the viewing experience and better tell the story,” she said. These choices help visitors understand exhibition con- cepts without even reading a label, at an almost unconscious level, and help make a visual story accessible to as many people as possi- ble. Each visitor deserves to have an experience that is uninhibited and accommodating, so designers are purposeful about aspects such as lighting, font size, label height and even viewing angle. In “Through Lines,” the wall color was a deliberate choice, said Mar- able. “[It helped] guide the viewer though the themes discussed [with] a very bold pink tone that we were able to pull directly from one of Baker Cahill’s artworks,” she said.
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