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Student Response.02: Prepackaged Exhibition? I Think Not.

Note: The students in our Gallery Management 404 class submitted papers that responded to their experience working on the Manifest: Colonial Tendencies of the West installation. I selected two of the best papers to publish on the Gallery’s blog to give you some insight on what we do here in preparation for an exhibition opening.

Let us tackle a common misconception about gallery personnel. We are not a horrendously snooty bunch. We know how to get our ensembles dirty. We know how to work a power tool and properly wield a hammer, some of us more so than others. But what I am getting at is that those involved in galleries take part in installing the shows exhibited as well.

What are my credentials you may ask? Well, I have one exhibition installation under my belt at the moment and am currently enrolled in a gallery management course for the Gallery of Contemporary Art at UCCS. Let me explain, exhibition installation is simultaneously nerve wracking and exciting for a novice like me.

All of our preparation was put to good use when the time came to unpack the delivered artworks.

Before jumping head first into installing the artwork for the exhibition Manifest: Colonial Tendencies of the West, I would like to explain that every involved individual is expected to have a grounded understanding of artwork handling. This knowledge consists of knowing various material reactions (i.e. wooden art displays, gloves, writing utensils) with different art mediums. For example, one is never to handle bronze with products containing rubber because these two materials react in such a way that the rubber will leave a residue on the bronze medium, which is costly to remove. We would rather keep the artwork in the conditions they were received. The gallery management class was also drilled on how to properly transport works to and from destinations–both over short and extended distances. All of our preparation was put to good use when the time came to unpack the delivered artworks.

The unpacking and condition reporting of the art takes the majority of the installation time–a good three to four days for about thirty pieces. Being the professionals we have studied up to be, we were expected to wear gloves, cotton or nitrile depending on the medium, at all times when handling the works. Considering how large and heavy some pieces were, the gloves protected our skin secretions, like sweat and oil, from doing harm to the artworks. Before anything is removed from its packing material, one has to document every detail upon its removal from the crate. How was the piece wrapped? What materials were used? From which crate number was the art obtained? These were some questions to be answered during unpacking. Communication and foresight are indispensable when moving anything in the gallery. The correct protocol for moving works is to have the destination cleared and pathway planned. The artwork is to be securely supported by the side and bottom, never from the top. After a piece has been carefully removed and safely placed in a temporary location, a report on its arrival condition (hence condition report) is written or, rather, drawn and noted in our case. Every little imperfection is to be recorded.

I move that we embrace the metric system with open arms.

After the reports were logged, the hanging was next. The director of the gallery and our instructor, Christopher Lynn, informed us where to hang each work. Prior to and during the hanging, some of us prepped and moved the walls into place, which was conveniently mapped out for us by the director on a miniature replica of the gallery. As you and I know, hanging anything on a wall is time consuming and a little aggravating, but hanging artwork to be on display in an installation is a calculated effort involving math and tools, such as rulers, levels, and brain-power (this exposed some of our weakness in arithmetic that has long been masked through the ease of calculators). Everything is to be centered at eye-level, about sixty inches for the average adult. I move that we embrace the metric system with open arms. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to figure out how to measure fifty-four and seventeen over twenty-three inches with a measuring tape. This may sound easy, but it is much harder when one is trying to be aware of the white wall, the marking and leveling of measurements, and the subsequent nailing of nails or screws. It seemed too permanent for my liking, but we were assured that mistakes were inevitable for first-timers and could be corrected. Just for the record, my hanging partner and I only had to re-hang a photograph once. After awhile, we both got the hang of fastening the artworks with various apparatuses like D-rings, wire, and cleats.

Another major property of the installation space to consider is lighting. Lighting equipment at our dear gallery could be vastly improved upon, but we do the best with what we have. This involves using inventive methods to position lights and direct the beams. I have learned that paper clips are most useful in securing a loose light canister at the desired angle.

This first adventure into exhibition installation proves that hands-on experience is integral in determining if one would like to pursue such work. I, for one, hope there are more installations of exhibitions in my future. I especially hope that I work with people who have the same interest as I, for teamwork is important. We have to watch out for each other’s actions for the sake of the artwork.

Admittedly, we may be somewhat elitist (which may be too harsh of a word) in our work and knowledge about art and its installation, but there is no shame in taking pride in one’s endeavors. Now is there? Especially since you, dear reader, are in on the inner workings of exhibition installation.

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