Exhibitions are opportunities to showcase someone’s work, presents new things or to discover an artist. It is the curators mission to design the best path for the audience to see this subject. But there are many different ways to do so. I selected three exhibitions to demonstrate the different aspect they can take. I will talk about how the exhibition can be about an artist, a theme or a curator.
“Klimt / Schiele : Drawings” (2018) Royal Drawing Academy, London:
The Royal Academy of Arts exposes drawings from the artists Klimt and Schiele, that they borrowed from the Albertina Museum, Vienna. The rooms have white walls and a vitrine in the middle. The drawings are hanged eye level in a neutral frame. Each room has a theme clearly exposed at the entrance with an explanation. The exhibition is formal and serious. Nothing stands out except for the drawings. The artist’s work is clearly the focus, and the material of the exhibit (vitrine, frame, explanations) are as neutral as possible. This exhibition targets an audience who already knows the artists and wants a different aspect of their work, the early sketch instead of the finished painting.
“The Future Starts Here” (2018) Victoria and Albert Museum, London:
The Victoria and Albert Museum exposed more than a 100 objects of emerging technology, either newly released or in development. As soon as you enter, you are greeted by a robot folding laundry with a question written underneath him: “What makes us human?”. Each section of the exhibit is in a built in decor, the objects are presented in their environment, and the audience can interact with them: you can try a driverless car, drink some high protein soylent and create mountains with sand. The exhibition is interactive and wants to immerse the audience into it. You can feel that “the future starts HERE”, and you are part of it. The exhibit targets a large audience, from children to elderly, it just requires to be curious.
“Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other treasures” (2018) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna:
The Kunsthistorisches Museum asked the director Wes Anderson to curate an exhibition using the objects own by the museum. His choice is eclectic: paintings, amulets, statues, armours, mummies, etc. Wes Anderson placed the objects in an unusual way. Regardless of time period, he organised them by theme and colour. One room was entirely green and had jade amulets placed symmetrically among other green objects. He also placed items at feet level, forcing you to kneel to see them. One of the object exposed is a vitrine. It seems chaotic, but the exhibition makes sense if you know Wes Anderson’s work, where symmetry and detached humour is key. Like in his films, Wes Anderson plays with the audience. This exhibition is addressed to people who are fans the director, and wants to see how a museum curated by him would look like.
Each exhibition focuses on something : the artists exposed, the theme, or someone’s vision. The work of a curator is often underestimated. Curating an exhibition demands creativity to be able to show the subject in the best way possible for the targeted audience.
Bibliography:
The Future Starts Here (2018) [Exhibition]. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 12 May 2018 – 4 November 2018.
Klimt / Schiele, Drawings from the Albertina Museum, Vienna (2018) [Exhibition]. Royal Academy of Drawing, London. 4 November 2018 – 3 February 2019.
Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and other Treasures (2018). [Exhibition]. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien. 6 November 2018 – 28 April 2019.