Lights, Action, Exhibit (and Reception)!

The team photos Nancy took yesterday, along with a few other reception pics, are loaded on her blog. Be sure to check them out. Here are some more images that document the exhibit process and the reception. I begin with the storyboard presentations, as a reminder of how far we have come in a matter of weeks, having moved (on fast-forward) through all the critical stages of exhibit design:  1) concept development, 2) design development, 3) fabrication and 4) installation. Congratulations to all; everyone had great things to say about the show. When you are next in the museum, read the feedback in the guest register. I'll have a docent check list (for opening and closing) prepped and in the reception desk folder by the time the museum opens. Joe and Nathan are on duty today.

Storyboard Presentation

March  11, 2014

Graphic Design Storyboard

Nancy presents the graphic design elements.

Parallel Lives Team

Tasmanian Sojourn 

Colonial Milieu Team

Full Circle Team

  Opening Day

 April 15, 2014 

Please leave this door closed during
exhibit hours.

Asher the Adorable

Paul, Jessica, Gia, Airelle and Abbie

Nathan, Fiona, Holly and (almost) Nancy

 

Remember to tell visitors we have a touch box
where they can handle fragments of fiber that
 have fallen off the 100+ year-old-objects.
And that we thank them for NOT touching
the exhibit materials.

CLEAN LAB! Courtesy of me; please
do your part to keep it this way.

Art of the Didactic Panel

One of toughest jobs for an exhibit curator (even one who is a seasoned writer) is to compose didactic panels that orient museum-goers to a particular topic or theme.  Why? Because they must distill complicated chronologies, concepts and theories into a meaningful and easy-to-understand paragraph or two. One hallmark of the curatorial amateur is an exhibit gallery overwhelmed by text. Don't try to transfer an entire book onto a wall. Museum-goers will take one look at your book-on-the-wall and just move on. Yet without core information, the imagery and objects in your exhibit will lack valuable contextualization that relates them to the larger exhibit concept. When you write your team's primary didactic panel, remember that we are focused on the meeting of worlds--two of those being the worlds of sentiment and of science. Stay focused on those themes as you write. And remember that less is more.  Here are two didactic panels from the Spurlock Museum. Notice that brevity doesn't translate into lack of important content. 

Video Resource

This resource is posted for everyone in our class, but especially for the Tasmanian Sojourn and Colonial Milieu Teams.  You may need to log into your university account to watch it (2007, 52 mins).

Her Will to Survive: Tasmania, 1803 to 1880—First Australians

Exhibit Team Design Finalization

Each exhibit team needs to continue working to finalize elevation and schematic design and to complete research necessary to produce interpretive panels. (FYI: I uploaded Nancy's professional rendering of the museum gallery floor. Use it to produce your exhibit schematic and to mockup your elevations. In case it helps to know, the cases are 1 meter square, and 3 meters tall.)

Begin the search and capture process for any archival graphics that you intend to you use. Be sure to record the URL for these as you or Nancy may need to download higher res versions. I will prepare a team checklist this weekend; it will be submitted on the Tuesday following Spring Break (along with all the necessary digital files). 

Once you have collectively finalized your conceptual and physical design (this must be done by next Tuesday), you should organize your team so that Carrie and I will have a single point-person for each of the following 1) images 2) Beardsley artifacts 3) props and 4) text (all interpretive panels and label copy). You'll need a different team member for each scope.  Once you've made these assignments, post them to your blog (post your entire team's membership and scope--not just your own).  

I'm not sure we are going to have time to paint.  We may have to work with Marigold Madness. I think it can be done.  Next week we have two guest speakers, so don't depend on that class time to collaborate. Use open lab hours or arrange meeting times among yourselves.