Recent Books and Articles on Museums and Galleries
Responses to a Research Request
Ken Friedman
September 2005
--
Dear Colleagues,
Two weeks ago, I sent an information request to
several lists seeking an up-to-date,
English-language textbook for a course designed
to introduce students to the realities of the
museum and gallery world and professional
practice in the museum and gallery field.
33 coleagues sent generous and extensive replies.
Here follows a compilation of the replies.
To set the context, I repeat the request. I am
seeking books and I am also seeking articles for
a compendium collection for a course with this
description:
"This course will give students an insight into
the characteristics of the art gallery and the
museum as an institution and as a setting for
work and cultural production. To explore course
themes, students will consider the history of
museums and galleries, cultural policy, and
organizational forms. Students will also examine
the economic challenges and market issues that
face art galleries and museums today.
"This course will give students overview of the
organizational and economic dimensions of art
galleries and museums in Norway and around the
world. Course participants will develop the
ability to understand and analyze art galleries
in terms of its internal characteristics and the
critical factors in the larger environment that
shape them."
The range of topics in the course is broad. The
book can approach the theme from any of several
perspectives. It is not necessary to cover
everything in a single book provided that there
is an overview.
Art gallery as social institution
The history of galleries
The work of the gallery
The gallery and cultural production
Art markets and the sociology of art
Museums
The museum as social institution
The history of the museum
The museum and cultural production
The museum as conceptual marketplace
Museums and the sociology of art
The economics of art
Sponsorship and integrated sponsorship
Cultural collaboration
Organizational and economic challenges of the art gallery
Organizational and economic challenges of museums
Experience and practice
Galleries, museums, art worlds
I am compiling all suggestions and posting the
compilations to the lists. Returns so far have
been helpful, and I am herewith sending the first
compilation.
I welcome further contributions.
Please send your suggestions directly to me at
[log in to unmask]
Thank you,
Ken Friedman
Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Communication, Culture, and Language
Norwegian School of Management
Design Research Center
Denmark's Design School
email: [log in to unmask]
--
--
Responses to date:
1 From: John McMillan <[log in to unmask]>
2 From: "Martin Ferro-Thomsen" <[log in to unmask]>
3 From: M P Ranjan <[log in to unmask]>
4 From: David Sless <[log in to unmask]>
5 From: Deborah Jones <[log in to unmask]>
6 Reply-To: Olav Velthuis <[log in to unmask]>
7 From: Christena Nippert-Eng <[log in to unmask]>
8 From: Alan Murdock <[log in to unmask]>
9 From: kristina niedderer <[log in to unmask]>
10 From: <[log in to unmask]>
11 From: "Bathurst, Ralph" <[log in to unmask]>
12 From: "Daria Loi" <[log in to unmask]>
13 From: Stine Hoholt, Arken
14 From: Michael A R Biggs <[log in to unmask]>
15 From: "Charlotte Frost" <[log in to unmask]>
16 From: "Tracey Lovejoy" <[log in to unmask]>
17 From: Pete Hindle <[log in to unmask]>
18 From: morrie fred <[log in to unmask]>
19 From: Katja Lindqvist <[log in to unmask]>
20 From: "Bonnick, Nicola J" <[log in to unmask]>
21 From: Kjetil Fallan <[log in to unmask]>
22 From: Louise Mazanti <[log in to unmask]>
23 From: Richard Farr <[log in to unmask]>
24 Search by Ken Friedman
25 From: daniela <[log in to unmask]>
26 From: "Geoff Matthews" <[log in to unmask]>
27 From: Lily Diaz <[log in to unmask]>
28 From: Charles Burnette <[log in to unmask]>
29 From: "Nelle Steele" <[log in to unmask]>
30 From: morrie fred <[log in to unmask]>
31 From: Vanessa Rood <[log in to unmask]>
32 From: "Bathurst, Ralph" <[log in to unmask]>
33 From: Carey Young <[log in to unmask]>
34 From: "Geoff Matthews" <[log in to unmask]>
35 From: Hans Samuelson <[log in to unmask]>
36 Susan Baldino <[log in to unmask]>
37 From: "John Cimino" <[log in to unmask]>
--
(1)
To: [log in to unmask]
From: John McMillan <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Museum
Developing Museum Exhibitions for Lifelong Learning
Ed, Gail Durbin
Museums and Galleries Commission
The Stationery Office, London
1996
ISBN 0 11 290552 8
Object Lessons - The Role of Museums in Education
Ed. Sue Mitchell
Scottish Museums Council
HMSO, Edinburgh 1996
ISBN 0 11 495756 8
John McMillan
Senior Lecturer
School of Art & Design
University of Ulster
York Street
Belfast
BT15 1ED
Telephone: +44 (0)28 9026 7304
Fax: +44 (0)28 9026 7356
EMail: [log in to unmask]
--
(2)
From: "Martin Ferro-Thomsen" <[log in to unmask]>
Dear Ken - I know of no full textbook, but here
are a few hints about the white cube as
institution - probably the most important concept
in contemporary art. The book is actually source
material from artists on the institution - could
benefit greatly in a compendium (it is in both
German and English). The second link is perhaps
the best article on institutional critique -
which one MUST know of if trying to comprehend
the contemporary art market and the status of
institution.
CRAVAGNA, Christian (Ed.) 2001 The Museum as
Arena. Artists on Institutional Critique,
Kunsthaus Bregenz, Verlag der Buchhandlung
Walther König, Cologne, ISBN: 3- 88375- 478- 1
YANAL, Robert J. 1998 ‘The Institutional Theory
of Art’ in The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, ed.
Michael Kelly, Oxford University Press, also
available from
http://homepage.mac.com/ryanal/Philosophy/Yanalcv.html
I know most about the 'art games' that goes on
outside the traditional institutions (gallery,
museum) - where the institution still is
omnipresent. Get back to me, if you desire more
text on that subject.
Best,
Martin
www.ferro.dk
--
(3)
Cc: Suranjana Satwalekar <[log in to unmask]>,
M P Ranjan <[log in to unmask]>
From: M P Ranjan <[log in to unmask]>
Dear Ken (long post and some reminiscing)
At NID we have been teaching Exhibition and
Museum design for as far back as I can remember,
even before I joined in 1969 as a student. NID
has also been an active player in the creation of
Museums and Exhibitions for a variety of clients.
Your note is very crisp and the call for
resources will be of great use to us as well and
I am therefore forwarding your note to my faculty
colleagues off list to see if they can contribute
to your effort directly. I will get back to the
list and to you if some substantial resources are
recommended by them.
Besides those on our faculty at present I can
think of some former colleagues (who have retired
or moved on to consulting) who are considered
experts in the subject and I particularly refer
to the husband and wife team of Vikas and
Suranjana Satwalekar, now design consultants in
the field, who have been responsible for the
shaping of the NID's exhibition design and museum
design activities over the past twenty years or
more. They will respond to you directly.
NID's major Exhibit design experience started
with the great "Nehru Exhibition" that was
designed at NID Ahmedabad for the Government of
India by Charles and Ray Eames from September to
December 1964 and it was first exhibited at the
10,000 square feet space in the Union Carbide
Building, on Park Avenue on 49th Street in New
York. It then travelled to Washington, Los
Angeles, London and Paris. Thereafter another
copy was prepared and fabricated for Japan and
Australia. It was this copy that came to Chile in
1973 and the NID team headed by Prof Dashrath
Patel, which included me as a young designer and
faculty colleague, to help set up and hand over
the exhibit to the Ambassador of India in Chile
in January 1973. It was here that I met the
President of Chile, Salvadore Allende, on the
26th of January 1973, and later connected with
the great work done by him as reported in the
book by Stafford Beer, "Platform for Change", and
it changed my perception of design for ever.
After this "Magnum Opus" the NID faculty were
involved in no less than 100 (or more) major
exhibition projects, temporary and permanant, and
in recent years in some very high tech offerings
are still in the making. Recently inaugurated
Museum for Numismatics, by the Reserve Bank of
India in Mumbai had security features and display
standards that are globally acknowledged. Two
ongoing projects include the re-design of the
Victoria Memorial Museum in Kolkatta and the
enormous "Khalsa Heritage Museum, in Punjab for
the Government of Punjab to be located in a major
architectural complex that has been designed by
the Isreali architect Moshe Safdie. I am
reflecting on this enormous body of work and
sharing this note with my faculty colleagues
since very little of this vast experience is
still available in print and the experience
resides in the many individuals who have worked
on these several hundred projects of very high
quality. I hope that this will excite some design
researchers to take NID as a topic of study and
collate all the documentations into a format that
can reveal the lessons from these experiences.
I wrote a paper on exhibition and museum design
as a reflection on the lessons from the NID
experience for a Conference on Crafts Museums in
1986 and we have come a long way since then.
Recently (last year) NID teams designed and
executed "The Great Arc Exhibition" for the
Surveyor General of India, an office that was
celebrating the two hundredth year of the mapping
of India and the Great Arc Survey, the first in
the world, and the exhibit opened in the UK and
is now back and ready to travel across India. I
hope that my call to my faculty colleagues will
give us more insights from real experience of
design and execution of all the projects that we
have collectively experienced in the unique NID
pattern of the co-existance of education and
design practice across many disciplines under one
roof. The story is yet to be told. Any takers?
I am quoting below my paper on exhibit and museum
design from 1986 and those not interested can
skip the last bit.
With warm regards
M P Ranjan
from my office at NID
17 September 2005 at 1.25 pm IST
Prof M P Ranjan
Faculty of Design
Head, NID Centre for Bamboo Applications
Faculty Member on Governing Council (2003 - 2005)
National Institute of Design
Paldi
Ahmedabad 380 007 India
Tel: (off) 91 79 26639692 ext 1090
Tel: (res) 91 79 26610054
Fax: 91 79 26605242
email: [log in to unmask]
web site: http://homepage.mac.com/ranjanmp/
Quoted text is a paper by M P Ranjan on Exhibit
design at NID (the NID Way in 1986)
Cost Effective Displays - The NID Experience
M P Ranjan
Faculty of Industrial Design
National Institute of Design
Ahmedabad, India
Paper prepared and presented at Crafts India '86,
a workshop on Crafts Museums, New Delhi, October
1986 and subsequently published in "Crafts India
'86: Papers Presented at the Workshop on Crafts
Museums", Crafts Council of India, New Delhi,
1986 - pp 125 - 129
My presentation on design and display techniques
for museums is based entirely on the considerable
body of knowledge built up at the National
Institute of Design (NID) in the area of
exhibition design. Over the past 25 years,
designers at NID have had the opportunity to work
on a large number of exhibition projects, both as
professional consultancy assignments as well as
student-level projects. These exhibitions include
temporary and permanent ones covering thematic,
scientific, and cultural and trade topics. I am
convinced that much of this experience would be
applicable to the design of craft and other
museums, especially in the context of the
changing role of museums in our times.
NID is a design school composed of two major
faculties: the Faculty of Industrial Design and
the Faculty of Visual Communication. In many
design schools these disciplines are kept apart.
However, we found that exhibition projects
offered the possibility of building
cross-disciplinary bridges, as the design of any
exhibition is essentially a multi-disciplinary
task. Putting together an exhibition requires
teamwork involving many disciplines, many of
which are drawn from outside the Institute as
circumstances warrant. This premise that design
of exhibitions and the design of museums is a
multi-disciplinary task is an important one for
curators and museum administrators to keep in
mind when planning new exhibits or museums.
Sometimes experts in subjects attempt to put
together exhibitions themselves, some may be able
to do so effectively. I am of the view that the
involvement of professional designers working in
close collaboration with the subject experts is
far more desirable although it may seem expensive
initially.
Demands made on museums and the public's
perception of its role have undergone dramatic
changes. Traditionally, museums were seen as a
repository of rare and exquisite cultural,
natural and historical artifacts primarily
concerned with conservation, classification and
research tasks. However most people would agree
that today's museums should go beyond that role
in becoming a vehicle for communication and
dissemination of information in an interactive
manner. Hence the added responsibility that the
contemporary view holds for a museum includes
education, entertainment and community service.
Entertainment is important because it means
involving the viewers and educating them through
a mode of interaction. Without this element of
interest it is impossible to communicate with
viewers. Education too implies something more
than transmission of knowledge. It means raising
questions in the minds of viewers rather than
providing all the answers in an absolute manner.
Having established the premises on which we
design exhibitions let me go on to individual
principles, devices and techniques used to make
an exhibition participatory and interesting to
the viewer. These would of course have to be used
in an imaginative and creative manner,
appropriate to the task at hand, to be effective.
Here I have attempted to abstract the principles
from the variety of exhibits and displays
incorporated in a number of NID exhibitions so
that these could be used consciously to enhance
the viewers experience.
Interactive exhibits:Each key exhibit could be
designed to induce the visitor to participate in
some way other than just looking at or reading
about the object or display. The visitors may be
required to do something with their hands or even
feet in order to activate another dimension of
the display. A map of India displayed at the
India Exhibitin the Commonwealth Institute,
London, required the visitors to press a set of
electronic switches in order to compare distances
between Indian cities to cities in Europe. This
helped the British audience to appreciate the
vast distances in the Indian sub-continent when
compared with familiar distances between capitals
of European nations. Another such ,device is a
display of rare and exotic musical instruments
the sounds of which can be heard by activating a
tape recorder. It is not necessary that
technologically sophisticated displays be used,
as simple devices could be equally effective
while being easier to maintain.
Spaces for interaction:Spaces around displays
need to be planned in such a way as to permit the
museum and its displays to be used in a variety
of ways. It is particularly important to consider
the activities that take place when groups of
visitors come in to use the museum as a teaching
resource. Both the Energy Exhibitiona science
museum at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi and the
India Exhibitin London are used as classrooms by
teachers who want to use its resources. Hence
fairly large spaces need to be provided around
exhibits along with strategically placed benches
which encourage the use of these spaces.
Display structures:Hardware used to display
objects and information such as photographs and
text must be designed to suit specific needs. In
many cases it might be possible to use readily
available hardware systems that are versatile and
inconspicuous. In other cases it may be necessary
to design hardware that would show up the object
in the most favorable manner. Sringar, which was
a traveling exhibition of Indian costumes
required display cases and props that could be
quickly dismantled and packaged in minimum volume
of transportation. Similarly strong, light-weight
and flexible panel structures were required to
permit the exhibition to be set up in a variety
of existing buildings, while still retaining its
identity and quality.
Graphic layouts:Some exhibits require the
presentation of a considerable amount of
supplementary and explanatory information
especially if these are to be used as an
educational aid. Here the graphic treatment of
panels and surfaces presenting the information
demands both visual coherence of all its
components and the stimulation of the viewer to
absorb the essentials in the limited time
available. This has to be achieved with an
effective and economic use of words and images.
Invariably the same space has to serve both the
casual visitor as well as the serious learner.
This necessitates the presentation to be
"readable" at several levels simultaneously. The
first level is a predominantly visual one that
can be appreciated instantly at a distance while
subsequent levels elaborate appropriate details.
Hence the components need to be structured in a
hierarchical manner both in terms of their
information content and their size in the layout.
The components of such informative displays would
include lead-visuals in the form of photographs,
illustrations, charts or diagrams as well as
supporting visuals in an appropriate media. Text
matter that compliments the visuals needs to be
carefully structured into evocative headings or
titles, lead-text, sub-text and captions which an
experienced copy-writer can make concise and
interesting. Typography used in a sensitive and
creative manner can be visually stimulating.
A versatile grid is an effective tool in
generating interesting layouts while maintaining
visual continuity between a series of panels
throughout the exhibition. It would permit the
use of a large variety of sizes and proportions
of visuals and text helping these to hang
together. While a grid aids in the exploration of
layouts the final layout would need to transcend
a mechanical interpretation to avoid a sterile
presentation.
History walls:When a progression of events or
developments through time are to be depicted
history walls are the most effective means of
modeling such patterns in time. Since this
technique was first employed and refined by
Charles Eames, the great American designer,
numerous variations have been developed for a
variety of themes. In principle a history wall,
as the name suggests, is an expanse of wall that
is graphically treated to depict the flow of time
in the horizontal axis. The vertical axis is
divided into bands, each of which traces one
subject through time. For example, in the Nehru
Exhibition, while one band deals with Nehru's
life the other bands cover national and
international political events, developments in
science and technology, developments in fine and
applied arts etc. Hence while the horizontal
bands represent transition the vertical columns
represent simultaneous events. While typography
is used to highlight decades or centuries
depending on the span of time depicted the
treatment is predominantly visual. A great deal
of visual research is a necessary prerequisite
for the preparation of an effective history wall.
Illustrations and Charts:Information translated
into illustrations, diagrams and charts has far
greater effectiveness than a great deal of text.
There are a variety of styles and techniques to
choose from, each with its potentials and
limitations. Statistical data could be presented
in the form of graphs, bar charts or pie charts
to make it visually interesting and easily
appreciated. Complex relationships could be
modeled with flow-charts, diagrams or even
electronically operated charts. Drawings and
illustrations can be used effectively to
highlight aspects that would be impossible to
depict photographically such as the working
principle of a tool or machine or the
cross-section of an anthill. Choice of technique
is determined by the resources, time and
information available. Some elaborate techniques
can be both expensive and time- consuming while
others could be effective, yet inexpensive and
simple to execute.
Scale modes and principle models:Both children
and adults enjoy examining detailed
three-dimensional models and replicas. Specially
constructed models have the advantage of being
able to highlight specific features through the
selective treatment of such features.
Communication of a working principle or
structural feature is effectively conveyed
through appropriate types of models. A variety of
model types could be employed depending on the
theme or subject to be communicated. These could
include block-models, cut-away models,
see-through models, and realistic scale-models,
working principle models, replicas and casts.
These models could be executed in a variety of
materials depending on the resources, skills and
information available. Just as a carefully
detailed and executed model can be breathtaking,
shoddy one can have disastrous consequences.
Hence if models are to be used they must be
carefully designed and ski11fully executed.
Treatment of surfaces and spaces:The mood of an
exhibit is considerably enhanced by the manner in
which the ambient surfaces and spaces are
treated. One fairly inexpensive way to enliven
surfaces and spaces is through the use of
textiles. Plain or patterned fabrics stretched
over panels or suspended from high ceilings add
colour and vitality to the exhibition space and
help set-off the exhibits. Careful choice of
colour and texture helps in creating the desired
effect. Both the Nehru Exhibitionand the Manipur
Pavilionused this technique extensively each in
its own way.
Another type of surface treatment explored was
the simulation of mud walls seen in village
houses. The Agri-Expo theme pavilion used this
technique extensively to re-create village spaces
in full scale so that the audience could
experience these-spaces, which were intended to
heighten their perception of rural artifacts and
motifs. Photographic blow-ups are yet another
means of creating an illusion of space and
detail. A series of related blow-ups is a
powerful means of simulating spaces while
providing a great deal of detail. These help to
establish the context of scale within the space
available inside exhibition halls.
Dioramas:These form a special class of
three-dimensional models. Dioramas are an
effective means of creating an illusion or
reality especially in depicting spaces with the
use of very limited exhibition space. This is
achieved by the exaggerated use of perspective
distortion, which deceives the eye. Combined with
photographic backdrops and controlled lighting
the effect is a stunning recreation of reality.
The interior of a village hut or an underground
coalmine can be a realistic experience for an
audience. Sound effects emanating from
strategically placed speakers help enhance this
effect. Dioramas are of two basic types:
open-dioramas and peephole type dioramas.
Open-dioramas created with the aid of foreground
props and a photographic backdrop were used as
settings for live craft demonstrations in the
Manipur Pavilion at the trade fair in New Delhi.
Illumination and mood lighting:The use of light
in exhibition spaces is both functional and
aesthetic. The functional aspects relate to ease
of visibility by establishing suitable levels of
illumination, avoiding distracting reflections
and glare. Circulation spaces and information
surfaces generally require a functional
treatment. An altogether different dimension in
the use of light is the creation of a certain
mood or effect that is possible through sensitive
and controlled use. Here professionals from
theatre and cinema are by far the most competent.
Such specialized lighting when used inside
dioramas increases the illusion of reality
manifold.
Audio and Audio-visual:Sound effects and
specially prepared sound tracks can be effective
means of enhancing one's experience of specific
exhibits. Sound is difficult to control unless
confined to soundproof spaces or delivered
through proximity speakers. Specially designed
handsets or earphones located near key exhibits
could be used to provide a sound track, a running
commentary or discourse on that subject. The
interest of an audience is generally aroused when
such devices are made available result1ng in a
heightening of awareness and a corresponding
openness to receiving information. Audio-visual
media which include changing still pictures,
motion pictures and video images are powerful
communication devices. A multi-screen
audio-visual programme can transmit an enormous
amount of information in a short duration. Such
programmes are technically complex and expensive
to execute and maintain. However no other media
can replicate their effectiveness with reference
to viewing time.
Feedback from visitors:In a permanent exhibition
or museum any attempt to obtain the views of
visitors on what interested them and which
exhibits held their attention will certainly
provide indicators for=20
improvement of exhibits. Over a period of time a
great deal of improvement can be made in the
quality and effectiveness of exhibits as well as
in the selection of display techniques to be
used. Viewer feedback could be obtained both
through questionnaires as well as through
discrete observation of viewers as they move from
exhibit to exhibit.
The Design Process:The design and development of
a new exhibition can be handled as a fairly
systematic task. As I have stated earlier, this
is essentially a multi-disciplinary exercise. The
process begins with research and information
collection on the subject matter of the
exhibition. Once a fair degree of clarity
emerges, the theme of the exhibition is
articulated in the form of a preliminary concept
for the whole exhibition. This is usually
visually represented in a skeleton concept model,
which would be arrived at through an exploration
of alternative treatments. Such explorations are
carried out for various levels of detail such as
overall layout, detailing of sections, individual
displays and panels. Final concept is frozen at
this stage while individual exhibits are worked
out to very fine levels of detail. Expensive or
complex exhibits are tested through specially
built mock-ups before major investments are made
in their execution. Detailed plans, layouts and
technical specifications are drawn up for each
exhibit so that they could either is executed
in-house or through contractors. These numerous
iterations from experiment to specification are
the central features of the design process. It is
this systematic procedure that proves to be
cost-effective in the long run.
Note: Mr. Ranjan used slides to illustrate his talk.
~
UnQuote
M P Ranjan
17 September 2005 at 1.20 pm IST
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