The production of a quality museum exhibition
requires the close interaction of people who bring together many different skills and disciplines. My Fellowship in Museum
Practice was interdisciplinary, geared towards practical, hands-on work in exhibition design
and production. The goal of my research was to analyze current approaches to design, fabrication
and
transportation of traveling museum exhibitions and to develop more effective
approaches to the production of these exhibitions. I was excited by the opportunity provided
by this project and am thankful to the Office of Museum Programs for considering my
nontraditional proposal. This broad, technical overview of traveling exhibitions, while
generating many
interesting ideas and tidbits does not lend itself to a neat summary. There are
certainly exhibition systems, new types of hardware and fabrication techniques, new tricks
and methods that can help produce better exhibitions that are more accessible to small
museums. I was constantly reminded during my time at the Smithsonian that the most crucial
elements in the production of quality traveling exhibitions are not technical, having to do with
systems and hardware, but relate more to the exhibition production process itself.
My experience with traveling exhibitions to small venues is best illustrated by the work I did on "The Mirror of the Martyrs," a traveling exhibition I helped produce at Kauffman Museum, a small natural and cultural history museum affiliated with Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. In many ways this exhibition is very conventional: walls with graphics, text and large photo blow-ups, cases with artifacts. We wanted the exhibition to have a strong impact in any venue. We did not sacrifice large graphics in the traveling version; we also designed self-contained lighting into a modular exhibition system to acheive the same effect at each venue. The modular system consists of an aluminum framework - 19 sections, 20 wide by 80 tall and 28 sections, 40 wide by 80 tall - covered with 1/8th inch thick plastic panels held in place with hook and loop fasteners. Electrical components for the lighting system are hidden in the frame work, with lights clipping to the top rail of the frame. The removable panels allow the exhibition to be reconfigured to a variety of spaces. Walnut end caps serve as both corner connectors and legs.
The exhibition also needed to be available at a
reasonable cost to diverse venues across the United States and Canada. We were able to accomplish this using a small moving
van outfitted to transport the custom designed exhibition system. (The exhibition
panel sections slide into felt lined tracks in the back of the truck.) A Kauffman Museum staff
person drives
the truck from site to site and assists in the installation and packing of the
exhibition. This has ensured that the exhibition is maintained and set up in a configuration that
best suits each venue, regardless of the skill or availability of staffing at each site. An
unexpected benefit has been the direct feedback regarding the exhibition from the local hosts. Kauffman
Museum
staff can also be available to help with docent and volunteer orientation to the
exhibition after the installation is completed. Since 1991 the show has been to over 29 venues in
nine states and two Canadian provinces.
The Fellowships in Museum Practice program is
intended to give museum professionals the opportunity to think more broadly about their ideas... As the
primary exhibition production staff member at a small museum there is little time to think beyond the
pressing deadlines of the next opening. I welcomed the opportunity to gain a wider view of the
exhibition
production process in the Smithsonian environment yet I was also surprised at
how difficult it is to think about my work in the abstract. As a builder, inventor, tinkerer and
designer, I was reminded of my need for concrete projects and challenges. It takes a specific
problem to get my creative juices flowing. As I began work at the Smithsonian's Office of
Exhibits Central
(OEC) this point was made in another way by Ken Young, retiring senior designer.
I explained my project to him, describing the need for a better traveling
exhibition system to access small rural venues. He responded that each exhibition is unique and one
can t come up with one solution for all problems. This was good advice, although it did put a
damper on my
search for the perfect solution.
Many of the curatorial, design and production
issues related to traveling exhibitions are the same as those for a regular museum installation. However, producing an
exhibition that can travel introduces a new set of concerns, especially when the destinations are
small, distant venues. "A Rural Initiative: Reaching New Communities," a report
developed by the
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in 1993, presents
some of the considerations related to the production of small format
exhibitions for rural exhibition venues. Most of these sites have two or less full-time employees, work with
exhibition and program budgets of less than $500, can make approximately 500 square feet of
exhibition
space available and see less than 12,000 visitors annually. At the same time the
exhibitions sent to these venues must create an architectural presence that justifies
the programming efforts surrounding it, and adequately embody the visitors expectations of
a Smithsonian exhibition.
It may seem impossible to produce an exhibition
with architectural presence that can easily be shipped by UPS. The plastic panel system developed at OEC as a part of
SITES' Rural Initiative project is one ingenious solution. In this system interchangeable
plastic panels stack together with simple connectors. The whole system packs into off-the-shelf
plastic cases capable of being shipped by UPS. The panel system is used in two SITES
exhibitions, "Produce for Victory" and "Saynday was coming Along," and is
planned for use in other exhibitions now under development. Another inexpensive solution to creating an
effective presence is illustrated by the traveling exhibition, "Monumental
Propaganda," in the
Smithsonian's International Gallery Concourse. The exhibition design uses large
banners to define space. All the banners for this installation came in one small box
shipped by UPS, yet when installed dramatically transform the exhibition area.
In working out solutions to impossible problems I am often reminded of the A, B, C, Q approach recommended by a friend involved in product design. The A, B, C, Q approach involves generating several safe design proposals, A, B, and C and then proposing another completely unorthodox Q solution. Rarely is the Q solution used, yet it often helps in the refinement of the final design. The search for creative approaches to traveling exhibition design needs Q solutions, ways to help reconceptualize exhibition production. Realizing that each exhibition will require unique solutions, I offer the following suggestions for new and creative ways to view exhibitions and their development.
Understand exhibitions as a process, not a
product: We often think of an exhibition as a product originating with a curator, drawn by a designer and then built in
the shop. When the exhibition opens or ships the product is completed. It is at this point,
though, that an important phase of the exhibition process actually starts. Visitors use the
exhibition, react to it
and may generate feedback. In our attempt to make durable, visitor-proof
exhibitions, however, we often create exhibitions that become static and difficult to
modify. From curation to fabrication, exhibitions should have the potential to be dynamic and
capable of being modified based on feedback from each venue.
Improve tools of communication in exhibition
development: People with diverse skills and from different backgrounds come together to create exhibitions. Effective
communication is crucial among these exhibition team members. In my experience, new ideas or
possibilities often arise as the exhibition design nears completion. The curator may only
fully understand
what the designer has intended as the exhibition installation nears completion.
One could ignore these last minute ideas because things are too far along but
often it is these new ideas that add an extra something that makes an exhibition excellent. The
earlier in the design process that all members of the team can accurately visualize the intended
outcome the better. Extra time and money spent in communication and presentation in the early phase
of exhibition design helps ensure the production of an effective exhibition. For
the exhibition designer this requires improved tools for conceptualizing and sharing design
ideas. A set of two dimensional drawings may not adequately convey to others the three
dimensional reality
of the exhibition. Often a simple conceptual model can be built in less time
than it would take to draw a preliminary plan. Other members of the development team can
understand the spatial relation of exhibition components and alternative arrangements can be
suggested and
demonstrated simply by rearranging parts of the model. In the museum field we
know that people learn best when they can use their hands, but we often forget to use this
knowledge in presenting our own ideas to each other.
Use a more inclusive concept of exhibition team:
There is much discussion about the team concept in developing exhibitions. Nowhere is this concept more applicable
than in the production of traveling exhibitions. Constraints on weight, cost and space often
require
creative experimentation with new materials and fabrication techniques for small
format
traveling exhibitions. The input of people who will be doing the final stages of
fabrication is
crucial. If possible, the users of the exhibition should also have some
representation on the development team.
Rethink the definition of an exhibition: To create
the impossible with traveling
exhibitions, to be open to the possibility of a Q solution, we need
to rethink our definition
of exhibition. We often think of an exhibition as a collection
of artifacts with walls and graphics. At its most basic level, an exhibition is an attempt to communicate
with an audience
in a three dimensional environment. How can that communication best be
accomplished with the given exhibition content? A few questions to scratch the surface....Can
shipping cases become vitrines? Can large fabric panels or banners help define the exhibition
space? Can special lighting be used to shape the visitor s experience? How are text and
artifacts best
presented to viewers?
Take Risks: All of these suggestions require the willingness to try new ideas and take risks. It is easy to dismiss a new proposal if it doesn t fit our preconceived standards of what an exhibition should be. The preoccupation with ADA guidelines, the desire to be politically correct, even the concern for durability can take our attention away from the larger goal of producing innovative exhibitions, accessible to a large diverse population scattered across the country. An occasional failure may be the cost one pays for exploring and discovering new solutions to the challenges of small traveling exhibitions.
When I returned to the Kauffman Museum after
completing my fellowship I was often asked What did you enjoy most about your time at the Smithsonian? It was
exciting to learn new
fabrication techniques at OEC. It will be helpful to use some of the new
materials I was
exposed to. But more important than these techniques was the process. How an
exhibition is
conceived and developed, and how one views the exhibition medium itself,
determines the
solutions available to the problems presented by traveling exhibitions. It is
not individual
projects that come to mind, but the people with whom I had the chance to work
and visit. In
the end, the exhibition production process is about interaction between people.
(Charles Regier has worked at Kauffman Museum since 1985 as exhibition builder and technical designer and is currently involved with exhibition design and development. Mr. Regier is the Smithsonian's seventh Fellow in Museum Practice.)
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