Liquid Archive. studio arts: art industry contexts. Installation and promotion of a new exhibtion:

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1 studio arts: art industry contexts Installation and promotion of a new exhibtion: Liquid Archive CURATORIAL COLLABORATION MUMA curators consult intensively with contemporary artists, colleagues and collections when they are considering which artists to include in an exhibition and how an exhibition might be designed. Some artists have strong preferences for showing a work in a particular way. Options are discussed in conversation and via in the months prior to the exhibition and a detailed installation schedule is developed. The curator works with artists and other colleagues to decide which artworks go where, according to the rationale for the exhibition and within practical and budget limitations. A gallery plan is established to coordinate exhibition display, narrative and itineraries. PREPARING THE MUSEUM BETWEEN EXHIBITIONS After the prior exhibition is deinstalled, preparation within the MUMA galleries begins for the next exhibition. This process includes cleaning, repairing any damage to plaster and repainting walls if necessary. Prior to the installation of Liquid Archive two artifi cial walls were constructed to create spaces to isolate audio-visual and sound artworks from one another. These rooms were painted dark grey and sound baffl es were installed. MUMA museum technicians install Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin The Brother s Suicide, June , 2008

2 ARTWORKS ARRIVE AT THE MUSEUM Packing crates containing artworks arrive at MUMA and are stored prior to being installed. For example this crate has travelled from Canada and contains the dot matrix printers and other electronic devices on loan from the artists collective called [The User]. Crates are generally custom-built to secure artworks and protect them from damage during transit. This crate is off the shelf and is known as a road case, it is of a type more often used by musicians to transport equipment when they tour, it has built-in wheels and padding, as well as special easy to secure latches Above right: One of the four dot-matrix printers from the installation Quartet for dot matrix printers sits upon a table that has specially designed and built by [The User], ready to be connected. The printer is covered in plastic at this stage of the installation process to prevent dust from damaging the printer mechanism. PACKING AND UNWRAPPING ARTWORKS When two dimensional artworks are packed inside boxes and crates, multiple layers of protective materials are used to wrap them. These may include archival grade tissue paper, glassine paper, cell foam, tyvek and bubble wrap. The installation crew work together to unwrap and move larger pieces of art. They take care to support artworks from underneath to prevent damage during handling. Fragile edges must also be handled with care. THE USE OF BLOCKS AS A DEVICE TO CONSERVE ARTWORK This framed photograph, Coming Home by artist Ricky Maynard is stacked on two compressed foam blocks to protect it from damage prior to being hung on the gallery wall. It is important for the curator to be able to see how different works relate to each other in space, in order to fi nalise their placement. Sometimes arrangements which look good on a plan need to be revised in situ. ASSEMBLING ARTWORK Some artworks require a considerable amount of specialist knowledge to assemble before they can go on display, and in certain cases this process is undertaken by the artist. Canadian artists Emmanuel Madan and Thomas McIntosh from [The User] travelled to Australia to install Quartet for dot matrix printers for Liquid Archive. The technical process involved wiring and then synchronising four dot matrix printers so that they perform a sound composition captured via multiple stereo microphones, mixed by computer equipment behind the gallery and then amplifi ed within the gallery space. Prior to this stage of the installation process, the wall on the left hand side of the photograph above was constructed for this exhibit and the fl oor of the gallery was lined with carpet underlay (felt) with the intention of slowing the bounce and relay of sound within the room, enhancing the sound quality of the artwork.

3 HANDLING ARTWORKS AND PREVENTATIVE CONSERVATION WITHIN A MUSEUM ENVIRONMENT When working with artworks gallery technicians are required to apply museum-standard handling procedures. Making bodily contact with artworks can result in damage, white frames for instance can be marked by hands which appear clean, and paper and fabric pick up the oil from our skin. This is why gallery technicians take special care to wear gloves when touching artworks and only handle artworks one at a time. In the three photographs above, Laurence Aberhart s framed photographic prints are being positioned in the gallery. Note that the gallery technician is handling the artworks with blue gloves which have dual functions to provide: 1. The technician with enough grip to position artworks without them slipping or moving; and 2. Preventative conservation by ensuring acid and oils from the hands are not transferred onto the fragile surfaces of the artworks THE INSTALLATION TEAM A casually employed installation team worked with MUMA staff, in conjunction with a builder and specialist tradespeople throughout the ten day installation process for Liquid Archive. This installation team was comprised of gallery technicians who were experienced in hanging artworks, building walls, carpentry, installation of audio-visual equipment, painting and plastering. Gallery technicians refer to the installation schedule and instructions from the curator about how and where to display artworks. Gallery technicians are very often artists themselves, they become renowned for their skills and ingenuity in handling both artworks and technical equipment, and often work between multiple galleries and institutions in between arranging their own exhibitions. Below: MUMA curator Geraldine Barlow works with a gallery technician to measure and decide upon the appropriate spaces between Laurence Aberhart s series of photographs. Some parts of this process are done by eye, before being accurately measured. Sometimes larger white spaces are left in corners or between works by different artists, not everything is regular or as you might expect. Sight lines through the building are critical in the placement of works, as is creating a sense of destination or surprise. Sometimes when an artist owns their own work they may choose to handle the artwork directly rather than using gloves. In the photographs above, artist Patrick Pound is in the process of installing objects for his installation entitiled The museum of air.

4 CONDITION REPORTS Monitoring the condition of artworks over time is an important aspect of managing an art collection and hosting an exhibition such as Liquid Archive. When an artwork is loaned from an institution, artist or collector a written form known as a condition report is prepared to identify installation instructions as well as the condition of the artwork at the departure from the lender. When unpacking artworks during the installation process, gallery technicians let the curator know immediately if they see any change in condition or damage so that it can be examined. The curator the views the artwork, creates a condition report and s the artist or their representative gallery for advice if necessary to ascertain whether what can be seen is an intrinsic part of the artwork or the result of damage sustained during transit. A condition report encompasses a close examination of the artwork. The curator looks at the condition of the artwork and its support. Things to look for may include : marks dirt cracks fi ngerprints scratches bowing /cockling creases instability of components

5 PROMOTION AND MARKETING A variety of strategies are used to promote and market the Liquid Archive exhibition: Paid advertising in a variety of visual arts journals including Art Almanac, Broadsheet and un Magazine and radio 3RRR to target the local visual arts community. A large scale vinyl poster at the entrance to MUMA promotes the exhibition to students and staff at Monash University, Caulfi eld. Sandwich boards with hand written chalk messages about Liquid Archive are situated throughout the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (FADA) at Monash University, Caulfi eld. Promotional s are sent internally to all Monash staff and students. An invitation to the Liquid Archive opening celebrations is printed and distributed to participating artists, MUMA subscribers and art industry staff from collegiate museums and galleries as well as artists, collectors and media representatives. A fl yer promoting the public programs associated with the Liquid Archive exhibition is distributed to the FADA community and MUMA subscribers who choose to be informed about events hosted by MUMA. Social media avenues including the MUMA Facebook page and MUMA blog entitled The Boiler Room target the online community. The MUMA website highlights information about Liquid Archive through its current exhibitions page. Packages containing a Liquid Archive exhibition catalogue and media release are distributed to writers, journalists and art critics to encourage them to visit and write about the exhibition. Generating publicity through published articles is very effective marketing. Word of mouth from people who have already seen the exhibition and actively encourage others to do so is also very effective promotion. CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION Lighting Lighting levels within Liquid Archive the exhibition vary according to the nature of the materials within individual artworks; Conventionally all of the photographs and other fragile works on paper within the exhibition are lit with an ambient light level of lux. Video projections are located in gallery spaces that have been painted in dark shades of grey. These spaces are typically lit only by the projected artworks. The Quartet for dot matrix printers installation uses 200 lux spot lights focused on each of the four printers for dramatic effect. Globes A variety of lighting is used throughout the muesum; In the main MUMA galleries a combination of halogen fl oodlights and halogen spotlights are used along fi tted tracks. In the corridor of the gallery there is a combination of vertical fl uorescent tubes positioned along the columns as well as spot lights positioned on tracks along the ceiling. The fl uorescent tubes are an architectural design feature of the gallery interior and can be either standard globes or UV. Systems for the control of pollution, temperature and humidity As a collecting institution MUMA has been fi tted with a museum standard VESDA active air monitoring system. This system is part of the internal infrastructure of the galleries and encompasses functions such as dust fi lters in the air conditioning that are designed to remove pollutants. A humidifi cation system is attached to the main air-conditioning and heating units which are computer controlled and calibrated to maintain the appropriate heat and humidity levels. The temperature within the galleries stays between degrees and humidity at 55% plus or minus 5%. Facilities reports are reviewed regularly by MUMA staff to ensure museum standards are adhered to. [The User], Quartet for Dot matrix printers 2004 (installation view) Photo: John Brash