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Thread: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

  1. #1

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    Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    A very interesting and wonderful experience. I curated the Dr. Scott Lieberman show for the Tyler Museum of Art. Dr. Lieberman's claim to fame is the photography of the Space Shuttle Columbia coming apart as it crossed East Texas. He'd gotten up to photograph it coming over and instead shot the front page picture for magazines and newspapers internationally, an image that got nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

    We hung 93 images of varying work. I sorted out the photos, supervised printing, selected and sequenced the show...pretty much all the decisions. I started off by picking images that I thought we should show and getting him to print them off his facebook page. He did his own printing at home and did a very good job. The show is on 20X24, 16 X20 and 8 1/2 X 11 paper. All matching frames from the museum. All color images.

    There's more math to this than I thought. We calculated the linear wall space actually available, subtracting the corners and edges that you had to stay out of, then calculated the inches of framed art minus the spacing in between. After a good bit of calculator punching we had the actual number of artworks that could be shown. One whole wall was dedicated to an assembly of celebrity shots. The title wall only has titles. There was a quilt to be included and two cases of newspapers, magazines, the camera, the portfolio submission for the pulitzer, et. Plus a framed set of plates from the Time Magazine cover and some other awards.

    After all that there still was the problem of sorting out the images into some series that had a visual flow and made sense. The gallery is large and very high ceiling-ed. There is a front part and back part and some free standing walls that could be moved. I put the quilt at the entrance next to the title wall. Hung the awards next to some a couple of written description cards. Just behind a standing wall was the space for the shuttle/pulitzer. It was hung fairly sparsely- being photos about a tragedy and having two cases full of newspapers with the famous image on them. I transitioned out of that room with the start of a "technology series- lots of flight and airplane/balloon images, then down a long wall into the next gallery with that same theme, gradually morphing into more "people" photographs, turned the corner and changed to landscape, bent at the corner into nature and animals, then into a space that was the celebrity wall with a bench.

    I used opposing walls in every case to set images which resonated across the space or continued a theme. Every sequence down a wall is carefully selected. The celebrity wall,- is 48 matted 8 1/2 X 11 paper prints all hung an inch from each other with a bench and three big prints on the facing stand-alone wall. Laying those headshot/performance shots, like a big puzzle, was exactly the game any one of us would relish. I laid the matted prints out on the floor. I spread out the women and musician shots. Then I started making one relate to another. Bill Cosby, Sarah Palin, Garo Yepreminan, Dr. Krauthammer, PJ, O'Rourke, BB King, Oliver North, Ken Stabler, Harvey Kormann, ZZ Topp- really was quite a gallery. The staff and I looked them over for a couple of days until I finally called it done. The staff got it in the mats, in the frames and on the wall. We've been planning it for a year though the big push has been since the fall.

    Show opened Saturday Night. Rousing success!

  2. #2

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    I'm always interested in how shows are hung. Lots of work behind the scenes. I may never get another shot at hanging a show, especially one this size so I tried to enjoy it as much as possible. Many political considerations. For example, Dr. Lieberman loves cars, owns a Lambourgini. The Lambo folks promised him 1000.00 to support the show. He wanted the Lambourgini print in the show because he had promised them. It hadn't made the first cut. I was happy to switch out something, but this came up after the show was almost all on the wall. The print I WANTED to pull and replace it with was a vertical.....and the Lambo shot a horizontal. That would mean we had to rehang the wall from that print to the corner. I couldn't put it anywhere because the images were VERY carefully sequenced. Turns out the Lambourgini folks hadn't sent the check, so the lambo print sat in the vault.

    I kept in mind that it was Lieberman's show, not mine, so I was ready to make choices that needed to be made for other reasons than imagery.

  3. #3
    New Orleans, LA
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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    Good for you! I'm sure the exhibit is well worth seeing. Perhaps you could post some installation photos?

    At the New Orleans Photo Alliance http://neworleansphotoalliance.org/exhibitions.php we have hung over 40 exhibits in our gallery and other venues over the past eight years. Some large group shows, some three- to four-person shows, and some individual photographers. Each of them was challenging and fun in its own right. Hanging shows is creative in its own way. Figuring out the sequencing and how images relate to each other on the wall and across the gallery from each other was always a challenge. And its a great way to work with other creatives on a common goal.

  4. #4
    ROL's Avatar
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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    I always plot out framed work dimensionally on walls with photoshop or its equivalent for small spaces with actual images in correct frame size, so that I can see everything in relation. I have also made printouts of walls and image cutouts, old style cut and paste (tape) style, making final decisions "tactilely". Once that's done, installation is very fast. I once did an entire 60 work show consisting of 5 framed sizes, both portrait and landscape, in less than a couple of hours. The experienced gallerist across the street simply couldn't believe how fast the show went up. I've also used 3D architectural rendering programs to do virtual walk throughs of the entire space with separate rooms for a show. Here is a representative rendering jpeg dump and a corresponding pic from the installation:


    3D Computer Rendering Plan


    Actual Installation
    Last edited by ROL; 25-Mar-2014 at 10:44. Reason: spelling

  5. #5

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    It was quite an opportunity for which I am grateful! I was first brought on board just to give a little expertise in printing, then the curator left and I was the main expertise for the exhibition. Wonderful hard-working staff. I'll post some photos.

  6. #6
    David Brown bigdog's Avatar
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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    For the first exhibition of the Texas Church Project, I built a model. While it worked and was useful in actually having 5 persons hanging the prints, it may have been overkill. In later exhibitions, I just did flat layouts of the walls. In one space, however, we had no idea what we would have until we got there, so improvised on the spot. It all seemed to work.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails gallerymodel2.jpg   gallerymodel1.jpg   gallerymodel3.jpg  

  7. #7

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    Both of those pretty terrific looking projects!

    Here's a couple shots of the Lieberman Show. Title wall and view from entrance and an overhead showing general layout.

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  8. #8

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    In the shuttle area and then around the corner to second room.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  9. #9

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    Into the second room showing celeb wall and stand-out wall.

    Attachment 112996Attachment 112997Attachment 112998

  10. #10

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    Re: Curating photography exhibit for Tyler Museum of Art.

    Looking back toward entrance.

    Attachment 112999

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