PROFESSIONAL ROLES
WITHIN THE GALLERY
DIRECTOR
MARKETERS
CURATOR
REGISTRAR
TECHNICIANS
FRONT OF HOUSE
COLLECTIONS
EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL ROLES
WITHIN THE GALLERY
CURATOR
NGV
27 curators over 10 specialist disciplines
ROLE OF THE
CURATOR
Researching and interpreting artworks
Managing exhibitions
Writing texts on exhibitions, works and artists
Preparing acquisition proposals
Delivering floor talks and lectures
Assisting with conservation
Development of exhibition program
Handling artworks
Writing of collection policies
Liaising with other staff to promote exhibitions.
CURATORIAL
SELECTION
Exhibitions can explore a variety of ideas, and are intended to provide insight into
art and its various contexts. For example:
The development of an artist’s work
Relationship between works by different artists
How artworks relate to cultures, histories and ideas
The nature and use of a particular medium
A particular subject or theme
The art of a particular time and/or place
The art of a particular individual, group of artists, or artistic style
DISPLAY OF ART WORKS
Inhouse / travelling
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Australia (b. 1935)
STILL LIFE – SENTINEL 2011
Wood-fired porcelain
Valerie Sheldon Bequest
2012.518a-d
Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Australia (b. 1935)
STILL LIFE – SENTINEL 2011
Wood-fired porcelain
Valerie Sheldon Bequest
2012.518a-d
Born in 1935, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott is one of Australia's most
acclaimed contemporary potters with a career spanning five
decades. She is best known for her elegant still life arrangements of
delicate porcelain bottles, pots and vessels, which appear to form
intimate portraits referencing human forms and relationships.
These works, which she began creating in the late 1980s are
inspired by the still life paintings of the Italian twentieth-century
artist Georgio Morandi, and her palette is derived from the China's
Song Dynasty wares introduced to her in her early apprenticeships
with influential English potters such as Michael Cardew and
Bernard Leach.
DISPLAY OF ART WORKS
Design elements
Curatorial Practice and Exhibition Design
Design Elements
Layout
•
Layout is a key aspect when developing
an exhibition.
•
So we can determine whether the
exhibition can fit the space.
•
It gives us any understanding of what
objects should be selected.
•
If labels or information panels need to be
made.
•
Whether display cases will fit
comfortably in the space.
•
Some key points are room dimensions,
entry and exits points, traffic flow,
removable and immovable objects.
Display
•
Display is how you highlight the
exhibition story through relationships
between objects and graphics.
•
Some key point of display are distance,
height, space, an objects balance,
contrast and theme.
Design Elements
Colour
•
A change in colour promotes movement
and enticesvisitorsalong the path of
progression.
•
It also makes people curious and is a
good way to transition between
exhibitions and spaces.
•
Can enhance some artworks.
Sound
•
Can be used as a device for
sending information to visitors.
•
It can enrich the display and the learning
experience.
Curatorial Practice and Exhibition Design
Design Elements
Flow
•
•
Flow is the way the public move through
an exhibition.
The main types of traffic flow are
structured, unstructured and suggested.
Light
•
Light enhances the visual experience.
•
It draws a viewer’s attention to certain
objects.
•
Sometimes an exhibition comes with set
lighting requirements.
DISPLAY OF ART WORKS
Display considerations
Curatorial Practice and Exhibition Design
DesignElements
Height
•
In the design process one of the main rules that we have is that artworks
need to be positioned at eye level for viewing.
•
The average height for viewing is 1.55m or 5 feet 1 inch and needs to
be level with the middle of the artwork.
•
This is so the viewer can take in the whole artwork.
•
If it is either too high or low then your eyes tend to cut the top or
bottom of the work off, especially with larger works.
Space
• All objects should be spaced evenly.
• If they are part of a group of works then they may need to be
spaced closer together.
• It comes down to using your best aesthetic judgment.
Balance
•
It all depends on when the object was made, the style, medium, artist,
size and whether it is part of the group or set of objects.
•
General it boils down to you using your best aesthetic judgment, some
objects simply look better singularly while others need to be put into a
group.