John Singer Sargent Watercolors
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
October 13, 2013 - January 20, 2014
Ann and Graham Gund Galleryå
More than meets the eye...
All it took was one question to Anthony, a staff member patrolling the exhibit to be sure no one uses flash photography or gets too close to the artwork.
“How many paintings here?” I ask.
“97 paintings in 11 rooms,” he answers.
“The room felt different last time I was here,” says I.
“The room is reduced to rubble after each exhibit, the temporary walls that have been erected are torn down, moldings and all,” says Anthony.
“You mean they actually build walls inside this room?” I ask.
Happy for an audience, he goes on to say that designers and curators figure out the best way lay out the collection of art, factor in traffic patterns, viewing angles, specific location for each piece of art, illumination, informational panels, and the identifying labels for each painting. They choose how to sequence the art either chronologically of thematically.
Electricians, carpenters, and painters roll up their sleeves and get to work. Using tracks built into the ceiling, they hang walls, install ceiling moldings, and frame doors through which the traffic will flow. He points out the superstructures in the ceiling from which the temporary walls have been hung.
The curators and designers decide on a color scheme, colors for each room that complement whatever art is inside it. We’re talking people who are into detail. They even select door and ceiling moldings, and things I'm not even aware of yet...pretty impressive.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall watching all this happen. It would be great behind the scenes video for patrons to see, add another layer of appreciation of how the exhibit grows from a vision to a reality.
Voila! One empty, huge, rectangular space with all the allure of a warehouse space is transformed into an arresting visual experience.
Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
who knew???? I have visited parts of the exhibit four times and will be forever grateful for you having put this all together into one document which I can revisit when I miss the brilliant colors, variety of themes/subjects, and special paintings (although I took many photos as well) such as "The Tramp" which I have been called back to on every visit....
Posted by: Bambi Good | January 05, 2014 at 06:22 PM
You never know what you'll get when you ask a question...this was pure serendipity that i couldnt resist writing about. Like you, I took photos, was hard choosing what to include. "The Tramp" was a watercolor masquerading as an old master oil painting, wasn't it.
Posted by: Paul A. Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large | January 05, 2014 at 06:25 PM