The past month has gone by in a blur!
The Museum is preparing for our fundraiser, the 2011 Hall of Fame gala. This year we are honoring I. Jon Brumley, Dr. Sam Gibbs, William Kleine and the team of Mack Chase and John R. Gray. Invitations are out, thanks to some great and dedicated staff members and volunteers! The event is next Thursday night. Do you have your seat reserved?
The last week of March, I went to Austin for the Outcome Based Evaluation of the Train to Share grant program which I have participated in for the past several years. Team members from all over Texas congregated to discuss individual and organizational successes (and not-so-successes) for the grant as well as offer some reflection and insight into the program itself, with suggestions for the future.
That week also saw the installation of the new exhibit in the Davidson Gallery: Extra Virgin Petrus Oil by Mery Codigna Collet, a Venezuelan artist who uses petroleum and its by-products to highlight serious concerns. Her method is fascinating: she paints on pieces of plastic, then layers them facing the canvas. The result, in my opinion, is a high-gloss painting with depth. You must see them in person! Mery had a successful gallery talk and opening last Tuesday.
Tomorrow, the Archives Center will be undergoing some changes too. With the Train to Share grant, we have been able to purchase a networked server dedicated to the Museum's Library & Archives Center. The server will house the various files and digital objects (photographs) as well as the collection management database which all will be accessed from the computers in the Center.
Among those activities, we have been fielding requests for photographs and research materials. We are definitely staying busy! Of course, May is shaping up to be a busy month too....
Showing posts with label exhibit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhibit. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Ole Switcheroo ... Sort Of
So, you may notice that it's not Friday. In fact it's Thursday ... almost a week AFTER the Friday mentioned in my previous post. Short story is that I misspoke -- I really should confirm everything before I say (or write) things like that on this blog. I hope you will forgive me.
Swtiching out the dresses in the Memorabilia Room in the East Wing was postponed to this past Wednesday. I needed Edward to open the case (which only opens on one narrow side) and I recruited Michelle to help since Whitney was gone all week. Little did I know that the change of plans was an omen of things to come ...
On loan to the Museum since 2002, the wedding dress with shoes belongs to Kathy Shannon, Executive Director, and was worn by her grandmother. Kathy's oldest daughter, recently engaged, wants to wear her great-grandmother's shoes. Kathy asked if I could switch out the dresses in the case and return the wedding dress and shoes. Looking into my records, I discovered that those dresses had been on display since 2002 when Kathy loaned the wedding dress and the black dress was donated to the Museum. Eight years is a little long for clothing to be on display. It was certainly time to switch out dresses!
After removing the glass panel of the case and some of the objects, Edward and Michelle work on removing the mannequin with the wedding dress.
I undress the mannequin. I remove the hat and veil and then I remove the shoes (size 5 1/4!). Michelle and I managed to remove the mannequin arms so that the dress slipped over the head.
I had selected two dresses from the Permanent Collection to replace the wedding dress and black flapper dress.
I unpack the navy organza and satin dress with rust trim.
I attempt to dress the mannequin.
Despite valiant efforts by Michelle and I, we were unable to dress the mannequin. The mannequin was too big for the dress. Plus, the fabric was so fragile that there were rips and tears throughout. The navy dress was not in good condition for display.
I decided to take a look at the red georgette dress. It too was in poor condition.
The dress and jacket are made of georgette. The fabric now is very fragile and torn in places. Notice the white spot on the jacket -- that's a hole.
I look at my list to see of potential replacements.
So what to do? We can't put a naked (pronounced nak-id) mannequin back in the case. And I didn't think I had anything else in the Permanent Collection in good enough condition to be on display.
Our solution? Keep the black flapper dress. Rearrange objects within the case and from the room to fill in the case. Because of the nature of the display case (mainly, one opening at a narrow end), I ended up being a contortionist. The following shots are of me maneuvering the case, moving objects and being a little silly.
"Look at me, I'm a mannequin."
Moving objects so that the case is balanced and aesthetically pleasing.
The final result.
STAY TUNED (this time for real): Tomorrow, I'll show you how I packed the wedding dress. If you want to "heirloom" your own wedding dress, follow these simple steps!
Swtiching out the dresses in the Memorabilia Room in the East Wing was postponed to this past Wednesday. I needed Edward to open the case (which only opens on one narrow side) and I recruited Michelle to help since Whitney was gone all week. Little did I know that the change of plans was an omen of things to come ...
On loan to the Museum since 2002, the wedding dress with shoes belongs to Kathy Shannon, Executive Director, and was worn by her grandmother. Kathy's oldest daughter, recently engaged, wants to wear her great-grandmother's shoes. Kathy asked if I could switch out the dresses in the case and return the wedding dress and shoes. Looking into my records, I discovered that those dresses had been on display since 2002 when Kathy loaned the wedding dress and the black dress was donated to the Museum. Eight years is a little long for clothing to be on display. It was certainly time to switch out dresses!
After removing the glass panel of the case and some of the objects, Edward and Michelle work on removing the mannequin with the wedding dress.
I undress the mannequin. I remove the hat and veil and then I remove the shoes (size 5 1/4!). Michelle and I managed to remove the mannequin arms so that the dress slipped over the head.
I had selected two dresses from the Permanent Collection to replace the wedding dress and black flapper dress.
I unpack the navy organza and satin dress with rust trim.
I attempt to dress the mannequin.
Despite valiant efforts by Michelle and I, we were unable to dress the mannequin. The mannequin was too big for the dress. Plus, the fabric was so fragile that there were rips and tears throughout. The navy dress was not in good condition for display.
I decided to take a look at the red georgette dress. It too was in poor condition.
The dress and jacket are made of georgette. The fabric now is very fragile and torn in places. Notice the white spot on the jacket -- that's a hole.
I look at my list to see of potential replacements.
So what to do? We can't put a naked (pronounced nak-id) mannequin back in the case. And I didn't think I had anything else in the Permanent Collection in good enough condition to be on display.
Our solution? Keep the black flapper dress. Rearrange objects within the case and from the room to fill in the case. Because of the nature of the display case (mainly, one opening at a narrow end), I ended up being a contortionist. The following shots are of me maneuvering the case, moving objects and being a little silly.
"Look at me, I'm a mannequin."
Moving objects so that the case is balanced and aesthetically pleasing.
The final result.
STAY TUNED (this time for real): Tomorrow, I'll show you how I packed the wedding dress. If you want to "heirloom" your own wedding dress, follow these simple steps!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
De-installation
This week, Lauren (the Archives Assistant) and I worked on de-installing the exhibit The Working Drawings of Tom Lovell which has been on display at The Petroleum Museum since September 2009. It was a great exhibit, showing the working process of the artist as well as his relationship with George T. Abell, museum founder who commissioned the fourteen paintings hanging nearby. We were lucky enough to borrow several items from a private collector in Denver, CO, as well as from the Abell-Hanger Foundation. I hope you had a chance to see the exhibit!
De-installation is a museum word that encompasses much more than just taking pictures off the walls. For instance, shipping had to be arranged for those items returning to Denver. I hope this "photo essay" will demonstrate exactly what that word means!
Above: The gallery prior to de-installation. Notice the wooden boxes or crates (we call them coffins) in which most of the drawings are housed.
Above: First, we condition report the items we borrowed. In other words, we compare the drawing's condition now to what it was when we first got it. Luckily, none of the items in this exhibit had any major damage!
Above: For those items we borrowed and then framed, we had to unframe. We carefully took apart the frame, removing the mat. We then removed the object, wrapped in Mylar, from the mat. Then, using white cotton gloves to handle them, we removed the items from their Mylar envelopes. Ta dah!
Most of the objects in the exhibit were from the Museum's permanent collection. They are stored in their frames in the crates.
Above: After condition reporting the drawings, Lauren returns them to their respective crates. Notice the dark gray foam which cushions each frame and protects them from damage.
But we aren't done! After removing the section and object labels, we then have to remove the hardware from the walls.
Above: Lauren works on removing the hardware while I take a moment to catch her in action!
After removing the vinyl lettering from the walls, facilities will prep the galleries for the next exhibit. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to blog about the flip-side of de-installation -- INSTALLATION!
De-installation is a museum word that encompasses much more than just taking pictures off the walls. For instance, shipping had to be arranged for those items returning to Denver. I hope this "photo essay" will demonstrate exactly what that word means!
Above: The gallery prior to de-installation. Notice the wooden boxes or crates (we call them coffins) in which most of the drawings are housed.
Above: First, we condition report the items we borrowed. In other words, we compare the drawing's condition now to what it was when we first got it. Luckily, none of the items in this exhibit had any major damage!
Above: For those items we borrowed and then framed, we had to unframe. We carefully took apart the frame, removing the mat. We then removed the object, wrapped in Mylar, from the mat. Then, using white cotton gloves to handle them, we removed the items from their Mylar envelopes. Ta dah!
Most of the objects in the exhibit were from the Museum's permanent collection. They are stored in their frames in the crates.
Above: After condition reporting the drawings, Lauren returns them to their respective crates. Notice the dark gray foam which cushions each frame and protects them from damage.
But we aren't done! After removing the section and object labels, we then have to remove the hardware from the walls.
Above: Lauren works on removing the hardware while I take a moment to catch her in action!
After removing the vinyl lettering from the walls, facilities will prep the galleries for the next exhibit. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to blog about the flip-side of de-installation -- INSTALLATION!
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