Unit 12 Exhibitions Outline Main Article

Unit 12 Exhibitions

Outline • Main Article • Dialogues • Cultural Notes 2

Main Article 3

• In 1851, an astonishing building was erected in London. Known as the Crystal Palace, it was made entirely from glass and designed to house the most famous exhibition in history: the Great Exhibition, the first world fair (or “expo”). The palace has long since been destroyed, but the legacy of the exhibition lives on: world expos, which showcase different countries’ cultures and industries, are still held every few years. Spain, China and South Korea are recent hosts. 4

• Of course, most exhibitions do not take place on such a grand scale. Whilst international museums like the Louvre still bring in thousands of visitors, local exhibitions might attract just a handful of people to a single room of exhibits. • There are three main types of exhibition: art, interpretive and commercial. 5

★Art exhibitions display creative works, usually organized by movement (e. g. Cubism), genre (e. g. street photography) or theme (e. g. climate change). An exhibition which features the work of only one living artist is called a solo show, and one which looks back at a lifetime of work by one artist is known as a retrospective. 6

★Interpretive exhibitions generally show scientific or historical artefacts. Their primary purpose is to educate, and they contain information in the form of text, diagrams and interactive displays alongside the main exhibits. ★Commercial exhibitions, also called trade fairs, allow designers and manufacturers to promote their latest products. The best known of these is probably the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 7

• Exhibitions can also be described as static (shown in one venue, like The Great Exhibition) or traveling (shown in many venues). The most successful traveling exhibition of the last few years took figures from the Terra cotta Army to North and South America, Australia and Europe; the British Museum was forced to stay open until midnight for the duration of the exhibition because demand was so high – and many people were still unable to get tickets! 8

• Perhaps this problem will be eradicated within the next decade or so, since online exhibitions are becoming increasingly common. They are still in their infancy and seem unlikely to replace traditional exhibitions altogether, but they can be used to promote or expand on them. There are clear advantages to online exhibitions: they are costeffective, have the potential to reach a vast audience, and reduce conservation issues with old, fragile pieces. 9

• Among public institutions, the Smithsonian American Art Museum is leading the way with this new concept. Visitors to their website can view highresolution images, complete with object labels, to complement past and present exhibitions. However, as always, it is young people who are shaping the future. A growing number of art students use content curation sites such as Tumblr to show their work, while many graduate shows are available as virtual exhibitions. Visiting a gallery, which was once seen as an elite pastime, is now an option for anyone with an Internet connection. 10

Dialogues 11

• Scenario 1 An art agent is talking with an artist about organizing an exhibition in an art gallery. Katie: What do you think of the gallery? Is the space big enough for your exhibition? Carl: It’s perfect! And there’s so much natural light. Katie: Great. So can you tell me about the pieces you want to show here? That way, we can start to plan the display. 12

Carl: OK. Well, there are 20 or so paintings and eight collages, so everything will be wall-mounted. Katie: That makes things easy. What kind of size are we talking about? Carl: The two largest paintings are each a meter square. The others are probably half that. Katie: How about hanging the two large pieces on either side of this window? 13

Carl: Yes, that would be ideal. Katie: And have you thought about object labels? Carl: I have. It keeps me awake at night! I’m not very good at writing about my work. Katie: You don’t have to say much, you know. It’s enough to write the title, the date and the medium. Carl: Really? I thought I would have to write a mini essay. What a relief! 14

• Scenario 2 One Taiwanese student is talking with an international student about visiting National Palace Museum for an exhibition of traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting. 15

Yi-chun: You look lost. Can I give you a hand? Greg: Oh, thanks. I want to go to the National Palace Museum, but this map is confusing! Yi-chun: It’s not far. Take the MRT and get off at Shilin station. It’s this one, here. Greg: Shilin station. Right. Do you know if the calligraphy exhibition is still on? A friend recommended it to me. 16

Yi-chun: Wow, you’re lucky – it’s closing tomorrow. It might be busy today, but it’s definitely worth seeing. Greg: I heard they have some work by Dong Qichang. I really want to see that. Yi-chun: You know about Dong Qichang? That’s surprising, for a foreigner! Greg: Ha ha, I don’t know very much. But I went to art school in New York City and we studied him a little. 17

Yi-chun: You’re from the United States? Are you working in Taiwan? Greg: Actually, I’m still a student. I’m taking a Master’s degree in fine art conservation. Yi-chun: That’s fascinating. I hope you enjoy the exhibition and your stay in Taipei! 18

Cultural Notes 19

Note 1 • The World’s Most Popular Art Museums • The Louvre, in Paris, is the most visited gallery in the world. It has existed for over 200 years and displays 35, 000 works of art, including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. In 2012 the Louvre opened a sister gallery in the town of Lens, in northern France, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open in 2015. 20

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, has the second highest number of visitors. It is unusual because, although it has one of the most impressive collections on the planet, it has no fixed admission fee; visitors pay whatever they can afford. 21

• The third, fourth and fifth most popular art museums – the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Tate Modern – are all in London. Whilst the first two institutions were founded in 1752 and 1824 respectively, the Tate Modern only opened its doors in the year 2000. It is located inside a former power station. 22

Note 2 • Organizing an Exhibition • Organizing an exhibition is a big task. First, the artist must decide whether to exhibit alone or with others. If it is a joint exhibition, all the contributors must agree on a theme and a title for their show. They must then find a suitable venue, and organize a schedule. 23

• After the initial planning stage, the artist or artists must finalize their budget. There are many costs to take into consideration, including hiring the venue, buying materials and equipment, and promoting the event. If any of the contributing artists are well known, they may also expect to be paid. 24

• In the past, exhibitions were promoted by word of mouth, or through printed material such as posters and leaflets, but these days social media have an equally large part to play. It is also common to invite reporters from the local press to the opening of an art show. 25

The End 26

Pictures 27

the Great Exhibition The Crystal Palace http: //www. ph. ucla. edu/epi/snow/1859 map/greatexhibition_dickinson. jpg http: //upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/d /d 8/Crystal_Palace_General_view_from_Water_Te mple. jpg 28

Louvre http: //lovingitup. files. wordpres s. com/2011/12/louvre. jpg 29

Consumer Electronics Show http: //i. dailymail. co. uk/i/pix/2012/01/11/article-00 F 6829 DD 00000578 -733_634 x 398. jpg 30

Terracotta Army British Museum http: //upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/comm ons/3/3 a/British_Museum_from_NE_2. JPG http: //www. age-of-thesage. org/archaeology/terracotta_warriors. jpg 31

Smithsonian American Art Museum http: //upload. wikimedia. org/wikipedia/commons/4 /44/Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum_exterior_ 3. jpg 32

collages http: //www. shapecollage. com/ National Palace Museum http: //mykafkaesquelife. blogspot. tw/2013/01/natio nal-palace-museum-taipei. html 33

Chinese calligraphy http: //thechinamagazine. com/learn-chinesecalligraphy/ Dong Qichang http: //pl. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dong_Qichang 34