Special thanks to Cheryl S. White, Curatorial Coordinator, Chrysler Museum of Art, for authoring this blog post for us!
It
has been just over a year since I’ve been able to sneak out of my office during
the Friday-afternoon lull and wander around the galleries. This was one of the
perks of working at the Chrysler Museum of Art, but since our building is closed
for the first major renovation in nearly 30 years, I find myself getting
nostalgic about the art. At first I didn’t notice it much. I saw works moving
from galleries to storage, being prepped for loans to local venues, or having
behind-the-scenes conservation treatments. It almost felt like nothing had
changed—until the first day I donned a hard hat and found myself walking
through half-demolished galleries with exposed ceilings and not a work of art
in sight. My heart ached a bit.
 |
Tiffany
Studios (American, 1902–1932)
Spider
and Web Electric Lamp
with Mushroom Lamp Base, ca. 1910
Leaded
glass and bronze
Gift
of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
|
But
then something beautiful happened…. I began to imagine the freshly painted
walls glowing under state-of-the-art LED lights. I attempted to scale out the
placement of paintings and pedestals based on our most recent floor plans. I
walked into brand new galleries and the possibilities flooded my aching heart
with excitement. All this new space was just waiting to be filled with all the
art I had been missing for so long.
As
the Curatorial Coordinator, I am lucky. I’ve had a front row seat to the
process of selecting which works will be on display when we reopen on May 10,
2014. I scaled works of art to fit three-dimensional gallery models and cut and
pasted tiny versions of Renoir and Veronese paintings until my hand cramped and
glue sticks dried out. I tracked selections on spreadsheets and in databases as
curators, conservators, and educators debated countless rounds of designs until
the final plans emerged. And I’ll tell you a secret, they are nothing short of
stunning.
But,
what about the works of art that just wouldn’t fit? The ones battled for, but
ultimately cut? Those beloved works that the public seek out during repeated
visits? Works that due to size or display limitations of the medium could not
be included in this first round of installation? Aren’t these works of art
equally worthy of display?
These
are just some of the questions that I, as a member of the Museum’s Community
Conversations Committee, have been pondering. Comprised of 10 staff members, this
group is dedicated to engaging the public in new and creative ways. In
preparation of the Museum’s reopening we have vetted designs for new in-gallery
response stations and have plans to launch a website where the public can
upload their Chrysler memories. But, ultimately the Committee was responsible
for determining the first exhibition in the Chrysler’s new Waitzer Community
Gallery. And while it would have been
easy to curate a show ourselves, we saw this gallery as the perfect venue for a
genuine community conversation. Why not
ask our community— who unknowingly have guided so many of our decisions this past
year—to weigh in on some of those remaining, tougher-than-one-may-think art choices?
 |
Thomas
Hill (American, 1829–1908)
Early
Morning, Yosemite Valley, 1884
Oil
on canvas
Gift
of Mr. Edward J. Brickhouse
|
And
again something beautiful happened: By Popular Demand: Your Selections, Your
Gallery, a crowd-sourced exhibition drawn from nearly 40 works of art
not slated for installation in our permanent galleries. Selections ranging from
Tiffany Lamps to Warhol prints are up for election on the Museum’s website (www.chrysler.org/our-collection/bpd).
Visitors can vote daily for up to 10 works and even provide us feedback on their
choices. We envisioned this to be more than a popularity contest. It is an opportunity for our public to truly take the reins.
We want to know how our community will curate. What interesting juxtapositions they
will create? What will they find worthy of display? Are seascapes preferred over cityscapes? Paintings
over photographs? Will local artists triumph over Renaissance masterworks? The top selections will be on view for
our grand reopening on May 10, 2014.
As an art-loving member of the community, I invite you to vote. I
do regularly. And perhaps on a Friday afternoon in late May, I’ll bump into you
in the Waitzer Community Gallery and you can tell me all about the works you
voted to include!
Choose
your favorites for By Popular Demand at www.chrysler.org/our-collection/bpd.
Online voting ends February 26, 2014.
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