Section 1: Anatomy of an Exhibition
Scratching the Surface
This section briefly describes all the parts of an exhibition including, but not limited to the location, the roles of the people involved, and other parts that are common in an exhibition.
Section Content:
People & Roles Explained
Viewer
The viewer is you, the one doing the looking or viewing. The viewer is commonly known collectively as the audience.
If the viewer is one that would be buying and storing multiple artworks, the viewer is then referred to as a collector.
If the collector would support the artist in ways such as financial support by buying your artworks or promoting your art career by getting the word around about you etc. Then they would be referred to as a patron. But the term 'patron' is rarely used now. They would be referred to as collectors.
Artist
An artist is basically a person who comes up with artwork. They can be self-taught, trained through an apprenticeship, or have gone through formal art education in institutions.
There are often instances where the artworks were not directly created by the artist alone. The artist comes up with an idea and may hire technicians to create the artwork.
The 'merits' of an artist are usually measured by their educational background, the amount of exhibitions that they’re involved in and artworks sold, and the awards that they have received. Additional bonuses are given if the artist is mentioned in popular or famous media outlets such as magazines and articles.
Hence, the 'merits' of the artist often reflect the pricing of their artworks.
Curator
A curator is someone who selects and puts a set of artworks together, sometimes, they are artworks from one artist, but often from many different artists and organises the exhibition as a whole. The curator is a person who works with artists, gallerists, and collectors.
Usually, when an exhibition is done via a curator, it is based on a theme. The themes may range from the status of the artist, such as emerging artists (new artists in the scene), to the theme of the artworks, such as a certain cultural background or style of artworks.
Gallerist
Gallerists encompass anyone who represents the gallery. Sometimes, they double as a curator for an exhibition. Gallerists often take the role of an artist’s publicist.
They are the party responsible for managing the physical organisation of an exhibition, such as providing space and publicity. They also hold a list of contacts who are potential buyers and art collectors.
They may or may not have deep knowledge about art, but they’re in the business who know the art market.
Types of Exhibition
Solo
A solo show is an exhibition featuring artworks by a single artist. It can be retrospective (showcasing older and newer works) or showcase the artist’s latest creations.
A retrospective show typically displays the artist’s progress over time.
Group
A group show is an exhibition featuring artworks by multiple artists, organised by a curator, gallerist, or sometimes among the artists themselves.
Artists in group exhibitions usually exhibit less than a handful of artworks, depending on available space.
A large-scale group exhibition, sometimes called an expo or convention, is usually organised by large corporate entities. These organisers would compile several galleries, showcasing the works of artists they represent.
A biennale is a larger-scale international exhibition, often held every two years, hosted by government entities or public art museums. The Venice Biennale is a long-standing and well-known biennale.
Physical Aspects
Types of Exhibition Spaces
Indoors
Most exhibitions you will come across are held indoors. Indoor spaces provide certain benefits for 2-dimensional artworks like paintings, drawings, and multimedia. For example, paintings are protected from direct sunlight, which could harm the pigments and cause fading over time.
Indoor spaces could also be easily manipulated to provide a dark environment for multimedia works such as projection and sound insulation for audio works. Security from theft and weather conditions are also a few other reasons why indoor exhibitions are preferred.
Outdoors
Outdoor spaces are uncommon in terms of exhibitions; biennales are a mix of both as they combine multiple indoor spaces or a mixture of spaces across an area.
However, public artworks are a common thing in certain cities, such as London. A prominent example is the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, where the sculpture will be regularly changed. Public artworks are permanent artworks in display in public spaces.
Street art is also another example of works that are mostly found outdoors.
Statements
Statements are written articles in an exhibition. They come in many forms and could be written by the artists themselves, the curator of the exhibition, or the gallerist.
Exhibitions usually come with a general statement about the exhibition.
If it’s a solo show, it would be a brief introduction of the artist and a summary of the exhibited pieces.
If it is a group show, there could be multiple statements. One from the curator which introduces and summarises the entire exhibition as a whole. And each statement by the artist introducing their works respectively.
Statements may contain “art speak” or references to some niche topic which are alien to strangers of the art world, making it frustratingly difficult if not impossible to comprehend. Sometimes, it does not even make any sense. So, do not worry if it sounds like nonsense sometimes; it probably is.
However, this does not apply to all statements written in exhibitions. It all depends on the author of the statements.
Artwork Details
Usually, artworks come with a small printed card placed right next to it with details of the work itself.
Title
Title is the name of the artwork given by the artist. Titles are actually part of an artwork. It reflects the artist’s statement of the work as a whole. It sometimes delivers the message from the artist about the artwork or it could be part of the artwork.
For example, Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2”.
Artist
Artist is the name of the artist who came up with the artwork. I use the term “came up with” as it is also possible that the artwork is not directly made by the artists themselves. They could have come up with an idea and hired help from specialists or technicians in the process of its creation.
The name of the artist also helps viewers to look up more information about the artist online.
Medium
Medium is the list of materials and/or techniques the work is produced with. Medium helps the observer to gauge the techniques used to create said artwork.
For example, oil on wooden panel meant the artist used oil paint on a wooden surface, or Giclée print on acid-free paper would suggest that the work is a print (in this case, from a digital source) on a specific paper (in this case, a special paper that will not turn yellow over time). The viewer will also be aware that the specific artwork is not a unique piece since it is a print where multiple copies are produced.
There is also a commonly used term called mixed media. It means the artwork is made of a combination of several different materials, ranging from types of materials used or techniques applied in the process of its creation.
For a potential collector, this section also helps them in storage and preservation process if they decide to obtain it as part of their collection.
Dimension or Size
This section clarifies the size for the artwork. Usually only useful when the artwork is not present.
Year
This section details the year the artwork is made.
This detail is useful to gauge whether the work is recent or an older work.
It also provides a contextual reference to the viewer about the artwork based on art movements, social, economic, political, and the artist’s personal history during the time of its creation.
Events
There are several types of events that might be scheduled during the period of an exhibition.
Performances
In contemporary practices, there’s another art form which is performance-based.
This type of art form is usually shown at a scheduled time.
Sometimes, it also includes participatory elements in it, which require the audience’s involvement.
A well known performative work that also includes participation of the audience is “The Artist is Present” (2010) by Marina Abramović.
Private Views or Exhibition Opening
The first day of the exhibition may include an event that goes by many terms in different communities.
Private Views are one such term. Exhibition Opening is another. Usually, in these events, the artist, curator, and/or gallerists will be present. This is an opportunity to speak to the artist and the curator (if they’re present) about the artworks presented in the exhibition and the show.
It is to note that it is quite uncommon for an artist to be present every day throughout the period of the exhibition.
Artist or Curator Tour
Sometimes, there would be smaller events during the exhibition period such as a tour conducted by the artist or the curator, depending on the nature of the exhibition.
This is another opportunity to meet the artist and hear out what they have to say about the work or the exhibition as a whole.
Talks
Another type of event that may be organised during the exhibition is talks. It’s a forum-based event where the artist/curator would share their experiences, opinions, and thoughts on their artworks. Sometimes, a Question and Answer Session is also included in such talks.
Question: Why is this important?
As you may have noticed, the events listed above are opportunities to speak to someone who worked on the exhibition such as the artist and curator. They are the better option to communicate and learn more about the artworks presented compared to reading the statements, which usually does not provide much insight.
You may learn about what inspired them, or how they came up with the artwork and why the subject was important to them.
Admission
Admission terms are different in different countries and cultures. Some of them are free, such as permanent collections in museums in London, as they are funded by other entities.
Sometimes there's an entrance fee, usually for special exhibitions, such as the Royal Academy Summer Show that's held annually.
Commercial galleries usually are free, and you can walk-in or make an appointment to visit.