All the exhibit cases on the main floor are now officially filled! I still have some tweaking to do tomorrow (adding labels to the Civil War Sheet Music cases, for example) and I still need to put the number cubes in the Beran exhibit. I have to say, installing these exhibits has been a lot more challenging that I thought it would be.
I guess I assumed the most work was always put in BEFORE an exhibit went up (planning, researching, etc.), but I’ve realized now that it takes the same amount of time and effort to make an exhibit look good for the public as it does to plan it. Maybe it’s because I’m both an artist and a perfectionist, but it took me at least a good hour on each exhibit before I was satisfied with the results.
Arranging items in cases is very different, too, from the wall installations we’ve done (for Kunstler & Gallon and the Fink paintings, for example). With the cases I had to consider things like background fabric (in terms of color and texture), whether I wanted reproductions to be set at angles or parallel with the case, and what kind of level at which I wanted to prop certain items. Balance, variety, contrast—I was forced to use all my visual skills as an Art History major (and Studio Art minor, for that matter)!
One day to go now. I can’t believe it. Like I’ve said before, this summer has just flown by so fast…
Note: I also finished the rest of the exhibit webpages earlier this week. Check them out here: http://www.gettysburg.edu/library/news/exhibits/welcome.dot
Stay tuned for photos of the work I’ve done on these exhibits. My camera died today, and the library one was being used this afternoon, but I’ll make sure to take some good ones tomorrow!
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