Lets Build A Gallery

Rather then spending my blog post talking specifically about Vicki's dress, I am happy to have the opportunity to design my own space for the First Person Arts gallery exhibit. As of right now all of us involved in the item histories only have a modicum of control over the final presentation of our objects. This week gives my classmates and I an opportunity to design a space for the objects on our own terms. Since I am lucky or unlucky, depending how you look at it, to not have my item included in the actual exhibit this is a fun way for me to put my object and myself into a space for all to see.

Mission Statement-Take Home Message-Storyline

 Everyday objects have the power to create a window onto a world unknown, a story untold, a life unexplored. It is through those windows that we share our lives and experiences with others. Everyday people shaped our past; they guide our present and inspire our futures.  This exhibit aspires to give everyone the knowledge that even the most meager objects can hold extraordinary meaning for people like you and me. So explore the stories here today and be a part of the stories of tomorrow, because your story matters. 

Organization-Everything In Its Place

            The objects in this exhibit offer an opportunity for unique organization. While some of the more common ways to organize a gallery (categorically, chronologically, analogous, compare/contrast, etc…) can be successfully used, our objects need an organizational strategy all their own. That strategy involves recognizing the objects as priceless pieces of history. Their common theme in all this is that they are priceless to only to one person. They are items that could other wise be over looked by you and I. Were it not for the meaning they hold for their owners, these common, everyday items would hold no value. The storytellers behind the objects see them as an invaluable piece of their lives.

            So, not unlike the designers at First Person Arts as well as several of my classmates, I have chosen a gallery design that puts the object into their natural environments: a kitchen, bedroom, living room, a den, a closet, a desk etc….

Inventory-Put It All In 

 Since the entire idea behind this exhibit is that each piece, every little object matters, there is no question about what is to be included. Each item, even the alternates are to be put into the exhibit. No one piece is less important then another, regardless of who decided what is and is not of consequence or holds greater intrigue. Each visitor can decide what items are meaningful to him or her and which ones are not. 

Lets Get Motivated-Look & Feel

            The exhibit space will be designed much like a modern day IKEA store with individual rooms and spaces to be explored. There will be bedroom doors to walk though, desk draws to be pulled open and closet doors that need sliding in order to reveal the objects. Each item will find a home of its own where visitors can easily imagine it actually living. While walking though the space, visitors will have the opportunity not just to read the items descriptions and stories but also to hear them read by the owners of the objects themselves. An audio tour, not unlike the ones we find at art museums around the country, will be made available to the exhibits visitors. The idea is for visitors to feel at home in each of the objects settings. You’ll be able to sit on the bed in the bedroom, put your feet up in the office chair or sit down at the kitchen table. Objects are all around us, even in the homes of the exhibits visitors and we want them to start to think about their own special items and how they could fit into this gallery space. 

 ** Blueprint to follow