My desk
Hello again! I’m still here, working away on At Work: Hesse, Goodwin, Martin. Only now, instead of being lost in the stacks of the library, or clutching my coffee at the meeting room table, I can be found with my eyes glued to my computer, writing, writing, writing!
One of the most common ways for galleries and museums to help visitors learn more about the objects in exhibits is through written material. This is usually in the form of wall panels and labels. Because we know that people usually visit the gallery to experience art, and don’t necessarily want to read a dissertation, the process of deciding what text to include in exhibits, and what information it contains, is a carefully considered one. And interpretive planners play a large part in this process.
Text panel in the fourth floor contemporary galleries
Right now I am valiantly trying to take all of the research that I have done, all the knowledge the curators have, and turn that into something that people will want to read! How do I present all the necessary information without it being overwhelming? How do we make sure that the content of the text fits with the overall theme of the show? And how do I write in a way that is engaging and that enhances visitors’ own personal experience with the art?
One thing we’d like to include as part of the text in this show is the writing of the artists themselves. Agnes Martin in particular wrote poetry and essays, and kept journals. Her writing gives an insight into her life, and this knowledge helps me look at her art in a different way. What do you think? Can reading an artist’s writings help you interpret their art?
Kendra Ainsworth is a Masters student in Museum Studies at the University of Toronto, and an Interpretive Planning intern at the AGO.