Galleries Flashcards
Public Galleries - Intention
Educate/Inform the general public(including schools and universities),
-Collect and Promote Art
-Do not operate to generate a profit,
-Devoted to:
-Collecting
-Conserving
-Presenting
Commercial Galleries
Makes money through selling and/or lending contemporary and historical artworks to collectors or the public.
-No government funding.
Dramatic change for commercial galleries:
-Smaller art related products have flooded the market e.g. prints at low cost
-Internet/online purchasing
Role and Aim of Public Galleries - Educate
Teach the public about our cultural / artistic heritage, give school groups, free public tours, professional development for teachers and behind the scenes tours.
Role and Aim of Public Galleries - Present
Must decide on an exhibition program which will present the best exhibitions to the public to ensure attendance. The exhibition space and design is a vital part of the effective presentation of an exhibition. Conditions such as temperature and humidity in both display and storage spaces must also be maintained to ensure that works are presented at their best.
Role and Aim of Public Galleries - Promote
Public galleries must ensure it provides an interesting venue for the public to view the collection. Exhibitions must be held that will engage the public, Must consider what and how they promote to increase attendance. Public galleries promote through a variety of sources –print and electronic media.
Role and Aim of Public Galleries - Collect
A Public gallery is a custodian of art on behalf of the public. Must develop, maintain and conserve their collection for future generations.
Collection in a public gallery is viewed not sold.
Role and Aim of Public Galleries - Conserve
Public galleries employ conservators to care for the works in it’s collection, whilst in storage and on display. Conservators first role is to prevent work from being damaged.
Intention of Commercial Galleries
Key Role/Aim: to sell the work of their represented artists.
-Often privately owned and operated and in the business of dealing in art.
-Important place in art industry –exhibiting, promoting and selling work, especially contemporary art.
-Funding -from selling works and acting on behalf of other buyers.
-No government funding.
-The galleries are businesses and their main objective is to make profit through the sale of art works.
Aim of Commercial Galleries - Select & Represent Artists
- Commercial galleries carefully select their own “stable” of artists to represent. They are responsible for marketing, promoting and exhibiting their artists. Generally mid to late career established artists are represented by major commercial galleries.
- Commercial galleries will create a unique style –e.g. collect and promote only Aboriginal artwork or only photographic works
Aim of Commercial Galleries - Sell Artwork
- A commercial gallery is like any other business –it’s revenue must exceed its expenditure to be viable.
- Commissions charged on the sale of works.
- Commercial galleries take a percentage of the sale of all work –anything from 30-55%.
- Simple sales –people walk into the gallery and purchase ‘off the wall’.
- Complex sales –work with a buyer/investor –people looking for investment and quality
- Commercial galleries work with their buyers as much as they work with their artists –need effective business relationships to ensure ongoing business.
- Selling art is a complex web of quality, reputation, style and taste.
Aim of Commercial Galleries - Promote artwork
- Hold open Galleries/Functions
-Create social media pages, posters, newspapers etc
-Artists may promote the exhibitions.
Artist-Run Initiatives
Role: -Help artists to form a style - through regular exhibitions.
-Experimental spaces
-Learn about exhibiting
-Provide for those with a lack of ‘body’ of work to seek representation.
Commercial Galleries - Intention
-Represent
-Sell
-Promote
-Collect
Materials
organic inorganic
-paper. -stone, cement etc
-leather
-wool
feathers
Conservation
-Use gloves (cotton or nitrile powder free gloves) when handling artworks
-Pay attention to light/lux levels within the space and ensure that UV light cannot touch certain works with certain materials e.g. paintings
-Keep storage/display areas clear of dust and toxic materials
-Do regular maintenance checks on works
Artist-run Initiatives
-It is managed by the artists
-it operates on a non profit basis
-it accepts proposals for exhibitions on an application basis.
Minimising light damage
-Eliminate direct UV light/sunlight
-reducing exposure to light b y rotating objects between display and storage
-Exhibiting particularly light sensitive objects e.g. textiles and works on paper, in areas with reduced light levels
-Using low wattage light bulbs
Temp and humidity
-Temperature is measured and RH is measured with an instrument called a thermohygrometer
-Recommended Temp and RH levels are :
20-21 degrees and 50-55% respectively.
if it goes above these, artworks can crack and grow mould or become discoloured etc.
-To prevent this, maintain air conditioning levels at 20 degrees, eliminate cold draughts of air and enclose artworks in display cases if necessary.
Alternative art spaces
-Usually in cafes, bars, restaurants and site specific presentations such as street sites.
-Promotes unknown artists
-Sells artworks etc
Restorative conservation
-Bleach paper that has acid damage or staining
-Secure flaking paint or fungicidal treatment to remove mould or presence of insects in wood.
-Electrolytic treatment to stop the corrosion of metals.
-Repairing the structure of artworks.
-Reline old canvases by gluing new canvas under the original works.
-Mounting boards replaced work acid free ones.
-Touching p or repainting parts of a painting - called ‘in-painting’.
restorative conservation - painting
-Dust is always In the air and makes the finish of the painting dull when settling on it. to fix this, conservators utilise brushes and special vacuums to aid in the removal of the particles.
-Moisture, created through a change in temperature, can result in the support (wood) contracting and expanding, subsequently making the linen of the canvas tear or become flimsy/alters the tightness and stiffness of the material. this can also result in the paint cracking and lifting.
-Tented paint=raised pieces of dried paint from a canvas support that resembles a small tent. small parts lifts from surface into peaks or curls and falls away from canvas support.
-Putty - filler and binding agent that is often tinted using appropriate pigments and is blended into surrounding layers of the painting, retouching the work with small brushes and brushstrokes.
-Structural treatments - use threads collected from edges of an old fabric of a similar type to painting and using them to retouch the original painting.
Steps of Conservation
-stabilisation,
-cleaning,
-repair,
-restoration,
-reattachment ,
-frame treatment.
Conservation - Painting - Environmental
-A stable atmospheric environment is essential for the longterm preservation of paintings and frames.
-Display and storage should be maintained at an optimum RH level and Temperature.
-Paintings should never be hung near or under any source of heat, including heating vents and radiators.
-Inappropriate RH levels can lead to serious damage such as surface deformations from the tightening and slacking of a canvas, expansion or shrinkage, opening of joins, or the formation of cracks and slits in the wood supports and flaking of the paint layer.
-Heat can cause distortion of the paint layer and flaking.
-Sudden changes in temperature may cause condensation on the surface of a painting.
