i+D - July/August 2019 - 39

On View - By Jesse Bratter

"Architectural Artifacts"
by Megan Panzano
critiques specific limits
posed by conventional
linear perspectives, thereby
unlocking different
information about the
described spaces.
(Image: OverUnder)

The Art of Designing for Art
OverUnder, also based in Boston, is another exhibit-driven
organization that designs experiences and creates
environments on the go. Like the time they took up residency
at the Heinz Architectural Center at the Carnegie Museum
of Art in 2016-2017 to tell the story of Pittsburgh's urban
revitalization period during the 1950s and '60s. But,
they also run a 350-square-foot permanent gallery space
called pinkcomma, which has directed more than 40 shows
and garnered a loyal following in its own right. "We like to
approach our exhibition work as a form of knowledge: a site in
which visual, historical, or data-driven content can be brought
together to instigate discussion," says Chris Grimley, one
of the founding principals of OverUnder and the director of
pinkcomma gallery. "Design plays a crucial role in how the
content is presented. It is content, and not format, that drives
our making of exhibitions." OverUnder works with urbanists,
architects, and graphic designers to interpret an exhibit at
every stage, from creating narratives to designing furniture and
displays. They founded and curated the last five editions of
the Design Biennial Boston, installing pieces by MASS Design
Group and artist Daniel Ibanez, for instance, that were sturdy
enough to stay outdoors through the winter.

Willow Holdorf, director of exhibitions at the Museum of Arts and Design
(MAD) in New York, has her own elemental conditions to contend with,
even though she works within the protective cover of a permanent space
indoors. "We work a lot with light-sensitive materials, such as dyed textiles
and ink on paper, that require light as low as 5 to 7 footcandles," she notes.
"To avoid visitors thinking the galleries are too dim, we try to choose paint
colors that have low luminance and surround the work with lower light
levels. The raking light from the windows can be beautiful-such as with
Anne Lindberg's 'the eye's level' (2018) [which ran heavyweight, colored
threads three-dimensionally across the exhibit space]-but, in general, it is
simpler to light an exhibition if the windows are covered to control the hourly
and seasonal light changes. More often than not, we have to black out the
windows because of the UV light." Other considerations the MAD exhibit
designers need to keep in mind include accessibility-think clear navigation
space and seating, label font size and placement, and more-as well as
climate-controlled casework to protect, for example, the precious metals
in a jewelry show that will open there in January 2020 and remain on
view for a full year.
Along with such casework and object safety, lighting, plinths, wall
treatments, removable temporary walls, and props that help support time
periods, MAD's main visual focus lies in storytelling. And, sometimes,
Holdorf finds it best to leave that up to the art. "Our main 'wow factor'
is the view off the elevator," she explains, adding that this is the way
most museum-goers enter each floor. "Anything that upends visitors'
expectations, in terms of scale, size, intricacy, and interactivity, can leave
them with a lasting impression. Sometimes, you just need to give
the artwork the right placement and amount of space and it will 'wow'
on its own."

Using heavyweight, colored thread, drawn taut through
a space, artist Anne Lindberg expands both fiber and
drawing practices into the spatial and architectural realms
through "the eye's level" installation, which was on display
from October 16, 2018 through March 3, 2019 at the
Museum of Arts and Design.
(Image: Jenna Bascom, courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design)

i+D - July/August 2019

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i+D - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - July/August 2019
