Special Issue
tervals. This spacing model was very
popular at the start and in the middle
of the 20th century. It is sometimes
used in contemporary photographic
installations.
The third mounting method – thematic blocks – has become increasingly popular in recent years. The
exhibition area and walls are divided
into thematic units to better convey
the concept of the display.
When mounting works it is important to highlight the key points of the
display. In order to share your vision
of the collection you need to guide
viewers throughout the exhibition
area while presenting a thought-out
consistent visual story from its outset
to the climax and towards the ending, which is especially significant for
photographic essays.
There is one more method for organizing exhibitions, based on the presentation of numerous isolated items
and images selected from a database
of a museum or individual author.
A recap: it is very important to
have a clear picture of what exactly
the exhibition will look like – a display with a definite storyline or a
database collection – and which
mounting method it will use – the
gallery, linear, or thematic. It is crucial that the author should develop a
practical solution to guide the audience throughout the premises, think
of a spatial context, analyze the way
works will be interpreted in the exhibition space, divide the area into
segments, arrange the lighting, and
provide electrical interactive devices
for the presentation of multimedia projects. You will thus build and
analyze you exhibition organization
strategy. In addition to structuring
your exhibition you should also consider working on the general visual
identity of the event, the format of
labels and captions, design of posters,
catalogs, or any other printed items.
It is also essential that you should be
ready with ideas for the promotion of
your project, make a press release and
PR materials for the professional community and the general public. Managing the preparatory process, raising
finance, applying for grants and budget setting are critical elements of a
successful exhibition. When holding
an exhibition and in the follow-up
you should document all events, make
archives of reviews and comments for
reports to grant donors or as project
documentation. You will require these
records when applying for new grants
with your new projects, when you are
requested to produce publications,
photo reports, and other materials.
It will also help if you plan thematic
lectures or other meetings within the
framework of the exhibition with a
view to generating additional visitor
traffic. It appears that to organize an
exhibition is a challenging time- and
effort-consuming undertaking.
This is what cultural institutions,
managers, and curators are normally
responsible for. We mentioned the
role of the curator in the organization and holding of exhibitions at the
start of this article. It is very important to comprehend what role the curator plays in contemporary art. This
person is not so much a manager and
administrator of a project as an ideologist. This job is all about expression
and the author’s vision. The curator
is the connector between the artist
and their audience that uncovers and
manifests the relationships between
art, discourses, topics, and personalities. It is the curator that searches
within interpretations of subjects
and themes integrated in works of
art, and creates new interpretations.
Furthermore, the curator is also the
ideologist of the external appearance of each and every exhibition,
who manages and guides architects
and graphic designers responsible for
the visual materialization of the idea
and concept of an exhibition. When
large-scale exhibitions are formed
and prepared, the curator works in a
team, because it is impossible for a
single person to administer and manage an entire exhibition. It is also
necessary to understand that when
a curator invites an artist or a photographer to participate in a project,
he or she acts as a coauthor, i.e. the
curator is a participant in the artistic process, alongside the artist. This
type of work by a curator is referred to
as performative curatorship, where a
curator becomes the demiurge of an
exhibition, suggests his or her personal vision of contemporary art and
turns into a key figure of the artistic
process. Performative curatorship
should be distinguished from institutional curatorship, where the focus
is shifted towards the administration
of an exhibition from the creation of
new interpretations, discussions, and
themes. That being said, it should be
understood that the curator plays a
major and very important role in contemporary art; it is the curator that
finds new talents and presents their
names to the general public.
Another presentation form for
photography is the book. Selfpublishing – books published and
financed by photographers themselves – is growing increasingly popular. The market for photo books is
rapidly changing. Previously, photo
books used to be published by large
publishing