On Wed, 14 Feb 1996, Julia Moore (Indianapolis Art Center) respondedto my
earlier comments regarding exhibition gallery construction  ("If the
choice is between being approachable/informal or dignified, I would
prefer the former")
as follows:
"Maybe the choice is not "warm vs. cold," but rather "distracting vs.
 unified."  I find that portable displays (i.e. wire screens, peg board) and
 low-maintenance surfaces (i.e. self-healing fabrics) have too much of their
 own visual identities and meaning cues, and often conflict with focused
 viewing of the art they support.
>
Two thoughts (and I promise to try to avoid forcing this into a
continuing debate with aim for the last word):

1.      ALL such arrangements "have ... their own identities and meaning
cues"; there are some that we associate as "normal" and "natural,"
taken-for-granted for an art museum space; but that emphasizes that they
are communicating something about expectations for what should be there.

2.      What does "focused viewing" mean?  Is there a cultural message
underlying this phrase that at least needs to be reflected upon before
automatically assuming that the way we have always done it is not in
itself interfering with approachability?  Perhaps this "natural" way to
expect what a gallery should look like is part of what makes museums
"unnatural" places for some groups of (non-)visitors.



Richard Perry
Univ California, San Diego