hi georgia,
great idea for an exhibtion! especially now that retro seems soo *in*

i have to agree with some of the other great suggestions: velcro or some
sort of fastening device to keep the objects from 'roaming', a security
guard, or even inconspicuous perspex. they would all protect your objects
and still maintain the authenticity of the room.

here at the israel museum, our youth wing is currently holding an exhibition
on food and cooking called 'food: a matter of taste'. unfortunately we do
not have any images of this exhibition on our website, but i can describe to
you that the exhibition combines art made with food and art depicting eating
or cooking with activities for children involving food. they have installed
a fully functional kitchen in the entranceway of the galleryspace (where the
children often gather for classes, trips, etc). it's not retro by any means,
modern in style. i think the kitchen was donated in fact by a local company.
anyway, my point is that the kitchen is used weekly by israeli chefs in
cooking activities for kids and their parents. so once a week the kitchen
becomes 'stocked' with the proper equipment for cooking and the rest of the
week, the counters are bare. the staff must have a supply closet somewhere
nearby but to keep the essence of the kitchen and exhibition alive in the
empty kitchen, the cupboards, drawers, and back splashes are instead filled
with artwork involving food. they are protected by a perspex covering at the
top of the drawer. so although you are invited to open drawers and cupboards
(with signs) you are reminded that art being employed in this manner is
still art and not as functional (or accessible) as the rest of the kitchen
may be. it becomes a bit more of a curio shop by opening these little spaces
to see the artwork but it certainly helps keep the kitchen space exciting
despite being empty or not in use.
perhaps this is more particular to this exhibition but nonetheless thought
it could help give you some ideas. if you want, i'd be happy to speak with
the curator of the exhibition to answer any further questions you may have.

best wishes,
ziva

ziva haller rubenstein
image resources & copyright management
the israel museum, jerusalem


----- Original Message -----
From: Georgia <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2003 6:14 PM
Subject: exhibition class question


> Hello,
>   I am an undergrad student in an exhibition planning and design course.
For our final project, my group and I are planning an exhibit that deals
with 100 years of the American Interior.  Our final presentation focuses on
a display of a 1950s kitchen that we would mock up if we were actually
creating the exhibit.
>    My question deals with the security of the objects in the kitchen.  We
would like visitors to walk through the kitchen without any barriers, but we
want to use real 1950s appliances in the exhibit.  Are there any other ways
we can protect our toasters, blenders, etc. from thefts without putting
cases around them?  Would cases interfere with the visitors' experience?  We
had talked about putting up a reading rail in front of the counters that had
appliances on them.
>    Does anyone have any suggestions?
>
>               Thanks a lot!
>                              Georgia Millward
>
> _______________________________________________
> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
> The most personalized portal on the Web!
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).