After a run as one of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s most well-attended exhibitions, “William Wegman’s Hello Nature” came down on Sunday, October 21, concluding three months of critical acclaim.
The main floor galleries, where the Wegman show was on display, are currently in a transitory state. Boxes, tools and carts litter the space while José Ribas ’76, the museum’s technician and preparator, busily works to ready the space for upcoming exhibitions.
This intermediary phase between exhibits gives guests the chance to experience the space outside of the context of a headlining exhibition. As they make their way up to the permanent collection on the second floor, visitors walk through the empty first floor galleries and get a glimpse of the work that goes into de-installation, preparation and installation.
“Without seeing any of the art on the walls, you can pay attention to what frames it,” said Mellon Curatorial Fellow Sarah Montross. She said that “things we take for granted when we walk into an exhibition like lighting—even the flow of traffic for our guests” are important elements taken into consideration during exhibition design and preparation.
While the basic elements of the space will not be completely altered, the galleries “will dramatically change for the new exhibits,” according to Ribas.
According to Museum Curator Joachim Homann, the museum is lucky to have the space to arrange a variety of exhibitions, including ones curated by students. The first show to be installed after Wegman’s exhibit is the student-curated exhibition “We Never See Anything Clearly: John Ruskin and Landscape Painting,” which opened with a public reception on Wednesday.
“A Printmaking ABC: In Memoriam of David P. Becker” will run from November 15 to March 10 and “Fantastic Stories: The Supernatural in Nineteenth-century Japanese Prints” will open on November 15. The former is an homage to collector and Bowdoin alumnus David P. Becker, and the latter is a celebration of 25 years of Asian studies at the College.