Introduction

The reinstallation of the Institute’s permanent collection over the next five years offers an opportunity to reconsider the use of interpretive media. To promote visitors’ engagement with works of art, as outlined in the Policy on Interpretation, the museum must have an installation plan and an interpretation plan for each gallery. These plans will be developed jointly by the appropriate curator and the chairs of the Curatorial and Education divisions and reviewed by the Interdivisional Committee on Interpretation and the director. Each part of the collection requires its own unique mix of interpretive media. To ensure that the quantity of interpretive materials never overwhelms the works of art, the planners must exercise discretion, judgment, and restraint.

Installation and Interpretation

Display id the foundation of interpretation. However, the installation of the museum depends on the nature of the collections, and the collections have not all been built on the same historiographic assumptions. Most have been developed according to paradigms of chronology and style. The period rooms represent moments in historical time. Some collections (prints, photographs, textiles) have a strong technical dimension. In our installation we must accept each collection’s particular nature, but we will make every attempt to present objects within a cultural framework. If this is not always possible in display, it can usually be achieved in the interpretive materials.
    Other forms of installation will serve specific interpretive functions. “A Closer Look” areas, for example, present in-depth challenging examinations of a single work of art or small group of objects, which focus visitors’ attention and vary their pace through the museum. These installations can be used to present new research or the results of recent conservation treatments or to examine historical or cultural context in depth. They will include the perspectives of guest curators as well as those of the staff. Because “A Closer Look” areas are designed for individual investigation and reflection and will be extensively interpreted, they will generally not be included on docent tours.
    Another type of installation, open storage, presents objects in dense taxonomic formats that encourage visitors to consider stylistic and qualitative issues by comparing objects of similar media and date. It will allow public access to more of the museum’s collection than has previously been on view. We imagine this area to be of greater interest to students, scholars, and seriously motivated amateurs than to the general public. Here, object identification (ID) labels will be the only interpretive component.