While examining the model I was guided by David Russick, the IMA’s Chief Designer. He’s one of the many people who put in countless hours to facilitate the connection between art and the viewer—a rigorous labor of love. It changes for each exhibition, but generally, the planning begins 12-14 months in advance. The model is necessary because the museum doesn’t use the same gallery layout over and over, far from it. “It’s like at the zoo,” explains Russick, “you know what animal you’re putting in the cage. You build the best environment for that animal.”

The gallery is completely redesigned; walls knocked down, moved, rebuilt and re-colored. My mother went through 27 color swatches before we finally painted our kitchen “French Pastry”–I couldn’t imagine what a gallery goes through. “Color is infinite; it could be the hardest thing we deal with,” explained Russick. All of the lighting changes as well. Dial’s work is largely 3-D, so it casts shadows on itself, a lighting director’s challenge/opportunity/nightmare. Every light’s type and position is represented on the model and they are painstakingly adjusted to best suit the works.

Miniature Art of Alabama

Some people are too afraid or disinterested to attend museums. They think, as Russick puts it, “Museums are for someone else.” Museum-non-goers could feel unwelcome. “But for years we’ve been saying, ‘Please come visit us! Just come one time—you won’t be intimidated.” And, as I now see, there’s a legion of people whose job is solely to make the museum as approachable and welcoming as possible. They do everything possible to display art the best it can be displayed. We want /need people to come and endless hours are put into making sure anyone would be glad they did. We can put on the best exhibition in the galaxy but, as Russick says, “If there is no one here to hear it, we don’t make a sound.”

According to a recent BBC News article citing a study by Heriot Watt University, music can enhance wine taste. On the same principle, can music enhance art taste? Does the taste of a one type of wine or the shade of a certain color wall effect your like or dislike for a work of art?

From my perspective, it must. A recent example of my user-experience comes from this year’s Indiana State Fair. Being a veteran 4-H’er, I’m always impressed at the increasing talent I see in the photography exhibit, including a creative/experimental category for those who like to play in the digital world. The photography exhibits are displayed in the same buildings, and bunched together on the same white walls, shrink wrapped in plastic just as they always have been. The smell of swine mixed with cotten candy wafts through the exhibit. It’s all part of the signature fair experience. I can only imagine what those photographs must look like framed on the wall of a home or art gallery with proper lighting and plenty of breathing room.

In a museum, exhibition design is usually a department unto itself. Wall colors, lighting and graphic design elements are selected with the goal of creating a canvas that best compliments an exhibition or individual work of art. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery does an exceptional job of making portraits pop, which got the attention of The Washington Post. Viewer experience is key. One sign of flattery is when visitors ask the museum staff for the specific paint number of a gallery so they can use it in their own homes. Sometimes, installation art and site-specific art does the work of the exhibit design team by taking into account the environment in which the work of art lives and the viewers’ total experience. In this way, the artist has more absolute control.

Should artists recommend the ideal environment in which to view their work, what song to listen to while looking at it, or what bottle to pop before feasting? Or should the viewer create their own unique experience or simply rely on the curator or museum to provide that for them?

Below are some works of art from the IMA. Share your music or wine recommendations for these or other favorite works:

• “Two Figures” 1968 sculpture by Barbara Hepworth
• “Phenomena Danger – Pass Left” by Paul Jenkins
• “Electric Chair” by Andy Warhol

Photo Credit: Hugh Talman, Smithsonian Institution
John Updike by Alex Katz; David Hockney Self-Portrait; Phil III by Chuck Close; and Self-Portrait with Liz by Red Grooms, as installed in “Americans Now,” National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.