First published 1994

by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

First published in paperback 1996

© 1994, 1996 David Dean

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or

reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

Dean, David
Museum exhibition: theory and practice/David Dean.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Exhibitions. 2. Museum techniques. I. Title.
AM151.D43 1993
069'.5–dc20 93–24653

ISBN 0-203-03936-X Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-16153-X (Adobe eReader Format)

ISBN 0-415-08016-9 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-08017-7 (pbk)
Introduction

Museums began as human society’s equivalent of cultural memory banks. Through

the years they have evolved into much more. Though the prime medium is tangible
objects, the essential value of collections is the information contained in them and
what it means to the global community. Other institutions deal in information also,
but only museums uniquely collect, preserve, research, and publicly display objects
as an essential function of their existence.
In the later part of the twentieth century, museums have become multi-faceted, multi-
purposed, and multi-dimensional organizations. The era of the user-friendly resource
is in full stride; the Information Age is upon us. Museums have had to adapt to this
consumer-oriented world to compete with other, so-called “leisure-time” activities.
Whether one agrees that leisure is a correct classification for former “temples of
learning” is a matter of opinion. Regardless of one’s viewpoint, museums do exist
as optional elements in the majority of the population’s daily lifestyles. As an option,
museums must prove themselves worthy of the visitor’s attention and time.
In the past few decades, museums have seen significant improvements in collection
care and use, and in the fields of exhibition presentation and public programming.
The level of knowledge about nearly every technical aspect of the museum field is
expanding constantly. New fields and sub-disciplines are opening up and evolving.
The museum of the next century may be very different from the ones we now know.
However, one aspect has always been, remains, and will probably continue to be
fundamental to the museum institutional identity: public exhibitions.
The field of exhibition development and preparation is a complex and demanding
one. Many subjects and disciplines are involved that must be mastered and their
terminologies understood. Designers need a positive attitude toward and a creative
ability for problem solving. They must have the desire to communicate ideas to
others, a well-developed aesthetic sense, and considerable skills in writing,
management, computer use, and interpretation. Increasingly, knowledge about
audiences, traffic control, and educational goals is needed.

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Museum Exhibition

Obviously not every person entering the museum profession is either trained or
talented in all aspects of the exhibition process, nor are they always inclined toward
making exhibitions a career. However, exhibitions are rarely the product of one
individual. They require teamwork involving all museum specialities. In museums
where one or two persons constitute the entire exhibition design and production
resources, knowledge is a powerful tool for achieving success. General knowledge
of exhibition theories, methodologies, and practices is the best tool that an exhibition
team member in any size of organization can acquire. This book aims to provide
the interested reader with an overview of those areas where knowledge is needed
to accomplish the institutional goals.

The museum exhibition mission

While profit may not be the specific motive, museums have the desire to “sell” the
institution, change attitudes, modify behavior, and increase conformity (of
knowledge). All are viable and reasonable goals for museums.
The main difference between commercial or public-service exhibits and museum
exhibitions lies in the motive or mission of the respective organizations. The term
commercial exhibit is self-defining. It has as a goal the selling of a product or
services for financial gain. A public-service exhibit is likewise obvious in its
meaning: informing the public and changing attitudes and behaviors. However, is
the term museum exhibition as obvious? It is, if the word “museum” is considered.
Museum means a dwelling for the Muses—a place for study, reflection, and learning.
Therefore, museum exhibitions are self-defining as well. They have the mission to
provide places for education and reflection.
The museological motivation for exhibiting is to provide the objects and information
necessary for learning to occur. Exhibitions fulfill, in part, the museum institutional
mission by exposing collections to view, thus affirming the public’s trust in the
institution as caretaker of the societal record. Museum exhibitions also accomplish
several other goals. These include:
• Promoting community interest in the museum by offering alternative leisure
activities where individuals or groups may find worthwhile experiences.
• Supporting the institution financially: exhibitions help the museum as a whole
justify its existence and its expectation for continued support. Donors, both public
and private, are more likely to give to a museum with an active and popular
exhibition schedule.
• Providing proof of responsible handling of collections if a donor wishes to give
objects. Properly presented exhibitions confirm public trust in the museum as a
place for conservation and careful preservation. Potential donors of objects or
collections will be much more inclined to place their treasures in institutions
that will care for the objects properly, and will present those objects for public
good in a thoughtful and informative manner.

2
 Introduction

In general, a healthy and well-presented public exhibitions program affords an

institution credibility to its supporting community and to the broader community
of museums. Exhibitions have the intent to advance the institutional mission by
exposing collections to public view, providing enlightening and educational
experiences, and proving the public trust. Further, the specific goals of museum
exhibitions involve the desire to change attitudes, modify behavior, and increase the
availability of knowledge.

“For the visitor, the exhibit environment is the primary

medium of communication.”1

Types of exhibits

For clarification, it is wise to define terms. The words “exhibit,” “exhibition,” and
“display” all have rather arbitrary meanings that vary from institution to institution,
person to person. As dictionary definitions are of little help in solving these semantic
differences, it is necessary to continue the arbitrary tradition of defining terms. For
the purposes of this book, the word “display” will generally refer to a presentation
of objects for public view without significant interpretation added. “Exhibit” will
usually mean the localized grouping of objects and interpretive materials that form
a cohesive unit within a gallery. “Exhibition” will be used to allude to a
comprehensive grouping of all elements (including exhibits and displays) that form
a complete public presentation of collections and information for the public use.
It is generally assumed that museum exhibitions incorporate collection objects, or
their representations, as the primary channels of communication. However, that is
not always true. Some museum-related displays may incorporate few or no objects
at all. These presentations are informational in content and intent. There are
legitimate uses and reasons for this form of display, but by and large, the uniqueness
of museum exhibitions rests in their employment of the “real thing.”
Intent or purpose lies with the exhibit maker. Exhibitions range from being either
object-oriented at one extreme, to concept-oriented at the other. That is, either objects
or messages predominate. The scale in Figure 0.1, adapted from diagram 9 in Verhaar
and Meeter’s Project Model Exhibitions,2 illustrates this idea:

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Museum Exhibition

0.1 Exhibit content scale

• At one end is the object display. This is a presentation of objects purely for the
objects’ sake; no interpretive information is involved. It is like setting a collection
of vases or ceramic figures on a shelf in a home. The intent is simply to arrange
the objects attractively, relying upon them to speak for themselves.
• At the other extreme is the information display in which objects are either not
present or of minimal importance. This kind of presentation depends upon text
and graphics to get its message across, much as a book does. The intent is to
communicate an idea or ideas that the exhibitor has determined are in the
viewers’ best interest to know.
Along the diagram’s diagonal line is where one finds most exhibitions. The relative
dominance of one aspect or the other determines whether an exhibition is more
object- or concept-oriented. Possible and common combinations are:
• The object-oriented exhibition in which collections are central. Educational
information is limited. Relationships, values, and hidden or implied meanings
are not examined to any significant degree. The exhibition maker focuses on
a direct aesthetic or a classification approach to presentation—art is often
presented in this way.
• The concept-oriented exhibition is one where attention is focused on the message
and the transfer of information rather than on the collections. The aim is to
transmit a message regardless of whether collections are available to assist

4
 Introduction

interpretation or for illustration. Text, graphics, photographs, and other didactic

materials play a dominant role. The main advantages of this type of presentation
over a book are the elements of size and wider exposure.
In the middle ground there are exhibitions that recognize the dual museum missions
to collect objects and to use them to educate.
• Thematic exhibitions, closer to the object-oriented end of the scale, use
collections arranged around a theme with basic information provided, such as
a title sign and identification and caption labels. For instance, in an exhibition
featuring works of Pablo Picasso, the pieces might be exhibited with only basic
information, relying upon the artist’s reputation and available distributional
materials and catalogs to impart what interpretive details are considered
desirable.
• Closer to the concept-oriented end are “educational” exhibitions that
incorporate about 60 percent information and 40 percent objects (see Figure
0.1). Textual information is heavily relied upon to assist in transmitting the
exhibition message.
It is important to note that no sharp line of demarcation exists between the two ends
of the scale, and that none of the combinations is inherently right or wrong. Planning
decisions about the type of exhibition to have must be based upon what message is
to be communicated and what combination of objects and information will do the
job most effectively. Such choices ought to be deliberate and founded upon the goals
of the institution and the developers’ knowledge of their target audiences.
Arguably, since a museum’s primary milieu is the “real thing,” it might be assumed
that all that is required is to place objects on public view and let them speak for
themselves. When interpretation and communication are minimal, leaving
presentation dominant, the result is what is called “open storage.” This form of
exhibitry hearkens back to an earlier, largely obsolete display methodology. In
particular instances and for specific purposes, there is still validity for open storage
as a display strategy.
However, what does a painting, a bone, or a rock communicate in and of itself? Is
the story behind the object always the main point, or is the emotional impact the
main objective? These are questions to consider when making decisions about the
kind of exhibition to pursue.

The role of interpretation

As museums have moved into a more proactive stance toward their parent
communities in this century, the educational mission has become a primary focus
of exhibitions. This has meant that the stoically static exhibitry of the past has given
way to active efforts to communicate the information contained in collections. How
much of its underlying history or meaning does a painting reveal without

5
Museum Exhibition

interpretation? The information behind an object must be related to the viewer

through a planned and directed explanation for it to have meaning.

Interpretation is the act or process of explaining or

clarifying, translating, or presenting a personal
understanding about a subject or object.

The desires that museum exhibitors have for communication vary from museum to
museum, exhibit to exhibit, and community to community. However, some messages
can be reasonably well identified as being common to most museum exhibition
efforts.
One such message is that museums are places to encounter actual objects—the “real
thing.” Exhibitions allow the public at least a near approach to the collections. This
has the effect of stimulating curiosity and interest. The value of being in the presence
of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or the skeletal remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex
is unquestionable, though incalculable. The hoped-for results might be fostering a
sensitivity to art or science, and learning as a whole realm of human experience.
How do such aspirations relate to exhibitions of farm equipment or Stone Age tools?
The desired results are the same: engendering interests and curiosity that will develop
into long-term personal growth and enrichment.
In addition to the rather intangible benefits afforded by exhibitions at a personal
level, there are the broader ones available to public institutions and to the museum
itself. As an alternative educational partner for schools, museums are invaluable and
unparalleled. Coordination between exhibition goals and school curricula can be
extremely beneficial. Bringing subject matter to life, in a tangible way, is what
museum exhibitions excel at doing. A museum visit can do much to stimulate a
student’s lifelong interest in a subject.
Museum exhibitions offer an enjoyable means of assimilating information,
sometimes of great complexity. The fact of viewing the real thing is, in itself,
intellectually pleasing for many people. The opportunity to view objects in relaxed,
comfortable surroundings where interaction between the viewer and the object, the
student and the teacher, visitor and docent, and the pupils and their peers can occur,
leads to retention and internalizing of an otherwise academic topic. It is far more
rewarding to view an actual pre-Columbian figure, than simply to read about it in a
book and look at a picture. The effect of doing both fosters lasting impressions and
increased retention of knowledge gained.
The entertainment value of exhibitions should not be overlooked, either. Again,
communication occurring in a relaxed, enjoyable environment promotes willingness
to learn and to continue learning. The “Gee whiz!” factor is part of this entertainment
aspect. Things that are big, famous, real, or impressive in some sense are readily

6
 Introduction

and eagerly examined by most people. When a person’s attention is captured, study
occurs. When study is guided by interesting and understandable labeling or
docenting, learning occurs without duress or discomfort.

Conclusions

The museological mission of education is accomplished in large part by presenting

public exhibitions. Information presented in ways that excite curiosity and stimulate
the desire to learn results in people responding positively to the activity of learning.
When the patron exits an exhibition with the sense that he or she is personally
enriched for having made the effort to visit, then for that individual, the museum
goal is attained. For, not only will he or she have a positive attitude about learning,
they will have gained knowledge and understanding as well.
Museums are institutions for social as well as academic enlightenment. They provide
non-confrontational and eclectic venues for expressing ideas that are sometimes,
themselves, controversial. As forums for free expression, exhibitions are ideal. They
are based upon the tangible evidence of the cultural and scientific progression of
humankind. Presented in an environment that allows the viewers to learn, reflect,
and assimilate the world at their own pace, the baggage of preconceptions and biases
can be dispelled and new, enlightened attitudes engendered.
Unlike formalized public education, museums are always available. There is no age
or intellectual prerequisite. Everyone is welcome, indeed encouraged, to share in
the wealth of human accomplishment represented by museum collections. Whether
a small grouping of local heritage memorabilia, or a vast assemblage of artistic and
scientific artifacts, all museums need the outlet of exhibitions to make their treasures
available to the people who support and derive benefit from them.