Reinstalling the Arts of the Islamic World
For those of you who have been missing the arts of the Islamic world (or wondering what it is you’ve been missing), we are almost finished with our reinstallation of the past several weeks. The galleries had been a sandy beige for some 2-3 decades, so the new dark color will probably be the first thing you notice on your next visit. When I came to the Museum in early 2007, I knew that it would be a few years before we would be making any big structural changes to the second floor, where the Islamic galleries are located. But I really wanted to do something in the meantime to bring some attention to the arts of the Islamic world, which are a constant reminder of the positive and beautiful aspects of Islamic culture. I wanted the objects to “pop out,” for the focus to be on the art rather than the space in which the art is exhibited. I thought a dark, grayish or charcoal blue would be a nice change of scenery and a great backdrop for the objects of various media in rich cobalt blues, turquoises, deep reds, and purples found in the arts of a territory spanning from Spain to China and Southeast Asia, and even the contemporary diaspora. Golds and silvers also look great against this blue, whether on metalwork or paper; luster ceramics now feel like they sparkle!
To give the designer, Lance Singletary, a sense of what I imagined, I picked up a couple of paint swatches from the hardware store and he took it from there. I can’t stress enough how important these conversations with the designer are, because if Lance didn’t “get” what kind of vision I had for the space, it would have ended up looking a lot different than what you’re about to see in this video. He will explain how he came up with the subtle details that make for an extraordinary change on a relatively modest budget. It’s been an intense project that came together in an incredibly short period of time, thanks to the help of a whole team of people— curatorial staff, conservators, editors, designers, painters, electricians, art handlers, maintenance staff, technology staff, the security staff who kept an eye on me on many a late night at the museum, and more (I really hope I haven’t overlooked anyone here!). Ultimately, though, you will have to come see for yourself when the galleries open to the public on June 5, 2009—in the meantime, check out this “behind-the-scenes” video of some of the reinstallation:
Ann Sedjo:
February 25th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I recently visited the Islamic Arts section and the new paint color and layout is very visually pleasing (much better than the beige of the past). I am disappointed though that there aren’t more pieces on display! I know the space is limited but are there any plans to display more of the museum’s large collection in the future?
Also, I took pictures of an amazing piece of blue and white Islamic pottery in a church in Toleda in December and would like to find someone who could possibly tell me something about this type of piece. There wasn’t any information with it. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I can email the photos.
Thank you.
Ladan Akbarnia:
March 10th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Ann! Please accept my apologies for not responding sooner, but I am currently on leave for the year out of the country and not on ‘active duty’ at Brooklyn. Our vigilant web team brought your query to my attention, so I will do my best to answer your questions.
First, I am so pleased to hear you like the AIW galleries’ new color and layout; there was a time when beige worked, but it seemed the time had come for a change. I really wanted for the art works to ‘pop’ out and every decision was largely driven by the objective of featuring the treasures of Brooklyn’s collection in a way that would highlight their aesthetic and historic value and ultimately enhance the experience of the visitor. Your reaction was just what we were seeking!
Regarding your question about displaying more material, I would love to do this, but it depends on many factors — often, these have to do with time, staff, and funding, and all decisions related to display must be made 6 months to even a couple of years in advance to allow planning for conservation work, research, and staff availability for preparation of material and actual installing and deinstalling of the art. Displaying an object usually involves, in addition to the curator, a conservator, editor, designer, graphic designer, art handler, and curatorial assistant, and more. Many of these must serve the needs of the entire museum collection (meaning many other curatorial departments), so we must all plan well in advance. The idea is to be more selective and display works in a thoughtful way, rather than put a lot of material out there without proper treatment, mounts, or research. However, I also opted to present more works with short identification labels (which we refer to as ‘tombstone’ labels) with the plan to add more text in a subsequent phase — one solution to allow for the display of more works (I added about 15 pieces to the space in the reinstallation last summer). As a result, my next project for the galleries you visited involves adding general information about the works appearing in some of the cases where you currently only see tombstone labels. As for plans to display more of the museum’s collection in the future, I think I could safely say, yes, we would like to display more, and we will do our best to work toward that goal! It is great to know that there is interest in seeing the material, so I appreciate your mentioning it here.
Regarding the blue and white dish you photographed in Toledo, I assume you mean in Spain, otherwise I would suggest contacting the museum in Toledo. You are welcome to send a jpg image to the museum and it can be forwarded to me, and I will do my best to get back to you in due course or suggest some further reading that will shed some light on Islamic (or ‘Hispano-Moresque’) ceramics (if indeed that is what you saw).
Thanks again for your comments, and I hope mine answered some of your questions!