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To recap previous blogs, the mummy of Demetrios is wrapped in linen, then the entire surface of the linen is painted with red lead. On top of that are areas of gilded decoration. The next step in preparing Demetrios for exhibition was to check the stability of the surface paint and gilding. Where necessary, this was consolidated using an appropriate adhesive. Next, surface dust was removed with a soft brush into a vacuum on very low suction. Then the surface was cleaned with an appropriate solvent. A small area is cleaned at a time, using cotton swabs. We constantly check the swabs to make sure we are only removing surface dust and grime, and not any of the original material. When necessary, we work with the aid of a microscope, so we can see the effect of our cleaning in greater detail.

during treatment. the area to the right has been cleaned revealing the read lead paint and gilding

For the most part, the linens on Demetrios are in relatively good condition; however, the linens around the feet are unstable. There are large holes on the bottom and proper left side.

the condition of the linens at the feet before treatment

The BM does not have a textile conservator on staff, so we hired a specialist in this area to work with us. (Learn more about hiring a conservator through the American Institute for Conservation.) Kathy first patched the area with a piece of linen held in place with a piece of sheer material called Tetex (an open weave polyester material). While the linen material is very noticeable, it was needed to contain all of the powdering fragments of ancient linen. The Tetex material is very sheer - so you don’t really see it - but also very strong. By using Tetex to secure the linen (she sewed this to the new linen, then wrapped it around the feet and sewed the Tetex to itself) she did not have to sew through the ancient linen material which would cause further damage. Next, she covered the whole foot area with another piece of Tetex, also sewed to itself. Again, this material is strong enough to hold all of the loose linens in place, but sheer enough that you can see the underlying material. When you look at this object on display, it will not be that noticeable unless you are specifically looking for it.

the foot, after treatment

The next step was to create a display board that he could also travel on so that handling would be minimal. How objects are handled plays a huge role in their long-term preservation. A bed of polystyrene balls and polyester batting was sealed within a giant bag, and covered with display fabric. Demetrios was then placed on this. The polystyrene balls conformed to his shape, fully supporting him and helping to absorb any vibration as he travels. The installers can handle Demetrios by the support board rather than having to lift his actual body at each venue. This drastically reduces the possibility of damage to Demetrios. That’s it for the conservation treatment! Demetrios will then get crated by a special art packing company, and head to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Look for him there beginning July 13.

the support board

Demetrios on his support board

As silly as this seems, it’s just not real until the signs go up and here they are. I will admit, I was more than a little giddy seeing these unwrapped and going into the lobby case and Mary Jane (pictured above) was humoring me a bit by letting me take pics.

Jook Leung (above) from 360vr came in yesterday to shoot a virtual tour of the gallery. For all those who helped curate from lands far away, you can tour from your computer if you can’t make it to the Museum. But, if you can come…do it! Christine and Sarah from our Digital Lab made a wonderful set of prints (the photographers will be very happy) and Lance and Tomoko designed and installed a rockin’ gallery.

Enough already, right? Click! opens today and the panel discussion is at Figment tomorrow

…it is a study in crowds. It should come as no surprise that this title made it into one of my blog posts (there are many colleagues of mine chuckling about this right about now). That said, we are releasing the Click! website today and you’ll find it is designed much like the gallery. Images are displayed by size relative to each other given the query you are looking at—lists and scores (not something we equate with subjective subjects) are avoided. Some images fared better than others, but it’s all relative depending on what you are looking at and what questions you are asking.

All 389 images are on the website. In addition, the 78 images that will be in the gallery can now be viewed—see “In the Gallery” on the Click! menu. Keep in mind, the sizes on the website are more variable than the sizes in the gallery, so if you see your image in that 78, the sizing in the gallery will be slightly different.

Coming up we’ve got more guests writing for the blog, including two of our consultants, James Surowiecki and Derek Powazek. Our own Chief Curator, Kevin Stayton, will be posting in the coming weeks and we may have a few more surprises along the way. For now, check out the website. The results button on the right side of the page will take you there. Bear with us if you find it slow, we are expecting a bit of traffic today. Need a little introduction? Check out the lo-fi screencast. Click! will be on view beginning this Friday (June 27) and we are making good progress installing the show (see below)!

And now, one quick note of thanks about this website. I count myself lucky that I work with an incredibly dedicated and talented team who loved this project as much as I did and made sure Click! was awesome via the web. Mike, Paul, Jen - I can’t say this enough: you are awesome, you rock my world and this site is rockin’ because of your dedication. Jessica, Joe - you make life around here fun, easy, and accurate to boot. It’s a pleasure to come to work every day—thank you.

Lance and Tomoko hanging the show. We are about half way through.

As with many things for Click!, we’ve made life a little difficult, but for good reason. This Saturday (June 28) we’ve organized a great panel discussion that will be held on Governors Island. Yup, you read that right: Governors Island. A little while back, I was contacted by the peeps running Figment 2008 and asked to present something there. Figment is billed as a “celebration of participatory art and creative culture” and I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate than a panel discussing the participatory nature of Click!. If you want to know a little more about Figment, check out this article from the NYT about the event last year—I just love the “Burning Man East” reference.

This part is seriously awesome: Panelists include James Surowiecki, New Yorker financial columnist and author of The Wisdom of Crowds; Jeff Howe, contributing editor of Wired magazine, who coined the term “crowdsourcing”; Eugenie Tsai, Brooklyn Museum’s John and Barbara Vogelstein Curator of Contemporary Art; and me. The panel will be moderated by Nicole Caruth, Brooklyn Museum’s Manager of Interpretive Materials and a freelance writer and curator based in Brooklyn.

Now for the hard part: June 28 on Governors Island and the panel starts at 11 a.m. In order to make the panel on time you must take the 10 or 10:30 a.m. ferry. Ferries are free and depart from South Ferry, but seating is very limited. When you get to the island, start looking for Perkins Hall.

OK, ouch, we know that’s early on a Saturday, but Figment should be *fun* and I’m couldn’t be more excited about sharing a table with Jim, Jeff, Eugenie, and Nicole. Have an extra cup of coffee, come take a boat ride and join us!

With the opening of Click! rapidly approaching, I have been asked to describe my approach in designing and mounting this particular exhibition. It is important to note that although this exhibition is comprised entirely of photographs, it is not foremost a photography show, but rather an art installation addressing the conceptual nature of a crowd-curated exhibition. For this reason, the show will not be hung in a traditional manner, but rather laid out in a way that illustrates the diverse, anonymous, web-based crowd selection process.

The exhibition is being held in an intimate gallery space to allow the viewer to be immersed in the images of the “changing faces of Brooklyn.” Because of the gallery’s space constraints it was determined that of the 389 images submitted, the top-ranked 20% of images would be printed for display. Of this 20% (or roughly 78 photographs) a distinction was required to reflect the crowds selection process; for this reason some photographs were printed as large as 20” x 30” and some as small as 5” x 7”, depending upon the crowd’s rankings.

Rough layout of one of the gallery walls. Full layout: click_full.jpg.

When these images of varying size are displayed in a random arrangement it serves to illustrate the crowds’ selection process not as linear, but rather a diverse response with certain ideas or, in this case, photographs rising to the front of a collective conscious in much the way a tag cloud uses text to visually illustrate how within many voices certain responses carry varying degrees of impact.

Cloud tag from Flickr.com

The exhibition promises to be interesting on many levels, and I hope all that participated both in submitting photographs and those involved in the selection process can make it to see the results.