Art is whatever you want it to be, a saying that has always resonated with me personally, and yes, art may be what you can’t see sometimes too, but I’m pretty sure that was not the intention here.
In approaching the artworks above, encased in their acrylic cases, it soon becomes apparent we are in the presence of bad design.
Forget the amazing art pieces and forget the amazing architecture, the bad design is in the exhibition, or display, design (you do realise you need a degree for these positions.. makes you wonder).
So what’s the problem?
Simple, you can’t see the artworks.
Thanks to the reflection from the amazing glass ceiling allowing the beautiful natural sunlight to illuminate the gallery, and the badly designed acrylic case, with its 100% horizontal flat top, all you see is the reflection of the ceiling. Nice job.
Here you can see what I mean (circled in red). Not so bad from a distance. But these particular artworks require the viewer to get in close and personal to appreciate them.
And as you do so, this is what you’re met with…
and this…
The was no real angle at which I could stand that enabled me to view these pieces close up. Poor Tom Roberts, Charles Conder, and Arthur Streeton, your work is on display for no one to see.
The most fundamental rule in design, is to put yourself in the shoes of the person you are designing for. Empathy.
So what has happened here? I can think of two reasons why this has occurred.
- The exhibition designer, is not a designer, or a poor one, and hence does not have a grasp of the fundamentals.
- The exhibition designer assembled this exhibition after-hours when the gallery was closed, which is most likely, and hence it was night time, with no great big illuminating glorious sun shinning through the glass ceiling. In which case the reflection would not have been as overwhelming as in the day, and would not have been flagged as an issue.
But, here in lies the fundamental rule. Who are you designing for? At what hours does that user walk through the gallery? Are you fully assessing the experience you are creating with that which you hope to achieve?
If the exhibition designer had simply put himself/herself in the shoes of the user, the gallery visitor, they would have walked through the next day, during normal gallery visiting hours, and they would have noticed the issue with their display.
They could have rectified it, and I wouldn’t be blogging about it, hahaha.
Walk in your intended audience’s shoes…nuff said
Citizenrod | art | design | think