Retrieve: New Room, New Meanings

Spring break has just come to a close, and it’s now the final week before re:View opens. Though we’ve been progressing well with the storage display, I have a bit left to accomplish…





Here’s what was settled in the past week: finishing the fabric “wall,” spray painting the “metal racks,” (which, many cans later, are now a very convincing silver), gathering more accurate dimensions of the space, and finalizing my layout of the paintings.

I had to figure out how/where each piece would fit together within the wall décor, and to attempt to create a balanced display—by no means an easy task, and add to that the fact that my physical layout on paper was not to scale!

Now to retrieve each work from storage and hang the pieces where I’ve planned, beginning today: nine works have been freed from storage, one at a time, and are now propped against the walls of our newly constructed “storage,” awaiting their proper display. The very presence of color instantly transformed the white cube, so I anxiously await the finished result!

This entire process has given me a lot to think about. I think about my goal in making this display a “de-curation.” In recreating storage I tried not to put too much of an aesthetic eye toward deciding which painting will hang next to which. Still, the display could never have been executed without a plan—not only must everything fit together, but it seems more striking if they contrast one another.
I also think about my own relationship to these stored artworks. Since I’ve been working so closely with the permanent collection, the Art feels less…inaccessible? I’m not sure if this is quite the right word, so I’ll try again: It’s a rare experience to be able to raid storage, to physically handle the ‘sacred’ artwork (in white gloves), to truly see each piece originate from the same place, only to garner ‘meaning’ or ‘importance’ once inside the museum.
As these works travel a very short distance from the storage room into Quinn Wing, it’s amazing to think how their meanings will change/evolve upon inclusion in the exhibition. On the eve of the public display of my chosen landscapes, I can’t help but feel as though I’ve become a part of their story.
--Raylene Galarze

Retrieve: Pre-Installation, Pre-Retrieval

After several weeks of planning the display of storage and searching for the necessary materials, the concept really seems to be coming together. Today, the Quinn Wing is still a white cube; chairs and other materials are taking temporary residence here before we begin installing. Tomorrow should begin the physical intervention...

Attempting to reveal what's inside storage along with the room itself will involve two main things: re-creating faux metal racks on the walls and constructing a partition to shorten the wing. Working with Fisher's Chief Preparator Richard, we were able to find a lightweight barrier fencing to mimic the metal racks on which stored paintings hang. This bright-orange will soon get some much-needed paint treatment!

To shorten the space, we found fabric to serve as a temporary backwall; the plan is to hang some paintings here after it has been put up and reinforced from behind. Hopefully there is enough material...

I'm still working on visualizing the entire layout -- though the first steps will involve these details of construction, soon will come the time for physical retrieval. Along with picking up ordered materials and ensuring the gathering of other supplies, this week has included visiting storage to hand-measure each framed work (everything must fit in the "new" space!). Next up -planning the hanging of paintings!

But before departing to this next stage, I will say that finding the materials initially was not easy -- the fencing in particular was hard to find, and it seemed that waiting on out-of-state shipping might pose unneeded setbacks. Yet, after a little searching, we found everything locally downtown...Just another reminder that L.A. really is our laboratory.

--Raylene Galarze