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Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" (the French word) or "show". In UK English, they are always called "exhibitions" or "shows", and an individual item in the show is an "exhibit".
Such expositions may present pictures, drawings, video, sound, installation, performance, interactive art or sculptures by individual artists, groups of artists or collections of a specific form of art. The art works may be presented in museums, art halls, art clubs or private art galleries, or at some place the principal business of which is not the display or sale of art, such as a coffeehouse. An important distinction is noted between those exhibits where some or all of the works are for sale, normally in private art galleries, and those where they are not. Sometimes the event is organized on a specific occasion, like a birthday, anniversary or commemoration.
There are different kinds of art exhibitions, like retrospectives, which look back over the work of a single artist, individual expositions, group expositions, or expositions on a specific theme or topic. Art exhibitions can be juried, invitational, or open. A juried exhibition, such as the Iowa Biennial, has an individual or group which acts as judge of submitted artworks and chooses which are to be shown. In an invitational exhibition, such as the Whitney Biennial, the organizer of the show asks certain artists to supply artworks and exhibits them. An open or "non-juried" exhibition, such as the Kyoto Triennial [1], allows anybody to enter artworks and shows them all. A type of exhibition that is practically by definition non-juried is a mail art exhibition.
The practice of art exhibitions dates back to at least 1673, when the royally sanctioned French institution of art patronage, the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (a division of the Académie des beaux-arts), held its first semi-public art exhibit at the Salon Carré. This began the type of regular exhibition where any artist could submit a work for show. These became extremely important, and often contoversial, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and fostered the development of academic art. The story of art in these centuries cannot be told without frequent reference to these exhibitions, which spread to all the major Western nations. Beginning in 1725 the salon was held in the Palace of the Louvre, when it became known as Salon de Paris. In London, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (as it now known) has been held annually since 1769.
The history of modern art exhibitions in America starts with the 1913 Armory Show in New York. It was the first time that European avant-garde art was presented in the New World. The 9th Street Art Exhibition, otherwise known as the Ninth Street Show May 21-June 10 1951 was a historical, ground-breaking exhibition during a critical period of art history. It was a gathering of a number of notable artists, and it was the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively know as the New York School. Probably the most prominent art exhibition of contemporary art is the 1955 founded documenta in Kassel, Germany. It takes place every five years, presenting international artists and art trends. Of similar prominence is the Biennale in Venice, Italy, which is held biannually. Art works are presented in pavilions per country at this exhibition.
Other trendsetting art exhibitions of contemporary art were "A New Spirit in Painting" (London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1981), "Zeitgeist" (Berlin, Martin Gropius Bau, 1982), and "Metropolis" (Berlin, Martin Gropius Bau, 1991). Exhibitions devoted to older art can also be important in altering opinions among critics and art historians, or reawakening interest in a neglected art or area. The 2005-6 touring exhibition (Frankfurt, Edinburgh, London) on the German artist Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610) is an example. Exhibitions can also serve political and diplomatic purposes; several large exhibitions of art sent in both directions between China and Western counties have had close government involvement on both sides.
Paul Champlain and Jean Rudolph were largely responisble for a renaissance in art exhibition in Manhattan's Lower East Side during the 80's. The exhibitions often converged with elements of theatre and performance poetry, extending the borders of "visual art" to an even wider category.
Art exhibitions usually start with a vernissage or opening; this, or the exhibition in general is often promoted by invitations or announcements, often taking the form of postcards. At many exhibitions elaborate catalogues are available, which list the presented works together with pictures and expert commentaries. Although in general this are in book or printed and bound form and this is regarded as standard, the catalogues sometimes in more recent times, usually for shows with a lower operating budget, have taken the form of a CD-ROM, or sometimes both forms have been available.
Preservation issues, though often disregarded due to other priorities, should be considered during exhibitions, so that possible damage to the collection could be minimize or limited. As all objects on the exhibition are unique, rare, and valuable, it is essential to care objects without any damage. When exhibited objects are especially archival artifacts or paper-based ones, preservation considerations would be more emphasized because damage and change in paper-based objects are cumulative and irreversible. A standard, American National Standard Z39.79-2001, Environmental Conditions for Exhibiting Library and Archival Materials,[2] establishes criteria to minimize the effect of environmental factors on deterioration of library and archival materials on the exhibition. There are four main categories to be considered on preservation issues during the exhibition: Environmental concerns of the exhibition space; Length of the exhibition; Individual cases; and Display methods used on individual objects.
Main concerns of exhibition environments include light, relative humidity, and temperature.
Any objects on the exhibition are exposed to harmful environmental conditions during the period of exhibition. The longer exposed to the environment, the more likely deteriorated. Many museums or libraries have permanent exhibitions, which means installed exhibitions would be on the view without any changes for, sometimes, years. This practice is not good for exhibited objects at all. Damage from the long exhibition is usually caused by light. The degree of deterioration would be different from each object, yet, the suggested maximum length of time that any paper-based objects should be on display is three months per year or 42 kilolux hours of light per year, whichever comes first. An exhibition log report, including records of the length of the exhibition time and the light level of the display, could prevent objects from being too frequently on display. It would be also suggested that the copies in high quality could be displayed for a certain amount of time during the long exhibition.
Library or archival materials are usually displayed in cases or frames. Cases are to provide a physically as well as chemically secure environment. Vertical cases are well suitable for small or single-sheet items. Horizontal cases can be used for a variety of objects, including three-dimensional objects, opened books, closed books, or flat paper items. All these objects can be arranged in one horizontal case at the same time under the unified theme. Materials used for case construction should be chosen carefully because component materials of cases can become a significant source of pollutants affecting objects displayed. Pollutants may cause visible deteriorations of objects, including discoloration of surfaces and corrosion. Wood, often used for cases, poses great danger for paper. The wood, even if sealed, may still give off vapors, which are destructive to objects within the case. It is important that collection materials should not be placed in direct contact with wood. Sealing the wood may reduce gaseous emissions. In choosing sealant, it is recommended to avoid oil-based products. If the case is to be painted, it is also recommended to avoid oil paint and to use acrylic or latex paint. However, acrylic or latex paints can not be used as sealers because they are too porous to seal well. Other materials to be used as sealers should be chosen with care as well. All materials should be evaluated before use. Examples of the evaluation criteria could be outgassing or contact-transfer potential of harmful substances, water solubility or dry-transfer potential of dyes, the dry-texture of paints, pH, and abrasiveness. Even if cases are made of safe materials and well sealed, there are still pollutant or temperature and relative humidity problems. Using internal buffers and pollutant absorbers, exampled as silica gel, activated carbon, or zeolite, is a good way to control RH and pollutants. Buffers and absorbers would be placed out of sight in the base or behind the backboard of a case.
There are two kinds of objects displayed at the library and archival exhibition, bound materials and unbound materials. Bound materials include books and pamphlets, and unbound materials include manuscripts, cards, drawings, and other two-dimensional items. Display considerations should be made in order to minimize any potential physical damage.