Cover image for Closed on Mondays : behind the scenes at the museum
Closed on Mondays : behind the scenes at the museum
Title:
Closed on Mondays : behind the scenes at the museum

Behind the scenes at the museum
Author:
Casson, Dinah, author.
ISBN:
9781848224346
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
London, UK : Lund Humphries, 2020.
Physical Description:
207 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 25 cm
Contents:
Introduction: Why I wrote this book -- In praise of windows -- Six by six -- Checking in coats -- What is it about facimilies? -- Meaning what exactly? -- Collections and their consequences -- Postscript -- Museums mentioned in the text.
Abstract:
The transformation of museums from the 'dreary, dusty places' they used to be to places that people want to be in, alongside objects they want to be near and ideas they want to understand and then share has been extraordinary. During the last twenty-five years, millions of pounds have been poured into our national museums in the UK: as a result, they are certainly brighter and fuller. It is against this background that Dinah Casson has opened the service entrance of the museum a little.0This book is not an explanation of what an exhibition designer does or how to do it. Instead, by means of a series of essays punctuated with comments from collaborators and visitors, it explores exhibition design and alerts the visitor's eye to this invisible craft. It explores questions such as: why are most paintings in carved, gilded frames, regardless of artist, period or subject matter? Why do so few contemporary art galleries have windows? If a label text irritates us, what should it say instead? Why do facsimiles make some people so uncomfortable? Why do we keep all this stuff? What is it that visitors want from our museums? In doing so, it offers enjoyable insights, which will add depth to our future visits through the front door (which is usually closed on Mondays) and will make us question what is shown, why it's shown where (and how) it is, what's written about it and how the interaction between museums and their designers has encouraged each to change.
Bibliographical References:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-200) and index.
Field 805:
npmlib 11100170 N1020 C37 os2 yh
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