被看见的藏品 — qijingning

Jingning Qi

CV ➡️ LinkedIn
Email ➡️ qijingning0314@gmail.com
Instagram

Writing:
Visible Collections - Visible Storage in Contemporary Practice
被看见的藏品——可视化存储的当代实践

NOV. 2022

Introduction

At the end of the twentieth century, museum warehouses began to enter people's minds and formally became part of museums, but they remained in a backstage position and role alongside the museum staff, often overlooked by visitors when they entered the museum, but causing questions and discussions among scholars and ordinary visitors alike. Since the 1980s, some museums in Europe and the United States have been experimenting with opening up parts of their warehouses, opening up storage areas to visitors in the form of simple 'displays', and only then have some of the museum's long-abandoned collections been brought to life. Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the world's first publicly accessible art warehouse, which opened to visitors in November 2021, has brought visual storage back into the spotlight with its visual, accessible museum art storage. This paper takes this opportunity to explore the impact of visual storage on collections individual by looking at the relationship between cultural institutions and storage, collections, audiences and staff.

Since its generation in the 1970s, the concept of visual storage has evolved through much controversy, but is still considered to be a benign way of responding to the needs of museum storage and visitors. For example, Nicky Reeves (2017), Curator of the History of Science and Medicine Collection at the Hunterian, University of Glasgow, UK, has argued that such public storage may only produce a 'representation and spectacle of storage' that is not free from the shackles of elitism and it does not reflect the democratic perspective of museums. In fact, however, the majority of visitors to the museum's visual storage offerings have been more positive in their assessment of the practice. Despite the potential benefits of visual storage, the concept is still experimental and has not yet been fully embraced by the Museums Association . With human archaeological excavations and the continued development of contemporary art and human history, museum collections are growing at an unprecedented rate. Some scholars have even called for archaeological excavations to remain sealed underground for conservation purposes when museums have no space or conditions to store them, while the growing collections in museums suffers from a lack of exhibition space to keep pace with its expansion, and more and more collections are facing the embarrassing situation of 'reaching the peak of their research when they enter the museum'. , it is worth considering how to open up the museum's storage to the public in a more considerate way and to reflect the democratic and open nature of the museum for the audience it is primarily intended to 'serve'.

In the case of visual storage methods that open up museum storage to the general public, it can be found that, due to the large number of collections that appear at scale, the huge size of the collection tends to create a purely visual experience for the visitors, ignoring the characteristics and experiences of the collection itself as an individual. This paper will discuss the following aspects of visual storage: 1. What is visual storage? 2. an analysis of the current state of visual storage; 3. the relationship between the individuality of collections and visual storage; thereby discussing the relationship between contemporary visual storage and the individuality of collections.

I. What is visual storage? Why was it created?

1. Visual storage and its predecessors

In large museums around the world, collections on display in galleries may represent only 2% of the total collection , and visual storage offers museums the opportunity to increase this percentage. Visual storage, which can also often be thought of as public storage, accessible storage, etc., is a way of maximising public access to museum collections, bringing the collections in museum repositories into public view (Cynthia S, 2014 ). Whereas the creation of visual storage can be traced back to the 1970s, by The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Picture 1 Approximately 2% of the total number of collections on display in museums across the region. This picture was produced by Qi Jingning

This is generally done through the renovation of museum warehouses, such as the transparent transformation of storage cabinets, the organising the collection into categories, the design of lighting and labelling, etc., in order to ensure the safety of the collections and environmental friendliness , and to make the 'dusty' collections in museum warehouses 'accessible' to the public. 'This is an attempt to revitalise collections outside the 'two per cent' of the museum. Examples include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands and the Hermitage Museum are among the examples of visual storage. Interestingly, this approach was inspired by the 'cabinets of treasures' used by elitist figures such as the aristocracy to store their private collections , in a similar way but with the aim of achieving very different goals and ideas. ‘cabinets of treasures’ demonstrates an elitist idea while the visual storage moves towards democratism.

Picture 2 Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Center. ©Hemitage Museum

2. Extension and specificity

Visual storage in museums can simply be understood as the visualisation of the museum's warehouse collections. As museums have evolved, visual storage has been extended to include accessible storage, which focuses on the entire collection chain and was developed by curator Sarah Bond with the intention of communicating 'where objects come from, why they are kept, and how they are cared for, preserved and used' (Hilberry, 2002) to show visitors the behind-the-scenes story of the museum while the collection is visible to them, finding the right balance between protecting the collection and safeguarding the rights of visitors.

At the same time, visual storage differs from some traditional museum storage, i.e. most of the current museum storage methods around the world - museum warehouse collections are only open to staff or some senior scholars, the general audience does not have the opportunity to appreciate and access the collections outside the museum galleries, the warehouse is in a well sorted and invisible state.

Picture 3 The relationship between exhibition and storage has changed. This picture was produced by Qi Jingning

Before the advent of visual storage, permanent and temporary exhibitions had a higher status and attention than storage; after the advent of visual storage, the relationship between the three has become equal.

3. The shift in focus of museums and the financial pressures they face

The aim of visualisation and the deep logic behind it can be seen as the creation of a 'more thoughtful' museum. In the pursuit of a 'democratised' world and cultural context, the attempt has been done to give cultural rights to every visitor equally, to reduce the primitive elitism of museums, and to invite visitors to learn about the behind-the-scenes work of museums and develop their sense of initiative in museums. This is one of the manifestations and initiatives of the museum's gradual shift from collection-centrism to an audience-centred operating philosophy.

The economic pressures that followed the epidemic of early 2020 have forced museums around the world to face huge expenditure difficulties arising from their day-to-day operations. Reduced government spending has forced some museums to start thinking about how to survive - laying off staff, or selling off collections, or some other options? And visitors have questioned the number of museum collections on display versus the financial implications of maintaining other unexhibited collections has forced museums, including galleries, to think about how to communicate their 'true selves' to visitors. At this time, visual storage has satisfied the curiosity of visitors about storage in the visual richness of large-scale collections, but has it neglected the experiences and stories of individual collections? At this point, the cultural and spiritual connotations hidden beneath the fine visual images of individual collections are easily abandoned by the visitors - it is difficult for museums to make a more substantial interpretation of collections on visual storage display cases, providing a more direct education for the viewer. So how can museums, made up of collections that serve their audiences, maintain a balance between the two in visual storage?

4. individuality of the collection & object biography

In the methodological context of object biography, the scholar Kopytoff, I. (1986) argues that things could not be fully understood at just one point in their existence and processes and cycles of production, exchange and consumption had to be viewed as a whole. (things could not be fully understood at just one point in their existence and processes and cycles of production, exchange and consumption had to be as a whole. Not only do objects change through their existence but they often have the capability of accumulating histories.) And objects, whether they enter museums as collections or have other very different lives or have other very different life trajectories, have the capacity to witness history and experience life. And each object, the collection, has its own individual history, 'as every person has his own biography' (Briggs, 1988). At the same time, the collection enriches its individual experience through constant images and interactions with people or its surroundings, which mutually contribute to its value. Thus, using object biographies as a base to approach the individuality of collections not only provides a new perspective on the collections, but also gives them their own voice and highlights their foregrounds narrative, reflecting the remarkable fact that each object in museum storage exists as an individual..The balance between object and person is explored from an object-centred perspective. Thus, the visualisation of storage through the perspective of 'object biography' reveals many interesting phenomena.

II. Analysis of the current state of visible storage

The current open visibilization storage was basically created at the beginning of the museum's existence or during the renovation of old buildings, of which the main types of storage can be divided into three types: independent; simulation; and partial zoning.

1. Independent type

This is a type of warehouse building and institution that is independent of the museum complex and is almost entirely a new part of the museum rebuilt in the process of 'evolution and upgrading', designed and built with the goal of 'visibilization' and 'openness' from the very beginning. For example, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, which will be open to the public in November 2021, houses the entire collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum. And the relationship between the museum and the public art warehouse has been defined by the curator, Sjarel Ex, as 'an internal friendly competition', and the two are 'distinct and complementary'. The interior of the art warehouse is made up of glass, with the collection staggered in transparent intervals and floor plates, and the different categories of the collection can be seen together in the lobby. On each floor, the storage and working areas have glass walls on the side of the corridor, through which the visitor can see the collections in the storage rooms in different 'climatic zones' according to the material requirements, and the professionals working in the restoration rooms, etc.

Picture 4 View of the interior of the warehouse through the glass from the corridor (left).

Picture 5 Interior view of the lobby (right).©Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen.

However, if you wish to gain further access to the collection, you will need to request access to the storage room in advance, there will be a 'guide' and a security officer during your visit, and in order to maintain the storage room as a suitable environment for the collection, each wave of visitors (approximately 15 people or less) is limited to 11 minutes per hour. You are not be allowed to touch the exhibits during your visit, nor are you allowed to move the sliding shelves of the collection are not allowed to view other works. In order to create an environment conducive to the conservation of the collection, the warehouse has been divided into climatic zones suitable for the material of the collection. This allows the visitor to begin to focus on the original material of the work and return to the collection 'in itself', but the subtle connections between time and space and artistic styles that exist between the collections are thus broken, and the visitor is less likely to make connections between the collections when viewing the visual images and understanding the cultural spirit of the collection. It is important to note that at this point the collection and the art and culture it contains may have been slowly detached and stripped away. As the focus on the conservation of the collection's original materials has generated new perspectives and entry points, but in the process its individual cultural and artistic qualities have been transiently ignored for conservation purposes. The 'material' and the scale of the visuals prevail, while the subsidiary artistic value is hidden in the abbreviated numbering of the works and the 'unintuitive exhibition label' interpretation waiting to be discovered and archaeologised by the visitor.

Picture 6 Looking through the glass at the restoration work. (Left) Picture 7 A guided tour of the warehouse for visitors. (Right) Photos by Aad Hogendoorn. ©Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Picture 8 Depot Boijmans App. However, information about the collection must be scanned on site to view it and cannot be accessed directly via the internet © Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen.

2. Simulation type

The second type of visible storage is the creation of a visible simulation of a storage like space in the museum display space. Unlike the freestanding type, the simulated type emphasises the educational significance of the visibilization device. It simulates and demonstrates the 'partial reality' of museum storage to the visitor, who is not actually able to visit the space and therefore does not tend to focus on the individual objects in the collection.

The Pinacoteca di Brera ('Brera Art Gallery') in Milan has two large glasshouse spaces in the exhibition space of the permanent exhibition of Italian paintings - a simulation and display of storage and restoration. This area is not visitable to the visitor, but still has a partially limited 'visible' effect. As the visitor peers in through the glass room, the rows of paintings are arranged statically and closely in a simulated storage state, with only the front and back of some of the paintings visible, as well as the sides of the frames, so the simulated visible storage has a somewhat dramatic formalist effect in terms of visibilization.

Picture 9 The 'visible storage' space at the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 2016. Photo by Gaëlle Crenn. © La Brera

In 2001, the Brera Mai Vista (Hidden Brera) project was launched at the Brera Gallery and is still in progress today. The plan is to regularly display pieces of the museum’s storage that are considered important to the public in the glass space, and to replace the exhibits in the space 2-3 times a year. In 2002, a second glass space for restoration was opened to the public, designed by Ettore Sottsass, which combines restoration work with exhibition and demonstrates the daily work of restoration. It should be noted, however, that the space is a two-storey glass building in the gallery. Even though the main restoration work is concentrated on the first floor, the work on the second floor is difficult for visitors on the first floor of the gallery to understand, and the restoration work is more performative.

Picture 10 The glass 'box' restoration laboratory, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 2016. photo by Gaëlle Crenn. © La Brera

'Hidden in plain sight' is a literal interpretation of the visible storage space in the exhibition space, perhaps in a way indicating the goals and expectations of the Brera Gallery for this visible storage simulation - like a monument giving wake-up effect. Through a simulated space, the visitor is reminded of the realities of storage and the 'behind the scenes' and 'backstage' of cultural institutions that are kept in the dark, for the purpose of uncovering, exploring and educating. Thinking from this starting point, it is clear that the 'visitability' and 'visibilization' of individual works is not the focus of the performance, but rather the act and space of moving the glass space of simulated storage into the gallery. The interactive and educational effect of moving the glass space of the analogue storage into the gallery is the ultimate purpose of the analogue visibilization storage, i.e. the analogue visibilization storage has nothing to do with the individual works of art contained within.

3. Partial zoning type

Partially zoned visible storage opens up part of the museum's storage space as visitable space, unlike the independent type, which does not open up all of the museum's storage to the public. The Henry R. Luce Center for The Study of American Art, opened in December 1988 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is a 16,000 square foot open-plan warehouse dedicated to approximately 10,000 of American art. At the Luce Center, its visible and visitable storage is categorised for visitors by specific historical periods, themes or styles, and methods of manufacture, as opposed to the Depot's method of categorising collections by material. And the massive glass case presents the entire collection of American art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, responding to the choice of exhibition and to questions about the museum's 'hidden' collections. What is clear from this, however, is that despite being the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the fact that the construction and installation of the open storage facility in the 1980s was a government-funded undertaking, the visible and visitable storage space that was eventually opened chose to focus on American art rather than on the entire collection, which may be related to the development of the museum's own position and goals.

The visible storage collection at the Luce Centre extends the comprehensiveness of the visitor's horizons, allowing collections outside the 2% to be noticed. Visitors to the Luce Centre can find works in the same or similar style as those in the visible storage in the galleries, and the Luce Centre even keeps copies of what are known as 'junk', which gives visitors the opportunity to get to know the collection better. Surprisingly, there is also a pavilion within the Luce Centre to show visitors the results of new research, and the collection's computers are updated on a weekly basis. This means that the collection continues to evolve after it enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art, echoing Simon Chaplin's (2005) idea of a 'deeper understanding of the biography of the objects themselves', reaffirming the development of 'object-centred' museum history research, and building a friendly bridge for visitors to further access the museum and its collections.

In summary, the three different types of visible storage are suitable for different types of museums. Firstly, the independent type of visibilization, represented by the Dutch DEPOT art warehouse, may be more suitable for museums with larger sites, new buildings or plans to renovate or build new ones, and with sufficient funding. Secondly, in the case of the mock-up type, represented by the visible 'mock-up warehouse' built in the Brera Gallery in Milan for educational purposes, this type is more suitable for museums that are more restricted in terms of space and do not have the ultimate goal of full 'visibilization and visitability', but only want the installation to play a part in education. Finally, the third type of visible storage, the partial zoning type, is more suitable for museums with large collections and more systematic collections of historical objects of a certain genre or character, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art mentioned above.

III. Individuality of collections in relation to visible storage

1. Adaptation of different collection types to visible storage degrees

The effect and significance of visible storage varies for collections with different attributes. In terms of classifying collections, given that visible storage can be seen, comparable and 'discoverable' (and visitable), it is simply divided into two types: collections with historically material significance and collections with humanistic significance.

1) Collections with historically material significance

Collections with historically material significance focus more on the historical value contained in the collection. Such collections reflect the changes in materials, workmanship, design and use of artefacts from the past, and the value is mostly reflected in the material attributes of the collection itself, with relatively little humanity. This category contains gold, silver, bronze, iron, porcelain and brickwork, etc. For example, the three sculptures in the Luce Center of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (shown below) are all sculptures of human figures, all in bronze, dating from the first half of the 20th century and in very close proximity to each other in terms of storage location. A similar situation is evident in the Side Chair in the furniture section.

Picture 11 Henry R. Luce Center for The Study of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.© The Met

In addition, collections with historically material significance, such as the treasures of stationery and literary objects, which were toys used by the emperors of ancient China for leisurely play, include jewellery, enamelled ware, lacquer ware, bamboo and wood carvings, ivory carvings, four treasures of the study and miniature curio cabinets, and are classified in specific ways according to their use, material, age or the person with whom they were associated. For example, The Carved Olive-core Boat by Chen Zuzhang of the Qing dynasty, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. This carved olive kernel boat is in the category of wood, bamboo and lacquer ware, carved from the kernels of the canarium pimela in Zengcheng, Guangdong. The boat is 1.4 centimetres long, 3.4 centimetres wide and 1.6 centimetres high. ,When analysed the collection from the perspective of visible storage, there are the following entry points.

Picture 12 This picture was produced by Qi Jingning

Picture 13 Carving of an olive-core boat, Chen Zuzhang, Qing dynasty. © National Palace Museum, Taipei

In all eight of the simple categories of visible storage, it is possible to find unbreakable connections between The Carved Olive-core Boat and other objects in the collection (as described in Picture 12). In an exhibition, the visitor is often only able to discover a specific aspect of the collection from one of the above listed perspectives, rather than being able to look closely at the collection from a 'four-sided' perspective and viewpoint, which is a single point of understanding. In visible storage, visitors can start by looking at the set categories stored in this museum and explore the hidden 'dark lines' between the collection as an individual and the rest of the collection according to their own interests. For example, in the case of Chen Zuzhang's The Carved Olive-core Boat in the Qing Dynasty, the visibilization of the collection can simultaneously reveal eight other aspects of the collection that are related to each other. The overall image and content of the collection is fleshed out more than in the gallery, and visitors can explore the different aspects of similar objects in the visibilization.

2) Collections with humanistic significance

Collections with humanistic significance, on the other hand, can include a wide range of paintings and calligraphy, contemporary art, sculpture, documentary books and audiovisual works. When comparing this type of collection with collections with humanistic significance, it is clear that the humanistic value attached to the collection far outweighs its material value. For example, if a well-known artist and a non-artist paint with the same material, the work painted by the well-known artist is given the added value of a unique humanistic spirit because of the artist, such as the way of painting, the fame of the artist, the influence of the school, the age of the artist when the work was created and whether the artist was alive when the work was sold. The value of the work is much higher than that of a non-artist's work.

In contrast, the adaptability and necessity of visible storage is weaker for some humanistic meaningful collections, such as letters, documentary books and audiovisual products. Visible storage has the objective obstacle of not being able to touch the collection directly or indirectly, while the essence of collections with humanistic significance such as letters and books is found in a large number of texts. Therefore, such collections can only be found in visible storage 'indiscriminately' - only achieving the superficial visual value of the individual collection. The inability to view the text directly means that such partially collections with humanistic significance may only be 'in name only' in visible storage, with the visitor only being able to see the cover or a corner of the collection, making it difficult to realise the true humanistic value of such collections and making visible storage less meaningful and less appropriate. In contrast, collections of historical material significance may be more suitable for visible storage.

2. The impact of visible storage on the individuality of collections

The 'object biography' approach described at the end of Chapter 1 emphasises the importance of the individuality of the collection. Interestingly, takes this perspective on visible storage and finds that there are advantages and disadvantages to visible storage in relation to the individuality of collections. In terms of advantages, visible storage facilitates the 'continued archaeology' of individual collections, leading to new directions of research, and reducing the dependence of visitors and museums on digitisation. On the downside, visible storage can be a visual spectacle that does not provoke the visitor to think or see the overall workflow of the museum's operations; at the same time, some of the textual information and classifications in the storage facility can be confusing and disorienting to the visitor.

1) 'Continuing archaeology' - excavativeness and research significance

Visible storage offers the opportunity for the collection to have 'continued archaeology' by visitors or curatorial researchers, which allows collection individual to be discovered even after they have entered the museum's storage, giving them relatively equal possibilities to be 'studied' among themselves.

Michael Govan, Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, has said of visible storage, 'It's normal for the public to speculate that museums keep their collections in dark storage. What we're trying to say is that these collections are worth seeing and studying even when they're not on display. That way you are not focusing on a masterpiece of art, but perhaps you will discover the value of it when comparing different vases.' The museum warehouse acts as a container for the collection, forming a series of relationships within the thousands of objects in the collection - 'between people, between objects, and between objects and people' (Alberti, 2005). Visible storage offers the visitor the opportunity to do just that - the opportunity to discover the collection as an individual, to develop a new understanding of the collection as an individual by comparing the differences between collections - each visitor's unique perspective on the collection, rather than just the sole interpretation by the museum official. This is a way of creating a new understanding of the collection as an individual - the unique perspective of each visitor to the collection, rather than the sole interpretation of the museum. This leaves a great deal of scope for exploration and research into individual collections.

For example, the Luce Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where the collection of American art is largely visible and not on loan for inter-library exchange, is one of the more complete and 'visitable' repositories of American art. For 'cold' collections that are not often in the galleries and are often kept in storage, visible storage opens a window for them to be noticed and studied again.

Picture 14 Henry R. Luce Center for The Study of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. © The Met

For the researcher, the research effort may be focused on only some of the collections that are academically so-called research-worthy, so that some collections are therefore lost the opportunity to be researched or paid attention. As the American psychologist and economist Herbert Alexander Simon (1971) put it, 'As information evolves, it is not information that is valuable, but attention'. The occasional stopping by a collection during a visit to a visible storage provides exposure, and the heat generated by the attention then leads to the study of the collection as an individual. Even if the collection is defined as 'low research significance', it does not mean that it does not have any value in itself. In this process of 'continuing archaeology' in the museum's warehouses, individual collections are constantly being discovered, as each individual collection, through the process of collection, storage and display, collectively constitutes a material culture and acquires an individual meaning and identity in its interaction with different people. These will also be re-established in the visible storage, enriching the archives and biographies of the individual 'lives' of the collections. The biographies that make up the individual collections also allow the diversity of the collection itself to emerge from the shadows.

2) A counter-attack on the 'The Age of the World Picture'

Martin Heidegger (1938) introduced the concept of the 'the age of the world picture', a theory that focuses not on the proliferation of images, but on the fact that the world is somehow also being translated into images. In the 'age of the world picture', visible storage can reduce the over-reliance of visitors and museums on electronic information systems in favour of seeking out 'real' collections in reality.

Visitors are used to relying on digital images of museums to create a visual awareness of the individual objects in the collection, simply presuming that an image of a collection is the same as a collection. The images, however, depend on the photographic 'translation' of the original collection individual a material reproduction of the visual perception by the processor. At this point, the authenticity of the image information obtained through the processor's photography of the original individual collection is not entirely reliable - it contains the subjective judgement of the processor.

Picture 15 Children visit the visible store offline and complete study cards and note taking, a visit experience that is not possible with online electronic resources © The Met

The French thinker Jean Baudrillard (1996) in The Perfect Crime states that 'The image no longer allows one to imagine the real because it is the real. Nor does the image any longer allow one to imagine the real, because it is the virtual real.' Therefore all images (No matter how realistic the image) can only be copies of reality, virtualised realities. Because in using online electronic resources, the visitor lacks the experience of an offline visit - the temporality of the collection itself and the 'dialogue' that arises when confronted with the individual objects. But in visible storage, the resonance caused by the visitors themselves looking directly at the collection can gradually bring them closer to the real.

Secondly, in a conventional exhibition, the collections have already been selected by the cultural institutions and there is more visible and intellectual intervention by the processors or 'authorities'. In a visible storage warehouse without much interpretation or curatorial choice, the collection is simply coded or categorised to meet the visitor directly, making it difficult for the visitor to create a direct 'preconception' and stereotype of the individual collection through the researcher's rigorous exhibition label. The visitor's mode of appreciation is thus transformed - the historical preconceptions of the collection are temporarily ignored in favour of the collection itself, so that its individual characteristics receive the maximum amount of equal attention and importance. As a result, the visitor is pleasantly surprised by the mediocrity of the storage installation.

3) visual overload vs. loitering tour

In visible storage, the visitor is often visually struck by the sheer size of the collection in front of them. In the case of the DEPOT in the Netherlands, the visitor may marvel at the museum's precious collection, but in the actual visit they simply pass by or are only told about the mechanics of the storage or some of the 'selected' items, while most of the rest of the collection remains ignored. In fact, this type of tour or direct access to a visible repository to interact with the collection is similar to the factory tours of major manufacturers such as Coca-Cola that were popular in the early years. During these tours, visitors do gain some insight into the workings of the cultural institution, but the time constraints imposed by the climatic needs of the collection make for a haphazard end to the tour, with visitors simply marvelling at the sheer number of items in the collection and not having the time or energy to stop and interact with a collection individual of interest.

Joanne Heyler, director of the Broad museum in Los Angeles, says that its new exhibition space (on the third floor) offers a clear view of the unvisitable storage rooms for paintings and sculptures on the second floor through clear glass underfoot; the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver offers a similar visible storage experience. The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver offers a similar visible storage experience. Both of these, however, are formally similar to the simulated visible storage in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan described above - they are simply designed to allow the visitor to experience the concrete situation of the museum's storage, which can produce educational significance in museum function, However, the visibilization is largely ineffective in relation to the individual objects in storage. There is still an unbridgeable gap between the visitor and the individual objects, which are only tiny units that make up the visual feast and have no chance of being discovered by the visitor. The visual overload caused by the number of objects in the collection reinforces the sense of power of cultural institutions, such as museums, by formally presenting a large number of objects to the visitor, but in an unconscious way with the intention of showing off as an authority.

At the same time, visible storage has moved some of the staff who were previously in the background, such as those responsible for the restoration of the collections, from the background to the front platform, where they can be noticed by visitors. But as this work gradually became visible and noticed by visitors, we discovered that the museum work that was visible to visitors was only the tip of the iceberg of daily operations - the cleaning staff who clean the venues, the collections staff who code the collections, the engineering staff who work on digital information, etc., were still in the shadows in the background.

Picture 17 'Behind the scenes' work is gradually moving to the 'stage' / Before the advent of visible storage, only security, cleaning and gallery staff could be seen by the audience; with the advent of visible storage, in addition to these people, mechanical maintenance, restoration of collections Before the advent of visible storage, only security, cleaning and gallery staff were visible to visitors.

This picture was produced by Qi Jingning

4) Text that confuses the audience

Due to the large number of collections and categories of collections in visual storage, as well as the different museums' storage categories and the different purposes of visible storage, make textual explanations of the collections take a back seat, and the lack of visible textual explanations can easily confuse visitors about the collections and museums.

The scholar Tim Ingold (2000) has expressed his view on culture and matter, 'Culture wraps itself in the universe of material things, shaping and changing their outer surfaces without ever penetrating their interiors'. And texts, as mappings of culture, provide a way of looking at material things, encompassing tendencies and attitudes in thought. In the visible storage at the Kunsthalle Manheim in Germany, there is no clear order or connection between the objects in the collection. Each collection has a barcode on its side and is grouped in tight rows on the shelves in a space-saving manner. The simple name of each collection is set centrally on a baseboard near the floor, which the visitor has to bend down to see. Current visible storage makes it difficult to provide a proper but not lengthy interpretation and introduction to each collection, and relying solely on the coding of collections and then on internet technology for further understanding makes the development of individuality and biographies of collections difficult. And in everyday museum practice, we can find that labels, for example, are positioned too far away from the objects they are associated with and tend to make viewing exhausting for visitors.

In the National Museum of Australia's visible storage of the Aboriginal collection, objects are arranged neatly in glass cases according to their category, allowing visitors to appreciate the stylistic differences between the collections. Simple labels also accompany the collections on the floor or walls. However, in the case of implements and household objects, knowing the name of a broad category (e.g. weapons, clothing or decorative objects, utensils) only through simple labels makes it difficult for visitors to understand how the individual collections were made and used in the context in which they were used in the past, and thus to interact with them in depth. 'If visitors expect a clear narrative, the absence of one can be disconcerting, leading to exhibitions being perceived as 'confusing', 'all over the place', 'disorganised ' or 'without real meaning'' (Roppola, 2012). And the lack of interpretation can leave visitors frustrated by the lack of authoritative information about the collection or confused about what they are supposed to learn (Lord, 2006). But equally, if the narrative is too explicit or authoritative, it can be off-putting to visitors, who do not like the feeling of being ordered around. (Forrest, 2013) For example, scholar Michael Ann Holly (1995) compares art theory to 'our own game' - 'an attempt to explain, interpolate or capture the hypnotic fortress through labels and iconography of our own invention'. Therefore, it is still necessary to consider whether the text narration of individual collections is appropriate.

Conclusion

In the development of visible storage, museum storage, previously in the 'back office', has been placed in the same position as the 'front' galleries. In this paper, we have divided visible storage into three models - 1. Independent type, which is more suitable for museums that are planning to build a new museum or to renovate an old one, have sufficient funds, and wish to open up their entire collections to storage and actively revitalise more of their collections; 2. Simulation type, which is suitable for museums with large space constraints, but still wish to provide educational value to their visitors; 3. Partial zoning type, for museums with large collections and a rich historical heritage. It is also worth noting that the suitability of different types of collections for visible storage varies. In this paper, the collections are divided into two types: Collections with historically material significance and collections with humanistic significance. Some humanities significance collections are less suitable for visibilization, and the pursuit of 'total' visibilization of collections may result in a waste of resources for museums.

But the impact of visible storage on the individuality of collections in the concrete practice of museums everywhere is two-sided - a mixture of challenges and opportunities. One can both find a unique object in a large collection and easily lose oneself in a collection that causes visual overload.

As visible storage becomes increasingly 'standard equipment' in the future of museums, it is perhaps more important to think about how to deal with the delicate connection between collections and visitors - should we choose to be object-centred or visitor-centred? It is important to note that even when museums are asked to present a 'more human' image to their audiences, the individuality and biography of their collections should not be completely ignored. As Martin Heidegger (1982) puts it, '...... In our daily lives, we learn about ourselves and our existence through the activities we pursue and the things we care about'.

There are still some problems in writing this paper, such as the inability to go on field trips to museums around the world where visible storage is available, and the only way to form one's own opinion is by looking at secondary sources such as literature and official websites. In addition, the lack of research on the classification of collections and museums has led to a lack of maturity in the classification of visible storage and the classification of collection types, which needs to be considered from more aspects, such as the connection between individual collections and their environment and social significance. The development of visible storage in different places and types of museums is also related to the local economic, religious and political environment, and is not only closely related to museum space, funding and development goals. And in future studies and research, it is hoped that the above shortcomings will be gradually improved and new perspectives will be developed.

Reference

·ALBERTI, S. J. (2005) Objects and the Museum. Isis. 96(4). p.559-571.

·BAUDRILLARD, J. (1996) The Perfect Crime. London: Verso.

·BRUSIUS, M., & SINGH, K. (Eds.). (2017) Museum Storage and Meaning: Tales from the Crypt. Abingdon: Routledge.

·CHEN J. (2014) A Preliminary Probe into the Classification of Museum Collections. Chinese Museum. (03). p.52-59.

·CRENN, G. (2021) ‘Storage Exhibitions’ in Permanent Museum Collections: Interpretation, Critical Reflexivity and Democratisation. Museum International. 73(1-2). p.88-99.

·EVANS, R. J. W. (2006) Austria, Hungary, and the Habsburgs: Central Europe c. 1683-1867. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

·GERALDINE KENDAL. (2012) In‘What’s in Store?’. p.28–33.

·GOSDEN, C., & MARSHALL, Y. (1999) The Cultural Biography of Objects. World Archaeology. 31(2). p.169-178.

·HEIDEGGER, M. (1977) The Age of the World Picture. In ALFRED I. TAUBER. (ed.). Science and the Quest for Reality. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

·HEIDEGGER, M., & VON HERRMANN, F. W. (1977) Sein und Zeit (Vol. 2). Tübingen: M. Niemeyer.

·INGOLD T. (2000) Perception of the Environment. Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. London: Routledge .

·JOHN D. HILBERRY. (2002) ‘Behind the Scenes: Strategies for Visible Storage’.Amesbury: Museum Textile Services.

·KIMBERLY BRADLEY. （2015） ‘Why Museums Hide Masterpieces Away’. [Online] Available from: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150123-7-masterpieces-you-cant-see 23 January 2015.

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·KISTERS, S. (2021) A New Museum Typology? The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Museum International. 73(1-2). p, 74-85.

·KNELL, S. J. (Ed.). (1994) Care of collections. London: Psychology Press.

· KOPYTOFF, I. (1986) The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process. In ARJUN APPADURAI (ed.).The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

·LORD, B. (2006) Philosophy and the museum: An introduction to the special issue. Museum Management and Curatorship. 21(2). p.79-87.

·NI L.K. (2007) A General Explanation of Husserl's Phenomenological Concepts. Peking: SDX Joint Publishing Company.

·PADDON, H. (2016) Redisplaying Museum Collections: Contemporary Display and Interpretation in British Museums. London: Routledge.

·PARR, C. S. et al. (1971) Designing Organizations for an Information-rich World. Computers, Communications, and the Public Interest, 72, 37.

·PARR, C. S. et al. (2014) The Encyclopedia of Life v2: Providing Global Access to Knowledge about Life on Earth. Biodiversity Data Journal, (2).

·SHANGHAI INSTITUTE of VISUAL ARTS. Lecture 'A Museum of Art for Today's World' - Workshop on 'Creativity and Globalization' between Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France. [Online] Available from:

https://www.siva.edu.cn/site/site1/newsText.aspx?si=15&id=672

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·WU H. & ZHU Z.R. (2011) Approaches to the Study of Chinese Art History - An Interview with Professor Wu Hong. Hundred Schools in Arts. (4), 62-69.

· YANG B.D. (2002) Ancient Chinese Art and Cultural Relics Series. Peking: The Forbidden City Publishing House.

·ZH J.J. and ZHU CHUANRONG. (eds.) (2013) A Collection of Historical Materials from the Bureau of the Hall of Mental Cultivation: Yongzheng Dynasty. Peking: The Forbidden City Publishing House.

Picture Resource

· ART MARKET MONITOR. The Broad Museum seeks to upend museum idea with open storage. [Online] Available from:

https://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2015/08/10/the-broad-museum-seeks-to-upend-museum-idea-with-open-storage/

[Accessed: 13th September 2022].

·ARTRON. American museums pursue 'visualisation' of storage rooms to open up exhibition space. [Online] Available from:

https://news.artron.net/20130724/n482490.html

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·BARD GRADUATE CENTER. Object Biography: The Life of a Concept. [Online] Available from:

https://www.bgc.bard.edu/research-forum/articles/627/object-biography-the-life-of

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM, Not / On view: visible storage. [Online] Available from:

https://clyffordstillmuseum.org/blog/not-on-view-visible-storage-at-the-csm/

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·DEPOT. Depot door de ANWB genomineerd als leukste uitje van Zuid-Holland. [Online] Available from:

https://www.boijmans.nl/nieuws/ANWB%20leukste%20uitje%20van%20Zuid-Holland

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·GOOGLE NEWS. Behind the fire at the Brazilian National Museum: a not-so-accidental tragedy? [Online] Available from:

https://news.sina.cn/2018-09-04/detail-ihiqtcan9777500.d.html?vt=4

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·IN YOUR POCKET. Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre. [Online] Available from:

https://www.inyourpocket.com/st-petersburg-en/staraya-derevnya-restoration-and-storage-centre_147732v

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·MUSEUM DESIGN LAB. The Met’s Luce Center for the study of American art. [Online] Available from:

https://museumdesignlab.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/metropolitan-museums-luce-center-of-american-art/

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·SPACESAVER. Visible at daytona museum of arts and science. [Online] Available from:

https://www.spacesaver.com/blog/visible-storage-at-daytona-museum-of-arts-and-science/

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·THE BROAD. The un-private collection: designing the broad. [Online] Available from:

https://www.thebroad.org/events/un-private-collection-designing-broad

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

·THE MET. The Henry R. Luce Center for the study of American art. [Online] Available from:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/libraries-and-research-centers/the-henry-r-luce-center-for-the-study-of-american-art

[Accessed: 10th September 2022].

Index Next →