I N D I A N A S TAT E M U S E U M A N D H I S T O R I C S I T E S
CROSSROADS EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2022
HANGING
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION At the 98th Hoosier Art Salon, which opened on Aug. 27 at the Indiana State Museum, visitors will see 150-plus works by artists from around the state. What they might not notice – but should – is the artistry involved in hanging the exhibit to make it look as impressive as possible. That’s the work of Meredith McGovern, the museum’s arts and culture collections manager, and Ron Kellen, exhibit preparator/production and lighting specialist. Once the judges selected the pieces that won awards, McGovern and Kellen spent a solid week organizing, laying out and hanging the art that now covers the walls in the Ford Gallery. Here, in her own words, McGovern, who’s been with the museum for 17 years, explains the process. I didn’t know how to hang an art show until I’d been here for several years. It’s something I really enjoy doing. I work with the art collection here at the museum, and so I’m always handling art in my everyday job. So, it became one of my projects – I’m handling the art, I’m getting it to the gallery, I’m helping hang it. Initially, I didn’t design the show. The Hoosier Salon would contract with someone, or one of their volunteers would do it. I took over laying out the show three to four years ago. Laying it out, you have to have an eye for design and understand the balance, finding pieces that complement each other and recognizing when you don’t have that yet. It’s a real team effort to get this into the
building. Coordinating with the Hoosier Salon, the artists and our staff. The first day is daunting. There are 150-plus pieces. How do I make sense of this? Usually where I start is I try to divide them by size. Trying to fit everything in the gallery is my first challenge. So, I start with the largest pieces and try to set large pieces on the walls because I know I’ve got to get those in. From there, I can get the medium pieces and then the smaller pieces in. But trying to set the large ones around each wall – that’s my first task. How can I get a good mix so it’s not all oil paintings next to each other or all abstracts on one wall? I want to make sure abstract work is mixed in with traditional landscape with the portraiture so that as someone’s
coming through the gallery, it’s not like they’re seeing the same thing over and over. You don’t want to walk through a gallery and there’s 20 faces lined up. You lose something. But by spreading them out, it becomes a treat to see a portrait among a landscape among an abstract. I want to get a good blend of what we have on every single wall. From there, I’m looking at elevations. I don’t want anything to be stacked too high. I try not to stack three high because it takes away from the artwork. When you’re craning your neck to see a piece, that’s not what we want. We want people to come through and have a comfortable experience viewing the artwork and for each artist to be able to have a good representation. We want continued on next page
everyone’s piece to be seen. I’m also looking at color – which colors complement each other? Which ones create a little bit of tension? Which ones push color forward? A color that might be muted in one piece, if I put it next to something that has a similar color in it, I can push those colors and make something pop that might not pop without that other piece beside it. An abstract piece with black, white and red wouldn't be placed next to a piece with similar colors because it would be too much. I think they would compete with each other. But by putting them on separate walls near each other, we’re creating a flow where there is some repetition – more harmony and balance, repeating colors and tones, but not slapping someone in the face with them. I might try a piece in one spot, but sometimes that’s just a holding spot. Sometimes it will end up there, but other times I move it around. Some walls come together really easily. Then other walls are
more of a headache. I know when I have to walk away – when it’s too much. You can get into a rut. I put so many steps on my tracker – I am walking around this gallery. I’m hitting 10,000 steps by lunchtime because I am puttering around thinking, “Which pieces work?” There’s a formula to this. We like to hang “60 on center.” There’s a center line that runs through every wall and that’s at the 60-inch mark. That’s comfortable viewing for the average visitor – where the center of the piece is 5 feet off the ground. You’ll know when you’re hanging if something is too high or too low because you can step back when you get off the ladder and you’ll be able to tell. There is math involved in all this. Usually, the math gets a little trickier when you’re trying to group two pieces over one. But you can see it all worked out. It all comes together. Ron does the lights. With this gallery and
with this show, it’s a little different. Typically, with artwork, we have low light levels, especially with works on paper. But with the Hoosier Salon, the intention is to sell the artwork, to represent it as best as possible. So we have the lights up higher in this gallery so they shine a little more. This is one of those projects we look forward to every single year. We love seeing the art come through, we love being able to get the first peek. It’s challenging, but it’s really rewarding to make everything work together and to make a beautiful gallery.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT: DENISE REEVES Denise Reeves is the development database manager for the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. She began working for the museum system in May 2022. As the database manager, Denise is responsible for data analysis, reporting, research, daily gift processing, gift acknowledgements, donor lists, data clean up and all things database related for the development department. She lives on the west side of Indianapolis with her two 16-year-old identical twin sons, Ryan and Peyton. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My heart and soul! WHERE IS THE MOST INTERESTING PLACE YOU'VE TRAVELED? I’ve been to Hell! Hell, Cayman Islands. And it was hot that day! WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN THE LAST YEAR? I’m most proud of my commitment to cultivate self. I’ve been working on my mental health: tuning-out so I can tune-in, recharge and be present!
WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED? From my mother during a sewing lesson: Measure twice, cut once!
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? I really don’t have a favorite author, but I’ll give kudos to Janet Evanovich. I’ve read quite a bit of her Plum Series.
Basically, if you do it right the first time, you won’t have to redo your work. This may be one reason why I’m so dang-ole slow.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY AND WHY? New Year’s Eve! Technically, it’s not a holiday, but I love the ending/beginning of it all. It gives me a sense of fulfillment with the closing of one year and the beginning of another. I can embrace all my accomplishments/misses of the past year yet dream of all the possibilities of the new year to come.
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH THE MOST? Embarrassing moments – moments when we’re caught off guard. And myself! I have so many conversations in my head that I generally prefer my own company over others! We’re funny that way!
SECURITY UPDATE
Director of Security Tyriee Love
Security Manager Dustin Chavez
SECURITY EMERGENCY WALKTHROUGHS
CPR, AED & FIRST AID
Just a reminder that all security emergency walkthroughs begin at 11 a.m. the first Monday and Friday of the month. This is the general schedule, but we also can schedule walkthroughs on another specified date for you, if necessary. The following dates and times are scheduled walkthroughs for 2022, but schedules are subject to change:
Only a few CPR, AED and first-aid classes remain for 2022. If you are interested in signing up for one of the final classes, please email Dustin Chavez at dchavez@indianamuseum.org
Sept. 2
Oct. 3
Nov. 4
Dec. 2
Sept. 12
Oct. 7
Nov. 7
Dec. 5
Please meet near the third-floor bridge on the museum side. The emergency walkthrough will consist of going through all the emergency stairwells on both the administration and museum side, and we will discuss any questions you may have regarding safety throughout the museum.
The class consists of online learning for three hours, which can be completed on your own time and split into sections if you choose, followed by a two-hour testing session at the Indiana State Museum. We’ve had several people sign up and complete these sessions this year, so let’s finish the year strong and take advantage of these free classes! The final two test days for classes are: •
Sept. 22, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. or 2 - 4 p.m.
•
Oct. 27, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. or 2 - 4 p.m.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Dustin Chavez at dchavez@indianamuseum.org .
IMPORTANT NUMBERS TO PUT IN YOUR PHONE Security Non-Emergency 317.234.2454 | Security Emergency 317.234.2455 | After-Hours Security Mobile 317.509.5396
SEPTEMBER ANNIVERSARIES JOHN SEGNER
DEVIN ROBINSON
MATT ANDERSON
MARC ALLAN
BRIAN JOHNSON
ABBY BROWN
EMILY WINSHIP
KYLEE FRITZ
Experience – 10 years
Visitor Services – 9 years
Experience – 8 years Marketing – 3 years
ABBIE HOLDORF
Angel Mounds – 2 years
Lanier Mansion – 2 years
Marketing – 2 years
Education – 1 year
Visitor Services – 1 year
RON KELLEN
Experience – 1 year
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites welcomed and celebrated with 80 new U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony held in the Great Hall on Aug. 29. The candidates came from 32 different countries and met the application criteria after completing the naturalization process, which takes between 18 and 24 months. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Dinsmore presided over the ceremony and administered the Oath of Allegiance. President and CEO Cathy Ferree spoke at the ceremony, welcoming everyone to the museum and congratulating the new citizens.
SHARE YOUR STORY IDEAS! Renee Bruck, manager of communication | 317.260.3506 | rbruck@indianamuseum.org