Introduction

I brought a hammer 10,000 miles from Utah to Glasgow. My red hammer has been the tool I have used exclusively to install every exhibition I’ve ever designed. It’s a curious feeling; an empty room just before you fill it. But that hammer and I have logged hundreds of hours hanging art on a wall, putting art on pedestals, and hanging art from ceilings. Generally speaking, patrons don’t come to galleries because of who designed the exhibitions, but, perhaps exhibition designers don’t fill spaces with art because they want to be noticed. My goal… is to notice. My research has played a predominant role in how museums and gallery spaces have interpreted the theories and methodologies we discuss on a daily basis. This is a “floor level” research. Next term, I hope to have a concrete knowledge of key designers and curators, so I can start sifting and analyzing their design concepts. But first things first; I have to crawl before I walk. I decided to step far out of my comfort zone and research exhibitions that have happened no longer than 5 years ago, and I have attempted to only discuss living artists that are still practicing art today. There are two reasons for this. 1) Contemporary art as a whole is a great weakness of mine 2) to discover the function of exhibition space; why is it there, and what happens when we fill it?