The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has achieved a major first by calling on unique curators to mount an exhibition entitled “Guarding the Art”. A group of 17 guards in charge of the security of this museum have indeed been invested “Guest Curators” (guest curators). A way to allow them to expose their own vision of things. On the surface, visitors see in these museum guards only almost statuesque men and women, with closed faces and eyes everywhere. BMA officials therefore saw them as more than just staff assigned most of the time to say “Don’t touch” and to keep the public at a distance from the precious works of art. An approach that allows you to take a new look at art. “Especially, explains a detailed press release, since these security guards spend more time with the museum’s collection than anyone else. We wanted, through this exhibition of their own, to give them the opportunity to express themselves. And thus highlight their unique perspectives, and their reflections through the pieces they have chosen to present. This hanging is ultimately drawn from their many hours spent in the galleries, their interactions with visitors, and their personal stories and interests. »
An angle of exposure. Photo taken from the Guarding the art exhibition Twitter account
A selection dear to their hearts and their vision
Because, contrary to what one thinks, the members in charge of the security of this museum are not only an intervention force in the event of theft or vandalism. Some of these “Guest Curators” have training as filmmakers, musicians, writers and visual artists. And they gladly lent themselves to the game of exhibition organizers, assuming all the preparation phases on their own, while following the advice of the museum’s professional curators. The BMA had made available to them the works on view in the galleries, but also those kept in reserve, this Baltimore institution holding an impressive collection comprising no less than 95,000 paintings, sculptures and various kinds of artifacts. After meticulous selection work and consultation sessions, the “Guest Curators” finally agreed on a set of 25 works dear to their hearts and their personal visions. In their selection are works by the great masters Jeremy Alden, Louise Bourgeois, Sam Gilliam, Grace Hartigan, Winslow Homer, Alma W. Thomas, Mickalene Thomas. The curators also revealed their crush on unidentified classified creators, particularly from Colombia, Costa Rica and the Solomon Islands. Obviously, their own passions and itineraries tipped the scales in their choice. Kellen Johnson, 35, a guard since 2013, explained to the New York Times what attracted her to two compositions that were part of the hanging. “Max Beckmann’s Still Life With Large Shell (1939) and Normandy Landscape (1928) reminded me of the tunes of African-American Spirituals, on the one hand, and the art of French song. And I wondered if these canvases could sing, what would they intone? I suppose In a solitary wood by Mozart”, confides this young woman who is studying classical singing at the same time.
A guard presenting his choice. Photo taken from the Guarding the art exhibition Twitter account
Curator, a recent profession
Another of his colleagues, Joan Smith, a lover of objects that are both aesthetic and functional, opted for Water Bottle, a work by an unidentified artist from the Solomon Islands and Bottleneck Basket by a Native American artist, also unidentified. . Ben Bjork, he liked the humor in art via 50 Dozen, a chair made entirely of pencils and which would break if you sit on it, signed by designer James Hadley. These guards, who are usually barely noticed in their austere uniforms, thus reveal their inner sensitivity and their inclinations for various forms of art.
Determined to treat this exhibition like the others, the Baltimore Museum of Art has even published a specific catalogue. Richly illustrated, it includes the biography of all the participants and presentations of the works.
In the selection, the chair in lead pencils by James Hadley. Photo courtesy of the BMA
In this context, it was interesting to evoke the identity of the profession of curator which is considered as one of the newest professions in the world, since it was established under this name only fifty years ago. According to the Stylist website, this term was born in 1969 in the mind of the Swiss art historian Harald Szeemann, who thus referred to the Latin word “curare”, meaning who takes care. He thus composed the word curator, or one who takes care of art. He had wanted to launch this title, and also give it to himself, after leaving the management of the Kunsthalle museum in Bern. Szeemann was indeed tired of having to fight with the shareholders of the establishment who imposed their artistic choices on him. He had therefore preferred to become a curator to regain independence in the link that unites him to the chosen artists and to the organization of their exhibitions.
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has achieved a major first by calling on unique curators to mount an exhibition entitled “Guarding the Art”. A group of 17 guards in charge of the security of this museum have indeed been invested “Guest Curators” (guest curators). A way to allow them to expose their own vision…