Closed on Mondays: Behind the Scenes at the Museum Book

The transformation of museums from the'dreary, dusty places' they used to be to places that people want to be in, alongsideobjects they want to be near and ideas they want to understand and then sharehas been extraordinary. During the last twenty-five years, millions of poundshave been poured into our national museums in the UK: as a result, they are certainlybrighter and fuller. It is against this background that Dinah Casson has openedthe service entrance of the museum a little.This 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.Read More