Deutsches Historisches Museum - Verf�hrung Freiheit. Kunst in Europa seit 1945 - Blog

The Desire for Freedom. Art in Europe since 1945 reopened to the public in Milan's Palazzo Reale three weeks ago. The opening speeches have been held. The newspapers have published their first reviews. Now it’s time to take a step back. Sticking to the subject of exhibition terminology, we would like to ask: How did the exhibition idea—‘the world in our heads’—become a model and then an exhibition? Why should a painting not hang next to a photograph? And how tall is our ‘optimal visitor’?

The exhibition designer Werner Schulte answered these questions for us. 

‘I’m Werner Schulte and have been an exhibition designer at the German Historical Museum (DHM) now for 23 years. An exhibition needs a design. Initially we will meet with curators to discuss the concept and they create a database. We then discuss how the exhibition should look conceptually and how many thematic spaces it is to have.

That is when my work begins. We ask, ‘What are this exhibition’s main aspects?’ We develop an exhibition concept on the basis of a physical model at a scale of 25:1, which is very important. If we were to do this only the computer, we would only be drawing. The curator would not be able to determine in seconds whether an object is in the right place regarding its subject matter.

Q. How does this happen—the process leading from exhibition concept and objects to a model? How closely do you follow the concept? How much creative work is involved?

A. ‘A lot of creative work is required, because “all” that we get from the curators is a list of objects and a description of the subject matter to be communicated. Every week there is a Jour Fixe, when we receive input from the curators and staff about the objects, the story to be told, the thematic spaces, and in the context that the objects are to be placed in. Then we attempt to design a concept.

In the case of Desire for Freedo’, we placed the large objects on the external walls, so that the visitors will also want to step into these niches. In addition, we consider the viewing perspective, so that the public is drawn from thematic space to thematic space and led through the object layout.’

Q. ‘What do you have to keep in mind when designing and conceiving an exhibition?

A. ‘It is important that the lines of sight correspond with one another and that certain art forms do as well. From a conservator’s point of view, we would not necessarily mount a painting right next to a wall displaying graphic art: the painting is brightly illuminated, with up to 250 lux, whereas the graphic art pieces, in other words paper, are usually only illuminated with 50 lux, and the eye cannot adjust that quickly.

The eye simply needs a certain amount of time—about 20 to 30 seconds—to respond to the different brightness. So it is better to separate the two art forms. This explains why we have placed walls displaying graphic art and those with photographs, which are also sensitive to high illumination levels, near one another.

Q. After the model is completed, has the time come to start the actual implementation of the exhibition spaces? What is the best part of translating the model into reality?

A. Initially, the best part is spending time here at the model, talking with the curators, and to give it a week. Then we get into the details, and other ideas come up. Naturally, I will also sit here alone for longer periods, studying it: How are the lines of sight? Do they work? Yes or no? We are always flexible in that regard. And then, after we have talked everything through, the detail work begins—setting or planning the walls and drafting detailed drawings. Does what we have laid it out here function the way we agreed at the model. This is a dynamic process.

The design idea probably makes up five percent of the work and the rest involves a lot of organisation, detailed drawings, and discussions with the conservators. Every object is talked though: How can it be presented, what are the lender’s conditions?—this of course is also a prerequisite for the presentation. How does the lender require a painting to be secured? Optically? Must the object be protected behind a plexiglass wall? Do we have complicated objects requiring special glass display cases? These issues must all be discussed with the conservators and then included in the concept.

Setting up the exhibition architecture takes at least two to three weeks. The installation of the art follows, for which we usually have 10 to 14 days. In this last step the walls are hung, which we have worked out in advance on the computer with a layout programme. As soon as the objects are placed and the wall is complete, we say ‘okay, that’s the way it is going to be’. But there are often possibilities to exchange the objects, to reemphasise a particular focus.’

Q. When you are determining the lines of sight, what is the optimal size of a visitor?

We calculate the average eye level at 1.55 metres to 1.60 metres. That is the average. If the exhibition has very large wall expanses and heavy objects, or if, for instance, the paintings have perspectives meant to be viewed from below, we will have to adjust accordingly. A painting may then have an eye level of 1.80 metres. This depends on what kind of paintings we have and how the wall looks.

Q. Was exhibition design your dream career?

A. During my studies, I often worked for exhibitions and that’s when I started thinking about designing exhibitions. In that regard, it is my dream career. The best part is that they are always short-term projects. This means that I experience success in the short-term. This is not a project lasting four or five year, but at most a year or a half a year. And this is what I like the most: I’m really satisfied, really delighted when the installation works, when the team work functions well. And when the art is being installed—after weeks of planning—that’s the most exciting thing of all. How do the originals actually look? And when a visitor is pleased going through the exhibition and says: ‘I learned something’, then that’s fantastic. Period!

What we didn’t ask:

Whether he is satisfied with the exhibition?

Where is his work place at the DHM?

In the administration building behind the Zeughaus, on the second floor.

Which is his favourite space in the exhibition?

I see it pragmatically. I guess I have to say that I basically don’t have some particular place like that. Every space is nice, every space is planned out in detail, and everything will function superbly.

When does he feel the most free:

When I am healthy and when I am independent.