• Kurt Christian

    by Published on 07-21-2016 11:15 AM
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    G.R. Smith: A life Lived

    On a cold day this past February, while walking down the street during my second week in my new home of Philadelphia, I received word that my good friend G.R. had slipped away after only three days in hospice care. I knew ...
    Published on 02-15-2014 07:47 AM
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    Craig Scheuer
    Audio Visual Technician, Carnegie Museum of Art

    My name is Craig Scheuer, and I was brought into the Art Preparation and Installation department at the Carnegie Museum of Art as the Audio Visual Technician for the 2013 Carnegie International. Because I had an existing relationship with the Exhibitions department, my transition into the position was a fairly painless one, but even with a lot of audiovisual experience there was a very steep learning curve when helping to build a show with the magnitude of the International. Working with contemporary artists is always a surprising job, and during the lead up to the show, changes and crises came at a mile a minute. I’m going to share with you some of the most important lessons that I learned, and walk you through one of the installations that I worked on in the hopes that my experiences may be of benefit to others who find themselves working on such an enormous exhibition. A lot of this is common sense or things that any art handler would already do, but I’ve always been of the opinion that fundamentals bear repeating.
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    Published on 02-15-2014 07:26 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. Technology,
    3. Project Management
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    Ill Communication

    Bianca L. Ruthven
    Departmental Assistant for the Registrar’s Office and the Art Preparation & Installation Department, Carnegie Museum of Art

    This past July we started to gear up for the installation of the 56th iteration of the Carnegie International exhibition. This exhibition, which reoccurs every four years, is Carnegie Museum of Art’s largest and most visible project, making it a very exciting and complex venture and a very challenging installation for a museum of our modest size.

    One of the goals of our newly formed Art Preparation and Installation (API) department was to evaluate the way we manage our projects and tasks to become more efficient and to improve how our team members communicate with one another and with other departments. Outlined below are a few tools we have implemented to help us:
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    by Published on 02-15-2014 06:11 AM
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    Over the last few months I have spoken to several colleagues about the practice of crate reuse and what that practice is at their respective institutions, or businesses. My own experience at different institutions has never allowed me to initiate a sound crate re-use program as it has always been a matter of space (lack thereof) and the real estate a successful program would require.The practice like any, has its pros and cons and there are many factors to consider before reusing a crate (object safety of course is paramount). Based on conversations with my peers I thought this was a topic worth looking into further as it is particularly relevant at this moment in time given the many forums on sustainability in museums over the last few years.

    After thinking about a way to construct something on the topic I came to the conclusion that an interesting way to go about it would be to pose the same series of questions to a respected group of individuals whose opinions I value, and whose voices are important in our community.
    Hopefully this discussion may be helpful to those who are also looking into the feasibility of a reuse program at their own institution or business.

    The individuals I have asked to participate in this questionnaire are as follows:


    Chuck Agro, Manager, Packing and Art Services at The Metropolitan Museum of Art



    Chuck Agro is currently the Packing and Art Services Manager for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Chuck has previously served as the Operations Manager for Marian Goodman Gallery, Head Preparator for Ronald Feldman Gallery, Special Projects and General Manager for Fine Arts Express, Director of The University of Buffalo’s Bethune Gallery and Preparator for HALLWALLS ...
    Published on 10-23-2013 01:05 PM
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    Kurt Christian is the Collections Manager at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where he manages the museum’s collection storage facility and the art technicians working under the office of the registrar. He has ...
    by Published on 10-13-2013 10:22 AM
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    Recently the PACCIN community lost a great friend, mentor, and colleague in Dean Langworthy; a Senior Rigging Supervisor from the Chicago based company Methods and ...
    by Published on 02-22-2012 12:40 PM
    1. Categories:
    2. Installation,
    3. Project Management
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    on right: Mark Slattery


    On a recent trip to London I contacted Mark Slattery of the National Gallery to see if he had time for a visit and would be willing to answer a few questions for something I was thinking of putting together for PACCIN. Mark is a Senior Art Handler at the National Gallery and someone who I had met at the PACCIN Conference in Williamstown, MA a few years back. At the conference in Williamstown, Mark gave a presentation on the handling equipment that has been specifically developed by him and his colleagues at the National Gallery. My questions to Mark, however, were more general in nature and were more about structure and responsibility. Mark was kind enough to spend the better part of a day showing me around and talking to me. Between my visit with Mark and spending time with the collection, the day was a fantastic experience that I am grateful to have had. My thanks to both Mark and his supervisor, Patrick O’Sullivan, who is the Head of Art Handling and spent some time talking to me early on in the day.

    Dialogue (conducted via email prior to, and post visit)

    Do art handling technicians fall under a larger departmental umbrella at the National Gallery and if so can you briefly describe the
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