Museum in Print
dal 12/7/2004 al 5/9/2004
Segnalato da
12/7/2004
Museum in Print
Museu do Chiado, Lisboa
The exhibition catalogue is the subject of the Museum in Print 1994-2004 exhibition, which aims to examine the last ten year's of material published by the Museu do Chiado – NMCA. The role of the catalogue within the scope of a museum's activities is never easy to quantify.
Floor 0
13th July - 5th September 2004
The exhibition catalogue is the subject of the Museum in Print 1994-2004 exhibition, which aims to examine the last ten year's of material published by the Museu do Chiado – NMCA.
The role of the catalogue within the scope of a museum's activities is never easy to quantify. From its status as a supplement to the exhibition, it has gone on to challenge the latter's place within the museum hierarchy and attain equal standing. Besides significantly extending the possibilities of the exhibition – for which we need think no further, for example, than the possibilities it provides for lengthening an exhibition's lifespan and for approaching an analysis of the material – the catalogue is the perfect medium for presenting the studies and research conducted for each exhibition, providing information on the temporary exhibitions and listing and disseminating artists' work, etc.
For the exhibition, the catalogue is presented in dialogue with other communicative tools used by the museum to establish and maintain its relationship with the public: the invitation, the poster and the leaflet. As with the catalogue, these are examples of published material that between the stages of conception and printing acquire a visual structure and expression via the work of the graphic designer. This represents the most visible aspect of the entire publishing process and is for that reason the aspect most in evidence in the exhibition. In general, however, the principal aim is to highlight the work of the Museu do Chiado – NMCA over the last ten years, during which it has produced over 170 publications as part of a project that has been steadily developed through close collaboration with artists, authors, translators, photographers, graphic designers and graphic producers.
The Library of the Museu do Chiado – National Museum of Contemporary Art houses a collection that is of great value, but which until now has been largely overlooked by the visiting public. This exhibition aims to be the first of a larger series that brings this asset to the attention not only of a specialist audience, but also the general public. While fundamental to the museum's own research, it is essential that the funds be found to develop its role as a public reference library, thereby enhancing the collection and helping to generate greater interest in art history.
The library contains several important sections, including those housing catalogues from the main national exhibitions of the late 19th century, details on prizes and catalogues from SPN/SNI-sponsored exhibitions, catalogues from the Venice and São Paulo biennials, and works by leading historians of 20th century Portuguese art (VirgÃlio Correia, Joaquim Vasconcelos, Fernando Pamplona, Diogo de Macedo, Adriano de Gusmão, José Augusto-França, to name but a few).
In the periodicals section, of particular note are home-grown reviews such as O Ocidente, Brotéria, Panorama and Colóquio Artes and international publications s such as L'Art Vivant, Beaux-Arts and Studio International. Under monographs, certain volumes, such as Philosophie de L'Art by H. Taine (1882), Vie des Formes by Henri Focillon (1939), Vitorino Nemésio's translation of História da Arte by Élie Faure, published by Estúdios Cor, 1949, and À Volta do Mundo by Ferreira de Castro, published by Empresa Nacional de Publicidade in 1942, are significant for what they reveal about the value of the collection. Recent private donations of documents and books, such as those by José Augusto França and Joaquim Rodrigo, have further enriched the library. Presently, however, a lack of funds has restricted its ability to add to its collection, in particular to subscribe to today's leading art reviews and to purchase essential volumes for the study of contemporary art history.
In 1989, the library began the task of sorting and cataloguing. While this benefited from the technical input of Dr. José Ventura, it did not include placing data on computer. The process continues to this day, the responsibility of José Manuel Oliveira, one of the library's employees.
This year, with the voluntary assistance of Filomena Andrade e Sousa and Isabel Cernich, a new and important phase got underway: the creation of a computerised database. This can only be created in provisional form, however, as the library currently lacks the necessary funds to install the PORBASE system to ensure data is handled safely and can be easily and efficiently consulted. We hope this exhibition will generate awareness of the need to create adequate conditions to enhance and safeguard a historical asset that is also an integral part of the museum's history and collection.
Coordination: EmÃlia Tavares and Nuno Ferreira de Carvalho
Production and mounting: Filomena Andrade e Sousa, Isabel Cernich, José Manuel Oliveira, Ana Sofia Nunes
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Half a century of Portuguese Art - 1944-2004
13th July – 3rd October 2004
Museu do Chiado - National Museum of Contemporary Art
Rua Serpa Pinto, 4
1200-444 Lisbon
Portugal