Richard Jesse Watson: My Inner Zoo

SETTING UP MUSEUM SHOW

I love museums because they love us right back.  Museums present us with Beauty. Wonder. The Surreal. Heights of Emotion. Depth of Soul.  The Rare. The Common.  The Profound. Weird Stuff.  I have laughed and wept in museums, and frequently set off the alarms by staring too close.

Well, sweet breeze on a sunny day, The BAINBRIDGE ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART (BIMA) is having an exhibition of my paintings and sculptures. 

Exhibit title: 
INNER ZOO OUTER ORBIT
October 12, 2013 –– January 5, 2014.
Public Opening: Saturday, October 12th 
Reception 2-5:00 pm

Also, concurrently at the museum is A Singular Vision –– an exhibit of Northwest legend, Gayle Bard.  If you stand in front of one of her paintings you will be transported by luminosity, tranquility, and the powerful emotion in her work.

So, how does one prepare to exhibit in a museum?

First stop: my studio.   It may look like a mess.  Okay it is a mess. I'm still working on the Zen part. But what to include in the show? It took days of yes-on-this,-no-on-that meetings with museum curators.

Next, cram the car full of carefully wrapped paintings and sculptures––drive down to Bainbridge Island. 
Rinse, repeat. Lots and lots of art schlepping.

Barbara Helen Berger came by to see how the installation was going. Her spectacular show just came down from this very spot in the museum.  I hope you got to see her work in person. Truly breathtaking. 

 Oh, man, how do I make sense of all this?

 

 Fortunately, the brilliant museum staff knows how to organize. First lay it all out on the floor. What?
 

Museum Executive Director and Curator, Greg Robinson orchestrating placement for subtle spatial balance and overall design, as well as narrative flow. Installation crew, Chuck, Charlie,  Ken and others make it happen.

 Here, Assistant Curator, Lucille, with Ken, and Andy measure, place, hang and level the art.

 Wow, that's much better.

 One of my sculptures called Moon Poetry Machine.

 This flying bird sculpture came to me in a dream.

 Yellow man now lives inside a glass case. He said he now feels kind of like the Hope Diamond.

There is still loads of finessing the details, but the show is open to visitors!  Yay!! Please come see our show. The museum is free. I would love to see you at the opening.