Taking Down a House of Cards

Jean Shin

De-installing Chance City by Jean Shin

SAAM Staff
Blog Editor
July 31, 2009

Jean Shin’s exhibition Common Threads just closed at American Art. Once a show is over, American Art’s Registrar’s Office is tasked with de-installing it. If the work is from our permanent collection, each piece is returned to storage or to the Luce Center, our open storage center. After Shin’s work is taken down and packed, it will be returned to the artist and other lenders.

De-installations can take from one day to two weeks or more, depending on the size and the complexity of the show. Here Assistant Registrar Jane Paul carefully removes each lottery card, one at a time, from Chance City, a piece made up of thousands of cards. Each card is stacked with others of its kind before being packed up and sent home. Typically art handlers wear gloves when handling artwork. This work was handled without gloves at the artist’s request.

 

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