‘Future Minded’: A Window into Curation at the Harvard Art Museums

From March 1 through July 21, the Harvard Art Museums invites visitors to attend their “Future Minded” exhibition, curated by the chief curator Soyoung Lee and curatorial fellow in photography Jackson Davidow, with input from countless other members of the curatorial and conservation staff at the museum. The show features an impressive spread of recently acquired artworks — many on display for the first time — by nearly 30 different artists, spanning over 400 years of art and representing countless regions, mediums, and demographics. The Harvard Art Museums have leveraged this impressive diversity to put together an insightful exhibition, offering the public a unique glimpse into the inner workings of museum curation while spotlighting previously underrepresented artists and subjects.

As visitors enter the special exhibitions space, they are immediately greeted by a striking print by Noriko Saitō titled “Summer Sky” (2014). The thick black ink catches the gaze of the viewer and gestures towards the working hand of the artist. Nearly as eye-catching is a quote from the artist herself just beneath, rendered in bold blue letters that stand about three inches tall. This style defines all of the text in the exhibition, offering an unique space for context and voice as it relates to the works on display. Here, Saitō draws attention to how “the physicality of scratching the plate with drypoint needle” brought back memories of her childhood, a reflection that forecasts the show’s interest in both materiality and personhood.

Turning around, the viewer will find the expected block of wall text that primes an audience for the ensuing exhibition. However, in addition to explaining the show’s interest in drawing back the curtain on the curatorial process, a number of questions that curators often ask are posed, allowing the audience to temporarily adopt the framework of a museum staff member. A thick blue line guides the viewer through the rest of the gallery from photography portfolios to stoneware pottery, emphasizing the impressive variety of mediums that have recently entered the museum’s collection.

Not only do the mediums of the objects on display vary, but the exhibition also features diverse demographics of both artists and subjects. The first gallery emphasizes this point by arguing for the importance of voice and personhood in the artistic process. A number of bold quotes from the artists themselves brings their identity to the forefront, affording them the space to discuss their art on their own terms. The value of voice extends beyond the artist, however, as illustrated by Melissa Shook’s series of photographs. Each picture features an individual who she personally interviewed, with excerpts of the conversations placed underneath. Here, the subjects of art are given the rare opportunity to introduce their voices and characters to the often distant world of art exhibitions.

Nearby, William Cole argues for the personhood of any subject — even those that are inanimate. His prints of ironing boards are accompanied by names of women he personally knew, urging us to consider how objects may be imbued with the vitality of real people or even breathe with a spirit of their own.

Having laid the foundation for the importance of voice in the first gallery, the second leverages this framework to explain the curatorial interest in procuring new objects that shore concerning gaps in the collections. Blue plaques with white text offer additional context to the objects on display, highlighting the common motivations that underpin the acquisition of each. One such plaque describes how nearby works by mother and daughter-in-law Yoshida Fujio and Chizuko were meant to develop the museum’s impressive, yet predominantly male, Japanese art collection.

Other works in the room illuminate additional ways that curators select new acquisitions with the present collection in mind. In addition to drawing attention to marginalized communities, museum curators select works that build on past traditions — for example, Svenja Deininger’s “Untitled” (2021) draws on the earlier forms of Hans Arp’s plaster casts housed nearby — or even carve a path of their own in the collection.

The central wall dividing the two exhibition rooms draws attention to more delicate questions pertaining to the maintenance and expansion of museum collections. One side introduces the audience to the many complicated concerns of the conservator as well as the admirable complexity of their work. Photos of works before conservation accompany them in their present state, revived by the thoughtful and incisive hands of the conservation team.

On the other side, curators draw attention towards the ethical concerns of collecting cultural objects. Using an example of Greek objects from 500-200 B.C.E., a plaque explains the importance of provenance, or histories of ownership, in promoting good faith acquisition. Here more than anywhere else, it is evident how well the curatorial staff have managed to explain complicated questions in a manner that is at once accurate and accessible to a general audience.

The “Future Minded” exhibition is a must-see for anyone who frequents museums. In addition to whetting the aesthetic appetite of the gallery-goer, the show offers a rare and insightful glance into the complicated job of the curator. The unique framework the exhibition demands is not only delightfully fresh and engaging, but one that will continuously inform and reconfigure how the audience encounters museums everywhere.

The “Future Minded” exhibit is on view in the special exhibitions gallery on Level three of the Harvard Art Museums through July 21.

—Staff writer John M Weaver can be reached at john.weaver@thecrimson.com.