Parkerus Contextus Exhibeo (Museum of Contextual Display)

The Museum of Contextual Display (Bowery Entrance)

The Museum of Contextual Display (MCD)  plays with the notion that our understanding of art is influenced by how it is presented to the viewer.  The MCD incorporates four different traditional gallery display types and juxtaposes them against one another.  Artists would be invited to display their works within the following gallery types:

• Traditional Art Museum Display – Art is presented as a thing of intrinsic value, curated with a narrative in mind
• Commercial Art Gallery Display – Art is grouped together by artist, with commercialization as the prime motivation
• Diorama Gallery Display – Art is displayed within a constructed “natural” environment
• Cabinet of Curiosities (Dime Museum) Display – Art is displayed as an exotic object, next to other non-related curiosities

Interior Render from "X-Space" of Curio and Diorama Galleries

Interior Render from "X-Space" of Museum and Commercial Art Galleries

Structurally, the museum incorporates the four existing structures of the site to house each of the four galleries.  The roughly 100-year-old buildings have been sliced apart and connected such that visitors to each gallery are constantly visually reminded of the other gallery types.  This experience is especially pronouced within the “X-Space” – the area of circulation ramps and stairs that pass between each of the four original structures.  Additionally, structural foam was introduced as a way to create unique environments for display of artwork, especially within the Curio gallery, and provide additional continuity throughout the museum.

Sample Floor Plan of MCD

Aerial View of MCD

Center for Land Use Interpretation

photos from El Museo del Barrio