backstory takeover: “Installation in progress”
It’s takeover time at the Neuberger. I’m making space for you to hear directly from some of the wonderful colleagues who help bring this place to life. This backstory takeover is written by Museum Archivist Samantha Bogner.
“Installation in progress.”
No… not artwork installation this time. Shelving. I know that sounds mundane, but hear me out.
Over the past few months, our Museum archives have been making a major move from storage in the basement to a fresh space on the third floor. With generous support from the Mellon Foundation, we’ve been installing higher-density shelving to accommodate hundreds of boxes of the Museum’s historical material: documents, slides, cassettes, photographs, ephemera, and more. When the work is complete sometime in the spring, the archives will be more accessible, more functional, and more ready for in-person research than ever before. It’s a big moment for the Neuberger and one that has been years in the making.
Among our discoveries has been the space itself, which holds its own piece of campus history. When the Museum first opened, it was one of the earliest buildings completed on campus, and it adapted quickly to whatever the College needed. Dance classes unfolded in the basement and the galleries. Women’s Studies met in what is now the development office. And photography courses took place in the very space that is becoming the new Neuberger Museum of Art Study Center.
The sinks, basins, and drying racks are long gone, yet the space still carries traces of its earlier life. The original darkroom sign still lights up, fully functional, from the years when photography students used these spaces between 1972 and 1974. The light switch still offers red and white bulb settings, although everything glows white now. And the floor remains non-slip and gently sloped toward a drain, exactly what you’d expect from a working darkroom.
Every time we peel back another layer in this room, it feels as if the building is reminding us of the many lives it has lived.
I look forward to welcoming you to the Neuberger Museum of Art Study Center this spring so you, too, can explore the stories the space has been holding onto for decades.
—Sam Bogner
