Table of Contents
Introduction
Exhibitions are very common activity that involves artwork owned by many different organizations being displayed together, often with additional contextual information linking the pieces together. The exhibition is often presented at different venues over time, and might be part of a series such as the World's Fairs or annual exhibitions.
Exhibition Concept
The model distinguishes between the concept of the exhibition and the activity that makes that concept real. The concept is created by the people who originally think up the exhibition, long before any of the pieces are collected together. The exhibition concept likely has some theme that results in a coherent set of objects being presented, which could be as complex as post-industrial life or as simple as the life's work of a particular artist.
The concept is modeled as a PropositionalObject, and classified_as aat:300417531 to ensure that it's clearly tagged as an exhibition. It can have all of the affordances of any concept, such as names, identifiers, references, relationships and more.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/concept/0", "type": "PropositionalObject", "label": "Example Exhibition", "identified_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/identifier/6", "type": "Identifier", "content": "exh-2010-eg-a" }, { "id": "https://linked.art/example/name/21", "type": "Name", "content": "Example Exhibition" } ], "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300417531", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibition" } ], "about": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300233686", "type": "Type", "label": "Gender Issues" } ], "motivated": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/17", "type": "Activity", "label": "Exhibition at Venue", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ] } ], "created_by": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/Creation/7", "type": "Creation", "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/person/21", "type": "Person", "label": "Curator" } ] } }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Exhibition Activity
There is an activity, as described in the section on Provenance, which is the exhibiting of the objects. In particular, the public exhibition takes place at a certain time given in timespan, at a certain place or places given in took_place_at, and was organized by some actor or actors, likely organizations, given in carried_out_by. It can be recognized as an exhibition using the classification of aat:300054766, "exhibitions".
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/18", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "took_place_at": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/place/7", "type": "Place", "label": "Example Museum's Location", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300005768", "type": "Type", "label": "Museum" } ] } ], "timespan": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/time/8", "type": "TimeSpan", "begin_of_the_begin": "2010-08-01", "end_of_the_end": "2011-06-01" }, "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/12", "type": "Group", "label": "Example Museum", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300312281", "type": "Type", "label": "Museum" } ] } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Multiple Venues
Some exhibitions are shown at different locations over time, moving from one museum or exhibition hall to another. In this case, each of the different locations is treated as an exhibition in its own right, and then a broader "travelling exhibition" (aat:300054773) is created that these are part of. Note that the travelling exhibition can have separate properties from its parts, such as a label to distinguish the joint nature and a broader timespan that covers all of the venues. There is no need to duplicate the organizations and locations in the travelling exhibition, these can be determined more easily by looking at the exhibitions that it consists of.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/19", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Travelling Exhibition at Two Museums", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054773", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting in multiple locations" } ], "timespan": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/time/9", "type": "TimeSpan", "begin_of_the_begin": "1980-10-01", "end_of_the_end": "1981-08-14" }, "part": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/20", "type": "Activity", "label": "Exhibition at Museum 1", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "timespan": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/time/10", "type": "TimeSpan", "begin_of_the_begin": "1980-10-01", "end_of_the_end": "1981-03-01" } }, { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/21", "type": "Activity", "label": "Exhibition at Museum 2", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "timespan": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/time/11", "type": "TimeSpan", "begin_of_the_begin": "1981-03-14", "end_of_the_end": "1981-08-14" } } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Objects
The collection of art objects on display at exhibitions can be listed from the Exhibition with the property used_specific_object. The model for the set of objects that make up the content of the exhibition is the same as the model for permanent collections -- the objects are collected together into an Aggregation, which is the object used by the Exhibition.
For the travelling exhibitions described above, a different collection of objects should be referenced from each of the venues. Objects are frequently added or removed for the venue, and each venue will likely have its own context specific information such as descriptions or labels. The top level activity representing the overall exhibition does not have its own Aggregation in the travelling exhibition case.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/22", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "used_specific_object": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/set/10", "type": "Aggregation", "aggregates": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/25", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Painting", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300033618", "type": "Type", "label": "Painting" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ] }, { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/26", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Another Painting", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300033618", "type": "Type", "label": "Painting" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ] }, { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/27", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Sculpture", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300047090", "type": "Type", "label": "Sculpture" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ] } ] } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Exhibition Provenance: Transfer of Custody
As objects used for exhibitions frequently come from many different organizations, it is useful and interesting to track the custody of the object as well as the ownership. This TransferOfCustody event is modeled in the same way as other Provenance changes.
For each exhibition, the custody of the object is transferred from the previous custodian to the next. In the simple case of a single venue for the exhibition, the first transfer is likely to be from the owner to the organization responsible for the exhibition, and then at the end of the exhibition, the custody is transferred back again. In a more complex scenario with multiple venues, each organization hosting the exhibition will likely transfer custody to the next in the sequence. Unlike regular provenance transfers, these happen for a specific purpose ... the exhibition. This is added to the model with the specific_purpose property.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/23", "type": "TransferOfCustody", "label": "Custody Transfer of Painting for Exhibition", "transferred_custody_to": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/13", "type": "Group", "label": "Exhibiting Museum", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300312281", "type": "Type", "label": "Museum" } ] } ], "transferred_custody_from": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/14", "type": "Group", "label": "Owning Museum", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300312281", "type": "Type", "label": "Museum" } ] } ], "transferred_custody_of": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/28", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Painting", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300033618", "type": "Type", "label": "Painting" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ], "current_owner": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/14", "type": "Group", "label": "Owning Museum" } } ], "specific_purpose": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/24", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "used_specific_object": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/set/11", "type": "Aggregation", "aggregates": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/28", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Painting" } ] } ], "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/13", "type": "Group", "label": "Exhibiting Museum" } ] } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Exhibition Provenance: Internal Moves
Conversely to the previous section, when the object being exhibited at the location is owned by the same organization, there is no transfer of custody. The equivalent activity is likely to be simply moving the object from its regular location to the exhibition space. If the exhibition location is not known, then there is no need to provide the moved_to and moved_from relationships for the Move activity.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/25", "type": "Move", "label": "Move of object for exhibition", "specific_purpose": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/26", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "used_specific_object": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/set/12", "type": "Aggregation", "label": "Set of Exhibited Objects", "aggregates": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/29", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Example Painting" } ] } ], "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/15", "type": "Group", "label": "Exhibiting Museum" } ] } ], "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/group/15", "type": "Group", "label": "Exhibiting Museum" } ], "moved": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/29", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Example Painting" } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Exhibition Specific Labels
The curators for exhibitions sometimes assign new labels or names for objects, for example to ensure that they follow an established pattern for the exhibition, rather than following that of the owning organization or person, if any. This activity of assigning a title to the object is part of the exhibition via the part property, and assigns a new Name to the object. This separation of the name from the object via the AttributeAssignment ensures that the Name does not directly end up in the set of titles for the object without further intervention. As with any activity, the assignment can also be carried_out_by an actor, and have a timespan for when it was assigned. This is an instance of the Context Specific Assertions pattern.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/27", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "used_specific_object": [ {"id": "https://linked.art/example/set/13","type": "Aggregation"} ], "part": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/28", "type": "AttributeAssignment", "classified_as": "identified_by", "involved": [ {"id": "https://linked.art/example/set/13","type": "Aggregation"} ], "assigned": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/name/22", "type": "Name", "content": "Exhibition Specific Name" }, "assigned_to": { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/30", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Real Painting Name", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300033618", "type": "Type", "label": "Painting" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ] }, "carried_out_by": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/person/22", "type": "Person", "label": "A. Curator" } ] } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)
Depiction of the Object at the Exhibition
There are often photographs of the object as displayed in the exhibition. These are representations of the object regardless, and hence can be associated directly with the object rather than via an AttributeAssignment. The description of the image therefore follows the same pattern as other digital representations of the object, but like the label example above, it occurred as part of the exhibition.
The same pattern of having the creation of the image as part of the exhibition activity does not suffice, as the image could be a digital reproduction of physical photograph, created much later than the exhibition. Secondly, the creation of the photograph was very likely not carried out as part of carrying out the exhibition by the museum, it could easily have been taken by a visitor.
Instead, we associate the image with a Proxy resource that stands for the object in the context of the Aggregation of objects used by the Exhibition ... the image is a representation of the object in that context.
{ "@context": "https://linked.art/ns/v1/linked-art.json", "id": "https://linked.art/example/activity/29", "type": "Activity", "label": "Example Exhibition", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300054766", "type": "Type", "label": "Exhibiting" } ], "used_specific_object": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/set/14", "type": "Aggregation", "aggregates": [ { "id": "https://linked.art/example/object/31", "type": "ManMadeObject", "label": "Painting", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300033618", "type": "Type", "label": "Painting" }, { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300133025", "type": "Type", "label": "Artwork" } ], "representation": [ { "id": "http://example.org/images/object-at-exhibition.jpg", "type": "VisualItem", "classified_as": [ { "id": "http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300215302", "type": "Type", "label": "Digital Image" } ], "represents": [{"id": "https://linked.art/example/Proxy/3","type": "Proxy"}] } ] } ], "proxies": [{"id": "https://linked.art/example/Proxy/3","type": "Proxy"}] } ] }
JSON-LD (Raw) | JSON-LD (Playground) | Turtle (Raw) | Turtle (Styled)