Graphic Design students Jenna Casey (BFA ‘25) and Zach Montgomery (BFA ‘26) met each other working at The Anderson in early 2024 where they bonded over an interest in representing design in the galleries. Later that year, they teamed up to curate an exhibition emphasizing the presence of Graphic Design in gallery settings.
This exhibition, Scales of Indifference, featured the works of 15 artists within the department, each relating their work to their own experiences with and surrounding time. The show ran from September 20th to October 11th, 2024.
In this interview with Associate Professor, Graphic Design Graduate Director, and Scales of Indifference juror, nicole killian, Jenna and Zach share details about the curatorial process and their recent developments of a catalog-style publication for the show, funded by the VCUarts Undergraduate Research Grant. This catalog is being developed with the help of faculty mentor and Assistant Professor, Luiza Dale.
How did you come up with the title for the show?
Jenna Casey: Coming up with the show title really started out as a simple theme. Zach and I had come together to think about what we wanted the show theme to be, where we ultimately decided on the really broad idea of time. From there we just continue to expand that theme, making it relationships with time (past, present, future). We knew there had been two exhibitions at The Anderson within the previous two years that explored concepts of time, so we didn’t want to encroach on those shows too much, especially with our naming. We had some working titles, before we decided on Scales of Indifference, which were titles like Structures of Time, Scales of Time, Internal Clock. We came up with these ideas for the name from a word dump we did with all the words we could think of that related to the concept of time without using very time specific words. This led to words like tempo, scale, rhythm, breadth. From that list, the word scale stood out and through a progression of ideas we landed on Scales of Indifference as an open-ended concept for artists to engage with.
Did you find that you had different curatorial visions and needed to compromise? What was that process like?
Zach Montgomery: Jenna and I shared a very compatible curatorial vision throughout the development of the show even from the very beginning. I know some decisions for the exhibition were made without a full consensus, but we had a lot of trust in each other to work through the many obstacles we faced in the curatorial process. Jenna had a lot of knowledge about the structure and orders of how to go about organizing a juried open-call exhibition because of her work experience at The Anderson. It was fascinating to experience this and I learned a lot about the curatorial process outside of organizing in the exhibition space itself. I trusted her throughout this entire process and really admired her dedication to the show and consistency with communication.
Were there any exhibitions that were precedents for Scales of Indifference?
ZM: Working at The Anderson in the spring of last year as an intern, I spent a lot of my time taking pictures of work on display for social media, finding unique ways to frame the same exhibit whenever I had to do two rounds of story posts a week. I think there was a culmination of mental references I had made in consideration of the way we went about curating and installing the works in our show. I can remember both rounds of the MFA Thesis Exhibition in 2024 and how the works of each artist existed at an immense scale, filling the gallery spaces that contained them. The admiration I had for these works inspired me to push for a show theme that emphasized scale in relation to time, hence the name. I had looked into The Process of Time by Andrea Gottardy and we both determined that we liked its conveyance of visualizing time through a more canonical graphic design lens. We also looked at the precedents at The Anderson, There Comes a Time and Existence Now.
Has your view of design within the “white cube” changed through this process? What would you approach differently if you were to take on a curatorial role again?
ZM: I hadn’t heard of the term “white cube” until relatively recently. At the same time Jenna and I were developing the show, I was taking an art history elective covering art museums, where I first stumbled upon the term. I still think the “white cube” as a gallery aesthetic is a very accessible means of viewing artwork, mitigating any distractions from a piece and emphasizing the work itself. When considering design in these spaces, I think it’s unique to see how these pieces are recontextualized when viewed outside of more conventional settings for design-centered pieces. Design can exist physically in any space, and I think it was our vision to see these design-oriented works in one that really highlighted the pieces themselves and emphasized the theme we set out for the exhibition. Now that I have a better understanding of the historical context and sensibilities of the white cube gallery aesthetic, it would be fun to experiment with display spaces outside of The Anderson—anything to continue pushing notions of graphic design.
JC: Sometimes the “white cube” idea gets repetitive in my opinion, so I like it when a show doesn’t fully conform to that concept. However, for the sake of this being my first curated show, I did not push those boundaries a lot. If I were to do it again, and I hope I do, I would want to do more. Give me color. Give me a more playful manner. Give me something experimental. There’s so much that can be done with a space, whether it is traditional or not, and I think that is what is so exciting about the art world. I think specifically with design, sometimes it can be really hard to display the work, and I think that is because it can be so many different things, but people tend to have preconceived notions over what they think it will be. It’s not always so cut and dry with what design is, or what box it needs to be placed in. I think design offers a chance to expand the “white cube”.
Do you see the publication you’re working on as a document of the show or as another form of exhibition? Or both?
JC: I think it’s both. Yes, it is a way for us to document the show through the whole process: the promotion, the jurying process, posters only, etc, but it is also another way for us to present the work, both of what was actually in the show and showcase our design choices, for more people to see. Throughout this whole process Zach and I have had to make these curatorial and design choices that we have chosen to carry through to more recent aspects, such as the publication. Just like with curating the physical show, we have to curate what goes in the book, what doesn’t, how to format every aspect, what typeface we want, what kind of paper, what color. Every choice we are making is informed by the decisions we made throughout the entire process, but adjusting it to fill a different container.
How has working at The Anderson informed your view of curatorial work and the curatorial process?
JC: I have worked at The Anderson for four years now, and it’s been an invaluable experience as I have witnessed so much come through the front doors—so many different shows, media, artists, and community members. There’s such a variety. Because of my time there, I have learned about what goes into the process of putting on a show, how to prepare a gallery, and how to install work. I get a lot of experience with the more hands-on aspects of the curatorial process. This show was my first time doing my own curatorial work. In the past, I helped out with placement of work, specifically for staff shows, but nothing as big as what Zach and I did for Scales of Indifference. My bosses have done curatorial work, and it was something I had been interested in, so that was very valuable for me. I feel like through this show I gained more of an understanding of the entire curatorial process and not just more of the back end, which is usually more of what I got through my role at The Anderson.
ZM: Unlike Jenna, I only had a semester’s worth of experience working at The Anderson. My role as the Social Media Intern was short-lived but I could’ve never imagined the legacy it created. I had never contributed to developing exhibitions in the space outside of a few projects where I had developed the show’s identity in collaboration with the curators. However, I always got to see little snippets of the gallery spaces outside of open hours, peering into galleries during install and de-install periods. I think these little moments and consistently photographing exhibitions for the social media page really boosted my appreciation for curatorial work and motivated me to hop on board a project like this.
Can you give some advice to other students, specifically design students, who are interested in curatorial work?
JC: The main piece of advice I have is to not be afraid and to put yourself out there. There’s not as big of a chance of making a show happen if you don’t express your want to do it. It’s okay to start small. Shadow someone who does curatorial work. Ask them what they do, what they like about it, what they don’t like. Something that gets your foot in the door, and gives you some experience to where you can feel comfortable to put yourself in the curatorial role. Sometimes the answer will be no, but that’s not because someone despises your idea. Most of the time, it will be due to lack of time in the calendar year to fit it in, or the gallery can’t accommodate the tech or space needs you have. I truly think starting small is the way to go though, because you can build yourself up from there. Have a one-night show with your class, submit your work to exhibitions (this will give you the artist perspective of a curated show), submit proposals to open calls for exhibitions (you never know who will accept it), and honestly, take any time they are willing to give you. One day, two weeks, a month. Anything. Everyone starts somewhere, but you have to be willing to try for it. As long as you feel confident in the idea you have, someone else might be too. Just know what you want, really spell it out, give as much detail as you can, and you can go a long way with that.
ZM: First and foremost, do not be afraid to ask! You never really know where a seemingly minuscule opportunity will lead you. At least, I didn’t consider the full scope until I applied to the Social Media Internship at The Anderson through an Instagram post. So go ahead, send that email. Apply for that internship you aren’t fully set on. Enter that open call you feel is ‘too prestigious’ for your level. There are so many opportunities in this period of our lives to take advantage of and it’s important to make the most of it.
