The Cycle Of Life

The Cycle Of Life is an amazing new art exhibition that will be organized, installed and designed by a group of 20 students from Sacramento State University.


The show will feature four women artists from Korea, China, Vietnam and India. These four women will explore the process of birth, life, death and rebirth. Each women uses a different medium to explore their beliefs.


Pattaratorn Chirapravati, an Asian Studies professor and instructor for the class has had a good deal of experience with gallery installations.


Chirapravati worked as an assistant curator for the Southeast Asian Art collection at The San Francisco Asian Art Museum. At one point she was in charge of writing didactic panels for over 500 pieces of art, which took her months to complete.


Didactic panels are hung on the wall next to an art piece, they normally state the name of the artist, title of the work, the year the art was made and the dimensions of the work. A biography of the artist is sometimes included as well.


The students in Chirapravati’s class spent more than four days working on didactic panels for the Pence Gallery in Davis.


While most people will spend only 90 seconds or less reading didactic panels, the class still went over every detail, writing and re-writing to make the didactic panels informative and easy to read . Deciding what to include and exclude about the art and the artist was a constant compromise, with not only the other students, but the artists as well.

Planning and installing a gallery exhibition takes hours of collaboration and since many students in the class have had no experience with gallery installations, it makes putting together an art show even more challenging.


The class will be handling more than $120,000 worth of art in The Cycle of Life exhibition, and that price tag can make anybody a little nervous.


No earrings, bracelets, rings or loose fitting clothing are allowed to be worn when moving delicate pieces of art. Anything that could potentially damage a piece of work has to be left at the door.


Insurance plays a major role in any gallery set up, any possible damage done to the art in this exhibition will be covered by Sacramento State University.


Each of the artists have to record every piece of art they will be putting into the show, the cost of the art work is then assessed, and the inventoried pieces will be covered. Brenda Louie, for example, will have 51 pieces of art in the show, with a total value of $80,000. Each of Louie’s inventoried pieces will be insured in case of damage.


When it comes down gallery installation, aside from countless insurance forms, re-writing and the constant compromises, installing an art exhibition is all about teamwork and creativity, and that alone can be considered a work of art.


The Cycle Of Life
University Library Gallery
Sacramento State
October 4 - October 27