Curator’s Office presents the story of Dr. Barton Kestle, a curator at Mia during the 1950s who simply disappeared. The door to his office was simply sealed behind a wall in a later museum renovation. Or so a visitor might think. Artist Mark Dion carefully crafted a narrative about an imaginary staff person who may have run afoul of the US government during the height of the Cold War. Kestle’s office provides a window into a bygone era and, perhaps, clues to help solve the mystery of the missing curator.
The bookshelf in particular offers a special glimpse into Kestle’s personal and professional interests, among them Basic Russian and Das Kapital. Whether readings for pleasure or politics is uncertain, but perhaps the answer can be read in his eventual disappearance.
The desk, messy and bursting with work to be completed, seems as if Kestle has just stepped away for a moment. But, the dust and fallen plaster affirm that it has been long out of use.
Before opening, Kestle’s office got a good “dusting”—that is, a sprinkling of fake dust throughout the office. Dryer lint, loose hair, and cigarette ash were burned to ash and then carefully brushed and dabbed throughout the office to give it an air of use.
The paintings hanging in Kestle’s office are actual paintings purchased by Mia at a local art show. The paintings were relevant to the 1950’s art scene in Minnesota and help set the office in both time and place.
The forgotten luggage and muddied boots suggests the eerie vestiges of a trip no longer completed.
Kestle’s art station, arrayed with materials for wrapping and shipping artwork, recalls a time in the museum’s history when curators were responsible for a much wider range of tasks. Now Mia has a whole department that packs and ships artworks.
A well-used ashtray sits next to Dr. Kestle’s chair, exposing a time when smoking was permitted in Mia’s offices, as well as in the museum itself.
Dion carefully fabricated a bogus water stain on the ceiling as further proof of the office’s authenticity. The watermark, which was actually created with moist coffee grounds, is often reported by museum-goers.