exhibition catalog

Museum display guide

An exhibition catalog is a book or booklet published to accompany a museum or gallery show, documenting the artworks displayed and providing scholarly essays, artist biographies, and illustrations.

These catalogs serve as permanent records of temporary exhibitions and often become important reference works in art history: The Picasso exhibition catalog sold out on opening night.

Opposites
documentation vs. primary object

exhibition catalogoriginal art

First-hand creative piece

primary source · live performance · masterpiece

permanence vs. ephemerality

exhibition catalogaudio guide

Recorded narration for visitors

wall text

publication type

exhibition catalogoral history

Recorded interviews about the past

word of mouth · rumor · private correspondence

Family

exhibition, catalog, exhibit, exhibits, exhibited, exhibiting, exhibitor, exhibitors, exhibitions

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G