Over the last two weeks we here at the Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project have been working tirelessly to install the City Beneath the City exhibition in the Stanford Archaeology Center.
City Beneath the City was originally organized by the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in conjunction with the ZER01 art and technology biennial thematic, “Seeking Silicon Valley.” This exhibition by artist Rene Yung, presented in partnership with Chinese Historical and Cultural Project, History San José, and the Stanford Archaeology Center, presents artifacts excavated from the site of the Market Street Chinatown in downtown San Jose. Rene Yung’s sensitive design connects the daily lives of the people of the Market Street Chinatown to the present day.
This exhibition of Market Street Chinatown artifacts is now getting a second life here at the Stanford Archaeology Center. To bring this artwork to Stanford University, Rene Yung redesigned City Beneath the City into an exhibition suitable for a public passageway. This new iteration of City Beneath the City transforms the everyday spaces of archaeological research into unexpected places for reflection.
City Beneath the City at the Stanford Archaeology Center
The City Beneath the City exhibition will be available for viewing in the Stanford Archaeology Center (Building 500, 488 Escondido Mall, Stanford) from January 11, 2013 to April 30, 2013.
We wanted to share some of the installation excitement with you. Take a look below to find photos of the installation process.
Installing The City Beneath the City
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- A look at the exhibition space before we began the installation.
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- Artist Rene Yung, top right, works with preparator Lisa Newble, top left, and students to lay out the case drawers.
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- Our team of professionals assembles a drawer liner to protect the drawer interiors.
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- Lisa Newble and student Meredith Reifschneider fill one of the case drawers with decomposed granite.
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- Rene Yung and Lisa Newble place artifacts from the Market Street Chinatown collection in the case drawers.
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- Lisa Newble adjusts the height of the shelves in one of the cases.
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- Rene Yung places a porcelain rice bowl in the display.
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- Rene Yung speaks with student Kyle Lee-Crossett during the installation about her vision for the City Beneath the City exhibition.
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- Of course all of the vitrines over the cases must be cleaned so that no finger prints show. Lisa Newble cleans the interior of one of the pedestal cases before it is placed over the artifacts.
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- Rene Yung considers the placement of some of the artifacts in one of the cases.
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- Rene Yung and preparator Colin hang a floor-to-ceiling 1884 map of the Market Street Chinatown.
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- Rene Young works and student Cherkea Howery arrange artifacts in case drawers.
