Inside the Met: The Curatorial Departments October 15, 2008

Inside the Met: The Curatorial Departments
The Costume Institute
Harold Koda, Curator in Charge
Andrew Bolton, Curator
Christine Paulocik, Conservator
Jessica Regan, Senior Research Assistant

Members of The Costume Institute discuss the formation of the department and its evolving mission, collecting methodology, and approaches to conservation. Harold Koda presents the history of the department, with a focus on its past exhibitions. Andrew Bolton describes changes in the field of historic and contemporary fashion as they relate to the collecting strategy of the department. Chris Paulocik gives a brief survey of the shifting approaches to costume treatment over the past three decades and offers an overview of the variety of projects handled in the department’s conservation laboratory. Jessica Regan introduces the exhibition installation projects peculiar to the department, giving examples from The Costume Institute’s most recent exhibition, “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.”

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