It is a given that the risk of damage to an object in our state’s museum collections increases the more the object is handled. For a preparator, whose job entails prepping objects for display and mounting them in an exhibition, the safety of the state’s patrimony is of utmost consideration. The task of doing it unobtrusively and with care falls under the purview of Tim Jag, a preparator for the Museum Resources Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and for the annual Currents New Media Festival. Jag, a man of seemingly inexhaustible energy, is a go-to guy when you need an exhibit mounted and you want it done right. 

“We do a variety of mount-making for objects in the state collection, and that can be anything from a mannequin form to a small metal mount for a five-thousand-year-old object,” Jag told Pasatiempo. “There’s a lot of aesthetic considerations. The rule of thumb for mount-making is what’s the least obtrusive mount and whatever makes the object safe. You put those two things together and come up with very economical forms of mounts. We also do some production with pedestals and other fixtures. We consider lighting, aesthetics, and safety. Always, the protection of the state objects is the main concern.”

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