St. Louis-based Adcraft (www.adcraft-exhibits.com) has designed and constructed its unique share of exhibits but a recent assignment has to rate as one of the most challenging and complex in the company’s 75-year history.
The new exhibit is called “Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes.” Located in Houston, TX, it is the only exhibit of Vatican artifacts outside the papal capital.

The process really started in 2003 when Dan Blanton, vice president and one of several family members involved in the business, visited Hoffmeister Kreighauser funeral home in St. Louis. The company was asked to develop and design a prototype display for the funeral home’s selection room. This eventually led Adcraft to Houston where it visited Service Corporation International (SCI), owner of Hoffmeister and hundreds of funeral homes across the country. Adcraft was asked to design displays for SCI’s other funeral homes. Adcraft then sponsored an annual golf tournament for the National Museum of Funeral History (www.NMFH.org) and during a reception Blanton met Bob Boetticher Sr., president and vice chairman of the museum. He was very interested in the company and the possibility of collaboration on future projects. It was a couple of years until anything got under way.

After Pope John Paul II passed away in 2005, Boetticher called Blanton with an idea: What about an exhibit that told the story of the rituals of a pope’s daily life, death, and funeral ceremonies. The Adcraft team went to work and after many cost revisions and design modifications finally came up with a project that met the museum’s goals and budget.  Blanton presented the plan to the board in May 2006 and it was met with resounding approval. The NMFH added a 10,000 square-foot addition to the museum to house this new display. The design company worked with the general contractor, coordinating all aspects of the project: interior walls, emergency exit door locations, lighting, floor finish, wall finish, etc.

Adcraft produced every component in this exhibit, including marble finished columns, facades and archways, and huge mural backgrounds. One of them is 14-foot high by 90-foot wide and creates the effect that you are looking at the pope lying in state inside and outside St. Peters in Rome. The exhibit firm also constructed cases on walls and those built into walls holding artifacts and historical memorabilia, 100-plus graphic panels with images and text information in English and Spanish.  The vault and tomb where Pope John Paul II is buried were recreated in exact scale, using the dimensions from the Vatican.

Detail was very important. The Vatican approved every aspect of the design and finished exhibit. One of the biggest challenges was getting images that would work. The Vatican had provided excellent photos but the quality of the resolution often wasn’t big enough to get the necessary detail. Adcraft even hired a photographer in Rome to take photos on two occasions to get the proper perspective.

Two full-scale Swiss guards oversee the pope lying in repose. It took months to receive approval on the uniforms for the secretive and immensely proud Guard. Each of the two swords sheathed by the guards cost $2,000.

Sound systems are installed as well to tell the story of certain exhibit areas. Headline Hallway relates stories in three languages – English, Spanish and Italian – with images and articles that further tell papal history.

Another challenge was managing the ever-changing scope of the project. There was always a better image, a better artifact that would pop up and become available. Blanton and his crew eventually had to decline suggested changes as certain parts of the projects were completed.

Full-scale production started in spring 2008, and took approximately six months to complete the bulk of exhibit. Adcraft delivered and installed the majority of the exhibit in August 2008, with a late September opening scheduled. Hurricane Ike changed the opening until November 23. The building had quite a bit of damage to its roof, but fortunately, only a couple of exhibits were damaged and had to be replaced.

The final exhibit is designed to make it flexible to the addition of new elements. Future plans call for interactive displays, such as a replica of the Vatican, where visitors will be able to take a personalized tour of its special areas.

Blanton says one of the project’s truly unique aspects was working with the Vatican staff and the papal tailor Roberto Consorsi. The exhibit features seven mannequins, all with life-like faces and hands. All the mannequins are clothed with the actual wardrobe made by Consorsi. When the papal tailor saw the exhibit at dedication, he exclaimed, “Perfecto.”