Museums in Motion Ch. 10: To Exhibit

Museum experience is...

Multisensory

Victoria Newhouse's 5 core decisions for displaying art

Length, texture and color of walls Choice of frames/pedestals How to handle labels Quality of light How works are placed in relation to each other

Text panel

Large in size. Briefly and clearly introduces themes of exhibit

Chief components of exhibition development

A concept, message or storyline Objects to be displayed Setting in building/layout "Front end" evaluation or audience studies

Object based development of exhibit

1. Analyze objects 2. Theme and sub-themes developed from objects

Theme based development of exhibit

1. Theme carefully researched 2. analyzed, and divided into sub-categories 3. objects sought and arranged

3 competitive exhibit principles to balance (19th century)

Aesthetics Historical perspectives Systematic organization

Summative evaluation

Assess exhibits impact and effectiveness once exhibit is open

Role of multi-media in an exhibit

Assist visitors to place exhibit in broader context

Typical exhibit team

Curator Designer Educator Subject specialist Museum development offer (sometimes)

What style label causes readers to read-look-read-look?

Labels with concrete visual references

11 guidelines for excellent museum exhibits

Extends from mission that reflects commitment to public interpretation Come from clear sense of purpose/focus Benefit from "the chaos" of brainstorming Evolves from creative process that recognizes and seizes opportunity Resources committed to exhibits (time!) Reflect strengths of museum (collection, location, intellectual vigor) Provide sensory experiences to help visitors feel the interpretation Talented people (staff, academic, consultants) Exhibit talks to the audience bc staff knows audience Recognize and appreciate process Evaluation of processes and functions

Caption labels

For objects Briefly give chief facts: name, creator, date, place of origin

3 evaluations to know audience

Front end Formative Summative

Museum interpretation

How museums convey theor measages to visitors

What is read more: individual labels next to objects, or labels with numerical keys pointing to objects?

Individual labels

Secondary topic label

Large but not as prominent as text panel. Used for sub-themes; brief but long enough to give gist of sub-theme

Explanatory labels

Longer, smaller text Gives facts, figures and explanations Can be ignored for uninterested visitors

2 classes of museum exhibitions

Permanent and temporary

Role of Internet component of an exhibit

Point to non-museum resources Opportunity to present more issues - forum

Modern design approach for large floors

Separate with walls, panels, divisions and platforms

Front end evaluation

Studies/evaluates visitors before exhibit process begins

Formative evaluation

Testing and revision of language, objects, placement, furniture, etc. during exhibit development

2 starting point options for exhibit

The idea The objects