About [Art] museum accessibility: The color trace project

Page 1

tHE COLOR TRACE PROJECT

About [ART] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY mACARENA aLAMOS rOJAS S.s.2016





tHE COLOR TRACE PROJECT

About [ART] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY mACARENA aLAMOS rOJAS S.s.2016 advisors: Prof. severin wucher - Sandra Giegler M.A.

Master of art in integrated design Fachbereich Design Desau Department of design Hochschule Anhalt


ContenT

1. IntroDuction

9

1.1. Personal motivation

10

Art education Museums

10 11

1.2. Design opportunity 1.3. About this book 1.4. What has been done

13 14 15

2.- research

17

2.1. The importance of art education

18

Art is an intrinsic human need School curriculums are not democratic with the theory multiple intelligences

18

2.2. Museums and their educational role 2.3. Museum services & innovations of today 2.4. Why people [do not] like museums?

23 26 44

Museums do not fulfill visitors needs People are afraid of not knowing Visitors are looking for a concrete experience

46 52 54

2.5. Visitor focused museums

19

62


3.- THE PROJECT 3.1. Concept development

Real-time mood map Artwork gossip Collective playlist The color trace project 3.2. Design proposal

72 73

75 78 79 80 85

What is this project about Objectives Stages of the project

85 86 87

4.-THE PROducts

98

4.1. The brand 4.2. The color card 4.3. The color trace board 4.4. The color trace online gallery

100 108 114 120

CONCLUSIONS 139 aCKNOWLEDGEMENTS 142 references 144



1. Intro_ Duction


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

10

1.1. Personal Motivation Art education As Marcela del Campo and Jorge Montero (2012) says in Revista Docente Magazine, I strongly believe that the artistic experience can not be absent from any integral educational process. Art has appeared in all cultures through history. It is a form of expression that is inherent in human beings and is present at every stage of their life cycle. It can also be seen as a necessity of development that has its own particular qualities and forms, distinguishable both individually and in a community, they are hardly replaceable by another form of human communication. “Art is a key element in human development, because through it people learn to observe, to analyze, to be creative, but also to build citizenship, understanding that citizenship involves possessing a critical and constructive look� (Montero 2012). During the lasts centuries, museums have become one of the most important ways to meet art. For some people, these institutions are known as places where artworks are selected and exhibit by some professionals that have a big understanding of art, and where the visitor can be deleted with a great selection of pieces in just one place. Despite the fact that these professionals still being human, and they still may make some subjective influence to make these art selections (and bringing sometimes a subjective value to this different collections), these art vaults are making easier the access to art and culture for, at least, a big majority of world population. I remember when I was in primary school, my art


First Chapter / Introduction PagE

11

lessons were fun because I liked to paint, but we always were doing the same thing. The most of the time we were drawing and coloring what we did the previous weekend. When I went to university, to study for being an art teacher, I realized that I was not able to design a class and teach what a line was, because I only knew the math definition of a line. When I made art classes in primary school, I realized that being creative for kids was especially hard. They were used to get instructions and only paint with the “properly” colors “inside the line”. When I had to teach about twentieth century painting avant-garde in university, I realized students still want to get instructions instead of being critic and think about light and color.

Museums J.V. Maranto (2015) explains that museums have been part of the humanity for more than 2000 years. The act of collect curios objects had references from the year 530 b.C. with the foundings of a princess’s private objects collection, a tradition that began to be imitated. During the roman empire, the treasures houses of generals and politicians started the get full of treasure and spoils of war. Also, they had the tradition to exhibited in public exotics animals in some special occasions. During the Renaissance the objects were exhibited in places called curiosity cabinet, which worked like a live encyclopedia, full of exotic and unique pieces of strange rocks, bones, flowers, animal skin, pottery, and similar, but they still being private collections. Just in 1840, the museums started to get a shape similar to the one we know nowadays. Some of the

museums have been part of the humanity for more than 2000 years.


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

12

Before the Barnum Museum, public museums were only accessible by higher and middle classes

most famous Europeans curiosity cabinets were bought by Phineas T. Barnum, a young American businessman, who created the Barnum’s museum in the city of New York. Before the Barnum Museum, public museums were only accessible by higher and middle classes, and just giving a written application to be admitted some days earlier. One of the famous museums know for being open for all kind of public was the Louvre, but this public opening just was happening three days a week. It was just in the 19th century when museums started to take the shape that we know nowadays, where object started to be seeing and studied. Museums became a center of studies and artistic and scientific discovering. Nowadays everyone that can pay the entrance is able to visit museums. During the time, these institutions have become more accessible to the public, and they are considering their guest as part of their program design. Despite this positive evolution, we still not taking enough advantage of what art museums can offer to us. I started the research for my project on the basis that also at schools we are not taking advantage of what art education can offer to us. In my previous experience as an educator, I realized that art is not being validated as a study subject. There is a common understanding that art is the easy class that is not going to help me to build a successful career. Also, we learn to value art like a decorative object dismissing the importance of creativity in human development. My personal interest is to find a way to support art education through museums, like a no formal


First Chapter / Introduction PagE

educational institution. I would like to show and tell people that art is part of our lives, and not because it will make it more pretty but for letting us explore and make peace with a natural human language.

1.2. Design opportunity What I want to do, is support museums’ educational work, and start a change in the behavior of their potential and actual visits. The main aim of my project is to erase the common idea people have about museums. Modify this idea that those are boring places where only people that have the specific knowledge can enjoy. From the beginning of Museums history, these places have been a kind of treasures houses, where value objects were exhibited, telling us about science, history, crafts, technology, or distant cultures. At that time, the visitors were moved to go there just by the curiosity they have to see in person what were this valuable and precious objects. Nowadays screens sims to displace the effort to go and see this treasures, everything you are interested in could be in your pocket or desktop. But if everything is shown through the same frame, probably the experience we can have with each object will become to turn similar between them, and our ability to surprise and remain curious will fade over time. Since a while, museums of all area have become an important no formal educational institution,

13


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

14

providing and developing special programs, apps, and upgrading facilities to make the visitors visit more enjoyable and comfortable. Despite this open and accessible shape that museums have taken, some barriers still making difficult the access to them. These obstacles could be the price ticket, distance, lack of curiosity, indifference and insecurity about knowledge that can be of exposures. The barrier I want to face is the one that builds a gap between art and public because they think art is external from them. I want to put at museum’s guest disposal some art primary elements so they can decide how to use them in order from their sensibility.

1.3. About this book This thesis starts with a research that wants to link art museums, and art education, trying to argue why y is so necessary that people value art education. It makes an argument taking the opinion of some prominent thinkers in education and museum areas and also the theory of multiple intelligences. This journey also goes through the importance of museum as a source of knowledge and exploration. Ones we had understood these abstract theories, we take the way to meet nowadays services and technologies available in museums. This way help us to make a frame of existing possibilities to make art more accessible. It also contributes to understanding which are the visitor’s needs that nowadays museums are trying to satisfy.


First Chapter / Introduction PagE

Some theories about visitors needs and desires also will be part of the investigation for this project. This theories comes from the context of visitor- focused museums, topic that will close the research chapter of this book. The design chapter begins with the development of the concept, the questions I will ask is what is my aim with this project and what did help me to realize this is a viable service. After this first approach to the project, I will explain how the service works and what it need to make it in a successful way. There will be some design product required for make the service real. These products will be the find in the last chapter.

1.4. What has been done The investigation started in written material. It was necessary to create a state of the art of the topic and from there, trace the next research lines. Since this project involve museums, it was necessary to contact them for having a close approach of how they design their educational activities and how is the relation with their visitors. Some questions were sent to the kunstsammlung NWF in DĂźsseldorf, the Museum der bildenden KĂźnste in Leipzig, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden, the MoMA in NY, The Met in NY, The Tate in London, The Museum of fine arts and The museum of contemporary art in Santiago. From all this museums I only got useful answer from The Tate in London, who showed interest in facilitation all information related with my questions.

15


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

16

Not having enough answers from the educational departments contacted also was useful to realize about this museum’s interest. And despite I already visited some art museums before i started this research, I made a short visit to the Museum der bildenden Kßnste in Leipzig and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden. This visit was focused in recognize the services museums offer and how they build a visitor experience. The second group involved in this project are visitors. That is why I did a brief survey to get to know what are the reasons the do like (or not) visit art museums. From this survey, I got 199 answers, most of them from Chilean and art related background field persons. In addition to the survey, I made an experimental study in an art exhibition, where I test the expressive ability of color for help the visitor to give a feedback of its tour. The third group involved are the artists. And it was the hardest group to reach. I sent some questions to four young artists with I have contact. No one of them gave me an answer. I contacted the fifth one. We set a phone call where we discuss my project. She gave her opinion from her point of view, as an artist and art educator. This talk helped me to get to the final service design proposal.


2. re_ search


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

18

2.1. The importance of art education While I was doing this thesis research, I searched “the importance of art education for children”. I found many texts explaining why it’s important to teach art to develop creativity in schools, motor skills, and emotional balance. I agree and understand this point of view where specialist explains brain’s process and the cognitive development that art can build in our early age. But in my project, I’m considering a different start point to place arts as a central valuable for society.

Art is an intrinsic human need art, as a visual - spatial expression, has been part of humanity from the beginning of the known times.

First of all, art, as a visual - spatial expression, has been part of humanity from the beginning of the known times. We can see it from the primitive paintings in European caves, where cavemen printed shapes and events that were familiar to their daily life. We also can see it in the primitive sculptures and everyday objects ancient civilizations made. All this object have characteristic shapes and details that allow us to identify from which culture it was. This particular features also can tell us about how these old cultures were. Despite the fact that most of this painting and objects could be related to craft works instead of art pieces, the true is that lines, shapes and color, were present in ancient cultures, like a consistent way of human expression. Through the years, cultures were evolving and so did art. From being a way of teaching about faith and religion in primitive Christianity to a new


second Chapter / research PagE

way of thinking about light and colour during the vanguards of the twentieth century. The thoughts behind the artworks were evolving to an open and controversial role in society. Sometimes, these thoughts and concepts behind contemporary art are the reason that makes people do not understand why they will find two identical clocks together as part of the art collection at the Museum of Modern Art of New York. I dare say, that nowadays artist are creating a new shape of beauty, that is not precisely a visual equilibrium between the line, shape and colour. But is a beauty constructed by the act of use their inherent expressive human need, to create artworks that link facts, ideas, and concepts that are not familiar to everyone. Art is making us think. No matter if we think why there is a strange object covered in an ugly blanket and tied with a rope as part of an art collection. Or if we link what we see with nowadays news, or with our current mood. Why is that painting so disgusting or why did they pay so much to buy a white over a white piece of fabric. Art can make us think, but if we do not get close to art, these questions will never get into our heads.

School curriculums are not democratic with the theory multiple intelligences One of the first places we meet art in is in the school. Probably different cultures will have a different approach to art in their educational centers, but since

Art is making us think

19


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

20

art lessons are being reduced in time and relevance from some of the school curriculums

art is part of the human history, is easy to find this subject in the schools studies plan. Nevertheless, it is also easy to notice that in many countries around the world, art lessons are being reduced in time and relevance from some of the school curriculums. The main issue is not that we have too few art classes in the school. The problem is the concept that some communities have believing that art is a simple course. A class where you can get excellent grades without doing too much. Contrary to math, science and language, where schools, teachers and parents invest a lot of time, effort, and they expect children have standing out results in at least one of those three areas because these are the valuable knowledge areas. The behavior I’m trying to visualize is not being inclusive with children that have developed a different intelligence. Is not being inclusive with those children who have more developed the musical–rhythmic, the visual–spatial, the bodily– kinesthetic, the interpersonal, the intrapersonal, or naturalistic intelligence. The six of the eight intelligences that Gardner H. (1983) describes in his book “The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”. According to Gardner’s theory, what we now as intelligence is not considering all the aspects of human. He states that there are more ways to develop your mind than just through logical and linguistic intelligence. Despite the fact that this theory has no published studies that offer evidence of its validity when you’ve worked as a children’s educator, is easy to see that traditional definition of intelligence is too narrow, and therefore, a wider definition could be more accurate to the different ways humans think and learn.


“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” Part of that right of participation in the cultural life is the right to access museums, and their collections, displays, services and facilities [...]” (Boylan, P. 2004. p.107)


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

22

What I think is a good reference to support Gardner’s theory, is the work and speech that Temple Gardin (2010) entitled: World needs all kind of minds. This woman explains her experience as an autistic girl and how she was thinking everything in images. This ability she has allowed her to understand and explore an entirely different approach of how people understand the world. It helped her to solve problems that neurotypical brains can not.

Be democratic is to have a reconciliatory attitude between arts and others school subjects

art represents human creativity, the creativity that allowed us to conceive, build and launch a space shuttle

Be democratic in education is give the same opportunities to develop the different intelligences or ways to understand the word. Be democratic is to have a reconciliatory attitude between arts and others school subjects like Mae Jemison said in her 2002 TED Talk. Be democratic is to reintegrate sciences and arts. It is to stop thinking this two areas of knowledge are very distant and different things. It also allows us to think scientist and science are creative as an artist, and art and artist are analytical as a scientist. Be democratic is to understand that every field of knowledge is part of humanity, and like Jemison thinks, agree that art represents human creativity, the creativity that allowed us to conceive, build and launch a space shuttle.


second Chapter / research PagE

2.2. Museums and their educational role As Eilean Hooper-Greenhill (1999) says, museums (and galleries) have a direct relation with the largescale cultural movements. This relation also has a direct impact on this kind of institution’s educational intentions. During the past centuries, the education was understood as the delivery of information from some specialist to someone with no knowledge in a particular area. The roles of teacher and student were different and very distinct. Students were the ones allowed only to listen and absorb as much information as they can. The teachers were those allowed to transfer some content. The content was understood as external knowledge from teachers and students. The learning process had a unidirectional way, like this graphic shows. As Hooper-Greenhill says, the concept we have about education have changed, because “people are active in constructing their particular interpretation of their educational experiences” (Hooper-Greenhill, 1999. p.xi). This new idea means that the previous roles exposed, teacher, content and student, are not being related in the same way they were during the nineteenth and twentieth century. Now, we have the perspective that the learning experience will depend on the existing knowledge, skills, background and personal motivation, that each student has. “The responsibility for learning falls more squarely on the learner, but the responsibility of the teacher is to prepare appropriate learning environments, to act as an expert

23


“A museum is the perfect place to promote and encourage awareness of the natural, cultural and artistic heritage, through the research carried out by museums and others on the material and immaterial culture studied and preserved by the museum and through the opportunity to educate visitors.� (Boylan, P. 2004. p.120)


second Chapter / research PagE

25

mentor, to help develop learning skills and to provide opportunities for testing and modifying individual meanings and interpretations.” (Hooper-Greenhill, 1999. p.xi). Based on this relativity on the way people learn and how they generate knowledge, museum field has started to be more aware of the importance of the relation with the visitors. If we take a look at the rooms where traditional education is happening, you can visualize some desks and chairs organized in rows. This objects will be confronting the teacher and the board behind him. With this picture, we can easily understand that this shape of education comes from a previous idea of an ideal place for knowledge, a place where education was being given unidirectional from the teachers to the students. What happens in museums is entirely different. The biggest difference is what “could happen” in museums. “...a museum is a complex cultural organization, which is made up of a site that is frequently spectacular, a body of people with rare and fascinating expertise, a collection of objects that in its totality is unique, and a range of values that are currently under intense security from within the institution, from the academy and from government” (Hooper-Greenhill, 1999). If we consider the presence of these elements as the basis with a museum is constituted, the learning opportunities in this second scenario are much richer and diverse than the school scene. In this precious place, formed by those extraordinary bases, the learning experiences also could happen from early childhood education to postgraduate research.

museum field has started to be more aware of the importance of the relation with the visitors


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

26

museums programs depend on in their audience, and they need [...] to meet and understand visitants needs and desires.

What is important to notice now, is that museums are being aware of this diverse learning experiences, so they become more reflexive and “audiencedriven,” leading their objectives by the educational role they have and the educational experience they could bring to their visitors. That is why, nowadays museums programs depend on in their audience, and they need to develop more advanced methods to meet and understand visitants needs and desires. “However, there is no turning back: museums now depend on their audiences, and need to develop ever more sophisticated ways of understanding and providing for visitors needs and desires.” (HooperGreenhill, 1999. p xi).

2.3. Museum services & innovations of today Vicky Woollard, senior lecturer from the City University London, on her article “Caring for the Visitor” in Boylan, P. (2004) writes very detailed about how the museum should be aware of visitors needs. She starts with the definition of two main concepts for this investigation and museums accessibility: Visitor services: These are provisions that the museum makes in the physical, intellectual and social sense to enable the visitor to have an informative, pleasant and


second Chapter / research PagE

27

comfortable visit. Good visitor services reduce levels of frustration, discomfort and fatigue, and help the visitor to enjoy the exhibitions and events. Without good visitors services the opportunities for enjoyment and learning are radically reduced, and the number of return visits will fall. Access: Visitor services are central to the coordination of public access to the museum. Access is giving the visitor the opportunity to use facilities and services, view displays, attend lectures, research and study the collections, and to meet staff. This does not only mean physical access, but also includes access at the appropriate intellectual level that is free from social and cultural prejudice. Both concepts are focused on trying to understand visitors needs, not on an intellectual level, but at a human level, in which is important to be aware of human needs, physically and emotional. Nowadays human needs have also been evolving in a technological way. I still remember that time when I was a kid, and there was one phone for the whole family. The computer was placed in your father’s studio because it was a serious work tool. Now, I see my nine years old nephew asking me to borrow him my cell phone so he can play. I see my 15 years old niece sharing her life and following her friends and idols in snapchat. When I think about it, and how fast did it happen, It is amazing the capacity we have now to live through screens, give an opinion to what we see, share what we like, build communities, have friends and online relationships.

Both concepts are focused on trying to understand visitors needs


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

28

Museums are aware of this change, and they have been offering different services, and products being responsive with the actual format of life, media, and technology. They had diversified the way they show their collections to the public. Better than that, they have found a nice way to use our daily screens to offer us different ways to get close to them. One good example is what the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam offering to the community through their website. They are making available some images from their collection in hi-resolution, so people who visit their website can download them. But this is not just it. Also, they give to their audience what are the possibilities of what to do with the entire online collection of Rijksmuseum images that is available in pin-sharp clarity. You can use Rijksstudio to work with your favorites or create prints of any detail you choose on canvas, aluminum (Dibond), poster, plexiglass or as a set of postcards. You can order this work, and the prints will be sent to your home. They also offer the pin-sharp clarity images to encourage you to decorate a whole bag or a dress. And if you visit etsy.com you will see that people are using this service to create their own masterpieces and making business with them. As Jasper Visser (2014), a specialist in culture, heritage and the arts, says this is also an example of a well-done marketing strategy, because through this service, “the Rijksmuseum adds tons of value to the lives of creatives, which themselves increase the value to the collection.� Jasper Visser (2014) There could be other different ways to meet


second Chapter / research PagE

nowadays humans technological needs. Some museums could have different proposal to engage their close community making them co-creators of some projects, and share the responsibility of making the museum a valuable cultural palace. The most popular museums services are what we know as the basics ones, the audio guides, maps, and interactive screens. All these services were appearing due to the need that these institutions had to be responsive to the natural interaction behavior that the public have been developing through the years. I have visiting museums. I’m a museum-friendly person. I always enjoy visiting museums and exhibitions despite the size or the transcendence of the collection. [] The reason for my visits occurred because they were part of some course I had in college, or because I wanted to see something new, or because I was visiting a new city because I wanted to see it’s museum. Because I want to see what is exhibit nowadays in museums, or just walk around into a pleasant and quiet place. If I have to classify myself into Falk’s identities (2012), I think Explorer, experience seeker, professional and recharger. Being all those roles, I always enjoyed the experience. I appreciate the exhibition, the place, the architecture, the garden if there is a garden, the light, the tour, the silence, meet what I know, and what is new, even the gift shop. When I had to visit museums in the role of a thesis investigator, the experience was way more different, from the perception of the place to the appreciation

29


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

30

of the artworks. I visited two museums under this mood. The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig My eyes were continually looking at how the services are disposed of, and what is offered to the public. How people move and interact in the place, and how they use the museum’s services. With this in mind, I didn’t enjoy the visit that much. What I did on this visit, is to compare the audio guides the museums offer. It was the closer device and service museum had for visitors. I listened the audio for adults and kids. Not all the artworks have audio, and not all the adult’s audio are available for children. What I noticed in this comparison, is that both categories of audio are detailed. One audio could reach the 3 min of explanation about the author and his work. The biggest difference is that the children audio have some introductory sound, and the information is a dialogue between an adult and a child. This difference shows an intention to get closer to the audience, but the children speech was not from his experience but from the information is known from the artwork. I Also made a web search to find out what museums are offering outside their walls. Some services that different institutions offer are print material and audios that can be downloaded at home so that you can prepare your next visit from home. The most advanced proposals include apps for tablets and cell phones, two of the screens that are the most used.


second Chapter / research PagE

Family Art Cards. Mondrian.

Some of MoMA’s home audio and printables for kids: MoMA Audio Kids A host of characters engage kids in close looking, pose questions, and share secret information about MoMA’s collection. Pick up a free audio guide and map at MoMA Audio desks on the first or sixth floors. Available in English, Français,Deutsch, Italiano, Español, Português, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. For kids ages 5 and up. MoMA Activity Cards: Free print-friendly guide with activities, questions, and ideas for looking at works of art in MoMA’s collection.

31


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

32

MoMA’s Passaport page

MoMA’s Passaport page

One sketchbook page

Passports: Use this open-ended activity booklet to engage in drawing, writing, and close-looking activities using works of art that depict places and spaces. After completing an activity, stop by an information desk and get your passport stamped. Sketchbooks: Use this sketchbook as you explore the Museum—and after you leave—to collect ideas and inspire your own art making.


second Chapter / research PagE

Louvre app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

The most visited museums in the world also have some interesting apps. Here a review from GarcĂ­a, A. (2013) and Baeza, A. (2013) apps: Louvre, Paris The app is available for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It is free and has been developed in three languages: French, English and Japanese. Provides access to a hundred works, including paintings, sculptures and drawings, plus half thousand images, useful for preparing a visit and a special version for iPad information.

33


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

34

MoMA app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York MoMA has several applications, the main museum is MoMA App is used to find out about current exhibitions, plan a visit, browse or search tens of thousands of works from the collection, make multimedia tours, or learn about artists and terms of art. Take a photo through MoMA Snaps and to send it to a friend, or choose the playlist to create a soundtrack for your MoMA visit. Device: iOS - Android


second Chapter / research PagE

MoMA Art Lab app, tablet screanshots from iTunes

They has also created another Art Lab iPad App, an application to make art, make a sound composition, a poem, a drawing, and you also can store and share your artwork. Explore how artists use line, shape and color, discover the processes and sources of inspiration for artists, and create their own artwork inspired by MoMA’s collection. MoMA Art Lab app includes prominent artists such as Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder, Elizabeth Murray, and others.

35


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

36

MoMA books in the iBookstore, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

MoMA publications are available for iPad / iOS in two different ways: MoMA Books App iPad. With this free app, you can see all digital publications MoMA and discharge samples with a preview of the content. Once you purchase and download, you can start reading directly within the application. MoMA Books on the iBookstore. A select number of MoMA publications are available in improved digital format in the iBookstore. These books offer an interactive reading experience with excellent high-resolution images, audio and additional video content, and the text can be searched.


second Chapter / research PagE

Magic Tate Ball app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

Tate Modern, London The Tate Modern has several apps, but most have a cost. Are free: Magic Tate Ball, which invites to shake the phone and automatically gives to the user a work of art exhibited in the museum which is related with the user’s surrounding landscape; Muybridgizer to photograph with the professional style of Eadweard Muybridge, with a sequence of images; or Pocket Art Gallery, based on augmented reality and making available important works of art.

37


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

38

National Gallery app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

National Gallery, London The official app of the National Gallery for iPhone provides up to 250 works of Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent van Gogh, allowing a virtual tour around some jewels of this art gallery. It is possible to zoom for analyzing the paintings in detail and access three hours of audiovisual content. However, this app has a cost of 2.69 euros.


second Chapter / research PagE

British Museum app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

British Museum The application of the British Museum in London includes photos and descriptions of important works in its collection. Audios describing key works of the museum, such as the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Mexican mosaics and Benin bronzes. It contains details such as the ability to read the hieroglyphs of the Rosetta Stone. Create your own views, also include maps to visit in the area of the museum, so this application a useful tool to visit London.Device: iOS - Android

39


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

40

Guggenheim app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Through it is possible to plan visits, see scheduling and browse through the collection of works and interactive blueprint of the building designed by architect Frank Gehry. Lets you connect to YouTube and share content through social networks and via email. Device: iOS - Android


second Chapter / research PagE

Rijksmuseum app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Rijksmuseum application provides detailed text and high-resolution images of its classic art like art works of Vermeer and Rembrandt. The application works like a magic window, revealing remarkable stories and surprising details about the Rijksmuseum collection, and also from its architecture. It also includes 3D audio compositions, each tour offers the option to pick up a digital souvenir, which you save your phone or share via email. Device: iOS - Android

41


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

42

MNAC app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

MNAC, Catalunya National Art Museum They offer a different app than the previous museums. This is not a guide of institutional information of the works in the museum, but it tell the story behind the pictures thanks to images taken with different spectra of light that leave clear how the painting was done. Devices: Android


second Chapter / research PagE

Museu Picasso app, cell phone screanshots from iTunes

Museu Picasso de Barcelona The app collects the most important works from the museum’s collection and other general information. It is a platform about information and knowledge, allowing access to 39 pieces highlights of the exhibition opened in 1963 to exhibit the works of the famous Spanish artist. Device: iOS

43


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

44

2.4. Why people [do not] like Museums? Maybe you don’t know why you are going to see in the museum, but you go because someone told you that is important to see what is inside them, despite the fact that you are not interested in the objects that are exhibited. You go, and then you tell to “those others,” that you were there, but actually, you never saw or tried to get close to the value of the exhibitions. Then you realized that maybe was so much better spent those 15€ entrance in something else, something you will be happy with. Depending on the kind of museum your are visiting, you could enjoy more or less the exhibition. Sometimes, you just not enjoy looking at Pitti Palace’s porcelain museum, but you walk around the rooms with hoping that suddenly you will see something that is going to amaze you. But it doesn’t happen, and you walk to the square is just next to this building, you sit and enjoy the fantastic view of the suburbs of Florence because this is what amazes you. Maybe you don’t like museums because the atmosphere is not the most energetic or exciting for making you feel you are having the best of the weekends you could ever have. And if you decided to explore the exhibition, you hardly will be enlightened by an inscription that says “clay pot, 800-900, Dorset culture.” It could get worst when the interactive map that will help you to find where was the Dorset culture is out of order, and the


second Chapter / research PagE

information you get, have the half of the meaning and never reach the impact in your world heritage knowledge that it could reach. If you don’t have children, or you are visiting a museum just for an escape from them, is not going to be nice find out that the day that you chose for this great peaceful escape, is the school visit day. Probably you will never have a good memory of this experience, and it will take a long time before you decide to visit a museum for enjoying your leisure time. You will remember this crowded and loud place, where you were almost not able to see the exhibition because there were at least twenty people before you looking at the object and taking selfies next to them (selfie in which probably will appear everything but the object). After this experience you will delete the museum like a leisure place, you will move it to the “places I do not like” list, and you will replace it with staying at home, comfortable, peaceful and looking some interesting things in one of your screens, like the Google Art project. Probably, each person could have one different reason why they do or not like go to Museums. Sometimes, the mood of the visitors could make each time they visit a museum an entirely different impact or experience. Some of us just go to museums because what is exhibited on them is essential knowledge in our study fields, or just because some particular exhibition is important for our significant other. Each value or argument we can think of why people like or do not like about museums will always

45


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

46

be centered on the personal interest or need from each person.

Museums do not fulfill visitors needs Vicky Woollard in Boylan, P. (2004) describes four different kinds of visitors depending on the characteristic of the kind of companion they have when they visit a museum. This four types are temporary guest categories, because each time you visit a museum, the companion could be different. What Wollard did, was to identify some needs according to each group, and she also made some accurate observations of the services each group should get. She adds a fifth group, which is not defined by the relation between the people in the group, but it is by the special needs some integrants could have. Woollard’s types of visitors and their needs: Individuals: These tend to visit for a specific reason, probably to see a particular collection or exhibition, or with a research interest at either an academic level or for personal pleasure. As independent learners they want to have detailed information on the items or collections or given guidance to other sources. They are likely to attend conferences, lecture series and guided tours, provided by the education and curatorial staff. Independent adult groups: These are often adult


second Chapter / research PagE

47

individuals who form groups for social purposes and some of their time in the museum may be spent in conversation and relaxing with one another. Museums offer “safe� and aesthetic environments for people to meet and chat. Family groups: This group of visitors has a wide range of needs due to the range of ages and interests. Encouraging families means that the museum is encouraging interest in museum visiting at an early age and creates a pattern of social behaviour for life. Family groups often extended to cousins and other relatives and can be major components of the domestic tourist sector. Educational groups: Pre School, School and College groups Visitors with additional needs (physical and mental disabilities): All of the above groups can include individuals who have additional needs and requirements. Visitors with special needs are frequently accompanied by a friend, relative or carer. The method she used for determining the services that the museum should bring to the visitors, was focused on the characteristics and needs each visitor could have depending on some scenarios she creates. These scenarios helped her to try to understand their behavior and with this, try to have a clear idea of what services will be essential to offer to each one of them a pleasant visit. Hood, M.(1983) shares some investigation results, in which there are shown six primary attributes that

These scenarios helped her to try to [...] have a clear idea of what services will be essential to offer to each one of them a pleasant visit.


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

48

influence adult’s choices when they want to spend some leisure time. She enlisted those attributes alphabetically, and we can agree with her decision because not all the people have the same interests, so it would be a wrong attitude to say that one of those attributes is stronger than other at the moment to chose a leisure activity. This attributes are:

• Being with people, or social interaction • Doing something worthwhile • Feeling comfortable and at ease in one’s surroundings • Having a challenge of new experiences • Having an opportunity to learn • Participating actively

the main reason people do go to museums is for fulfilling their needs

What I think is important to notice is that all these attributes, came from the person, his interest and needs. They don’t come from the museum or other institution requirements. A very similar person focused idea is presented by John Falk and Lynn Dierking (2012), in their book The Museum Experience Revisited. Here, the authors explain that the main reason people do go to museums is for fulfilling their needs. So, like in Hood’s publication, here we can see how the reason that moves people to visit museums is not the mere curiosity of what they are going to see. The reasons that move people comes from the very personal interest and needs that each one could have at a specific moment in their lives.


second Chapter / research PagE

These needs Falk and Lynn described in their book, actually answers to different identities they identify in museum’s visitors. Their point is that each need is directly related to a particular identity. These identities they are talking about, aren’t those that social scientist refers in their investigations. Physical or social demographic identities are not going to tell about visitors needs or interest. Being a 52-year-old East European white man is not going to tell about their needs or interest. Falk and Dierking’s identities refer to the multiple roles that each person could have. They are linked with the ways we interact with the world, and they depend on a particular place and time of our lives. This is the reason is why the physical or social demographic stereotypes do not help to tell us why people like or not go to museums. Despite the vast possibilities of identities that can be distinguished between all museum visitors, Falk and Lynn were able to identify some of the most frequent recognized: Explorers—Explorers come because attending museums interest them and appeal to their curiosity. If you asked them if they like art they would say ‘yes;’ if you asked them if they came for something, in particular, they would probably say ‘no,’ they ‘just like art and know what they like when they see it.’ They do not have concrete learning goals, like ‘I’m going to go to the MIA to learn everything I can about Expressionism,’ but they like to know new things. This type could be anyone. Explorer’s goal is to satisfy their curiosity. They may or may not know how to use the space.

49


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

50

Facilitator—Facilitators come because of someone else. They are perhaps bringing a friend or a group of people—possibly youth or students—because they think that the visit would benefit the other party or parties, not because of a personal need. Their personal need is to make a good experience for others. Experience Seeker—An experience seeker is a person who is checking off a list of things to do, whether personal or as a tourist. They want to see the thing that is iconic of that place. They want to do ‘what you’re supposed to do in that city or area.’ They may need to see the museum’s highlights to feel satisfied. Professional/Hobbiest—This category includes teachers, educators, museum professionals, artists, and people in related fields. Their goals may range by their particular role as a professional or hobbyist; a photographer may attend with the goal in mind to take pictures or to learn about photography through exhibits. An art educator may be interested in the art as in their field of interest, or they may be planning a lesson, etc. Rechargers—Rechargers find the museum a place to ‘get away from it all,’ to decompress, and their visit is almost a spiritual one. They tend to avoid crowds or sensations and are fairly self-sufficient. A successful visit for them will leave them with the feeling that they have gotten away. With the intention to compare and prove the existence of Falk’s identities, I did a brief survey. I


second Chapter / research PagE

got 199 answers, most of them of Chilean nationality and somehow linked to the area of the arts (designers, architects, artists, and publicists) A vast majority of respondents revealed that they have had college studies or are having them at this time. This majority recognized that they like to visit museums because they will always learn something new, because it is interesting, and because they like to learn about culture. According to the response of this majority, I can quickly validate the existence of two identities Falk and Lynn: Experience Seeker and Professional/Hobbiest There were also a small group that likes to visit museums because is a calm place where they can relax and think. This one’s match with Falk’s Rechargers identity. Between those who answered that they don’t like museums very much, the most common answer was because they prefer to spend their leisure time doing something more interactive. What I can read between those who like and those who don’t like museums, is that the first group like them mostly because they consider museums as a cultural learning experience. They like it because they agree that museums are great cultural - palaces. What I can read from the answers given by the second group, is that they think museums are (or should be) a fun place. Since it is not the funniest, interactive and sport please, museums are not considered as one of their favorite entertainment - palaces. Reading all these answers is easy to reaffirm and

51


ABOUT MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY / PagE

52

validate this person- focused theories. Museums are going to be interesting or not, depending exclusively on the personal interest, motivation or identity each person have. If we make a different kind of observation, different from Falk’s theory, we also can find some general or generic reason or behaviors that tell us why people do not like to visit museums.

People ARE afraid of not knowing One of the answers from the survey i made matches with some example Falk explains in his conference (2012). This answer refers to the concept of dislike museums because the visitors do not understand what they are seeing. This response is linked to the example Falk mention about parents that decide not to bring their children to museums because they are afraid to do not be able to answer their children questions. These kinds of responses also draw a new definition for the concept people have about museums. In this “fear” case, people think that museums are just for smart individuals who already knows the answers of what they are seeing. Related to the “fear of not knowing,” there is also the “fear of the unknown”, and this fear also distances people from museums. This second fear is different from the first fear. The first one refers to the act of go to the museums and thinks that you don’t fit in that place because you can not have the same level of culture of those experts in the field. You probably can’t enjoy it because you are not enough expert. The second fear refers to the lack of interest on visit


“People want to see new things, but not things that they never heard or thought about before� (Falk, J. Dierking, L, 2012. P.110)


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

54

an exhibition. You are concerned because you don’t know anything about the topic, the artist, or the field. For these people going to museums is going to be a big waste of time, and they do not go, because they do not want to risk their precious free time, in something they do not know if it’s worth.

Visitors are looking for a concrete experience Whit this investigation, I wanted to get a better idea why people do not want to go to museums because this is the primary audience I’m interested. With the survey I made, I had the chance to find out that another important reason why people do not go to museums: is because they do not think is interesting enough going to an exhibition where you can not scream, laugh, touch, play, or interact with the objects. This group of people is the one that thinks museums should be an interactive palace, or even more ambitious, a palace of joyful learning. That is why this group of people prefers to visit an interactive museum instead an art one. In interactive museums objects that are part of the exhibition are more similar to a toy than an abstract painting, and the object is created to be touched and not to be seen. This interest in touching objects also cames from our human learning capacity, because is easier for us learn something when we have a concrete experience: “visitors deal with the exhibit objects on a concrete level rather than in on an abstract level.” ( Falk, J. Dierking, L, 2012. P.111).


“Entertaining museum experiences actively engage visitors intellectually, emotionally, and physically by inviting them to participate and become intellectually involved, touching objects, posing questions, manipulating machines, smelling an environment, and hearing sounds.� ( Falk, J. Dierking, L, 2012. P.114).


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

56

One of the reasons Falk have about this search for understanding, is because we are are predisposed to learn initially through a concrete experience. This fact explains to us why exist this concept that museums are the most boring places where you can spend your leisure time. It is just because visitors are expecting to have a concrete experience when they are assisting to an abstract exhibition.

Survey During this research, a survey was made in order to get a personalized list of answers to the questions, Why people do not like to go to museums? These are the resultsof a total of 199 answers:

1.- Do you like to go to museums?

Yes 81,4% No 18,6%


second Chapter / research PagE

2.- When was the last time you 3.- What kind of museum it visit a museum? was? Around one week

Anthropological

10% Around one month

2,5%

Archaeological

Archaeological 8,5%

4,5%

29,6% Less than six months

Contemporary Art

16,5% Less than two years

Decorative Arts 3,5%

1% Fine Arts

Fine Arts 20,1%

20,1% Historical

Historical 18,6%

25,6%

7,5% I have never visited a museum

17,6%

Decorative Arts

8,5% More than two years

Contemporary Art

17,6%

27,1% Less than one year

4.- What is your favourite kind of museum? Anthropological

6%

Natural Sciences

Natural Sciences 10,6%

14,1%

0,5%

Science and Technology

Science and Technology 10,6%

3,5% Maritime // MarĂ­timo 2,5% Military // Militar 1,5% Musical // Musical

Maritime // MarĂ­timo 1% Military // Militar 2% Musical // Musical

0,5%

1%

Otro

Otro

3%

57

4%


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

58

5.- What is your age? 15

1

USA

18

5

19

6.- What is your Nationality?

3

20

8

21

Brasilian

1

Argentinian

1

British

10

6

3

Chilean

149

22

13

23

8

Colombian

5

24

11

Costa Rica

4

25

8

26

Chinese

Filipino 17

27

19 15

28 29

18

30

15

31

12

32

3

33 34

6 2

35

4

1

1

Geman Indian

10 3

Indonesian

1

Iranian

2

Italian

1

Mexican

1

Pakistani

1

Venezuelan

1

South african

1

Thai

1

37

2

Uzbek

1

38

1

Vietnam

1

39

2

Bulgarian

1

40-49

7

50-59

4

60-69

2

70

1


second Chapter / research PagE

7.- WhY YOU DO NOT LIKE MUSEUMS? Because I do not have too much free time I don’t find them entertaining The information boards are too small and are not easy to read them. The information is written in a boring way. The exhibition spaces are dark and not cozy. They need more light. There is no way to interact with objects, and that makes work to much your brain because the only thing you can do is to bring information to your brain and learn. Different reasons. Because you are not allowed to touch and take pictures I dislike a lot about history They are too quiet; you can not talk. Many times I do not understand what they want to communicate Because I think they are boring, I like interactive things. They make me bored Most of them are boring, and the tour is short, you end, and then you have no idea what to do. I like them, but I do not have too much information about the exhibitions that are close to my place. They are boring and Because I’m not interested in them and some of them are too boring.

59


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

60

Because I do not know why, the exhibited objects are important. The tour is too long with no place to stop and rest. Because always is the same experience Because they are boring Because the majority is not of my interest. Because I do not have time, and I have to travel to another city to visit them. They are boring and between them, they show the content in a very similar way. There are not new proposals. They are exhausting. I usually feel they are too much information for me I don’t like the idea of putting things on display formally. They should be more reachable and open. They are boring Need to schedule the time I make many sports activities and social meetings in parks. Museums are not my priority. I think they are boring I like museums when I’m traveling, but not when I’m in my Home country. And even in another country, I don’t go as much. Without a guide is hard to learn the importance of what is shown in the pop culture They do not catch my attention.


second Chapter / research PagE

Because the ones I have seen have been too boring to me (science and animals) Because I prefer mode dynamic activities Because I already know all the museums in my city Usually, there are not a detailed explication of what is exhibited. Sometimes there are too many people, and you have to wait. Sometimes, people that work in museums is not to able to explain Most seem boring and don’t offer to do it yourself/ what have I learned activity Not very interesting

61


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

62

2.5. Visitor Focused museums The three reasons explained in the previous section are the motivation to museum related professionals, to think and develop new ways new ways to meet museums. These new ideas also led studies like Falk and Dierking have made with their publications about the museum experience. Earlier than their publication, in 1983, Marilyn Hood also published a study that wants to give an answer to this lack of interest in visit museums. Thirty thirty years after of Hood’s publication, it is easy to find a project that wants to offer a better service and experience in museum visits. Most of the examples that were found in this research were always thinking about adding value to the visitor experience and not in the exhibition itself. It seems that the designers and museum directors behind this new experience proposals are aware that the more value they add to the museum experience, more value their exhibition is going to receive from its visitors. new experiences are not just possible because of high technology equipment

What was nice to find out with this research, is that these new experiences are not just possible because of high technology equipment, but also they are realizable because of the design of new opportunities to participate in the exhibitions and the possibility to take part in new interaction experiences with the


second Chapter / research PagE

63

community. “How can cultural institutions reconnect with the public and demonstrate their value and relevance in contemporary life? I believe they can do this by inviting people to engage actively as cultural participants, not passive consumers. As more people enjoy and become accustomed to participatory learning and entertainment experiences, they want to do more than just “attend” cultural events and institutions.” (Simon, N. 2010. chapter 1) Nina Simon is a museum director and former design consultant, who wrote “the participatory museum”. This books have being seen as the participatory museum manifest and also the project she has developed. Most of her work had taken place at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Visiting this institution’s website, you can see that the main message they want to send to people, is that things are happening in this museum. They are showing in their home page, all the activities they can join as the main content and not the collection this museum have. She also gives talks where she explains why and what is she doing. One of the projects she shares is one she made with her students. This project was about advice. They created an installation where anyone can offer their advice to anyone interested in having it. They build a slam stand, with a table and two chairs and a poster where the advisor could write the kind of advice he can give. I’m bringing this example because it requires a minimum of technology development to make it work. They only objects

the main message they want to send to people, is that things are happening in this museum


An interview in the storycorps booth. Photo taken from ijnet.org


second Chapter / research PagE

65

needed were a table, two chairs, a piece of paper and a marker. These objects made possible that people sit and share their knowledge or experience with a stranger. Maybe these strangers just sit and talk, but if we consider the lack of trust and interaction with strangers, this talk is already beautiful by itself. And all these interactions happened in a gallery and exhibition context. Like Simon’s thinking, some others professionals build their careers designing solutions to make a museum experience more enjoyable. Jake Barton is also known by his design work with the experience and strategy design firm “local projects.” In one of his presentations, he talks about a project similar to the advising that Simon developed with her students. This project is called StoryCorps, and the objective of it is to capture the history of ordinary Americans. The idea is very simple, you get inside a booth, and you can interview a relative or friend and it goes into the Library of Congress. When we Look at these two projects, we can see that there is one common factor: the time and space to share with other in a close way something that is part of you. There are some differences in the shape and technologies used, but the act that make it work still being the human interaction. Another interactive project where the Local Project agency was involved, is the Pen. “The Pen was pitched as a way to invite visitors to learn about design by designing themselves. Beyond working as a tool for drawing, it would encourage

the act that make it work still being the human interaction.


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

66

visitors to engage with the works on view in the museum, rather than looking at them through the small screen of the more traditional approach of a ‘museum App’.”(http://www.cooperhewitt.org/) When you visit Cooper-Hewitt, museum staff will hand you a Pen at the admissions desk and explain how to use it by following these steps: • Use the pointed end to draw on interactive tables. • Use the flat end to save: align the collect symbols and press. • When you are ready to leave, drop your Pen in the return box at the museum entrance. • At home or on your mobile device you can access your visit at cooperhewitt.org/you. Enter the code printed on your admission ticket to see everything you collected and created.

This pen is the concrete object that is making easier the access to the exhibition abstract and distant objects.

While you are visiting the exhibition, the pen will allow you to accumulate the objects you like, move them into a tablet, find more information about them and also play and draw. What this pen is doing, is being a tool not only for drawing but an instrument to have a direct interaction with the object without touching them. This pen is the concrete object that is making easier the access to the exhibition abstract and distant objects. There is a significant number of high tech experience project developed to different kind of museums. But there is one example is not technology-related that also is making an important change in museums experience. Tired of the traditional way that museum tours are given, Nick Gray created his company of


Using “The Pen” on a tablet. Photo taken from cooperhewitt.org


[Happy] MuseumHack customers Photo taken from artizest.fr


second Chapter / research PagE

renegade tour guides called Museum Hack. This company offers personalized guided tour. This idea came when Nick’s girlfriend invites him to a date in one of the open night at The Met. Before this date, he was never excited about visiting a museum. But that night was different because the experience he had was an experience that involves his life, his relationship, and the way she showed him the museum, was the perfect way just for him. After this visit, he realizes that each person will have a different way of enjoying a museum visit because they are interesting in different aspects of the object exhibited. And with this, he creates a museum guide company that will tell you exactly what is interesting for you to know, according to your interest. This project is a service design that was born thanks to the visitors needs and desires. Their target group is people who do not like museums offering them a special adventure at amazing museums. According to their website, the most popular comment from their customer is, “I’ve never had so much fun in a Museum!” Between the high-tech- related museum experience there is the work of Sarah Kenderdine, whose passion is to discover and reinvent tangible and intangible heritage as a sensorial experience combining ant and new technologies. Professor Sarah Kenderdine researches at the forefront of interactive and immersive experiences for museums and galleries. Professor Sarah Kenderdine works in a project that scans and create a digital reproduction of Cave 220, one of 492 grottoes resplendent with Buddhist

69

he realized that each person will have a different way of enjoying a museum visit because they are interesting in different aspects of the object exhibited


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

70

mural paintings more than 1000 years old and also a UNESCO World Heritage listed cave. Through Kenderdine’s digital scanning techniques the cave has been virtually recreated and augmented at 1:1 scale in a 360-degree display system. As we can see, this digital reproduction technique requires a high tech level development. What we can not see is what Professor Sarah Kenderdine tell us in her Ted talk speech (2013): all this requirement are not enough to build a remarkable museum experience. Thanks to the advantage of technology and creativity of developers, the project also brings the possibility to see the mural in complete darkness, just like you were inside the cave. You also can see details in the picture through a digital magnifying glass. Pigment studies help to recolor the mural as it was in it origins and objects where digital modeled, to show visitors how would they look from all perspective.The experience is complete when visitors have different ways to see and read the digital reproductions. It seems that the answer to making more interesting the museum visit includes, interaction, sharing personal experience, open places to interact, concrete objects to manipulate and opportunities to leave something from you in the exhibition. Important to notice is that all these examples of services and experiences come together with private fundings.


Digital version of Cave 220. Photo taken from shkp.com


3.THE PROJECT


third Chapter / The project PagE

73

3.1. Concept development Based on the previous study, I want to share some important considerations. The first one corresponds to the difference between the previous and actual understanding of how learning process happen. As is explained in the research chapter of this book, nowadays learning is understood as a process that is not unidirectional. There is not fixed roles for teachers and learners. You can learn from teachers, from your equals, and they also can learn from you. Knowledge is not external from us. It is shaped from us with our previous experiences. The second important consideration is that when you visit a museum, you are in direct contact with an object that could be a source of knowledge. The learning experiences could be much richer because we can have our personal approach to that object. The learning process could happen in different modalities, and the same object could proportionate different outcomes depending on the particular experience of each visitor. The third consideration comes from the link I made with the previous research and the survey I made. People think that museums are boring learning places because they are not connected with their interests. People also believe that museums are places for a high level of knowledge minds, so and average mind will not enjoy. What I want to do with this, is to move the experience

nowadays learning is understood as a process that is not unidirectional.


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

74

The idea is to generate a new layer of knowledge, which is not linked to an academic area but with the everyday community experience and relations.

from the intellectual level to a quotidian level. I want to show the experience that each visitor has, and sharing it with others. The idea is to generate a new layer of knowledge, which is not linked to an academic area but with the everyday community experience and relations. The last consideration is related to the starting point of this investigation. At that point I had in my head the concept that gives more information to the visitors of what they are seeing, will make art more accessible. The idea was that they can use this information to make relations and a better understanding of the context of each artwork. This information supposed to bring more confidence to the observers and let them feel closer of the artwork exhibited. Although my conclusions are driving me to a different path, I do not discard this idea for a closer level of proximity service project. This new path is guided by the visitors- focused museums, where visitors have the chance to interact with the exhibition. In this way, what is necessary to make visitors feel closer to the exhibitions, and therefore feel close to art, is a space where they can leave something that comes from themselves. It Is the chance to let them leave their mark or trace. These considerations drove my project to a service design where visitors are going to be invited to left their trace in museums. In this way, their presence in museums will be upload to the foreground, allowing them create something together.


third Chapter / The project PagE

The first question was about the language or the element that will be offered to empower visitors to leave their trace. Three different proposals came to my mind before I conclude that color will be the language, and a collective artwork will be the shape of the project.

Real-time mood map The first idea I had was to create a quotidian information layer. It was the design of a real-time mood map. The objective of this idea was to create a platform where visitors could leave a trace of their appreciations. Share if they like or not something they are seeing, if they laughed, got curious, confused or tired. With these appreciations, visitors will create a collective map with different values that comes from their experience. I thought that an easy language to use for creating this map could be emojis. The map created would be a emoji map in which each visitor could have a particular device where they can see in real time every visitor emoji, comment or appreciation. This device could be generated by the museum, or it could be an app that everyone have on their cell phones. The idea was to show this map on a big screen when people enters to the museum. Once the visitor enters this mapping activity, they can see what people is sharing in all the rooms of the museum. They also will have the chance to use a filter, so they can choose which kind of emojis follow. And the most

75


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

76

Drafts of the mood mapping


third Chapter / The project PagE

Drafts of the app and its functions

77


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

78

important, they can add their moods, comments, or emails to the map. The problem with this proposal is the ambiguity of the data that an emoji can bring. Despite the fact my aim is not to share an academic knowledge, I dismissed this idea because the emoji is not a useful, informative icon, and they are ideograms that are not close to building a strong link between the visitors and the exhibition.

Artwork Gossip After this first draft, I reorganized my thoughts, and I focused in propose a better knowledge management ideas. The central concept reminds being that the visitors are the one that leaves their trace but now, by sharing their knowledge with their peers. Also, this information should be useful to inform the museum about what people think or how visitor links the exhibitions and artworks to their quotidian life, their interest, and memories. Considering this, I though in two proposals: The first one is related to the educational activities that museums offers. The aim of this project also wants to find a way to get a significant feedback from who join the activities, and also foment a closer relation with the visitors and the museum. The idea is to make this group of people leaves an audio message linked to some artwork that had caught their attention during the activities. They can share why did it catch their attention, or whatever


third Chapter / The project PagE

they need to tell others about this work. This audio will be available to all the public like regular audio guides. With this, I want to create the message that everyone can say something about what is exposed, and it is not necessary to be an expert in the art field to have an opinion or open more questions. The second proposal is oriented to all visitors, not only who join the museum’s activities. The concept has the same basis: that visitants share their ideas, opinions, and memories through audio messages. But it could get a little bit more complex also incorporating other formats of information, like image and links to the internet. For this second proposal, the challenge would be to choose a device that can work for this different formats and the design of the interaction.

Collective playlist A third idea linked to generate this colloquial and collective information layer, from a visitor to another visitor, is to create a collective playlist to walk through the museum. Similar to the previous proposal, the idea is that visitors could link music and songs that they like, with a room, a particular artwork or the whole tour. In general words, the idea is that these audio recommendations are available for all visitors. Visitors would be able to listen, select, name, and create a different playlist. The objective of this third idea is also to share the personal appreciation that each person has when

79


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

80

they visit an exhibition. In this way, everyone will be able to link what is exhibited with something they are familiar. This third idea is a counter proposal for the existing audio guides, which have some ambient sounds, which also is part of the information given by the art studies. With this third proposition, the concept still being to share something personal with someone you don’t know but probably will be looking at the same object, with a very different perception of it. With this third proposal the aim still being to link your previous experience with the piece and with other visitors experience.

The Color Trace Project After a comparison of these three projects, I realized that there is a language that is part of our daily routine and also is part of the scene that museums visitors can see. This language is the color. The color is part of our everyday life, but sometimes we do not see it. We do not realize how strong it could be to create a strong argument. Light and color in paintings show us how the world is seeing, perceived and captured. We have feelings to colors; we can like them or not. The idea now is to link those colors used by great masters with visitors preferences. The idea is to take this great colors used in past times and create a trace led by visitors interest and perception. The trace will


third Chapter / The project PagE

start from a specific artwork of a renowned artist, and it will end in a new composition created by the collective participation of museums visitors.

Testing color as a feedback element. Since I decided to use color as the expressive language will bring shape to this project I made an experiment with it. The objective was to test the expressive ability of color for help the visitor to give a feedback of its tour. The idea of the experiment was to let visitors use color, to tell about their experience in a specific exhibition. Five people joined the experiment at the Bauhaus’s Meisterhäuser in Dessau. They were asked

81


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

82

Color map Nยบ1

Color map Nยบ2


third Chapter / The project PagE

Color map Nยบ3

Color map Nยบ4

83


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

84

to tell what the like, what they do not like and what confused them in the Kandinsky exhibition. To give the feedback of their tour, they chose three colors from a 54 color palette taken from Kandinsky’s artwork. Each one of these colors will have one of the three different expressive values they were asked to give. These colors were a square piece of auto-adhesive paper, which could be paste in a blueprint of the building where the exhibition was. The intention was to get five different color traces of the same exhibition. It happened by asking the participants to make a relation with space, the values, and their colors.

Experiment steps • Meet with the volunteers in a closed area (room or studio). • Show them all the colors and make them choose the one they like, the one that they do not like and the one that confuses them. • Show them the blueprints and explain how to use the autoadhesive colors. • Go to the exhibition place. • Let them walk around the exhibition. • Meet and ask about the experience using their colored maps.


third Chapter / The project PagE

Experiment results: • Volunteers were able to assign a value for the three colors they had to choose. • They show differents way to place the color in the space • The material was easy to use. • The activity made the voluenteers very critical about the exhibition. • Color is an easy language for creating an expressive argument

3.2. Design Proposal What is this project about This project is about art museum accessibility. I the first stage of my investigation, I searched for museum accessibility. The result of this searching showed me some programs about how to make easier and more enjoyable a visit for a blind, a deaf, a physically challenged or a mind ill person. What the programs can do for this people is to explain in a different and personalized way what they already are explaining to visitors without mental or physical disabilities. But, what happen to people with no particular disabilities? Are all them in a direct relation with art? I believe that if there exist people that do not like art museums is because they do not think art is

85


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

86

part of their life. Even they also do not believe that they can be touched by art, when actually, art has been present in humanity since the beginning of the known times. There is a second kind of accessibility, and I believe the first one in priority: the emotional access to art. This project is about emotional accessibility to art. What this project wants is to create an emotional link between visitors and their experience in museums. With this intention, the project will allow any person to use color and shape and leave a trace of his or her visit with it. The intention is not to show visitors how magnificent is art, but to tell them that they can take Picasso’s colors and build a new composition because they know colors, and they use it all the time. This project is a proposal to join a color and shape exercise. This exercise is one primary step to reach the joy of visit art museums. With this project will bring to visitors a concrete artistic experience. And it is an experience that is just asking for a familiar exercise: choose a color, find it in others paintings, and incorporate it with others colors.

Objectives Make a change in the perception that some citizens have about museums: show people that these places are not foreign from not artist related citizen’s, but a place where we can meet human sensibility and creativity.


third Chapter / The project PagE

• Show to visitors that art is part of everyone’s daily life. • Evidence that everyone is susceptible to light, color and abstract compositions. • Create an opportunity to create a collaborative artwork. • Help visitors to see the potential color has to create an expressive work. • Get to know better who is visiting witch museums.

Stages of The Project The Color Trace project considers three stages. The first one corresponds to the organizational one. In this step, the partnership with the museums is created. This association process is necessary because the project needs museums acceptance to bring a space in their entrance halls to the Color Trace board. In this stage also the color palette is defined and the dates of color collecting. The second stage is the one that involves the participation of museums visitors. This stage is the service stage, when visitors join the Color Trace Project, and they take part in the collective artwork creation. The last step is necessary for make the artworks permanence in the time. This stage is the for editing and creating the Color Trace Exhibition together with the printed products will share the collective artworks

87


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

88

Firts Stage: building the partnership

1

2 Look for Museum Partnership

3 Offer a Visitor Database service

Create the Museum Partnership

The Color Trace project starts contacting art museums to make a partnership with them. The project will ask for the permission to use some of their entrance space, and offer to visitors the chance to join the Color Trace project. In exchange, the project will provide to these institutions the opportunity to collect the data of their visitors to help them to know better their guest needs. When the museums partnership group is created, the agenda should be set up to know when is going to take place the event in which partner museum. Then, all partner institutions will invite to join this activity through their communicational platforms. They also will share the color trace project website


third Chapter / The project PagE

4

5 Select a Paintig

6 Create the new Color Palette

to help people find out what is the project about and when the event is going to visit their closest museum. Each partner museum will select one of their collection’s artwork to take some colors from it. The designer of the Color Trace project will have a maximum of 30 colors palette to make the color tickets for each painting. The amount of tickets printed will depend on the information each museum will give about their entrance register. The color tickets will be designed, printed and delivered to each partner museum.

Deliver the Color Cards to partner museums

89


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

90

second Stage: drawing the color trace

1 Visitor choses 1 coulor from a palette of colors provided by the host

When a visitor gets into the museum to pay for the entrance, there will be a specific ticket seller in charge to invite people to join the color trace project. This ticket seller will offer the chance to adhere to the color trace project. He will introduce the color palette, telling her which is the painting and the artist it comes from, and he will ask if there is a color she likes the most. If there is one color she loves, the ticket seller will explain that she can take this color, make a tour in the museum looking for it. At the end of the tour, she will be able to name and donate her color to a new collaborative artwork that will be part of a new exhibition.


third Chapter / The project PagE

2 Visitor leaves her email address, age, name and country

If she says no, she do not get the color ticket, she will get only her entrance ticket and will be able to make a regular visit to the museum. If she says yes, the ticket seller will ask for some personal data to upload to the color trace database. He will ask for name, age, country, and email. He will remember to came back to name her color at the end of the visit.

91


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY 92

Name this color and leave your color trace

PagE

Color from

paul gauguin parau api - 1882

FInD OUT Who else is using IT

3 Visitor reads the information of the card

There will be some information printed on the color ticket. • The name of the artist that used this color. • The name and year of the painting this color was taken. • The CMYK code of the color Also, there will be a question: Who else is using this color? This text is going to be the invitation to look at paintings on a different level. An invitation to show that a common element that she likes and she can have in her hands is part of a prominent artwork.


third Chapter / The project PagE

4 Visitor look for and compare the color with the others colors in paintings

She will read all this information, and she will walk around with the possibility of answer this question or not. This activity is an option that will allow visitors see paintings from one of their primary elements. Maybe no one else uses the color, or they can not see it because paintings are too detailed. But the idea behind this question is to make them realize there could be different ways to look at a painting

93


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

94

5 After the visit, the visitor “checks out� and gives a name to the color

At the end of the tour, she will make the checkout, and the ticket seller will ask for the name she thinks it fits the color and add to the database. This database will be shared with museums, so they can make statistical studies from the visits they get. The ticket seller in charge of the Color Cards will cut the checkout corner and will give her the instructions to paste it into the collective board.


third Chapter / The project PagE

6 Visitor paste the check out corner in to the Color board.

At the color board, she will decide where and in which direction her color will join the composition. Some of the boards will have a background color, depending on the artwork from they were taken. Some of the board will be full of color or empty, depending how many people left their trace before. The idea is to make people make a color and shape decision. The project designer will be in charge to tell when the collective board is finished in case the board gets full before the announced deadline

95


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

96

Third stage: the permanence of the color

1

2 Move the artwork to the storage room

3 Scan the collective compositions

Upload to the Online Gallery

When the board is finished, they remove it from the sight of the visitors and keep it until the last board is finished. The design team will scan the collective compositions and create a catalog of all the new artworks. When the artwork is scanned, it will be upload to an online gallery by the Color Trace designer. The catalog will be available in the online gallery for free download and a paid printed copy


third Chapter / The project PagE

4

5 Notify by email to co-authors

6 Exhibition opening Invitation

All the co-authors will be notified by email that their artwork is online. They will also receive a Color Trace account to log in, see their color trace and edit their data. This accounts will also be created by the color trace group designers. At the end of the project, they will receive an invitation to their exhibition opening party. This new exhibition will show all the artworks created in the Color Trace collection period from close areas (If this project gets intercontinental). The project concludes with the celebration of the new exhibition. The color will permanence in the online gallery, and the printed products.

Create the catalog and memoria of the project

97


4.THE PROducts


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

For the correct development of the Color Trace Project, is necessary to design a list of products that will be the physical side of the proposal. Each product is related to the stages described in the previous section. For the first stage will need an image to build the identity of the proposal. This image will be used in all the other products designed. The second product required for the first stage is the set of color cards. This set of cards needs to be delivered before the stage that involves the visitor participation. During the second stage of The Color Trace Project, the products associated with the process are the Color Cards, the database, and the Color Board. All these products have a direct relation to the visitor’s experience and are the objects that will involve them and draw the color trace. The primary product that will make possible the third stage of the process is the online gallery. This online platform will make possible that all the colors and the artworks created remain in time. There are also some printed products that will take part at the end of the project, but they are not going to be designed before the project take place. These products are the color exhibition, the advertisement and the catalog of the same exhibition, posters, and postcards. All these products will be designed with the artworks created, so they need the second stage to happen to be designed.

99


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

100

4.1. The brand The first concept for the brand image comes from the idea of drawing a trace since the trace is the most important idea behind this project.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Also is important to show the value of the collective creation, so the second main concept is to show the part of the total.

101


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

102

Drawing the trace

First approach The first shape that the concept of the project took was the form of a handwriting font. This font will be confirmed by irregular traces, like the artist’s brush trace, The color of the brand will be a transition of two colors selected from one particular painting. The idea is not to have a corporative color because this project is about creating traces of different color, we don`t want to say that there is one specific color that represents the project. That is why this first idea is just defining a trace to name the project.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

lOGOTYPE The creative concept for the whole project also wants to transmit that “ the total only can exist thanks to the participation of different individuals”. That is why the logotype also needs to show this characteristic. To also integrate the steps and other products of the project, the new logo proposal will incorporate the shape of the tangible object visitors will use to leave their trace and join the project. “That part of the total” is a 30 x 30 mm color paper. This piece of paper is the last corner of the Color Card they get when they join the project. This last corner is what will shape the project and artworks through the participation of visitors.

103


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

Monet 1903

104

Renior 1986

Rosseau 1986

The first color proposal The idea behind the name “Color Trace” is that the participants of the project help to draw a trace of color from a painting created by a great master to a new artwork created by a collective. Arthur Buxton and Derek Ruth created a chart with the 5 most prominent colors from a painting of ten artists from 1895 to 1905. For complete the concept of the project, and transfer it to the brand image, some of this chart’s colors were taken and added to the


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Gauguin 1902

Rosseau 1902

logotype. These six different color combinations are being used in order to tell that this project takes the colors from several great masters and, through a basic shape, allows people to make something new emerge. These six color palettes were selected from a total of 98. The selection criteria was the contrast and the different colors values they have, not the artist or the year.

105

Rosseau 1901


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

106

Last corner of the Color Card:

Secondary Font:

Orator Std, Medium Smallest Printed size: 20 x 14,033 mm

Final Proposal The changes from the previous proposal are about the shape of this part that completes the total. In this proposal, the curve side is made by a quarter of a circle, making more obvious that it is a fraction of something bigger.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

The artist color palette was dismissed because it was a subjective colors combination. Since the concept of not having a prior color, the logotype will take any color, depending on the color card it will be used. It will be shown on the next pages. The neutral color of the logotype will be gray (80% black ink). This neutral color will be used in case of not having a dominant color. For example, on the website, wich will be full of colors, the logo will be gray because the protagonist color will come from the artworks, and they will have more than one.

107


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY 108

4.2. The Color Card 100 mm

30 mm

145 mm

PagE

30 mm

The color card is the first tangible object that the visitor meets. This is the object that symbolizes their participation in the project, and also the one that allows visitors to join the collective artwork. The Color Card is a light cardboard that visitors could carry hanging from their neck. The information printed in the card is the name of the project, the CMYK code of the color, the artist that used it and the name and year of the painting it was taken from. The last corner of the card is also the check out corner. It is named this way to remember visitors they need to “do� something before they leave the museums. This corner is detached from the card and the visitor can paste it on wall it is close to the ticket booth.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Gauguin, P. (1892) Parau Api. [oil on canvas] Dresden: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

How to create the color card set Together with each museum, the Color Trace designer will select a painting from the museum collection. The designer will pick a maximun of 30 most prominent colors and will use to create a new palette of 30 colors. This will be the 30 different colors each museum will have to create a new composition. The amount of card printed will depend of the information about visit frequency each museum have.

109


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

110


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

111


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

112

Real sice Color Card back side


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

BACK SIDE Fonts

Check - out corner: Oratotor, medium. 10pt

Name This color And Leave your color trace Oratotor, medium. 11pt

Color from Parau Api - 1883 Bebas, Regular, 214pts.

Paul Gauguin Bebas, Regular, 26 pts.

Find who else is using it BEBAS, REGULAR. 14PT

113


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

114

4.3. The color TRACE BOARD This object is the one that builds the end of the color trace visit experience. This board is the place where visitors will stick their color and let emerge the collective artwork. One side of the board will have a 450 x 630 mm grid, with the space for 315 stickers. The back of the board will have the picture from the painting the colors was taken, the information of it, and the instructions of how to use the board.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Constructive Details The structure of the Color Board consists of two parts. These two elements are connected by six cylindrical pieces that allow to assemble and disassemble it easily. The base of the structure should be heavier than the board to allow its equilibrium. The board can not be a familiar of paper material because it is necessary to keep it straight until the final exhibition. The suggested materials are Acrylic for the board, wood for the base, and metal for the cylindrical connectors.

115


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY 116

60 cm

1mt

PagE


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

1,45 mt

95 cm

117


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

118

Information SIDE Fonts Painting Data:

Bebas, Regular, 57pts

Bebas, Artist Name:

Regular, 100 pts.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Primary Text:

Roboto condensed, bold, 44 pts. Secundary Text:

Roboto condensed, Light, Bold, 35 pts. Paragraph:

Roboto condensed, regular, 19 pts. Fonts color Black, Opacity 40%

119


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

120

4.4. The ONLINE GALLERY home

Main Menu

Last Artwork uploaded

Four most voted artworks

The Project

Next Events

Gallery

Online gallery The last product designed is the online gallery. This platform will create the permanence of the color trace. Here, people will find the information of the project, and also the artworks created. The second objective of this website is to work as an advertisement element of the project, because will


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Go to Gallery

Footer

Contact Us

Log in

My Profile

partner museums

My Data

The Project

My Co-creations

Next Events

My Favourites

My Colors

inform people what is the project about, where and where is happening, what people is creating, and how is it going to end. This place will work for evaluating this pilot version of the project, and will help to develop a better shape further versions.

121


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

122


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

123

Content class map


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

124

Home The home page of the website will show the last artwork updated and also the most voted ones. The collective artworks are the core of the project, and that is why they will have the protagonist role in the home page.

Color Identity The main primary element for the development of this project is color. Since collective artworks will also be will be focused in color combinations, the layout of the online gallery will use only grayscale colors to prioritize the color in the artworks.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

125


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

126

Log In Since this is a participatory platform, the projects want to people join and interact with the material created. That is why the people who joined the project and named a color will have a Color Trace account. With this account, they will be able to vote, edit their data, share and print the artworks.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Profile Your login into your account will give you the chance to see the final artwork you joined; wich are your favorites artworks, the colors you named, and your personal data.

127


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

128

My Favourites Your favorites is a gallery where you can see all the artworks you like. They will be shown as a previous view, and you can select them to see the complete piece and the detail of it. Name of the artwork, date of creation, and place of creation.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

When you see all this detail, you can order a printed version or download it in a regular resolution.

129


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

130

Your colors If you had the chance to participate in different Color Trace events, you also would have the chance of having your collection of colors. This set will be your private collection, and you will be able to print them and make new compositions in a postcard size.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Edit your data The primary objective of having the data of visitors is to get a new database to tell museums who is visiting their exhibitions. This section is designed in case visitors didn’t have time to complete the register in the museum, they can do it at home.

131


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

132

The project To explain the idea that is behind the project, there will be a section that describes what the project is. The text invites to leave your color trace describing all the journey of the color. It also explains how to join and what people will find in the online community


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Next events Each color collection is one event. In this section will be shown all the events and the museums where they are taking place.

133


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

134

Gallery In the gallery, you will find all artworks. You can sort them by date of creation, Most voted, the ones you liked, and the ones you were part of the creation. You also would be able to search specific artworks


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

by museum, cities, and countries (thinking that the project could happen from local to global scale). When you see each image, you can order a printed version or download it in a low resolution.

135


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

136

Contact forms Is a regular contact interaction, in case collaborators have ideas, questions or complaints.


fourth Chapter / The products PagE

Partner Museums In this section logged and not logged users will be able to see where the events are happening. Link the museums, and have detailed information about each event.

137



CONCLU_ SIONS


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

140

At the end of this research, I can say that museums are a place where people can learn based on their interests and previous experiences. Museums are a place where learning process happen in different direction and intensity depending on how open you are to read the several layers of information and enjoy the different experience could occur in museums. Is hard for people enjoy art exhibitions because they are not allowed to touch it. The first way people learn and get close to objects and process is through a concrete experience. When we are kids, we feel, smell and even taste everything is reachable by our hand. When we grow up, there is no too much difference. The closest we can get to something, the better we can understand and feel close to it. That is why is so important they can have the chance to get a concrete experience with art. Maybe is not touching the objects in the exhibition, but having an opportunity to experiment with primary art elements. More information is not going to make art close to people. Although detailed information brings access to many details of what is exhibited, not always it is related to the interest of the visitors. What is important is know what visitors are interests. Make them part of the criteria of what is going to be shared and let them be part of the exhibition. The project developed in this thesis is one of the several options could be designed to bring visitors a concrete experience to meet art. This particular


closing / conclusions PagE

proposal takes color, shaped it, and offer to the public the chance to create something now. A color experience could happen in others ways, but this one is the first approach I will develop to make people part of the exhibitions and give them a protagonist role. This project needs to be tested, and reevaluated by an interdisciplinary group, so all the lacks in the design will get visible and we will have the chance to improve the proposal and generate a serie of new concrete experiences. A second step for making more easy the access to art would be to engage the people that are not spending their leisure time looking at art. The question and challenge will be, how to bring art to those that feels art never will be part of their life? The most important part of the project that is missing is the direct contact with educative museum areas. During the research and design process, it was considered to ask for their feedback. In spite of the intent to get a meeting with some educational area staff, they seemed too busy and focused on their own projects. There are some details of the project that are vital, but since there was no direct contact with museums, is was hard to define them. For example, the time and scale of the project. The ideal size of the project is a local one. Where people that lives close to the museum can join this activity. I would be very interesting for the project to make this event worldwide, so the race begins from the local to the global, and people can be connected by one element: color

141


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

142

Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thanks my parents, Jorge, and Isabel, who had supported me unconditionally in each project, I decided to make. Without their support, it wouldn’t be possible to be here today and finish this new experience. To my sisters and my nephews, who had helped me to keep the energy and joy to finish each one of my projects successfully. To my Aunt Angelina and my cousin Soledad, for allowed me to walk with gentle and safe steps. To my whole family and friends, that have been present in different events of my life and helped me to give the first phase of this challenge. I would also like to thank my advisors for their constant advice and critics that made possible this research. I would like to thank Prof. Severin Wucher for his accurate feedback that helped me to find the focus of my project. I would like to thank to Prof. Sandra Giegler for being always present in this process and for give me the confidence needed to finish this research with a proposal that allows me make a link between my passion for the design and the education I also thank my family of the School of Architecture and design of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso. To my classmates, my colleagues and professors, who weren’t present in a physical way, but who imprinted on me a unique way to see the world and a passion for design that helped me to give a shape to my ideals. Special thanks to my friends Marcela and Veronica, with whom we made together each step of this challenge. I’m very thankful for your words, advice, and companion, without it, the develop of this project won’t be so bright and enriching.


closing / acknowledgements PagE

Agradecimientos Primero que todo quisiera agradecer a mis padres, Jorge e Isabel, quienes me han apoyado incondicionalmente en cada empresa que he decidido llevar a cabo. Sin su apoyo no hubiera sido posible estar hoy aquí y finalizar esta nueva experiencia. A mis hermanas, Isabel, Ángela y Francisca, y a mis sobrinos, Javier, Josefina, Zoe, Mateo y Laurita, que a la distancia me han ayudado a mantener la alegría y el ánimo de seguir adelante y finalizar exitosamente cada uno de mis proyectos. A mi tía Angelina y a mi prima Soledad, por su constante preocupación, que me permitieron avanzar con un paso amable y seguro. A toda mi familia y amigos, que me han estado presentes en distintas etapas de mi vida y que hoy me han ayudado a dar el primer paso a este nuevo desafío. Agradezco también a mis profesores guía por su constante consejo y críticas, sin los cuales esta investigación no hubiera sido posible. Agradezco a Severin Wucher por su feedback certero, el que me permitió encontrar el foco de mi proyecto; y agradezco a Sandra Giegler por estar siempre presente en este proceso y por transmitirme la confianza necesaria finalizar esta investigación con una propuesta que me permite vincular mi amor por el diseño y la educación. Agradezco también a mi familia de la escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño PUCV. A mis compañeros de clase, compañeros de trabajo y profesores, que aunque no estuvieron presentes físicamente en esta etapa, imprimieron en mí una forma particular de mirar el mundo y una amor por el oficio que ciertamente me acompañó y ayudó a darle forma a mis ideales. Agradecimientos especiales a mis amigas Marcela y Verónica, con quienes dimos juntas cada paso de esta empresa. Muchas gracias por sus palabras, consejos y compañía, sin ella, el desarrollo de este proyecto no hubiera sido tan alegre y enriquecedor.

143


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

144

References Books Boylan, P. (2004) Running a museum: a practical handbook. Paris : ICOM Falk, J. Dierking, L (2012).The Museum Experience Revisited. California: Left Coast Press, INC. Hooper-Greenhill, E. (1999). The Educational Role of the Museum. 2nd Edition. Routledge Stickdorn, M. Schneider, J. (2013). This is Service Design Thinking. 3rd edition. The netherlands: BIS Publishers.

Online Documentation Baeza, A (2013). Apps sobre museos. [Blog entry ] 21 November. Biblogtecarios. Available from http:// www.biblogtecarios.es/anabaeza/apps-sobremuseos/ [Accessed 5 June 2016] Berger, J. (1972). Ways of seeing. Available from http://waysofseeingwaysofseeing.com/ways-ofseeing-john-berger-5.7.pdf [Accessed 5 June 2016] Del Campo, M , Montero, J y Pavez, D. (2012). Se jibariza y arrincona a las artes, sin otorgarles la relevancia que les corresponde en la formaciรณn integral de la persona. Revista Docencia, 47. Available from http://www.revistadocencia.cl/se-jibariza-y-


closing / references PagE

arrincona-a-las-artes-sin-otorgarles-la-relevanciaque-les-corresponde-en-la-formacion-integral-dela-persona/ [Accessed 9 February 2016] Errázuriz, L. (2001). La Educación Artística en el Sistema Escolar Chileno. Available from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/es/ files/40444/12668488733errazuriz.pdf/errazuriz. pdf [Accessed 5 June 2016] GARCÍA, A. (2013). Apps gratuitas de los cinco museos más visitados del mundo. [Blog entry] 19 July. Erosky consumer. Available from: http:// www.consumer.es/web/es/educacion/cultura-yciencia/2013/07/19/217349.php [Accessed 5 June 2016] Hood, M (1983). Staying Away Why People Choose not to Visit Museums. Museum. News, American Association of Museums. Available from http:// www.randikorn.com/library/Hood_Staying_Away_ Why_People_Choose_not_to_Visit_Museums.pdf [Accessed 5 June 2016] Simon, N. (2010) The Participatory Museum [blog]. Available from http://www.participatorymuseum. org/ [Accessed 5 June 2016] Visser, J (2014). Museums in times of social and technological change. [Blog entry] 18 April. The museum of the future. Available from http:// themuseumofthefuture.com/2014/04/18/ museums-in-times-of-social-and-technologicalchange/ [Accessed 5 June 2016]

145


The color Trace Project / ABOUT [art] MUSEUM ACCESSIBILITY PagE

146

Online Videos Antonelli, P. (2013). Why I brought Pac-man to MoMA. 2013. Available from:https://www.ted. com/talks/paola_antonelli_why_i_brought_ pacman_to_moma. [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Antonelli, P. (2007). Treat design as art. 2007. Available from:https://www.ted.com/talks/ paola_antonelli_treats_design_as_art. [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Barton, J. (2013). The museum of you. 2013. Available from:https://www.ted.com/talks/jake_ barton_the_museum_of_you. [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Campbell, T. (2012). Weaving narratives in museum galleries. 2012. Available from:https://www. ted.com/talks/thomas_p_campbell_weaving_ narratives_in_museum_galleries. [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Grandin, T. (2010). The world needs all kinds of minds. 2010. Available from:https://www.ted.com/ talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_ of_minds. [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Gray, N. (2015). How I learned to stop hating and love museums. Available from: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VWPHKABRQA [Accessed: 7 May 2016]. Jeminson, M. (2002). Teach arts and sciences together. Available from: https://www.ted.com/


closing / references PagE

talks/mae_jemison_on_teaching_arts_and_ sciences_together?language=en [Accessed: 08 March 2016]. Kenderdine, S (2014). How will museums of the future look? Available from: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=VXhtwFCA_Kc [Accessed: 7 May 2016].

Websites http://moma.org/ http://localprojects.net/ http://www.tate.org.uk

147



Declaration

I hereby declare that this is my own work and effort, and have not used sources or means without declaration in the text. Any thoughts from others or literal quotations are clearly marked. This work was not used in the same or in a similar version to achieve an academic grading or is being published elsewhere.

Place, Date

Macarena Alamos Matrikelnummer: 4061658 MAID - Master of Arts in Integrated Design Hochschule Anhalt Dessau, Grmany Master Thesis Project Summer Semester 2016







Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.