Compare Imitate Sit Search Look Go Grade Share Notice make up Leave Have tell Bring Ask Draw move relate Count smile Walk Take Dance Play Write Filter Stand Be Crouch Provocation
Cards
Prompts for Adventures in Museums
Based on Beautiful Data: a workshop held June 16-27, 2014, at metaLAB (at) Harvard supported by a grant from the Getty Foundation
How to Use these Cards This is a printable, remixable set of what we like to call “Provocation Cards.” Designed to be flexible, these cards can be put to use both within and beyond museum spaces. As long as you are open to viewing objects and the spaces that house them in innovative and unusual ways, the cards should serve you well. So, how do they work? Or: how should you make use of them? Each card presents a unique prompt, which is intended to provoke thought and stimulate new approaches toward perceiving museum experiences and developing museum projects. The card introduces a simple task that draws your attention toward rarely considered modes of experiencing museums and collections. A card might prompt you to engage in specific interactions with other visitors, maneuver in a curious manner, or even impersonate an object. But by no means should you feel confined to follow these provocations precisely or exclusively. The purpose of these exercises, rather, is to foster ideation, fresh perspectives, and new approaches to interactions with institutions and objects. For this reason, we have added a sheet of blank cards to the mix — we encourage you to amend provocations, create your own cards, and move in entirely new directions. 1 Print this blank sheet out as many times as you want and see where it takes you.
These provocations were created by participants at Enter through the Gift Shop, the weekend portion of metaLAB (at) Harvard’s Beautiful Data workshop. To see how participants used these provocations in museum visits and for rapid prototyping, see here.
1
Imitate
Be
Draw
the expressions or poses of every figure (human or otherwise) that you encounter in exhibited pieces.
on the lookout for “employees only” signs. Try to deduce what might be behind them and why you’re not allowed.
or photograph a portrait of another visitor looking at your favorite piece.
Notice
Stand
Be
the positions of other visitors in a gallery space and map them.
with your back to a sculpture and meditate on it for 5 minutes.
the voice of an object/ painting. How do you feel about your frame, your neighbors, your artist/maker?
Make up
Bring
Ask
a story about something in the museum and tell it to someone.
a magnifying glass and examine the smallest object in the museum with it.
every docent what his/her favorite object is and use that as your tour of the museum.
Go
Notice
Have
through the entire museum quickly before reflecting on your main impressions, devoting no more than 5 seconds to each exhibit.
all museum features that are not meant to be art; analyze them in a nonpretentious manner.
an extended conversation with a museum guard about his/her experience protecting art.
Grade
Notice
Count
an artwork as though it were an assignment.
all the artists with last names that start with the same letter as your last name.
the number of [choose a noun] depicted in art on your trip.
Take
Look at
Stand
every presented opportunity for food or drink.
an object and come up with one thing you are wondering about it. Write it down and reflect on it later.
on any object not on display.
Find
Go
Walk
someone who seems to share your sentiments to talk about an object you dislike more the longer you look at it. If nobody is around, sketch the piece.
with a friend — one of you closes your eyes and the other describes the objects. Switch roles.
around an object not mounted on a wall in a hexagonal path.
Leave
Crouch
Compare
something. Take something.
down to your height as a fourth grader at least once in every room.
the actual to the implied dimensions of various objects.
Sit
Look at
Find
and close your eyes in a noisy space.
an object for an extended period of time. Think about as many imperfections as you can find (in the object, in the display).
a 3D object and look at it from the highest (or lowest) possible angle.
Play
find
tell
music based on what an object makes you feel.
an object you want to photograph. Search online for an image of it and save it. If you still want to photograph it, make it unique from those you saw.
someone on social media what a piece of art/object might taste like.
Notice
Look at
Move
an object that makes you feel strongly. Ask random people their opinions on the object.
an object intensely for 2 minutes. Then draw it from memory for 2 minutes. Notice what you missed and what was different than you remembered.
back and forth between two objects multiple times.
Write
Share
Find
down what you think a friend will say about an artwork. Then ask them what they think of the work. Compare.
your experience with a random person.
a painting with a sizable description placard. Before reading it, write down what you think the placard says.
Filter
Search
Dance
or take a black & white photo of a piece and send it to a friend, asking them what colors they think it is.
for the artist of a work on the web and note the first odd fact you discover.
out your reaction to a piece.
Find
Stand
smile
a work depicting multiple people and speak a verbal one-liner on behalf of each of them.
perpendicular to an art work and look at it sideways, or better yet, look at it over your shoulder.
at a stranger. If they smile back at you, say something about an art object near you.
notice
relate
go
the spacing between the placement of exhibited objects. Which are given the most breathing room?
a piece with two childhood memories — one happy, one of loss.
near the exit. Ask those who are leaving what they wish they had a chance to see — go see something someone else missed out on.
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