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THE EXHIBITION - INSTRUCTION OUTLINE / READING ANALYSISGroup 1: Page 121 – 129; late 19th to early 20th Century. Dioramas, Habitats, Period Rooms.Work with your group to characterize the evolving exhibition purposes and practices taking place during this time period. Inquiries and big ideas 1) How have museum exhibition purposes, forms, and programming evolved over time? 2) What forces are at play in shaping these changes?SHIFTS & CONTRASTSLarge overarching shifts in aims/purposes/practicesCHARACTERISTICS (Advances, Influences and Critiques)EXEMPLARS & QUOTES FROM TOFROM demonstrations of owners' wealth, power and collectionsTO functional aims focused on viewer, such as: learning, entertainment, reinforcing American ideals and values, immigrant assimilation.FROM salon style exhibition of objects in a collectionTO objects set in relationship to environment, aiming for scientific accuracy and compelling aesthetic narrativesADVANCESNew exhibition forms: habitats, dioramas, life groups, period rooms, historical recreations/living history environmentsTaxidermy advancementsCyclorama inventionINFLUENCES - Worlds Fair and International Expositions introduced new forms of display- Wax museum mannequins with costumes and real life artifacts- Rise in interest of anthropology- Growing antique market- Rise in popularity of national parks- Rise of preservation movement interest in American heritage, colonial aesthetic, design and architecture.- Milwaukee style exhibition designCRITIQUE- Stereotypical and racist ideas perpetuated- Romantic and uncritical perspectives represented- Jules Verreaux / Arab courier and camel attacked by lions(currently in Carnegie Museum in PA)- Muskrat Group habitat and behavior in day of a life of muskrat--swimming, eating, sleeping, etc.- Life Groups: Happy Eskimo; Snake Dance - - Peacock Room - fantasy view of exotic Orient- Colonial American Kitchen- Simulated Environments: Cowboy Artist Studio / Log Cabin; Coal Mine"In 1880, 20 percent of the US population was unable to read or write in any language. By 1930, 95 percent of Americans were literate."THE EXHIBITION - INSTRUCTOR OUTLINE / READING ANALYSISGroup 2: page 130 – 141 (top) post WWI through 1950's. Modernism Insight & Limits.Work with your group to characterize the evolving exhibition purposes and practices taking place during this time period. Inquiries and big ideas 1) How have museum exhibition purposes, forms, and programming evolved over time? 2) What forces are at play in shaping these changes?SHIFTS & CONTRASTSLarge overarching shifts in aims/purposes practicesCHARACTERISTICS (Advances, Influences and Critiques)EXEMPLARS & QUOTESFROM TOFROM crowded salon style installations TO open space/lofty gallery exhibits with spaces between and focus on distinguished artworks/objects and typed labels adding info beyond titles, dates. FROM fussy, decorative interiors TO sleep aesthetic look engaging industrial materials, linear paths and using new technologiesFROM period rooms TO atmosphere roomsFROM objects contextualized to environment TO aesthetically categorized and organization structures, often textbook likeSwing during period from international openness to cold-war paranoia and censorship. ADVANCESModern Exhibition Design Strategies- neutral wall, spare display of art and objects, white cube style- industrial and new materials (cellophane, linoleum)- latest technologies...television (museum tv shows), push buttons, maps/globes/charts, records/tape players, audio guides, etc- open, loft like galleries with neutral walls and moveable parts- traveling exhibition with modular, flexible parts - special events: galas, costume balls, magic shows, etc. -atmospheric spaces - elevating and decontextualizing everyday objects; color, music, etc. Emphasis of aesthetic and philosophic essence.INFLUENCES- International Style / Bauhaus Designand proponents US: Drier (collector), and (museum directors) Dorner, Austen, Bar - Shifting ideas o timeless, sacred and high quality (less is more) objects for contemplation-Science Museum - textbook organizing structures of sections and chapters organized by themes- Large format photography- Scientific and medical advances- Current events CRITIQUE- Unscientific and racist taxonomies- censorship / blacklisting during cold war- Appropriating meaning and misrepresenting cultural objects- Nostalgia...many outdated traditional museumsDistinguished Works - prized masterwork acquisitions to be revealed behind a curtain. "Abstract Cabinet" (Dorner) - modular room with rotating cases and panels viewers could manipulate.Modern Life Period Rooms; i.e. tv room"Family of Man" (Steichen curated) world wide call for photos; universalist them (floating in Lucite frames; birth-death progression). "Races of Mankind" - 98 types of racial stock cast in bronze,"Juno" giant transparent woman (organs, veins, teeth) to teach human anatomy and biology."The Famer's Year" common man/ self-discipline, rugged individuals, common sense "turn howling wilderness into a productive garden: laying foundation for greatness of America""Can Americans Be Bombed?" opening one week before Pearl HarborTHE EXHIBITION - INSTRUCTOR OUTLINE / READING ANALYSISGroup 3: page 141 (bottom) – 152 (top); 1960 - early 70s. Radical Questioning--Critique and Experimentation.Work with your group to characterize the evolving exhibition purposes and practices taking place during this time periodInquiries and big ideas 1) How have museum exhibition purposes, forms, and programming evolved over time? 2) What forces are at play in shaping these changes?. SHIFTS & CONTRASTSLarge overarching shifts in aims/purposes/practicesCHARACTERISTICS (Advances, Influences and Critiques)EXEMPLARS & QUOTESFROM TOFROM traditional exhibits celebrating American values TO experimenting and questioning museum purpose, aims, relevancyFROM "be quiet, don't touch" TO hands-on, participate and makeFROM formal TO everyday appeal--loud, messy, behind-scenes lab and visible constructionFROM traditional passive learning to constructivist education reformFROM white audiencesTO attempts to reach broader, more diverse audiencesADVANCES- Happenings - anti-white cube (place of entombment), write on walls, stomp on art, live spontaneous actions.- Contemporary issue themed exhibitions aimed at social critique and change.- Hands-on, touch, manipulation of objects, constructing learning understanding (Science Museums--waves, optics, vibrations)... playful and fun. Pedagogical purpose with aesthetic appeal...simple materials.- Iteration and improvement of exhibitions displays based on observation of how people are engaging with them.- Outreach to diverse communities.INFLUENCES- John Dewey / educational psychology and progressive, constructivist approaches to learning.- Social problems/issues.CRITIQUE- Spirit of radical but attracted avant-garde/small insider audience.- Exhibits that revealed and exacerbated racial tensions, i.e. Harlem on My Mind. historic photos of Harlem with white photographers, curators and essayists.- Naive, ineffective and culturally blind diversity outreach strategies.Artists innovations and critique of museums: Christo/Jeanne-Claude - wrap Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art using cloth, paper and twine; Kaprow staged happenings with visitor participants; Haacke exposing museum trustees real estate dealings; Robert Morris L beams interrupting white cube. Boston Children's Museum - "What's Inside" Spock - sand exhibit...kids could examine inside; Baby Playpen eventually leading to development of parent resource and then play space for parents/toddlers. "Drug Scene" exhibit - ex-junkies as docents you could ask questions of; hot lines for addiction help. "The Rat: Man's Invited Affliction" at Smithsonian.Eames: Modern design for mass audiences and films to make science/match understandable and less intimidating....visual and non-linear approaches--beauty of math: cracked mud, veins on leaf, etc.THE EXHIBITION - INSTRUCTOR OUTLINE / READING ANALYSISGroup 4: page 152 (bottom) – 169; 1970's to Present DayWork with your group to characterize the evolving exhibition purposes and practices taking place during this time period. Inquiries and big ideas 1) How have museum exhibition purposes, forms, and programming evolved over time? 2) What forces are at play in shaping these changes?SHIFTS & CONTRASTSLarge overarching shifts in aims/purposes/practicesCHARACTERISTICS (Advances, Influences and Critiques)EXEMPLARS & QUOTESFROM TOFROM narrow agendas TO more complex, pluralistic and responsiveFROM focus on object TO focus on inclusion and visitor experience - active engagement, dialogue, participation, personally engaging and relevant encountersFROM one view point/perspectiveTO diversity of viewpoints and multiple perspectivesFROM lone curator TO cross-functional and disciplinary teamsFROM stuffy/academic/eliteTO open, accessible, demystifying, warm, inviting and inclusiveFROM expert pre-digested history presentations TO raw material, original voices/oral historiesFROM quiet, contemplative spacesTO busy, noisy participatory FROM heavily curated TO responsive and healing spaces, where viewers can construct their own meaning ADVANCES- Blockbuster Exhibitions: attendance boosts, linear paths, spectacular objects, heavy text/labels. Learned how to manage large audiences, timed tickets, advanced sales. Money generator for museums--corporate sponsorship and merchandising.- Object Theatre exhibition style: raw materials, dramatic narratives, original voices/oral histories.- Children/Science Museum Innovation and Growth--added over 200 museums.Flexible spaces. Educational needs focus...hands-on, experiential. Low tech traveling packaged exhibits (pin hole camera, walk-in kaleidoscope, cook books of experiments. - Rise of Culturally Specific Museums- Children as Colleagues constructing knowledge and meaning. Controversial topics--death, disability, genocide, homelessness, racism put in visitor-friendly language. Dialogic Turn - talks back board. Technology that allowed for choice of selecting what want to learn. - Social Change Messaging.- Technology enabled choice-based narratives. Put resources into hands of visitors-- historic atlases, artist bios,- Upgrades to Period Museums that represented issues and contemporary life.- Inviting, welcoming, comfortable environments--seating, cafes, bookstores, bilingual signage.INFLUENCES- Learning theory-Dewey/Piaget/Montessori- New Technologies Boom: faster/lighter--personal computers, phones, video games. CRITIQUE- packaged exhibits became formulaic and look-alike across different museums- Federal funding - NEA cuts/censorship in response to controversial works. - "King Tut"/ 8.2 million viewers - Bicentennial.- Smithsonian's "Nation of Nations" - smorgasbord of objects and info.- "Wolves & Humans: Co-existence, Competition, Conflict"--empathy, diorama of wolf pack, allowed visitors to play part of wolves on a deer hunt.- "Hope Snake Dance" exhibit dismantled and replaced with new exhibit engaging American Indian views, voices, contributions and living culture.- National Museum of American Indian.- Object Theatre examples: "Field to Factory: African American Migration" experiential journey; US Holocaust Memorial Exhibit.- Critical Perspectives: Enola Gay exhibit proposal representing Japanese perspective. Fred Wilson "Mining the Museum" organizing museum objects to reveal racist subtexts (fine silver/slave shackles)- Responsive: Museums opening spaces for grieving/reflection after 911.- Museums as places where "objects, ideas and people are brought together & transformed" Kathleen McLean, Exploratorium. ................
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