Week 3: Audience Research

 This week, the reading allowed us to go more in depth with how museums are tackling diversity. The two pieces I chose to read were "Your Label Makes Me Feel Stupid" by Gail Gregg and "Developing an Inclusive Tour" from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. "Your Label Makes Me Feel Stupid" discusses changing the way we describe art so that others may make their own judgements about the piece and when it was made as opposed to providing technical jargon that the average museum goer may not understand. In the article, the piece 15 April 1962 by Frank Lobdell is discussed as its description changes from “A tightly coiled form struggles against the confines of the canvas. Thick paint, hot colors, hard lines, and a gouged surface reinforce the sense of uneasiness. They express the artist’s view of the human condition as a struggle for meaning and dignity.”(Gregg, "Your Labels Make Me Feel Stupid" 2010) to “The horrors of Frank Lobdell’s firsthand experiences of World War II affected him deeply. With roughly coiled lines, intense colors, and a scabrous surface, Lobdell seems to be expressing the struggle of humankind, as raw paint strokes metamorphose into gnashing teeth in headless jaws.”(Gregg, "Your Labels Make Me Feel Stupid" 2010) The article then covers how focus groups are used to gauge how many words people can consume and how long they typically spend in front of a piece. Many museums have adapted changes to how they describe their works such as, The Walker Art Center, The Museum of Metropolitan Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. While these adjustments are admirable, I cant help but wonder if the museums would be willing to include a quote from the artist as well or perhaps making the whole information on a piece obtainable via scanner as well, to better adapt to visually impaired people. Lazy loaded image

Lobell F, 1962, 15-Apr-62, Oil on Canvas

The second article covers creating tours for museum. The guide includes ways to use inclusive language, addressing groups with multiple generations, ans addressing misbehavior during tours. The articles coverage is thorough and covers many of the intricacies of being a guide for a museum. One of the more interesting parts of the guide, is when it covers diversity among grade students and how to create ice breakers with all of them by remembering and using their first names.

Gregg, G. (2010, July 10). "Your Labels Make Me Feel Stupid". Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://wakelet.com/wake/Js_ZuMIQ1DX1LPRrNwH6Z

Developing an Inclusive Tour. (2019, March 01). Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://artsmia.github.io/tour-toolkit/



Comments

  1. Rachel ChapmanSeptember 13, 2020 at 7:10 PM

    I did not read that "Your Label Makes Me Feel Stupid" by Gail Gregg. The way you summarize the main point made it easy to understand what the article was all about. The title of the article makes sense now. When I read the title at first, I thought it was about the way museums label people. I don’t know why I thought that, but I did. I like the question you asked at the end about putting a scanner by the art to read about the artist. My question for you is why do you think art museums have written their labels that way? When art museums know most people do not know the history of an artist or the history of a painting.

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  2. AshtonSeptember 14, 2020 at 9:52 AM

    When I went to the Denver Art Museum for the Monet exhibit they just had the name and date of the piece and had audiophiles for both children and adults. Do you think that's a better alternative? I for one have a short attention span so if I see a big block of text, I'll just scan it briefly and move on.

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