MacBlog

Once again I took my wife along with me to visit the exhibit and we’ve certainly turned my weekly museum visit it into our cultural Sunday outing. Also, same as my last visit to a museum (AMNH), I felt like I was coming into an area of the museum that I have visited numerous times, with new, more critical eyes.

Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799)

As with any exhibition, the information posted at the entry way aims to set you up for what you are going to see. (Wonder if there is another, more interesting way of doing this?) I have visited this area in the museum before, but to be honest, I was never really aware of what I was walking through! I would often time just cruise through the entryway and poke around and head straight for the Astor Court garden at the center of the exhibit. That has to be one of my favorite places in the museum. I love the rock formations and natural lighting as well as the recreated sitting room (think that was what it was called).

Back to the exhibit … the pace and flow of the exhibit was pretty straight forward and easy to navigate. The screen with the short movie projected on it at the end of the space was a little distracting as I made my way though. When you are in a room of static objects and images, something bright and moving will always grab your attention.

Considering this was a display of the Qianlong Retirement Garden I found the exhibit to be less than airy and a lost opportunity to reflect some of the serenity that the real palace has. For example, I found displays like the central glass display case to be rather heavy and abrupt while many structures throughout the real complex felt light and integrated. The lighting was also a little low but I assume that had something to do with preserving some of the sensitive objects on display. Upstairs, where Chinese art from the 18th and 19th centuries was displayed, I found  the space to be less cluttered and airy. The lighting was also much better.

On a side note, I love the color combinations used on many of the artifacts in the Chinese art area. Wooden books with green pigment used for the writing; the multiple combinations of red, black and white used in ink rubbings; model calligraphers incorporating yellow, black and red … the graphic designer in me can’t help commend these earlier artisans who were very ambitious and adventurous in their color choices.

An aficionado of rocks

I was really drawn to the rock formations on display in and around the exhibit. I found the emperors interest and overall  Chinese connoisseurship of rocks fascinating. It is putting nature on display. And to compare rock collecting to calligraphy and painting really made me want to explore subject more. There were a few other rocks on display but, unfortunately, there was not much more information on them.

Some anecdotal observations:

-The blown up images at the entrance to the exhibit are incredibly pixelated.
-The models and satellite image we very helpful to give some sense of scale and show the layout of the Emperor’s private paradise.
-What’s with the accordian blinds in many of the exhibit displays? Were these put in on purpose to accomodate objects to be placed higher up in the display in the future?

Interpretive Exhibition Design museum visit:

The entry way worked well to lure visitors into all that was inside. Who is going to pass up skeletons sitting on top of internally lit orange stands?

Having not been to this part of the museum in some time I was immediately impressed with the presentation of the exhibit. I brought my wife along with me on this visit and I begun by pointing out some of the tools/tricks/technology used to display the information as and asked her to give me her impressions when she finished the tour. By the time I had finished the my tour she had already left and was waiting outside for me. After a while she found that there was just too much information to absorb and was happy to end her trip short having been able to walk away with learning  a few new things. So overall she had a good experience in the hall but felt there was excessive use of technology and wished that there was more use of some of the more, old-fashioned displays that are predominantly used at the museum.

Some of my observations:

I would have to agree with her about the more traditional displays and would have like to have seen more of them but I though there was a sufficient balance of the more tech-heavy displays and the glass encasements. In the beginning part of the Hall (entering from the skeletons) I really enjoyed the displays that showed the process behind gathering a lot of the fossils and how they actually re-created what a skull would look like once muscle and flesh were added. Now, I can’t get enough of that stuff but I am sure there are people who would have wondered why there were so many displays showing the work going on behind the scenes. Too much of a good thing?

Actually, I found myself wondering of there was overuse of some of the more technology-based displays. The thing about some of the more old-school displays is that they really let you take the time to absorb information at your own pace. Some of the “interactive” displays and projections often instigated some sense of urgency and put some pressure on the viewer to engage with them or run the risk of not getting all the information.

One of the interactive displays towards the beginning of the exhibit invited people to “join the hunt” on a dig and gain some insight into what anthropologists were up to at different points. The experience proved to be somewhat frustrating due to the fact that there was so much of a lag time for the video and audio to play. At some point I got frustrated and just walked away. The interactive display had the potential to provide a lot of information in a small amount of space but a glitch like bad playback made me give up. Maybe the designers were aware of this and figured it was not too much of an issue but I wonder what the reaction is when a diorama has too little light, or something crucial to the visual narrative is obstructed. I am willing to bet something like that would be remedied pretty quickly.

By the end of my visit I found myself feeling a bit overloaded by all of the interactive screens, projected images and videos that I eventually cut my visit short. The places where I found myself able to focus and process information was at the more traditional displays. I really enjoyed studying the History of Human Evolution dioramas where they showed how life would have been for early man. There is something about a real, three-dimensional space that cannot be replicated on a screen.

Another display that I really liked was the acrylic display case that showed the different brain sizes of a variety of mammals. I probably spent more time studying this case than most of the interactive cases. Graphically, I just thought it was beautifully done and was well designed. It was really successful at showing the different brain sizes and explain why some areas of the brain were more developed than others.

Overall I would say that I enjoyed the exhibit. Aesthetically, it was well designed and laid out but I did feel that the way in which the information was shared was a little overwhelming. While there seemed to be equal use of the interactive displays and more traditional displays the interactive displays seemed to dominate the space and unfortunately, some of the other static displays faded into the background.

What is exhibition design?

It would seem to me that it is the attempt to cram as much as possible into one space at one time, all the while maintaining the viewers attention and making the information as digestible as possible. The rich did it in the past while entertaining guests and trying to impress upon them their amazing travels and acquisitions. Modern art museums take a stab at it telling us which art movement and artists we should be paying attention to now. Science museums are constantly trying to keep us informed as to how this world keeps spinning in the void. And lastly, historical museums keep reminding us not to forget.

At the end of the day exhibition designers are all doing the same thing: educating us using all the tricks of the trade. By knowing us, the designers designers are better able to deliver information to their target audience. After doing the first reading for the Interpretive Exhibition Design class I think I am more aware, for the first time, of the designers of these spaces … which sounds ridiculous since I have been going to museums my entire life. Now, I have been aware of how successful I thought an exhibition was, and was aware of whether or not I thought it was well designed or structured but I never looked past the actual physical design and thought about the strategies used by the designer that I felt either failed or were successful.

Just yesterday I found my self walking through the visitors center for El Yunque National Rain Forest in Puerto Rico and was immediately analyzing the layout of the space and took stock of the different educational “tools” that they were using. Some observations:

• The majority of the “interactive” displays were geared towards smaller children (in both age and size). I found that nearly all the points for interaction were at my waist and I had to stoop down to see the information. A bit of a “fail” in my book but they did redeem themselves by providing a wonderful video tour in the theater narrated by Benicio del Toro (a nice touch).

• Curiously, the structure itself was laid out using the same classical architectural design used in cathedrals and formed a cross. Are they hinting that the rain forest should be worshiped and seen as a spiritual place? Maybe I’m reaching a bit but I found it interesting.

• The structure was also elevated to place the visitors in the space of the canopy of the rain forest. A real successful attempt to fully immerse us in the forest. They placed right there with the chirping frogs and wide variety of ferns. How did I know they were frogs and ferns? Along the walkway to the center there were information signs pointing out the different wildlife and plant life.

I found the reading to be a good way to jump start my awareness of exhibition design and get me thinking more critically on what makes an exhibition a success or failure … or just, ok.