Class of 2004 Master's Project Abstracts
Meghan Arens
Missing! Visitor Service in Art Museums If Found, Please Call... The importance of visitor service and a visitor-centered museum cannot be underestimated. Attention, or inattention, to visitors has a direct effect on the museum's bottom line and the ability to fulfill an educational and access-driven mission. After all, where is a museum without visitors? Therefore, the purpose of this master's project is to inform art museum professionals about the role that visitor service plays in creating the overall visitor experience and the sustainability of art museums. In what follows, I will assess the state of visitor service in United States art museums, share results with customer care experts, and provide recommendations for improvement. This information is particularly relevant to museums that recognize the importance of being visitor-centered yet do not know how to implement a successful visitor service model within their institution. It is important to note that, although marketing, public relations and museum websites are important factors influencing visitation, for the purpose of providing an in-depth review, this study is centered on visitor service within the museum. Since I focus on art museums within the United States, I surveyed art museums to determine the state of visitor service within contemporary institutions, interviewed museum professionals throughout the U.S. who have created successful visitor service models, and researched the history of visitor service within museums and reviewed current literature on visitor service strategies. I hope that the results of my project can be used as a tool for museum professionals to use when implementing a visitor service plan. The results of the project include a workshop on how to create a successful visitor service model. Heather Choy
Activating Play: Museum Learning in Game Space The popularity of video games has changed the way individuals from every demographic"age, race, gender and income"absorbs and processes information. Given this fact, museums have a strong interest in repurposing game technology to attract and engage a variety of museum learners. This project explores the potential to incorporate game design practices in museums in order to encourage active participation, interaction and collaboration on the part of visitors. By leveraging existing game technologies, the museum community stands to benefit from player engagement and immersion strategies which have already proven successful. Likewise, by incorporating such methods, museums can offer the "Nintendo generation" exciting new ways to interact with historic, cultural and scientific content in both physical and virtual environments. This project includes an in-depth background of the history of video game technology and culture, with an entire subsection devoted to games as learning platforms. The Findings section features game-based programs and exhibits which have already been piloted in museums and school classrooms. Finally, this study raises awareness among museum professionals about the pedagogical benefits of games by offering a set of recommendations about how electronic games can be used to support active learning. Tessa Gunawan Gonzalez
Storage Recommendations for Three-dimensional Rod Puppet Collections There are many institutions around the world holding collections of three-dimensional rod puppets but many are unaware of what options are available in terms of their overall care or who to ask for such information. Without proper care rod puppets face deterioration, carrying away the history and tradition in which they were created and which they represent. A three-dimensional rod puppet is a round puppet that is made primarily of painted wood in combination with various secondary materials (i.e metal, plastic) and is controlled by at least one rod from below, above, or behind. As important as they are in their respective societies, it is unfortunate that little information is available pertaining to their care as part of a museum collection. This project hopes to fill that gap by gathering the best methods for caring for 3D rod puppet specifically addressing optimal storage care. This project focused on puppet collections in U.S. institutions to collect and present recommended techniques that collections personnel can use for storing 3D rod puppets Lucy Larson
The Constructivist Challenge: How Art Museums Can Create Optimal Environments for Learning Answering the questions that adults have while visiting art museums is one of the most challenging goals a museum’s education department can attempt to accomplish. The shear number of visitors"widely ranging in age, cultural background, and level of expertise"results in millions of possible questions each year. Since it is impossible to equip every person with a device that answers their questions, the only solution is to build environments that are maximally responsive to the ways that we learn. By designing interpretive strategies that engage the visitor while making sure that the necessary components that facilitate and enhance learning are in place museums can trust that they have created a space where visitors have the opportunity to search for the answers to their questions. Utilizing the "constructivist challenge," a set of criteria that enhance optimal learning, posed by George Hein in his 1998 text Learning in the Museum, I conducted a field-wide survey of constructivist interpretive strategies currently available in the permanent collection of large United States art museums. In addition to this theoretical analysis I created a set of Art Cards for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art based on constructivist principles. Based on my findings, I offer museum educators a tool for assessing the interpretive strategies available at their institutions and provide recommendations for implementing a constructivist approach to learning. Cary Majewicz
Managing Museums' Memories through Institutional Records and Archives Every day museum professionals generate piles of records, such as budget sheets, informational pamphlets, reports, exhibit labels, and newsletters. Ideally held in archives and managed by professional archivists, these institutional records contain information vital for the ongoing administrative, legal, and financial obligations of museums. They hold the histories and memories of museums, and tell staffs how their museums, both internally and externally, have changed, grown, and evolved. As my research demonstrated, in small- to mid-sized museums that are unable to hire trained archivists, registrars and collections managers often act as de facto archivists, charged with managing archival collections, including institutional records. These non-archivally trained museum collections professionals, I found, want to know more about how to manage and organize such documents according to archival standars. This project investigates the various ways that small- to mid-sized art and history museums and historical societies in the U. S. have collected and cared for their institutional records and discusses why they are important to preserve. I also examine established museum institutional archives programs to illustrate the methods of trained archivists and identified the primary challenges collections managers and registrars face when managing museum archives. While registrars and collections managers may be singly charged with managing institutional records, museum staffs should work together to improve their record-keeping practices and to form archival polices and procedures suitable to their needs. Jacqueline Morton Arase
Can Museums Save Video Installation Art at the Moment of Accession? Due to its site-specificity and dependency on technology, video installation art has come to rely on museums for its very existence. However, because its origins as a conceptual art form lie in challenging preconceived notions of what constitutes a work of art to be, its preservation becomes a daunting task for registrars and conservators whose training and experience is geared towards artwork made from traditional media, such as paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs, and works on paper. This project sought to identify and improve the accession methods used by registrars to document and preserve video installation artwork in contemporary art museums. Based on an examination of published and unpublished literature, attendance at two professional museum conferences, interviews with eighteen contemporary art museum professionals, artists, and video preservation specialists, and case studies of the accession and preservation practices used at two contemporary art museums, I offer registrars recommended guidelines and resources to assist them in the accession and preservation of video installation art"including how registrars can better collaborate with artists, archivists, conservators, curators, exhibit technicians, and video preservation specialists in an effort to better understand and care for video installation art at the moment it is accessioned. The findings and recommendations of this project will be disseminated to registrars via my product titled A Resource Guide to Accessioning and Preserving Video Installation Art. This informational resource guide was written primarily for contemporary art museum registrars but will also be a useful reference for archivists, artists, conservators, curators, exhibit technicians, gallery professionals and private collectors working to preserve video installation art. Due to a lack of published material on this topic, this guide should prove to be a timely and valuable resource. Zulema Robles
Funding Traveling Mexican Contemporary Art Exhibitions: What U.S. Museums Should Know Post-NAFTA Since the mid-1980s there has been an emerging contemporary art scene in Mexico that has impelled private Mexican corporations, fueled by new economic incentives, to collect Mexican and other contemporary artwork and create foundations to assist in the funding and dissemination of Mexican contemporary art. This contemporary art movement has also led to various traveling Mexican contemporary art exhibitions in U.S. museums. This project sets out to provide insight into the impact of Mexican corporate funders on the development and frequency of exhibitions of Mexican contemporary art in U.S. museums, to examine a range of challenges involved in bringing contemporary Mexican art to U.S. museums as well as to find the extent to which the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has catalyzed opportunities for bringing these exhibitions to U.S museums. Profiles of three Mexican corporate funders on contemporary art"Jumex, Banamex, and Televisa"review funding policies and/or criteria that will be useful for U.S. museums seeking alternative funding and collections resources to expand their Mexican exhibitions. The impact of Mexican corporate funding associated with traveling exhibitions from Mexico are examined in detail via two case studies of traveling Mexican contemporary art exhibitions at U.S. museums: Made in Mexico and Perspectives 139: Abraham Cruzvillegas. Vanessa Van Orden
Exhibiting Tragedy: Museums and the Representation of September 11 The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 constituted the most devastating assault on United States soil. In their immediate aftermath, many people came to museums to find comfort and look for answers. But how could they offer more than quiet spaces for reflection? September 11 forced museums to rethink their public role and challenged them to find appropriate and meaningful ways to address national tragedy in their institutions. The purpose of this project is to inform the museum community about the issues surrounding the interpretation of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, specifically focusing on the development of exhibitions. A look at how museums have responded to national tragedies in the past century, including the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as well as the development of institutions such as the Oklahoma City National Memorial, outline many of the issues that have historically impacted exhbitors’ efforts to interpret emotional topics. Speaking with museum professionals and conducting in-depth case studies of exhibitions at two different institutions"the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution and the Wing Luke Asian Museum"reveal the challenges and opportunities inherent in the representation of September 11 and offer recommendations for institutions preparing to develop exhibitions around national tragedy. Alison Wenz
Experience Music Museums: The Importance of Evaluating Audio Technologies when Delivering Musical Experiences to Visitors Music museums (such as The Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington) use different audio technologies to provide visitors with aural experiences. Since music museums feature an art form which is heard and not seen, the quality of the visitor’s aural experience becomes even more imperative. But how are audio technologies in music museum exhibitions received by adult visitors? Although music museums (and other museums) utilize these technologies in exhibitions, there is a lack of evaluation performed on these devices to determine their impact on the visitor experience. This master's project explores different audio technologies which are used in music museums and the benefits of evaluating them. It also presents the results of a small scale evaluation at The Experience Music Project. Three separate audio technologies"a portable audio guide, an interactive musical instrument exhibition, and a music kiosk (an exhibit component)"were the focus of this study, which was conducted through visitor interviews and observations. This investigation will interest museum professionals (specifically exhibit developers, curators, educators, directors) who use (or are considering using) audio technologies in their exhibitions. The results demonstrate what information can be obtained through evaluation in order to improve the visitor experience.
Missing! Visitor Service in Art Museums If Found, Please Call... The importance of visitor service and a visitor-centered museum cannot be underestimated. Attention, or inattention, to visitors has a direct effect on the museum's bottom line and the ability to fulfill an educational and access-driven mission. After all, where is a museum without visitors? Therefore, the purpose of this master's project is to inform art museum professionals about the role that visitor service plays in creating the overall visitor experience and the sustainability of art museums. In what follows, I will assess the state of visitor service in United States art museums, share results with customer care experts, and provide recommendations for improvement. This information is particularly relevant to museums that recognize the importance of being visitor-centered yet do not know how to implement a successful visitor service model within their institution. It is important to note that, although marketing, public relations and museum websites are important factors influencing visitation, for the purpose of providing an in-depth review, this study is centered on visitor service within the museum. Since I focus on art museums within the United States, I surveyed art museums to determine the state of visitor service within contemporary institutions, interviewed museum professionals throughout the U.S. who have created successful visitor service models, and researched the history of visitor service within museums and reviewed current literature on visitor service strategies. I hope that the results of my project can be used as a tool for museum professionals to use when implementing a visitor service plan. The results of the project include a workshop on how to create a successful visitor service model. Heather Choy
Activating Play: Museum Learning in Game Space The popularity of video games has changed the way individuals from every demographic"age, race, gender and income"absorbs and processes information. Given this fact, museums have a strong interest in repurposing game technology to attract and engage a variety of museum learners. This project explores the potential to incorporate game design practices in museums in order to encourage active participation, interaction and collaboration on the part of visitors. By leveraging existing game technologies, the museum community stands to benefit from player engagement and immersion strategies which have already proven successful. Likewise, by incorporating such methods, museums can offer the "Nintendo generation" exciting new ways to interact with historic, cultural and scientific content in both physical and virtual environments. This project includes an in-depth background of the history of video game technology and culture, with an entire subsection devoted to games as learning platforms. The Findings section features game-based programs and exhibits which have already been piloted in museums and school classrooms. Finally, this study raises awareness among museum professionals about the pedagogical benefits of games by offering a set of recommendations about how electronic games can be used to support active learning. Tessa Gunawan Gonzalez
Storage Recommendations for Three-dimensional Rod Puppet Collections There are many institutions around the world holding collections of three-dimensional rod puppets but many are unaware of what options are available in terms of their overall care or who to ask for such information. Without proper care rod puppets face deterioration, carrying away the history and tradition in which they were created and which they represent. A three-dimensional rod puppet is a round puppet that is made primarily of painted wood in combination with various secondary materials (i.e metal, plastic) and is controlled by at least one rod from below, above, or behind. As important as they are in their respective societies, it is unfortunate that little information is available pertaining to their care as part of a museum collection. This project hopes to fill that gap by gathering the best methods for caring for 3D rod puppet specifically addressing optimal storage care. This project focused on puppet collections in U.S. institutions to collect and present recommended techniques that collections personnel can use for storing 3D rod puppets Lucy Larson
The Constructivist Challenge: How Art Museums Can Create Optimal Environments for Learning Answering the questions that adults have while visiting art museums is one of the most challenging goals a museum’s education department can attempt to accomplish. The shear number of visitors"widely ranging in age, cultural background, and level of expertise"results in millions of possible questions each year. Since it is impossible to equip every person with a device that answers their questions, the only solution is to build environments that are maximally responsive to the ways that we learn. By designing interpretive strategies that engage the visitor while making sure that the necessary components that facilitate and enhance learning are in place museums can trust that they have created a space where visitors have the opportunity to search for the answers to their questions. Utilizing the "constructivist challenge," a set of criteria that enhance optimal learning, posed by George Hein in his 1998 text Learning in the Museum, I conducted a field-wide survey of constructivist interpretive strategies currently available in the permanent collection of large United States art museums. In addition to this theoretical analysis I created a set of Art Cards for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art based on constructivist principles. Based on my findings, I offer museum educators a tool for assessing the interpretive strategies available at their institutions and provide recommendations for implementing a constructivist approach to learning. Cary Majewicz
Managing Museums' Memories through Institutional Records and Archives Every day museum professionals generate piles of records, such as budget sheets, informational pamphlets, reports, exhibit labels, and newsletters. Ideally held in archives and managed by professional archivists, these institutional records contain information vital for the ongoing administrative, legal, and financial obligations of museums. They hold the histories and memories of museums, and tell staffs how their museums, both internally and externally, have changed, grown, and evolved. As my research demonstrated, in small- to mid-sized museums that are unable to hire trained archivists, registrars and collections managers often act as de facto archivists, charged with managing archival collections, including institutional records. These non-archivally trained museum collections professionals, I found, want to know more about how to manage and organize such documents according to archival standars. This project investigates the various ways that small- to mid-sized art and history museums and historical societies in the U. S. have collected and cared for their institutional records and discusses why they are important to preserve. I also examine established museum institutional archives programs to illustrate the methods of trained archivists and identified the primary challenges collections managers and registrars face when managing museum archives. While registrars and collections managers may be singly charged with managing institutional records, museum staffs should work together to improve their record-keeping practices and to form archival polices and procedures suitable to their needs. Jacqueline Morton Arase
Can Museums Save Video Installation Art at the Moment of Accession? Due to its site-specificity and dependency on technology, video installation art has come to rely on museums for its very existence. However, because its origins as a conceptual art form lie in challenging preconceived notions of what constitutes a work of art to be, its preservation becomes a daunting task for registrars and conservators whose training and experience is geared towards artwork made from traditional media, such as paintings, sculptures, textiles, photographs, and works on paper. This project sought to identify and improve the accession methods used by registrars to document and preserve video installation artwork in contemporary art museums. Based on an examination of published and unpublished literature, attendance at two professional museum conferences, interviews with eighteen contemporary art museum professionals, artists, and video preservation specialists, and case studies of the accession and preservation practices used at two contemporary art museums, I offer registrars recommended guidelines and resources to assist them in the accession and preservation of video installation art"including how registrars can better collaborate with artists, archivists, conservators, curators, exhibit technicians, and video preservation specialists in an effort to better understand and care for video installation art at the moment it is accessioned. The findings and recommendations of this project will be disseminated to registrars via my product titled A Resource Guide to Accessioning and Preserving Video Installation Art. This informational resource guide was written primarily for contemporary art museum registrars but will also be a useful reference for archivists, artists, conservators, curators, exhibit technicians, gallery professionals and private collectors working to preserve video installation art. Due to a lack of published material on this topic, this guide should prove to be a timely and valuable resource. Zulema Robles
Funding Traveling Mexican Contemporary Art Exhibitions: What U.S. Museums Should Know Post-NAFTA Since the mid-1980s there has been an emerging contemporary art scene in Mexico that has impelled private Mexican corporations, fueled by new economic incentives, to collect Mexican and other contemporary artwork and create foundations to assist in the funding and dissemination of Mexican contemporary art. This contemporary art movement has also led to various traveling Mexican contemporary art exhibitions in U.S. museums. This project sets out to provide insight into the impact of Mexican corporate funders on the development and frequency of exhibitions of Mexican contemporary art in U.S. museums, to examine a range of challenges involved in bringing contemporary Mexican art to U.S. museums as well as to find the extent to which the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has catalyzed opportunities for bringing these exhibitions to U.S museums. Profiles of three Mexican corporate funders on contemporary art"Jumex, Banamex, and Televisa"review funding policies and/or criteria that will be useful for U.S. museums seeking alternative funding and collections resources to expand their Mexican exhibitions. The impact of Mexican corporate funding associated with traveling exhibitions from Mexico are examined in detail via two case studies of traveling Mexican contemporary art exhibitions at U.S. museums: Made in Mexico and Perspectives 139: Abraham Cruzvillegas. Vanessa Van Orden
Exhibiting Tragedy: Museums and the Representation of September 11 The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 constituted the most devastating assault on United States soil. In their immediate aftermath, many people came to museums to find comfort and look for answers. But how could they offer more than quiet spaces for reflection? September 11 forced museums to rethink their public role and challenged them to find appropriate and meaningful ways to address national tragedy in their institutions. The purpose of this project is to inform the museum community about the issues surrounding the interpretation of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, specifically focusing on the development of exhibitions. A look at how museums have responded to national tragedies in the past century, including the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as well as the development of institutions such as the Oklahoma City National Memorial, outline many of the issues that have historically impacted exhbitors’ efforts to interpret emotional topics. Speaking with museum professionals and conducting in-depth case studies of exhibitions at two different institutions"the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution and the Wing Luke Asian Museum"reveal the challenges and opportunities inherent in the representation of September 11 and offer recommendations for institutions preparing to develop exhibitions around national tragedy. Alison Wenz
Experience Music Museums: The Importance of Evaluating Audio Technologies when Delivering Musical Experiences to Visitors Music museums (such as The Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington) use different audio technologies to provide visitors with aural experiences. Since music museums feature an art form which is heard and not seen, the quality of the visitor’s aural experience becomes even more imperative. But how are audio technologies in music museum exhibitions received by adult visitors? Although music museums (and other museums) utilize these technologies in exhibitions, there is a lack of evaluation performed on these devices to determine their impact on the visitor experience. This master's project explores different audio technologies which are used in music museums and the benefits of evaluating them. It also presents the results of a small scale evaluation at The Experience Music Project. Three separate audio technologies"a portable audio guide, an interactive musical instrument exhibition, and a music kiosk (an exhibit component)"were the focus of this study, which was conducted through visitor interviews and observations. This investigation will interest museum professionals (specifically exhibit developers, curators, educators, directors) who use (or are considering using) audio technologies in their exhibitions. The results demonstrate what information can be obtained through evaluation in order to improve the visitor experience.