[Xmca-l] Re: discussing "Posing the question"

[Greg Thompson]

Rolff,

I wonder if you have seen the cover of Ian Hodder's book Entanglements?
http://narratingwaste.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/review-of-ian-hodders-entangled-an-archaeology-of-the-relationships-between-humans-and-things/

It seems nearly perfect for your project - would only be better if the
museum goer in the picture was actually entangled in the webs...

And btw, I too am interested in Jen's question.
-greg


On Mon, May 26, 2014 at 2:48 PM, Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer <
j.vadeboncoeur@ubc.ca> wrote:

> Hello Rolf and Everyone,
>
> I would be interested in hearing more about the differences between design
> experiments, interactive analysis, and more micro-analytic methods, what
> are the overlaps and differences? This might be too broad, so carve this in
> a manner that feels useful.
>
> I was also thinking of the three other exhibits and the outcomes there,
> what were they like and how did they engage young people? Were there
> aspects of engagement with these three exhibits that made visible
> participants' embodiment as a sense making activity?
>
> Another thought is about the "museum as an institution" ... when
> interaction shifts, does it become more "school-like"? What are other
> possibilities?
>
> Lots here to think about, best - jen
>
>
> On 2014-05-23, at 3:47 AM, Rolf Steier wrote:
>
> > Hello All,
> > Thank you to Jen for inviting me to this discussion and to everyone who
> > wishes to participate! I'll look forward to some interesting thoughts and
> > questions.
> >
> > Maybe I can start by providing a little context for the research project
> > that wasn't necessarily the focus of the article. As a whole, this
> "design
> > experiment" involved a partnership with the National Museum to introduce
> > digital technology and interactive activities in order to engage young
> > people. Working with the museum, we found that teenagers' experiences
> with
> > the museum were almost exclusively limited to school field trips. So
> first
> > of all, the museum was interested in engaging this underrepresented
> > demographic in non-school contexts. Second, the museum's use of
> interactive
> > media (and really, interpretive resources in general) had been limited to
> > audio guides as well as some simple wall texts through out the museum.
> The
> > museum then was also interested in experimenting with news ways of
> > communicating with the public and engaging them with these artworks.
> >
> > In designing this project room (which included 4 interactive stations, of
> > which this posing activity was one) - the broader goals including looking
> > at how the introduction of such interactive activities might influence
> the
> > practices of the visiting public, but also of the museum as an
> institution.
> > One small example that I found really interesting involved the role of
> the
> > guards, which seemed to shift from protecting the art to also
> facilitating
> > some of the interactive activities in this project room.
> >
> > In any case, the phenomenon of posing was not necessarily intended to be
> a
> > focal point. The activity was designed based on the pedagogical goal of
> the
> > curator of exploring Munch's use of self-portraits. This one activity
> > became really popular, and it was only after starting to look more
> closely
> > at these prompted acts of posing did I return to looking at the visitors
> in
> > the rest of the gallery. These posing practices then became visible as
> part
> > of visitors normal interpretive practices. I should also note, that since
> > the exhibit closed, curators at the museum decided to adapt the posing
> > activity to a classroom setting using photographs that students could
> pose
> > for and then paint over with an iPad. (This can be read about in a
> > conference paper here -
> >
> http://mw2014.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/posing-with-art-researching-and-designing-for-performative-acts-of-interpretation-2/
> ).
> > Another outcome of the project room will be in the design of a new
> > national museum that will incorporate spaces for such interactive
> > activities. In regards to the iterative nature of design experiments, I
> > think this aspect is very much present in the work.
> >
> > So for me, it was this broader design experiment that allowed the
> > phenomenon of posing to emerge as a visible and relevant practice. The
> > specific method of analysis in the article might be better described as
> > interaction analysis then. But maybe this is a question that people have
> > thoughts on? The relationships between design experiments and more
> > micro-analytic methods?
> >
> >
> > Looking forward to some thoughts or other directions for discussion,
> > Rolf
> >
> >
> > On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Vadeboncoeur, Jennifer <
> > j.vadeboncoeur@ubc.ca> wrote:
> >
> >> Dear XMCA,
> >>
> >> Rolf Steier is now on XMCA, and his article "Posing the question" is
> open
> >> on the T and F website:
> >>
> >> http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hmca20/.U3zs4Sjsq24
> >>
> >> Just click on the green button to the right side of the article.
> >>
> >> There is loads to talk about, and one question that comes to mind is in
> >> relation to the museum installation as a design experiment. In what
> sense
> >> is it a design experiment? What does it make visible? How is learning
> >> shaped by access to this experience in a museum?
> >>
> >> More questions?
> >>
> >> Best - jen
> >>
>
>
>


-- 
Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson