bugs are cool.

I decided to review the American Museum of Natural History’s website, mostly because there was a picture of a ladybug on the homepage, and I like ladybugs. At first glance the home page seemed well organized and not too overwhelming, like most museum websites are. My eye was caught by the slideshow at the top of the screen that advertised for the current exhibits and special shows happening at the museum. I easily found the mission statement of the museum, which is: “to discover, interpret, and disseminate- through scientific research and education- knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.” Like most other museums, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) strives to conduct research and then educate others about the subject matter it specializes in. The mission statement, like the website was simple, yet purposeful.

As I continued to explore the website, it just kept getting better and better. I could probably spend hours on this website- the home page is misleadingly minimal because the rest of the website has so much exciting and interesting information. Not only does the website describe the exhibits on display, it describes them in detail, with interactive animation, videos, and alternative information sources. The page about the butterfly exhibit even had a live webcam! There were also separate tabs for science and education, where both went into great detail about what AMNH scientists are doing and also how students, teachers, and parents can get even more involved. The AMNH website also does an outstanding job of advertising without being too “in your face” about it. They had a page devoted to helping guests plan their visit, with details about pricing, food, and downloadable maps. Also on almost every single page on the website is a prominent link to the visitor info and ticket page. The AMNH website also had an online store where you can purchase keepsakes, souvenirs, and memorabilia from anywhere at anytime. Another aspect of the website I really liked was their news portion. It was almost like a web blog where the museum updates almost daily on events. Overall, the AMNH website was outstanding.

Initially I was not sure if the AMNH website would be a good one because the front page was nothing extraordinary, but once I started to search through the pages, I knew that the website was a good one. Also, throughout the entire website the creators stuck to the mission of the museum. Almost all of the information was about educating and displaying what the museum has done and is doing today. I think that the AMNH website is extremely effective, because it draws in its audience, has efficient advertising, and does not stray from its mission.

http://www.amnh.org/

WSU Museum of Anthropology

I visited the Museum of Anthropology today, for the second time, after visiting it the previous week in class. Even though Anthropology is my minor, I have never even been inside the museum because I made the assumption that it was not going to be interesting or at all intriguing. After visiting the museum and analyzing its displays and objects my opinion of the museum has not changed much, but the museum has a great deal of potential. The museum has all of the objects and most of the hardware to become a first class exhibit, it just need a lot of reworking and redesigning.

When I first walked into the exhibit area I noticed how empty it was, I next noticed the gigantic pair of horse statutes, and I then was able to deduce the overall flow of the exhibit. The exhibit is basically a large square with display cases inserted in the walls, and the most obvious place to start observing the displays is to start with the display closest to the entrance. The architecture of the room is pretty nice, with shiny, patterned wood floors, wooden display cases, and windows. Once I started to actually look inside the display cases what met my eyes was a jumble of confused and unrelated topics. It was like the designer of the exhibit designed each display case as separate, small exhibits, because the display cases did not relate to one another and there was no cohesion to the exhibit at large. I was also pretty disappointed with the way in which some photography was displayed. These three large, and really the most interesting, photographs were shoved into a back corner that was not at all lit and there were also no labels on the photographs. They could have been pictures of the curator’s kids for all I know. Although there were so many poor qualities to this exhibit, I do believe that the exhibit has potential. I thought the 3-dimensional cubes were an outstanding way to display objects and I also thought the color posters were very eye catching and intriguing. The Museum of Anthropology exhibit looks like it was put together by students, haphazardly, and not updated for many years. The exhibit needs a serious modernization, facelift, and also needs to be more cohesive and it has the potential to do so.

The museum of Anthropology has a lot of materials, objects, and information. The exhibit, may, in fact, have too much information. The subject matter of the display cases are: the evolution of humans, hominid fossils, the evolution of stone tools, Clovis points, the Cascade Indians, the Marmes archeological site, Inuit toys, the Aka foragers, the people of the Lower Snake River, and a cordage collection. There was a fair amount of stone objects, diagrams, and models. The display cases that I thought were the best were the ones that had 3-dimensional appeal and interesting artistic work like the evolution of stone tools, Inuit toys, and cordage collection displays. The displays that I thought were the worst were those that were incomplete and dated like the Aka foragers and Clovis points displays. The best display was the people of the Lower Snake River display; it had texture, excitement, and cohesion. This was the only display where I actually wanted to read the text associated with the objects.

The WSU Museum of Anthropology has the right objects, the right location, but does not have the right design or use of space. In order for the museum and exhibit to be more effective it needs to appeal to those visitors who do not have a background in Anthropology. The curators should appeal more to the visitors by introducing more interactivity and also attracting the eye with visuals. The museum needs more photography, more replicas, and new labels. Once the displays are more cohesive the museum will start to look less like an 8th grade science fair and more like an academic museum at a prestigious university. Right now the exhibit is 2-dimensional, drab, and downright boring. But I do not believe the field of anthropology is boring, so the museum that tries to define the study of anthropology should be exciting, intriguing, and adventurous.

Buddhist Art

The article “On the Road with Seekers and Other Dharma Bums” by Holland Cotter discusses the Asia Society’s exhibition entitled “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art.” Cotter begins with a short summary of the exhibition. He states that the exhibit is small, but “spans vast swaths of land, from India to Japan, and time, from the first century AD almost to the present” (Cotter). The exhibit also features paintings, sculptures, pilgrim travel gear, and historical maps (Cotter). Cotter also points out that all the art is actually from collections around North America (Cotter).

Cotter next explains the story of Buddha, presumably because many New York Times readers do not know his story or his spiritual journey. Buddha left his sheltered home near the border of India and Nepal, and set out on a spiritual pilgrimage without a set destination (Cotter). Buddha journeyed, trying to gain wisdom, gained followers, and when he was on his deathbed he told his followers if they wanted to find him, “they should look where he had been: where he was born, gained supreme knowledge, first preached it; where he was about to pass away” (Cotter). And these locations became the main sites of Buddhist pilgrimages and the subject of many, beautiful works of art.

The Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art show was organized by the Asia Society’s curator of traditional art, Adriana Proser (Cotter). The exhibit immerses the visitor in the world of Buddhist pilgrimages. There are paintings of pilgrimage tour leaders, a real monk’s staff, amulet shrines, and hand-held prayer wheels made of jade (Cotter). Overall the exhibit strives to explain to the viewer the importance of pilgrimage to the followers of Buddhism. The author of this article truly seems inspired by the exhibit and just from reading his review and seeing a few pictures of the artwork on display, I truly wish I could see the exhibit.

Cotter, Holland. "On the Road With Seekers and Other Dharma Bums." New York Times (2010). Web. 28 Mar 2010.

architecture.

I have visited a few museums in my life, but I really have not particularly noticed or remembered the architecture of the museum itself and I think that is an extremely important point. The focal point of a museum should the objects inside it and the architecture should be close to unnoticeable. As Taniguchi said in the Giebelhausen article, “architecture should not compete with the work of art, the architecture should disappear” (12). But, this is impossible. Architecture is a necessity for the flow of traffic throughout the museum and it is also important for the museum façade itself to portray something about what is inside. As for the architecture of the exhibits themselves, they should melt into the background and not detract or distract in any way from the objects on display.

The museum visit that was most recent and also the one I remember best was to the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. The outside of the museum is very interesting and modern. It also has a small amphitheater and a great view of the city of Spokane. When I walked in, there was a beautiful atrium, with high ceilings, and walls of windows. I remember the architecture of these things clearly, but I have no recollection of the architecture of the exhibits aside from the overall flow from exhibit to exhibit. Since the architecture of the exhibits was so forgettable, I was able to concentrate more clearly on the object on display. This article opened my eyes to something I really never considered was important and I am sure that the architecture of the next museum I visit will be totally dissected.

Giebelhausen, Michaela. "The Architecture is the Museum." New Museum Theory and Practice (2006): 41-61. Web. 3 Mar 2010.

museum effectiveness

What makes a museum effective, aside from the content of the exhibit? According to Weil four basic criteria must be in place in order for a museum to be pertinent, successful, and effective. These four criteria, starting with the most important, are purposiveness, capability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Weil states that a museum must have purposes that are outcome based, a museum must have the proper staff, collection, and building, a museum must have effective public programming, and must also be efficient, like any other business even though museums are normally non-profit. In short, in order for a non-profit to be successful it must benefit the public, have a budget, have people to run it, and also have goals that can be obtained and measured.

When I visited Philadelphia, PA I went to a lot of museums about our founding fathers, the revolutionary war, the constitution, etc. But the museum I found to be most effective was the National Constitution Center. It was so effective because it engaged the visitor in every way. The exhibits were almost all interactive, there was a live, multimedia video performance titled “We the People”, you can walk among life size replicas of the founding fathers, and you can also sign the constitution yourself. This museum was extremely effective because it immerses the guest into the world of the constitution; the people, the places, and the time. In order for a museum to be effective to a guest it must engage the senses, while also teaching. In order for a museum to be effective in the eyes of “non-museum people” it must pay careful detail to Weil’s four criteria: purposiveness, capability, effectiveness, and efficiency.

context.

When someone visits a museum, they see the objects in the museum out of context. These objects that awe visitors are removed from their original or natural environment and placed in a new environment for the public. Because the objects are out of context, they are often not relatable to many people. The contextual approach to understanding, discussed by Susan Pearce in the article “Museums: the Intellectual Rationale”, is the idea that in order for a visitor to relate to an object, they must be able to interact with the object. Visitors are made aware of the time period the object came from and also what society was like. When I visited the Burke Museum in Seattle there were many displays about pacific island cultures. Rather than just placing objects and defining them; the museum used music, photographs, and personal stories to make me see that the artifacts were not just artifacts; they were owned and used by real people.

The most common approach a museum uses is to classify objects and inform visitors about the objects. The creators of the museum display objects and often write a small blurb about where the object was from, what it is, etc. The contextual approach differs from this approach and other approaches because it strives to put the object back into context and lead visitors to see the meaning or significance of an artifact. The contextual approach is very important today in museums especially because of post-modern thought. Using interactive exhibits, videos, and activities allows a person to be immersed in an exhibit and truly experience an idea, time period, or art.

Way of Seeing in a Museum

When I walked into the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) in Spokane, WA, I did not expect to be able to see any of the exhibits. I was there to volunteer, but luckily, and unexpectedly, I was pressured to go and explore the exhibits before working. Because I was not expecting to visit a museum, my way of seeing the exhibits was different than it would normally be. Normally when I visit a museum I have some knowledge of what it holds and a small idea of what the exhibits will be. I was completely taken by surprise at the MAC.

The MAC has three main exhibits; a timeline of Spokane, an American Indian exhibit, and usually one or two art exhibits. When I visited the museum there was also a traveling exhibit titled "Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television." The Out of This World exhibit made me see popular movies and costumes in a new way. The museum environment made me look at something that normally I would barely even notice while watching a movie; what the people were wearing. When in a museum environment I notice how little details suddenly have importance. I also am aware of how unobservant I am in life outside of a museum. Also, because I was not planning to experience any of the exhibits I had no prejudgments of what I would see. I came into the MAC with an almost completely open mind, without any preconceived beliefs of what I would experience.

Picture of Indiana Jones Jacket from: http://empsfm.org.exhibitions/index.asp