Before getting to the subject matter of the hour, there was a recap on our conventions (an opportunity to guess amusing responses to the clues) and reminder about our log ... ooops. I'm totally failing on that aspect but at least I have a blog and my diary to help fill in the gaps when I get round to the log :)
Interpretation and (re)Presentation
We started with a trip back to the 1970s by way of John Berger's 'Ways of Seeing' TV series; particularly episode 1, 30 minutes of which is on youtube, which we were supposed to see before the session; I totally forgot. Thanks to Christmas and New Year, up until a few days ago, I thought the next Citizen Curators session was next week so my schedule was totally mixed up! Today we watched ~ 10 minutes of the episode, which provoked different views from those of us in the room: from those finding it absorbing, right up to disinteresting. For me, it had a rather psychedelic feel, much like everything in the 70s, and being a big fan of progressive-rock (which originated in the 70s) I really like that vibe and atmosphere that you get. He provoked thinking and did things in a surreal manner at times via the camera angles. Not everyone can watch old programmes and connect with them, but being a bit of a retro fan, and enjoying the mystery he created when talking about our perceptions of art, I found it strangely soothing and absorbing. When it comes to art, I'm much a "like what I see" person and less on the finer details, yet Berger's programme did make me think much more about the art itself, and how most art is taken out of its original contextual setting and reproduced amongst other paintings in galleries. Seems early art was mostly commissioned, and only ever destined for a specific room in a specific location. The lighting and other objects/colours in the room influenced the artist, yet all that it lost in reproductions and paintings being just one of many in a gallery. And yet, by having reproductions and paintings being plastered all over the internet, it actually encourages some people to physically go see them. Then there's the grandeur nature of museums when it comes to art and by having painting hung and positioned in certain ways, people immediately will believe a painting could be more magnificent than it is. I'm reminded of many a stories I've seen when non-displayed objects have accidentally fallen on floors in museums, such as someone's glasses or a pen, and you see tourists gathered around them as they believe that fallen object is a piece of art itself. All in all, Berger's programme certainly created an interesting debate within my mind and the group itself whilst watching the programme.
Storytelling
Thereafter we moved on to how objects on display can have different stories created about them, from the more scientific life story of the object, to any new or unexpected knowledge that might have been discovered that one can tell the audience. How can we make that object more relevant to the people viewing it? I've been in plenty of museums that don't even bother to make objects interesting, and simply just give the standard 'museum label' and info. i.e. a jug. The more simpler the object, perhaps the more inventive one needs to be. A jug is a jug after all, but who handled it? What was in it? What's it made of? Where was it found? Why should anyone care about this jug? There are of course objects that are fascinating to observe even with the simplest of descriptions present, but not everyone is going to lap up an object with a mundane label next to it. How to cater for all types of audience?
Group Task - Key Messages and Calls to Action
This mini-task was all about selecting an object and thinking about what it was about that object that you want the audience to know about it, and then look at how to help the audience interact with it by way of some form of action.
In my Penlee Museum group, we concentrated on the object that forms the basis of our upcoming project: Penlee House itself. What we wanted the audience to know is that this is a house that was lived in and hadn't always been a museum/gallery; that's our key message. In terms of calls to action, we would ask things like "Can you imagine what it was like to live in this house, as a servant, as one of the family?"
Moods & Meanings
Just before the lunch break we went through the numerous ways that information about objects can be presented the audience:
- The Museum Label - Your bog-standard obligatory label next to an object that tells you what it is and, if you're lucky, a little more about it.
- Punditry - As you might think, this is less about in the museum, but more about those critical "experts" who like to tell you what they think the object says and how you should think about it.
- Personalisation - This is about bringing people into the object, much like those classic fairground displays where people put their heads through a gap in a display to make it look like they are somewhere else. Whether they get the right message about the object is debatable, but they go away with a memorable experience.
- Poetic - There's been plenty of poems written about people and objects; perhaps something with a zangy rhyme to it or thought provoking verse can cast a certain perspective and view about an object..
- Musical - Everyone likes a song - but by having music accompany an object, it can make it much more interesting and even have you tapping your feet or thinking more about it than if there was just a deathly silence.
- Humours - A witty label? Animated painting anyone? Some think this is sacrilege but if you're bored or uninterested in a painting, and it winks or smiles at you, it certain gets your attention where it wouldn't have before.
Group Task - Words and Senses
In the afternoon there was another group task where once again we chose an object (we stayed with Penlee House) and picked a "sense" out of the glove and present the object in the manner of that senses interpretation. We got "picture" whereas another group got "Music". In this task, picture literally meant picture: so no words. However, as this was more about planning than performing, the plan of course featured lots of words. We came up with numerous ideas about having a nice old map or the area on display with pointers to where modern scenes fit into the old layout and having the windows of the house filled up with enlarged photos that show a view that people might have seen in yesteryear whilst looking into the house.
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