Assuming that scientific development and artistic research are genetically similar, this article shows the common need of knowledge of art and science, their dialectical and multidirectional relations and the unstable boundaries between them. The fractal art has assimilated the cognitive and perceptive changes in the realm of non-euclidean geometries and has become a precise instrument of "epistemological observation". Artistic practices materialize and communicate the laws of science, while scientific revolutions are in actual facts metaphorical revolutions.
Saturday, March 6, 2010, Marshall Barnes did an experiment in blending art and science. At an art opening at the Ekklesia Gallery in Columbus, OH, he showcased, for the first time, the original video footage from an experiment in physics that conducted during New Year's eve of that year. The experiment was to determine what would happen if an attempt were made to produce a "wall of light" that would stand in free space and consist of a number particular properties produced by a proprietary technology that Marshall had developed. Small experiments had already been conducted that produced the visible effect of an area of free standing light produced by the reflection of a strobe from a wall. The New Year's Eve test was to see if a wall of light could be produced that would fill a space in a room and have a number of particular "interesting" attributes.
In June 2010, the Gardner contracted with the Institute for Learning Innovation to augment the results of a large scale, Wallace Foundation funded quantitative study. Specifically, ILI was asked to conduct a focused, qualitative study that would provide in depth data about local visitors' long term perceptions of their Gardner Museum experience. Semi structured, retrospective interviews were conducted with 31 museum visitors, months after their Gardner experience. Key results include the following: 1) Study participants demonstrated a range of motivations for visiting the Gardner, but most
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jeanine AnceletIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumJessica J. LukeErin Johnson
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to conduct a summative evaluation of the exhibition "Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500-Present." As described on the DIA Web site, Through African Eyes will illustrate how African artists from diverse cultures have used and continue to use visual forms to reflect their particular societies' changing attitudes toward Europeans, as the latter evolved from stranger to colonizer to the more inclusive Westerner. This evaluation sought to explore visitors' experiences in the exhibition
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Detroit Institute of Arts
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) conducted a summative evaluation of the Gallery of California Art (Art Gallery) for the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). The Art Gallery underwent an extensive reinstallation project, funded in part by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. The OMCA Art Gallery reinstallation project focused on four goals: create a more welcoming, comfortable and lively Gallery of California; foster intergenerational learning; attract and engage an ethnically diverse community; and foster a personal connection between art and the visitor. The summative evaluation
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Oakland Museum of California
Our study at the Frye Art Museum examined the use of the gallery guides by visitors in Tete-a-Tete, the salon-style hang of the museum's founding collection. Our goal was to see who was using the guides, how, what effect this had on their experience, and what they expected from the guides. We discovered that the average gallery guide user was female, over 35 years of age, previously been to the Frye Art Museum but had not yet seen Tete-a-Tete. Although gallery guide users spent more time in the exhibit and were able to recall art historical information more readily, the use of the guides did
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Valerie GrabskiLauren LeClaireFrye Art Museum
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This evaluation looked at one set of visitor behaviors - taking and using photographs - in the whole of Experience Music Project | Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP|SFM). It was conducted between April 30 and May 6, 2010 by collecting semi-structured interview responses from 58 EMP|SFM visitors during their visits. We sought to identify 1) whether visitors were taking their own photos in the galleries; 2) how they planned to use those photos; 3) whether they planned to use visitor-generated material (in the form of the Taking Aim Flickr site) after their visit; and
The Arkansas Discovery Network (ADN) contracted Randi Korn & Associates, Inc. (RK&A) to evaluate Science & Art, a 4,000 square foot exhibition created by the Science Museum of Minnesota that will travel to the ADN museums. The evaluation documents the impact and effectiveness of the exhibition as it was installed at the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Two methodologies were employed: timing and tracking observations and in-depth exit interviews. EXHIBITION BACKGROUND The exhibition explores connections between science and art. The exhibition contains five sections that
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.Arkansas Discovery Network
In this article, Sujit Tolat, Associate and Senior Designer at Gallagher and Associates, recounts her journey as an exhibit designer, traveling and working on projects throughout the world. Tolat describes two aspects of her journey: a literal move from New Delhi to Washington, DC and a cultural shift in her design perspective that incorporated elements of both East and West. Talbot concludes that museum and exhibit design provides a unique opportunity to enhance diversity and encourage exchange between cultures.
The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) is collaborating with the Museum of Science in Boston (MoS), the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham (NCMLS), Explora in Albuquerque, the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education at San Diego State University (CRMSE), and TERC in Cambridge, MA to develop, create and evaluate "MathCore for Museums," long-term math environments that children can interact with over multiple visits and over several years. The project is prototyping and producing 12 open-source, validated interactive exhibits about proportion: fractions, ratios, similarity, scaling, and percentages, basic concepts for understanding Algebra. The eight best exhibits will be replicated for each MathCore museum and the exhibits will be supported by a limited-access website designed to support and extend repeated use of exhibits and further exploration of ratio and proportion. Selinda Research Associates will conduct a longitudinal evaluation of the project. CRSME will conduct a research study of selected exhibit prototypes to investigate when children start to work on proving relations between similarity and proportion in informal settings, the relationship between children's artwork and mathematical insight, and the roles of bodily activity in learning to see relations in similarity and proportion. Results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications, at professional meetings, at the Association of Science and Technology Center's RAP Sessions at the NCMLS, and through the project's website.
This project comprises the NSF-funded portion of the renovation of a 25,000 sq. ft. natural history gallery called "CHANGING CALIFORNIA." ORIGINAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will develop, implement, and evaluate Hotspot California, a research-based natural science gallery transformation that will explore the educational potential of wildlife dioramas to engage the public in urgent environmental issues. The exhibition will showcase five real places in California that exemplify high biological diversity and complex environmental issues. Innovative approaches to interpretation will emphasize personal connections to these places and infuse static dioramas with visualization technologies that illustrate environmental change over time. The project will explore how such enhancements to dioramas might help visitors develop place-based connections to the natural world. The project has four major deliverables: 1) an innovative 25,000 sq ft gallery exhibition installation featuring five specific California places where California's unique biodiversity is threatened; 2) an application and evaluation of a new participatory exhibit design model involving community contribution, collaboration, and co-design; 3) a two-day "synthesis symposium" for informal science education professionals to consider broad applications of project findings for the field; and 4) "Diorama Dilemmas: A Source book for Museums," synthesizing relevant literature, case studies, and findings from the project's research and evaluation generalizable to the field. The project has evolved since the NSF award, but it remains aligned with its original goals. The team increased the number of California places from five to seven and worked to add a strong human presence within a gallery previously devoted almost entirely to other species. Innovative reuse of OMCA's dioramas and habitat cases continues to be the project's core, but the team's approach has emphasized re-contextualizing rather than revising those exhibits. New elements include iconic artifacts and environments reflecting recent human impact on California, relevant objects from OMCA's art and history collections, digital visualizations of dynamic natural phenomena, and spaces for hands-on investigation. Community focused elements include multiple co-created exhibits and media programs offering inspiring encounters with Californians deeply involved in these seven places.
In this article, Darcia A. MacMahon, Exhibits Director at the Florida Museum of Natural History, reflects on a trip to Nepal as an opportunity to consider the cultural complexities and new approaches to exhibit design when working on international projects. MacMahon presents ten questions for professionals to consider when developing exhibitions that contribute to the ongoing conversation about the role of museums in a cultural heritage context.