Museum Visit(s) 02/08/15
Meggan
What a beautiful Sunday. Great weather and good museum visits, plus lots of stimulation for public history!
BOISE ART MUSEUM
-Excited to see Liu Bolin’s “Invisible Man” exhibit!
-Greeted by a staff member who was a bit in disbelief I was a student. Hmmm…
-Then, greeted by a small monitor, with barely-audible sound/”bleeps” for prompts with alien-looking faces: “Why At Museums Have Rules.” (The “no’s”: backpacks, pens – use pencils, kids, touching, wall-leaning, etc.) Basically “no-no-no,” not a first “Welcome to our museum! We want to thank you…” visitor greeted by the no’s…hmmm. I was put off, definitely.
-I know rules are important for all to be aware of, but this was most negative welcome I have had to a museum in a long while…and it was rather unobtrusive, so possibly some would ignore or miss it.
-“Invisible Man” exhibit: very cool! Thoughts: emotional connections…what it means to be invisible, meaningless, voiceless in society. Similar to the “erasing” black history in the Ferguson articles. The 45-foot dragon tie-in was even more meaningful, and visually impressive with beauty and strength – got the messages clearly: “Normal people” with forbidden access, “Are we all descendants of aggression and dominance?” “Have we lost the ability to investigate and think?”
-History: “the truth and falsehoods of history” tied directly to our readings this week, plus the issue of whose story is it? Are we “blinded by lies,” or lies of omission? I loved those words in the exhibit.
-“A Matter of Taste – Food for Thought”
Food Exhibit: what a missed boat. There are SO MANY things that exhibit could have done, and some many participatory things missed for visitors…even a discussion table!
-Participatory Elements – and suggestions for improvement/inclusion:
o“Sensory Stations” – little more than small monitors with headphones, and a few video-audio clips (shssh! quiet!) Broadened the story, but not really participatory
o“Art Experience” Kids’ Gallery: this is great! Drawing, observations, tactile section, books, computers, shapes and forms, and questions for older kids to answer: what did you like the most? What would you change? Age? Come back?
oReading Room – addresses those who need quiet space and independent exploration – books, smaller exhibits, viewing films through video library. Good and meaningful.
oSurvey station – well-meaning…one did not work. Is this really participation, or is it just another survey method?
oThe “live posts” were kind of neat – shared opinion and conversation.
oI was interested in the explanation onscreen of the “new interpretive components of BAM’s exhibits” – “A New Way to Experience BAM’s Permanent Collections” – so that visitors can interact with artworks. The touch-screen computers were to have “art games, film clips, music, virtual curation programs, cell phone tours. Could not find much this at BAM, other than the static video kiosks. The family exploring paks, however,were great for each exhibit. I did not find a whole lot of follow-through on this for “integrating interactive educational components” into BAM’s exhibit paces, transforming the experiences into a participatory, self-guided exploration of art.” “Create a label” and “Create a postcard” were good ideas, though!
Suggestions: Can we do something like the kid room for adults? An invisible portrait booth? A photoshop computer game? Questions about race, “invisibility” in society, “erasing” – for community conversation?? A table for the food experience? Questions about food, or a place to post recipes, or favorite foods? Hook in somehow with local restaurants? Food and culture??!!
IDAHO BLACK HISTORY MUSUEM
-It was open!!!
-Greeted by a very congenial young man who was so thrilled to have visitors, and there were a fair number of families coming in. It was welcoming.
-The interp panels are rather old, and the objects scarce, but it had a good feel.
-Panels are text-heavy, but span a lot of years – decent messages and photos/art.
-TONS of books – very cool.
Suggestions
oThey have 2 non-working monitors, that may or may not be able to be used…in their stead, the museum staff person suggested they may put up a video screen and play looped videos of music, MLK speeches, etc. That would be neat – I offered that the music at Basque Museum adds yet another sensory dimension, and adds to the cultural history.
oI asked if they would be open to sharing info with other museum about culture in Boise, like the Basque Museum, or combining forces with those who know Chinese history. He thought that would be very cool.
oSlider panels directed at kids (read answers to questions)– but they are very boring. Some sort of interactive and certainly more graphic elements would engage kids.
oThey have a genealogy room! This could be a huge draw! I’d advertise that and set up workshops. As a matter of fact, Basque Museum could do the same….exploring personal heritage is great, and it would be participatory. Much like the Ellis Island search rooms?
oNo interpretation on the Baptist Chapel itself –that would be really neat and to incorporate photos of those who had been married in that chapel, what it looked like on BSU campus, a recording of a sermon or music???
BASQUE MUSUEM & CULTURAL CENTER
-Participatory elements: boarding house kiosk that is really old and semi-functional. You all know my ideas about doing something cool with boarding houses!
-The pelota onscreen game – pretty cool. I like the recreation of a fronton room.
-Video/voices of Lucy Garatea and boarding house women – voices are really important. I’d maybe include more and always have the music going. The CJU house has some wonderful voices in the sound kiosks. This is compelling.
-Very warm and welcoming – to anyone. I think this is critical – access is #1 importance to me…open, accessible.
Suggestions:
oThere is so much that can be done here with participation!
o“Changing names” exhibit – you come in much like the Titanic exhibit, with a Basque name – by end of visit, your name (and identity) has a huge chance of changing – Spanish/French/English names, new jobs, work-home life, etc.
oTake a ship to America, then train trip to Boise.
oBoarding houses – make this a real-life exhibit in the museum (the CJU job is excellent). Add an interactive, digital boarding houses –or diorama of some sort – push buttons? what Boise used to look like (with train station, Chinese, etc) Voices?
ALL OF BOISE’S MUSEUMS
Suggestions: It seems that there is a great opportunity for the museums to join forces more, at least in Boise. The Idaho Association of Museums may be helpful, but that includes a lot of very small, local museums. Boise could “pilot” some projects that are museum collaboratives, regarding societal issues – for instance, what about all of them, including the Idaho History Museum, tackling multiculturalism history – and contemporary diversity issues? Yes, even “Add the Words!)
Funding is a real issue…and participatory efforts can cost money.
We have major corporations, businesses, and interested/able individuals in the valley – let’s get to work on contacting potential sources of funding, and collaborative grant-writing! Our History502 class has the brain power, contacts, and willpower to shake things up and make it happen!!!!
More later on our assignment to come to class with possible projects…