mobile interpretation in the museum as agora
DESCRIPTION
Presentation to the IUPUI Museums and Technology course at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 22 September, 2009.TRANSCRIPT
Mobile Interpretation in the Museum as Agora
Nancy Proctor, Smithsonian American Art Museum
[email protected] 22 September 2009
IMA Museum Studies
22 September 2009
Agenda for today• Some Principles of Mobile Interpretation
1. It’s not about the technology
2. Interpretation is essential
3. The museum is a distributed network
4. The museum as agora
• Why mobile?
• A short history of digital tours
• Next generation ‘tours’
• Try it out!
• Debrief
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Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003
22 September 2009
Interpretation is as essential to the Museum as cutlery is to a banquet
Beth Lipman, Bancketje (Banquet) 2003
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• Some visitors may bring their own,
• Some may eat only the finger food,
• Some may choose another restaurant,
• Many will go away hungry,
feeling uninvited and unwelcome.
If the Museum doesn’t provide it:
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But what is the Museum
in this Web 2.0 world of information on demand?
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Photo by Mike Lee, 2007; from SAAM Flickr Group
Our audiences now access American Art through a wide range of platforms
beyond the museum’s walls and website
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22 September 2009Nancy Proctor, [email protected] 9 December 2008
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1.1. A platform for communities & A platform for communities & collaborationscollaborations
2.2. A conversationA conversation
3.3. A mash-upA mash-up
4.4. Inspiring, educational & funInspiring, educational & fun
The Museum as Agora is:
22 September 2009
Why mobile?
April 2009 study by Pew Internet & American Life Project:• 32% of Americans have at some point used the internet on their mobile device.• 19% of Americans said they had yesterday accessed the internet on their
mobile. • 50% say it is very important to them to have mobile access in order to stay in
touch with other people.• 46% say mobile access is very important for getting online information on the
go.• 17% say mobile access is very important to them so they can share or post
online content while away from home or work.
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/12-Wireless-Internet-Use.aspx?r=1
“Africa has the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world…”
BBC 12 August 2009: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8194241.stm
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Means tours fall on deaf ears
http://picasaweb.google.com/anup.rao/HaifaAkkoIsrael#4954285426665324562
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Think outside the audiotour box
• http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/smith/smith.html
• http://prezi.com/67549/
Koven Smith’s paper:
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Manifesto for a new tour design
1. Show them what the curator sees in both overview and detail: -^-+-o-/-?-
2. Then give them access to everyone else's vision: * ! $ % @ "" ?
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Three modes of content
1. +-+-+-+-+ Soundtracks
2. o o o o o Soundbites
3. /\ | /\ | /\ Links
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The Soundtrack
• Provides a linear narrative and contextual information: tools for understanding the key principles of the displays, both in the gallery and beyond.
• ‘Downloaded’ for audiences on-site and beyond.• Is a story or a conversation that the visitor can join.• Immersive, but may be divided into a number of
connected segments.• Like a good album, book or catalogue, should be
possible to enjoy over & over again…
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Soundbites
• Are ‘atoms’ of information.• That facilitate going deeper on a particular
object/subject.• Are commonly called ‘stops’ – or ‘starts’!• Can be a tool for information gathering by the visitor
e.g. via bookmarking;• Can be reused across the museum’s analog & digital
platforms as well as those of third parties.
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ArtBabble: an ideal interface
http://www.artbabble.org/video/meet-william-christenberryNancy Proctor, [email protected] 37
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Voices: Which are your favorites?
1. Expert voices:– Artists– Curators– Staff– Professional narrators
2. Dialogue
3. Vox pop
4. Augmented Reality38Nancy Proctor, [email protected]
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Curatorial Voice
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Irving R. Wiles, John Gellatly1930-1932
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Staff Picks
+1 (202) 595-1852 – 302# Benjamin Trott, Anne Hume Shippen, ca. 1796
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Professional Narrator
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Paul Cadmus, Bar Italia, 1953-1955
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Vox Pop: Student Voices
Sophie Hunter Colston, 1896
William R. Leigh
Born: Falling Waters, West Virginia 1866
Died: New York, New York 1955
oil on canvas 72 3/8 x 40 7/8 in. (183.8 x 103.9 cm.)
2nd Floor, East Wing
Podcast by Holton Arms HS student, Pamela S.
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Your Turn30 minutes in the galleries
1. Map your questions as they arise in a gallery or other area of the IMA.
2. What modality (soundtrack, soundbite or link) would best answer each question?
3. What voice would best speak to each question?
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Links• Mobile interpretation wikis
1. http://wiki.museummobile.info/
2. http://museummobile.info/archives/category/podcasts
3. http://Tate.org.uk/modern/multimediatour/ Wiki
4. http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com/• HandheldConference recordings http://www.handheldconference.org/program/• SmartHistory http://SmartHistory.org• Koven Smith’s paper: http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/smith/smith.html &
http://prezi.com/67549/ • SFMOMA (Peter Samis & Stephanie Pau):
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/samis/samis.html & http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html
• Smithsonian Web & New Media Strategy Wiki (with ‘Voice your Vision’ call to action!) http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/
• Nancy Proctor ([email protected] & @nancyproctor): http://wiki.museummobile.info/conversations/page/2 & http://wiki.museummobile.info/museums-to-go/architecture
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