MULTI-SENSORY GROUP
1. As a means of creating more interaction with the piece and at the same time encouraging a more meaningful connection with the work we decided to deconstruct the piece and allow the patrons the ability to physically manipulate the work. While this creates more engagement with the piece it also allows deeper understanding of cubism in generally, as you can move the pieces back into the piece or create your own perspective of the piece. Furthermore, we think this tactile engagement in the form of puzzling can stimulate other sense and create a fun activity.
This prototype was created using a tabloid size blow up of the painting where we then cut out the sections on the left side of the piece and mounted them onto balsa wood using glue.
2. We also wanted to create a piece that was large scale and could be a fun way of interacting with the work, so we developed the idea of a 3D path on the work itself in a large scale setting. The piece would be blown up and broke down into its cubist sections and then presented at different levels so your body is being guided over the work. We also though about how this could be alternative way for people with visual apartments to engage outside of digital touch.
This prototype was created by cutting out the cubist sections of the right side of the painting then tracing these elements individually on balsa wood of varying thickness, they were then cut out and mounted back onto the piece using glue.
As another element of the feedback from the audio workshop people seem to have responded well to being able to break down the piece into its elements and to understand the image. Thus, we chose to prototype the sides of the piece which draws your eye to the main subject of the work being a woman on a horse. While we could chose to breakdown the whole piece we thought that was interesting commentary on peoples need to understand the art.
Exiting the exhibit
PROTOTYPE 4
Visitors can also engage in a collaborative art session, where they can use the ticket to participate in creation of a larger art installation present near the exit of the art gallery.The art installation is engaging and dynamic, which changes its form with every addition of the ticket.Visitors can carry the ticket as a souvenir if they don’t want to engage with the art installation.
PROJECT
PROJECT
Mobile App
MUSEUM TOUR GUIDE
While visitors are in the museum, they can turn on Bluetooth on their devices and receive push notifications to visit a nearby exhibition. If visitors enable the game mode, they receive notifications that give hints about a nearby artwork or exhibition to locate. If they are able to determine the location, they receive points which they can apply to future gallery visit admissions. Visitors receive these notifications based on the information they browsed on the app or by syncing their other search engines based on their history.
PROTOTYPE 3
https://projects.invisionapp.com/d/main/default/#/projects
PROTOTYPE 2
On Entering the Cubist Exhibit
In order to set the tone for the exhibit, guides greet the visitors upon arrival, dressed in clothing from the pre WWI era.
PROTOTYPE 1
Outside the AGO
The outdoor interaction prototype was created based upon the feedback relayed from the tactile workshop and features two potential outcomes within the one prototype.
PROTOTYPE 1
Outside the AGO
The interactive LED installation engages pedestrians and visitors en route to the AGO, allowing an exciting and educational experience to begin even before entering the gallery.
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The multi-sensory experience in exiting the exhibit consists of:
Collaborative art wall
Puzzles
Photo booth
As the visitors exit the exhibit, they pin their puzzle piece on a collaborative art wall, where they can read the ‘pieces’ of others. There are also puzzles of Cubist works available for them to construct, and a photobooth.
JOURNEY STEP #4
Exiting the exhibit
The multi-sensory experience in viewing the Cubist work consists of:
iBeacon-powered mobile application visual and written information, and podcasts, on: the historical context behind the artwork, the artist, the process, the technique and the timeline
Tour guide
Building blocks
In addition, the gallery tour guide is also available for questions.
Finally, beside the piece are building blocks, so the visitor can replicate the painting in a tactile way.
As the visitor views the piece, he can use his AGO mobile app, which is powered by iBeacon to sense for visitor location, to learn about the historical context behind the artwork, about the artist, about the process, about the technique, and about the timeline. The app also provides a podcast the user can plug into to hear information about the piece.
JOURNEY STEP #3
Viewing the artwork
The multi-sensory experience on entering the Cubist exhibit consists of:
A tour guide dressed in 1900s garb, engaging the visitor as if from the period
Music from early 1900s Europe
An entrance in the Cubist architecture style
A personalized experience created through reflection
By positioning multi-sensory art outside of the AGO, a different set of visitors is captured: the people who may not seek out the gallery experience, but who may be interested in coming in if they come across it and see that it is accessible.
On entering the exhibit, the visitor is immersed in the Cubist period: he is greeted by a guide dressed in garbs from the Cubist era; music from early 1900s Europe streams in from the speakers, and the entrance is structured like Cubist architecture.
JOURNEY STEP #2
On entering the Cubist exhibit
The multi-sensory experience outside of the gallery consists of:
Tactile ground artwork
Window imagery and window projections
Sound and music
Interactive LED installation (that morphs in shape as the visitor interacts with it)
Temporary facade
By positioning multi-sensory art outside of the AGO, a different set of visitors is captured: the people who may not seek out the gallery experience, but who may be interested in coming in if they come across it and see that it is accessible.
On approaching the AGO, we catch our visitors’ interests with a number of multi-sensory projections. Some of the projections are styled like modern art in order to be accessible to a potentially younger demographic that may be more accustomed to interacting with digital art. The intent behind the variety in projections is to be accessible and to appeal to a wider audience.
JOURNEY STEP #1
Outside of the AGO
CLUSTERS FOR TYPES OF INFORMATION
From the learning activity where the stakeholders outlines what types of information they required in order to enhance their art gallery learning and experience, a number of themes were prevalent, including: Inspiration & Motivations, History and Era, Story of Artist/Artwork, and the Materials and Techniques. Due to the number of stakeholders who requested these types of information, prototypes were designed in order to highlight these needs.
Learning Styles Visualized
WORKSHOP OUTCOMES
After clustering the learning style outcomes from the workshop activity, it became apparent that the majority of our stakeholders related to a minimum of two, if not three, learning styles. Due to the wide variety of learning styles amongst our stakeholders, we chose to use the outcomes as a representative sample for gallery visitors. Due to this outcome, we determined that each section of the journey map should focus on at least one learning style. That way, visitors would have the option of engaging in the style of their choice.
THE PROTOTYPES
Workshop Buildouts
After identifying recurrent themes from the workshop, we then clustered ideas and information into concepts and generated further discussion about potential prototypes. As a group, we further reflected on the current landscape surrounding the art gallery and museum, which led to the build out of the prototypes.
READ/WRITE STATION
Ask the Expert
The designated expert at the "Read/Write Station"researched the art work as well as the artist and was available to answer questions. This engaged participants in a deeper conversation about the piece as to encourage further retention of the information. Feedback from this station included more information surrounding the artist's life, the artist's inspirations, how the artwork changed history, how the artist influenced art history and where the artwork falls in history.
AUDIO STATION
The audio station featured two audio clips, both set to background music as featured from the time period to create the ambiance for the information presented. The first audio clip provided material about the artist as well as information about the context in which the piece was created. The second audio clip provided description of the work and encouraged the viewer to survey the piece within context of the artistic style. Feedback included the need for a more engaging tone of voice for the listeners. Stakeholders also felt the audio description helped draw the raw the eye across the piece and further helped the viewer to break down the image. Finally, the audio structures the info in a way that captures listen attention and provides multiple perspectives.
VISUAL STATION
The visual station engaged stakeholders with a variety of information, including information on the artist, the movement, the painting and the time period. Stakeholders were asked to read through the information provide feedback on what they liked and disliked. Feedback included the need to interact with a visual time lapse of the artwork being produced, the types of materials used, the artist's influences and the symbolism behind the artwork.
TACTILE STATION
In order to engage stakeholders at the tactile station, the painting was recreated three dimensionally using clay. Stakeholders were invited to touch and feel the clay artwork while providing feedback on their experience. While the clay artwork was intriguing and exciting to interact with, most stakeholders expressed that the tactile version no longer related to the original artwork, as it had been simplified and was devoid of colour. Other feedback included the desire to re-create the artwork themselves or have the re-creation available in block and puzzle pieces which could be dismantled and reassembled in order to understand the construction of the artwork. Similarly, some had anticipated the re-creation to be temperature sensitive, with the groves feeling cold and the surface feeling warm to the touch. Ultimately, while the clay felt nice to the touch, it was deemed the wrong material to express the sharpness of the lines shown in the original painting.
THE WORKSHOP - EXPLORE PART 2
Multimodal Stations
Stakeholders were led through one final activity where they had the ability to interact with the artwork at multimodal stations. These stations included: Visual, Tactile, Auditory, and Read-Write. Stakeholders were observed as they interacted with the various stations and were provided support or feedback as needed.
THE WORKSHOP - EXPLORE PART 1
Learning Styles
Stakeholders were led through the four learning styles and an activity in order to self-identify the style in which they learn. After identifying learning styles, stakeholders were led through a second activity based on how they would interact with the chosen artwork. They were asked questions such as, "how would you like to learn about this artwork?" and, "how would you engage with it?" The findings were compiled for later buildouts.
THE STAKEHOLDERS
The stakeholders for this workshop were identified as individuals who often or never frequent the museum or art gallery. It was important to have a wide variety of museum goers, with a multitude of backgrounds as well as diverse work and lived experiences.
THE WORKSHOP
An In Depth Explanation
In order to gain a deeper understanding of how museum visitors learn within a specific setting, stakeholders were invited to attend a workshop where they were engaged in a number of learning activities. These activities were built around the notion that each person learns in a unique way. How can a museum or art gallery engage visitors in a variety of ways while meeting the learning needs of the individual? In order to engage stakeholders, a Cubist painting, La Femme Au Cheval by Jean Mertzinger, was selected due to the complexity of the artwork and movement, in order to adequately challenge them.
TACTILE LEARNING
Museums such as Museo Omero in Ancona, Italy, Museo Tiflologico in Madrid, the Tactile Museum at the Lighthouse in Athens, Greece, and the touch gallery at the Louvre Museum have taken steps to create inclusive spaces for all visitors. Originally, these spaces were designed for the visually impaired to interact with the artworks yet today the majority of visitors to these spaces are sighted. Within these spaces, replicas of original artworks are on display, where both contemporary and historical pieces have been recreated for intimate interactions. At Museo Omero, curators work closely with local artists to create new works for the space, that visitors can engage with specifically through touch (McRainey, 2013, p. 75).
THE DIMENSION OF SOUND
In spaces where visual clutter has been removed in order to focus the eye on a particular work of art or exhibition, sound or a lack of sound becomes much more apparent. Sound has the ability to add another dimension to the perceptual experience unlike any of the other senses. (Arnott, 2012, p. 86). Regardless of whether or not an artwork or exhibition concerns sound, sound can be engaged in order to further the understanding of the overall medium or artwork and provide clarity around the context. Sound can be integrated into the artwork or the space in order to highlight or locate the production of the artwork within time and space. (Cluett, 2013, p. 106).
THE FUTURE OF THE MUSEUM
A traditional museum visit is designed to be understood through sight and considered inaccessible through the remaining senses. For those who are unable to access the museum through sight alone, whether visually impaired, in need of a touch tour, verbal description of the artwork or a guided tour, these visits must be booked well in advance. Interestingly, the way in which the brain processes information is in itself considered multisensory. While the eyes and ears provide sight and sound independently of one another, the brain is responsible for processing all information simultaneously, resulting in a larger neural network (McRainey, 2013, p. 75).
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MULTIMODAL STYLES
MULTIMODAL (SWITCH)
Some learners are flexible in their styles and can switch between styles based on situation.
MULTIMODAL (SIMULTANEOUS)
Some learners require inputs in various styles before they are able to digest the information. Although these learners may come across as slow actors or procrastinators, often their output is of better quality, since they took into account a greater number of factors.
TACTILE
This modality refers to the “perceptual preference related to the use of experience and practice (simulated or real).” People who prefer this mode are connected to reality, “either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or simulation” (Fleming, 1992, p.141). It includes demonstrations, simulations, videos and movies of “real” things, as well as case studies, practice and applications. The key is the reality or concrete nature of the example. If it can be grasped, held, tasted, or felt it will probably be included. People with this as a strong preference learn from the experience of doing something.
READ/WRITE
This preference is for information displayed as words. This preference emphasizes text-based input and output – reading and writing in all its forms but especially manuals, reports, essays and assignments.
AUDITORY
This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is “heard or spoken.” These learners report that they learn best from lectures, group discussion, radio, email, using mobile phones, speaking, web-chat and talking things through. The Aural preference includes talking out loud as well as talking to oneself, often repeating what has been said in order to increase their understanding.
VISUAL
This preference includes the depiction of information in maps, spider diagrams, charts, graphs, flow charts, labelled diagrams, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices, that people use to represent what could have been presented in words.
THE FOUR LEARNING STYLES
HOW DO WE LEARN?
What are the different ways that adult learners understand information?
In order to understand how gallery spaces must change in order to accommodate the various needs of visitors, an understanding must first be developed of the styles in which people learn and become engaged.
OVERVIEW
The experience of visiting an art gallery today has changed immensely. The white walls and noiseless spaces that house important collections of art are no longer fully accessible to the population at large. As tools become more engaging and interactive, many museum goers expect more from the experience. How can galleries create spaces that foster continued engagement with an artwork while further championing inclusive principles - whether prior to entering the gallery, while interacting with works of art or upon leaving the space?
