Audibly Engaging Fine Art

Just last weekend I had decided to take a small trip to Boston since it had been awhile.  This time I wanted to do something I had never done before and check out the Museum of Fine Arts.  Walking into the museum it seemed intimidating with the vast range of art the museum possesses (contemporary to ancient religious works from the 7th century).  To accompany me along the way I decided to try out their audio guides since a large part of my responsibility is interpreting art through audio resources.  Using the latest iPods the guide informed me how to toggle from one exhibition to another.  Although it may seem like a simple task when creating such a tour with these types of devices, one of the most important aspects is that “visitors need to be able to quickly understand how to operate the device….[and that] it does not interfere with visitors’ interactions with other people or exhibits” (Tallon and Walker, “Digital Technologies and the Museum Experience”)

Audio Guide at the Fine Arts Museum in Boston

 

While the ear piece seemed awkward at first, the audio guide had the latest exhibition entitled Through the Looking Glass featuring art from glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.  From the start the amount of information the guide had was extremely rich in content.  “Behind the scenes” videos of the exhibition installation were featured along with interviews of Mr. Chihuly and the process of creating his art.

Dale Chihuly's Work of Art

But was the museum’s ability to have this type of content only due to the contemporary nature of the exhibition?  How well did the audio and video guide explain a work of art created before the documentation of such through different mediums?

Speed walking through the galleries, I began to look for older artworks to experiment with the audio guides.  Reaching the Asian art section I almost felt at home and began clicking away.  The audio guide began with simple details and background, though I found myself explaining the story behind the characters within the piece to others around me whose audio guide may have left them curious about more.

MFA's Audio Guide Selection

Looking for more myself, the home button showed that more options were available giving an audio description of the exhibition space ranging from color, dimensions, and the curatorial reasons for the design.  With my mind speeding in multiple directions: from being a visitor –  to an explorer  – to a professional with these mediums, I began to think about how a feature like this could be used by the curious like me, to helping the visually impaired and visitors with low vision.  Walking away inspired about the possible steps the Rubin Museum could possibly take I recalled a quotation that I had read on the ride up to the city of Boston: “Technology’s future appears to have limitless prospects in terms of accessible experiences in museums” and just then I became inspired realizing that the quotation was meant for all visitors and not just a selected few.

MFA's Japanese Shrine Room

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