I am enamored of the experimental way some museums are re-examining the visitor experience, especially the launch yesterday* of a Vincent van Gogh iPhone application at the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam. Viewing art is often a passive, spectator activity, which I why I am always captivated by creative explorations of art and artistic spaces. Museums often suffer, or perpetuate, the public’s perceptions of them as aloof and haughty. A modern audience is entitled to expect a greater degree of engagement using methods fit for the 21st century, in tandem with the traditional reflective personal perusal of the artwork. The advent of new technologies and creative collaboration between institutions, artists and the public has allowed a unique and refreshing rediscovery of museum attendance.

A few years ago, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, curated a sensory exploration of that venerable institution called “Shhh…” The museum commissioned 10 different musicians and artists to create sound-pieces in response to different rooms and spaces. The contributors were incredibly varied, from big art names like Gillian Wearing and Jeremy Deller, to musicians like Roots Manuva, David Byrne, Leila and Elizabeth Fraser. Infrared sensors triggered the applicable tracks on the your MP3 player as you toured the building. The whole experience was stunning.

A huge room exhibiting substantial Raphael cartoons was transformed by Elizabeth Fraser’s surreal vocal concoction, while Roots Manuva’s urban street sounds filled an opulent 18th century music room built on the spoils of the slave trade. Intriguingly, even the museum’s century old restrooms were treated to re-imagination by David Byrne, whose soundtrack included the acoustics of dripping taps, flushing toilets and ancient rattling. What was once familiar to me took on a completely new mantle. The way that I perceived the space and the art was completely reinterpreted and my interaction was fresh, compelling and uniquely mine.

The V&A followed that with an interactive sensory experience called Volume. The contemporary audio-visual effects were conjured in reaction to the visitors’ presence and movements within the elegant courtyard garden of the museum. Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum conceived a superb synergy between musical artists, the Joslyn Art Museum’s physical environment and the art on display through its Art for your Ears event. Musicians composed original works in response to contemporary works on display and museum visitors could download these to MP3 players and tour the exhibition with the music.

Technology is also transforming the more usual ways that patrons engage with and interpret the works on display. The Museum of Arts and Design newly re-opened in New York City encourages visitors to listen to information about the works via their own cell phone. Antenna Audio, the people behind Shhh … helped London’s National Gallery create Love Art, an iPhone application that delves into more than 250 important works of art through video, audio and thematic interactive application functions and allows you to embark on new journeys of artistic discovery. The Brooklyn Museum also has its own iPhone app with a variety of information about the Museum and its collections.

The new Vincent van Gogh Amsterdam Museum app called Yours, Vincent takes this to another level by specifically acting almost as a personal and insightful docent, guiding the patron further, deeper and more extensively into the whole exhibition experience.

I am excited for the new wave of social and technological innovation to open new horizons in cultural engagement with our museum heritage, artistic works and the physical environment. Share with me your own experiences and any predictions or desires for the future.

*I regret that I have yet to be able to download Yours, Vincent from iTunes. Hmmm … where is it?

Tags: iPhone app, MAD, van gogh, victoria & albert museum, yours vincent

Written by Stuart
David Day | Associates
About the Author: Stuart is constantly curious and believes conversation matters, for business, people and community. Feel free to join in...

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Art, Fun, Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.