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Shapeshifting - Transformations in Native American Art at PEM
- 1. Brian Jungen (born 1970), Dunne-Za Nation. Cetology, 2002. Plastic chairs. Jim Olson, Director of Integrated Media
- 4. Yup’ik artist. Mask representing walaunuk, early 1900s. Wood, feathers, and paint. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 9/3432.
- 5. • Premise • Impetus • Thematic approach Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Aleut). Tsu Heidei Shugaxtutaan (We Will Again Open This Container of Wisdom That Has Been Left in Our Care), parts I and II, 2006. Digital video: 5 minute loop each, performances by David Elsewhere (part I) and Dan Littlefield (part II). Courtesy of the Artist.
- 6. • Opening the Dialogue • Changing: Expanding the Imagination • Knowing: Expressing Worldview • Locating: Exploring Identity and Place • Voicing: Engaging the Individual • Advancing the Dialogue Kent Monkman (Cree). Théâtre de Cristal, 2007. Plastic beads, simulated buffalo hide, and Super-8 film: Group of Seven Inches, 2005 (7:34 minutes).
- 7. • Artworks • Design • Interpretation • New media
- 8. • Multi-directional • Insights • Close looking • Support themes • Accessibility
- 10. Changing Locating Pat Pruitt (Laguna Pueblo). CSST V2.0, Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee). La Primavera, 2011. Stainless steel. Courtesy of Leslie 2005. Oil and gold leaf on wood. Courtesy of M. Beebe and Bruce Nussbaum June Kelly Gallery. Knowing Voicing Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo). Possibly Pokanoket Wampanoag artist. Ball-headed war Emergence of the Clowns, 1988. Ceramic and club, ca. 1675. Maple, whelk, and quahog. Fruitlands paint. Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts
- 12. Pat Pruitt in his workshop, Laguna Roxanne Swentzell at Tower Pueblo, New Mexico Gallery, Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
- 14. • Trigger and induce • Draw from the personal • Minimize cultural bias • Produce interesting answers Source: Simon, Nina, “Design Techniques for Developing Questions for Visitor Participation.” Museum 2.0. April 28, 2009.
- 15. CHANGING What other influences can you see in Pruitt’s work? KNOWING What do you imagine these figures are seeing as they look out on this world for the first time?
- 16. LOCATING Can you recall a place in your life that transformed you? VOICING Can you describe an object that voices a powerful story to you?
- 24. • Establishing protocol • Making time • Rating system • Criteria • Trash
- 26. 160 users observed: 60% users only watched the video 32% watched the video, and left a comment or read other comments •Demographic •Time spent •Looked at artwork •Headphones
- 27. • 3000 total responses • 1300 approved • 1700 trash • 710 praise for show or cogent comment, but did not answer the question • 30 messages addressed to artist • 10 “I like pie” • 10 relating to other works in exhibition (+9 in approved responses) • 990 junk
- 28. Changing 335 Knowing 459 Locating 283 Voicing 226 Rating breakdown, totals 1: 634 2: 190 3: 271 4: 146 5: 62
- 29. Word Cloud | Before and After
- 30. • Word Cloud placement • Summative experience • Web component • Advance testing of final questions
- 31. • Karen Kramer Russell, Curator of Native American Art • Michelle Moon, Assistant Director of Adult Programs • Jim Olson, Director of Integrated Media Contact me: Jim_Olson@pem.org
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Good Morning. My name Jim Olson; I’m the Director of Integrated Media at the Peabody Essex Museum. Many thanks for coming this morning. Today I will explore the media interactives in Shapeshifting: Transformations in Native American Art that I helped develop, and examine how we used video and question prompts to encourage user generated responses to artwork in the show. This brought visitors closer to the art and helped fulfill our overall objectives of the exhibition.
- A little bit about PEM for those of you who don’t know us Founded in 1799 as the East India Marina Society, making it the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States Deep and far ranging collection of 1.8 Million objects including Native American, Oceanic, American Maritime, Indian, to name a few. Wide range of traveling exhibitions from blockbuster painting shows to fashion. 22 Historic properties on campus, including the Ward House from 1684 and a 200 year old Qing Dynasty house that has been reconstructed on the museum premises
- $650 million capital campaign, $350m to the endowment, $100m for improvements, and $200m to a new building with an additional 75,000 square feet of exhibition space. By 2017 we will be in the top dozen art museums in the US in terms of gallery space and operating budget and in the top 6 for endowment. All in Salem, MA! Oh and we are hiring….increasing our staff by about 1/3 to make all of this happen. So talk to me after the presentation if you are interested in joining the team!
- First I will provide you with a brief overview of the exhibition and then I’ll discuss our interactives – our goals, the development process, and our findings and lessons learned. The 73 works in Shapeshifting were created by Native artists from indigenous communities in the USand Canada, and were selected to demonstrate a range of artistic expression, culture, time and media. Together, they celebrated Native art’s extraordinary diversity.
- PREMISE: Shapeshifting offered an exciting new orientation for understanding Native creativity and art-making as part of a dynamic, evolving continuum. IMPETUS: Shapeshifting countered popular notions of Native art as anthropological specimen mere craft Functional objects oversimplified curios and as lodged in the past Like all art, Native art constantly evolves and refreshes itself. THEMATIC APPROACH: Shapeshifting is distinctive from many other exhibitions of Native art because it integrated historical with contemporary works and anchored them not by timeframe, geography or medium, but through ideas that explore links and continuities between the past and the present, rather than perpetuating a disconnect between then and now. This decision to have a thematic exhibition, we felt, would help broaden people’s understanding of Native art, and counter p ersistent misperceptions in the public mindset perpetuated by the media and in popular culture
- The exhibition’s four organizing themes are touchstones that have consistently operated in Native art over time. Changing – underscored artistic innovation. Knowing – explored the strikingly different ways artists imagine, understand, and express their worldviews and ideologies. Locating – examined the intersections between place and personal and cultural identity and Voicing – looked at how individual artists express themselves in relation to the changing world around them. Two monumental installations bookended the four themes. They served as strong introductory and concluding works because they encompassed all four themes and really challenged our perceptions of what Native American art can look like and be about. The introductory work is seen here, Kent Monkman’s fabulous Theatre de Cristal. Describe Monkman – Miss Chief Eagle Testicle, film Group of Seven Inches George Caitlin and group of seven references
- If our ultimate goal was to incite and invite change in the perception and appreciation of Native art, providing multiple points of entry for our visitors to access some of these key messages was important. The artworks, of course, are one point of entry. The curator selected outstanding examples of art based on their visual qualities and also their conceptual affinities to the themes. The design of this show was pivotal in the reframing– our exhibition design was clean and contemporary. Terracotta walls did not have a place in this show. Each artwork was given ample breathing space, rather than grouping things in cases as is often done in more typical anthropological shows of Native art. Interpretation through labels, introductory objects in each theme, and a quote on the wall by a Native artist or scholar, provided additional ways into the art. Further, Shapeshifting had three different new media components: a Word cloud projection, iPad interactive stations, and a summative gallery experience, all of which I will describe more fully momentarily. Through the exhibition’s artworks, design, interpretive techniques and new media, Shapeshifting provided a great, interconnected platform to deliver a transformative experience, which is at the core of our museum mission.
- Our extensive front end visitor studies indicated that people were hungry to see artists personalized through media to help bring home the message of individual creativity, because this aspect of Native art was unfamiliar to them. An interdisciplinary team comprised of curatorial, education, and my team developed experiential multimedia designed to: Create multidirectional dialogue between the artist, visitors, the museum and the artwork Offer insights into the inspirations behind the artworks Encourage close looking, personal reflection, and wide-ranging discussion, And support understanding of the gallery themes Lastly, the multimedia experience needed to be intellectually and physically accessible to all of our visitors. We extended access to the interactives beyond the gallery walls by making the interactives available online. We wanted the video to take the lead.
- Describe bridge situation first of 3 media components: a large, dynamic word cloud projection user-generated responses to questions put forward in the iPads The most frequently used words appeared very large in the Word Cloud – the less frequently used words were smaller.
- The 2 nd media component in Shapeshifting was a series of iPad stations. Placed adjacent to artwork in the galleries 90- second video of an artist talking about their work, after which they could answer a question related to that object as well as read other people’s responses. Again, these answers were fed into the Word Cloud that appeared on the bridge. Based on the timeline, budget and available space, we picked one object/theme. In choosing each object, we were looking for a range of media representing different geographic regions.
- We were also looking for a mix between male and female artists, tribal affiliations, and the historical and contemporary. While all the living artists in the show are talented, maybe not everyone would be engaging as far as a filmed interview goes- so that was also one of our criteria. We landed with Pat Pruitt, upper left, from Laguna Pueblo in the SW; Roxanne Swentzell, lower left, from Santa Clara Pueblo in the SW; Kay WalkingStick, upper right, Cherokee from the Southeast living in NY; And Jonathan Perry, lower right, Aquinnah Wampanoag from Massachusetts, talking about a 17 th century Wampanoag warclub. Here is the interview with Roxanne Swentzell, so you have a sense. Just 90 seconds:
- Six month production Everything but the interface design and web development work was done in-house. The four videos were shot and edited less than two months before opening date of show.
- 45minutes, edited down to 90 seconds. Questions we asked: Asked a wide range of questions at the video shoot so that we could go back and edit down to a few of the questions that we were considering for the interactives
- So how did we get people to open up and share their generous thoughts and responses? We constructed questions, using Nina Simon’s techniques for maximizing visitor participation by constructing questions that: Trigger an immediate response; induce grappling and really make you think about an answer; and motivate authentic expression We wanted visitors to draw from their own personal experiences, and they really did - examples And we wanted the questions to be open to anyone regardless of cultural background or education Finally, we wanted people to share thoughts that are interesting to consume and respond to---we didn’t want a bunch of “yes or no” answers to read through. It’s a lot harder to come up with questions that follow these guidelines than you’d think. We used Nina Simon’s Design Techniques for Developing Questions as a guide and found it very helpful. Describe how we created the questions – short on time. The show opened about six months after I started at PEM.
- Here are the questions we arrived at. Without your seeing each of the videos, they may not make AS much sense, but hopefully you’ll get the gist. For the iPad in the Changing gallery: What other influences can you see in Pruitt’s work? Knowing: What do you imagine these figures are seeing as they look out on this world for the first time?
- Locating: Can you recall a place in your life that tranformed you? And for the Voicing gallery: Can you describe an object that voices a powerful story to you? As I mentioned, we drafted questions before the videos, but really needed to interview the artists and edit the videos before finalizing our questions for the iPads.
- Why did we wind up going with iPads for the media delivery? Many visitors will see the iPad and know how to interact with it, it is a simple, intuitive user interface Keyboard built in to the system Very minimal instructions needed (tap here to start) Cost effective Small enough that it fosters a real intimate experience. Some of the works have a real emotional resonance and having a smaller environment to type in became important. We went with custom-built, tamperproof cases for them, using the same Corian and aluminum materials that were used in other design elements in the show. Made for a very Unified design. Decided on 2 iPads/one object ---- one was lower for wheelchair accessibility and had a light, movable seat, and the other was placed higher, optimal for people who were standing up.
- Visual tied the iPads to the bridge experience from earlier in the exhibition. This was static, it did not change based on visitor responses. Tap to start is simple but important – give example
- Decided on moderation with the comments – wanted to keep things on topic, not censorship
- system for managing and moderating the responses. Our interdepartmental team of 3 checked the responses every day. As new answers were approved in the CMS, we used PHP and XML to feed the live word cloud flash animation. We devised a rating system for ourselves. Something got a Rating of 1 if it was on topic, but with vague or partial answer Can you recall a place in your life that transformed you? “Kind of. But not really in the same way as the artist.” A short answer with some description, elaboration got a rating of 3: Can you describe an object that voices a powerful story to you? “An old hat my grandfather gave to me right before he died.” Something got a Rating of 5 if it was unusually rich, with a lot of description, reflection, and emotion What do you imagine these figures are seeing as they look out on this world for the first time? “Pathos, pain, and incredible joy and intricacy as they look and absorb. Clay particles that some day turn to skin and dust, then into snowflake stars brilliant on the plains. They see what I see and what I can not see and could not say with words.” Trash: Off topic, potentially offensive, overly negative Praise Noise, keyboard mumbo jumbo Jokes or nonsense Doubles
- Finally we had a summative display which was located near the exit. You can see it in the distance in the image on the left, just beyond the whale’s jaw. 50” display featured what we considered the best quotes from the answers to the iPad questions. This cycled through all 4 themes then refreshed itself, and started again. Even folks that did not use the iPads had an opportunity to read the best comments left by visitors. Shows how this show of Native American art could elicit very personal and individual responses Received some very powerful and poignant answers We then leveraged comments via social media
- 160 observations total, over course of 5 days: 60% of the observed users only watched video; 32% watched the video and left a comment and/or read comments. Vast majority spent average of 2 minutes at the iPad station (vs. 6-7 seconds average visitor spends with a work of art) Our average user is a Female, between 55-64 years In fact, 2/3 of our users were female This corresponds to PEM’s demographic- our average museum visitor is 54 years old, 64% female Of the 90% or so who watched the video and left or read comments, they looked at the art before and after A few people looked during, and a few never looked at all The vast majority of people used the headphones we provided
- 3000 total responses 1300 approved 1700 trash 710 praise for show or cogent comment, but did not answer the question. The praise was great, but there was a Guest Book at the end of the exhibition for that kind of feedback. 30 messages addressed to artist; people relating directly to the artist 10 “I like pie” . Urban dictionary definition: phrase used online to politely decline to engage in potentially upsetting discussion 10 relating to other works in exhibition (+9 in approved responses) 990 junk
- So just quickly taking a closer look at the number of total comments we received per thematic section: The Knowing station with Roxanne Swentzell’s Emergence of the Clowns received the most comments by far, at 459; and the 17 th century warclub in Voicing received the fewest, with 226 comments: Rating breakdown: we gave out a lot of 1’s (634). In contrast, we were very selective about what got a 5 rating, and only gave out 62. [some back and forth and discrepancies between us about ratings]
- 90% of our users who watched the video spent about 2 minutes with the iPad interactive – they looked at the art before, during and after the video Many people’s answers demonstrated very personal and individual responses to the art, the themes, and the exhibition, which was one of our main objectives. Time, expression, art shrunk significantly or disappeared Love, family, childhood, powerful, seem like new words and words like different, life, home, place, and beauty all get larger. The museum voice was replaced or bolstered by our visitors.
- the words became appetizers for some of the bigger ideas explored within the exhibition. But you wound up seeing the most frequently used words in the iPad interactives before you saw the iPads. It may have been better payoff to have the Word Cloud at the end. Summative experience - Even though some people spent several minutes reading through the comments, it was kind of an inactive experience. However, we were surprised that more people didn’t read through other comments in the iPad stations, so that is a good argument for having this summative display. Web component- better PR in gallery and through social media. The amount of people who answered the iPad questions in the 3 rd and 4 th galleries of the exhibition dwindled. I’m not sure if that has to do with the questions, the placement of the objects and iPad stations in the gallery, gallery fatigue, or a little bit of everything. I’d probably want to do more advance testing of the final questions to at least rule that possibility out.
- Several PEM staff were integral to the media component’s success. I just want to call out my two colleagues and partners on this media project: Karen Kramer Russell, the curator and mastermind behind the show and Michelle Moon the interpretive team liaison on the project. Curator: Working on the interactives with this wonderful collaborative team was one of the highlights of curating this exhibition, and certainly one of the most fulfilling projects I’ve had the privilege of working on since I began museum work in 1995. Thanks I think we have time for questions and I would be happy to answer some.