Kate Meyers Emery, George Eastman Museum, USA The works featured in David Levinthal’s War, Myth, Desire gave us a unique challenge when designing the engagement around it: the photographs feature toys, but they are put into adult scenarios. Topics of his works include using green army men to depict World War II, figurines in various states of bondage, and a series called Bad Barbie, where barbie dolls, well… go bad. In order to be open about the nature of his works, and inspire our guests to talk about them, we decided to forgo the normal audio tour and create a podcast. Podcasts are a forms of digital audio that often prioritizes discussion and dialogue over one-way lectures. Instead of having someone tell you how you’re supposed to feel or what you’re supposed to be seeing, we imagined a podcast that would be a discussion between the hosts, the artist, and a variety of experts who could offer different opinions on the work. The hope was that the guests would feel that they too could have varying opinions, and experts could place Levinthal’s work into the broader historical and cultural context. Though it took much longer to produce and coordinate than an average audio tour, the results have been worth it. The 30-minute podcast features a diverse group of voices that offer opinions on topics from the history of toys to black memorabilia to the Wild West. We found an increase in visitor engagement with the audio, that it improved interaction within the exhibition, and that we were able to use clips and quotes from the audio in a variety of ways to improve the exhibition both on site and online.

1. PODCASTING
LEVINTHAL
Reimagining the Engagement for
David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire
Kate Meyers Emery, Ph.D. (@kmeyersemery)
George Eastman Museum (@eastmanmuseum)

2. 2AN EXHIBITION ABOUT TOYS? YES, PLEASE!
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 1998. From
the series Barbie. Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid
Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift of an anonymous
donor. © David Levinthal
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 1998. From
the series Space. Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid
Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift of an anonymous
donor. © David Levinthal

3. 3THE PROPOSAL…
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 1994. From
the series Mein Kampf. Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid
Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift of an anonymous
donor. © David Levinthal
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 1989. From
the series American Beauties. Dye diffusion transfer print
(Polaroid Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift of an
anonymous donor. © David Levinthal

4. THE CHALLENGE 5
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 1994. From the series Mein Kampf.
Dye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift
of an anonymous donor. © David Levinthal
David Levinthal (American, b. 1949). Untitled, 2007. From the series Space. Dye
diffusion transfer print (Polaroid Polacolor). George Eastman Museum, gift of an
anonymous donor. © David Levinthal

5. OUR GOALS 6
1. Instead of having only the artist’s interpretation,
invite multiple voices to comment on works
2. Provide starting points for conversations that
guests could use to kick off their discussion, both
for the general public and for kids
3. Make sure social media, audio tour and online
materials that guests see in advance match in-
gallery experience
4. Provide guests with access to materials prior to
visit, during, and after, also make available to
guests who won’t be able to make it on site

6. PODCAST INSTEAD OF AUDIO TOUR 7
Podcast style audio tour featuring not just Levinthal and curator,
but also:
•Christopher Bensch, vice president for collections, the
Strong National Museum of Play
•Kelly Dennis, associate professor of art history,
University of Connecticut
•Kenneth Goings, professor of African American and
African studies, The Ohio State University
•Kenneth Gross, editor of On Dolls (2012) and professor
of English, University of Rochester
•June Hwang, associate professor of German and
director of Film & Media Studies, University of Rochester
•Thomas Shieber, senior curator, National Baseball Hall of
Fame

7. MAKING THE MOST OF THE PODCAST 8

8. SPARK A CONVERSATION 9
How did you play with toys like Barbie or little green army
men? Did you ever play with them in unexpected ways?
Chris Bensch, Vice President for Collections and Chief Curator,
The Strong National Museum of Play
When you look at these images, what is the first thing
you see? The second? Why do you think your eye is
drawn to those things?
Kelly Dennis, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Connecticut
Are difficult objects worth saving or should they be
destroyed?
Kenneth W. Goings, Professor of African American and African Studies,
The Ohio State University
What would these photographs look like to you
if you didn’t know what toys were?
Kenneth Gross, Professor of English, University of Rochester
Why do we trust certain kinds of images more than
others? What does it mean to trust an image?
June Hwang, Associate Professor of German, Affiliate Faculty in
Film & Media Studies and in Jewish Studies, University of Rochester
What is Levinthal doing with the sports figurines
DAVID LEVINTHAL:
WAR, MYTH, DESIRE
David Levinthal’s photographs range from playful
portrayals of baseball players to more complex and
emotional depictions of war, racism, and sexuality.
While on the surface these images may seem to be
straightforward pictures of toys and collectibles, closer
examination and further reflection suggest a complicated
array of photographic techniques and visual associations.
We asked individuals with a deep knowledge
of the themes in these photographs to provide
open-ended questions (found on the back of
this card) to help us delve deeper not only into
Levinthal’s work, but also into our own memories,
preconceptions, and feelings about the subjects.
These individuals also contributed to the
exhibition podcast. Listen to the individual
stops found in the gallery by going to
eastman.oncell.com in your mobile browser or
by calling (585) 563‑3496. You can also listen at
soundcloud.com/george-eastman-museum.
Major support for the exhibition has been
provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
EASTMAN.ORG
A CONVERSATION

9. SPARK A CONVERSATION 10
DAVID LEVINTHAL:
WAR, MYTH, DESIRE
David Levinthal is an artist who uses his
imagination and toys to create scenes that tell
a story. Some of his photographs are based on
real events, while others are inspired by fantasy.
Dig deeper into these pictures and the stories
they tell. Check the back of this card for
some questions to think about while you look
at the exhibition.
E A S T M A N . O R G
A CONVERSATION
Note Adults may wish to preview these areas of the
exhibition before touring with children or teens.
Entrance
Exit
Think about these questions while you look
at the photographs in the exhibition:
• Can you identify the toys in the photograph?
• Do you have any toys that are similar to
the ones you see?
• How do you play with the kinds of toys
that are pictured here?
• What story do you think is being told
in this photograph?
After you have looked at some of the
photographs, think about these questions:
• What makes something a toy?
• Are all of the objects in the photographs toys?
• What is your favorite photograph in the
exhibition? Why?

10. SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN 11
• Wanted to share from all series so digital matches
on site experience
• Used questions from rack cards for social media,
aimed at creating discussions around the works

11. WHAT WE LEARNED 12
1. Guests prefer podcast style audio, it creates
environment of discussion rather than lecture (listen
rates double or more)
2. Guests who used the spark cards and took the audio
tour had a richer experience
3. Need to make available resources more obvious in the
gallery (not all guests knew we had these options
available, visitor services became more proactive in
response)
4. This type of engagement takes more staff time,
requires more planning, but worth the effort,
especially if you can use in multiple places

12. LOOKING FORWARD 13
• It wasn’t a perfect solution (if there could be one), but it
was a start at a more engaging experience that is unified
across digital and analog experiences
• Would love to know your approaches and tools for
engaging with challenging material- come find me over
coffee!