This past week the Chicago History Museum launched their Costume and Textile Digital Collection online. I have been having a wonderful time browsing through their lovely historic clothing and all the pretty dresses I'll never get to wear. High resolution photographs allow you to zoom in very close to examine the outfits and multiple photos allow you to get a 360° look at the pieces. Below the images are descriptions of the costumes and some include the family legends that have accompanied them through time. Some people procrastinate on Facebook, I procrastinate by looking at digital collections. To each her own.
This comes around the same time that news breaks about some very contemporary-looking bras discovered in the rubbish heap of a Austrian castle. Radio carbon dating places their age sometime around the end of the 14th to the second half of the 15th century. You can read more about these amazing finds in this article entitled "Medieval Lingerie" from the August 2012 issue of BBC History Magazine.
And if the article doesn't satisfy your need to learn more about historic underwear, then I would encourage you all to visit the Missouri History Museum to see the current exhibition Underneath It All, which looks at undergarments from the late 19th century to the 21st century, and some more pretty dresses. I did a lot of work for this show in my capacity as Exhibitions Registrar Intern, and I am very proud of it. If the opportunity arises, definitely go see.
What can I say? I've got cloths on the brain this week. Now please excuse me for leaving this post short, but I have the sudden urge to go shopping.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Chinese Latern Festival
Friday evening I accompanied my parents on a visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see the summer exhibition, Lantern Festival 2012: Art By Day, Magic By Night. Throughout the garden are hand-crafted lanterns on a colossal and overwhelmingly beautiful scale after the Chinese tradition. These are not the lanterns I made in the second grade with a single sheet of construction paper, a pair of scissors, and two pieces of Scotch tape. Nor are they the, "portable lighting device[s] or mounted light fixture[s] used to illuminate broad areas," as defined by Wikipedia. They certainly aren't portable. The lanterns are as the title of the exhibition implies, magical works of art.
The lanterns are sculptural structures that depict many scenes including popular Chinese fables, famous emperors, important religious figures, and of course dragons. What would a Chinese festival of any kind be without those rolling serpentine bodies that we've all come to automatically associate with the world's most populous country?
During the day they bask in the sunlight, emanating confidence in their own complexity and splendor. After the sun has completed its long arc across the sky and has begun to tuck herself into the horizon, that's when the lanterns really begin to emanate. The light from energy efficient bulbs (see other ways the festival is Green here) shine through the colorful silk skins of the lanterns and make the figures glow brightly against the inky blacks and navy blues of the night sky. Some of the lanterns even have animatronic elements and move as traditional Chinese music sounds out from nearby loudspeakers.
Some of the best pieces aren't even lanterns. In the center of the garden, stretching across the length of two large reflecting pools are the giant porcelain dragons. Looking to find a new way to represent this popular Zodiac figure, the Missouri Botanical Garden created these two massive sculptures using a unique median; fine China. Tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain plates and cups and spoons were utilized to create these two large, fire-breathing creatures. Wait... did she say fire-breathing? Oh yes, she did. Not only are these figures animatronic, they also spew out smoke as their eyes smolder through the haze. Okay so not actual fire, but the effect is still very cool. A loud soundtrack builds up in intensity as the show begins with the two figures completely dormant. Then at the height of the score, their eyes start glowing, their heads start moving back and forth, and finally smoke rolls from their mouths, creating an amazing show. You can see one of these magnificent sculptures in the background of my blog page, as well as a bright pink lotus lantern.
Other pieces are made from recycled water bottles and glass jars, adding to the conservation message that is promoted throughout the garden. In addition to their promotion of Green practices, the exhibits also present a lot of facts about Chinese history and customs. Special-made lanterns serve as text panels and present this information as an art form and as an educational tool. The whole event harkens back to the thousand-year-old tradition of lantern festivals in China and transports the viewers back through time. This way patrons of the event are dazzled by the amazing artworks as they learn more about another culture. More traditional panels show the process by which the lanterns were made and have interactive samples the visitors can touch.
The Missouri Botanical Garden often hosts amazing summer art shows, but this one really takes the cake. Never have I been so captivated and impressed by lanterns and never have I learned so much in the warmth of their glow. It is always a great thing when a museum institution hosts a cultural event. It is very important to be exposed to other cultures in this fast-paced and ever expanding world. It is also important to look back at old traditions and the lessons that they teach us. They have most successfully done this with the lantern festival at the garden this summer and I encourage everyone to go see before the show ends on August 19th.
The lanterns are sculptural structures that depict many scenes including popular Chinese fables, famous emperors, important religious figures, and of course dragons. What would a Chinese festival of any kind be without those rolling serpentine bodies that we've all come to automatically associate with the world's most populous country?
During the day they bask in the sunlight, emanating confidence in their own complexity and splendor. After the sun has completed its long arc across the sky and has begun to tuck herself into the horizon, that's when the lanterns really begin to emanate. The light from energy efficient bulbs (see other ways the festival is Green here) shine through the colorful silk skins of the lanterns and make the figures glow brightly against the inky blacks and navy blues of the night sky. Some of the lanterns even have animatronic elements and move as traditional Chinese music sounds out from nearby loudspeakers.
Some of the best pieces aren't even lanterns. In the center of the garden, stretching across the length of two large reflecting pools are the giant porcelain dragons. Looking to find a new way to represent this popular Zodiac figure, the Missouri Botanical Garden created these two massive sculptures using a unique median; fine China. Tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain plates and cups and spoons were utilized to create these two large, fire-breathing creatures. Wait... did she say fire-breathing? Oh yes, she did. Not only are these figures animatronic, they also spew out smoke as their eyes smolder through the haze. Okay so not actual fire, but the effect is still very cool. A loud soundtrack builds up in intensity as the show begins with the two figures completely dormant. Then at the height of the score, their eyes start glowing, their heads start moving back and forth, and finally smoke rolls from their mouths, creating an amazing show. You can see one of these magnificent sculptures in the background of my blog page, as well as a bright pink lotus lantern.
Other pieces are made from recycled water bottles and glass jars, adding to the conservation message that is promoted throughout the garden. In addition to their promotion of Green practices, the exhibits also present a lot of facts about Chinese history and customs. Special-made lanterns serve as text panels and present this information as an art form and as an educational tool. The whole event harkens back to the thousand-year-old tradition of lantern festivals in China and transports the viewers back through time. This way patrons of the event are dazzled by the amazing artworks as they learn more about another culture. More traditional panels show the process by which the lanterns were made and have interactive samples the visitors can touch.
The Missouri Botanical Garden often hosts amazing summer art shows, but this one really takes the cake. Never have I been so captivated and impressed by lanterns and never have I learned so much in the warmth of their glow. It is always a great thing when a museum institution hosts a cultural event. It is very important to be exposed to other cultures in this fast-paced and ever expanding world. It is also important to look back at old traditions and the lessons that they teach us. They have most successfully done this with the lantern festival at the garden this summer and I encourage everyone to go see before the show ends on August 19th.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Conservation Glossary
Today I have been exploring The Fine Arts Conservancy, Stoneledge Inc. glossary of conservation terms. This source is fantastic because not only do they provide terms and definitions, but also some links to sample images. You can check it out here. Enjoy!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Please Do Not Throw Rocks
A recent encounter with some visitors at Laumeier Sculpture Park has left me pondering on the differences in the expected decorum at an arts institution that is outdoors vs. an arts institution that is indoors. Yesterday, as I was participating in a docent-guided tour through the wooded area of the park, we came across a group of adolescents playing with a Frisbee and throwing medium-sized rocks. Though they were a safe distance from other visitors, my first concerning being another stander-by getting hit by one of their flying projectiles, they were within an uncomfortable proximity to an artwork. In the most authoritatively polite tone I could muster, I instructed these young adults to stop throwing rocks and, if they insisted on playing Frisbee, to do so in the large central field at Laumeier, which is perfectly acceptable. I warned them of the area they were in and the proximity to the artwork. I got two immediate responses: "Who are you?" and "I didn't realize this was art."
My response to the first question, in a now more authoritative tone, was "I work here." The seemingly natural response to this was, "Oh." In reference to the second comment, I did point out the rather large sign nearby which labeled the artwork. The question of whether they were really ignorant of the artwork's art status or if they were just giving me hooey, I try to let roll off my shoulders so the tension does not give me a hunchback.
I think what surprised me the most was the, shall we say, "cheek" or "sass" of demanding to know who I was. Now it is possible that because I was some yards away from them, they did not see my Laumeier t-shirt, which somewhat distinguishes me from non-employees (though the same t-shirt is actually on sale in the gift shop), and they thought I was the local art park busy-body. There is no real uniform at Laumeier, just a business casual dress code and some name tags. Even so, at the Kemper Art Museum I am similarly dressed and I have never had a patron question my responsibility to ask them to cease inappropriate behavior. I am grateful to report that I have never caught a visitor at the Kemper throwing rocks.
This led me to reflect on the unique nature and challenges of outdoor sculpture gardens, plazas, and parks and the seemingly different perceptions visitors have of artworks outside vs. artworks inside. I have noted that when visitors are inside of a museum or gallery they are a bit more aware and careful in the space. This is perhaps the effect of early educational conditioning, where we use our inside voices in the classroom and when it is recess we get to shout, scream, run around, jump rope, and throw rubber balls at each other. It is a, "Sh! This is a library," type of mindset, which is understandable in a museum where the artworks' locations are carefully spaced and labeled in a linear elevation on pristine white walls. These places have educational and scholarly connotations to them and posses a very "Sh! This is a library," feel. I have had patrons apologize to me about their mobile phones ringing and many others that will only speak in a whisper. And when I have approached visitors that have gotten to close to a painting, I usually received immediate compliance and sometimes an apology.
On the other hand, when artworks are displayed outdoors everyone is mentally at recess and cannot control that urge for a more tactile experience. At the Kemper Art Museum the outdoor sculpture plaza is where the vast majority of the touching offenses happen. And Laumeier has a lot of climbers... a lot. This is partially due to the outside nature of the park, but also because of the perceived invitation from the larger-than-life pieces to meet the challenge of scaling them and sticking the proverbial flag a top the proverbial Everest. The wide open spaces near the artworks also appear to be encouraging some harmless shenanigans and a good-old-fashioned rollick. I think even the most polite and respectful art-goer sometimes just cannot help themselves. I mean, who doesn't love a good rollick? And a rollick in a field with some art, even better! So when people outdoors are approached about their inappropriate behavior, the response is more, "Oh, oops, sorry," *grumble* *grumble* "Mean old recess monitor." *grumble some more*
I should note that no one, either indoors or outdoors, likes to be approached about inappropriate behavior. I acknowledge this is embarrassing for the visitor, which is why I always attempt to be as friendly and polite as possible. The last thing I want is a patron to feel unwelcome; I just want them to be more careful.
And then there is the, "I didn't realize this was art," response. I take this with a grain of salt, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't actually know. It is possible, especially with site-specific pieces that are meant to blend in harmony with the environment they occupy, not to notice an artwork is an artwork. Pieces such as earthworks or sculptures that look like trees, are not always immediately identifiable as art or even as something man-made. Due to the sometimes cameleon-like nature of these pieces, it is possible a patron could damage art without realizing it. Also, since many outdoor artworks, though thoughtfully placed, are not organized the same way as indoor artworks they may not always be easily identifiable to the public as such. The artworks in the woods at Laumeier are pieces you are supposed to "discover" as you venture down a path. Since they are not blocked out and evenly spaced, as they can be in indoor museums, this reduces the chances of visitors realizing they should practice indoor museum behavior. This may explain instances at Laumeier, but remember the Kemper's sculpture plaza? These artworks are evenly blocked out, raised up on pedestals, and are right next to the museum building, and they still get touched. So that brings us back to the theory of indoor vs. outdoor mentality.
The big question now is how does a museum handle these types of situations? When the artworks are outside it makes it so museum employees cannot always be there to protect them. The only "preventative" actions one can really take is put up signs and offer constant and friendly reminders not to climb or touch. Not everyone listens, though, and there really is no way to eliminate the indoor vs. outdoor mentality that we all learned in grade school. So the only other options to consider are reactionary, which would include a disaster plan should the worst (i.e. vandalism or bodily injury due to climbing and falling) occur. Vandalism does happen indoors, the internet is full of stories of folks kissing Cy Twombly's or rubbing their butts on paintings, but outdoor art leaves open a lot more opportunity for vandalism. Climbing is also a more common outdoor occurrence and is generally more of a problem with sculpture and architecture.
The fact of the matter is, outdoor artworks have very different needs and are viewed by the public in a very different way from indoor artworks. I have noted this from personal experience. In my search on the internet for more information about the challenges of works of art outdoors and how institutions should handle these challenges, I came across a great video, which I invite you all to watch with me. This is a recording of a lecture sponsored by The Getty Conservation Institute in California entitled, Out in the Open: Conservation Challenges of Outdoor Public Art. You can watch it here. It discusses a broad range of issues concerning outdoor art, including unintended contact with visitors. I should make it clear, though, that the way the panel in this video defines public art is very different from the situation at Laumeier. Our artwork is in a public park which is run by St. Louis County Parks, but our artworks are not owned by the park. They either belong to or are on loan to the museum and public funds (i.e. taxes) are never used to pay for them. Even so, the outdoor conditions and issues with the public are similar, which is what makes this video a great resource.
Allow me to wrap up tonight's post with a request: Please do not throw rocks. Please do not throw them near artworks, or buildings, or other people. In fact, please don't throw rocks at all. It's just not a very good idea. Thank you.
Do you work with an outdoor art collection? What are some of the regular problems you have noted with the viewing public and how to do handle them?
My response to the first question, in a now more authoritative tone, was "I work here." The seemingly natural response to this was, "Oh." In reference to the second comment, I did point out the rather large sign nearby which labeled the artwork. The question of whether they were really ignorant of the artwork's art status or if they were just giving me hooey, I try to let roll off my shoulders so the tension does not give me a hunchback.
I think what surprised me the most was the, shall we say, "cheek" or "sass" of demanding to know who I was. Now it is possible that because I was some yards away from them, they did not see my Laumeier t-shirt, which somewhat distinguishes me from non-employees (though the same t-shirt is actually on sale in the gift shop), and they thought I was the local art park busy-body. There is no real uniform at Laumeier, just a business casual dress code and some name tags. Even so, at the Kemper Art Museum I am similarly dressed and I have never had a patron question my responsibility to ask them to cease inappropriate behavior. I am grateful to report that I have never caught a visitor at the Kemper throwing rocks.
This led me to reflect on the unique nature and challenges of outdoor sculpture gardens, plazas, and parks and the seemingly different perceptions visitors have of artworks outside vs. artworks inside. I have noted that when visitors are inside of a museum or gallery they are a bit more aware and careful in the space. This is perhaps the effect of early educational conditioning, where we use our inside voices in the classroom and when it is recess we get to shout, scream, run around, jump rope, and throw rubber balls at each other. It is a, "Sh! This is a library," type of mindset, which is understandable in a museum where the artworks' locations are carefully spaced and labeled in a linear elevation on pristine white walls. These places have educational and scholarly connotations to them and posses a very "Sh! This is a library," feel. I have had patrons apologize to me about their mobile phones ringing and many others that will only speak in a whisper. And when I have approached visitors that have gotten to close to a painting, I usually received immediate compliance and sometimes an apology.
On the other hand, when artworks are displayed outdoors everyone is mentally at recess and cannot control that urge for a more tactile experience. At the Kemper Art Museum the outdoor sculpture plaza is where the vast majority of the touching offenses happen. And Laumeier has a lot of climbers... a lot. This is partially due to the outside nature of the park, but also because of the perceived invitation from the larger-than-life pieces to meet the challenge of scaling them and sticking the proverbial flag a top the proverbial Everest. The wide open spaces near the artworks also appear to be encouraging some harmless shenanigans and a good-old-fashioned rollick. I think even the most polite and respectful art-goer sometimes just cannot help themselves. I mean, who doesn't love a good rollick? And a rollick in a field with some art, even better! So when people outdoors are approached about their inappropriate behavior, the response is more, "Oh, oops, sorry," *grumble* *grumble* "Mean old recess monitor." *grumble some more*
I should note that no one, either indoors or outdoors, likes to be approached about inappropriate behavior. I acknowledge this is embarrassing for the visitor, which is why I always attempt to be as friendly and polite as possible. The last thing I want is a patron to feel unwelcome; I just want them to be more careful.
And then there is the, "I didn't realize this was art," response. I take this with a grain of salt, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say they didn't actually know. It is possible, especially with site-specific pieces that are meant to blend in harmony with the environment they occupy, not to notice an artwork is an artwork. Pieces such as earthworks or sculptures that look like trees, are not always immediately identifiable as art or even as something man-made. Due to the sometimes cameleon-like nature of these pieces, it is possible a patron could damage art without realizing it. Also, since many outdoor artworks, though thoughtfully placed, are not organized the same way as indoor artworks they may not always be easily identifiable to the public as such. The artworks in the woods at Laumeier are pieces you are supposed to "discover" as you venture down a path. Since they are not blocked out and evenly spaced, as they can be in indoor museums, this reduces the chances of visitors realizing they should practice indoor museum behavior. This may explain instances at Laumeier, but remember the Kemper's sculpture plaza? These artworks are evenly blocked out, raised up on pedestals, and are right next to the museum building, and they still get touched. So that brings us back to the theory of indoor vs. outdoor mentality.
The big question now is how does a museum handle these types of situations? When the artworks are outside it makes it so museum employees cannot always be there to protect them. The only "preventative" actions one can really take is put up signs and offer constant and friendly reminders not to climb or touch. Not everyone listens, though, and there really is no way to eliminate the indoor vs. outdoor mentality that we all learned in grade school. So the only other options to consider are reactionary, which would include a disaster plan should the worst (i.e. vandalism or bodily injury due to climbing and falling) occur. Vandalism does happen indoors, the internet is full of stories of folks kissing Cy Twombly's or rubbing their butts on paintings, but outdoor art leaves open a lot more opportunity for vandalism. Climbing is also a more common outdoor occurrence and is generally more of a problem with sculpture and architecture.
The fact of the matter is, outdoor artworks have very different needs and are viewed by the public in a very different way from indoor artworks. I have noted this from personal experience. In my search on the internet for more information about the challenges of works of art outdoors and how institutions should handle these challenges, I came across a great video, which I invite you all to watch with me. This is a recording of a lecture sponsored by The Getty Conservation Institute in California entitled, Out in the Open: Conservation Challenges of Outdoor Public Art. You can watch it here. It discusses a broad range of issues concerning outdoor art, including unintended contact with visitors. I should make it clear, though, that the way the panel in this video defines public art is very different from the situation at Laumeier. Our artwork is in a public park which is run by St. Louis County Parks, but our artworks are not owned by the park. They either belong to or are on loan to the museum and public funds (i.e. taxes) are never used to pay for them. Even so, the outdoor conditions and issues with the public are similar, which is what makes this video a great resource.
Allow me to wrap up tonight's post with a request: Please do not throw rocks. Please do not throw them near artworks, or buildings, or other people. In fact, please don't throw rocks at all. It's just not a very good idea. Thank you.
Do you work with an outdoor art collection? What are some of the regular problems you have noted with the viewing public and how to do handle them?
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Go Laumeier!
A positive review written by Laura Elizabeth Barone about Laumeier Sculpture Park's recent exhibition on the temporaryartreview.com. Enjoy!
Camp Out: Finding Home in an Unstable World at Laumeier Sculpture Park
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Exhibitionists
Move over Dance Moms and get the hell out of my kitchen Gordan Ramsey! The National Museum Wales and BBC 2 Wales have come together to create a whole new kind of reality television experience, The Exhibitionists, a competition to design and implement an exhibition for the National Museum Cardiff. There are many contestants with creative and new ideas, but only one can win! Read more about it on the walesarts blog here.
I think this is a fantastic idea because not only does it make my inner museum geek very happy, but it also reaches out to a whole new audience. Thousands of viewers who may not already have an interest in museums can now get an in-depth look at what goes into the making of an exhibition. It also has a very strong chance of encouraging more visits to museums from these viewers. Finally a reality TV show I can get behind!
I've noticed, since my time studying in the UK, how the BBC embraces museum institutions in their programing. Since January 2010 BBC One has broadcasted the popular children's game show, Relic: Guardians of the Museum. This is a behind-the-scenes museum adventure for kids, where the young protagonists have nighttime quests in the British Museum in London. Much of the filming is done on a sound stage, but the British Museum did open its doors for the shooting of several linking scenes.
Another series that I really enjoyed while I lived in Scotland was the BBC Two series Museum of Life. This was also a behind-the-scenes look at another popular British institution, the Natural History Museum in London. With Jimmy Doherty guiding the viewing audience, he took cameras back into areas of the museum your average visitor does not get to see. These are just two examples of BBC museum-centered programs, and I have to say it's one of the things I miss the most about the UK.
There are similar shows in the United States, such as the Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum, which goes behind the scenes at multiple museums across the US to examine their most bizarre and intriguing artifacts. Yet, where Museum of Life is a journalistic enterprise that inspires wonder, Mysteries at the Museum is a series that does more to incite intrigue in order to attract more of a Dan-Brown-enthused audience.
The BBC has done a lot more to generate museum-based programming that leans strongly towards education rather than entertainment. Not to say the shows are not entertaining, because they really are. The Exhibitionists is actually a really good example of this, because you'll get the reality TV staples of intense challenges met by multiple characters of varying personalities, while simultaneously learning something about how museums work; about how an exhibition comes to life. It will be both insightful and entertaining.
The difference may be in the public and private nature of the respective channels. The BBC is government funded and thus more prone to develop educational programming. Much of the US television world exists in the private sector, so the shows are all about RATINGS! RATINGS! RATINGS! I think the only exceptions are PBS and the Smithsonian Channel.
So my questions are: Can there be a similar behind-the-scenes televisions series in the United States? Can there be museum shows that are more about education than they are about entertaining or just freaking viewers out? Shows that really encourage a wider audience to visit museums? Are there any shows that already do this that I have just overlooked? If I have, please do point them out to me.
I think this is a fantastic idea because not only does it make my inner museum geek very happy, but it also reaches out to a whole new audience. Thousands of viewers who may not already have an interest in museums can now get an in-depth look at what goes into the making of an exhibition. It also has a very strong chance of encouraging more visits to museums from these viewers. Finally a reality TV show I can get behind!
I've noticed, since my time studying in the UK, how the BBC embraces museum institutions in their programing. Since January 2010 BBC One has broadcasted the popular children's game show, Relic: Guardians of the Museum. This is a behind-the-scenes museum adventure for kids, where the young protagonists have nighttime quests in the British Museum in London. Much of the filming is done on a sound stage, but the British Museum did open its doors for the shooting of several linking scenes.
Another series that I really enjoyed while I lived in Scotland was the BBC Two series Museum of Life. This was also a behind-the-scenes look at another popular British institution, the Natural History Museum in London. With Jimmy Doherty guiding the viewing audience, he took cameras back into areas of the museum your average visitor does not get to see. These are just two examples of BBC museum-centered programs, and I have to say it's one of the things I miss the most about the UK.
There are similar shows in the United States, such as the Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum, which goes behind the scenes at multiple museums across the US to examine their most bizarre and intriguing artifacts. Yet, where Museum of Life is a journalistic enterprise that inspires wonder, Mysteries at the Museum is a series that does more to incite intrigue in order to attract more of a Dan-Brown-enthused audience.
The BBC has done a lot more to generate museum-based programming that leans strongly towards education rather than entertainment. Not to say the shows are not entertaining, because they really are. The Exhibitionists is actually a really good example of this, because you'll get the reality TV staples of intense challenges met by multiple characters of varying personalities, while simultaneously learning something about how museums work; about how an exhibition comes to life. It will be both insightful and entertaining.
The difference may be in the public and private nature of the respective channels. The BBC is government funded and thus more prone to develop educational programming. Much of the US television world exists in the private sector, so the shows are all about RATINGS! RATINGS! RATINGS! I think the only exceptions are PBS and the Smithsonian Channel.
So my questions are: Can there be a similar behind-the-scenes televisions series in the United States? Can there be museum shows that are more about education than they are about entertaining or just freaking viewers out? Shows that really encourage a wider audience to visit museums? Are there any shows that already do this that I have just overlooked? If I have, please do point them out to me.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Heat Wave
St. Louis has been unbearably hot for the last seven days, and the next seven are supposed to be just as bad. I have spent the past week sitting inside watching much more motivated, possibly crazier, people than myself outside exercising in 104° weather. I have only left the house to go to work. You might think that hot weather outside would drive people do to more inside activities, like visiting the nice environmentally controlled interior of a museum. I've found, though, that this kind of heat keeps a lot more people in than it sends them sprawling to get into an art gallery. It may not seem that difficult to climb into a car, drive the short distance, and walk into the museum, but in this kind of weather the interiors of cars amplify the greenhouse effect by about a thousand. No one wants to put up with that.
That being said, there are still those dedicated museum patrons that will come out in this weather. Yesterday at Laumeier Sculpture Park, which is a mostly outside experience, we still had three small groups show up for the 2:00pm docent tour. I really appreciate these kinds of visitors. I really appreciate anyone who knows how to enjoy and value art and history, no matter the monstrous blaze of the afternoon sun.
I have been wondering about these small bands of dedicated museum goers and also the larger population of those who just stay home. Is there something that museums can do to cater to folks on hot days? Perhaps there is a better approach museums should try in the summer. Something like:
That being said, there are still those dedicated museum patrons that will come out in this weather. Yesterday at Laumeier Sculpture Park, which is a mostly outside experience, we still had three small groups show up for the 2:00pm docent tour. I really appreciate these kinds of visitors. I really appreciate anyone who knows how to enjoy and value art and history, no matter the monstrous blaze of the afternoon sun.
I have been wondering about these small bands of dedicated museum goers and also the larger population of those who just stay home. Is there something that museums can do to cater to folks on hot days? Perhaps there is a better approach museums should try in the summer. Something like:
Heat Wave got you down?
Come to the museum and enjoy
70° F and 50% humidity all afternoon.
Hygrothermograph Guaranteed
Just something I've been thinking about as I try to beat the heat. Do you think more museums should campaign in the summer as a cool and relaxing alternative to outside activities? Do you know of a museum that already does this?
Stay cool everybody.
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