Friday, February 13, 2015

The Museum Effect and where technology fits in (or doesn't)

The American Alliance for Museums (AAM) has recently initiated a great chat site known as Museum Junction, which is continually throwing up useful information. One recent discussion was on museological books, and I was drawn to a contributor identifying The Museum Effect by Jeffrey K. Smith as being his best read of the year. Subtitled 'How Museums, Libraries and Cultural Institutions Educate and Civilise Society', it sounded like an interesting book.

And it delivers what it promises, albeit from a strongly art gallery focus, which is where the author's experience lies. I have a few gripes with its content and style, one being I don't see how the process of viewing art (described as 'The 'Right' way to look at art') can be discussed without reference in either the text or the chapter references to Kenneth Clark (see my blog on 'How to look at art' from September 2009) especially as the process described is exactly what Clark proscribed. Another is that two images turn up twice, one being a full page in each instance, which smacks to me of page filling.

However, having got that off my chest, two particular issues struck a chord with me. The first is the extensive discussion on visitor surveys, how to construct and run them, and what to make of the data they provide. This builds off the direct and extensive experience of the author whilst working at the Met, but it cites various case studies at other organisations as well - all very useful stuff for those in the business of such.

The second is the chapter on media available to present information to visitors. There is discussion on the options both current and future, including labels and wall text, audio tours, in-person tours, reading rooms and catalogues, and off-site website access. Finally there is mention of what are described as 'video tours'. The potential delivery technology for such is not mentioned, whether it is NFC, QR codes, or RFID readers, nor the vehicle for such whether they be smartphones, Google Glass, iPads, or even 3D visuals delivered through Nintendo game consoles, as is the case at the Louvre.

As I read I had pause to reflect that here was an expert writing from within one of the great art museums of the world, and making a very pertinent point "Do we really want to draw the attention of the visitor away from the work of art... with a video screen in competition with oil on wood or gouache on paper?"

Good point, Jeffery K. Smith, and for me as one who has long espoused the virtues of technology for enhancing the visitor experience, it is a salutary one.

Monday, February 2, 2015

British Museum conservation

The new British Museum conservation labs have been the talk of the profession since they opened late last year, so I was pleased to have a tour of them with Dr Anna Buelow, the acting head of conservation, two weeks ago.  

The raw data is that the BM has built a new £135 million facility known as the World Conservation and Exhibition Centre, which brings together all their conservation labs into one building over 18,000 square metres along with the Museum's exhibition operations and a new exhibition space.

A full description can be found in the latest News in Conservation, the free publication of IICso I will not dwell on the detail, but rather pick up my takeaways from the visit:
  • First and foremost is the flexibility that has been achieved. It seems to have become a key buzz word in the planning process, and it has resulted in spaces that can be almost infinitely reconfigured to suit the requirements of the objects being worked on. This is helped by almost all staff (some 80 at present) hot desking, thus ensuring it is easy for staff to relocate to another space that may suit the treatment better.
  • Alongside this flexibility is the benefits that have come from bringing all the disciplines under one roof, and encouraging cross disciplinary use of spaces. Thus, textiles and paper now share a wet space, which is not only more efficient but ensures the two sections work closely together in their planning. This process of cross disciplinary collaboration is further aided by a central break out area with comfy chairs, where for the first time in living memory all the departments can get together socially. 
  • And just as this brings about efficiencies of operations, so also ease of access has been massively increased. Previously any large objects had to be brought into the labs through the exhibition halls, thus meaning it had to be undertaken out of hours. Now with dedicated loading dock access (including the largest truck lift in Europe), all this movement can take place during normal hours.
  • Finally, what particularly struck me is that the labs are not full of sparkling new state of the art equipment, not that they don't present very smartly. The money has been spent more subtly on flexible furniture (see above) and quality finishes, such as beautiful polished concrete floors in the sculpture labs with much of the tried and tested equipment brought from the old labs.
Well done to the BM - Seven years of planning has produced a model to us all on how to develop a conservation facility for current times.