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We recently commissioned three pieces that were about sound. Three
different artists or groups of artists & techies. We did them to
enhance a rented exhibit, which itself was made up of commissioned art
pieces. That exhibit was Play it By Ear (PIBE) from the Bay Area
Discovery Museum.
We had three very different experiences. One was really well done. A
simple out door musical kiosk that lives outside our front door. The
artists had been doing similar pieces and fully understood the need for
simplicity and durability.
The second was done by two members of the local Dorkbots. They
conceived a piece that played three gongs electronically controlled.
The gongs were really neat and the sounds were wonderfully haunting. BUT
they had a struggle with the interface and it left many visitors
frustrated.
The third was by the local Robot Group. It used sonar sensors to make
notes up and down a scale. It worked fine when it eventually showed up
three months late for a 9 month venue. It also did not really prove
very interesting despite all the work put into it. But they can
definitely do some relatively minor tweaking and get it to be much
better.
All pieces remained the property of the artists after the exhibit was
struck. The commissions were small.
One great thing that did happen while we had this exhibit up was a visit
by one of the original PIBE artists, Fran Holland. Fran came and he did
a few workshops with our staff teaching them how to make simple fun
instruments from junk. He also spent some time with us making some
alterations to his piece in the travelling exhibit. Having a very
direct interactive experience with the artist was the most worthwhile of
all.
As a designer I think it is very important that you (the museum) know
exactly what you want to get out of the artist up front. Have very
clear, concise goals. Also be very clear about durability,
maintainability and obviously safety. Put all that into the contract.
I also supplied all the artists with ergonomic data for kids as well as
a copy of play ground safety standards. AND I reviewed the designs as
much as possible to make sure they didn't show up with something totally
inappropriate.
The best thing about doing this may not be the actual finished exhibits
but more about the connections you will make with the local art
community.
Erich Rose
Exhibit Manager
Austin Children's Museum
201 Colorado Street
Austin, TX 78701
512-472-2499 x207, fax 512-472-2495
[log in to unmask], www.austinkids.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott Pattison
Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 2:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Collaborations with Artists
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****
Hello all,
What experience have people had working with artists to create displays
and interactives for exhibits? What worked? What didn't?
We are considering both temporary installations, that would only be on
display at one venue, and displays or interactives that would be a
permanent part of a traveling exhibit.
Thanks for your help,
Scott
Scott Pattison
Senior Exhibit Developer
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
1945 SE Water Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
503.797.4673
[log in to unmask]
www.omsi.edu
Unlock the puzzles in the Mindbender Mansion-A brain teasing new exhibit
now open at OMSI
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For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
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