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As to whether a museum exhibit has ever changed the world, I've
spoken with many individuals who claim life-changing experiences from
exhibitions: for example, a high energy physicist confided once that
he chose to pursue his life's work when he saw a laser exhibit as a
child visiting the 1964 NY Worlds Fair. I think this qualifies as a
resounding yes to the question of whether exhibition can change the
world, albeit by setting my own conditions, more "micro-" to
Charlie's implied "macro."
As an artist I've fielded the question of whether art can change the
world many times, to which I usually respond that I, too, am a
skeptic. But I keep a running list of examples that offer
affirmative (particularly "macro-") proof anyway. (My favorite--
though arguably shrouded in so much legend, it needs to be taken with
salt-- is the story of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony turning back the
Nazi forces, ending the Seige of Leningrad. That's a story for
another time...)
As for the value of formal evaluation, I often cite a real world
example of how the utility of the process was missed. In short, I
was involved in designing and producing a n exhibit which suffered
copious text (forced by donor persuasion, ick). There was a lot of
nervousness on the museum staff about the word count, but one day,
one of the exhibits team saw a young person using the exhibit and
taking the time to read all of the text. Horribly, in the formal
evaluation vaccuum, like a staff-wide game of telephone, this
exciting andecdote attentuated into testament. At some point, our
graphic designer was actually claiming to a group of nodding heads in
the conference room that we'd discovered a font that encouraged
visitors to read overly-long labels. This may sound ridiculous to
seasoned professionals, but in fact it's often the way information
moves in the social systems to which we all belong. I was swept up
in the geist, as well, until these "findings" began to influence
other projects, and I had a moment of clarity and blew a whistle.
All this to say, "institution-think" is a very real phenomenon,
affects the wisest of institutions, and can be exceedingly
dangerous. Third-party, formal evaluation is one of the few tried-
and-true checks and balances against memes-gone-wild. We cannot rely
only on what the critics write in the reviews. (Cough.)
On the other hand, I'm a skeptic, too. Formal evaluation in design
shares similarities with big brainstorming sessions, of which I am a
big fan. But I am an even bigger fan of creative leadership that
damns the committee and forges ahead responsibly toward a singular
vision.
None of these thoughts are contradictory. because everything serves
its own purpose in the bigger picture.
: Jason
__
JasonJayStevens
JasonJayStevensStudio
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www.potterbelmar.org/jjss
536 Roosevelt Avenue
San Antonio, Texas 78210
210.364.6305
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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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