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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Hi Charlie,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on museum evaluation. I often wonder if we are missing the most valuable information because perhaps we are not asking the right questions. My experience is with the art museum and I can tell you visitors leave transformed by their experiences and sometimes it happens in a nano-second. For example, I listened to NPR interview with Sarah Bernhardt biography author. A caller shared how she saw a Bernhardt sculpture at a museum and it so surprised her that she researched everything she could about all her other various creative pursuits besides theatre. In other words, she became an expert of sorts on the topic. Another interview with another Charlie also included a similiar reference to a life-changing museum experience. the rapper Chali 2na visited the Van Gogh museum while on tour and recounts seeing the sunflower painting upon entering the museum. From across the room, he told his interviewer, it looked as if VG had smashed a real flower against a canvas and it was preserved. Getting up close, of course, he saw that wasn't the case but marveled at the way VG had applied the paint in such a way to give that very effect--the strokes, the colors, etc. and the effect it had on him a century after it had been painted. he knew at that very moment he had to take up oil painting and it turns out he's pretty good! it also has affected his song writing. these are the anecdotal stories I love and I think it happens much more often than we can even begin to imagine.
See examples of Chali's paintings at Studio 360. Full disclosure, a book that was just published includes my chapter on this topic as well. (see signature below)
I will be interested in reading more comments on the subject.
Happy New Year 2 all!
Terri McNichol
Ren Associates
imaginement™ grow imagination~drive appreciative change
707 Alexander Rd., Bldg. 2 Ste. 208
Princeton, NJ 08540
Telephone +1.609.371.5354
Fax +1-609-243-0045
Cell +1.609.638.5878
www.renassociates.com
Blog: http://imaginement.wordpress.com/
“We are living longer, but thinking shorter.”
~Mary Catherine Bateson
Just published: see my chapter "The Art Museum as Laboratory for Re-Imagining a Sustainable Future" in Part III: APPRECIATIVE INTELLIGENCE PERSPECTIVES. Advances in Appreciative Inquiry- Positive Design and Appreciative Construction: From Sustainable Development to Sustainable Value v.3. Thatchenkery,T., Cooperrider, D. & Avital, M. (Volume Eds). Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. http://bit.ly/buuVXP
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