This research discusses an in-depth analysis of the novel entertainment-based institutions coined as Instagram Museums, in terms of the aesthetic art experiences and play driven interactions that...Show moreThis research discusses an in-depth analysis of the novel entertainment-based institutions coined as Instagram Museums, in terms of the aesthetic art experiences and play driven interactions that they provide. By differentiating between two distinct types of Instagram Museums, the gallery-like and the museum-like, the analysis is led through two case studies, the Museum of Ice Cream and the Museum Voorlinden. While these institutions have a strong social media component shaping their exhibitions, they use separate business models based on the contrasting cultural status retained. Most importantly this includes original approaches to the experience obtained within the space by growing visitor engagement both through the aesthetic appeal and the participatory nature of the exhibits. Instagram Museums aim to provide entertaining experiences that can be beautifully captured with a phone and become Instagram bait, bringing in increasingly more visitors. In doing so, the spaces feature installations that offer high levels of immersion and interactivity, turning the often passive engagement encountered in traditional museums into veritable acts of play. By bringing in some online conducted interviews alongside the theoretical analysis of the topics, this thesis argues for the reconfiguration of the (traditional) museum experience through the construction of more aesthetically appealing interactive encounters.Show less
Social media holds promise for museums to enhance visitor participation, engagement with potential visitors via participatory communication and in building an online community to which to refer to....Show moreSocial media holds promise for museums to enhance visitor participation, engagement with potential visitors via participatory communication and in building an online community to which to refer to. However, the integration of social media within museums practices, particularly in Italy, has been a rather cautious transition as museums are concerned with the ways social media may deteriorate traditional organizational forms of authority that cultural institutions have held. The aim of the present paper is to investigate the extent to which Italian museums can use social media to engage with a younger audience. In doing so, this study has conducted a case study analysis of Musei Civici Veneziani, by interviewing the web-content manager of the institution. Findings demonstrate that Musei Civici Veneziani continues to use a one-to-one communication model, whereby social media platforms are used solely to inform users about practical matters. The use of a one-to-one communication model, rather than a many-to-many one by Musei Civici Veneziani is due to fear of jeopardizing their role as a cultural authority. However, the present paper aims to showcase the opportunities of adopting a peer-to-peer participatory communication model as a way to effectively engage with younger audiences which allows them to become active members within the museum.Show less
De videogame wordt in verschillende velden steeds serieuzer genomen, waaronder beeldende kunst. Hoe gaan kunstenaars en musea om met dit veelzijdige medium? En hoe past het interactieve element van...Show moreDe videogame wordt in verschillende velden steeds serieuzer genomen, waaronder beeldende kunst. Hoe gaan kunstenaars en musea om met dit veelzijdige medium? En hoe past het interactieve element van de game daarin, zowel algemeen als in specifieke tentoonstellingen? In dit onderzoek staan deze en andere elementen van gametentoonstellingen centraal, waarbij het Victoria & Albert Museum als case study wordt gebruikt.Show less
Colour. A colour, the colour, any colour. Colour in everyday life. Coloured things that individuals use regularly. Colour on the walls, colour in the frames. Colour in the photographs. Colour on...Show moreColour. A colour, the colour, any colour. Colour in everyday life. Coloured things that individuals use regularly. Colour on the walls, colour in the frames. Colour in the photographs. Colour on the multiple screens. Colour in media and films. Furthermore, via things, colour has this potential to speak and evoke memory. In this thesis, I discuss how colour links with memory. More precisely, I analyse how coloured things work as memory’s mediators in two films: And the Wife shall Revere her Husband (1965), and The Red Balloon (1956). In the first case, I claim that coloured things can evoke memory, while in the second, how coloured things work as memes that create memory. In this process, my personal stories assisted me to approach colour in this way. Colours work within a network with their surroundings. In the following pages, I reflect on my own past experiences and I claim that colour and memory have an indisputable connection.Valuable theories and methods from different disciplines, such as media and film studies, sociology and philosophy, stand by my side in this journey. Colours are endless and constant. Without any further delay, allow me to remember and analyse moments through a rainbow costume, a homemade pie, a white hat, and a red balloon.Show less
Over the past few months, an increasing number of images and installations produced by artists using artificial intelligence (AI), have sold at major auction houses like Christie’s or Sotheby’s....Show moreOver the past few months, an increasing number of images and installations produced by artists using artificial intelligence (AI), have sold at major auction houses like Christie’s or Sotheby’s. This suggests that the artificial semi-automated production and reproduction of art is becoming part of established and recognized institutional art circuits. What remains less certain though, is the possibility of AI producing art fully autonomously, that is, without the artist’s input. There are currently several AI image-generating robots created with the aim to be as automatic as possible, among which is PIX18, built by the mechanical engineer Hod Lipson. Allegedly, this machine can apply physical pigment on canvas to make consistently diverse paintings with minimal human intervention. It is so skilled with the brushes, that its by-products have become practically indistinguishable from human-made paintings in aesthetic terms. With that in mind, the aim of this thesis will be to take PIX18 as a case study, and investigate the extent to which its depictions can be seen as artistically equivalent to human art. This will be done by comparing a painting called ‘Frightened Girl’ (2016) made by/with the robot, to another painting titled ‘Woman with a Flowered Hat’ (1963) made by the artist Roy Lichtenstein. In that fashion, this thesis will attempt to answer the following question: to what extent can PIX18’s ‘Frightened Girl’ (2016), be seen as artistically equivalent to Lichtenstein’s ‘Woman with a Flowered Hat’ (1963), and what does this say about current conceptions of art and future considerations of AI? Both paintings are reinterpretations of other images, and will be put in dialogue across two fundamental perspectives, those of the agent who made the paintings, and of the viewer who perceived or perceives them. Potentially, the insights reached in this thesis entail a reconsideration of contemporary art as an exclusively human phenomenon, and a reassessment of how far AI has come in the replication of complex human behaviors.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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‘The Making of Modern Art’ is a long-term exhibition at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven that ostensibly presents the story of modern art. This thesis explores the significances and implications of...Show more‘The Making of Modern Art’ is a long-term exhibition at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven that ostensibly presents the story of modern art. This thesis explores the significances and implications of this: how does presenting modern art history as a story, and specifically one that is ‘made’ in the present tense, challenge dominant forms of history that claim to be singular and objective, and how does an exhibition such as this implicate the art historian whose methodologies of writing and representation similarly tend to obscure their own historical position? ‘The Making of Modern Art’ uses copies of paintings, of exhibition form, and of modes of history-writing. These copies, I suggest, function as translations. By engaging with these copies as translations, I explore how originality, authorship and subject-object relationships might be conceived of differently in contemporaneous art historical practices. The contemporary is a historical position, and contemporaneous artistic practices that address or re-imagine modern art history might, or indeed should, have implications on how we continue to write and reinforce particular forms of history.Show less
This thesis describes a study surrounding the applicability of politeness theory and the presence of communities of practice in the online game environment of World of Warcraft. By applying theory...Show moreThis thesis describes a study surrounding the applicability of politeness theory and the presence of communities of practice in the online game environment of World of Warcraft. By applying theory and methodologies of sociolinguistics in new media, more specifically computer game studies, this is a completely original and multidisciplinary study. Its main hypotheses revolve around communities of practice and politeness theory. First: Multiple communities of practice potentially exist in the social in-game online environment of World of Warcraft. These communities are likely based on different in-game activities players engage in, and what players have achieved in the game environment. Second: Tied to communities of practice, politeness theory is likely applicable in online game environments, despite social distance, power of speakers over one another, and the absolute ranking of impositions being based on game-specific concepts rather than socio-demographic factors. The research conducted involves: participant observation of several in-game environments and communities; the logging of face-threatening acts committed and face-saving strategies employed by players in different game environments; and the analysis of collected data in order to test hypotheses.Show less
