This thesis researches how multi-sensory design techniques, such as touchable replicas, scent and soundscapes, influence the perception and reception of art in the museum. To create a more limited...Show moreThis thesis researches how multi-sensory design techniques, such as touchable replicas, scent and soundscapes, influence the perception and reception of art in the museum. To create a more limited scope, the new permanent collection display Dwarsverbanden in the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, is used as a case study. The interest in the use of multiple senses has been a point of discussion over the last decade, or so. However, not many Dutch exhibitions or institutions have been discussed in this field. Furthermore, the focus of these resources is never on the educational and experiential aspects of a museum visit. This thesis is divided into three topics: the material, the invisible and the experience. The material focuses on the perception of the objects themselves and their reproductions, therefore the sense of touch is the centre of discussion. The invisible focuses on the communication of the more abstract senses smelling and hearing. The experience aims to research the influence of multi-sensory design techniques on the educational value and how a visitor's attention is divided in the museum context. This research shows that the multi-sensory design tools used in this exhibition are translations of the two-dimensional artwork, which can be used as an aid. The senses each have a different approach to interpreting the artwork and evoke a different response. The use of a replica can gain a different perspective and open a sensory world, normally not present in the museum. The senses of smell and hearing communicate meaning and emotion and connect the visitor to the artwork. Research on visitor experience shows that multi-sensory design tools create an active student and fight boredom.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
under embargo until 2024-08-31
2024-08-31T00:00:00Z
The topic I discuss in this work is that of the practices of collecting and exhibiting of Orientalia at the turn of the Early-Modern period in Europe. In particular, I focus on the setting up of...Show moreThe topic I discuss in this work is that of the practices of collecting and exhibiting of Orientalia at the turn of the Early-Modern period in Europe. In particular, I focus on the setting up of rooms dedicated to the showcasing of goods coming from the Orient and analyse how the exhibiting practices altered the perception of the Orient in the European societies of that period. The main research question upon which this whole work is hinged is: how did the collecting and exhibiting practices of Orientalia change in Western society during the Early-Modern period, to what degree can the evolution of these practices be seen as a way for Westerners to familiarise with the Orient, and with what consequences for the understanding of the Orient in European Early-Modern society? In order to find an answer to this question, the analysis I propose here is devoted to the study of several objects, spaces and practices, not only from a historical but also theoretical perspective. The central case study of this work is the Rijksmuseum Lacquer Room (assembled in Leeuwarden at the end of the 17th century). However, this study takes its steps from an analysis of the way Orientalia were treated during the Middle Age and Late Renaissance and surveys the shift which took place during the Early-Modern period and the reasons behind it. Such a historical analysis takes place in the first two chapters of this work, where I first focus on Europe in general and then specifically to the case of the Early-Modern Netherlands. The last two chapters of this work are instead dedicated to a discussion linked to the theoretical aspects regarding the collections of Orientalia and their showcasing in Oriental-style Rooms. In particular, I focus on the concepts of domestication and on the agency of objects, and later on issues related to Orientalism and that of collecting as a gendered practice. Starting from this analysis I propose further insights on the conception of the Orient in the context of Early-Modern Netherlands and suggest new prompts for future research.Show less
The thesis focuses on the design and construction of the museum under museum director Frans Haks (1938-2006). It examines the reactions of the various participants in the project and on how the...Show moreThe thesis focuses on the design and construction of the museum under museum director Frans Haks (1938-2006). It examines the reactions of the various participants in the project and on how the museum was received before and after its construction among city residents, art critics, the city council, architects and the museum director. This research studies how the museum serves as a contact zone for the various participants, its collection and the building itself. Moreover, after completion how does the permanent collection reflect the exterior of the building? Does the building dominate the artwork collection of the museum?Show less
Museums have been traditionally a public sphere of heteronormativity; that is, an institution which privileges the narrative of two sexes from a heterosexual perspective. Recent exhibition makings...Show moreMuseums have been traditionally a public sphere of heteronormativity; that is, an institution which privileges the narrative of two sexes from a heterosexual perspective. Recent exhibition makings around the world have attempted to go beyond this gender norm and coincide with the latest LGBTIQ social rights movements. This thesis asks how LGBTIQ-theme exhibitions can challenge the normalized gender and sexuality in the museum. It addresses this question by proposing a theoretical framework of queer curating based on Judith Butler’s performativity theory and aims to rethink ways of exhibition display. Bringing queer theory into curatorial practice, the thesis explores the critical intervention of the Schwules Museum*(the Gay Museum* in Berlin) and examines how the curators reflect on displaying approaches in exhibition space. To rethink human sexualities in a more nuanced way, critical exhibition makings not only display diverse sexualities but also reveal the institutional neglect of non-conforming gender subjects and open up possibilities of performing diverse sexualities in museums.Show less
