The content and language level of a label are not the only factors that
affect how much time people spend reading labels.  At the recently opened
Picasso Portraiture show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where I can
report many visitors spent much time reading (or attempting to read) labels
and other didactic materials, the exhibit designers seemed to have gone out
of their way to make labels difficult to read.

Visitors should be commended for their efforts to read the accompanying
texts, which to accomplish required frequent head bobbing to see past the
person(s) in front.

In this exhibit, labels were placed relatively low so that it was
especially difficult to see past people in front.  In addition, the font
was on the small side, suitable perhaps for private viewing, but not for
viewing from a distance, and not easy to see if you are, say, past 40 years
old.

But the most egregious design flaw was the placement of the general
information panels.  Here the text was compelling, interesting and not too
long to read, but these panels were frequently placed just inside the
entrance to a gallery room.  As a result, the crowd of readers would often
block entry to the room itself.

Wayfaring studies, the study of how people make their way through exhibits,
and how exhibits should be designed to accommodate traffic flow, should
also take into account the effect of labels on traffic and how visitors use
gallery space when reading.

In an exhibit such as the Picasso Portrait show, where the label
information is so important for an understanding of how the works have been
arranged, I believe it would be a good idea for the museum to publish a
pamphlet or booklet (for borrowing and/or purchase) that contains all the
didactic texts.  I'd be willing to bet that having such a resource
available will dramatically change how people use gallery space, and might
even allow visitors to spend more time looking at the objects, which, I
imagine, is still a goal in art exhibits.

Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont N.Y. 10538
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