One of the things I teach my students is that museums engage in passive
education. And the purpose of that education is not to tell everything
about an object--there isn't enough wall space for that--but to entice
the viewer enough to make him or her want to learn more.  That's why
museums also have nice bookshops and often libraries.

Pat Roath
Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN
[log in to unmask]

On Wed, 12 Jun 1996, Robin Panza wrote:

> In article <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] (James Kajpust)
> writes:
> > Jennifer Reed <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >>> how long
> >>> visitors spend reading labels in exhibition galleries?
> >>>
> >>I don't know of any specific studies, but I've heard the
> >>figures 6-10 seconds many times.  Pretty unbelievable!
> >
> > As a museum user, what I'd like to see is a brochure or book that
> > could be bought or borrowed that would have more info on the displays
> > - sort of a super label. I would like to see more than "Sword - Japan
> > ca. 17th century" on a display, but I also know that a lot (most?)
> > browsers wouldn't care to read more than that.
> >
> >
> > Jim Kajpust - Personal Freedoms - Michigan
> >
>
> I have to say that I'm one of the people who don't spend more than 6-10 second
s
> reading art museum/gallery labels.  Not so unbelieveable, when all they say is
> what Jim put down.  How could one take longer than 6-10 seconds to read so
> little information?  Why would one take longer to ponder such a dry and (for
> me) meaningless item?  I keep looking at labels to find out *about* the object
,
> but so often there's nothing there that I can use.  The creator's name, the
> date, and a title.  But what *about* the work?  What was the sword used for--
> for show?  actual fighting?  what style of fighting?  what kind of people used
> the sword?  what was going on in 17th century Japan to warrant having a sword?
> did everyone wear them, or were they rare, or restricted to certain kinds of
> people?  were they kept home "over the fireplace", or were they worn daily, or
> worn for special occasions?  Then, what are those decorations on the scabbard
> or handle?  Are they mythological creatures?  Do the represent some attribute?
> Are they the whim of the maker?  Were they symbolic of the owner?  Are the
> colors meaningful?  What sort of materials went into making the sword?  Is tha
t
> tassel of silk?  Is the handle ivory?  Gold?  How was the blade attached to th
e
> handle?   and so on.......  There are just so many things I'd love to know
> about it, and none of them are adressed on the label.
>
> I look at a work for awhile, then glance at the label.  It so rarely has any
> answers to the questions that I've generated that I just get annoyed and
> frustrated, and dismiss the label altogether.  There's no reason, from my poin
t
> of view, to waste time on the label.  As a result, even though I am a
> museum-oriented person and a person with an inquisitive mind, still I may not
> spend more than a few seconds reading the label.
>
> Now, I'm not saying mine is the "right" attitude.  Nor can I claim to know
> whether mine is a predominant attitude.  However, it is the way some of us loo
k
> at art works, and yes, we don't spend any time reading the labels.  However,
> for us, this is the fault of the label, not the viewer.
>
> Robin Panza                     [log in to unmask]
> Section of Birds, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
>