I recently attended the Van Gogh exhibit at the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. They were
offering an audio device which you entered the
number of an exhibit into the keypad and it gave a
(sometimes lengthy) spiel about the painting. The
device was rented for $5.00 each.
I personally did not use one since I felt it would
be distracting from the enjoyment of the visual
experience of seeing the Masters work up close. My
companion was so emotionally overwhelmed by some
of the paintings that she cried.
I saw some other people who were similarly
affected by Vincent's work during the 2 hours I
was in the gallery, but I did not see anyone
wearing headphones who were affected in the same
manner, and I was observing for reactions of the
viewers.
This may not be a valid test of the usefulness of
the devices for every exhibit but I feel it may be
a distraction in some cases.
Alan Heaberlin