Dear Listers,
Isn't the primary function of an audio tour, like a label or a written
guide, to help the visitor better see what is in front of him or her? I
think I mean "see" rather than"understand." If they can't "see" it, grasping
its meaning or possibilities becomes difficult, doesn't it?
In my experience as a museum educator and also as a museum visitor, the
seems to be a direct correlation between the visitor's ability to look at
the display, to notice its underlying structure as well as its detail, and
the general sense of pleasure that accompanies (and remains with the
visitor) after the visit.
One advantage of an audio tour, and I heartily applaud Terri's search for
data, is that it allows the visitor keep his or her eyes on the display
while being given information about it.
I don't like audio tours in general, for the reasons others have cited and
because I think the quality of the writing in the ones I have encountered is
generally pretty poor. One of the worst I ever encountered was the
children's tour for the Cézanne exhibition, which I saw at Philadelphia. It
was obviously a watered down version of the adult tour, and focused on
certain works not because the kids would be drawn to them but because the
adult tour did, and the traffic engineers were obviously concerned about
keeping youngsters and their chaperones near each other. (This is not to
suggest I think parents should not closely supervise their kids at all
times. I do. I had the dubious thrill of watching a little girl fondle a
frame on a Sargent portrait and have a large piece of it come off in her
hand...)
Of course, I don't like a lot of labels and guides for the exact same
reason: poor writing. Labels often include allusions to information it is
not reasonable for the ordinary viewer to possess. Labels are often
disconnected from the display, and jammed with good, but largely
unnecessary information that does not refer back to the details or
structure of the display.
Poor writing has two parts to it. First of all, poor writing doesn't know
what it is supposed to be doing. The purpose of the passage, as well as the
overall text, has not been clearly mapped out. Secondly, poor writing
disregards the traditional rules of syntax and word meanings. I'm always
surprised at the kinds of language errors I find in intellectual and erudite
places like museums. (Then, of course, there is sloppy proofreading,
but...)
Consider a visit to the SFMOMA website to look at their CD-ROM on the
Anderson Collection. (www.sfmoma.org/anderson) One interesting thing they
did was invite a number of art historians, poets, and critics to discuss 15
specific objects in the collection. (I was one.) Our instructions were to
talk about these objects as if we were visiting with (not teaching at) an
interested but not necessarily well informed group. We were encouraged to
be very visual, very enthusiastic, and to avoid jargon.
I would say the results were mixed. There's a pretty broad range of styles
and the editing process, in the end, made my comments at least more
"museological" than I had hoped they would be. But I found the effort
extremely interesting, and I understand the feedback has been generally
positive.
Which brings me back to Terri's point. It seems to me that she is asking
for studies and other data that will help her identify what she wants the
text of the tours to accomplish, as well as insight into methodologies,
techniques and manipulative issues that will help her get that content or
message across.
I might listen to more audio tours if they didn't give me the urge to sit
down and rewrite them.
Ellen B. Cutler
LNB Associates - Writing, Editing, Proofreading, Research Services
Aberdeen MD
----- Original Message -----
From: Anne Lane <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2001 3:16 PM
Subject: Re: Terri & Learning Disabilities
> >Jay, I think that Terri's phrase -
> > > the more we learn about what triggers a visitor's
> > > involvment,
>
> Is indeed recognition that
>
> > people learn better in one way than another.
>
> Forgive the brutal snipping, but I think you two are really on the same
> wavelength.
>
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