At 05:19 PM 10/9/96 GMT, you wrote:
>Query:  Anyone have anything of interest to address the
>question of how/why/what kinds of music is instructionally or
>thematically fitting to exhibits?  If you use it, what were the
>criteria for doing so?  For selecting the particular music?
>And what have been the visitor reactions, if any?
>John Bunch
>
>I used music in an exhibition I staged at Croydon museum in south London
last year and would use it in my science centre if i could afford he
hardware. in this case the purpose of the music was to create a particular
atmosphere in the gallery. The exhibition was called "Of Monsters and
Miracles" and presented proported material evidence for strange phenomena
for criticl analysis. The concept I had for the space was that you were in
another reality in which nothing was quite as it seemed ( you entered
through a mirror maze) and we used ambient music, in this case "On Land" by
Eno to produce a drifting spooky sort of feel, combined with low light and
projections. We also used various other sounds relating to the subject and
had a CD-ROM which communicated mainly via audio with images. The criteria
for selecting the music were that it should not be excessively intrusive (
not least because this drives staff mad) and that it should create a feel
appropriate to the exhibition, and this was done on a purely subjective
basis. The other sound needed to be considered in relation to the music. We
tuned it so that it was at an appropriate volume such that it could easily
be heard over the music, but without blocking it out in effect it became
part of the gallery soundscape, with the audio from the ROM and other
sources acting almost like samples in the musical context. I would hesitate
to use anything apart from ambient music in a gallery, unless it was part of
a particular room set or whatever as it is extremely good at creating
atmosphere without intruding on visitors thought processes. Visitor reaction
was exactly as i hoped, they found the space otherworldly, slightly spooky
and unusual - which had been the aim of the design as well as the sound, but
it still got them thinking about the subject - most that we asked didn't
specifically realise there was music being played, which was also part of
our aim - atmosphere without intrusion.
IAN SIMMONS

- A mind stretched by new ideas never returns to the same shape

                                        - RALPH WALDO EMERSON