Hello, Jane-

In my opinion, the style of questioning that you are doing is very
appropriate. You are encouraging the viewer to think and look closely.
What's wrong with that?

In the example you gave, most of the questions can be answered by looking at
the art in question. In the last question you ask, however, you are asking
the viewer to compare the depiction of daily routines in the image with
depictions "elsewhere". What do you mean by this? Elsewhere in the exhibit,
or "elsewhere" in general? This is the only question that I can see
frustrating the visitors because they might not have the information at
their disposal to answer it.

Good interpretation is based on the resource at hand. Good interpretation
also  provokes thought and encourages further learning. I think that a
questioning approach can be very effective towards this end. Of course, if
overused, it will lose its effect. If there are 5 questions in each panel,
the visitor may very well stop thinking in favour of a more passive
approach. Is this what your manager is worried about?

Don Enright
Coordinator, Thematic and Cultural Programs
National Capital Commission
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada



-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Sarre [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 1999 5:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Questions in exhibition panels


Short question:

Is it ok to put up an exhibition with lots of open ended questions in the
panels or guide, and then not tell people what the answers are? does this
make it look zappy and dynamic and accessible or like the curators don't
know what thery're talking about?

Long version of the question:

I am curating an exhibition which focusses on the shared experience of
having an agricultural heritage, for a region including Kent, UK, Nord
Pas-de-Calais, France, and most of Belgium. It is made up of paintings,
prints, archive documents, photographs and museum objects, but the paintings
are the backbone.

Thing is, I'm not an art curator, and I don't have time to do loads of
reseach about the region so I don't want to get into too many
technicalities, so it was decided to stick with the issues that lead us to
this field to start with (pun not intended).

The resulting interpretative text, which I was just about happy with has
just been circulated for comment, and my line manager has responded that
there are too many questions in the text, it looks like a quiz and if we ask
that many questions we should provide the answers.

All the questions posed are deliberatley open ended and were intended to get
people looking at the exhibits with the question in mind.

For example:

WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER?

Many of the pictures in this exhibition suggest that rural life is dominated
by isolation and work. But there are other aspects to life. Wherever a group
of people share a physical place, an interest or an activity, they form a
community with a distinct culture. Their lives have a shared meaning shaped
by the events that bring them together.

What do these paintings tell us about life in rural communities? What sort
of social events have artists been drawn to? Would the people in the
pictures choose the same moment to be recorded in a picture?

Are there connections between these recorded events and the daily routines
of work shown elsewhere?