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Review: Curious George: Let's Get Curious!

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:56:24 -0400

Curious George is a well-loved character in children’s literature and on television. He has enthralled children since his creation by H.A. and Margaret Rey when Houghton Mifflin published the original book in 1941. George is constantly “curious”, leading him into adventure and mischief that extend from Africa to the big city. This inquisitive quality makes George absolutely irresistible to young children, and a perfect fit for Liberty Science Center's youngest scientists. Liberty Science Center’s mission is “to expose learners of all ages to the excitement, power, and promise of science and technology.” This has been translated into the expansion of interactive learning experiences for young guests and their accompanying adults. Kids are encouraged to explore and participate; in other words, be the “natural scientists” they are. Curious George: Let’s Get Curious!, originally developed by the Minnesota Children’s Museum, is located on the fourth floor of LSC. As guests enter a familiar urban street scene they are greeted by George himself, holding a bunch of balloons while hanging onto a light post. They can move George up and down the fire escape and to all twelve apartment windows by operating wheels and pulleys. All the action of the simple machines can be viewed simultaneously through plexi-glass. This Apartment setting also encourages exploration of light, color, shape and shadow play inside the building, as well as an opportunity to be the Doorman and operate the elevator. The next stop is a Sidewalk Produce Stand where young learners can role-play a customer or salesperson, and count, sort, and weigh fruits and vegetables. Travel through the exhibition continues to a Construction Site, and a City Park. Here families have a chance to rest, hug a full-size Curious George, and have a picture taken with him. The City Park also includes a special place for toddlers to interact on the Busy Wall. Then, it is on to Mini Golf, a Space Rocket slide, the Farm, and finally a Museum within a Museum. George is shown opening the entrance to this final area where a replica of The Man in the Yellow Hat’s green desk holds an old-style rotary phone. and Rey family photos. A recording of Margaret Rey telling the story of George’s creation, a replica of the original manuscript, and artwork are displayed along with Curious George books, both old and new. Adults and older children will understand the connection to the Reys’ escape from Europe on bicycles in the World War II era. Each section of this interactive exhibition presents direct experience with key concepts in science, math, and engineering. In addition, young guests engage in conversation, role-play, self-expression, and problem solving in an environment populated by familiar characters and locales pulled directly from the Curious George series. It is apparent that Young Guests identify with Curious George -- they are, like him, endlessly curious about the world around them. The visitors to this exhibition are exploring, learning, and... having more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Review: Curious George: Let's Get Curious!

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:55:53 -0400

Review: Degas, Miss La La and The Cirque Fernando

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:38:06 -0400

‘Degas, Miss La La and The Cirque Fernando’ at the Morgan Library is an exhibit that shows the process of an artist as well as the context in which he worked in. The exhibit fills one room on the second floor of the Morgan Library. If you enter from the elevator one sees three floor to ceiling panels that divide the room. On the right panels is a detail from the painting “Miss La La”, the left panel has a reproduced photograph of Miss La La herself. This clear juxtaposition of the artist rendering and the person he chose to depict sets up the viewer for the close looking at the process of the artist. As I moved past these first panels I found a small space with images and text lining the walls and two cases in the center of the room with books. I started to walk clockwise. In this order the exhibit starts by exploring Degas’ process, first revealing his initial sketches of the Miss La La at the circus. Miss La La is first shown with three quarter profile, revealing her grand trick; holding onto a bar with her mouth while being lifted into the air. She hangs there, captured in a moment of grotesque skill. Degas does not change the figure, but in the subsequent images he struggles with the architecture of the circus. This side of the space is completely devoted to Degas process. I found this to be incredibly interesting. By focusing on one piece, the viewer can really see the artist’s process and his continuous working of one subject. I found this to be very refreshing. Museum usually only present finished products of artist, ignoring the arduous process that many artists have in realizing their artistic visions. Degas’ struggle to actualize his vision is intriguing and is illuminated by the wall text. The text draws the visitor’s attention to the subtle changes that Degas makes in his drawings. Some wall texts also give some quotes by Degas as he wrote to friends about the painting and his desire to depict modernity. They reveal that for Degas “ modernity comprised of a fusion of the artificial with the real.” As one begins to feel that Degas will never figure out the architecture of the circus, one gets to the wall with the completed painting. It is a medium sized painting, placed in the center of the back wall. It can be scene from all parts of the room, but the rest of the exhibit allows you to look more closely at the image with more knowledge of its process and context. The right side of the room is devoted to information and images of the circus from other artists of the time such as Toulouse Lautrec and Henry Gabriel Ibels. This allows the viewer to place Degas’ image among his peers and recognize that the circus was a subject used by many other in that time. This side of the space also reveals the idea of Degas’ image taking references from Christian images of angels. Calling Miss La La his “secular angel”, with a “material prop” of the rope instead of a miraculously elevated figure among clouds and cherubs. This side of the exhibit also shows several photographs of Miss La La and her circus partners. While going more in-depth on their performances and tricks. After seeing her figure hanging in Degas studies, it is interesting to see her real face, and real posture. In addition, there are several fliers and advertisements for the circus showing a different perspective of the circus life, and of Miss La La. As I finished my walk around the room I noticed the other visitors taking different paths in their viewing; gaining context first before seeing Degas studies and struggles as an artist. While I think this is a legitimate path to take, it seems to me that the curators wanted viewers first to see the studies and then to place it in a larger context. This idea is solidified for me by the touch screen table in the front of the exhibit. There visitors are able to click through more of Degas’ studies of the subject, found in his sketch books that are held in France. I thought this was another way for visitors to get a look inside the artist’s process, and a way for the curator to underline the importance of that idea. I also thought it was a wonderful way to use technology. We are unable to hold and peruses the actual sketchbooks due to their fragile nature as well as price, but with these touch screens, visitors can see the artists sketchbooks and ideas. Interestingly the children visitors went straight for the touch screens, seemingly disappointed that there were not games to play on them, or bright colors to see. The colors and tone of the exhibit were very somber, perhaps too somber. For an exhibit that deals with a circus and one of its performers, the tone set by the colors does not reflect the fun and brightness of a circus and diminishes from the excitement a visitor feels while learning about the amazing tricks and gift of Miss La La and the Cirque Fernando. The exhibit comes off as very scholarly and perhaps can dissuade visitors from getting closer to the works to see the artist’s process and learn about the modernist movements. While the content was very interesting and intriguing, the hushed space and boring colors made it difficult to fully connect with the works.

Review: Different = Equal

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:36:15 -0400

As a part-time/freelance employee at the Adam Institute for Democracy and Peace, I encountered this exhibition as a facilitator. This is not an exhibition in the traditional sense (artifacts in a museum), but rather an interactive, educational experience, which enables people of different cultures to meet each other. The students who visit the exhibition are usually in 3rd-7th grades. Modeled after an exhibition from Spain, this exhibition facilitates an encounter between Jewish, Arab and Bedouin children. Facilitators (one Jewish, one Arab/Bedouin) lead the group through ice-breakers, name games, and other team-building activities. All instructions are given in Hebrew and Arabic, and the children help each other write name tags in their respective languages. Next, the children are prepared for the exhibition. Besides the usual stuff (don't push, don't draw on the wall, etc), they are given a booklet and divided into pairs. The exhibit has eight sections, and is entirely bi-lingual. The booklets come in two languages, although the written Arabic is harder and takes the children more time than their Hebrew-speaking peers. The exhibit covers a wide range of topics, including: prejudice, jumping to conclusions, opinion vs. fact, scapegoats, difference, generalizations, and more. At each station, the booklet guides the children how to interact with the exhibition and each other. Below are a few examples: Generalizations: has tubes, with true/false questions on either side. Children ask, answer, and correct each other through the tubes (Are all parliament members men? No, there are such and such women members). Stereotypes:, students read statements ("women cannot drive a bus" or "blind people cannot work"), and then flip the card to learn about someone who defies the stereotype (e.g. Stevie Wonder). Jumping to conclusions: the students are asked to describe a situation based on part of a picture. What at first seems like a cow turns out to be a man. After about an hour and half, the children return to the classroom to debrief. The facilitators guide the children towards discussing how all people are equal, even if they are different. The kids board buses, and return home. A few thoughts, in no particular order: It is extremely hard to facilitate an encounter when kids do not speak the same language. Kids are not always patient enough to sit through translated instructions or skilled enough to find other ways to communicate. It is extremely challenging for Jewish and Arab children to work as a pair, and so they go through the exhibition with a classmate. While their comfort zone definitely helps facilitate learning, they have very minimal one-on-one interactions with the "other" students. Perhaps a game such as charades, which is based on non-verbal communication, could be played at the beginning. Cultural differences can also present snags: the Arab children laughed at Jewish boys with long hair, while the Jewish children thought the Arab boys were losers because none of the boys had girlfriends. These issues may seem minor, but they can snag the flow of activity. One remarkable success is getting children comfortable with each other. While the kids display an uncanny ability to end up sitting next to their friends no matter how many "mixer" games we play, they at least warmed up to the presence of other children in the room. Another observation I had was based on gender. During recess, the boys played soccer, while the girls shyly admired each other's pink accessories (I'm only slightly exaggerating). I wondered whether ultimately, the gender divide was greater than the language/cultural divide. The next time I facilitated, there were only boys - Jewish and West Bank Palestinian soccer teams. Although they shared a hobby, and all admired the same international teams, there was much less interaction during recess, perhaps because there were no girls to avoid... In summary: Any exhibition/activity/initiative that helps children learn about others, while teaching them basic humanistic concepts and life skills is great. I think this program would benefit from a little tweaking and/or research.

Review: Barings in America

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:09:26 -0400

As you walk into the Museum of American Finance, your eye catches a large sketch on the wall. Windows and bricks are drawn on the wall giving the illusion of an old building’s exterior, but the door is real. The door itself is one of the iron doors from the bank, but it is open wide and inviting. You catch the name of the exhibition, “Barings in America,” and have to stop yourself from walking in without any context. You wonder, who are the Barings? “Barings in America” is an exhibition designed for visitors interested in participation. Set up as a game, it will appeal to adults and families, as well as school groups 5th grade and older. Adults with prior knowledge of the subject area will be able to see historic objects linked to some of the most important financial moments in our nation’s history, including the Louisiana Purchase and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). Families with older children may enjoy the competitive aspect of the game, competing against each other and the Baring Brothers’ historic choices. Economic concepts may be too advanced for children under the age of 12, but the competitive aspect may be very appealing to socially minded middle school students. As a twenty-something, I enjoyed the game, even recommending it for my father in his 60s. The exhibition is centered on the Big Idea of investment that with great risks, there can be huge financial gains and huge losses. The Baring Brothers made many investments that shaped American history. They researched their choices and had to make decisions about the risky investments. As with investing today, they had some huge gains as well as losses. Fortunately for the Baring Brothers, with great risk came great reward with some of their investments. At the beginning of the exhibition, there are two main exhibit panels to read as background knowledge. The first sets up the idea of the game; the visitor will act as a start-up investment bank and will need to make careful decisions based on the information they receive inside. The second panel describes the origins of the Baring Brothers in relation to the investment world. I read the game rules thoroughly, as they were concise, but I chose not to read the Baring family biography until after I finished the game. I was eager to start. Inside the iron door, there were five individual sections featuring an investment choice with a case of objects. Behind the cases, there were large photographs printed on fabric that hung from the ceiling. These oversized photographs made it easy to recognize what the investment was about, with a wasteland landscape, busy street scene with telephone poles, shipyard, train engine, and men in uniforms on bicycles. Just looking at these pictures gave me an image of the time and place of these investments. Inside the cases were objects, some of which were reproductions. These objects varied from letters to advertisements and brochures. There were a few prospectus papers as well as bonds and an accounting ledger book. I did not take the time to read these objects carefully, as the script was very small and hard to read. Most of the information I used to make my decisions came from the text panel about each investment. Each panel described the dilemma faced by the Baring Brothers – dishonesty in American speculators or America has little credit. The central theme was that there was a major opportunity to be found, but each seemed risky. Each panel ended with a question, steering the visitor to think about the decision carefully, such as “Do you want to seize the opportunity?” Following this room, there was another room, sectioned off by temporary walls. In the middle was a large table with brochures and pencils in the middle. There were four iPads with the investment app loaded and ready to go. I entered in my decisions, choosing to invest in Maine, the Louisiana Purchase, the railroad, and AT&T. Maine broke even but the railroad was a bust. I made major financial gains by my investments in the Louisiana Purchase and AT&T. I struggled to get the iPad to work at times. Cloth hung as a banner for walls, with photographs and portraits printed directly on it. Panels described the success or failure of the investments. I read a little more about the decisions and found out that even though one deal was not a lucrative investment, it gave the Barings Brothers a social advantage that later helped them in business deals for the future. The wording on the labels was simple enough that I could understand it, but gave enough information. I was curious to learn more about some other investments that were not included. Outside of the exhibition there was a large timeline of events for the Baring Brothers, which I discovered eventually became part of ING bank, the sponsor of the exhibition. I found the exhibition relevant as a way to think about investment decisions. I have often been intimidated by finance, but curious to learn more. This exhibition gave me a chance to safely practice investing, while learning about American history. The central theme of the role of risk in investment, coupled with the importance of research and analysis, is a lesson I can take with me when I choose to invest. The exhibition made the topic accessible, rather than intimidating or overwhelming. By selecting five investments, I could focus my attention and really try to analyze what I would do if I were in the shoes of an investor. There are supporting materials located online for this exhibition. Online visitors can play the game, called “Dividend & Conquer,” that is the same as the one featured in the exhibition. Small summaries are provided, but not all of the text featured in person. Some images are available. For a visitor looking to continue the experience, they can repeat what they tried out at the museum. For a visitor unable to come in person, they can try out the game while investigating at home. I found “Barings in America” to be an effective exhibition. Sometimes the concept of risk in investment may seem too abstract. Using actual investments from history, some of which had huge impacts on American history, this concept seemed easier to use. The competitive nature of the game was fun, comparing my choices to others through the iPad, though I am curious if a more low-tech option might have been easier to use. I wish the brochures and pencils were available at the beginning at the entrance, so that I could have taken notes as I went. Overall, I felt the flow of the exhibition made sense, making all the decisions at the end. I was able to take my time at each of the panels for the investments and glance over the materials. It sparked an interest in investment for me, which feels like the biggest sign of success for any exhibition.

Review: Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:39:50 -0400

I visited the current El Anatsui exhibition twice over the last few weeks; once on a weekday in the late afternoon, and once on a Saturday at mid-day. I went back because I enjoyed spending time in the exhibition, and wanted to further explore its nooks and crannies. Overall, the presentation of the work is wonderful and thought provoking. I was also left with some questions about some of the curatorial choices, mainly the inclusion of so much technology and video content. I highly recommend the exhibition, but advise you to skip the iPads, if they are functional, as they did not add anything to my experience of the work. Once you make your way to the almost secret special exhibition hall on the fifth floor of the Brooklyn Museum, through the current 18th Century America exhibit (an interesting, accidental, juxtaposition that says a lot about the breadth of the Brooklyn Museum’s offerings) and turn through the unobtrusive and mostly unmarked archway into the first gallery of Monumental Works, you instantly understand what they mean by monumental. The sheer scale of Anatsui’s work coupled with the curatorial choice to fill the wide open space of the first gallery with a suspended work that fills center of the room, draws you into the exhibition and instantly gets you curious about the nature of El Anatsui’s work and what else you will see. Also in this first gallery is a group of (relatively) smaller works grouped in a corner opposite a flat screen television screen playing a short documentary film about the artist. Of all the media attached to the exhibition, this was perhaps the most interesting, but its placement so close to the artwork, and the sound bleed, seemed intrusive, interfering with the lovely private feeling that the blocked off corner location of the group creates in contrast to the wide open entry space. I can only guess that it was deemed more important for me to notice the film than to spend time with these pieces. Also in this first gallery is the first of Anatsui’s tin can lid sculptures on display. It is also set up in a blocked off corner and the placement of this snakelike piece, crawling from the floor up the walls of the room made me wonder for the first time how much the artist controlled the arrangement of his works and how they were hung or set. The answer to this question was waiting for me in a wall label in the second gallery of the exhibition. El Anatsui leaves the hanging etc. of his works to the discretion of the curators, seeing the exhibiting of his work as an opportunity for collaboration with the presenters. This idea activated the pieces on a whole other level for me. I was glad to know it early on, and I can only imagine that this attitude both challenged and delighted the exhibition designers. The second gallery holds several of what I would consider more “monumental” tapestry type pieces and also a grouping of giant shopping bags in the center of the large open gallery. The first time I saw the exhibition this grouping did not connect with me, its drab coloring and creased edges in sharp contrast with the vibrant color and soft movement of the pieces on the wall. I wondered if they were where they were for any purpose or merely because it was where they fit. Upon my return I spent some more time walking amidst the group and found myself on a bit of a journey all the sudden and felt that the experience of wandering between these giant sculptures offered a nice and useful change from looking up at the huge wall hangings that filled the rest of the gallery. Also on the floor of both the second and third galleries were two more of the tin can sculptures. One arranged in a complex mound and the other as a series of sort of ant-hill shaped structures. The great luster of the pieces when approached transforms into a realization of the jagged and rusted material of their construction in a way that communicated the overarching message of El Anatsui’s process based art more clearly than any of the other works in the exhibition. In addition their arrangement once more got me thinking about the curatorial choices made in terms of shaping the “fabric” of the tin cans. Fascinating! In between the second and third galleries were some much smaller works, mostly made of recycled wood. There were more of these in a small room off of the third gallery as well. They show an earlier phase of El Anatsui’s career and I was glad to see them included with his more well-known tapestry style pieces. Noted in the labels I found another bit of information that stuck with me and piqued my curiosity. Almost all of these early pieces were marked as altered by the artist very recently – my assumption from the dates is that the changes were made in anticipation of this exhibition – and I was compelled to look deeper at the pieces and try to determine both how and why he updated them. In the third gallery there are two massive hangings put directly side by side, almost touching each other. They are made almost entirely of the metal tops to whiskey bottles and are studies in red and black respectively. Though I understand the reasoning of putting the two pieces so close together – they are certainly related works – the overall effect on me was to lessen the impact of both pieces. The other large work in the third gallery was another tapestry type hanging, also made of El Anatsui’s signature combination of mundane recycled materials, but this one moved. I mean it literally moved. It was in fact, upon closer inspection, mounted on a false wall that houses fans and conduits that blow air through parts of it making it move. Both the fans and the art itself also made noise as the breeze flapped through the material. There was one of the iPads on the bench in front of it and my disappointment in them was confirmed when I turned it on (this one, unlike some of the others was working) and got no insight into the particular piece (as I was hoping) or anything really but a thirty second talking head interview about the artist from a critic or curator. That’s when I officially gave up on the technological elements of the exhibit. Despite that disappointment I was thoroughly engaged in the exhibition. It was well attended both times I visited, and the third gallery did tend to get crowded as there was no clear way to exit from it without retreating back through the other galleries, but I was able to enjoy everything even with some traffic flow issues. I highly recommend the exhibit for its contents, and the exercise in curatorial imagination that it also inspires.

Review: Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:42:25 -0400

Like many of my twenty and thirty-something colleagues living in New York City, I live in an apartment I found on Craig’s List with two similarly aged individuals. None of us have much money to spend on rent or furniture and all of us have too many possessions to comfortably fit in the space we have. I am well aware there are hundreds of New Yorkers living in a similar situation to my own. What I do find surprising is that this lifestyle is now the subject of the Museum of the City of New York’s latest exhibition Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers. I have to admit, I did not know much about this particular show prior to visiting. A co-worker mentioned it in a conversation about interior design trends occurring in New York City. So, when I entered the museum, I thought I would find a bunch of apartment furnishings. Although I was not entirely misguided in my expectations, Making Room turned out to be a very different show. It examines the disparity between the amount of living space and the growing number of New York City residents. More specifically, it presents architectural and design solutions to the increasing lack of livable space. The problem of people versus space in New York City is something I have been aware of simply by living in this city. Flocks of people are everywhere! Yet pushing my way through crowds was the extent of my understanding. As if in anticipation, the introductory gallery space of Making Room, or entry foyer as I like to think of it, provides the necessary information to understand this space problem. Through video, text, images and graphs, the initial gallery cleanly lays out the challenge young individuals face moving to New York City. I found the presentation of information in this intro gallery to be an example of effective universal design. There were many different avenues from which to access the material. For example, the statistics on various types of individuals moving to New York City is illustrated as pieces of text printed on a series of blocks projecting out from a wall. The depth of the blocks directly relates to its particular statistic. The overall effect is a visual interpretation of percentages and number values. The other element of the introductory space I found successful was the use of visual literacy. One of the key dilemmas the exhibition discusses is the violation of safety codes, mainly the person to square footage ratio. This human to space relationship is presented in numbers, but each pairing has an accompanying image that uses black for the people and magenta for the space. I found these illustrations to be particularly effective because they repeated throughout the rest of the exhibition. The initial gallery then served to familiarize its audience with the vocabulary used throughout the show. Once inside the main exhibition space, the content is divided into multiple sections by subject matter. The trajectory of one’s experience is not dictated by the layout of the materials, allowing for movement between the different sections. However, there is one large, somewhat blocked off, piece of the show entitled the Micro Unit that is difficult to avoid. (I will get to that a bit later.) My personal path began with the more data based content. There were graphs, color blocked maps of New York City, and an interactive computer program showing the percentage of single individuals living in the United States by county. Yet what made me stop and think for the first time exploring this exhibition what a freeze frame image of a Craig’s List apartment listing. This item exemplifies how most low-income New Yorkers find their current apartments as well as illustrates how unsafe many of these dwellings are. Craig’s List does not have a secure monitoring system; so many postings violate state health codes, among other things. It was standing in front of this particular component that I realized Making Room was targeting me! It was about how I live my current life and how the exhibited architecture and design firms believe I should live my life. These models, plans and sketches are thus not simply fun examples of what living in New York City will be like in the distant future. They present a way of living in the here and now. All of a sudden, the proposals on display were about my personal future. It was with this realization that I entered the Micro Unit. The Micro Unit is a to-scale replica of one possible apartment design. I witnessed the various elements of the space as a guide showed delighted spectators all of the hidden compartments and multi-purpose furniture. There were many cries of delight and surprise, some of which came from me, but at the heart of the experience was the question, could I actually live here? Would I be happy in an apartment like this or go stir crazy because there is so little room? As I wandered through the rest of the exhibition, looking at the different apartment and apartment building models and sketches, I kept asking myself this same question. Could I live here? The exhibition did a wonderful job of presenting housing designs from across the world, with a particular emphasis on Japanese domestic design. Yet my connection as a potential tenant of these proposed living spaces was unavoidable and made me think about the feasibility of these designs. For me, what made this exhibition successful was its role as facilitator instead of dictator. It did not try to say whether these living proposals are good or bad ideas. Instead, it leaves the decision up to the audience. After all, it is the audience, mostly comprised of twenty and thirty-something New Yorkers, who inevitable will make the decision to live or not live in this type of housing.

Review: With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:44:24 -0400

Historian John Kuo Wei Tchen originally founded the Museum of Chinese in America, MOCA, as a community-based organization in 1980. Tchen was concerned about preserving the memories and experiences of past generations of Chinese-Americans living in New York City. Out of this mission grew the museum, as we know it today. “MOCA hopes to increase the visibility of the myriad voices and identities that make up Chinese American history, while increasing local and global dialogue. By understanding and documenting what is happening today, we strive to shape tomorrow” (MOCA.org). Many of the museum’s past exhibits juxtapose stereotypes and facts about Chinese culture, causing the audience to confront their own thoughts and feelings towards the information on display. The current exhibition, With a Single Step, follows a similar blueprint. The exhibition takes advantage of the newly renovated space on 215 Centre Street by encompassing the entire first floor. After you enter the minimalist wood and steel entrance you are faced with the “Journey Wall” that sets up the main idea of the exhibition and the museum. Chinese-Americans have made a home in America, it wasn’t easy and their history is relatively unknown, but nonetheless here they are and this is their story. While the exhibit focuses on Chinese-Americans, it’s meant for all visitors. Because within their story, is really the story of America, for better and worse. With a Single Step spans 160 years of Chinese-American history, starting with Chinese immigration into the west coast of America in the 1850’s. Many Chinese left their homeland to secure a better life for themselves and their family. The first room of the exhibit has many photographs and paintings depicting what was left behind and what greeted them in America. The room is cluttered with too many labels and entirely too much wall text. The visitor is overwhelmed by the amount there is to read, and will soon be disappointed that the text is highly repetitive and doesn’t seem to build into a cohesive narrative. Many of the “interactive elements” such as drawers that pull out from the wall, and label flaps don’t engage the visitor beyond the physical action it takes to work said elements. Unfortunately, this pattern persists throughout the exhibition. While the lay out, lighting and narrative are lacking in many places the exhibition does gain ground in the “General Store” and the “exoticism of Chinatowns in America” rooms. The store is set-up in a way that encapsulates a time and a place and allows the visitor to step back in time and understand the importance of these stores to their communities and to the people that ran them. Shop owners had more rights and used their higher standings to help the lower class write letters, wire money, and buy transport to and from China. The “exoticism” space explores many of the stereotypes that have been created for Chinese Americans. These include the Fu Manchu persona and the creation of chop-suey. There is a particularly interesting vignette of two photos taken in Chinatown in San Francisco, one has been doctored to make the surrounding look more exotic and different. It’s a great example of how the media and American social conscience worked together to ostracize and marginalize Chinese-Americans. I have experienced this exhibition with a school group and alone and there is much more to be gained when on a guided tour. Unfortunately, the exhibition is too haphazard and lacking in structure to give a lone visitor a truly engaging experience. That being said the museum does a beautiful job of leading tours for adults and school groups, and they would benefit greatly if they employed some of those strategies into their self-guided plans. Though I think there are ways to make the space more inviting and interactive for guests I can appreciate what the exhibition was intended to do. I have been there twice in the last four months and there have been significant changes to the exhibition to make it more user-friendly and attractive to those who don’t have a history background. If the evolution continues the exhibition will improve greatly, allowing for a deeper and more meaningful experience for their guests.

Review: Curious George: Let's Get Curious!

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:56:24 -0400

Review: Curious George: Let's Get Curious!

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:55:53 -0400

Review: Degas, Miss La La and The Cirque Fernando

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:38:06 -0400

Review: Different = Equal

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:36:15 -0400

Review: Barings in America

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:09:26 -0400

Review: Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:39:50 -0400

New user: Nurhaya Baniyamin

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:50:39 -0400

New user: Shen Shellenberger

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:21:47 -0400

New user: Alesha Martinez

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:15:25 -0400

Comment: Going beyond exhibitions

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 01:12:27 -0400

It’s been a few years since I visited, but a couple of items continue to remind me of tools museum often overlook. Video interviews of the major donors are a great “behind the scenes” moment. Using movies to share the history of news in our society are effective. Shown in a theater environment, they remind us good storytelling can be separated from artifacts while still supporting and reaffirming the message. The working news studios and window into the maintainence room for the digital technologies offers more insight into what is needed to keep information accessible to the public.

Comment: Kendra Percy

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:51:13 -0400

Charissa, I enjoyed reading your review..my taste buds as well as my artistic inquiry have been activated. I am going soon to check it out.

Comment: Project Onward Response

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:22:33 -0400

Excellent post on the details of inclusive artwork in a museum space. What do you think the 'price' of each piece labeled clearly has as an implementation for the rest of the visual displays? By putting a price tag on art, what does it do for the rest of the visitors' experiences?