Unit 1: Digital Practice in Museums
Unit 1.1: Digital Practice in Museums
Learning outcomes
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Understanding digital transformation in museums
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What is digital storytelling
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Understanding a museum installation design process
Structure:
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Introduction
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Some definitions
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Cases studies
(https://images.app.goo.gl/rEBgvqURR6GPa5D89)
Brief description of content
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Introduction to Museum definition and Mission
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Introduction to the importance of narrative in a museum to share information and knowledge.
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Introduction to Digital Storytelling
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Introduction: Slides showing and some link
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Case Studies: Section where three case studies realized in Italy are presented in detail. Are described step by step the organization of narrative and technological choices for a real case installation.
Introduction
Introducing the terms: “A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”
This definition is arrived at after a long discussion with museums, and this definition supplants the 2014 definition, introducing the themes of accessibility and inclusion in museums, diversity, sustainability, ethics, community involvement, knowledge sharing (Related to theme of Open Access in museums), a place for reflection, and characterizing museums as purposeless and serving society.
Some information:
https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/
Museum Mission:
Museums have varying aims, ranging from the conservation and documentation of their collection, serving researchers and specialists, to catering to the public.
Cultural Heritage Responsibility:
The goal of serving researchers is not only scientific but intended to serve the public.
Why stories matter to museums?
“There are stories are everywhere. Look inside a museum and you’ll find stories about the foundation of the institution, the history of the building, the collection, individual objects and the people who made, used, sold or owned them.”
Storytelling in the Museum
Museums use personal, local, and specific stories to make visitors feel welcome while inspiring them to engage with new ideas and unfamiliar situations.
The Power of Story
“Storytelling is without a doubt the most powerful tool in advertising. It taps into the human part of us all, since stories are one of the most fundamental and oldest ways of communicating and making a lasting impression. That lasting impression is exactly why you should use storytelling in your marketing strategy. “
https://blog.realfiction.com/why-you-should-care-about-storytelling
Digital Transformation
« The profound and accelerating transformation of businness, processes, competencies, and model to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of digital technologies and their impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts in mind»
https://www.i-scoop.eu/digital-transformation/
Museum in the Digital Age
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How are art museums addressing digital technology today, what is their motivation to use it, and what do they hope to achieve with it?
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How are art museums addressing the notion of community online, how is that online community related to their physical community, and what is the role of place in the networked museum of the digital age?
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How can technology help all museums to better understand and engage their communities in the digital age?
Digital Storytelling
As technology advances, museums are exploring new ways of utilizing it to create digital exhibits and other experiences that share their content. Digital storytelling can use anything from websites to podcasts and social media to reach people across the globe. It also provides new ways of interacting with your collections or adding new layers to your in-house exhibits.
Because digital content can be accessible to anyone with a phone, it is important to determine a strategy for what your museum wants to do with its digital content. Is it to share your museum’s exhibits with those who can’t come to the museum? Or is it to give additional perspectives on your exhibits? As in other aspects of museum work, having a clear strategy means you can create more effective content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIixyVzheM
https://research.com/education/digital-storytelling
The 7 Characteristics of Digital Storytelling
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1. Narration, involves a series of emotional events.
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2.External elements for greater involvement.
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3. Interactivity: user control over the flow of the story, and how they can experience it;
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4. Nonlinearity: events or scenes do not necessarily evolve in a set order.
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5. Immersiveness;
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6. Participation.
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7. Navigation.
Step for build a good Narration for a Museum
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Know the context
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Identify a story to tell
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Gather useful material
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Define elements of interactivity that allows the user to be the author of his or her own path of exploration and knowledge
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Define technology suitable for the representation of the narrative and well-integrated into the museum and the usual visit flow
Questions:
Did you ever find yourself involved in storytelling?
Do you think the stories you read in a book are able to provoke a sense of immersivity?
How do you think an immersive narrative could be structured?
Three case studies
We will examine how this information was used to build narrative pathways in three case studies:
1. The Simone Martini Polyptych in San Matteo Museum – Pisa – ITALY
2. The Anatomy of Machines in Museo Leonardiano in Vinci (Firenze) – ITALY
3. Museo della Grafica – PISA
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San Matteo Museum
The National Museum of San Matteo in Pisa (Museo Nazionale di San Matteo) displays works from historic ecclesiastical buildings in the city and Province of Pisa.
The works span from early Medieval period to the 16th century.
The museum also has a collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts, wooden religious sculpture from 13th century to 15th century, and antique ceramics.
The video presentation
Simone Martini’s Polyptych or Santa Caterina d’Alessandra polyptych
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Is a tempera and gold on panel painting (95×339 cm) by Simone Martini, dated 1320 and housed in the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo in Pisa.
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It comes from the main altar of the Dominican church of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria in Pisa.
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It is the Sienese painter’s largest and most complex polyptych and is one of the most important and intact medieval polyptychs.
The Technological Choices
Technological Phase 1
During a total restoration activity on the Simone Martini’s Polyptych, the Museum Director asked to replace the masterpiece with a temporary full-scale projection.
From a touch device set in front of the screen it was possible to select several hypertexts telling the stories of the saints displayed on the painting.
Technological Phase 2
After the Polyptych returned in its position after restoration, the digital device showing the hypertext was maintained near the masterpiece to help the visitors understand the narrative of the composition.
The Narrative Structure
1. The Opera Narration: all information about the story of opera
2. The Characters: all the holy figures in the polyptych are described with their status, meaning and personal features.
3. The Technique: the making of a polyptych is a very complex operation and the painter needs the help of different craftsmen from carpenter to the colour specialist. This hypertext recounts the entire process that enables the realization of the masterpiece.
4. The Restoration: this piece of art had several restorations during its long lifetime. Through this hypertext, the visitor can understand in detail the numerous restorations that have taken place in the past and in the modern times. In addition, the last intervention is reported with a critical analysis of the findings that were made possible by using the most recent technique available.
5. Beyond the Visible: this beautiful section collects in detail all the diagnostic operations that were done before acting on the piece of art during the last restoration.
How the information is displayed
Information is brought into touch through various digital metaphors: text, movies, image collection.
Summary
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5 narrative chapters.
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The user can navigate thought the different chapters of the hypertext choosing specific fields of interest.
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The information dataset can be use by teachers or art historians for lecturing and organize specially events.
The Video of Simone Martini Polyptych Application
Case Studio 2: Museo Leonardiano di Vinci
The Museo Leonardiano di Vinci, or Leonardian Museum of Vinci, is a museum dedicate to Leonardo da Vinci, located in Vinci, Leonardo’s birthplace, in the province of Florence, Italy.
The museum houses one of the largest collections of models constructed based on Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings. Over 60 models are exhibited, presented with precise references to the artist’s sketches and handwritten annotations, also accompanied by digital animations and interactive applications.
The video presentation
The case studio: Anatomy of Machines
Application in VR for Education Space
A selection of mechanical mechanisms designed by Leonardo were chosen to make them interactive and moving in VR.
Learning by Doing approach
The narrative purpose is to make people understand how the mechanisms work.
The main part of the experience is enhanced by direct experimentation of the 3D mechanical movements.
By directly trying them out, children can find out how the individual mechanism works.
The audio narration explains in detail the mechanical laws designed by Leonardo’s expertise.
The Technological choice
To ensure maximum involvement, the Oculus Rift was chosen to allow immersion in a 3D virtual environment. The Oculus displays individual mechanisms and enables to touch and move them.
There are also interactive buttons that make the user learn more about various objects by giving the possibility to manipulate or explode the mechanical structures.
The Narrative Strutture
Information is collected in a single space and is all accessible at the same time.
Oculus Application
Summary
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Learning by Doing
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High interactivity
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High Immersivity
Case Studio 3: Museo della Grafica (or Palazzo Lanfranchi) in Pisa
The Museo della Grafica was founded by the City of Pisa and the University of Pisa, with the desire to present the city with an original and highly suggestive structure that integrates the city’s Museum System. The Museo della Grafica is housed in the rooms of Palazzo Lanfranchi, and it is one of the most important public collections of contemporary graphics, able to present scholars, students and enthusiasts with an excellent artistic panorama.
The works of the permanent collection are periodically exhibited according to a principle of preservation. However, they can always be consulted by appointment.
The activity of the Museo della Grafica is characterized by a rich and varied calendar of temporary exhibitions.
Presentation of Museum
Temporary exhibitions: The Netsuke in 3D
Netsuke are masterpieces of Japanese origin, usually very small in size.
They are fragile objects and difficult to be seen in all their details.
Through photogrammetry, one of these objects was reconstructed to give the possibility to see all sides of it.
The link at the exhibitions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On8ve6pwdoc
The Netsuke Video
Summary
In this museum, 3D metaphors were used to make films that could be matched with some temporary exhibitions that where there for some time.
The narrative that occurs in these realizations is exclusively visual and makes use of 3D to maximize the enjoyment of the displayed works of art.
Activity:
Think of a museum you know and choose a theme which could describe it.
How would you organize the narrative?
What type of technology would you think isu best suited for your project and why?
Suggestions for further reading (2-3 articles/web pages):
1. The State of Museum Digital Practice | 2021 A collection of graduate essays and responses:
2. ‘Storyteching’ – how museums can use technology to tell their stories: https://www.museumnext.com/article/storyteching-how-museums-can-use-technology-to-tell-their-stories/
3. Visual Storytelling Platforms for Cultural Heritage in 2022: Telling your Collections’ Stories: https://blog.mused.org/an-overview-of-digital-storytelling-platforms-in-2021/
