Museums have long been an institution of preservation and the collection of objects, art, and curiosities. Items safely stored and displayed for the public to look at, never changing. As a child seeing and learning about a museum’s objects for the first time is thrilling. However over time that thrill fades and what was once magical in the eyes of our five year old self is now lackluster and monotonous. As adults we cease to visit that museum we loved as a child. Why would we? Nothing has changed, there is nothing new. There is something special about the nostalgia of that feeling when you were five and first saw an exhibit that opened your eyes to another world. The traditional museum is still the foundation of museums in the 21st century and adapting to the new museum typology (the post-museum) is inevitable for continued success, but can it be both a traditional and a post-museum? With new technologies and research in the field of museums and how people learn in them there has been a shift in what it is and should be to its visitors. This practicum project aims to address the shift of the interiors and exhibits in museums of the 21st century. Many factors contribute to the changing of the museum; its design, exhibits, and social construct have all been adjusted to create more inclusive experiences. Through the examination of tourism, community, post-museums and exhibition design this practicum project aims to provide a balance between the traditional and post-museum typology. The result is a stronger connection with the local community and an enriching experience for museum goers. / February 2017

Christy Addis-Gutierrez MUSEUM DESIGN: art, wonder & discovery Some art institutions create such an elitist atmosphere that the average person might feel intimidated. But for the artists to be the most effective in expressing their ideas, their feelings, and their point of view, more people need to experience it. If the audience for art is limited to a relatively small group of art lovers, how does that serve the art process? A broader audience could enrich the art that is produced, allowing artists to engage in more daring work. A contemporary art museum that also incorporates spaces for gathering and communal activities, with an active and innovative educational program, could create this broader audience for art, and strengthen the surrounding community as well. Art brings people together – to discover more about themselves and each other. The challenge is to create a space that accomplishes this: more art; more people; more wonder; more discovery. The “big idea” of this project was “more art”. It was generated by the idea of bringing the wonder of art to more people.

This thesis explores the rich and provocative fields of interaction between Australian artists and museums from 1975 to 2002. Artists have investigated and engaged with museums of art, social history and natural science during this period. Despite the museum being a major source of exploration for artists, the subject has rarely been examined in the literature. This thesis redresses this gap. It identifies and examines four prevailing approaches of Australian contemporary art to museums in this period: oppositional critique, figurative representation, intervention and collaboration. / The study asserts that a general progression from oppositional critique in the seventies through to collaboration in the late nineties can be charted. It explores the work of three artists who have epitomised these approaches to the museum. Peter Cripps developed an oppositional critique of the museum and was intimately involved with the art museum politics in Melbourne during the mid-seventies. Fiona Hall figuratively represented the museum. Her approach documented and catalogued museum tropes of a bygone era. Narelle Jubelin’s work intervened with Australian museums. Her work has curatorial capacities and has had real effect within Australian museums. These differing artistic approaches to the museum have the effect of contesting history and expanding narrative within museums. / Curators collaborated with artists and used artistic methods to create exhibits in Australian museums during the 1990s. Artistic approaches are a major methodology of museums seeking to contest traditional modes of history and expand narrative in their exhibits. Contemporary art has played a vital, curatorial, role in the Hyde Park Barracks, Museum of Sydney, Melbourne Museum and Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, amongst other museums. While in earlier years artists were well known for their resistive approach to the art museum, this thesis shows that artists have increasingly participated in new forms of representation within art, social history, and natural history museums. I argue that the role of contemporary art within “new” museums is emblematic of new approaches to history, space, narrative and design within the museum. (For complete abstract open document)

This thesis explores the rich and provocative fields of interaction between Australian artists and museums from 1975 to 2002. Artists have investigated and engaged with museums of art, social history and natural science during this period. Despite the museum being a major source of exploration for artists, the subject has rarely been examined in the literature. This thesis redresses this gap. It identifies and examines four prevailing approaches of Australian contemporary art to museums in this period: oppositional critique, figurative representation, intervention and collaboration. / The study asserts that a general progression from oppositional critique in the seventies through to collaboration in the late nineties can be charted. It explores the work of three artists who have epitomised these approaches to the museum. Peter Cripps developed an oppositional critique of the museum and was intimately involved with the art museum politics in Melbourne during the mid-seventies. Fiona Hall figuratively represented the museum. Her approach documented and catalogued museum tropes of a bygone era. Narelle Jubelin’s work intervened with Australian museums. Her work has curatorial capacities and has had real effect within Australian museums. These differing artistic approaches to the museum have the effect of contesting history and expanding narrative within museums. / Curators collaborated with artists and used artistic methods to create exhibits in Australian museums during the 1990s. Artistic approaches are a major methodology of museums seeking to contest traditional modes of history and expand narrative in their exhibits. Contemporary art has played a vital, curatorial, role in the Hyde Park Barracks, Museum of Sydney, Melbourne Museum and Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, amongst other museums. While in earlier years artists were well known for their resistive approach to the art museum, this thesis shows that artists have increasingly participated in new forms of representation within art, social history, and natural history museums. I argue that the role of contemporary art within “new” museums is emblematic of new approaches to history, space, narrative and design within the museum. (For complete abstract open document)

No description available.

The Richmond Maker Museum is a working museum design, offering an inside look at past achievements, juxtaposed with the unlimited future possibilities of an evolving, active maker culture. It is a dynamic place designed to allow makers to showcase skills, take risks, engage the public, and grow their craft in real time. The museum displays finished pieces, introduces makers, demonstrates the processes they employ in their work, and invites the community to meet the artisans who, through skill, ingenuity, and hard work, make the artifacts on display. This type of educational museum experience does not currently exist on this scale in Richmond. While other local museums invite visiting artists and offer lectures, the Richmond Maker Museum takes interaction to a new level, introducing visitors to the routines and procedures of each artisan’s daily practice. Maker culture is a tightly woven network of craftsmen—woodworkers, metalworkers, glassblowers, etc. It celebrates traditional fabrication techniques, while also introducing modern technologies such as laser cutting and three-dimensional printing. The social and educational aspects of the maker movement have created a revolution, revitalizing public appreciation for the role of the maker and the importance of craftsmanship.

No description available.

Thesis work «Specificity of the contemporary historical museum expositions» is devoted to the analysis of the actual for the XXI century process of transformation of the modern museum appearance based on a new ideas of the exhibition artists. Greater emphasis is laid on a contemporary museum conceptions that were developed on the West in XX-XXI century. Unfortunately, they are not well-known to native reader, so work was undertaken to translate books in English into Russian. The deepened classification of the historical museum exhibition was created on the base of foreign materials. Application of exhibition techniques described in the dissertation will increase attractiveness of Ekaterinbourgs museums. In instance of depiction and analysis achievements in construction museum exhibition created by foreign artists, thesis presents and investigates museum areas, created by Ekaterinbourgs group of exhibition designers and artists «The white square» and «Museum technologies» and a huge studio of creators from the Urals regional institute of museum design. Comparative study European styles and artists creative scripts of constructing the exhibition with ones, made by Ekaterinbourgs artists, distinguishes global and local problems, which appear during the design, creation and construction of exhibition. The dissertation tries to solve some of the declared problems and to offer ways of development the art of museum exhibition. The practical significance of the thesis is in the fact that it can be used as an instruction to the museum exhibition design and construction. / Магистерская диссертация «Специфика экспозиций современных исторических музеев» посвящена анализу актуального для XXI века процесса смены изменения облика современного музея на основе новых идей художников-экспозиционеров. В исследовании уделяется внимание современным концепциям, которые были разработаны на Западе в конце XX – начале XXI века. К сожалению, они малоизвестны отечественному читателю, поэтому была проведена работа по переводу английских текстов на русский язык. На основании материалов зарубежных авторов создалась более углубленная схема классификации экспозиций исторических музеев. Применение некоторых предложенных техник в наших музеях увеличит их привлекательность для посетителей. На примере описания и анализа достижений в создании экспозиций зарубежными коллегами, в магистерской диссертации представлены и исследованы музейные пространства, созданные екатеринбургскими коллективами экспозиционеров «Белый квадрат» и «Музейные технологии», а также бригадой Уральского регионального института музейных проектов. Сопоставление европейских стилей и школ создания экспозиции с отечественными методами помогло выявить общие и частные проблемы, с которыми сталкиваются художники-экспозиционеры при дизайне экспозиций. В исследовании предпринята попытка к решению поднятых проблем, намечены векторы развития экспозиционного искусства. Практическая значимость исследования заключается в том, что оно может быть использовано в качестве пособия по созданию музейной экспозиции.