A Brand New Label

Objective enhance collection Label!

Label (Green Indicates changes/additions)
A wheat weaving,called a "Mordiford".The term mordiford refers to ultimate shape of the woven wheat. The stalks of the plant are soaked in water until they are pliable. After soaking the stalks they are plaited into a heart shape with the seed ends fraying out at the end.# In this particular example the,  wheat hangs at the bottom, above wheat stems are woven together into a heart. Green plaid bow and dried flowers are attached in the center. Wheat weaving originated as a celebration of the Harvest. In the sixteenth century, the English wove the crop to represent the spirit of Harvest Time. The use of straw  as a material was wonderful for baskets, hats and other forms of storage or decorative pieces. From the seventeenth century forward, it became a homemade industry that provided families with income and employed thousands outside of the home.  By the nineteenth century the crop token had become commonalty throughout Europe. The skill of weaving straw and wheat was a skill that European families brought with them too America. However with the advent of modern industry and machinery the use and knowledge of this craft became virtually non-existent. Arts and crafts revivals throughout the mid twentieth century however brought this talented skill back to life.#  Today to protect the wheat weaving craft is the National Association of Wheat Weavers or the NAWW. Founded in 1987 the objective of this organization is to “educate, develop, all forms of straw artistry, and to Preserve and perpetuate the history and traditions associated with the folk art of corn dollies, wheat plaiting (also known as wheat weaving) and other forms of straw art.”#. This particular piece was made by artists and donors, Ingrid Jonsson a graduate of Michigan State University, class of 1967# and May-Britt Eklov. It measures 10" x 7". Made in Michigan. Swedish.

• Diane, Sister. "Made Me a Mordiford!" CraftyPod. Wordpress, 27 June 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. <http://www.craftypod.com/2008/06/27/made-me-a-mordiford/>.
• About Straw Art." The National Association of Wheat Weavers. NAWW, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. <http://nawwstraw.org/index.php/about-straw-art>.
• "About the National Association of Wheat Weavers." National Association of Wheat Weavers. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. <http://nawwstraw.org/index.php/about-naww>.
• "Ingrid Jonsson." Classmates. N.p., n.d. Web. <Classmates.com>.

Michigan Woven Wheat

I found this woven piece of art within the Michigan State University Museum’s Collection. I decided to choose this beautiful agricultural work because it made me stop in my tracks while I was scrolling through the hundreds of catalogued items. The assignment was to choose a piece that resonated or related to myself. To me, this piece made me think about the connections I have to my home state, university, and the sorority that shaped me in my time at the aforementioned school.
This woven artwork is made in Michigan from a crop that is also grown frequently throughout the state. Being born in southeastern Michigan, there were not many wheat fields to be found within walking distance. However every summer from the time that I was eight years old was spent out near the thumb among the farm fields of the grains that were to be harvested in the following fall.
Continuing into my college years I chose a University long known for its prestige in Agricultural Studies. Although I did not choose to follow that path in my educational path, I still have the deepest respect for those who do. The woven wheat heart, made me stop to think about the people I have met here at Michigan State and how the university itself has shaped me since I began my education here. Without the history of the Agricultural program here at MSU, there would be no school and I would not be the same person that I am today. Everything happens for a reason.
Lastly the sorority that I joined in the first weeks that I found myself at MSU holds dear the symbol of the sheaf of wheat. The many strands of wheat coming together to make a one big bundle. Here the wheat is intertwined together into a heart-shape. As corny as it may seem this heart made me think of the love I have for the house that helped me to become the leader that I am today.
Museum Collections and exhibitions can inspire us and help us remember the great things in our lives. They are not merely just a home for musty items that have no meaning. Find out more about your self, history and the world around you at a Museum near you.

Accessibility: Just Getting Around

Museum's are a precious and wonderful place that should be able to be accessed by anyone who seeks it out. Young, old, disabled, ables, the joys of Museum's and pursuit of knowledge should be closed to no person. For that matter ensuring that all exhibits, facilities and buildings should be easily accessible to everyone.

Types of accessibility

• Ramps
• Elevators
• Escalators
• Power Doors
• Audio Guides
• Braille Signs
• Sign Language Videos

not only is architecture an important function for accessibility but also exhibits and exhibit sets are as well.

• Display Cabinets
• Display height
• Label Size
• Braille Labels
• Font Size

Without Proper Accessibility a Museum can be very limited to their patrons and visitors. Simple things can be over looked until they are most needed.

Technology: The Modern Museum

The use of technology in museums today is imperative to the success and relativity of the organization. To bring a museum into the 21st century, it needs interactive entertainment as well as include great online resources for patrons and visitors.
   
Data Bases are a great resource for researchers and students. Museums who include an easily accessible online archive open themselves up to exposure from Internet researchers all over the world. When I was in London this past summer I attended an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. When I returned to the States the Museum's online archive  helped me complete the final project for the class I took while in the city. The data base allowed me to access the portraits and information  I needed from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Without that archive I would have had to recall almost 50 portraits from memory.

Interactive exhibits are so much more entertaining to audiences and museum goers. By including social media outlets such as, Twitter, Facebook, Texting and even FourSquare, throughout exhibits allows for the promotion of not only the exhibit but for the museum itself.  Interactive technologies engage the museum visitor in a completely different way than just staring at an object, reading its information and moving on. Instead the patron can take time to use up to all five senses to really understand the information they are being given through the object or exhibit.

However it is up the museum to decided how to incorporate that technology into either permanent collections or in changing exhibits. Technology in museums may also be a turn off for some museum patrons. Many go to museums to be transported to a place of history, art and culture. The museum must find the balance between technology advancements and retaining the peacefulness often associated with  it.


Works Cited

Rosenberg, Karen. "ART REVIEW; Art That Interacts If You Interface." The New York Times. The  New York Times, 29 July 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.  <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/arts/design/momas-talk-to-me-focuses-on-interface-review.html?_r=0>.

Briefly on Exhibitions: From Labels to Layout

When walking through an exhibition the first thing some one looks at is the objects that are being displayed. Maybe its the first thing that catches your eye, or maybe its the very center of the exhibit, but you may never know what exactly you are looking at without the help of the kindly placed label that sits closely to that eye catching piece. The exhibit flows easily through a well thought out security plan that allows patrons to easily view objects in an innovative environment

Many details come together in attribute to an exhibition's success. From the smallest of details, such as how to identify the exhibits objects to the marketing of the exhibit to the general public.  Labels are always as valuable as the object or work of art that they accompany. Without them a Museum Patron may never understand the importance of the object and why it was chosen to be exhibited. A good label is clear and concise, informative and interesting, and be accessible to large range of audiences.

However there would be nothing to label without the objects themselves and their displays. The production should set the overall tone of the exhibit. Lighting, flow patterns and creative ways of displays will make sure to give the patrons the mood of the exhibit.

A good marketing plan will not only make the community know about the new exhibition but also make them want to take the time to come see it. With out knowledge of its existence, there will be no patrons however you also have to make them interested in coming to see it.

Museum exhibitions are the thoughts and ideas of many coming together to create a cohesive display that interests and even thrills its visitors. There not only one good way to create an exhibit but the basics will help to create wonderful exhibition that keeps the community and tourists coming back for more.



Cited

"National Association for Museum Exhibition." NAME: National Association for Museum Exhibition. American Association of Museums, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://name-aam.org/about/who-we-are/standards>.

"Serrell & Associates :: Museum Consultants." Serrell & Associates :: Museum Consultants. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. <http://www.serrellassociates.org/labelwriting.html>.

Donators, Donations, Dollars

I never really paid much attention to donor walls in Museums before. They were always just a list of names that meant nothing to me. The only donor wall I really remember was that of my elementary school playground and I only read that because I was bored.

However any organization, including Museums, need a steady stream of cash flowing in to grow and thrive. In a perfect world the Museum would not need to fight for donations or beg for donors, but this world does not really exist. The donor wall, while not the focus of most patrons and visitors, is a necessary accessory.

This donor wall is from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Its almost a work of art on its own. I do not really think that donor walls are the most efficient way to drum up funds. Online media is a great way to get support and just get the word out there that the museum is in need of funds. However not every cry for help can bring in cash. 

The Historic Cherry Hill, who uses Youtube to gain support, literally begged for donation from visitor and watchers of their Youtube channel. This video kind of put me off. Most people like to give their money to organizations who already have donations because they seem to a credible institution. If a museum has no donators then they must not be worthy of the funds. Whether or not this is true is regardless, but it is a fact of psychology.

Cited

 Dilenscheider, Colleen. "Evolutionary Biology and Human Psychology: A Case For Museum Donor Walls," Know Your Own Bone. N.p., 15 November 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

"Museum of Science and Industry." Welcome to The Museum of Science and Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.msichicago.org/about-the-museum/press/current/u-505/>.

Historic Cherry Hill Year En Appealdirector of Historic Cherry Hill' Dir. Rankins5. Perf. Director of Historic Cherry Hill. YouTube. YouTube, 06 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtLD9WcNb4>.

21st Century Skills For The Modern Museum

With the dawn of the 21^st century technology and information has boomed. No longer is there real need to step outside your own home to access knowledge and information. But how is this relevant to Museums? Due to immense amount of information that is out there now Museums need to be able to compete with Websites and Web Archives. To keep up the business end of the Museum, the institution must adapt to stay relevant in this day and age. With that being said the only way to improve the Museum is to improve the staff working there and bring fresh interactive ideas to the forefront of the Modern Museum. Now when I refer to the “Modern Museum” I do not mean that the museum is one of modern art or modern history, no I simply mean that the museum is one that has adapted to fit the current time period and maintain its attraction to visitors. There are a few simple ways to make sure that this can happen within all museums and their staff.

1. Technology Knowledge
   1. the use of technology in the 21^st century is critical. Interactive and out of the box exhibits are the best way to grab a visitors attention and keep them coming back for more.
2. Critical Thinking
   1. Staff should be able to analyze and quickly come up with solutions to problems. Also they should be able to take in as many fresh ideas as possible and consider all aspects of the museum and its patrons.
3. Environmental Literacy
   1. Living in this world today, we understand that what we do can have a large impact on the environment and community at large. Museums and staff should know and be aware of how the museum fits into the community environment and play a part in maintaining and protecting it.
4. Global Literacy
   1. The world is no longer full of isolated pockets of space. Today there lives a global community in which all cultures have the ability to be included. Museums and staff should be aware of this and take this into account when planning events and exhibitions. They should be encouragers of this global society and be accessible to all its peoples
5. Evaluation from visitors and patrons
   1. The only way a museum can grow and prosper to learn from not only it's mistakes but also it's successes. The Museum should take notes and criticisms from it's patrons and use them in future exhibitions and events. The only way it can reach its public is through the engagement of the said public.
      

6.  Multifaceted Institution

      1."Every museum today  has had to come to grips with this transformation from temple of art to    culture mall. In order to survive, museums today must be many things to many people: centers of scholarship, places of entertainment, temples of beauty, social service agencies, marketplaces, meeting places, places of diversity, places of calm, and, above all, places of socio-political controversy"

       I love this line from Susanna Torruella Leval about the nature of the "Modern Museum"and the different things it must be to different people. 

Works Cited

Eberbach, Cathrine. "InformalScience | Randi Korn - Interview from the Field."InformalScience | Randi Korn - Interview from the Field. Informal Science, 2008. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://informalscience.org/member/interview/rkorn>.

"Podcast Audio." Podcast Audio. IMLS, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.imls.gov/resources/podcast.aspx>.

Torruella Leval, Susanna. "ARTS, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY." The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts -. N.p., 1995. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.warholfoundation.org/grant/paper5/paper.html>.