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.

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>.

10 Great Reason to Visit a Museum

This Article written by Colleen Dilenschneider,  provides a wonderful and brief summery of all the reasons that Museums have a valuable place in society. I loved the embedded video. We had already watched it in class but I made sure to watch it one more time just to remember some of the small details.Just to reiterate some of the points she made I will list them below with my own explanations

1. Museums make you feel good: Do you remember the way you felt the last time you were in a museum? I do, one of my favorite places in the world is the DIA. The ambiance of the marble halls and classical architecture, can make you feel like a sophisticated, cultured adult. At least, that is how it makes me feel. No shopping trip to any upscale retailer has the same affect on me as to when I step into a Museums
2. Museums make you smarter: The main purpose of Museum to give as much knowledge to their visitors as possible. They want to provide all museum patrons with the tools to learn for the sake of learning. There might not be any grades to prove it, but when you leave a museum you will always leave with more inside your head than when you entered
3. Museums provide an effective way of learning: Interactive learning is really the best way to go. When a person can be in presence of something real, they are more likely to retain it, than if they simple heard about it in a lecture or textbook. When I went to London this summer, I came face to face with portraits and paintings that I had only seen inside my history textbook. It had a huge impact on me and I was able to better understand what exactly I had read about.
4. Museums are community centers: The primary focus of Museums is to teach and educate its community. Many have summer programs and after school learning opportunities for children in the community. They are also a place where the community can hold events and celebrations.
5. Museums inspire: They sure do! I was on an outing to the DIA when I decided that I wanted to make a career out of Museums. I have a love of Art, History and Culture so much, that I want to share with the rest of the world. I love museums and that could only mean that pursuing more knowledge about them would have to be part of my life. Museums are places where your all five of your senses are allowed to work all at once and simultaneously. You can absorb so much and put your new found knowledge to creative use. 
6. Museums help bring change and development to communities: Museums that can engage communities can educate that community and make it a better place. Online access to archives and research material allow for great spread of knowledge
7. Museums are a great way to spend time with friends and family: Some of the best memories that I have are going to see exhibits with my mother. We would bond quietly over art and historical artifacts. This past summer I spent a week in Paris with my parents and the majority of our week was spent inside the halls of the Louvre, Le Musee D'Orsay, L'Orangerie and Versailles. It was an amazing trip, one I will never forget.
8. A museum may be your next community partner or business endeavor: I do not know much about this yet but The museum is great place to hold events and benefits. My high school held their prom at the African American Museum in downtown Detroit a few years ago.
9. Museums are free… sometimes: Need a cheap date or low cost family outing? Museums are much less expensive than going to the movies or shopping spree!
10. There is a museum close to you: Being so far away from Detroit, I had no idea what to expect when it came to how close the nearest museum would be. However I gladly found that I am surrounded by Museums! Not even three blocks from my place of residence in East Lansing is the soon to be completed Broad Art Museum, and only a ten minute walk from my house is the MSU Museum on Campus. Knowing that there is not only one, but two Museums so close to me is sigh of relief.

Outside the Gates of Versailles with my Mother

At the Musee D'Orsay

The Louvre

Works Cited
   Dilenscheider, Colleen. "10 Reasons to Visit a Museum." Know Your Own Bone. N.p., 30 July 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2012. <http://colleendilen.com/2009/07/31/10-reasons-to-visit-a-museum/>.