Social Environment of a museum

Social Environment of a museum

Introduction

It was a historical moment for me when I visited the LA museum. It was an experience that was similar like a visit to an exhibition sometimes accompanied by a lecture from an art historian or the curator of the show. Information is passed on to the viewer in hopes that knowing about the historical period, the life of the artist, the artistic movement, and finally a critique of the art work would enhance the viewer's experience of the art work. Unfortunately, this enhancement rarely happens. Instead, I often felt inadequate and uninformed about the historical time period of the art work or the artist, which often leads to an awkward or even embarrassing viewing experience. I was particularly vulnerable to these kinds of experiences when the work of art is surrounded by many famous masterpieces in a grand hall with richly painted walls and cavernous ceilings, much like a palace or a stately manor house, environments usually unfamiliar to the general viewer. Therefore, all the issues related to social environment of museum will be discussed in detail.

History of the concept of museums

Since the early '90s, art museums began to adopt a distinctly different attitude toward viewers' experiences in the galleries. While the formal lectures still took place, there was an increased focus on incorporating the experiences viewers brought with them to encounters with art works in more informal gallery tours, conversations between museum educators and viewers began to take place. The museum experience, in these cases, draws upon the generalist's domain. This is, perhaps, why it is sometimes labeled an informal education experience, especially when the viewer walks through the galleries leisurely encountering various and sometimes unconnected works of art for short periods of time. A key factor in these experiences is the idea of the viewers processing and understanding their own personal responses in relationship to the art objects. In order to capitalize on these types of individual experiences with museum visitors, the museum educator began engaging viewers by exploring the frameworks of understanding that they the viewer brought with them when engaging with a work of art (Anderson, 2005, 52).

Different experiences faced by people at a museum

Adult learners in this case, teachers like their younger counterparts, learn at different levels of involvement and within different timeframes. The learning experience of the adult is reflective and interactive. Research shows that adults learn from their own experiences and reference these experiences when coming in contact with new ones. Therefore, it is essential for the museum visit to involve looking in collaboration with comparison, choice, critical thinking, and evaluation. Learning does take place in a museum context, and it is not passive; it is, at its best, dynamic, and people come to find meaning and connection. These are the foundations nowadays on which the museum experience can securely rest. It was, therefore, opportune to use the museum setting to stir new learning modes for the classroom ...