Kimberly Tarr

Kimberly Tarr February 18, 2009 Culture of Archives, Museums, and Libraries Observational Study Museum of Art and Design In February 2008, I had the opportunity to visit New York‟s Museum of Arts and Design to observe who visits the institution, the configuration of exhibits, and how visitors interface with the exhibits. Because the museum relocated from its former building at 40 West 53 rd Street (across the street from the Museum of Modern Art) to a lavish new home at 2 Columbus Circle in September 2008, I decided to revisit the museum in its new space. Because the museum‟s new building and relocation is estimated to cost $90 million and is three times the size of the former space (which doubles the exhibition space), 1 I was eager to see whether its visitorship had markedly increased or the composition had changed. Furthermore, I entered this study with a hypothesis: the demographics of the Columbus Circle location would shift with the median age and socio-economic bracket increasing. Founded in 1956 by philanthropist Aileen Osborn Webb, the institution was known as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts until 1986, at which point its name was changed to the American Craft Museum. The word “craft” dates back to the mid- 1 Mark Faverman. “Controversial NYC Building Renovated.” Berkshire Fine Arts. November 8, 2008. http://www.berkshirefinearts.com/?page=article&article_id=861&catID=26 (Accessed February 16, 2009). Nineteenth Century Arts and Crafts Movement, the period in which artisans eschewed machine-made goods to focus on well-made, hand-crafted items. Technique and process are key components of the movement. When now-current museum director Holly Hotchner took the museum reigns in 1996, she feared that potential visitors equated “craft” with “amateurism” and sought the strategic input of Siegel & Gale, a corporate identity consulting firm. 2 Based on the focus group findings (“craft can never shed its macramé potholder image no matter what‟s done” noted one participant), the institution‟s name was changed to the more cosmopolitan-sounding “Museum of Arts and Design,” or MAD for short. Now focused on decorative arts and design, the Museum of Arts and Design is the co untry‟s leading cultural institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in a wide range of media, including clay, glass, wood, metal and fiber. 3 Over the course of the last ten years, it would have been difficult for New Yorkers to not hear about the brewing controversy over plans for 2 Columbus Circle. The original ornate marble Modernist building, designed by Edward Durell Stone, housed the Huntington Hartford‟s Gallery of Modern Art for a period in the late-1960‟s. New York City acquired the building in 1975, yet the nine-story building sat vacant from 19982005. It was the MAD that eventually won a bid from the City to purchase the site for $17 million. Preservationists were up in arms when MAD‟s architecture team revealed plans to completely gut the building and dramatically change the façade. Robert A. M. Stern, Dean of Yale‟s Architecture School, included the Edward Durell Stone-designed 2 Carol Kino. “The Art Form That Dares Not Speak Its Name.” New York Times. March 30, 2005. 3 Information excerpted from MAD‟s press release for “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery.” 2 “Lollipop Building” (so named for its famous columns) on “A Preservationist‟s List of 35 Modern Landmarks-in-Waiting.” Landmark West, a neighborhood advocacy / preservationist group waged a bitter war against the City and MAD from 2004-2007, but eventually lost eight lawsuits challenging the project. The building‟s new façade and interior at 2 Columbus Circle retains the form of the Lollipop building, but its terra cottaglass exterior is strikingly different than the marble original. The impetus for MAD‟s move was born out of the museum‟s need for more space. Its permanent collection was previously held off-site in Chelsea, as its quarters on 53rd Street were too small to accommodate the 2,000-plus objects. Additionally, to install exhibitions in the previous location, the Museum was forced to close for 10-14 days and thus forfeited admissions during that period. Exhibits had to run concurrently: all went up and came down at the same time. In the new space, museum director Hotchner also noted that the Museum was looking for space in which the public could observe artists at work: “The hope is that people will look at the process of making things, then go to the galleries and see objects, so that you‟re connecting that process to the object.” 4 In 2005, MAD‟s annual operating budget was $5 million and yearly attendance was 225,000. Museum leadership expected that the operating budget would increase to $8 million in their new location and that 450,000 visitors were expected annually. 5 In a recent interview, Hotchner noted that the operating budget had already jumped to $11 million and that exhibitions would have to be trimmed to ensure that the budget remains at $10 million. Additionally, Hotchner claimed that “attendance [from September to 4 Robin Pogrebin. “The Museum of Arts and Design Prepares for Its New Home.” New York Times. March 22, 2006. 5 Robin Pogrebin. “ „Lollipop‟” Building Set to Be Revamped.” New York Times. October 4, 2005. 3 December] has way exceeded our expectations.” 6 An article in the Minneapolis Star- Tribune corroborates Hotchner‟s claim: from September 2008 through January 2009, 160,000 individuals visited the new Museum of Arts and Design and that membership has doubled. 7 In a 4-month period, MAD‟s new location received 64% of the number of visitors that visited the old location in a 12-month period. MUSEUM OF ARTS AND DESIGN: A Comparison of Locations 40 West 53rd Street 17,000 sq. ft. 7,256 sq. ft. 700 sq. ft. $9 general admission $7 students & seniors pay-what-you-wish Thurs 68pm Daily, 10am-6pm (Thursdays until 8 pm) Minimum: $35 (student) 2 Columbus Circle 54,000 sq. ft. 14,600 sq. ft. 1,700 sq. ft. $15 general admission $12 students & seniors pay-what-you-wish Thurs 69pm Wed-Sun 11am-6pm (Thursdays until 9pm) Minimum: $50 (student); no longer senior membership rates 9th Floor -- 3,650 sq. ft. 5,530 sq. ft. 3 studios, 1,235 sq. ft. 155 seats, 3,200 sq. ft. Total Area Gallery Area Museum Store Admission Price Museum Hours Membership Rates Restaurant/Café Total Education Area Artist Studios Auditorium None Shared gallery space None None Visitor Study Methodology and Visitor Demographics 6 Robin Pogrebin. “Museum Growth Meets Hard Times.” New York Times. December 19, 2008. 7 “Attendance at NYC's Museum of Arts and Design Tops Expectations.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/art/39075092.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:a UzyaUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU (Accessed February 16, 2009). 4 To conduct my observational studies for 2009, I visited the new MAD at two distinctive times: 1) Thursday night pay-what-you-wish and 2) Wednesday morning. My thought was that Thursday would be very crowded and that the Wednesday morning the number of visitors would be fairly light, which would provide a good cross-section of the new MAD visitors. In 2009, it seems as if the lure of the new museum has been quite strong: the museum was quite crowded on both visits. Whereas in 2008 I could walk around the exhibition hall to observe the museum-goers, in 2009, I seated myself on a museum bench to make my observations. I additionally used a stopwatch in 2009 to better track the length of time that visitors remained with a particular piece. On Thursday night, there were sixty-plus visitors over the course of my one-hour visit. The group was split evenly males and females and the median age was much older than in 2008. (A large group of university alumni in their 60‟s were loud, gregarious, and somewhat disruptive to other museum-goers.) On my Wednesday morning visit, there were much fewer people: only 16 over the course of my 1-hour visit. In 2008, I visited MAD on a Tuesday afternoon and there were only 12 visitors over the course of my 1-hour visit. The visitors were all female and they viewed the exhibit either with one other, or independently (specifically, there were 4 groups of two and 3 solo women). Aside from one adolescent, the rest of the women were between the ages of 30-60 and all spoke English. Interaction with Exhibits It may be a result of the current exhibition, but it seemed as if visitors interacted with the exhibits in a very similar manner. “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary” 5 includes pieces created with everyday, mass-produced objects. First, they would look a piece over and then they would review the exhibition notes. There seemed to be an “ahha” moment after visitors reviewed the materials with which each piece was made and then they looked at it again, this time much more closely. Many individuals actually commented to their friends, stating something like “Wow, can you believe that those are buttons???” In 2008, the visitors tended to walk through the exhibit slowly. Their path appeared to be more determined by the allure of particular pieces, as opposed to a predetermined exhibit layout. Additionally, because there were so few people in the museum, they tended to spread out, giving one another space to enjoy the exhibition without standing too close to one another. Visitors would, more often than not, look at exhibits prior to reading labels. When visitors did read labels, they would devote and additional 2-4 seconds. 8 Multimedia The new building offers many multimedia interactive displays and, overall, technology is integrated into the exhibition space in a way unlike the previous museum location. First, there are Mac G5 computers on the gallery floors (located in corners, away from the objects) that allow visitors to explore the collection database. None of the computers were used by visitors on my two visits. 8 I used my cell phone to determine the length of the time individuals devoted to pieces and collections. 6 QuickTime™ an d a decompressor are need ed to see this p icture . It is important to note that cell phones are not permitted in the museum, except for use with the “Cell Phone Tour.” The no cell phone policy would be seemingly impossible for security guards to enforce. Visitors are encouraged to phone (212) 514-0017 and enter a 3-digit code to hear about specific objects. There are many large (2‟ x 3‟) flat-screen interactive monitors hanging on the walls peppered throughout the galleries. The set of screens has no note/explanation near it and is manipulated through touch (very similar to an iTouch). Two young boys of Scandinavian descent were the only museum-goers who interacted with these monitors. It seems that, by touching these screens (dragging and clicking), visitors can explore the entirety of the MAD collection. There are other interactive monitors that can be used to hear and view artists discussing their work and process, but the videos were not working on my visits (but the audio was working). Because these are in close proximity to one another, it created a cacophony of noise and confusion for many museum-goers. Lastly, all of the museum signage (admission price board, elevator directory, etc.) are on flat-screen monitors that can be updated via computer. 7 QuickTime™ an d a decompressor are need ed to see this p icture . (visitors using the interactive displays) At the previous location, there were no computers or interactive displays for visitors. There was only one interactive exhibit piece at MAD involved a booth in which visitors could enter to explore a particular piece via a computer. Only 3 of the 12 visitors entered the booth. (I chose to enter to learn more about the piece but was incredibly confused, as the signage did not correspond with the prompts on the computer). Exhibit Layout and Signage One negative aspect about the new space is the length of time visitors were forced to wait for the elevators. Although there is a staircase available, it is quite narrow and the steps are steep. Most individuals chose to wait a lengthy period for the elevator. There are 9 floors in the new building: the ground floor has a Visitor Services Center and the gift shop; floor 2 -5 offer galleries; floor 6 contains the artist studios and classrooms; floor 7 is for “special events”; floor 8 is staff offices; and floor 9 is the restaurant and café (opening in Summer 2009). Lastly, there is a 155-seat auditorium on the basement level. 8 In 2008, the staff pointedly informed all visitors that the “Pricked” exhibit started upstairs and then continued downstairs. Interestingly, the exhibit was sub-divided into five sections. All exhibit notes listed the title of the piece, artist name, nationality, year of creation, materials, dimensions, donor/lending institution, and the section name. Security When I visited last year, I felt as if the security guards at MAD encroached on your personal viewing space and were unable to answer any questions related to the museum hours and exhibition details. At the new space, the guards seemed to be much more friendly and interacted with the visitors. At one point, I heard a guard say to some a woman, “you beat me to the punch,” after she scolded her husband for stepping over a line and getting too close to a sculpture. I did observe two people touching tapestries in 2009 and no guards observed/commented. Promotional Materials In 2008, MAD offered a 8 ½ x 11 black-and-white photo-copied press release on “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery” as well as a full-color 16-page newsletter in broadside format. Membership information was available at both institutions. In 2009, there were fancy full-color brochures available: Visitor Information, Membership, and exhibition handouts for “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary” and “Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection.” Lastly, it seems as if MAD made the decision to get rid of its ampersand 9 (&) in lieu of the world “and” on all of its new materials. Thus, the museum‟s name is Museum of Arts and Design. Conclusion Last year, there were so few visitors to the museum that it was difficult to draw conclusions about the way in which visitors interacted with exhibits. This year, it is impossible to deny that the new 2 Columbus Circle space is a big lure for visitors. The crowd was much more diverse in 2009: much more varied in age, ethnicity, and there were twice as many men visiting the museum in 2009 than in 2008. The museum attempts to integrate technology into the visitor experience, but they might benefit from added explanation to ensure that people actually use the interactive displays. Note: The photographs included in this report were taken from MAD‟s official Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/madmuseum/ 10