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The cell-phone tour for this exhibition is free and stops at 14 of the 31 works of art on display in the Vantage Point exhibit. It can be accessed inside the exhibit walls by dialing (202) 747-3477 and entering the number next to the piece of artwork being viewed, followed by the “#” symbol. The tour can also be accessed outside the exhibit walls using the exhibit’s website, where the telephone number to access the tour and the tour numbers for the works of art are listed. The artwork was created by contemporary Native artists and organized around four general themes: cultural memory and persistence, landscape and place, personal memory and identity, and history and the contemporary urban experience. The cell-phone tour provides audio of the artists introducing themselves and providing information about their artwork, including their methods and materials, as well as anecdotes about the life experiences that influenced their artwork.
Firsthand or secondary Review/Critique (150-250 words):
I used this cell-phone tour when visiting the exhibit in October of 2010. The content enhanced my understanding of the messages and contexts of the pieces highlighted on the tour, as well as of the artists themselves. I loved how the content was provided by the artists themselves; it is rare that museum visitors have the opportunity to hear artists talking about their own works instead of docents or museum curators’ interpretations of them. Another nice feature is the ability for visitors to customize the order and length of access to this cell-phone tour according to their own preferences.
However, the format of this tour was disappointing in the sense that it limits visitors to the role of passive listeners. The one-way transmission of pre-recorded audio from artists to the ears of visitors is not conducive for people who prefer to learn through active participation and social interaction. It is a format more suited to those who prefer to quietly contemplate art. Also, the quality of the audio was not great and was difficult to hear at times.
The program could be improved by incorporating content which encourages groups of visitors to discuss the artwork with each other or enables visitors to contribute to the content in some way. This content could include thought-provoking questions posed by curators at the end of the artists’ audio segments and features where visitors can use their cell phones to vote on their favorite pieces on the tour or leave comments and questions.
Technologies Incorporated:
Pre-recorded audio content delivered via users' cell-phones
Internally or externally produced:
Externally
Entry Contributor and Date: Caitlin Markey, 2/05/2011
Related Projects:
The museum also offers a free smart phone tour app for this gallery, which can be downloaded from http://gettag.mobi.
I think cell-phone tours are an interesting concept and I, too, like the idea that visitors get to listen to the artists' voices and hear their personal stories behind the artwork. However, I think that cell-phone tours have the potential to be very limiting. One aspect that comes to mind is for visitors from other countries who speak languages other than English. Are there language accommodations for these visitors? I do like the idea of a cell-phone tour, but have some reservations about it.
I think that visitors from foreign countries are unlikely to take this tour not just for the "English-only" factor, but also because they would likely be paying steep charges on their cell phones. Even though the tour itself is free, visitors are still paying their cell phone service providers for the minutes they use while on it and also for any roaming charges. Another way this tour could expand in the future is if the Smithsonian gives the artists the opportunity to record their audio clips in their Native languages.
I am one of those visitors who like quiet contemplative tours. Since I am not art savey spending time listening to the artist talk about his work would work for me. There are times I enjoy emersing myself with one on one features in a museum and the audio tours are good for this. Whenever I have used audio the same problem reoccurs the sound quality is always poor and visitors get discouraged.
Tours like this one can be great for art novices, drawing attention to themes, styles and techniques that they might not notice otherwise. The poor audio quality, although noticeable, didn't bother me too much at the time of my tour because the gallery wasn't too crowded, but I can see how it could be more problematic with higher levels of background noise.
My understanding is that this is an inexpensive in-house experiment, to try to provide some information for people at low cost. There just weren’t funds to take the project any further. Recording in Native language (as another track or alternative would be interesting and low cost enhancement.
The foreign phone/roaming charges are a hurdle that can make apps or museum owned devices a more attractive alternative. Encouraging the use of headphones would allow for greatly increased audio quality.
According to Proctor's description on the "SI Web and New Media Strategy" wiki, "The mobile website was developed in-house by NMAI's talented developer, Jason Wigfield. The only out-of-house costs for developing the solution were the cellphone audio tour" (http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Vantage+Point).
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Comments (6)
ebirgeo1 said
at 7:12 pm on Feb 5, 2011
I think cell-phone tours are an interesting concept and I, too, like the idea that visitors get to listen to the artists' voices and hear their personal stories behind the artwork. However, I think that cell-phone tours have the potential to be very limiting. One aspect that comes to mind is for visitors from other countries who speak languages other than English. Are there language accommodations for these visitors? I do like the idea of a cell-phone tour, but have some reservations about it.
Caitlin Markey said
at 2:21 pm on Feb 9, 2011
I think that visitors from foreign countries are unlikely to take this tour not just for the "English-only" factor, but also because they would likely be paying steep charges on their cell phones. Even though the tour itself is free, visitors are still paying their cell phone service providers for the minutes they use while on it and also for any roaming charges. Another way this tour could expand in the future is if the Smithsonian gives the artists the opportunity to record their audio clips in their Native languages.
Mary Whitworth said
at 11:55 am on Feb 9, 2011
I am one of those visitors who like quiet contemplative tours. Since I am not art savey spending time listening to the artist talk about his work would work for me. There are times I enjoy emersing myself with one on one features in a museum and the audio tours are good for this. Whenever I have used audio the same problem reoccurs the sound quality is always poor and visitors get discouraged.
Caitlin Markey said
at 2:29 pm on Feb 9, 2011
Tours like this one can be great for art novices, drawing attention to themes, styles and techniques that they might not notice otherwise. The poor audio quality, although noticeable, didn't bother me too much at the time of my tour because the gallery wasn't too crowded, but I can see how it could be more problematic with higher levels of background noise.
lstepp1@... said
at 11:32 am on Feb 15, 2011
My understanding is that this is an inexpensive in-house experiment, to try to provide some information for people at low cost. There just weren’t funds to take the project any further. Recording in Native language (as another track or alternative would be interesting and low cost enhancement.
The foreign phone/roaming charges are a hurdle that can make apps or museum owned devices a more attractive alternative. Encouraging the use of headphones would allow for greatly increased audio quality.
Caitlin Markey said
at 12:11 pm on Mar 9, 2011
According to Proctor's description on the "SI Web and New Media Strategy" wiki, "The mobile website was developed in-house by NMAI's talented developer, Jason Wigfield. The only out-of-house costs for developing the solution were the cellphone audio tour" (http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Vantage+Point).
You don't have permission to comment on this page.