Project Title:  Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting Audio Tour 

Museum/ Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts (co-organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland)

Media Category: Audio Tour

Program Created:  2010 

Program URL (if available):  http://www.artsmia.org/mobile/titian/

Project Image(s) and/or Video

Media Source(s)/Credit(s): http://www.artsmia.org/titian/tours.html

                                       http://www.artsmia.org/titian/index.html
 

Program Description: (150-250 words)

“Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting” is a traveling exhibition of works from the National Galleries of Scotland.  It focuses on paintings by Titian, but there are other pieces by other artists as well.  Some of the main paintings are Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, as well as Venus Rising From the Sea, all by Titian.  Additionally, there is a complementary exhibition called “Venice on Paper” that features Venetian drawings and sketches from five centuries.  The 14-stop audio guide is provided on a standard device that visitors wear around their necks with headphones.  There are numbers located on the walls near the corresponding paintings, with a small headphones icon.  Visitors then enter that number on the device’s number keypad to hear about the paintings.  The audio stops include expertise from Rachel McGarry, associate curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings at MIA, and Patrick Noon, the chair of the Paintings Department at MIA.  Also featured are Michael Clarke, the Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, and Robert Stephens, the founder of the Geek Squad and CTO at Best Buy.  The “Venice on Paper” audio stops are narrated by James Wehn, curator for Thrivent Financial Collection of Religious Art.  The tour can also be accessed for free on mobile devices like Smartphones, or downloaded prior to visiting onto an mp3 player.  Renting a device and headphones from the museum costs $4, or $3 if you are a member at MIA. 

Firsthand or secondary review/critique: (150-250 words) 

I rented my device from the museum, and I thought it was a well-done audio tour, although I am no expert (I rarely utilize them).  These particular works of art have never been to the United States prior to this tour, so additional information can be insightful.  I appreciated the curators' take on things, especially when they would call attention to details that might otherwise have been overlooked.  I thought that Robert Stephens was an odd choice, but he did bring an interesting technological perspective to the table, comparing a 16th-century map of Venice with Google's new 3-D layer for mobile phone maps, and also commenting on the idea of maps in an age of digital information.  I also liked the freedom of choice with this audio guide; I did not have to select a number for a painting in which I had no additional interest.  One thing I really liked about the audio tour was the option of additional information.  There were red, green, and yellow buttons located at the bottom of the device, which provided extra information, or even some period music, at most of the stops.  To me, these were like layered labels; if one cared to learn more, simply push one of the other buttons.  Overall, I’m not positive an audio tour was completely necessary for this exhibition, but I found it informational and entertaining, although I did find it slightly isolating (especially since I visited with a friend who did not rent an audio tour).

Technologies incorporated: Digital sound recordings, standard audio guide device with keypad and headphones 

Internally or externally produced: Internally (produced specifically for MIA) 

Entry Contributor and Date: Leah Juster (02/12/11) 

Related projects:  Quick Stops Audio Tours, MIA http://www.artsmia.org/index.php?section_id=38