Bridging the Gap Between Past and Present
Throughout this seminar, we have encountered some of the same themes reiterated by staff at different institutions. One theme resonates with an artwork we encountered within the Transformer: Native Art in Light & Sound exhibit of the National Museum of the American Indian:
How can museums connect audiences today with history?
The connection between past and present is explored by artist Nicholas Galanin in his piece Tsu Heidel Shugaxtutaan (We will again open this container of wisdom that has been left in our care). This work is both visual and audible. Video of two different dance performances is projected onto an exhibit wall. In one performance, a non-Native man dances in contemporary clothing to a Tlingit song (Galanin, 2006). In the other performance, another individual wears Tlingit clothing and performs a Raven dance to electronic music (Galanin, 2006).
It is clear that this work was created as a commentary on how the past informs the present and vice versa. Wall text indicates the responsibility to engage with and honor heritage (Galanin, 2006).
The choice to use a non-Native dancer is interesting, and speaks to the relevance of Native American history to anyone and everyone.
An audio guide option accompanies the Transformer exhibit. Guides audibly inform about works within the exhibit when users point their guides at small boxes adhered to walls throughout the space. Buttons on the guide itself increase or decrease the volume of the narrative.
While the guide is not totally intuitive (failure to read the instructions and scan the small box at the outset of the exhibit will result in an inability to access audio), this is a nice resource. I appreciate that the technology considers users with visual impairments by beeping when the guide is near a box. And I have to commend the museum for offering context in text form within an exhibit booklet, an option for those with hearing impairments.
In my opinion, these resources and the above-mentioned artwork successfully engage audiences with Native American history.
References
Galanin, N. (2006). Tsu Heidel Shugaxtutaan (We will again open this container of wisdom that has been left in our care)[Wall text]. National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY.
