Interactive Kiosk
The judges said:
This interactive feature demonstrated the life and works of photorealist painter Robert Bechtle. We appreciated how easy this site was to navigate and how accessible
it is. The design is clean and intuitive. In the Life and Philosophy section we get to know the painter and understand his influences. The Gallery section allows the
visitor to zoom into the paintings and see the realist details. The real strength of the interactive is the integration of flash and video technology. It's a terrific
presentation of an artist at work, with deftly orchestrated sequences that mix action and interview to keep the experience fresh.
The producers said:
This interactive kiosk was created for a retrospective exhibition of the California photorealist painter Robert Bechtle. It includes video footage of the artist at work,
a gallery of his artworks spanning thirty years, and an extensive scrapbook containing gallery announcements, letters, and press clippings that trace the artist's rise
into the limelight in the 70s and tireless pursuit of his unique vision.
In preparation for this feature, SFMOMA's Interactive Educational Technologies team set up a video shoot which would span six months. With Bechtle's cooperation, SFMOMA
set up a video camera in the artist's San Francisco studio one day each week, to capture the artist's meticulous execution of a single large-scale painting.
After capturing more than 12 hours of footage, the videographer and the interactive team worked together to select the most revealing and dramatic moments in Bechtle's
arduous process. Ultimately, about 16 minutes of select footage were combined with voiceovers from a separate interview; the resulting footage provides the basis for
this feature.
Handheld Interactive Multimedia Tour
The judges said:
Frida Kahlo is one of history's darlings; she's
daring, she's controversial, she's outspoken, and she's significant. Antenna Audio and Tate Modern with their multimedia tour for a temporary Frida Kahlo exhibition
offers, at the touch of a fingertip, a variety of insights into the mind of a complex artist and fascinating woman. The technology, the archival footage, the
interviews, all served the story of her life, which was the key to better understanding and appreciating her art.
The vast amounts of available video footage, audio interviews, and historical photographs were well chosen and excellently categorized in the small hand-held device
which visitors' used to enhance their experience with the art. Furthermore, by using the multimedia format, the visitor could also shape presentational elements
to specifically augment and better personalize their journey through the exhibit.
The producers said:
With the Frida Kahlo multimedia tour, Antenna Audio and Tate Modern have produced the UK's first multimedia tour to accompany a major temporary exhibition. Visitors
discover the art and life of one of Mexico's most celebrated artists through an innovative audio-visual PDA experience. The interactive multimedia tour allows users
to explore her paintings in depth and access rare film footage of Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, as well as audio interpretation, video interviews with today's
contemporary artists and commentators, and archival images.
The Kahlo tour established that multimedia has a place in temporary exhibitions and can be successfully implemented for a major, high-traffic exhibition. It demonstrated
that multimedia can provide a rich form of interpretation within the context of a temporary exhibition without detracting from the exhibition or the objects on display.
The Frida Kahlo multimedia tour has established a precedent in multimedia interpretation in temporary exhibitions, and generated mass acceptance of the medium in
subsequent blockbuster exhibitions and interpretation.
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/basquiat/street-to-studio/
The judges said:
Street to Studio: The Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat is a colorful Web site whose design is unified by mining the themes of the artist's aesthetic. Each page is
filled with subtle details which visually reinforce Basquiat's journey from graffiti artist through to his transformation as a cultural icon. The Brooklyn Museum's
online companion to the Basquiat exhibition was specifically aimed toward teenagers in the three cities visited by the traveling exhibition, and moved beyond as
young people around the world visited the site and discussed various aspects of the artist's troubled life, musical influences, political and cultural themes in an
open forum. Some sample posts included:
"He truly was a master and an originator of a style that incorporated images and words evoking feelings of self reflection, hope, and pain".—RV from
Los Angeles
"His pictures make one think about life, about our cultures, about our goals and about our failures."—Iyana from FL
"Spiritual, historical, and personal describe Basquiat's style."—Cindy Mae from Houston
Video, sound, and photographic elements are used to enhance the artist's own words while exploring the exhibition itself—Basquiat's life and artistic imagery. Site
navigators were encouraged to explore their own artistic side and were treated to an online gallery for participants.
To experience this site is to immerse onself in the work and the legend of Basquiat.
The producers said:
During his short life, Jean-Michel Basquiat was considered an exceptional creative talent and became a cultural hero to younger artists. By using New York City as a
source of expression and creating his own rules about art, Basquiat demonstrated that there is no "wrong" way to express oneself and to approach art. We
believed that teens would find Basquiat a fascinating subject, more immediate and relevant to their own lives than other artists they may be familiar with. So we
developed the Street to Studio Web site specifically to reach teenagers in the three cities visited by the Basquiat traveling exhibition (New York, Los Angeles, and
Houston) as well as teens around the country and beyond. The Web site features a variety of ways to explore and engage with Basquiat's life and work, from an
impressionistic biographical timeline to thematic explorations of individual paintings, an online painting and sharing tool, and a discussion forum. In developing
the site, we tried to balance traditional museum concept of providing fixed information for people to take away with user-created content. Of these features, the
online gallery for user-created artworks far exceeded our expectations, seeing dozens of submissions daily. The combination of Basquiat's provocative art and the
drawing tool inspired teens around the world to create many thousands of thoughtful and beautiful artworks.
http://www.moma.org/redstudio
The judges said:
This site breaks down the barriers between an art museum and its audience. There are a number of sites designed with teens in mind but this one appears to be designed by
teens for teens. There are a number of activities and contests that are successful, but the interviews are what excited us. Teenagers interview famous artists about
their life and work and inevitably find connections to their own lives. The videos are polished and professional and make for engaging viewing.
The producers said:
Launched in 2004, Red Studio, The Museum of Modern Art's Web site for teenagers, was developed in collaboration with a teen advisory group of New York City public high
school students. The debut features included an interview conducted by the teens with the artist Vito Acconci, and an online design contest. In 2005, new features were
added to the site, including a teen interview with the artist Shahzia Sikander, a collage activity called REMIX, and a message board that allows teens to respond to
posted questions about modern and contemporary art. The umbrella site was given a new look to showcase these new features and in response to evaluations conducted
subsequent to the initial launch. Additions in early 2006 include "Behind the Scenes," which features teen-led interviews with MoMA curators Joachim
Pissarro and Paola Antonelli, an interview with Pixar's Ralph Eggleston, and an online contest called Character Sketch. The Red Studio project is the result of an
ongoing collaboration between the Digital Media and Education Departments at The Museum of Modern Art.
http://etcweb.princeton.edu/asianart/
The judges said:
These interactive features let visitors explore the symbolism and process of the works of art around them. We particularly enjoyed the ones that walked us through the
process of making ceramic and bronze vessels. To make a ceramic vessel we threw the clay, painted and glazed, and then finally fired it. After breaking several we
learned the basics of how to work with clay.
The producers said:
The primary mission of the Princeton University Art Museum is to support and enhance the University's goals of teaching, research, and service through the study,
preservation, conservation, exhibition, and development of its collections. The museum contributes to the development of critical thinking and visual literacy at
Princeton and in the local community, the region, and beyond. Four interactive features were developed to help fulfill this mission through rich-media Web sites that
reveal the creativity, processes and symbolism inherent in Asian and Western art forms.
The museum worked closely with Second Story to design and develop these four interactive features to bring four artifacts and their respective processes to life. Each
of the stand-alone modules can be accessed and experienced independently, serving different curricular needs and subject matters. The interactives feature embedded
videos of crafts persons engaged in throwing clay and painting. Extensive 3D visualization throughout helps illuminate many complex procedures as well as make the
virtual artifacts more convincing. By balancing learning with creativity, these rich-media modules engage diverse learning styles and help make objects in the
collection portals of discovery. Second Story's innovative and intricate designs promoted the success of this project.
