The Multisensory Museum : Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Touch, Sound, Smell, Memory, and Space

Recent research in the cognitive sciences gives us a new perspective on the cognitive and sensory landscape. In The Multisensory Museum: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Touch, Sound, Smell, Memory, and Space, museum expert Nina Levent and Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School bring together scholars and museum practitioners from around the world to highlight new trends and untapped opportunities for using such modalities as scent, sound, and touch in museums to offer more immersive experiences and diverse sensory engagement for visually- and otherwise-impaired patrons. Visitor studies describe how different personal and group identities color our cultural consumption and might serve as a compass on museum journeys. Psychologists and educators look at the creation of memories through different types of sensory engagement with objects, and how these memories in turn affect our next cultural experience. An anthropological perspective on the history of our multisensory engagement with ritual and art objects, especially in cultures that did not privilege sight over other senses, allows us a glimpse of what museums might become in the future. Education researchers discover museums as unique educational playgrounds that allow for a variety of learning styles, active and passive exploration, and participatory learning. Designers and architects suggest a framework for thinking about design solutions for a museum environment that invites an intuitive, multisensory and flexible exploration, as well as minimizes physical hurdles. While attention has been paid to accessibility for the physically-impaired since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, making buildings accessible is only the first small step in elevating museums to be centers of learning and culture for all members of their communities. This landmark book will help all museums go much further. Part I: Museums & Touch Ch.1: Please DO Touch the Exhibits! Interactions between Visual Imagery and Haptic Perception / Simon Lacey & K. Sathian Ch.2: First Hand, not First-eye Knowledge: Bodily Experience in Museums / Francesca Bacci & Francesco Pavani Ch.3: Art-Making as Multisensory Engagement: Case Studies from The Museum of Modern Art / Carrie McGee & Francesca Rosenberg Ch.4: Multi-sensory Engagement with Real Nature Relevant to Real Life / Molly Steinwald, Melissa A. Harding, & Richard V. Piacentini Ch.5: Touch and Narrative in Art and History Museums / Nina Levent & Lynn McRainey Part II: Museums & Sound Ch.6: A Brain Guide to Sound Galleries / Stephen R. Arnott & Claude Alain Ch.7: Ephemeral, Immersive, Invasive: Sound as Curatorial Theme 1966-2013 / Seth Cluett Ch.8: Soundwalking the Museum: A Sonic Journey through the Visual Display / Salomé Voegelin. Ch.9: The Role of Sensory and Motor Systems in Art Appreciation and Implications for Exhibit Design / A. Casile & L. F. Ticini. Part III: Smell & Taste in Museums Ch.10: The Forgotten Sense: Using Olfaction in a Museum Context. A Neuroscience Perspective / Richard Stevenson. Ch.11: The Scented Museum / Andreas Keller Ch.12: The Museum as Smellscape / Jim Drobnick Ch.13: Taste-full Museums: Educating the Senses One Plate at a Time / Irina Mihalache Part IV: Museum Architecture & the Senses Ch.14: Navigating the Museum / Hugo Spiers, Fiona Zisch & Steven Gage, Ch.15: Museum as an Embodied Experience / Juhani Pallasmaa Ch.16: Architectural Design for Living Artifacts / Joy Monice Malnar & Frank Vodvarka. Part V: Future Museums Ch.17: Multisensory Memories: How Richer Experiences Facilitate Remembering / Jamie Ward Ch.18: The Secret of Aesthetics Lies in the Conjugation of the Senses: Reimagining the Museum as a Sensory Gymnasium / David Howes Ch.19: Multisensory Mental Simulation and Aesthetic Perception / Salvatore M Aglioti, Ilaria Bufalari & Matteo Candidi Ch.20: Islands of Stimulation: Perspectives on the Museum Experience, Present and Future / Rebecca McGinnis Ch.21: The Future Landscape of 3D in Museums / Samantha Sportun Ch.22: Technology, Senses and the Future of Museums. A Conversation with Nina Levent, Heather Knight , Sebastian Chan and Rafael Lozano Hammer Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 14 Part I. MUSEUMS AND TOUCH 28 Chapter 1. Please DO Touch the Exhibits! Interactions between Visual Imagery and Haptic Perception 30 Chapter 2. “First Hand,” Not “First Eye” Knowledge: Bodily Experience in Museums 44 Chapter 3. Art Making as Multisensory Engagement: Case Studies from The Museum of Modern Art 56 Chapter 4. Multisensory Engagement with Real Nature Relevant to Real Life 72 Chapter 5. Touch and Narrative in Art and History Museums 88 Part II. MUSEUMS AND SOUND 110 Chapter 6. A Brain Guide to Sound Galleries 112 Chapter 7. Ephemeral, Immersive, Invasive: Sound as Curatorial Theme, 1966–2013 136 Chapter 8. Soundwalking the Museum: A Sonic Journey through the Visual Display 146 Chapter 9. The Role of Sensory and Motor Systems in Art Appreciation and Implications for Exhibit Design 158 Part III. SMELL AND TASTE IN MUSEUMS 176 Chapter 10. The Forgotten Sense: Using Olfaction in a Museum Context: A Neuroscience Perspective 178 Chapter 11. The Scented Museum 194 Chapter 12. The Museum as Smellscape 204 Chapter 13. Taste-full Museums: Educating the Senses One Plate at a Time 224 Part IV. MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE AND THE SENSES 240 Chapter 14. Navigating the Museum 242 Chapter 15. Museum as an Embodied Experience 266 Chapter 16. Architectural Design for Living Artifacts 278 Part V. FUTURE MUSEUMS 298 Chapter 17. Multisensory Memories: How Richer Experiences Facilitate Remembering 300 Chapter 18. The Secret of Aesthetics Lies in the Conjugation of the Senses: Reimagining the Museum as a Sensory Gymnasium 312 Chapter 19. Multisensory Mental Simulation and Aesthetic Perception 328 Chapter 20. Islands of Stimulation: Perspectives on the Museum Experience, Present and Future 346 Chapter 21. The Future Landscape of 3D in Museums 358 Chapter 22. Technology, Senses, and the Future of Museums: A Conversation with Nina Levent, Heather Knight, Sebastian Chan, and Rafael Lozano Hammer 368 Conclusion. Multisensory Art Museums and the Experience of Interconnection 378 Index 388 About the Contributors 398 Museums And Touch -- Museums And Sound -- Smell And Taste In Museums -- Museum Architecture And The Senses -- Future Museums. Edited By Nina Levent And Alvaro Pascual-leone. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.