Dani's Day Four Reflections

June 10th, 2016

General/Naturalistic Observations

10am-1pm

I remained mindful of the theme/mission of the exhibit throughout the time we spent observing. I wondered how the audience could be expected to make meaningful connections without also being equipped with a deeper knowledge of the art and their origins. How is it possible for the audience to engage the art as scholars without the intellectual tools? As I went through the exhibit, I tried to answer the prompts, many of which seemed a little too simplistic. There were many yes/no questions. Sometimes there wasn't enough information in the label or the prompt to actually answer the questions.

I was disturbed by the prompt that explained how the Penn museum had acquired most of the art. The prompt about the dynamics between the Benin Empire and the British felt white-washed and misleading. Most of the prompts left a little too much room up to one's imagination. This is especially worrisome in an exhibit that focuses on Africa and its diverse people who have historically been subjected to the damaging effects of the "western imagination." Compared to Penn's Imagine Africa, this exhibit was missing the human aspect. I think there could have been a clearer connection to the lived experiences of the people and cultures that created the art. For example, the video about how the gold weights were made could have included an actual person making the weights.

I also noticed some general patterns related to the visitors. The visitors are far less diverse in the morning. It is rare to observe someone reading the prompts in their entirety. The exhibit is easy to miss. Many people just walked right past.

Journaling

1pm - 3:10pm

I spent this time catching up on my journal entries in the library.

More Observations

3:10-3:45pm

After spending the morning as a participant observe, I chose to use this time to solely observe someone. I observed an older Black women (60-65 years old). She walked right past the introductions and straight to the elephant tusks. She didn't read any of the prompts in the first section of the exhibit, but seemed very intrigued by the power figures. She glanced back and forth from the artifacts to the prompt. She walked around each power figure to get a better angle.

A MEMBER OF THE ROOTS APPEARS WITH HIS FAMILY!!!

Ok, now back to the older lady. She seems to be really interested in the guardian figure, although she neglects to actually read about them. She spends a lot of time staring at them. She completely walked past the interactive table. She looks closely at the plaques and spends time reading the prompt. Finally, she spends time dwelling near the plaques and talks to a friend before she leaves.

Art After 5

5pm-7:30pm


We met up to compile a list of our key observations in preparation for Saturday's observations. After, we listened to music and observed the crowd. We are disappointed by the museum's failure to adequately connect the night with the Creative Africa exhibit, especially to such a large and diverse crowd.The music was nice though.