Integrating Physical and Social Contexts in an Information Processing Model of Art Interpretation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Examinations of Arts Creation, Performance, and Space

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the ways in which curators' intentions in the hang of an art exhibition are made relevant in young people's interpretative activity. The study was conducted in a national art museum in Europe, based on a gallery with paintings by Edward Munch. First, we present a case study of young adult visitors’ natural interactions in a physical gallery space to identify the way in which they notice and comprehend the curator's meaningful arrangement of Munch’s paintings. Second, we identify the interpretative strategies of laypersons and experts, respectively, when relating these same artworks to one another in card-sorting activities. The objective is to incorporate social and physical contexts in an information-processing model of lay interpretative processes.

Authors

• Palmyre Pierroux, University of Oslo

• Daniela Bauer, KMRC | Knowledge Media Research Centre