Open Forum

There's a picture that appeared all over social media over the last week--of teenagers engrossed in their cell phones in front of a masterwork of art.  Usually, it was accompanied by tsks, tsks, of disapproval. The more I thought about it, the more I was troubled by the assumptions the museum field (and the general public) was making about it.  You can see the picture--and read what I thought--in my latest blog post at The Uncataloged Museum.  Please join in the conversation--I look forward to hearing more from my colleagues.

Best,

Linda


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Linda Norris
Independent Museum Professional
Treadwell NY
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Linda,

Great post! I also like the Uffizi link. Both are good reminders not to fall into preconceptions.

Laura

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Laura Caruso
Head of Publications
Denver Art Museum
Denver CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2014 08:21 PM
From: Linda Norris
Subject: What Assumptions Do You Make?

There's a picture that appeared all over social media over the last week--of teenagers engrossed in their cell phones in front of a masterwork of art.  Usually, it was accompanied by tsks, tsks, of disapproval. The more I thought about it, the more I was troubled by the assumptions the museum field (and the general public) was making about it.  You can see the picture--and read what I thought--in my latest blog post at The Uncataloged Museum.  Please join in the conversation--I look forward to hearing more from my colleagues.

Best,

Linda


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Linda Norris
Independent Museum Professional
Treadwell NY
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Thanks for sharing your post.  Excellent points about the teenagers in the original photo and the links to other blog posts on the subject were also very interesting. 

We've been struggling with the whole "Should photography be allowed?" debate as it relates to our traveling exhibitions.  Our policy is to allow photography, but some venues still do not allow it.  There used to be some concern about damage to textiles from camera flashes, but that's not an issue with smartphones.  Certainly trying to police a "No Photography" rule has become impossible.  Now that more and more museums are allowing photography, I'm sure the last hold-outs will change their policies soon.

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Martha Sielman
Executive Director
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (www.SAQA.com)
Storrs Mansfield CT
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2014 08:21 PM
From: Linda Norris
Subject: What Assumptions Do You Make?

There's a picture that appeared all over social media over the last week--of teenagers engrossed in their cell phones in front of a masterwork of art.  Usually, it was accompanied by tsks, tsks, of disapproval. The more I thought about it, the more I was troubled by the assumptions the museum field (and the general public) was making about it.  You can see the picture--and read what I thought--in my latest blog post at The Uncataloged Museum.  Please join in the conversation--I look forward to hearing more from my colleagues.

Best,

Linda


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Linda Norris
Independent Museum Professional
Treadwell NY
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When you say "engrossed in their cell phones" - are they working on an assignment or texting? This may be an alternate to an activity-based assignment, although not every teen has a cell phone, I expect most do.
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Alan Goldstein
Interpretive Naturalist
Falls of The Ohio State Park Interpretive Center
Clarksville IN
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-07-2014 08:21 PM
From: Linda Norris
Subject: What Assumptions Do You Make?

There's a picture that appeared all over social media over the last week--of teenagers engrossed in their cell phones in front of a masterwork of art.  Usually, it was accompanied by tsks, tsks, of disapproval. The more I thought about it, the more I was troubled by the assumptions the museum field (and the general public) was making about it.  You can see the picture--and read what I thought--in my latest blog post at The Uncataloged Museum.  Please join in the conversation--I look forward to hearing more from my colleagues.

Best,

Linda


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Linda Norris
Independent Museum Professional
Treadwell NY
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