In their thesis, Anna Baccaglini highlights some important issues with how museums present their collections to visitors. A key concern is that museums predominantly focus on visual engagement, and often through basic labels in a sterile “white cube”. Baccaglini argues that museums should take a discursive and immersive approach, creating narratives and context that is dialogic and multi-sensorial. The author also mentions how many museum experiences encourage a “cattle-like shuffle past painting after painting” since the works aren’t in conversation with the visitors. I agree that often technological interventions add more context but in the end simply reinforce this behavior.

Baccaglini proposes allowing tactical engagement to bridge the chasm between visitors and artifacts, creating new forms of understanding and pedagogy. One of the main hurdles here is balancing human contact and preservation. I agree that this solution can create novel forms of understanding. However, as someone who is incredibly clumsy, this idea terrifies me. In Chapter 3, Baccaglini highlights how “educational collections” (artifacts of lesser value) and replicas can help facilitate tactile engagement. I remember holding models of ancient Greek door locks at a museum and was guided to look at different parts to better understand the design process and craftsmanship. Because of this combination of taciticlity and discussion, the accuracy of the replicate didn’t cross my mind. This also brought to mind the Lauscaux museum discussed earlier in the semester where they created highly detailed facsimiles of the caves. I think using advanced manufacturing processes to create incredibly realistic facsimiles is a promising approach.

While reading this thesis, I was also, somehow, reminded of a comedic short documentary called “The Lickers” by James Powderly and Korean artist Eun-Jung Son.