Slow Down: Visual Literacy in an Art Museum

Attending the International Visual Literacy Conference at the Toledo Museum of Art was an inspiring experience, the museum is a gem. Entering buildings designed by architects Frank O. Gehry, the auditorium by Edward B. Green, and the glass pavilion by Kazuyo Sejima, transformed the experience of looking at art.

The Toledo Art Museum seamlessly aligned the galleries with paintings, sculptures, and interactive installations ranging from African and Middle Ages, to contemporary art with educational text panels, book cases, and engaging tools.

Making time to walk through the galleries during a busy conference schedule was rewarded Amedeo Modigliani’s Paul Guillaume and Marisol’s (Escobar) The Party were amazing. Slowing down to really look and to revisit the artwork during the conference was the approach the presenters were discussing. The artworks were filled with passion and caught the viewer up with life’s essential moments during their time and place. An elongated facial expression, a line squeezed between colors were captivating.

At the far end of the gallery, a Louise Nevelson sculpture was immersed in a blue light that penetrated the comers of the forms and escaped onto the walls and floor pedestal. A paused moment, the blue light was piercing. Seeing a Nevelson lite with color was a new experience. She insisted in her installation instructions the blue light was to bathe sculpture.

The Toledo Museum of Art hosted the International Visual Literacy Conference because they believe in Visual Literacy. The museum’s website articulates their direction:
When we look at something, we often make assumptions about it. Many times we have already decided what it is because we have seen it before. We need to teach people how to see; how to slow down, take their time and pay attention. Looking at works of art is one way to strengthen visual literacy skills. That’s because artists are adept at visual language and visual storytelling, making their works rich sources of layered visual meaning.

Brian Kennedy, The Toledo Museum of Art director, is inspiring his staff to understand how important Visual Literacy is in our time and place. Kennedy said, have you ever wondered how to access the power of a work of art? The Art of Seeing Art℠ can help. It is a process for looking carefully and exploring a work of art on a deeper level. Developed by the Toledo Museum of Art, the Art of Seeing Art℠ is a series of six steps: Look, Observe, See, Describe, Analyze, and Interpret, which you can use when looking at any work of art in the Museum’s collection.

Peer-to-Peer Tours were developed at the Burchfield Penney Art Center with SUNY Buffalo State students supporting visual literacy in education and museums.

Envision college students touring their peers in a museum setting. They casually gather around an artwork intermingling. It might not be evident at first glance who is guiding the group but there is no denying the student’s comfortable mannerisms, active engagement, and animated conversations through visual learning. These students are participating in a Peer-to-Peer Tour at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State. Peer Tours grew out of the need to serve the college learning community. The goal of SUNY Buffalo State is to inspire a lifelong passion for learning and is dedicated to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and cultural enrichment. One of the museum’s educational missions is to encourage visual literacy and to celebrate the richly creative and diverse community. Peer-to-Peer Tours developed as one way to achieve both goals.

The presentation highlighted examples of Peer-to-Peer Tours and how college students guided their peer groups in the galleries connecting the visitor’s course curriculum with the artwork on exhibition. Conference participants who attended the presentation partook in a writing model developed by graduate students linking artwork with writing. The interactive activity included looking at a painting by A.J. Fries, Route 33, and several others from the Burchfield Penney’s collection. Participants developed a character and imagined the character’s name, hobbies, and a hidden secret from observing clues in the works viewed.

The conference theme, The Art of Seeing: From Ordinary to Extraordinary was echoed in the conference diverse key note speakers. A plastic surgeon presented on re-constructing faces. He teaches his students “the key is to ask questions not to know the answers” and to “learn to see better in surgery” needs to apply to ourselves. An artist presented her inspirations and influences on her art barely touching upon her own final works on exhibition, emphasizing the process of looking.

During my time in the galleries, I encountered the museum guards. As security kept a watchful eye out into their designated galleries, they were also at ease approaching visitors, often chatting about the artwork and asking about the visitor’s experiences. Not only do the security guards receive continuing training, but the whole museum staff received 12 hours of Visual Literacy training including the museum’s board members.

With a strategic plan in place, The Toledo Museum of Art approached the International Visual Literacy association offering to host the November 2014 conference. Their museum was already on the path educating their visitors on the importance of visual literacy with engaging wall text and interactive installations.

Shiroki will lecture on the International Visual Literacy conference and present her presentation at the Burchfield Penney in the spring 2015.

—Kathy Gaye Shiroki, Curator of Museum Learning and Community Engagement