Field Trip: Indy and Dayton

Two weeks ago, our group was blessed with the opportunity to venture outside of the Ball State community into what most of us call "The Real World." Most of us who are graduating within the year are incredibly intimidated by this scary place but this time "The Real World" was nice to us and we gained a wealth of knowledge.

We started out in the VBC parking lot with doughnuts and coffee. As most of you probably know, it's difficult to pry 13 college students out of bed in the middle of the night--8 am. Remarkably, the entire group was on time and the caravan was pulling away by 8:30.

My classmates approaching the wonderful IMA.

First stop: Indianapolis Museum of Art

If you've never been to the IMA, I STRONG encourage you to take a trip out there. It's free! The museum is gorgeous and HUGE. It also comes complete with the beautiful Lilly mansion as well as acres of fancy gardens.

Only a small preview of the majestic gardens

At the IMA, we met with their new media and web development folks. The new media department gave us a wealth of knowledge about social networking as well as ways to build buzz about the museum. Unfortunately, those ideas are out of our reach. Mediums that require two-way communication require constant maintenance, which we will not be privy to once the semester is over.

The Web development specialist came in handy! They are revamping their brand as well as their Web site as we speak and it was interesting to hear him talk about that. At one point one person in our class asked him "Where will the education link be located on your new site?" His face immediately turned red and his counterpart snickered. It was immediately obvious that we had touched on a sensitive issue! (I love to ruffle people's feathers. It was funny and awkward).

He had no real response. It was more of a noise. Then another woman spoke up and explained where they were thinking (AKA arguing) about putting the link. (Of course, the location was pretty buried).

The most important lesson I learned from the IMA is this:

We want people to REMEMBER things after they visit our site and take the audio tour. Our site is pointless if the information goes in one ear and out the other. The content of the site needs to be as thought-provoking as possibly to promote retention of the material. (I pretty much already knew this before the visit but for some reason this just really stuck with me after speaking with their new media people).

After exploring the museum, we went back to the vans and devised our scheme for avoiding traffic between Indy and Dayton.

20 minutes later we were yet again scrunched in the mini vans discussing Maddy's newest edition of InStyle magazine. The article "How to Stay Polished" was a big hit in our van.

Second Stop: The Dayton Art Institute

The next morning we rolled out of bed bright and early and headed to the Dayton Art Institute.

Although smaller than the IMA, this museum was AWESOME. What really sticks out at this museum is the education program. They have limited budget and their museum depends heavily on volunteers. Kudos to them, however, because, despite the odds, they have a fantastic education program. In the basement of the museum is an interactive lab where children (and adults) can have fun while learning about art. This utilized organic learning, which is a term our group has been throwing around a lot lately. It's the idea that students cannot be lectured to. They need to have fun with the lesson and be unaware that the are learning.

My classmate, Laura, having fun in the Interactive section of the DAI. The keys on the keyboard were larger than normal keys, which made typing a challenge.

By the way, we changed our name from Art to Go to...... drum roll please........Art In Sight.

Hope you like it!

First visit to the Ball State Museum of Art

Hey guys!

I've decided my next blog will be about the very first time I ever visited the Ball State Museum of art! I first went to the museum roughly 4 weeks ago. Before we went to the museum the class discussed previous experiences in the museum. We went around the classroom and shared our encounters with the museum. This proved to be the moment of truth: the moment when my fellow classmates, the client as well as my teacher would know that I've never actually been to the BSU museum. Of course, I was the only one.

I'm proud to say that I've broken that spell and I have some awesome comments to make about the museum!

First of all, the building is spectacular. Above, is a picture of the museum accompanied by my classmate, Maddy. When I first approached this building I was welcomed by the two staircases that led to the entrance. The entrance is large and welcoming and is accentuated by the entire structure of the building which drew my eyes toward the door. Even the open field, which leads to the entrance provokes me to enter. Although appealing and magnetic, the building is also daunting and has a scholarly vibe to it. If I were not a scholar, I might be too intimidated to further explore the museum.

When I entered the museum, I was welcomed by a large staircase and open sculpture gallery (seen in the picture above). The symmetry, openness and white color was pleasing to my eyes and put me at ease. The large painting at the top of the staircase is intriguing because it does not fit with the style of the grandiose room. It dared me to see what else the museum has to offer. In my mind it screams "Go ahead. See what's next."

A side note about the architecture: it was constantly leading me in a certain direction. It led me from the quad, up the stairs, through the doors, into the sculpture court and up the second set of stairs. I'm compelled to keep following the paintings. The line is never broken and I was never once distracted. The design kept leading me deeper and deeper into the depths of the museum. I was able to get lost in the art, which is a feeling I LOVE.

To continue with the "getting lost" theme, I was never distracted by people. It is somewhat of an unwritten behavior code that we need to be quiet in the art museum. For those of you who know me well, you know this creates somewhat of a problem. However, given the fact that we were exploring the museum independently, I was never told to "Ssh."

One aspect I did find distracting in the museum was the labels. Unfortunately, the labels are necessary because they contain information like the artist's name and dates and whatnot but I found myself searching for labels before discovering the piece of art itself. I also found it interesting that some labels included fun, little stories and some did not. Although the stories were distracting, they intrigued me and sparked my interested even further. I also enjoyed the labels because they tell me what materials were used to create the piece, which is fascinating to me. The materials used are often times extraordinary.

SO!

After FINALLY visiting the BSU museum of art, I was impressed. I've visited several European museums and this museum is comparable to those. Overall, I felt enriched and relaxed after walking through the museum. Not only did this art teach me about culture and history but it also taught me about religion. Walking around the museum inspired me to keep learning and intrigued me to study world cultures. I also felt like my creative juices were flowing after looking through the art. The variety of art at this museum shows me that I too can create art even though I have no training--all I have to do is stick 2 pieces of Plexiglas together, right? (For those of you who have never been to the museum, there is a piece of art that consists of two pieces of Plexiglas that were assembled after being shipped to the museum). It's hard to choose a favorite room. I really do love the museum in its entirety! The architecture and layout of the building is great as well as the variety of pieces on display.

Now that you've heard about the museum, stay tuned for more information about other immersion experiences! Later this week, I will write about my trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Dayton Art Institute AND our visit with the high school art teacher! I have some interesting sketches to include with the latter!

Toodles for now.

Group meetings underway

It's been a few days since my last blog, but things have been buzzing around here nonetheless!

We have been meeting with our groups this week to map out what the semester will look like as well as to exchange ideas. Hectic and chaotic are two words that come to mind when I think about these meetings. The meetings were productive; however, the planning and brainstorming stages, proved to be trying on the groups.

The one group that had the hardest time with compromising was the tech group. This group is in charge of building and designing the Web site. There are eight people in the group, which means eight different ideas and eight different perspectives. After a "Jerry Springer"-type showdown, we finally decided to split up into subgroups and present the client with 2 plans and let her decide who has the "correct" plan. In this case, the "correct" plan is the one Tania Said, our client, likes the best. There are a million and one ways to organize the Web site, but only one person's opinion that matters. (Members include: David, Sarah, Michelle, Maddy, Loretta, Liz, Laura and me).

I'm hoping these issues getting ironed out in the coming weeks.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the audio tour group is making incredible progress. There have been no break downs, fights or heightened tempers! We are all on the same page when exchanging ideas and concepts. The only problem I foresee with this group is getting distracted. Luckily, there are a few people who will get us back on track. In this group we are making an audio tour that will lead people through the museum. We are even going to purchase mp3 players for people to listen to as they go through the museum! (Members include: Michelle, Sarah, Rick, Amy, Cara and me).

My favorite group is the showcase group. In this group we are planning an event where we will reveal the Web site. We are expecting 150 to 200 people. People who need to be entertained, fed and shoveled through the museum! I will also be coordinating the public relations activities for this event. I'm really excited about this group because it will phenomenally strengthen my PR and event planning knowledge. (Members include: Loretta, Amy, Laura, Anna and me).

Now that you know about the groups, stay tuned for dramatic group updates!